Plastics Part 2

This is carrying on from last week's blog, so if you haven't read that, please do!

In what I watched, Drowning in Plastic, they were looking at Sheer water chicks on Lord Howe Island (near Australia). They found chicks that were being fed plastic, and on the second day of looking, they found 90 pieces in one of the chicks (after making them throw it up). The chicks' stomachs were so full with plastic, they couldn't eat any more things. So when they set off to the sea to forage for food themselves, they were too weak to do so - since they didn't have enough nutrition. Did you know that the record for the amount of pieces of plastic found in a sea bird is 250? 250 pieces of plastic in one seabird. It's absolutely crazy!

The presenters of Drowning in Plastic also traveled to Antarctica, and not only did they find huge pieces of plastic, (and both a ketchup bottle and its lid, separated but still together!) they also found micro plastics. The Arctic and the Antarctic used to be, what was thought, the only places which weren't polluted by plastics, but actually they were full of it. And they were in the food chains, starting off with mussels or even plankton eating the micro plastics, and gradually finding it's way up to the top - which is usually us humans. 

They also found a person who had created something that could replace plastic! It was a seaweed type of  material, which is very strong and... edible! It was also dissolvable, so when you rubbed it with water, it could dissolve into your hands. It would be an amazing thing to swap the little soaps that are covered in plastic that you get in hotels with this, because with the soap you wouldn't even need to take it out of its packaging! The same with wrapping food with it, you don't need to unwrap the food - let's say, a burger - because you can just eat through the packaging! (Unless of course you want to re-use it...)

Thank you for reading this blog! I hope you learnt something from here and see you next Sunday! 

Plastics🤨

I have written about plastic before like my Plastic Straws blog, or my No More Glitter blog. I have also added things in some blogs about microplastics and stuff. However, I just watched a video in my science class about plastics and I learnt a lot of things that I didn't know about before, so I thought I'd share it!

Plastic - although one of the strongest, best materials - can be very bad for our environment (as you probably know), unless it is recycled. However, only 9% of plastic is recycled and 79% ends up in landfill. The rest, about 8 million pieces of plastics, enter our oceans everyday.  Recycling 9% is a very, very small amount. 

Since plastic is now filling our oceans (by 2050, scientists believe there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish), it is also now in our food chains. Wildlife who live in the sea (and above it, like seabirds) often mistake plastic for food - which is a known fact. Sea birds sometimes pick up the plastic to feed to their chicks, not knowing they are actually slowly killing their young.

Microplastics

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic, less than 5mm long, that are very harmful, no matter how tiny. They are in lots of our products, like toothpaste and other personal care products. And they are in the food chains, starting off with mussels or even plankton eating the microplastics, and gradually finding its way up to the top - which is usually us humans. Did you know, in 2017 research showed that 83% of tap water contains pollutants from plastic? So technically we are drinking and consuming a lot more plastic than we thought. But what I am definitely not saying is to drink bottled water instead of tap water, since then you are probably contributing to the plastic that ends up in the oceans and kills our animals. 

Thank you so much for reading this blog! I would definitely recommend watching Drowning in Plastic (although it is an hour and a half long) because I learnt a lot of interesting things, for example: just litter picking and recycling plastic will not make much of a difference, we really need to stop producing more. Next week, I'll do a part two of this since there is so much more I wanted to say, but it got way too long! 

Violet

         xxx

Eco Friendly Ways to Keep Warm!☕

 Now that it's October, it's getting rather cold. It's currently 8:50, and outside in my garden I can see the watering can steaming in the sunshine (what does that mean?). I'm not sure there's many ways not to be eco friendly when you're keeping warm, but I'll say some anyway. 

1. First of all, make sure there aren't too many exposed cracks around, since heat rises and can very quickly escape! If it's literally just the crack under your door, you could grab a rolled up towel and push it under.

2. Just layer up! It's amazing how much an extra layer or two can do. You could also wear slippers, but if you don't have any, don't go and buy them for the sake of it. Just wear lots of socks!

3. Use a hot water bottle. These last for ages, and if you get an eco friendly one (like a Hugo Frosch, which has no harmful substances, phthalate-free - phthalates are chemicals which make the plastic flexible and soft - and recyclable.) You could also, instead of a hot water bottler, wet a tea towel, put it in a ziploc bag and heat it in the microwave. Then wrap it in a t-shirt and use it.

4. You could exercise! Not only will it, hopefully, warm you up, but it will also release 'happy hormones' (endorphins) and make you happier.

5. Never leave your blanket. When I'm cold (which I have to say - isn't very often) I like to walk around my house draped in my duvet and then watch a movie. It warms me up so much that I usually have to take it off after a while.

Your central heating (radiators etc) and how much you use has a huge impact on your carbon footprint. The recommended temperature for your home is 21 degrees Celsius, so you should keep it there or below.  When you're in rooms you're not using much, turn off the radiators - or only use them at certain times of the day, and close your curtains to trap the warmth in the room. 

Thank you for reading this weeks blog. It's later in the day now and it's a bit warmer but anyway... See you next Sunday!

Violet

        xxx

Being Vegetarian, Vegan or Pescatarian!🍅

I'm pescatarian, and have been since I was 7 years old (I'm now 12). A pescatarian is basically a vegetarian who eats fish, but not meat. There are lots of people who say "but that makes no sense, fish is meat, so you're basically not helping." I think fish is different, because (although we have been over-fishing) they aren't cutting down trees for farmland to grow the crops you need to feed cows etc. 

Why is not eating meat better?

1. In 2018, a research showed that we could reduce 75% of global farmland use and still feed the world, if we stop eating meat and dairy. I personally could not see a life without milk and stuff, but it was really easy to give up meat. 
2. Also, just 18% of calories and 37% of protein are provided by meat and dairy, but uses 83% of farmland and produces 60% of greenhouse gasses. Way more than it's worth. You can get protein from nuts, seeds, pulses, beans etc, so you don't need to eat meat to get protein!
3. Per 100g, beef results in 105kg of greenhouse gasses, but tofu produces less than 3.5kg (and tofu's delicious, my family use the brand Tofoo). 
4. Factory farming is a major contribution to to deforestation and water and air pollution. The  animal welfare due to this is very low, and the animals are hurt and not cared for. The meat that comes from here is usually cheap, and sometimes the writing on the packaging lies, saying it's '100% natural' or something, when it's definitely not. 
5. Eggs - getting free range is way better! They get 100 square feet space at least and are allowed to find their own food and live naturally. Whereas caged hens are kept in cages that are usually the size of an A4 piece of paper, and are stacked up on top of one another. They get stressed, their bones are damaged but not cared for and they usually never see the light of day in their life. 

I know it's really hard for some people to give up meat because it's basically in every meal for them, so what you could do, and have probably heard about, is a Meat-Free-Monday (which is self-explanatory) or Veganuary, where you go vegan for the month of January. You could also be a flexitarian, where you eat meat occasionally, but you usually eat a plant based diet. 

Thank you for reading this blog! I hope you liked it, see you next Sunday!

Violet

         xxx