Carol Anne Costa: People, Packaging and Polymers

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Carol Anne Costa, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™

 

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I am an unabashed child of the 60’s, I cut my teeth on movies like “ Born Free” (oh, how I adored Elsa), as she remains a beloved part of my childhood, drinking in Flipper every week on the telly and devouring Rudyard Kipling’s,  “Jungle Book” over and over even into adulthood. And, yes I totally love the Disney version too (it’s all good, no judgement), as I can Identify with every character from Mowgli to Shere Khan.

Oh those 60’s; who could forget the National Geographic theme music, as its beckoning was for me, irresistible. And then, OMG... Jacques Cousteau, a God  wrapped in a scuba gear, taking me deep into the blue waters of our planet's oceans, revealing secrets and magical worlds that are as bright in my mind today as they were 40 years ago. Perhaps that is why so many of us boomers are unapologetic idealists and  tree hugging liberals. Oh well, it is what it is! 

So this week when a new study revealed that a plastic islands about the the size of Texas are afloat in our planet’s precious oceans, it awakened the NatGeo kid in me and it for sure, raised my ire. We always knew they were there but they are becoming more and more toxic. The new study findings and the images of these floating isles of waste are too startling to ignore. From the latest PLOSone.org study we know that “ Plastics of all sizes were found in all ocean regions, converging in accumulation zones in the subtropical gyres, including southern hemisphere gyres where coastal population density is much lower than in the northern hemisphere.’

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New Data - Danger in Small Pieces

According to PLOS, “While this shows that plastic pollution has spread throughout all the world's oceans, the comparison of size classes and weight relationships suggests that during fragmentation plastics are lost from the sea surface.” You got it - it sinks and marine animals and aquatic birds ingest it in all of its tiny toxicity.

Another PLOS finding is that “ A large proportion of plastics might be lost from the sea surface, more so than considered by previous models, and these losses might be disproportionately higher in the northern hemisphere.” Bottom line is it is spreading, growing and sinking fast. This is where the concept of “global”  is in full display and dare I say, “undeniable”. 

Look, we live in the Ocean State and so much of our economy is tied directly to the water; this study, the floating garbage and the sinking toxins should send a chill down your spine.

It was a year ago when Stephen Beale chronicled the plight of RI fishing industry in his GoLocal piece.  As attempts to impose harsh regulatory reforms press on the RI Fishing Industry by compounding the problem with toxic catches the results could be devastating.The RI fishing industry represents a nearly 800 million dollar in total sector of the RI economy and that’s a lot of calamari!  We must protect the industry and the oceans as a matter of good economic sense and stewardship. 

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The Numbers Don’t Lie

5 trillion pieces of plastic weighing in at a massive 269,000 tons containing plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic fishing debris and packaging material are floating in oceans across the globe, as enormous amounts of the garbage  accumulates in the ocean gyres. These gyres are circular currents that churn up the debris in certain areas. Sadly, all of the oceans have these plastic floating debris fields. The so called, “great Pacific garbage patch”covers an area similar in size to the State of Texas. Do I have your attention yet? 

Of the 5 trillion plastic pieces in the oceans, the majority of them are deemed  “micro plastics” measuring less than 5 mm and according to my calculation that is about the size of an earring back.

Marine life and seabirds are colliding with and attempting to eat the larger pieces of plastic and are subsequently suffering and dying from choking, strangulation, intestinal blockages and sometimes starvation. Additionally, the impact of ingesting the “micro pieces” of plastic also is considered alarming, as there can be long-term impacts of this toxic waste that are absorbed and eaten by fish and marine life, which end up on our plates, which in turn may collide with human health. In fact, according to the PLOS study some researchers have been led to claim that synthetic polymers in the ocean should be regarded as hazardous waste. 

Reducing Our Footprint

While folks can continue to deny climate change (I know it is in the vapors) and its ties to human kind; there is no denying our part in the littering, utter disregard and pollution of our oceans. So while the bigger stuff is strangling, entangling and choking ocean fauna the small stuff is being ingested and absorbed by creatures at every level of the sea’s food chain.

Guess what? I think it is time to “sweat the small stuff”,as it ends up on our tables and in our systems.  

Here is what we know: 

  • It takes 10 -20 years to break down a plastic bag
  • It take 450 years to breakdown a plastic bottle
  • An aluminum can breaks down after 150 years
  • A tin can breaks down after 50 years
  • A glass bottle stays on the planet for 1 million years 

Make no mistake; it is our footprint. Policies matter, as does the cost to taxpayers and the impact on our RI economy but more, the cost in the health risks to ourselves and our progeny.

So, as the family rips open the holiday gifts, please consider the impact of the packaging, wrapping paper, shopping bags, as our plastic footprint is a pressing issue. So from this tree hugging liberal to you, “channel that inner NatGeo kid, sing the Bare Necessities out loud, enjoy the holidays but,  remember to reduce, reuse and recycle, think of it as your gift to Mother Nature”.

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Carol Costa is a public relations and community outreach specialist; she has experience in both the public and private sectors. She is the Chairwoman of the Scituate Democratic Town Committee and has extensive community affairs and public relations experience. She previously served in the Rhode Island Judiciary for nearly 17 years. Carol also enjoyed a successful development stint at the Diocese of Providence as Associate Director for Catholic Education and is currently a public housing manager. Her work has been published in several local outlets including GoLocal, Valley Breeze, The Rhode Island Catholic, and Currents Magazine.

 

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