The Obvious Truth

Upon reading an article about the Great Garbage Patch, a swirling vortex of garbage in the middle of the Pacific, I've become depressed. This plastic soup formed mostly in the last 50 years when plastics became prevalent. We've known about its existence for the past 20 years. It doesn't seem we've been doing a whole lot about it since then. Many scientists agree that the size, consistency, and risk to the living creatures within the vortex prevent clean-up. There are some who disagree and are researching what clean-up will realistically take; but the general consensus: the only thing we can do now is stop it from getting bigger.

So what are we doing in that vein? What major steps are manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and goverments doing? How much longer are we going to continue to just make more and more garbage? When will "disposable" become a curse word? When will we stop making things that will be with us for the next few hundreds or thousands of years?

We do not have the land or water resources to allocate to garbage. We simply have to stop making it. If a product cannot later be reused, recycled, or composted, why is it being made? Why has no one talked about the concept of solid waste elimination? Not reduction--elimination. I concede and understand that such a change could take up to four 4 generations to fully implement (Teldyn will be a great grandad). But why haven't I heard our leaders talking about how to get to that point?

I've heard that 70% of our landfills could be recycled or reused. I don't understand why we aren't doing it. What are we waiting for? Where do we think this crap is going? We know we have no where to put it. We know we're poisoning ourselves, and we keep doing it. I'm at a loss. I'm frustrated and confused. I feel helpless.

Today, on July 20, 2009, 40 years after we first walked on the moon, I wonder how we are dealing with the challenges we now face. Is preserving our planet and life as we know it not enough to inspire us into action? In 1969, scientists collaborated and succeeded in getting us to another world. We were racing towards a bright, new future. Now I fear we're stagnating in swirling garbage. Where is our bright future?