I had the chance to spend some time in Canada recently and am always amazed by its beauty and the friendliness of its inhabitants. I was also impressed by the lack of population density. It felt like there was room to breathe and open space all around me. In fact, Canada has 27.5% more wooded and forested land than the United States. And it has a lot more land per head.

One of my favorite things to do in Canada is watch the seals. They swim north in the summer months, fatten up on fish, and get ready for the winter months yet to come. Yet, I was saddened by all of the garbage that had washed up on the shores. I spent a lot of time picking up Pepsi soda cans, plastic water bottles, Clorox bleach bottles, plastic fishing rope, rubber bands, plastic garbage bags, candy wrappers and huge plastic fishing bins. I found garbage all over beautiful beaches which are normally free of litter. I found garbage in places that I adore. I picked up crates full of garbage, hauled them off the beach, and disposed of the items in trash cans. I even reported my findings to the appropriate authorities. And I suggested community groups be organized to do volunteer beach clean-ups.

I thought about a lot of things in Canada. My grandparents did not live with all of the plastic that we do. They had glass containers and maybe a few paper cartons. They never bought water in plastic bottles. They lived in a different time but they knew how to conserve and recycle. It is time for us to be more like our grandparents. Can you imagine swimming in an ocean filled with plastic? That is what we oblige the seals and dolphins to do. It is time to stop using so much plastic. Write me and tell me about your beach finds.