Earth Protect Blog

Have you ever seen those little blue flakes before in your toothpaste? Those little flakes, and I am not kidding here, have potential to do some SERIOUS damage to our planet's ecosystem...

Studying film at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to watch a documentary called "Trash, Manufactured" last year at the film school's annual award ceremony Film Outside the Frame. It was so good, I mean incredibly well made, and interesting. Never before had I even heard about microbeads! The story follows 5 Gyres (an organization that specializes in ocean clean up) founder Marcus Erikson as he makes artwork out of the microbeads he collects. Beautiful sculptures, and it makes a point: these microbeads are everywhere in our ocean; Water filtration systems have holes in them which allow microbeads to escape into the sea. Once out into the open, marine life (fish, seals, shrimp, etc) mistake the plastic for food (thus choking on them and dying). 

"Trash, Manufactured" inspired me to continue digging, or, should I say collecting, more information about these tiny little pieces of killer plastic. I found out they are EVERYWHERE!: soaps, body scrubs, shampoo, toothpaste, moisturizer, you name it. That's a lot of tiny little pieces of killer plastic being applied cosmetically by us humans everyday! I wonder if there is a way to stop all of this microbead madness?...

Oh wait, there is a way! Just sign a petition (http://www.5gyres.org/banthebead). The website also says to take a selfie or buy some non-microbead shampoo, but I'd say the most important thing is to just sign the petition. I did, and look, I am already growing some angel wings. My body feels ten times lighter and I think my heart just grew three sizes larger. You can have this happen to you too, if you take just one moment to help rid the earth of another killer plastic. 

HAPPY WORLD OCEAN DAY!