< Previous | Index | Next >
Image of the day – 162
What’s in an image? Sometimes quite a lot, more than meets the eye. I’m posting an image every few days.
Fancy a swim? No, I don’t either.
As with the last two Image of the day posts, this is once again from the River Great Ouse. Rubbish of all kinds gets into the river by a variety of routes. Sometimes people may just chuck stuff in – empty cans, plastic wrappers, paper bags. More often, perhaps, they leave items on the grass or the path, the wind blows, and voila! More flotsam.
But there’s not just human junk here, there are a lot of feathers too, mostly swan feathers though there might be goose and duck feathers as well. And there are leaves carelessly discarded by the trees in the park. However, the situation is not as bad as it seems; the photo was taken in a little corner where the river current doesn’t reach, a stagnant space where, if things move at all, they go around in lazy circles. There’s also some kind of floating weed here, thriving amongst the trash.
The natural world always behaves like this. It attempts, in its own way, to overcome every obstacle put in its path. Organisms of all kinds make the best they can of every situation. Often, the impact of floating waste is negative, but sometimes there may be exceptions.
On a much larger scale
I expect readers are aware of the massed floating zones of plastic at the centres of our oceans, the so-called Pacific garbage patch is the best known example although there are others. Some organisms have adopted these patches as suitable places to settle and there are now thriving colonies of algae, fish, and more. Attempts to collect the plastic for removal may need to be reconsidered and the situation is still under investigation.
Humans individually and collectively
It’s tempting to assume that my individual action has little effect. And there’s some truth in that – If I throw away a plastic sandwich wrapper as I walk in the countryside (having a quick look around first to see if anyone’s watching, of course), it’s easy to assume it doesn’t matter. But if I do it it every day that will be 365 plastic sandwich wrappers lying in the countryside. And if a thousand other people do the same thing that’s a third of a million wrappers. Suddenly the problem seems greater than I first imagined!
Collectively we are doing an enormous amount of damage. We need collective actions to make things better. This is happening, and we can all contribute, individually and collectively. If I act to improve things a little, and do it often, I will make a real difference. Or a local group removing litter from public spaces can make a larger difference much more quickly.
Somehow, collectively, we need to change from causing more damage to thinking things through and acting more responsibly. If we can’t or won’t, things will go from really bad (where we are now) to far, far worse (a place we definitely don’t want to be). Yet there’s still time, if not to put everything right, at least to reduce the harm very significantly.
It’s not only about rubbish
There are many things we can do to help the world cope better. Some of the links below offer good practical suggestions. Thinking about what we eat, how we use water, reducing energy consumption (and many other actions) can help the planet.
See also:
- Crowd sourced environmental improvement– Google Scholar search
- Garbage patch – Wikipedia
- Great Pacific Garbage patch, The – Wikipedia
- Top ten energy saving tips – Energy Saving Trust
- Ways to help the environment – Forest Stewardship Council
Useful? Interesting?
If you enjoyed this or found it useful, please like, comment, and share below. My material is free to reuse (see conditions), but a coffee is always welcome! 
Journeys of Heart and Mind 