A Plastic Heart

 

Road to a Healthier Earth

May 14th, 2021

A Plastic Heart 

Personally, it makes my heart ache to see our plastic waste issue affect our planet on a global scale. One prime example is a disaster called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This swath of ocean is covered with around 1.6 million square kilometers of accumulated nonbiodegradable plastics.  According to National Geographic, 

"For many people, the idea of a “garbage patch” conjures up images of an island of trash floating on the ocean. In reality, these patches are almost entirely made up of tiny bits of plastic, called microplastics. Microplastics can’t always be seen by the naked eye. Even satellite imagery doesn’t show a giant patch of garbage. The microplastics of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch can simply make the water look like a cloudy soup. This soup is intermixed with larger items, such as fishing gear and shoes." (para. 7)

(photo from forbes.com)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottsnowden/2019/05/30/300-mile-swim-through-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch-will-collect-data-on-plastic-pollution/?sh=6e7e4f9d489f 

Unfortunately, we cannot start the healing process without combating companies that look towards making menial profits by endlessly spewing out plastic products. Every day we as inhabitants of Earth decide to produce ridiculous amounts of non-reusable, single-use plastic products. As we can see here in the photo placed above, it's horrendous. The amount of time, money and energy needed to fish out all the heaps of garbage in the ocean would take years. The worst part is that the plastics turn into microplastics which make the seawater gooey. This is basically fatal for marine life and prolonged ingestion of plastic goop will kill entire schools of fish and other forms of wildlife. 

(photo from condor ferries)

https://www.condorferries.co.uk/plastic-in-the-ocean-statistics

I am an optimist for most issues but the current neglect and lack of integrity major world powers have towards our planet makes the inferred outlook of this dilemma appear grim. That is, with the projected momentum, industrial civilizations are pressing the gas pedal when it comes to creating products for the market by any means necessary. Group polarization plays a big role when it comes down to it because I highly doubt any single individual in a fortune 500 company is actively seeking to destroy the world. Its only problem is that everybody is choosing to make a profit over anything which is cruel.

We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our thirst, for providing strength and nurturing life for all beings; We know its power in many forms--waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans, snow and ice. We are grateful that the waters are still here and meeting their responsibility to the rest of Creation. Can we agree that water is important to our lives and bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to the Water? Now our minds are on. (pg. 108 from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer)

Water fulfills its purpose to the living beings that harness its blessings. The plants need it to produce the air we breathe, we need it to function, the world needs it to stay cool, the atmosphere needs it to stay humid and to have the ability to create weather, etc. Without water, there is no life. I deduce that the degrading health of our oceans due to plastic waste will inevitably make water's gift to life null and void. The author of the quoted excerpt above really emphasizes how we should appreciate the role of water in our lives and give thanks but sadly we are doing the opposite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju_2NuK5O-E
(Video from the United Nations)

The best way to help clean our oceans is to spread awareness and refrain from encouraging companies by refusing to buy their products if they go against the will of the earth. Supply will always meet demand so they will have to adapt to a non-plastic synthesizing world if they want to keep their businesses up and running.