Protecting the Oceans Doesn’t Start With ‘Us’

Saving the oceans is a BIG project! Like any BIG project it can be overwhelming. What it needs is a plan and an owner, right?

Wait- you tell me that it DOES have an owner? That the owner is ‘Us’? Well if that is correct then we are doomed.

As long as the understanding is that we all own it then no one will do anything about it. It is human nature to share the responsibility and then reason that our own inaction will be covered by the actions of others. The problem is: that is in itself a problem, not a solution.

Like him or not, Michael Jackson had a point:

“I'm starting with the man in the mirror

I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change”

And that sense of personal ownership led to the book Emma Environmentalist, a collaboration of love and responsibility written by Christy Crews Kenyon and illustrated by her mother Denise. E. Crews. Christy took action by using her conviction that one person can make a difference and wrote a book to raise awareness and show the possibilities of environmental action on the world’s water sources.

The premise of the book is as simple as it is powerful: Emma is a young Michigan girl taught by her parents that she has an impact on the nature around her. As Emma becomes aware of the damage plastic pollution causes to lakes and oceans, she sets out to save the Earth’s water in seas, oceans, and lakes.

Emma essentially looks in the mirror and decides that this isn’t a job for the nameless ‘us’ to decide to do; it’s a job for her. By following her heart and choosing to do what she can she inspires the people around her to make changes in their own lives.

In an approachable and thoughtful way the story of Emma and the changes she makes shows the reader that they can make changes, too. It’s possible to make small changes that will add up to have a big impact. Reducing our dependency on plastic and checking our lifestyle of rapid disposable consumption is something anyone can do, adults as well as children like Emma.

And reducing the amount of plastic we use is crucial!

The independent documentary Plastic Paradise: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch shows how discarded plastics impact the environment and most especially the water. Every single piece of plastic that has ever been created since the 19th century is still somewhere on the planet. Although not all that plastic is in the Midway Atoll area in the Pacific Ocean that plastic is STILL somewhere! Only 9% of all plastic produced has ever been recycled. Roughly one garbage truck-worth of plastic enters the ocean every minute, and the size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is estimated to be up to 1.6 million square kilometers, an area up to roughly THREE TIMES the size of France! Sadly- 94% of the plastic in the ocean is not floating in the huge island of castoffs, it has settled in the depths of the deep.

There are steps spelled out everywhere to help each one of us have a positive impact on our water. Like Emma Environmentalist, the Plastic Paradise movie website gives us ways to stop adding to the man-made island of garbage clogging our water. They are the 4 Rs: REFUSE, REDUCE, REUSE, and RECYCLE. Concentrating on one R at a time is an easy way to have a BIG impact! Recycle, of course; but include the other Rs. Start with REFUSE:

1. Refuse single use plastics such as straws and plastic bags. Drink out of a cup and use your own fabric reusable bags whenever possible.
2. Refuse the foam cup! Daily coffee habit? If you go to a coffee shop bring your own mug. Or make coffee at home and put it in an aluminum vacuum mug. It will keep it warm for hours.
3. Refuse the bottle! Carry a reusable stainless steel or aluminum water bottle instead of buying bottled water. Install a filter in your home for healthy clean water.
4. Refuse the baggie! Use eco-friendly beeswax wraps for sandwiches, snacks, and to give bowls and airtight cover. Made from cotton, beeswax, and natural oils these wraps can be reused again and again!

Don’t wait for ‘Us’ to do the job. Look in the mirror and act. What will YOU do?

If this resonated with you please click the heart below so I know it clicked with you! Want to learn more?

• Emma Environmentalist book site (also available on Kindle!): https://www.emmaenvironmentalist.com/

• Emma Environmentalist Facebook page. Lots of family-friendly facts and actions to positively impact the environment. https://www.facebook.com/emmaenvironmentalist
• Plastic Paradise movie page: https://plasticparadisemovie.com/
• Beeswax wraps: plenty of places carry these; I like to support small business. Here is an Etsy shop with a variety of designs.: https://www.etsy.com/listing/868728120/11-x-10-wax-food?ref=reviews
• Oceana website; an organization for global ocean advocacy. https://oceana.org/about-oceana/about-us