Now, this is an interesting re-use of a plastic bottle! Something tells me that the little guy wishes that his owner would use aluminum cans, or purchase drinks in glass, so he wouldn't have to wear that outfit!
It is pictures like this that helped me decide it is my responsibility to work harder to be more environmentally friendly. The more disturbing picture of the birds, turtles, etc. who have died due to ingesting the trash in the Ocean, or have grown up deformed because plastic rings, or bags, had become tied around them, and they were forced to live and grow with these items stuck to them. I do believe that we, the human race, are responsible for preserving the habitat's and lives of all endangered creatures.
We are a family who loves turtles. My daughter and husband traveled to Costa Rica to participate in saving the Sea Turtles by protecting their eggs, and helping the hatchlings make their way to the ocean. How can I support that, and then throw away who knows how many plastic bottles, which could end up on a barge and dumped into the ocean. On the simplest level, why would we have paid money to save those turtles, then chose not to participate in activities which would protect the environment which we helped them migrate too???
That brings up a thought for life...I need to make more connections with my life events, and my day to living decisions. Example, besides the turtles, several years ago my husband changed out light bulbs to more energy efficient bulbs. He was all pumped up about saving money, and I was all frazzled because when I walked into a room and switched on a light, it still seemed dark, as it takes longer to for the lights to shine as brightly. But here is a little factoid, "If every American home changed just five regular light fixtures or bulbs with in them with more energy efficient compact fluorescent ones, we'd keep more than one trillion pounds of green house gasses out of the air-equal to the emissions of eight million cars". So, I guess I can deal with waiting to "let there be light" for a few minutes.
So, what I am finding is that there is so much green information out there, that to me it seems incredibly overwhelming. Where do I start, what should I do, trade in the car, or merely work on eliminating single use plastics for awhile, then pick a new task. Should I look at the grand scheme of how I live, and make changes after that inventory, or will the fact that my carbon foot print is the size of Texas, force me, like the Sea Turtle, to put my head back in my shell for another 10 years?
All good things got to come to an end
The thrills have to fade
Before they come 'round again
The bills will be paid
And the pleasure will mend
All good things got to come to an end
Looking at this verse from All Good Things, and applying it to my new journeys in life, what ever they may be, from recycling to employment, to living as an empty nester, I find myself thinking several different things.
One, no matter what the good things are in my life currently, or the comfortable things in my life, those have to go, so once again I can learn to appreciate and enjoy the next good thing my life is going to hand me. So, as silly as it is, I have to work through the changes, even if it is just thinking about the environment before I act, and try to make the best possible choice for more reasons than convience, or because it difficult for me to change. Then one day when I least expecting it, those good things, will come around again. There I will be not second guessing all of my decisions once again, confident, and relaxed!
So, I have to let go of some things, to get what I am looking for, to change my life!
This may look like an Island that I am thinking of running off to live on, and to spend my time figuring out what my next step will be, but it is not....It is an entire Island made of plastic bottles, off the coast of Mexico. 250,000 plastic bottles were used to create Spiral Island. The structure of the Island is made out of bamboo and plywood. Wow, the best part is that there is a two story house, solar oven, and a SELF-COMPOSTING TOILET!!!
So, if anyone thinks I may be going to far, trust me, I will never, and I mean never, use anything called a SELF-COMPOSTING toilet, trust me! Even if I evolve into Jackson Browne himself, there will be no toilets that involve any form of composting for me to sit on , anywhere in my life!
