All posts tagged: microplastics

5 Reasons to ditch that plastic straw

Spoiler alert, plastic straws are no longer in vogue.  It is the end of the era of the plastic straw.  Many of us have had the last straw (both literally and metaphorically) when it comes to single-use plastic.  Single-use plastics have a significant environmental impact and are polluting our oceans in a major way.  There is a massive amount of plastic floating around our oceans, it is estimated that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 700,000 square miles, equivalent to the size of Texas!  Plastic waste is starting to take over our oceans.  Divers, surfers, and regular beach goers are constantly finding and removing plastic off the beach and from the oceans.  Our lifestyle of convenience wrapped in plastic needs to be reevaluated, we know that single-use plastic is harmful to marine life, birds and our environment.  By 2050 oceans will contain more plastic than fish.  Plastic is harmful to marine life and coral reefs.  That being said, we need to unite in an effort to change our consumer habits, by switching over to sustainable …

Plastic, Caught In Our Blind Spots

Christine Ren, is making waves with her thought provoking art, drawing attention to environmental issues.  Her piece entitled, “Blind Spots” is mind blowing.  A satirical piece, sparking conversation about environmental concerns as it makes an interesting commentary on society’s consumption of plastic.  The portrait of a girl blindfolded with a shopping cart full of plastic products that are cascading out of the cart and into the ocean, is perfectly constructed to highlight society’s behavior in terms of not taking ownership or responsibility for the massive accumulation of plastic that has over years been dumped into the ocean.  It shows how easy it is for society to lose sight of critical environmental issues that are right in front of us and problems that are increasing.  And, if not lose sight of a glaring issue, the ease and ability we have to push it out of our minds or into our blind spots to avoid dealing with it. Christine’s art forces us to stare at the blatant issue of plastic pollution and face the reality of a …