Most of us know we need to recycle plastics and put our used containers into a recycling bin.  But are we getting it right?  And where does all of our plastic waste go?  Many people think it gets recycled and used again.  This is not true.  According to the Guardian newspaper, hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic gets shipped to countries such as Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam, Senegal and Ethiopia  -some of the poorest places in the world.  The United States produces 34.5 million tons of plastic each year, enough to fill a large football stadium 1,000 times.

So, what can you do?  Bring your own coffee mug or reusable container to the coffee shop.  The single use cup you normally receive is not recyclable.  Wash your dirty plastic containers before putting them in the recycle bin, but more importantly, do not buy food sold in them.  Buy loose strawberries, for example, instead of the ones in a plastic box.  Stop using plastic bags, use cloth ones instead.  And just because you see a recycling symbol, it does not mean the product can be recycled.  Don’t fall for that marketing gimmick.  Usually, numbers 1 and 2 are the products which can be recycled.

This has been an intense couple of weeks.  Houston, Texas witnessed extreme flooding and destruction because of Hurricane Harvey and 1,000 people have died due to this year’s monsoon in India.  Despite the assertion by many that climate change is fake news, it is not.  Ask anyone in Houston, Bangladesh or Mumbai.

As Mark Reynolds said, “In times like these, we have to ask ourselves: How many more storms will force us to measure rain in feet, rather than inches? How many more billions of dollars of strain will we put on the National Flood Insurance Program? How many more people are we willing to displace from their homes, or lose completely in extreme weather events like these?

Those all basically boil down to the same question: How many more years will we dump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere with impunity? Because as long as we’re doing that, we’re signing up for more of the same—and worse. It’s clear we are past the stage of just changing a few lightbulbs. We need comprehensive legislation to shift the market away from the greenhouse gases causing climate change. Putting a price on carbon is the only legislative move that matches the scale of the problem we face.”

Let us elect politicians who are willing to make the necessary changes, so that we can all look forward to a brighter future.

Many of you are concerned about global warming and how it affects you and your family.  A new book, “Drawdown:  The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming” by Paul Hawken looks at what can be done to stop it and even reverse it.

As many of you know, there are 406ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  That number should be 350ppm.  Some of the most effective solutions to cutting carbon include educating girls in the developing world, so that they have fewer children, and reducing food waste.  Reducing food waste would save 70 gigatons of carbon emissions.  Another solution is for people to eat less meat and choose plant-based diets instead.  If everyone ate a vegan diet the world would cut emissions by 70%.

Other solutions involve scaling up solar farms, growing trees on pastures where cows graze, and managing refrigerant (the chemicals used in refrigerant have a much higher global warming effect than carbon dioxide).

Of critical importance is also your role with regard to politics.  Anna Goldstein served as a research fellow for the book and said, “The role of individual citizens in policymaking is to show our policymakers that you care, and not just that you care a little bit, or that you’re worried a little bit, but that it’s a strong motivator.”

I encourage you to read the book and find out about the other 93 solutions.

Please watch this video and share it.  Thank you.