Plastic Bag Monster Reckoning 2011

photo by: NOAA Marine Debris Program/Ocean Conservancy


If you have visited Mama gnome's garden before, you might have read about the old mother gnome's nemesis.

Yes...even the name itself fills Mama gnome's heart with dread and a good case of the heebie jeebies.

Mama gnome's nemesis is none other than...Plastic Bag Monster.

Here is one frightful portrait picture of a small fraction of its countless minions:
photo by: NOAA Marine Debris Program/Ocean Conservancy

Mama gnome has fought against the Plastic Bag Monster several times...on the beach(Mama gnome versus Plastic Bag Monster) and in the desert during the famous battle of Operation Desert Cleanup.

But alas...time and time again, Plastic Bag Monster regenerates and grows and meets with its allies: plastic bags, plastic cups, styrofoam cups, styrofoam plates, plastic forks, plastic spoons, plastic straws...and don't forget those soda lids, and fill in the blank plastic_______.

Together they multiply and multiply...disintegrating into tiny pieces... and swimming in their own pools of giant garbage patches...their own evil lairs.

One of the more famous ones is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

According to Ocean Conservancy:

"In 2009, 60 percent of the debris collected and cataloged consisted of single-use, disposable items. Volunteers picked up 1.1 million plastic bags. And enough cups, plates, knives, forks, and spoons for a picnic for 100,000 people."

It's not a picnic for our oceans to be choked up by our throw away plastic bags, spoons, forks, knives.

People have become so reliant on disposable, one time use plastic utensils, plastic bags, styrofoam take out containers...Mama gnome wonders how did humans ever survive without them. But the important question is: How can we survive with them?

Please save the date, September 17, 2011, Saturday, for the annual Coastal Cleanup Day.

Please visit these websites to read up about Plastic Bag Monster's heinous crimes and what gnomes and humans can do to fight back.

Ocean Conservancy

Heal the Bay

California Coastal Commission

Ocean Conservancy is an international organization that had 152 countries participating in last year's coastal cleanup day. So you can participate wherever you are.

You can even start your own cleanup project and register it on their website.

Please watch this video by Ocean Conservancy:


video by: oceanconservancy

Besides participating in the cleanup, let us defeat the Plastic Bag Monster by several easy strategies:

• Bring reusable bags to stores. If you forget your reusable bag, if you can, just handcarry your merchandise and make sure you have your receipt ready.
• Say no to disposable, one time use plastic frou frou: plastic utensils. Treat yourself and your family and use the real thing. How awesome is that?
• Say no to takeout boxes for leftovers at restaurants and bring your own. Impress your server by your ingenuity and scare the heck out of styrofoam little monster containers.
• Instead of using those tiny throwaway zipthingey bags, use reusable little containers.
• Instead of purchasing a small minion, i.e. a case of plastic water bottles, use that money to purchase reusable Bph free water bottles.
  
• Invest a few minutes to think about what you will need before you go out for a picnic or go to the store or to the restaurant, and see what reusable items you can bring (reusable bags, your own water bottles, your own reusable containers for leftovers, etc.), so you can avoid using throw away plastic frou frou. Just a few minutes of planning, will save our oceans and planet years of plastic minion trash.
  

Please become an ecowarrior. Help fight the Plastic Bag Monster.

Please be a supporter for planet earth and go green.

(c) Jenaelha, Friendly Gnome's Blog