GIW - What If YOUR World Had No Clean Water

Today, I am writing about “WhatIf YOUR World Had No Clean Water?”, another post in the goldinwords blog by Benjamin Anyan.  I am writing more about the idea than about the content.  TAPthirst has played a huge part in my life, in many ways.  TAPthirst, or Tapdrinkers Against Privatization, is a student group at Concordia working at bringing awareness of water issues to the local community, particularly in terms of privatization of water.  In fact, it was through TAPthirst, and with the help of other groups and volunteers, that the decision to phase out bottled water was finally made at Concordia.  Much can be said, but I can discuss that at another time.  Through my work with TAPthirst, I learned so much about water and still have a ton to learn.  When I went to Ghana the first time, I couldn’t help but look at the water all around me and the need for pure water instead of tap water (what I was accustomed to drinking) and wonder how could this be fixed.  This is where I saw the connection between water and refuse, particularly in Ghana.

In Canada, we are lucky enough to have safe drinking water coming right out of our taps; water that our taxes fund the purifying of.  In the parts of Ghana I have been to, we may not always be able to rely on tap water, however we can find pure water for a minimal price, as compared to the bottles.  The thing is, not everyone on the planet has those two options and of those that do, not all of them can afford to pay ten pesewas (five Canadian cents) for 500 mL of water.  In that case, they may use water that has been contaminated in various ways, causing various health problems.  If you are reading this, chances are you can afford drinkable water.  If you are spending your water money on the internet, then please stop reading and use the rest of your money to hydrate yourself!!  Now, if you are still reading and have clean drinking water available to you somewhere, can you imagine not having clean drinking water?  This means no clean water to cook your food, wash your clothes, bathe, or anything.  I remember the opening scene of one documentary, I think it was Blue Gold, described dehydration so well that I felt myself reaching for my water and nearly emptying the bottle, despite initially being fully hydrated.  I don’t know what I will do when I have no drinking water available, but I am sure I will do anything for it.  What do you expect you will do?

Now, like I said, water and refuse are tightly connected in Ghana.  I am sure you can imagine why, but I will tell you anyways.  When we consume more than is needed, particularly of consumables that cannot be used again or that cannot decompose, these consumables are tossed aside.  They may end up in municipal landfills or they may end up in private landfills (see the background picture of this blog).  In such places as Ghana, they may be tossed without a thought as soon as use is complete.  The heavier they are, the more chances they will remain where they are and be moved around by humans or other animals.  The lighter they are, the more chances the wind will catch hold of them, often bringing them to our waterways (unless we threw them in the waterway in the first place).  Over time, the refuse builds up in our waterways and you end up with polluted, undrinkable water that is a breeding ground for disease, such as cholera, typhoid fever, yellow fever, the mosquitos that carry malaria, etc.  This is something that could have been prevented, yet we have intensified it.  The worst part is that instead of looking at the problem and solving it from the root, we are fixing the leaves, hoping that the branches will follow, then the trunk and then the roots.  It doesn’t work that way and too many of us are sadly blind to this.

This week’s quote is a well-known one, allegedly from Fort Minor:

I guess one man's trash is the next man's treasure, one man's pain is the next man's pleasure.

Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home

This weeks’ post is about Garbage!The Revolution Starts at Home.  This movie was created by Andrew Nisker, who made movie because of his son.  He thought about pollution and how it affects his son, which then got him thinking that he needs to do something about this.  Nisker lived with pollution through his life, which is related to his asthma, one of the many issues related to pollution.  Here are a few factoids Nisker presented that encouraged him to make this film:

 - North America has 3000 landfills

 - North Americans dump 1,3 trillion gallons of raw sewage in our waterways every year

 - Approximately 1,2 billion cars find there way onto North American roads in the next decade

One of the Greenpeace founders (if I recall this was Irving Stowe) once said to Nisker that “the Revolution Starts at Home”, which is where the title comes from.  Niskers’ goal in making this film is to have a family keep their garbage for three months and connect this to the bigger picture.  The family is the MacDonald family.

Day 1

The first thing the MacDonald family needed to do was to find storage and prepare their garage for three months of storing their garbage.  A few factoids about waste:

1) Organic waste produced by the MacDonald family is sent to a composting center.  The employee at the center explained that there are lots of plastics within the composting sent to the center.  Because of this, they need to separate plastics from the organic waste with a machine that is not unlike a giant washing machine.  This machine separates the plastics from the rest of the compost by beating everything until the plastic bags pop open and then eventually plastics float to the top of the pile, making for easy separation.  Also, methane from the composting helps to power the machinery.

2) Canada has a problem finding where to put its trash, so trash is exported to the United States.  Because of this export, certain communities in the US cannot sell their land.  One example is the town of Huron, which is surrounded by landfills and has trucks passing through at a rate of one truck every five minutes (i.e. 130 trucks passing in each direction each day).

Day 31

The MacDonalds estimated that they produce about 40 lbs of wet garbage per week.  Mr. MacDonald went to a children’s birthday party with his son, noting that everything was disposable, all of which could easily have been reusable items.  Garbage seems to be primarily from packaging, such as meat Styrofoam packaging, cellophane, plastic, etc.  Some points about recycling:

 - There seem to be issues in terms of which types of plastics can be recycled, which is sometimes based on the recycling capacities of a community facility.  Some plastics are layered laminates , which means they can only be used once and be down-cycled, not recycled.

 - Glass that is recycled is crushed and turned into such things as road aggregate, in the worst case.

 - Newsprint can only be recycled a certain number of times, due to the fiber length decreasing over time.  Eventually it must be recycled into box- or paper-board.

A few more factoids:

 - Enough aluminum to rebuild the U.S. airfleet is recycled every month

 - 500 000 trees are cut down for weekly newspapers

 - In California, 3 million empty water bottles are thrown away every day

Day 50 (Santa Claus Parade)

After keeping track of their garbage, the MacDonalds are more aware of what they see at the parade and how wasteful people are being.  The MacDonalds made sure to bring the least garbage possible and carried their garbage back home with them, which was nothing more than orange peels and a water bottle.

Some notes about transportation:

 - Two SUVs contribute 15 tons of CO2 every year

 - 700 million cars on our roads are the leading cause of smog, global warming and asthma

 - Road runoff is the largest source of water pollution in North America, the most toxic untreated unsanitary sewage

 - Car parts break down, reaching your river, as does oil through leaks and even if not, in concentrated form

 - One gallon of oil destroys one million gallons of drinking water.  In fact, the North American yearly road runoff is equivalent to the amount of oil from two and a half Exxon oil spills

 - When cars are recycled, oil is taken and re-used, then the car get crushed.  Even after crushed, cars pollute; they get shredded, the metal then gets recycled, but the sea-foam ends up in the ocean

Some notes about water:

 - Washing dishes and clothes, as well as flushing toilets all pollute water.

 - The United Nations reports that 1,1 billion people are without fresh water, yet many Canadians find themselves with unlimited freshwater

 - In 2005, Toronto dumped 2,6 billion gallons of raw sewage into Lake Ontario

 - In 2006, US cities dumped 1,3 trillion gallons of raw sewage into waterways, which is equivalent to 99 days of sewage being continuously dumped over Niagara Falls

 - Many cleaning products contain phosphates, which cause flora in the water to over-flourish, which in turn reduces oxygen, starving the fish of oxygen.  Also, many of our soaps contain estrogen-mimicking oxalates, causing the little fish to be unable to reproduce.

 - Bleach goes into the environment, creating compounds that can increase mutations and cancer.  When they react with our bodies, they affect our immune, reproductive and endocrine systems, creating various disorders.

 - Indoor air quality in North America is ten to fifty times more toxic than outside air and this is directly related to our cleaning products.

Day 84

Over Christmas, we can see a significant increase in waste.  Many new products have more packaging than the product itself and most of this packaging material is not recyclable.  The high levels of waste around Christmas-time are not just in gifts but also in wrapping, cards, disposable food, etc.  The North American culture shows each other that we value each other by buying and throwing out things.  There is a fundamental disconnect with the way we show each other we care and the way we show our environment we care and ad-busters shows initiatives that encourage truly showing each other you care.  Rather than buying things for those you love, spend time with them and DONT BUY ANYTHING. 

Day 90

The final count: 83 bags of garbage and 320 pounds of wet garbage, for two adults, a seven year-old, a four year-old and an infant.

Updates noted in the credits:

 - Toronto stopped shipping its trash to Michigan in 2010

 - On March 13, 2007, Massey Energy was granted permission to build a second coal silo beside Marsh Fork Elementary School

 - If you are ready for change, visit the movie website to learn how you can start a revolution in your community

This weeks quote is by Jarod Kintz:

Sure, I’ll take your pamphlet. I need to fill up my trashcan anyway.

WEJ - Impact of anthropogenic activities on the Densu River in Ghana

I have chosen another peer-reviewed article.  This one is a very short five pages long, so a very quick read.  It is called “Impact of anthropogenicactivities on the Densu River in Ghana” and was written by Fianko, Osae and Achel.  The reason I chose this article is that by preventing waste, we must prevent all forms of waste.  Often, the term “waste” brings up images of rubbish in our minds however we must not forget that by definition, waste is a variety of things.  In the end, waste is an excess that is not being used.

Fianko et al do not discuss anthropogenic activities affecting the Densu River (see the river dividing the study area east to west) only in terms of rubbish.  The anthropogenic activities are affecting the river through waste coming from municipal, industrial, rural areas and agricultural farms found along the shoreline.  This means that everyone plays a part in the rivers' state.  The study concluded that:

 (1) The ecosystem found within the river is directly linked to anthropogenic activities that will increase nutrients, as well as other oxygen-consuming materials.  When these materials enter an ecosystem, oxygen often decreases, changing the numbers and types of aquatic plants and animals in the ecosystem.  Other undesirable effects and cultural eutrophication often also occur.

 (2) The study revealed that the Densu River is severely polluted, especially in terms of organic matter.  The worst sites were those near urbanized, agricultural and industrialized areas.  Pollution of the Densu River is to an extent that the aquatic ecosystem in most of the exposed sections of the river has been destroyed.  The results make it clear that the Densu River requires an immediate reduction in pollutant input, as well as the treatment of sewage and changes in agricultural practices throughout the country.

Fianko et al do state that government must establish a body to monitor and control discharge of pollutants into the Densu River, however it seems to me that the change must come from the people.  If the change is forced by the government, the change will not last, however if the people understand the problem and come up with solutions that work for them, then there will be lasting change for the better.  There are surely knowledgeable people within the group who understand the problem and can look at ideas holistically and if none feel ready to take on the challenge, help can easily be found.

This weeks quote is by Ruth Ann Minner and it sure does say what WaPreG is saying:

Benjamin Franklin said there were only two things certain in life: death and taxes. But I'd like to add a third certainty: trash. And while some in this room might want to discuss reducing taxes, I want to talk about reducing trash.

GIW - Who’s Waiting For You

Today, I write not about waste, but about the importance of WaPreG’s goals.  I do not speak of this holistically, but bear with me and this post will become clear.  A while back, I reviewed a blog called Gold in Words, by Benjamin Anyan.  This is a Ghanaian-written blog with topics that vary considerably and which are interesting and thought-provoking.  Today I am inspired by the post entitled “Who’s Waiting For You?”.  It is a post that encourages the reader to think about their purpose in life.  The reader is encouraged to ask themselves why they are procrastinating and what it will do for them, as well as to think about what effect their life work will have.

First, I want to relate this post to WaPreG.  Anyan asks some questions that are worth thinking about when starting up an organization like WaPreG.  I will answer a few (note - the questions are all quoted from the text):

 ₪ If I was waiting for you, then who else is?

The people waiting for WaPreG are the people who see there is a waste problem in Ghana.  The people who want to do something about this waste problem, but who feel disempowered when it comes to finding a solution.  These people may or may not have ideas, but they are Ghanaians of any age, any level of education, any financial situation.  If they care about the problem, they have been waiting for us.

 ₪ How many thousands of humans are there who stand a chance of living a good life because YOU lived yours well?

Any person who sets foot in Ghana will be directly affected by the results of our initiative and any other person who is inspired by WaPreG’s actions will be indirectly affected.  People around the world look at the periphery with differing views and hopefully this will help that view become just a little bit more positive.

 ₪ Do you make decisions convenient to you alone or do you consider the generations of human kind who’ll read about you some day and feel goosebumps all over their bodies because of the challenge and inspiration your life will bring to them?

Native populations throughout North America (and surely many others worldwide) hold a view that is anti-capitalist in terms of their treatment of the environment.  The view is not that the earth holds resources for humans to exploit for profit, but that the earth cares for us, much in the same way as our mothers.  Many groups in Canada (and again, surely elsewhere) believe that the sustainability of all our actions must be questioned.  Each action must leave our descendants seven generations into the future with the possibility of living in the same way as we do.  This view is based on the idea that we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, rather we borrow the earth from our descendents.

 ₪ When you close your eyes and fantasize, do you see your passion giving jobs to 100,000 people the world over, and being the one who makes it possible for those 100,000 people to put 3-sqaure meals on their family tables?

This one is rather difficult.  It seems to me that waste prevention could easily help people come up with some kind of income.  Rather than leaving our waste in a pile behind our homes and then burning this waste every few days, the extremely creative Ghanaian culture can easily take a page from such companies as TrashyBags' (which I would like to remind you IS a Ghanaian company) books.  So many other things can be done with trash.  Why not have a group of people in each village collecting all compostable materials in the village to start a compost pile in an open area.  This could be a farmer, a group of farmers, or people hired by farmers.  The farmers could then use this compost to increase the quality of the soil in which they grow their food, thereby increasing the nutrients in those crops, which will improve the health of those who eat those crops.  So many positive things could happen from this one simple idea.  Waste is greatly reduced, soil quality improves, crops improve, the farmers do not need to use fertilizer, since the compost is the most natural kind of fertilizer and the local population has improved health!  I am surely missing other details but for one simple idea, not a bad start!

 ₪ Does it occur to you that by doing what you’re good at to the fullest, some thousands of people will be able to pay their tithes, and make contributions to humanitarian causes?

Looking at the previous response, it seems to me that the improved health of the local population is in itself giving people an edge to those eating less nutritious versions of the same crops.  Again, not an easy one to answer.

 ₪ How many people are waiting for you to become more responsible? More caring, more romantic? How much longer will they have to wait? 5 years, 9&1/2 years? Is that how long it’ll take you to put that life-draining addiction behind you?

This group of questions goes together quite well.  In relation to WaPreG, we are starting up slowly at this time.  The biggest hurdle at this time is that Allie is still a student in Canada.  That will take another two years, but we have faith that even during that time, we can succeed with at least a small amount.  Afterwards, we can really give a big push and give it our all.  We have faith in our goal being attainable!

Now, I would like you, my readers, to relate this post to yourselves.  Anyans questions are questions you can ask yourself in terms of your own life.  They are also questions you can ask yourself in terms of preventing waste.  Review the post and try to answer the questions from both perspectives.  We would be very interested in knowing your reactions to these questions.  Remember that no matter your limitations, you can do something.  Knowing your limitations and working with them is the best way to succeed and I have faith that each and every one of you can succeed!

And now, a quote by Lynette Fromme:

Keep talking about moving toxic wastes, but never let it cross your mind to quit producing them. Keep judging yourselves in Manson. Don't look in the mirror. You will serve the Earth as much as she serves you or you will commit suicide.

GEN - UK e-waste illegally dumped in Ghana

A few weeks ago I wrote about a Greenpeace report that explained the illegal dumping of electronic waste in Ghana.  Today, I will further discuss this issue through my discussion of the Guardian’s “UK e-waste illegally dumpedin Ghana”.  This article was written in 2011, three years after the report, which was written in 2008.  It seems Panorama and the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) conducted a joint investigation which showed that a third party company had been sending electronic waste from Environment Waste Controls (EWC) to West Africa, which eventually ends up in Ghana.

The third party company had been buying television sets for £1.50 to £2.00 each (4.60 GHS to 6.13 GHS), then exporting them to Ghana or Nigeria.  As per the Waste Electrical and Electronic (WEEE) Resources Regulations of 2006, electronic waste that has been tested and is in working condition could be exported, no problem.  The thing is,

the EIA hid tracking devices inside television sets which had been disabled beyond repair and left them at the Merton and Croydon sites. Several weeks later, according to the group, GPS signals indicated that one TV had been shipped to Nigeria, ending up near a well known e-waste recycling centre, and one was found to have arrived in Ghana.

This shows that the checks were either not carried out or not properly done.  The WEEE states that these sets must be sent to another core country, not to West Africa.  In response to this report, EWC claimed working at preventing this from happening again.

As in the Greenpeace article, the Guardian Environmental Network explains some of the hazards of electronic waste on the environment and on humans, such as chemical mixtures and lead found in different parts of television sets.  We must remember that when this waste is stripped in less than ideal conditions, these substances are released.

Also, it seems that the electronic waste trade has become a part of organised crime, something I do plan to explore in the future.  Until then, here is a quote by Lawrence Summers:

I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to it.

PC - Managing the Other of Nature

This week’s article is a peer-reviewed article I saved a while back and forgot about.  I am afraid that it must be paid for to be read but it is well worth it!  “Managing the Other of Nature: Sustainability, Spectacle, and GlobalRegimes of Capital in Ecotourism” shows an example of how culture affects our view on nature and how capitalism globalizes the western viewpoint.  Bandy begins by explaining how ecotourism is an expansive system.  He then provides a discussion as to whether ecotourism fits into the ecology or the economy categories, showing that despite appearances, it is far more economical than ecological.  Once this is done, he is able to explain how ecotourism has affected the core, in that ecotourism is a way of consuming the other, as though this is a way of preserving that same other.  Next, is a discussion of whether this is a form of colonialism or a form of giving the locals autonomy.  I will not discuss every detail, as this is a rather long article at twenty-four pages, however I hope you enjoy what I do discuss!

As you can see by my choppy summary, this article brings up some very important issues that are completely ignored by what I would think (but hope I am wrong) is the majority of eco-tourists.  The thing is, though advertised as a sustainable form of travel, ecotourism is nothing more than the commercialization of a problem in a way that could easily worsen that same problem.  Ecotourism started with the new frontier.  People wanted to experience what they were increasingly losing to capitalism: nature.  Along with nature came other cultures in exotic places.  Initially, only the wealthiest could experience these things, but then volunteer opportunities began to sprout so that the middle class could join in at a more affordable price.

Now, it is proposed that nature preserves be put into place to increase environmental protection of these locales, while contributing to the local economies.  With this comes the ecotourist, who can play the part of environmental ambassador.  In my personal experience, this is not always the case.  When I was a volunteer in Ghana, I expected other volunteers to be philanthropists of sorts, but many turned out to be seeking work experience or resume filler in an exotic place.  They were all very nice people, however their care for the environment and the culture was in my opinion often rather limited.  Returning twice to the same village and meeting more volunteers, I have seen the same thing.  There are always one or two volunteers who, like me, care very much for the environment and the culture of the country, however the majority are merely looking for an exotic experience that will improve their resume.

My favourite quote from the paper felt like it was talking to WaPreG and one of our aims in helping to achieve our goals associated with preventing waste in Ghana:

After her research excursion to the highly profitable and privately owned Rara Avis ecotourist reserve in Costa Rica, Tensie Whelan issued these words of support: “Over and over again, I saw small chunks of the environment being saved by people who had an economic interest in doing so, whether it was villagers saving rainforest habitat in order to raise iguanas for sale, or private individuals preserving and maintaining virgin rainforest as an attraction for tourists ...If we are to save any of our precious environment, we must provide people with alternatives to destruction.”

The reason I found it is related to WaPreG is that we must do just that: give people alternatives for creating waste.  The great thing is I have many ideas and I know the Ghanaians I will work with all have even better ideas and I can’t wait to start brainstorming with them and then spreading the word together!  This also shows how ecotourism and waste prevention are linked.  Any tourist in Ghana is exposed to the Ghanaian culture of creating waste.  No matter where these tourists find themselves, be it in the rich parts of Accra or volunteering in Jinbong, Northern Region, the average tourist likely consumes more than the average Ghanaian, thereby creating more waste for the Ghanaian landscape.  Ghanaians are proud of their country and are extremely accommodating to foreigners.  This mix should come together to improving their own ways and then encouraging tourists to do the same!  It is far more frustrating for me to see a foreigner toss a pure water sachet than a Ghanaian.  Foreigners are only doing what they see Ghanaians do, however most would never do this in their home countries, whereas Ghanaians ARE in their home country!

Many organizations do seek to preserve the communities in which they work.  The problem, however, is that though they are found in less developed countries as tour operators, they are based in overdeveloped countries, meaning the locals are still not in charge.  The majority of this industry is controlled by companies based in overdeveloped countries, so the benefits continue to be robbed from the locals.  At the same time, ecotourism is not a way to protect environment and cultures, so much as yet another race for the bottom line, i.e. the highest profits possible.

In a sense, we can postulate that ecotourism is a new, less aggressive colonialism.  In the past colonialism was much harsher than what we see now.  The thing is, only those who made it to the colonized lands saw what really happened.  In travel literature and art from these times, those remaining in the old world were given an inaccurate view of what was happening in the new world.  Now, because of media and higher rates of travel, many from the core believe colonialism does not occur, however can we really say this?  When reading up on actual corporate activities in the less developed world, we learn of activities similar to those we reject when reading overdeveloped nations’ history books.  When reading about the economy and development, we are shown that there is one linear way of doing things.  Often, when I read Engineers Without Borders blogs, I feel so frustrated because of the condescending tone many authors use when discussing how things are done in Ghana.  Just because it is different from the overdeveloped nations’ way of doing things, does that necessarily make it wrong?

Ecotourism as an industry has corporations within, most (I would assume by the nature of the industry) of which are either multi- or trans- national.  Most of the money these corporations make returns to overdeveloped nations, not the local communities.  Can we really say this is not a modern form of colonialism?

This week’s quote by John Urry can be found at the beginning of the week’s article:

Contemporary societies are developing less on the basis of surveillance and the normalization of individuals, and more on the basis of the democratization of the tourist gaze and the spectacle-isation of place.

OGP - Whats So Bad About Plastics

Ghana is one of the many countries that has been inundated with plastic bags, particularly single-use.  One thing that sticks out in my mind whenever I am not in the country is those black plastic bags that often don’t make it to the customer, let alone to a second use.  They seem to be intentionally designed this way.  Because of this, the only place in Ghana that I recall not seeing these bags was at Kakum National Park when I went on the canopy walk.  When reading the introductory paragraph of “What’s So Bad About Plastic Bags?” by Zion Lights, my previous point is made.  It seems that in the United States alone, 60 000 plastic bags are used every 5 seconds!  I can only in imagine in Ghana, where plastic bags are used for every little thing, including such things as banku!  As can be seen in Ghana, plastic bags don’t break down, releasing toxic chemicals instead.  Even when they are sent to be recycled, it is difficult to do so and they often block machinery in these plants.  They are generally a terrible product.

Because of all the different ways plastic bags pollute the environment, they are also hazardous to human and animal health.  By blocking drainage systems, they help cause flooding or stop the water from flowing.  When the water stops flowing, it becomes the perfect breeding place for diseases that can seriously harm human health.  This one is huge in Ghana.  I nearly cried when I saw a river that was not only so filled with garbage that I could not see the water, but the river was barely flowing, due to the extent of the pollution of that river.  When I researched it in 2009, Korle Lagoon had already been cleaned twice, though how many more times will this occur?  Cleaning a lagoon does not sound to me like a very easy task!

Due to the difficulty in recycling plastic bags, most either go to landfills (despite being sent to be recycled) or are sent to Asia.  When the plastic bags arrive in Asia, they are recycled in sweatshop conditions with open-melting methods, which are terribly toxic.  This is in the United States.  In Ghana, however, when I researched Korle Lagoon for a paper about waste management, I found nothing about recycling.  Now, a google search shows that in general, recycling is all about pure water sachets, which is good, since along with black plastic bags, they are the most visible of Ghanaian plastic waste.  I did, however, see in the job opportunities of the Keep Ghana Clean website that they are requesting people collect all their plastic waste.  When delivered to one of their dump sites, people can make 1000 ghs per kilo of plastic waste delivered!  This may not be the best way to prevent plastic waste, but it is a great way to at least reduce it.  I just hope people will not be looking for ways to use more plastic so they can have more plastic waste.  Now I understand why I saw children going around collecting sachets; all plastic is included, though, so they should take it all!  I am curious what is done with the plastic after that.  For them to have 1000 ghs per kilo, they must be either affiliated with Trashy Bags, or else are doing something similar on their own.  I can approve of it if they are making something new, rather than just piling them up in a landfill.

Moving along to animals, I have already discussed how plastic affects the ocean when I discussed Garbage Island.  This is not the only way plastic bags affect animals, though.  The most obvious way animals are affected by plastic bags is suffocation from eating plastic shards, which can easily come from the bags as they break down.  With further breakdown of plastic, smaller organisms both on land and in water may eat these, which eventually get eaten by humans (in case that is your main concern), meaning we are inadvertently eating plastic.

Garbage Island also brings up the environmental, non-animal, impact of plastic in general.  Watching the movie, one scene shows a jellyfish coming towards the camera until it got closer and we saw it is a plastic bag (not the best picture but still).  The North Pacific Gyre is not the only place affected by plastic bags.  As stated in “What’s So Bad About Plastic Bags?”, the Wild Studies Institute estimates that 80% of the ocean’s garbage comes from land, since all land drainage systems end up in the ocean.  In Ghana, all waste is tossed anywhere, as people see fit.  Because of this, plastic bags fly around until caught by water and then flow through the systems (when still flowing) to the ocean.

According to a 2002-05 study of marine debris in southern Chile (Zion Lights), marine debris tended to be found in particular areas of the ocean, however this was not the case for plastic bags.  Plastic bags could be found in all parts of the study area.  This is something that is easy to believe after having sat in the water on a Ghanaian beach.  With the water flowing onto me came plastic bags; occasionally other shards of plastic also came, but primarily plastic bags.

“What’s So Bad About Plastic Bags?” does give a likely culprit.  I don’t want to get into that because I feel the best way to solve this problem is to do so by changing our habits, rather than fighting “the man”, whomever that is in this case (read “What’s So Bad About Plastic Bags?” to know).  When living in a capitalist society, change comes through consumer choice.  Look at Wal-Mart moving to more sustainable food products on their shelves; they didn’t do so for ethical reasons, they did so because that is what their consumers are increasingly gravitating towards.

It is possible to eliminate plastic bags, as can be seen in Bangladesh (Zion Lights).  That country banned plastic bags over a decade ago, due to massive floods caused by blocked storm drains.  Since then, other regions large and small have been following suit.  Others, though not completely banned, have imposed a fee for every plastic bag.  In Ghana, the fee is already there in a sense, however a ban is not.  A ban would make a huge difference to Ghana’s landscape!  Imagine banku in traditional containers instead of in plastic bags!  Plastic bags were not always found in Ghana, so why not return to the pre-plastic bag culture?

Like any other form of consumption, there are many ways to reduce, if not eliminate the use of plastic bags.  Most importantly, we need to rethink how we see plastic bags.  I have spoken to Ghanaians who remember the introduction of plastic bags to the country and they are not that old!  So this isn’t so much a re-thinking as a returning-to-the-old-thinking kind of situation.  Any time we go to use a plastic bag, we must ask ourselves why we are using it.  Do we really need that bag?  If so, why do we need it?  Could it be replaced with something else?  Chances are it can.  By thinking about our plastic bag usage, we will automatically reduce and reuse.  As we do this and once we have gotten our journey under way, we can re-educate others about this issue.  How, you may ask?  Talk about it!  Talk about why you are reducing plastic bags and how!  The more we do this, the sooner we can remove our dependence on such an unsustainable product.

This weeks quote by Mason Cooley follows the theme of the post quite closely:
Human society sustains itself by transforming nature into garbage