Who's Your Mother?

[Non Sum]

Yes, nice job Doreen!

Thank you, for your kind words, sooZen, particularly those extended to my beloved waffles. It’s clearly indicative, not only of your approval for these qualities, but of your own possession of them. Nice too, of you to give me fair ‘warning.’ All I can say to that is what I always ask of my lovers: “Be gentle.”

I believe you are all being too dismissive of ‘Mom’s’ ability to cope with our human excesses. Sure, there is negative fallout from some of our creations, but every minus is accompanied by a plus. Already, there are a couple varieties of microbes that have evolved who find plastics particularly tasty. This voracious appetite for plastic, according to some, places our cities, not to mention local news anchors, in real danger.

A beaver builds a damn, and, as a result, brook trout, crustaceans, and aquatic plants die. Yet, the pond that is created gives new resources for new life. Inhale one breath, take one step, and you’ve
Destroyed lives, yet you’ve preserved lives by doing so. One must take in the bigger picture, the longer view, when regarding resourceful ‘Mom.’

Yes, there are several approaches to making plastics biodegradable, all of which receive testing and ratings by the government. Some incorporate degrading microbes, others make plastic out of cornstarch. I’m constantly finding standard plastic bags lying about in my several acres of woodland, but I have to be careful picking them up lest they turn into a hundred plastic snowflakes due to the natural degradation of even ‘non-degradable’ plastic. I have old plastic bags in my basement that, though receiving no sunlight, become quite brittle; well on their way to decomposition.

I buy large sheets of agricultural black plastic, specially treated to ‘resist’ solar degradation. Yet, I can only get a few years use out of them before they too become black plastic snow flakes. Most municipalities insist on us using plastic refuse bags, and much of our packaging comes regretably smothered in the stuff. I have to wonder just how much of a dent it makes to refuse a few, short lived, filmy bags. I have the carbon footprint of a leprechaun; even Al Gore gnashes his teeth in envy of my care for dear Mother. That is why I eschew empty gestures towards ecological thoughtfulness when a few bags are a drop in the green bucket compared to (for instance) the gasoline most burn in unnecessary travel.

[sooZen]

Non, my time for a response is limited right now. Nate and my reality intrude. I will get back to you if needed (by me, i mean.)

One point, I have no illusions as to the ability of this planet to survive our machinations in some form or another. My concern is for the species (humans included) and resources (rain forests, etc.) that we take for granted and could spell the extinction of aforementioned. Our children's children should know what an elephant really is and not look at it in the Museum of Natural History.

Make me a Dodo (wink) and I will follow your intent anywhere. We need to take our follies and foibles and learn the lessons of them.

My theory is the insects will follow our rule of this planet and become the next big thing. But now, is now and I need and want to keep all the threatened and on the brink in the loop as long as possible. We do have the capabilities to do this, I know we do but everyone needs information and educating to bring it about.

Pass it along...

[Steve Plonk]

Thanks for your answer back, SooZen. Yeah, the gods and goddesses part of my post was just a metaphor. However, "the Gaia Hypothesis"
supposes that mother Earth behaves like a biological entity. All the ecological niches work together to form the whole. We are all stewards and are required to help keep the Earth sustainable and more alive by living gently on the Earth. According to the Bible, all creation is good...
We are part of creation. All is One. God is in us and in nature itself. God is
also in the "multiverse".

It is time we all gathered together for a group hug in solidarity with other creatures of this Earth. In other words, I speak of "panentheism". We are all "symbiotic" and live for and with one another and as a species we need to act as One people. There lies the hope for humankind and all plant and animal life on this planet. Otherwise, we are headed for a great extinction.

Also see my "Happy Earth Day!" topic in my "Life in the Horse Lane" column.

[Doreen Peri]

Something was just delivered to me packed in styrofoam. What should I do with the styrofoam?

Maybe I'll paint it. Make a mobile or something. Hmmm....

[Steve Plonk]

To Doreen: You could use the styrofoam for artwork, like you said,
or you could use it again to ship stuff to others or to pack breakables away
which you're no longer using. There are supposed bacteria which can now
eat styrofoam, but I don't know how common they are now. There are also bacteria which can eat oil and plastics, too. Same dilemma... But you can recycle some plastic and bags. We have recycling of Numbers 1-5, down this way and we take our used bags to the grocery stores to be recycled. I don't know how recycled things are up in Virginia now.

When I was a kid, we had paper drives up there and glass was also recycled.
You could get a deposit back for glass drink bottles. You may have to hunt
around for places that will take old glass jars and so on. Now, we recycle clear, green, and brown glass down here in Tennessee. People also sterilize jars and reuse them for canning. Cardboard is recycled here or reused for packing.

[Doreen Peri]

I have a recycling bin where all recyclables are put together in one bin... plastic, metal, glass, cardboard, paper.

They have a machine that separates them. It's a very cool machine. We're quite advanced here in Virginia. *smile*

I live in a very small house and I have no storage space. I don't store anything away. I have no room to store styrofoam to use for shipping purposes at a later date. I also have no room to use the styrofoam to pack away stuff I can't use because I don't have anywhere to store that stuff. Stuff I can't use, I give away to charity. Which reminds me... I screwed up. The Purple Heart truck was coming today, they called me last night to remind me.. and I didn't get anything ready for them. (shameful... )

The only thing I can think of to use the styrofoam for is artwork, as I said. But I've never done sculpture before and never made a mobile... so it definitely would be a learning experience. Might be fun. Thing is, I'll have to cut it ... and as you know, styrofoam crumbles into little bitty scrap pieces when cut or broken. I don't think there's any way to get rid of this stuff, really. It's definitely not recyclable.

They should stop making it.

[Steve Plonk]

We also have recycling service which we pay extra for. In addition, we have a recycling dump which takes glass, plastics, paper, cardboard, etc.
So, what we don't leave out in the bin for the garbage men, we carry over to the recycle dump.

Yeah, I wish they'd stop making styrofoam, too. It's a mess. I wonder if folks could get up a petition through environmental groups and get them to make the air-filled packing material instead.

[stilltrucking]

I am saving my plastic bottles to build a sailboat

Bon Voyage Plastiki

[sooZen]

Good Morning my friends. My time is limited by "to do" lists today but I wanted to leave something beautiful with you. (Not sure if Empty has posted this elsewhere but is appropriate here.) Sit back, breathe deep and enjoy.

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[sweetwater]

what about stop using fossil fuels like oil
or does it have something to do with drill baby drill

in light of the recent oil spill

maybe a suggestion for earth day would be to stop driving cars
that run on fossil fuels

and get over the fascination with supply side economics

[Steve Plonk]

Sweetwater, tell me about it. It seems that this "drill baby drill" and "supply side" economics go hand by foolish hand. Eventually, we will run out of
fossil fuels. We need to get active in getting infrastructures for clean energy. The technology is there, if we'd only use it.

Speaking of which, there have been some recent large natural gas discoveries in northeast Tennessee. Why don't fossil fuel people drill up there, carefully, and use resources which are more easily safeguarded? Seems like that would be plenty more useful than more drilling in the Atlantic Ocean and up on the north slopes of Alaska.

[sooZen]

Lots of good things have happened as we humans continue to evolve and learn. Unlike my dear friend NS, I believe in us and hope for the best in us. Put that little beak of water on the fire and do the best you can...

Sweetwater, days and days go by that we don't drive anywhere but we have that luxury fortunately. I am a big fan of NASCAR which is an antithesis of what I believe as far as energy consumption is concerned. I love fast cars with lots of horses so I am not pure but believe we can get there...someday soon, I hope.

Thanks for the replies and thoughts rendered. Get on the (ethanol) bus... or get outta the way. (Merry Pranksters joke)

[Steve Plonk]

"Pro-pannne...She don't lie, she don't lie, propane!" Why not drive cars on ethanol or propane? What about methane? There was a car that was invented that ran off of manure and cooking oil. The Nixon defense department bought the rights to it and we never heard much more about it until recently. They've taken the patent out of mothballs.

[stilltrucking]

Sorry SooZen I deleted a post here. If you would like to read it I will send it to you in a PM.

[creativesoul]

i pick up plastic and pieces of net of the beach in kauai, for my turtle friends