To End Plastic Production Forever.

January 18, 2021 THE CHANGE.ORG PETITION THAT REFUSES TO LOAD. I WILL TRY AGAIN TOMORROW. “What does it mean to function as a group in a changing environment? How can we organize ourselves intentionally to combat the imbedded isolation of late capitalism? … I believe collaboration is natural and can be reclaimed…” (Alexis Paulin Gumbs, [Undrowned Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals](https://www.akpress.org/undrowned.html, page 51) According to [Condor Ferries](https://www.condorferries.co.uk/plastic-in-the-ocean-statistics, “there is now 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in our ocean & 46,000 pieces in every square mile of ocean. Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic makes their way into our oceans.” The Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership with the World Economic Forum states that “by 2050, plastic in the oceans will outweigh fish where the oceans will contain at least 937 million tons of plastic and 895 million tons of fish by 2050.” Susannah Shmurak from Earth Easy reports that “plastic pollution in the ocean harms sea creatures and wildlife, and also enters the human food supply. Microplastics have been found in our water, table salt, and fish. Hundreds of academic studies have pointed to health effects of exposure to plastic chemicals, affecting hormone function, brain development, and cancer risk.” But we already know this. Another question that is posited when environmental justice gets brought to the forefront is “why does this matter in the face of racial, social, and political upheaval?” The Answer according to Alexis Paulin Gumbs and Truth: “None of these things can be separated from each other. We are all entangled” (page 103) The human adult body is made up of 60% water. As we are all connected, by breath, by sound, by blood, by energetic waves of frequencies, by emotion, by the fact that we share one ground – MotherEarth, Gaia, our physical home before we return to where we’re “really from”. We share ancestors. Our roots grow deep. This inter-connected web of love, of fear, of interdependency on our ability to exchange our carbon with the oxygen from the trees, a science lesson in a symbiotic relation. A partnership based on understanding and respect that connects us to each other in ways that our current capitalist system would otherwise like us to believe. Because that is how it stays alive and thriving.
The racial, social, political upheaval is inextricably linked to where and what we put into our bodies and where our waste goes.
Money through capitalism is a construct used to keep us hailing the oppressors, subjugating ourselves and the earth to a continuous cycle of war, suppressing our love for being alive, of truly living our purpose, of healing. Capitalism and the forces that perpetuate it through fear, shame, doubt, envy and guilt, make us sick. This is just as much an energetic war as it is a physical bombardment on our sanity and ability to be compassionate and vulnerable with ourselves and each other. It has hardened us, made us believe that we are separate from each other when the truth is that We Are Each Other. The magic of the Universe delivers when asked. Do not worry about the “how” and instead confront the cynicism, the skepticism, the doubt, the fear, the disbelief as it might arise within us while we decide to move away from plastic forever. As we continue to say “No” to plastic, to palm oil, to slaughterhouses, to poverty, to homelessness, and to war – (and eventually the cigarette, alcohol and sugar industries) – we will move towards our higher selves that embrace a world that is clean, safe, and leaking with love – a world without pollution, fear and hate based violence, racism, environmental war, global poverty, and sicknesses that could have been prevented should we choose ourselves. Eliminating plastic is a choice that affects everyone now and everyone in the future. We are at a pivotal moment on Earth as we have been asked to stay inside, contemplate, restructure our lives, heal, and begin again. Anything is possible. Our water sources are going to be heavily polluted should we not take massive action towards course correction. Drinking from plastic bottles does not solve this. Putting a Brita gauge over our taps does not solve this. Changing plastic to bioplastics will not solve this either. Waiting for our politicians to create change will not solve this. Our food sources are already threatened with GMO corporate greed and indifference. Our lives and the lives of future generations will be threatened, our air quality will be further compromised. Breathing will be as difficult as breathing with the masks on, except there won’t be a mask, because it won’t matter, because it would have been too late. The leaders of the world want to wait until 2030, 2050, 2070, to handle the plastic problem. When they (and we) can put an end to the very source, to end the root of the issue now. Today. This moment. Alternatives like mycelium, corn, seaweed and bamboo exist as alternative resources to reinvent products. While recycling is helpful, only 10% of our plastics are recycled. See this video by Climate Town of how “Recycling is Actually a Scam” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJnJ8mK3Q3g&t=2s While Opera wants us to “pick up the litter“, (no offense to O, but that isn’t going to solve the problem at its root. It might make people more aware of their consumer habits, but again, doesn’t actually take care of the problem.) Our plastic waste is being shipped to Malaysia. Because China has said no more. Our streets are lined with trash. While we live in abundance, we are swimming in our waste. The corporations, every production company, every manufacturing company, every new entrepreneur who wants to create something needs to understand that the very source of which their products are made out of need to be changed. This is not a blame game. This is a wake up call and a loving awareness of what needs to shift. Immediately. And It’s going to take All Of Us. We need to end the production of plastic forever. THE SOLUTION IN TWO PARTS PART ONE: THE INDIVIDUAL ACT “I wonder what our sensitive edges have to teach us. What do our morality and openness mean to the ecology we could surrender to together?” (Alexis Paulin Gumbs, Undrowned Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals, page 61) If you believe in magic, which means believing in life, because all of this is a continuous miracle unfolding, then you already believe in the possibility of eliminating plastic from our production lines forever and all the above aforementioned avoidable tragedies. The first tangible thing that you can do is eliminate meat and dairy from your diet as much as you can. This stops the power from traveling to the regions of pain – not just to animals but to yourself and MotherEarth. Here are some research resources for a deeper understanding of why and how this connects to solving plastic Watch: How could veganism change the world? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwoL6hWd4l0 and: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUnJQWO4YJY “It turns out what we put on our plates matters a lot. About 25% of all global climate change problems we’re seeing can be attributed back to the food and the choices that we’re actually making about what we eat on a daily basis…it’s about twice as much global warming pollution as the cars.” – VOX Media Stop using Plastic Bags Period. You don’t have to say anything except “no thank you” – the single act of refusal causes ripples. They will thank you. No one wants to see another plastic bag. We all feel the pressure to end this. But until we cause a serious overflow of inventory because of all the plastic bags that are not being used, they stores will continue to buy them from the suppliers and they will continue to be used in stores. Here is a video on how to turn an old T-shirt into a grocery bag with scissors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp61jijGYbU Educate, educate, educate It doesn’t matter how old you are, everyone holds potential to create an impact. If you are a young person asked to go grocery shopping with your family, bring a few of these bags out and use them. This is your future too. It doesn’t matter if people look at you weird. Be the change maker. It all starts with one single action to not go along with something that we all know is bad for us. Avoid single use products that already have non-plastic alternatives as much as you can. All you have to do is Google “alternative non plastic (enter product)” Some might be a little more expensive but if you can afford it, it makes a huge difference in the production line – and ultimately, the impact that you make creates ripples beyond imagination. Here is a link to some products to get you started and no we do not make a commission off any of these items: and another resource https://myplasticfreelife.com/product-suppliers/ Call and Ask. Whenever you touch a plastic product – take a look and see where that plastic is coming from – often, the name of the manufacturing company will be on the packaging. If their contact information is not on the product, google their business, you will often be brought to a “contact us” page – there, you can either call them to speak with someone “about their plastic packaging”. Alternatively, you can send them a quick email requesting that their product be changed to a plastic alternative. Here is an email template that you can use! Hello! As a customer of (insert brand name), I was wondering if (insert brand name) had a plan for its current plastic packaging? If not, I would like to request for your products to no longer be packaged in plastic. Here is a resource to get you started! Thank you so much for your time and we look forward to hearing back from you! Best, (Your name) PART TWO: THE COLLECTIVE ACT Share and sign this petition. Educate yourself on ways to stop buying the same products that come in plastic. Every single non-plastic thing that we support is dollars moving away from the current industry to an industry that is future and ocean oriented. Gift your loved ones some of those products as presents to help them get started! Stay elevated, get your exercise in, yoga and meditate. This is going to be a journey, make sure that you are taking care of yourself and those around you. If you are a new business owner or know someone who is a new business owner making products, encourage them to use non-plastic packaging. All it takes is that one voice to make a difference. You might have created an impact on so many people’s lives simply by speaking out. Start a Precious Plastics Facility in your Community! Check them out. This will keep us busy for a while. Plus, there are so many empty retail stores around that can be converted into a precious plastics drop off facility. Find more information here: Collectively email and create petitions for these companies To change their plastic packaging. Thank you so much for taking the time to read all of this. Imagine a world without plastic. Without landfills. Without crystal clean oceans. With a thriving marine life. With our coral reefs regrown. Without any plastic bags in trees or on our beaches or on our streets. Imagine a world without poverty or slaughterhouses or homelessness or war. That will be the effect of eliminating plastic forever. The connections will continue to be made that will illustrate this connection. In the meantime, please sign and share this petition with as many people as you can. Once the corporations see how many people are behind the movement to eliminate plastic forever, they will be more inclined to make the necessary shifts away from fracking, oil, and plastic production. Thank you so much for your time and energy again. Here’s a little slice of joy.