I was watching one of the latest animated movies with my daughter the other day. The main character lives on this perfect island in French Polynesia. The thought of being one with nature, living a sustainable life and not being held hostage in a material world is wonderful. While watching the movie, I felt as if I could nearly touch that feeling of fulfilment.
Some would say that I am a dreamer. It's not the first time, nor the last, that I hear someone pointing out that my vision is far from the reality. I am told to be happy with what-is. Let me make something clear. If we never see beyond reality and what-is, we will never move forward. We will be stuck with what we have and that is not good enough for me. Nor should it be for you.
Before 1965, plastic was still unknown to the public. Take a moment to think about that.
Plastic has only been present for about five decades and most of it has been produced only in the last 20 years. In less than a decade from now, scientists claim that the amount of plastic in the ocean is going to triple. By 2050 the amount of plastic will outnumber the amount of fish.
That is what-is and the blunt reality. That is what we will leave for our children and generations to come, if we keep it up.
Some say that I can give up, that there is no way that we can win the war on plastic. I'm sorry, but losing is not an option.
One thing is for sure, the Earth is not going to let us fool around much longer. There will be a point where humans won’t have any other choice than to adapt. I think that the people at that point would rather know that we at least did our best to avoid the situation, than saying “could more have been done?”.
People ask me time to time why some seem not to realise the severity of plastic pollution, like if they are living in a parallel universe. I compare this phenomenon with a person having a suspicion that he suffers from a life threatening illness. When he starts noticing the symptoms, he knows something isn't right. The same goes for the man seeing plastic floating in the sea. He might avoid getting more information about the condition or laugh at it, to oppress the feeling of powerlessness. What will happen if it indeed is as bad as the experts say? Can I beat the odds? Am I strong enough to fight this? If I pretend it's not there it might vanish, he tells himself.
Suddenly the line is blurred. You’re no longer sure if I talk about the possibly sick person, or about the person fearing a deteriorating environment. You see, the human mind instinctively avoids thinking about bad things, especially if it's considered overwhelming and hopeless.
We humans consider ourselves in control of everything, we are invincible. When in reality, we are nothing else than guests of the Earth. This means that we have the opportunity to enjoy what it offers us, but we do not own the right to misuse or abuse it.
To solve the damage that we have caused during our little time on Earth, we can't take shortcuts. Instead we need to do it the proper way. We can't simply recycle our way out of this, we need to aim higher and prioritise the waste management hierarchy. We have to start by preventing waste to be created.
This is where you and I enter the spotlight. This is the moment for team-work and not giving up. In moments of doubt I always remind myself that a mosquito might be small, but if persistent enough it will make even a bear move.
Let me give you a concrete example. You refuse a plastic bag at the vegetable counter at the local supermarket, which might not be noticed to start with. However, by time the cashiers and customers will start to recognize your habit. More and more people will follow suit and the cashiers will notice a pattern in change of demand. They will advise their supervisors and before you know it, the supermarkets will stop offering plastic bags.
No way, it can't be that easy you might say.
But it is. The only thing that is in the way of your vision of a perfect environment is yourself and the thought that your individual actions won’t matter. That you are powerless.
It's time to change this, it's time for you to empower yourself and realise your strength.
What are you waiting for?
Camilla Appelgren is an environmentalist