Plastic trash collection: Study finds high concentration in Atlantic - todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR

Plastic trash collection: Study finds high concentration in Atlantic - todaysthv.com | KTHV | Little Rock, AR 


This is an interesting read that confirmed a past theory I had.

First, a little a history. My first real job was sacking groceries at an Air Force base commissary. I remember the glass jars the food was packaged in, also we used paper bags for carrying groceries in. I mention these 2 items specifically, the modern miracle plastics we were informed of as being a more environmentally friendly product isn't. These plastics have not only replaced perfectly environmentally friendly products but both were biodegradable to some degree, they succeeded in proving not all ideas or opinions work as expected. To be perfectly honest I thought the idea behind plastics back then was a big scam and now I am sure it is and was one of the worst ideas we ever accepted.

We have (as the so called superior intelligent) pretty much built 2 floating islands of trash on both sides of our country. And no I am not saying our country did this in some ways every country had a hand in it, but according to a study I read a few years back (GUESS WHAT) we Americans are (not surprisingly) the most wasteful nations in the world. We produce more trash than any others, and I'm not quite sure but I thought it said we produced more trash than the other countries combined. In some different articles I have read through the years, I have noticed that most of the other countries citizens tend to practice the use of common sense. In other words if it's not practical it's not necessary, so why bother with it?

So we look around at our trash try to figure out how to stop it, and clean it up. As I said we claim to be the superior intelligent beings, as an industrialized nation we try to thrive on the possible advances in science and technology. Which is not a bad thing, but let's not forget the past or our accomplishments. If new and improved doesn't work then we need to step back in time to tried and true methods that did work.

Paper or Plastic? I have to say I prefer paper bags, it is a more biodegradable product by far, making it a more environmentally friendly product. Plus they are a lot more sturdier than those damn plastics bags I keep acquiring. I can put 3-4 wally world bags of products in 1 paper bag and take up less room in my truck.
Plastic bags have succeeded in proving that they are not as recyclable as we were imposed upon to believe.They are a complete inconvenience and waste of precious resources.

Take good old Henry Ford, you know the father of Ford Motors, he used a hemp based plastic in the manufacturing of his cars, he also encourage the continued existence of hemp as a viable source of plastics. I have also read the first cars were optionally run on petroleum based fuel or an ethanol based fuel, ethanol fuel has been proven to burn cleaner, gets good fuel mileage and possibly extend the life of your cars motor. I have wondered what has happened to these plastics Henry used in his cars, I can imagine some are still in original mint condition, while others in the test of time has degraded to dust with no real harm to nature as they should.

So we know industrial hemp can be used to make quite a variety of products. Such as the paper we use in our everyday lives, it can if taken care of properly with stand the process of time, but at the same time is equally and easily a biodegradable, environmentally friendly paper. An additional plus of this is that hemp is easily renewable. 1 acre of hemp can produce as much paper products as 4 acres of timber while using less chemicals in the processing. With this knowledge available to us why are we still destroying our forest for paper and other products that can be replaced by hemp. 

We have farmers as you know who are losing their farms, what if farmers were to raise hemp and be able to convert it for fuel in his farming equipment, this would save them no telling how much money on foreign petroleum products. They can also raise enough to possibly supply different industries that can revitalize our economy. There is also the idea that hemp itself can as it grows cleanse the soil for the next crop to be planted, it's suspected of being able to draw the chemical out of the ground without needing any other source of nutrients.

Look at the building industry, it is diminishing due to a lack of affordable products to use, timber industry has been hurt the most by this. We have a high demand for it but limited amounts available. The tree planting projects by different groups aren't keeping up with the demand, so to me it's only logical to remember our founding fathers and beyond our nation's beginnings.

OK on to more thoughts, hemp can produce some of the finest cloth, and the strongest ropes which is not affected by the salts in the oceans, these products like paper with proper care can last a long time, and at the same time they also accomplish being biodegradable with out endangering the environment.

We know all this and yet I can't help but feel like I'm being imposed on and intimidated to ignore our history as a race of beings and a nation. Are you afraid to step back in time to accept the past as it was? Are you ashamed to admit that not all advances are actually advances? A little news flash there's nothing to be ashamed of it's called life. LIFE = TRIAL AND ERRORS discovering what works for you as an individual but at the same time having enough respect for others to admit it maybe the wrong path.