Man is a very ingenious piece of machinery who, when confronted with a problem, can usually solve it – but not all his solutions are the best either for everyone or in the long term. Plastic is a good example. It has, over the last almost 200 years, brought considerable advantages. Availability of cheap, simple, lightweight goods – my glasses have plastic frames and the computer I use has a plastic framework – I can’t imagine having to carry a heavy metal laptop wherever I go. Packaging has become virtually 100% plastic, reducing costs dramatically. Wherever you look, wherever you go, whatever you do, plastic is there. Tremendous advantages are with us daily – 24/7; a friend even has a new plastic hip; amazing!
Perhaps some of you are thinking: “he’s being positive – there must be a catch somewhere” and you are right. Until recently, any plastic stayed as – plastic, almost forever; now we have biodegradable stuff, which is an improvement. Nevertheless, there is a vast mountain of the stuff that isn’t and that’s the cause of my suffering and grief. Seems to me that discarded plastic is thought of (if it is thought about at all) as “someone else’s problem”.
Rubbish – if you will pardon the pun. The picture opposite shows a beach; I will not name the country not just for fear of embarrassing it but also of ‘cleaning’ the names of others whose beaches are in a similar state. Sailing a small boat is becoming a test of seamanship; not because of weather or natural hazards but because of all this man-made s**t floating on the surface of the sea. Believe me, there is nothing worse than seeing such objectionable stuff floating around – a danger to me and my boat but even more so to the wildlife I enjoy watching. It’s no use going down the route of “polluter pays” since the stuff could come from anywhere. What IS needed is a concerted effort on the part of every country to get rid of this stuff at source. If you live in a country that has a vibrant tourism industry (and the country involved in the picture does), I ask "what is your government doing about this situation?" If your answer is “very little” then sooner rather than later, tourists will go where they can find clean beaches. And if they go elsewhere, what does that mean for your economy?
Until next time (in clean surroundings),
Peripatetic Scribe
Excellent P.S. Here in NZ we have beach patrols (local people who want to preserve the beauty of what we have) - have you heard of this in UK or Europe? Also did you read the amount of small plastic s**t in the Pacific has gone up 100 times over the last 40 years? Wonder how much this reflects on the power of the last tsunami... keep pushing for a greener planet!
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ReplyDeleteHi Anonymous - your question about beach patrols. It varies with country. In the south west of England there are similar initiatives (locally) and also in Scotland. I believe similar happens in Sweden and most Nordic countries, but have heard or seen nothing similar in Mediterranean areas - perhaps that's because many beaches are "owned" by hotels (who often make a charge to use "their" beach. However, certainly on the west coast of France they are usually extremely clean. As for the Pacific, I too wonder how much is due to the tsunami - did you read of the Harley Davidson motorbike that will eventually be returned to its owner in Japan?
ReplyDeleteGreat, P.S.! You again do make a valid point. Nevertheless, it is sad that people will stop and consider it only when figures and money are involved. They don't care about animals and the Earth. They are not aware of someone else's suffering and pain. I saw a documentary years ago showing a turtle wrapped in a plastic bag and its suffering and I have always avoided plastic bags since then. I believe even constantly recurrent or frequently transmitted documentaries about wildlife could at some point reach people's hearts or what's left of them. I'd hate to think what would happen if they didn't.
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Thanks, Lucana. I regard myself as a "keen green" in that my aim is to bring the stupidities of people to the attention of the not-so-stupid people. I believe pressure is the only way forward.
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