Protecting our natural environments (Photo by Sherry Larson)
By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
“Plastic waste is now found in the most remote areas of the planet. It kills marine life and is doing major harm to communities that depend on fishing and tourism.”– António Guterres, UN secretary-general.
This quote hit hard while considering the theme for this year’s Earth Day, April 22. Adams County is known for its wealth of tourism, fishing, hunting, hiking, and all things great outdoors. “Planet vs. Plastic” is the premise of this year’s Earth Day campaign, which focuses on protecting our environment and acting on climate change.
Earthday.org provides extensive information on plastics’ harmful effects on humans and biodiversity. The organization aims to reduce plastic production by 60% by 2040. “Recycling is not the answer,” says Earthday.org. The organization attempts to educate and bring transparency to the need for plastic reduction.
In one Earthday.org report titled “Babies vs Plastics,” the organization shows how plastics and microplastics are addictive and can hurt children. They recently launched the #PlasticsDetoxChallenge to promote the reduction of one-time-use plastics and encourage a plastic-free lifestyle.
The use of plastics may be easy, cheap, and convenient, but at what cost? How can we unlearn some unhealthy behaviors to help save our community and earth? Over time, small gestures can result in healthier lifestyles.
Earthday.org continues searching for innovative solutions and discovering sustainable alternatives to plastic. From the song Garbage by the late Pete Seeger, “If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned, or removed from production.”
For more information on Earth Day and what you can do to contribute, visit earthday.org.
