I'm a pretty *green* gal.
I use re-usable shopping bags.
I buy compostable bags for dog poo out on our runs.
I buy organic food whenever possible.
I do not buy mainstream produced meat - I only buy from sustainable, preferably local meat sources. (and yes, I pay serious bucks - there will be no waste in my house).
I recycle - everything I can.
I use cloth napkins & kitchen cloths instead of napkins & paper towels (thanks to Erin at The Mother Load) as much as I can.
I use all natural cleaning products & laundry detergent.
I harvest produce from our backyard garden (new last year!) all summer long.
I turn down the thermostat and turn off the lights....and more.
So when I read an article like I did this week, it makes me sad.
This week we had a 37 foot, male, gray whale beach itself in Puget Sound and die shortly there after. They have not yet determined the cause of death, as they are waiting for all the blood & tissue samples. But they did do an article in the paper about what they found in it's stomach.
"Sweatpants. A golf ball. Surgical gloves. Small towels. Bits of plastic. And more than 20 plastic bags." That's right. In it's stomach. See, gray whales are bottom feeders. They stir up the mud, taking big mouth fulls, then push out the water and muck through their baleen, eating the crustaceans and other small sea life left behind. And apparently, our trash.
It disgusts me. Yes, normally they will swallow things like rocks or bits of wood, and their digestive system passes it through. Not so much for plastic bags and last year's sweat pants. The research scientist quoted, who has examined more than 200 whale carcasses over 20 years, says he has never seen so much trash in a whale's stomach. Sad. Something so simple as putting trash in a proper trash can or recycling.
Only we have the power to change it. Food for thought.
You can read the article here if you are interested.
***Ally
I use all natural cleaning products & laundry detergent.
I harvest produce from our backyard garden (new last year!) all summer long.
I turn down the thermostat and turn off the lights....and more.
So when I read an article like I did this week, it makes me sad.
We have migrating whales running the West Coast this time of year. Occasionally, some will detour into Puget Sound for a snack, since they haven't been eating while they've been down in Mexico having and making babies.
eaglewingtours.com
eaglewingtours.com
This week we had a 37 foot, male, gray whale beach itself in Puget Sound and die shortly there after. They have not yet determined the cause of death, as they are waiting for all the blood & tissue samples. But they did do an article in the paper about what they found in it's stomach.
"Sweatpants. A golf ball. Surgical gloves. Small towels. Bits of plastic. And more than 20 plastic bags." That's right. In it's stomach. See, gray whales are bottom feeders. They stir up the mud, taking big mouth fulls, then push out the water and muck through their baleen, eating the crustaceans and other small sea life left behind. And apparently, our trash.
It disgusts me. Yes, normally they will swallow things like rocks or bits of wood, and their digestive system passes it through. Not so much for plastic bags and last year's sweat pants. The research scientist quoted, who has examined more than 200 whale carcasses over 20 years, says he has never seen so much trash in a whale's stomach. Sad. Something so simple as putting trash in a proper trash can or recycling.
Only we have the power to change it. Food for thought.
You can read the article here if you are interested.
***Ally
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7 comments:
So, so, so sad :(
As a mom of two very ecologically minded young adults, one of whom is working on a degree in wildlife preservation, this cuts to the quick.
My eyes are actually tearing up. When will we learn?
You know how green I am/try to be, so you can imagine that I am nearly in tears over this. Going to tweet it now.
That's just awful, poor thing!
is it appropriate to say "i hate humans"? well, maybe i should at least insert the word "sometimes".
Oh wow, that is disgusting. Not your post, but the horrible, awful findings in that poor whale's stomach. I can't believe it.
That's disgusting. What is wrong with people? Sweatpants??? Come on...
In Jersey last summer someone was investigated for dumping toxic waste, intentionally...I don't remember specifics, but somehow he tried to make it seem "accidental"...hmm...
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