Reusable Bags, Non-BPA Bottles and The Great Garbage Patch

Hi everyone!  I hope this finds you well!

My inner-activist has been stirred, and as I learn this information, NOT sharing it with everyone I know just wouldn’t feel right. I’ll do my best to refrain from ranting, and allow this to serve as informational only.  My hope is that this information inspires you to make the some of the same changes we have made in our home and habits, and to spread the word about the harm we’re doing to our bodies and our planet with the continual use of any kind of plastic. In the last few days, I’ve received 3 emails from friends of mine with this same information, and I’m so thankful to see the awareness spreading.  Let’s ALL do our part!

The Worlds Largest Landfill is in the Pacific Ocean?

There is a floating dump estimated to be twice the size of Texas, that contains appx 100million TONS of garbage (mostly plastic) in our ocean!  Please read the following article (there are many out there, but this was most informative) to see how this not only is completely heartbreaking, but scary to think that our sea life is consuming this, and eventually ending up on our dinner plates. Why aren’t we talking about this more?! Check out: Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Please stop using plastic bags that aren’t biodegradable- ESPECIALLY the ones from the grocery store.  Look at this slideshow to find out why.

Reusable Bags

Here’s a fabulous website to purchase ANY kind of reusable bag: ReusableBags.com and ChicoBags.com .  My favorite is the Chico bag, that rolls up into the size of a golf ball, and are durable and affordable (you can get 5 for $20).  Put them in your glove compartment and use them when you shop!

Also, www.greenfeet.com offers all kinds of green options, including biodegradable trash bags etc. (I believe that Seventh Generation offers these too, and you can find them at any Target).

Non-BPA Water Bottles & Baby Bottles

If you haven’t switched to non-BPA water bottles & baby bottles, DO IT!!!!

Do it for health of your family: Plastics leach HIGH levels of chemicals (BPA) into your water that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Do it for the planet:  It takes appx 700 years for a bottle to start to disintegrate, and ends up in the Garbage Stew in our ocean.

There are MANY articles on this out there- you can google search “plastic water bottles” or “bpa free water bottles” and find lots of info.

You can go to www.GreenFeet.com or www.REI.com to find a large selection of non BPA bottles for the whole family (they even have sippy cups & bottle attachments!).  My husband, Eric, and I love our 32 oz. SIGG bottle, and we’ve heard good things about Klean Kanteen too.

To those of you who take action on these suggestions, THANK YOU for doing your part to save our planet and taking a pro-active step to not give yourself or your loved ones cancer.

Frankly, it’s beyond selfish to not do something with this information OR share this with as many people as you can.  There.  I’ve said it.  And, I may have to reconsider my friendship with you if you don’t. (I haven’t decided if I’m joking or not…Hmmmm).

See you in my next post!  Until then, you can find me somewhere in California hugging trees, and burning my bra.

Much love to all of you!

Your favorite do-gooder that shares the same name as a mountain,
Sierra