Microplastic everywhere

 Microplastics are an invisible problem that is becoming part of the marine and human food chain. The University of Michigan has a new technique for tracking the pollution:

"An estimated 8 million tons of plastic trash enters the ocean each year, and most of it is battered by sun and waves into microplastics—tiny flecks that can ride currents hundreds or thousands of miles from their point of entry

The debris can harm sea life and marine ecosystems, and it’s extremely difficult to track and clean up." (SOURCE)

On 5 August Joey Grostern wrote in a Guardian article with the title "Environmental impact of bottled water ‘up to 3,500 times greater than tap water’ "

"The research is the first of its kind and examined the impact of bottled water in Barcelona, where it is becoming increasingly popular despite improvements to the quality of tap water in recent years. ... 

In the US, 17m barrels of oil are needed to produce the plastic to meet annual bottled water demand. In addition, bottled water in the UK is at least 500 times more expensive than tap water." (SOURCE)

Bottled water is of course one of the sources of the plastic debris cluttering the oceans.  In Germany we have good recycling for plastic, but even good recycling does not compensate for the production costs. If we are to protect God's creation, tap water in Berlin is probably the better choice, or at least bottled water in recyclable glass bottles. It may seem like a small choice, but small choices matter!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Church of England Eco church web

  The Church of England is actively committed to promoting "care for God's creation through their worship, buildings, land, community engagement, and individual lifestyles." Here is a LINK to the full official statement on the website. St. George's Anglican / Episcopal church in Berlin has made the same commitment. One of the purposes of this blog is to offer parish members a source of current information about environmental matters.  Our  Preußenallee  building  is under "Denkmalschutz", which protects the original architectural design. While this is an advantage, it also limits what we can do to the physical plant. The Eco Church committee will look at how to make the building and grounds more ecologically friendly, but we should also remember that there is much we can do in our private lives to act in ecologically responsible ways.  --Michael
Read more

Small steps matter

Small steps matter. It is not unusual for people to say that an Eco-friendly idea is too small to make any difference. In fact taking small steps not only shows an important symbolic commitment toward protecting the environment, but small steps can in fact make a difference in the long run. There are sites such as "My Climate" ( LINK ) that will help to calculate the cost.  One of the small steps that everyone can take is to reduce meat consumption. A completely vegetarian or vegan diet is not necessary to make a difference, and there are plenty of sources of good protein in the plant kingdom The Eco Church committee has long talked about providing some environmentally friendly recipies. Here is one for crispy Tofu: Tofu comes in many forms, some softer than others. It also comes with different seasonings. For this recipe seasoned and relatively firm tofu is best, meaning that it was squeezed to reduce the water content. The next steps are simple: dry the tofu with a towel, c
Read more