In Greek mythology, a cruel king of Corinth who was condemned for eternity to roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll down again just before it reached the top.
Sis·y·phe·an adj
Involving endless but futile labor
That's how this has felt lately. So much plastic being made every minute of every day of every year in so many cities in so many countries on so much of this sighing planet. How could I possibly think I could put even a chink into this monstrous polymer armor that has consumed nearly everyone of us? One hundred billion shopping bags used annually in the U.S. alone. I bought a thumbdrive, the size of a thumb, the rigid plastic package which required a machete to get into was the size of a large book. And in my tiny corner of the universe I tell a class of students that it would be great if they told their parents to bring their own shopping bags to the market. They nod in wild agreement, after seeing the photo of a sea turtle choking on a plastic bag. They promise, they will do their part. The bell rings, chaos ensues, books and papers fly and they flit out the door, "That was sad! Thanks for the presentation!" A Sisyphean task?
No, my friends tell me, don't underestimate the domino effect. And please, they say, don't stop. Each one who is impacted tells a friend, and so on. That's what grassroots activism is about. One at a time. One less piece of crap in the ocean at a time. Times it by 6.2 billion. Just another couple billion to go... why not.... what's more important, really? Not Sisyphean, just slow, slow and steady as she goes.
Below:
CFC levels decreasing because of the Montreal Protocol, because there's no more CFC's in aerosol cans and refrigerators. An example to show... the tide can be turned...
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