Friday, February 29, 2008

Saving the Oceans Part III

On a cold winter's evening its tempting to think of rushing into the blue waters of the Med. But don't rush, take a moment to look out for those jelly fish. We don't like jelly fish, but others do, like swordfish and red tuna, for whom they're a tasty snack.

Trouble is swordfish and red tuna are tasty snacks for us human. And if we eat more of them then they eat less of those jellies. Add to that the warming oceans and as this reports says we have the recipe for a plague.

As someone who loves his fish, and not just on Fridays, this means must be careful when heading to the supermarket. So tonight there's a mini plug (and a till receipt) for M&S, whose fish has consistently received high marks for its sustainability.

M&S also have a new campaign to reduce the number of plastic bags clogging up the country and seas - they will start to charge for them.

Both are small steps - and there might be those questioning the benefits: how can such small changes save the planet? But anyone who cares about the world around us and the future of the planet for later generations it must be morally wrong to not even try to do something.

A siblings in-law family member had a bad stroke this week, something which always raises the big questions. One day you and me will both be dead (sorry to say) and our legacy will be the acts we perform. Lets try to make them good ones.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm very sorry to hear about the sibling in-law's stroke...hope his condition is improving?

You're quite right though, it is morally wrong not to be good stewards of the environment, or to fail to consider what impact our current choices have on future generations.

I wish there was a way to recycle plastic bags! Fortunately, a lot of the supermarkets here sell re-useable cloth bags, and Superstore staff if and ask how many plastic bags you need (ie. you can control how many you get).

What also concerns me is the amount of unnecessary packaging on some products - aside of the fact that it almost takes a chain-saw to free some items from their thick plastic packaging, it's frustrating knowing that it's all going to end up in a land-fill.

Anonymous said...

(edit: "Superstore staff ask if and how many..." :P)

JP said...

What I ought to is make sure I take plastic bags with me when go out so if shop then won't have to get another.

They do go overboard with packaging - and usually its the unrecyclable plastic stuff which is very annoying.

They could use paper / card constructed a lot more and then it could be recycled.