1. shopping at zero-waste stores. check out this zero-waste grocery shopping guide as a place to start.

2. bringing your reusables. it’s all about making it a habit. bring your own bags to the grocery store, bring your own cups to coffee shops, and always keep your reusable utensils and straws on you.

3. buying sustainable alternatives to your everyday products. shampoo and conditioner bars and bamboo toothbrushes are just a few items that you can purchase to make your everyday activities more sustainable.

for an extended list of what you can do, check out the reduce single-use at eckerd college’s website’s “how to help” section.

sources for the video:
the ocean conservancy

united nations environment

this initiative was influenced by eckerd’s reduce single use team, a project funded by a two-year grant from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa) marine debris program, working alongside the post-landfill action network (plan) and the public interest research group’s (pirg) plastics campaign.

the pledge, originally outlined by plan and modified to suit eckerd, will prohibit the use of the college budget to purchase unnecessary single-use plastic items such as beverage bottles, plates, utensils, balloons, plastic shipping and packaging materials, and much more.

president eastman hopes this agreement will inspire other colleges to join eckerd in taking a stand against single-use plastics. 

“it’s a statement by the college to say this is important, and we’re going to do everything we can, now, to eliminate the use of plastics,” eastman said.

plastic pollution poses a large threat to marine ecosystems and wildlife because plastics do not biodegrade. instead, they disintegrate over time into little pieces of plastic known as microplastics, which causes great harm to the marine ecosystem. wildlife also unknowingly ingest these microplastics and the plastic continues up the food chain.

most plastic items never make it to a recycling facility to be properly reused, or are not recyclable to begin with.  

“the sad reality is that the way that the recycling is being done in the united states right now is incredibly ineffective,” said shannon gowans, ph.d., a professor of biology and marine science at eckerd. the most ideal solution is to stop the plastic production at its source.

the inspiration for this pledge came in spring 2019 when alex gordon, pirg plastics campaign coordinator at eckerd, and will shedden, pirg new voters project coordinator, found plan’s break free from plastic pledge and brought this to the attention of the reduce single use team.

“it has been a team effort all across the board… now is the time that we needed something big, and i think this pledge was it,” said senior trish schranck, one of the two interns working on the reduce single use project at eckerd.

items considered essential single-use plastic, such as those used for scientific research and health and safety needs, will still be allowed.

this ban will officially be enacted beginning jan. 1, 2020.

pielet was the first speaker of the day.

“my entire life has been plagued by the words ‘now is the time to act’ but my generation cannot do this alone,” she said to the crowd, and they cheered in response.

inspired by greta thunberg, the 16-year-old climate activist from sweden famous for starting fridays for future, young people around the world organized local climate strikes. in this worldwide call for climate action, the city of st. petersburg joined in on a momentous day.

pielet was originally drawn to the issue of climate change through her love of animals and the environment. as a child in illinois, she would regularly ask to visit the zoo, aquarium, or go to a park so she could spend time outside and observing animals.

although far from home, she was drawn to the mystery of the oceans in particular, which is why eckerd’s campus was an appealing option for college. the liberal arts school sits on florida’s gulf coast, and on any given day you can see dolphins from the campus’s beach, making it a popular place for marine science and environmental studies students. today pielet stands as the president of eckerd college’s “scubi jews” club, a scuba diving club facilitated by eckerd college’s campus rabbi. as the leader of scubi jews, pielet organizes events such as waterfront clean-ups and dive for debris, where dive-certified students can help clean up the trash found at the ocean floor.

now, looking into the crowd of faces at the climate strike, pielet continued: “we have everything to gain from climate action and everything to lose from inaction.”

the responding enthusiasm from the crowd was infectious. that support likely comes from witnessing climate change, firsthand.

florida faces serious impacts of a changing climate — some of which have already been felt by the intensified hurricanes and sea-level rise. both will continue to worsen if nothing is changed. 

tourism is a large part of florida’s economy, thanks to its beautiful beaches and other recreational opportunities, seafood, and amusement parks. impacts of the climate crisis are an immediate threat to florida’s economy, which is why, pielet said, we need to talk about the money. 

“there will be so many jobs if we start trying to build more green infrastructure, and renewable energy,” she assured. 

the biggest roadblock? political will, pielet said.

one of the struggles in making progress is that many have a different idea of how to go about addressing this issue, or not addressing it at all.

“i don’t think it’s about trying to convince people that (climate change) is real or not,” pielet said, “but it’s more so just voting them out… and voting in people who are serious about it.”

with the 2020 presidential election coming soon, addressing the issue of climate change is more urgent than ever. many who are concerned about the environment are looking for candidates with a climate plan.

the city of st. petersburg proves that important action can be taken at the local level, too. in april 2019, st. petersburg adopted an integrated sustainability action plan, which outlines a blueprint for the city to be fossil fuel-free with a thriving economy by 2035. the plan includes implementing more public transportation and bike routes. 

as i sat speaking to pielet in the park while her dog zoomed around us, i noticed the determination in her voice and the purpose in her tone.

“finally, the pressure is on,” she said.

there are many factors that make switching to a green economy complex, she explained, but it is doable — and our future depends on it. 

after seeing the turnout at the st. petersburg climate strike, where 1,200 people gathered on sept. 20 to demand action, pielet said, “this is the most hope i’ve ever had… this could truly be a turning point.”

we have the groundwork laid out, and now it’s just a matter of acting on it.

every commercial is an advertisement trying to convince people that they need to buy things that they really don’t. it would be utterly relieving to see a commercial that focused on something other than human greed, gain and entrapment of society. i bet 95% of what people see on t.v. makes them dumber, so having educational commercial would be great to combat the vast majority of non-educational media.

i have seen what seemed like environmental commercials play at theaters in st. louis mo, guess who sponsored them? monsanto and a big coal company.

why and how can the very companies who are responsible for polluting our air and water be the ones feeding society information about what is environmentally friendly and what is best for our environment?

green washing is seriously setting back real environmental change. did you know that in a store the other day a water bottle company was advertising its product to be ‘green’ because if you bought 2 large water bottles you get a re-usable bag for free…

please, please let’s get actual environmentalist (people who truly care about the long term sustainability of this planet, not just profit) to create and show informational environmental commercials!!!

i know that it is very expensive to run commercials, but we can make anything happen! we could all pitch in, get sponsors, get people to donate and more. these commercials should play during every movie in every theater, come on, it’s time to get the ball rolling.

p.s. i like the videos that will teach the public about plastic, about fish in our oceans, about global warming, about tar sands oil in canada, about how we can help and what we can do as people!!!