OCEANA.ORG sent me a bone chilling email that I just found in my Inbox.  Here’s an excerpt from that email:

“Every year, an estimated 33 billion pounds of plastic enter our oceans. That’s roughly the equivalent of dumping two garbage trucks full of plastic into the oceans every minute. It’s polluting our oceans, choking marine life, and breaking up into smaller microplastics that we’re all drinking, eating, and breathing.

Change is needed, and there’s no time to waste. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (N.Y.) recently introduced a bill in Congress that would put a fee on plastic polluters. The REDUCE Act would set a per pound fee on the sale of new, or virgin, plastic used for single-use products.

It’s time for Congress to hold plastic polluters accountable — but we need your help!

Use your voice today: Tell your members of Congress to put a fee on plastic polluters to help save our oceans, before it’s too late >>

The plastic pollution crisis will only get worse if we don’t take action now to stop it at the source, Brian.

The plastics industry expects annual production will more than triple by 2050. The United States is an enormous contributor to this crisis — in fact, a 2020 study found that the U.S. generated more plastic waste than any other country. As plastic production continues to increase, so will the amount of plastic entering the ocean.

The REDUCE Act, if passed, will hold the plastics industry accountable for its pollution and help level the playing field between recycled plastic and new plastic. We need to seize this opportunity!

Your representatives answer to you! Tell your members of Congress to do right by our oceans and marine wildlife, and make plastic polluters pay: Support the REDUCE Act today >>

This “Reduce Act” is H.R. 5389 currently sitting in the House of Representatives. 

OCEANA is right; we need to tell our members of Congress to ensure this bill moves forward.  When the oceans go, we’re toast!  If you were worried about the Amazon forest disappearing, be aware that even MORE oxygen is produced by phytoplankton than the Amazon forest. (According to https://www.allayer.net › amazon-rainforests-vs-phytoplankton, Phytoplankton produces anywhere from 50% – 85% of the world’s oxygen.)

Here’s a list of the organizations to whom I sent my brief article about Safeway packaging below.  All of them are working hard to reduce plastics:

• Surfrider.org
  • Oceanconservancy.org
  • https://www.5gyres.org/
  • https://www.edf.org/oceans
  • edf.org ()Environmental Defense Fund)
  • usa.oceana.org
  • http://www.byebyeplasticbags.org/
  • Nrdc.org
  • Nature.org
  • Lonelywhale.org
  • Bahamasplasticmovement.org
  • Parley.tv

Now you understand why a simple thing like Safeway’s changing their packaging this year from paper to plastic for many of their dairy products can have such a significant impact.   It’s moving in the WRONG direction.  Please let Safeway know this is NOT acceptable (see the links in the blog entry “Consumer Alert!“).  I want to believe they care about the future of this planet and the people living on it, and, as responsible members of our community, will work to preserve and protect both.