International Day for Biological Diversity, 22 May 2010
The students of Huakailani School in Kailua Town joined thousands of young people in creating a global "green wave" to celebrate both the International Day for Biodiversity and the International Year of Biodiversity. All around the world, students, teachers and youth organizations hosted and participated in special tree planting celebrations to increase awareness about biodiversity. The Huakailani Girls planted a Plumeria Tree sapling for Peace. The Green Wave is a project designed to support the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the world's international treaty that promotes the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from genetic resources. The project aims to help raise awareness and educate young people on the loss of biodiversity that is taking place and the need to take action. The "wave" occurred on the International Day for Biodiversity. This year, the focus was on the importance of biodiversity for development and poverty reduction. Each year on 22 May, children and youth in participating schools around the world plant a tree at 10:00am local time, creating a "green wave" across time zones. Participants uploaded photos and text about their celebration to The Green Wave website to share their stories with others. An interactive map went live creating a second virtual "green wave." The Green Wave 2010 circled the Globe successfully! This year, it started in New Zealand, ended in Hawaii. Mahalo to the Huakailani Girls who officially put Hawaii in the wave for the first time. Despite being a small urban school in the middle of the city, the Huakailani Girls have shown that you can be green and support the Earth and environment; regardless of where you are located. The school and its numerous "Green Earth-Friendly Projects" send the message that there is hope for a greener future for our keiki. You can check out the Green Wave at http://greenwave.cbd.int/en/map_2010
The Real Cost of Plastic Bags
The Real Cost of "Free"
Well over a billion single-use plastic bags are given out for free each day. But as the old adage says, nothing comes for free. Here are some facts to illustrate the actual costs paid by our environment and society for the fleeting convenience of unlimited, free, single-use plastic bags. To see the real costs, we must look at the "cradle to grave" multiple impacts and the effects of each phase of a bag's life.
Phase 1: Production Costs
The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and often natural gas, both non-renewable resources that increase our dependency on foreign suppliers. Additionally, prospecting and drilling for these resources contributes to the destruction of fragile habitats and ecosystems around the world.
The toxic chemical ingredients needed to make plastic produces pollution during the manufacturing process.
The energy needed to manufacture and transport disposable bags eats up more resources and creates global warming emissions.
Phase 2: Consumption Costs
Annual cost to US retailers alone is estimated at $4 billion.
When retailers give away free bags, their costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.
Phase 3: Disposal and Litter Costs
Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating discarded plastic bags mistaken for food. Turtles think the bags are jellyfish, their primary food source. Once swallowed, plastic bags choke animals or block their intestines, leading to an agonizing death.
On land, many cows, goats and other animals suffer a similar fate to marine life when they accidentally ingest plastic bags while foraging for food.
In a landfill, plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade. As litter, they breakdown into tiny bits, contaminating our soil and water.
When plastic bags breakdown, small plastic particles can pose threats to marine life and contaminate the food web. A 2001 paper by Japanese researchers reported that plastic debris acts like a sponge for toxic chemicals, soaking up a million fold greater concentration of such deadly compounds as PCBs and DDE (a breakdown product of the notorious insecticide DDT), than the surrounding seawater. These turn into toxic gut bombs for marine animals which frequently mistake these bits for food.
Collection, hauling and disposal of plastic bag waste create an additional environmental impact. An estimated 8 billion pounds of plastic bags, wraps and sacks enter the waste stream every year in the US alone, putting an unnecessary burden on our diminishing landfill space and causing air pollution if incinerated.
From www.reuseblebags.com
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