Last week I wrote briefly about the burgeoning load of plastic trash our planet is bearing. And there is just so much more to say I decided to continue the topic this week.

I believe this is one the largest environmental issues facing us. One that isn’t very slinky or alluring.

One that doesn’t get as much attention as global warming and fuel economy but whose consequences I see has equally dire.

I’ve decided not to do very much writing in this post, rather I’ll do some listing and linking. Make this post a little spot that can lead you to more information on this distressing topic.

I’d like to encourage everyone to learn more about plastic pollution. To find out as much as possible about what is going on even though a lot of it is disturbing, and many times, heartbreaking. And then I hope you’ll go tell everyone you know.

In last week’s post I made a few suggestions of things folks can do that will reduce plastic waste.

This week I’d like to ask you all to share your ideas, maybe the little things you are doing to reduce your plastic waste, or some cool organization or program you’ve heard about or are involved in—whatever.

We all can use the encouragement, and I’d love to learn more and have more ideas to try out.

I’m going to lead the bulk of this post with an image I scanned in from Sierra Club Magazine. I’m purposely putting it in the continuation because it is disturbing, and I want to warn folks up front. I have it hanging in my studio because it is a compelling, potent reminder, but it isn’t pleasant.

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Dustin Hoffman’s character in The Graduate seemed to foreshadow the current state of affairs with his response. “Just how do you mean that, Sir?”

Just what is it we mean to do with all these plastics anyway? They are going to outlive all our grandchildren’s grandchildren so I think we should be doing a better job with the issue than we are.

We already have literally trillions of discarded plastic items floating in the ocean. This is difficult for me to fathom (sorry - bad pun I know, I just couldn’t resist) but it’s true.

Every little piece of plastic manufactured in the past 50 years that made it into the ocean is still out there somewhere. 1

About one-fifth of the junk – which includes everything from footballs and kayaks to Lego blocks and carrier bags – is thrown off ships or oil platforms. The rest comes from land. 2

This is essentially a plastic soup. It floats just below the surface of the water and is invisible to radar. It can only be seen from ships. One of the folks working hard to bring this issue to light stumbled on this by accident when he was sailing in 1997 and it was so large he ended up having to sail through it for a week. (more…)

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I’ve recently returned from visiting a beautiful part of Washington state called the Icicle Valley.

hiking above the village of Leavenworth
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Icicle Creek
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These snapshots don’t do the place any kind of justice, but hopefully they convey a bit of its flavor.

It is truly a special area on our planet and visiting there always makes me reflect on how fortunate I am to live relatively near such a place.

And I always return to the city, quiet and contemplative.

And I return appreciating anew how much we humans need silence. How much the white noise of our cities works to push aside our calm—perhaps even our compassion.

And I come back realizing how easy it is to forget important things. Like how my greatest responsibility in this life is to care about, and care for, my world and my fellow travelers.

Below I’ve included two items that remind me of important things. The interconnectedness of everything, how much we have yet to do, and that it isn’t hopeless—we can make progress when we try.

I recommend checking out both of these with the audio off.

In the second item, the soundtrack contains interesting information, and I enjoyed listening to it once. But I find the visual oddly compelling without the audio and have watched it that way a few times so far.

Here you’ll find a sobering look at one aspect of our planet’s health.

And this video offers a hopeful look at one facet of the solution.
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Wishing you a peaceful day with some quiet in it.
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[video via ecogeek]

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