today was rough, not even worth capitalization or grammar-tization. relaxation came but it’s almost over. i want to sit in my chair thoughtless stressless without indigestion over a missing document, where i can look over and see my rabbit’s eyes watching me sweetly, hoping for a nibble of fruit as my next distraction. not sure if freeform poetry is your thing, but i’m not well-versed in poetry– pun magnificently intended. probably need sleep, eyes closed for 7 hours straight steady breathing no stiff neck in the morning. maybe i’ll have time for a coffee before work. (we’ll see how it goes)
I started something new once I’d moved into my apartment, about three months ago. I’ve always recycled, but now I have to drive my huge bag of recyclables to my mother’s house for it to be picked up. The effort is more than worth it, as recycling even a plastic water bottle is 1) a chance for it to be reused in the construction of a new product and 2) might actually save one animal’s life. If you haven’t seen footage of the pilot whale (whose body was filled with plastic waste) or the unfortunate sea turtle with a 4-inch straw stuck in its nasal canal, follow the respective links.
Seeing Earth’s beloved creatures in peril through first-hand accounts really illuminates the horrors of plastic waste. So many days do we think of our hectic schedules with work, school, extracurriculars, volunteer efforts, and household duties, that we forget that life is so much grander than ourselves. We live in such a minute speck on Earth, and the way we live as individuals does affect our fellow living creatures. We even affect our future selves in return. Animals, such as fish, eat plastic by mistake. But…think about what happens after we catch and eat them… Scary, huh?
Recycling should be made easily available to everyone in any area. If the department of waste in one area isn’t close by, do you think that many people would make the trip? “Just to throw garbage away in a different place?” It is hard with our incredibly busy lives (that we mold for ourselves) to make time for “trivial” matters. But when you think of how much you, special reader, can recycle from your every day garbage, you will see how quickly all of that waste can add up. All of those recyclable items won’t end up in our oceans. Crabs will be able to find only shells to make their home in. Whales and turtles won’t eat plastic bags because they look like jellyfish. Animals can survive and thrive without manmade garbage in their habitat. How selfish of us to use Walmart plastic bags when we all have a green bag or two in our house, holding laundry supplies or kids’ toys. They’re only $1 in most places today, unless you prefer a more expensive canvas tote to do your shopping.
Replacing our plastic straws from fast food places with hard plastic or metal reusable straws will prevent so many animals from choking, suffocating, and ending up with a torn up nostril.
All of these steps make our lives a little bit more difficult, but when you think of that little squirrel who won’t get its head stuck in a plastic six-pack ring or a tummy so full of trash a whale can no longer eat, a readjusted lifestyle can become a little easier to swallow.
What I’m Doing
Deconstructing K-Cups to Recycle – I put a basket next to our Keurig coffeemaker at the office in which everyone can toss their single-use K-Cup. I found this tool that allows me to cut open a K-Cup to pour out the coffee grounds and separate the 3 recyclable materials it consists of: aluminum top, plastic cup, and paper filter. All of these are recyclable and can be thrown separately from each other. The sorters at the recycling facilities will NOT deconstruct these themselves. Can you imagine how much waste they have to sift through?
Replacing Single-Use Plastic Straws with Reusable Straws – I know…this one is tough for me, too. I received these hard, plastic straws as a gift, and I love them. I don’t mind washing these at all. It’s difficult not to grab one when handed a drink at a fast food restaurant, and Starbucks always hands me that iconic green straw with my iced tea or frappuccino. Reusable straws are not hard to come across. You can also use paper straws, which are biodegradable. Check your local superstore, or order some online from Walmart or Amazon. If you frequent Starbucks, they also sell that famous green straw in a reusable form. Look out for those by the mug wall. (P.S. I’m currently saving up plastic straws to reuse them in some fashion…I’ll keep you posted.)
Avoiding Plastic Coffee Stirrers – At work, our bosses provide us with miniature plastic straws with which to stir our coffee. In my effort to reduce my straw usage, I developed a new method to my coffee brewing when I’m away from home. I first pour in my creamer and then let the coffee brew over it. At a local coffee and gelato shop, they have provided customers with pieces of dried pasta with which to mix their honey or cream into their beverage. It was so innovative, and I’m thinking about buying cheap pasta and doing the same at work…but one can only spend so much extra money!
Struggling with Plastic Bags – As well as with the straw dilemma (just the sheer number of them), I’m struggling with this lifestyle change. I just discovered this wonderful thing called Walmart Pick-Up. I buy my whole shopping list online; someone shops for me; then I drive there so someone else can load it into my car. I don’t even have to get out of my vehicle. Unfortunately, each item in my cart gets its own bag. If I get one pack of butter, one bag of tortillas, and one yogurt, I’ll have three plastic bags for which I now have to find a use. Usually I reuse them as trashcan liners, but I collect so many that I’ll never be able to use them. There is a plastic bag recycling box at the entrance of most Walmarts, so I will soon make use of those. If there is a Target nearby, I believe they also do plastic bag recycling. Keep in mind your department of waste will not recycle plastic bags. It’s sad…but true.
The first thing I want to improve is using reusable bags when I do shop in-store, and I also want to get some reusable produce bags when I buy my fruit or my rabbit’s veggies. There’s no need for single-use bags anymore. We can shop without being wasteful. When I can, I will also recycle my excess bags in the store.
Are you making steps toward a greener life? Are you sharing your inspiration with others? It’s hard to change your whole lifestyle, but isn’t saving our future family’s planet worth the extra effort?
The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.
– Robert Swan
Day 24
I’ve always had a heart for the conservation of a healthy, natural environment. Trees should grow tall and produce oxygen for us, as well as provide homes and food for the creatures that live around us. Going green takes a global effort to really make a difference in our world.
Our oceans are also suffering; fish are being over-fished, trash is thrown into them as if it will just disappear. But animals suffocate by eating garbage or getting tangled up in them. In our local bayous, six-pack rings are left around, causing squirrels, turtles and fish to get caught up in them. Garbage also kills the foliage in the swamps and other bodies of water, which affects the ecosystem underneath. The fish and other animals eat the foliage in the water.
What are you doing to save your environment from suffocating under human waste? Do you recycle, too? Are you concerned at all for our environment?
Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness.
– James Thurber
Day 13
In the quiet afternoons of autumn, like this one, the cool breezes and subtle sunlight sifting through the trees coaxes me to be aware of the intricate details of my surroundings. A mockingbird came to sing right above my head and seemed to appreciate my returning whistles. The sunlight only touched thin slivers of the back yard after the shining body settled behind the trees. When there came a break between cars passing by, the crickets and frogs sang together in a whisper. Mittens’ foot steps were the loudest noises to be heard, crisping and crunching through the maple leaves.
A piece of ash settled on my knee; a sign that sugarcane season and allergies are near. Fall afternoons are nothing to be compared to. Mockingbirds sing despite the traffic, and they only have crickets to compete with. I long to be someplace where all the trees change colors and fill the surrounding hills with a fall palette. Our squirrels would come, too, so that they could build their nests and raise their families in the most beautiful of trees.
We walked through the backyard where the tree-murderers did their deed and surveyed the damage. We were surprised to find an entirely fenced-in paddock where someone used to keep a horse. The old tin barn hidden behind those beautiful trees was unknown territory for us, so we had to explore.
Archway – The Entrance
There was a broken tree branch that had an old vine wrapped tightly round it. It looked as if it could be a wizard’s staff (Radagast’s maybe?). The yard is no longer shaded as well from the sun without the trees, but the sun finally touching the barn holds almost a nostalgic feeling. The stumps sitting idly, dead, in the dusty area were sad to see, and the saw dust could have been sandy-colored blood.
Thankfully they will leave some of the trees, so our animals will still have a chance of living here. On a lighter note, Mom and I chose a bag of assorted gourds to put on the table today, and I bought some pumpkin to cook with. This occasion marks the beginning of a fall baking palooza.
Leather shoes from Mexico | Latin Music Festival 2016
Imagine if trees gave off Wi-Fi signals: we would be planting so many trees, and we’d probably save the planet, too.
Too bad they only produce the oxygen we breathe.
– Anon.
Day 2
The colors of the women’s skirts and flowing dresses painted the grassy fields at our local park this weekend. Latin music filled the thick Cajun air with much flair and soul. I couldn’t help but sway my hips to the 3-beat rhythm of the band. Sitting in the grass was exciting, yet relaxing; especially in my new leather sandals I couldn’t pass up in the craft tent.
The sun was toasty, but the fall breeze brushing my bare shoulders was refreshing as diving into a pool on a sultry summer day. The excursion rid my mind of worries of our furry friends back at home, scurrying from their tree homes and out into the field beyond our yard. The “tree-murderers,” as I’ve deemed them, haven’t ceased their chainsawing and tractoring around. My mind has been swarming with ideas on how to make their job even harder. Isn’t it my job to help the trees? They deserve a voice, too.
my curious monde 