Resolution For 2019

As we prepare to welcome 2019 with a wish that it will offer good health and happiness to our family and friends, some people may also wish to pursue self-improvement objectives or set their sights on those noble goals of reducing what has been commonly referred to as our less-than positive impact on the planet.

Three years ago, a growing concern with climate change prompted representatives of many countries to gather in Paris to develop a plan that would lead to a reduction of greenhouse gases by lowering carbon emissions. By early 2017, 125 countries had signed onto the Paris Agreement. While some world leaders have attached considerable importance to reducing the environmental consequences of climate change, we need the same level of commitment by all countries in the world that will lead to the end of single-use plastics.

A recent CBS television program “60 Minutes” on the issue of plastics in our oceans offered a powerful and disturbing image regarding the amount of plastic pollution in our waters and its devastating effects. It has been reported that each year about 26 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean with the vast majority sinking to the seabed creating conditions that are detrimental to various forms of life. Plastic bottles take 450 years or more to decompose and plastic bags will take from 10-1000 years before they disappear. It has been reported that humans buy one million plastic bottles every minute. These are alarming statistics. Everyone of us can make our contribution to reversing that with just a little effort.

If we focus on reducing and eventually eliminating our dependency on those various types of single-use plastics we will create a better life for future generations. Isn’t that a New Year’s objective that we can all embark on?