This won't hurt a bit...

(Title: A little throw-back to The Tom Green Show, for those of you who care to remember or admit to watching it.)

I make a sincere attempt to not use this blog to be preachy. Sometimes I can't help myself (*cough* donate blood and fill out an advanced directive and donate your organs *cough*) and I admit that. I feel that this entry might be one more of those times.

Let me start off by telling you a little more about my love affair with Al Gore. A year ago I thought that I was in touch with the environment. I thought I was sincerely making my efforts. Then, like so many of you, I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" and was truly moved. Truly moved. I was shocked by the very inconvenience of that truth, but I was also scared to death of the damage we are inflicting on our planet -- a planet I had every intention of my children and grandchildren getting a go at. I filled up my bike tires. I made an extremely concerted effort to reduce the trash that the Betrothed and I put out twice a week -- and to up what we can reuse or recycle.

My older sister informed me that those following the ways of Al Gore -- doing THEIR PART to save the planet -- were following what is now known as "The Gorical". It isn't about browbeating your coworkers, it's about taking home that soda can from your office and recycling it if your office doesn't -- I'll admit I will grab someone else's soda can or water bottle from the trash to pop it into the recycle bin. It's about using tupperware instead of new sammich bags everyday. Washing plastic utensils instead of getting new ones each day. Using the fabric grocery bags instead of the plastic ones. In our house, and now in my Bestie's, when we have an item to recycle, it is "to be Goricaled" or to be "given to the Gorical".

My recycling efforts stepped up from my soda and soup cans and plastic water bottles to everything plastic that I could wash and recycle. Yogurt cups, McDonald's Parfait cups, the plastic thing the angel food cake comes in.

And then I was directed to the recycling guide in our community book. (If your community recycles, check our their policies. I learned that mine accepted junk mail, old phone books, magazines and catalogs -- all to be recycled. Of course, shred the parts that have your name on them. It is just another great way to reduce your trash and lessen your "footprint".) Ours stated that they only accept 1's and 2's -- plastic things with necks and screw on tops. And everything else plastic that I was recycling was slowing down the recycling process because it had to be sifted out and trashed -- reducing the recycling efforts. We, as a nation, can only recycle 1's and 2's?! Look around your house. Your apartment. Your office. What percentage of the plastic that you see has a neck with screw on top? Are you recycling it? Are you aware of what becomes of the plastic of the 3-7 marking that is not recyclable? Did you know that that has every piece of plastic that has EVER BEEN MANUFACTURED is STILL on the planet? We cannot destroy it. And only 3-5% of all that plastic is recycled. Plastic is an amazing thing, TO BE SURE, it has changed our lives, improved our safety, saved our money, but doesn't it strike you that we must be more conscious of what happens to it? Just because we can manufacture something simply and cheaply doesn't mean that we should?

I was directed to an article that has entirely changed my thoughts on plastic -- if, indeed, I ever had any real thoughts on plastic. I urge you to take five minutes and read about exactly where our plastic is going and what plastic is doing to us health-wise. (Because, please, you're at work reading blogs. I know you. I think you have a few moments to read something substantial like an article -- you've already boned up on CNN.com and WashingtonPost.com.) I'm not advocating a ban on plastic - hardly. I'm merely suggesting that we find ways to avoid plastics that we cannot recycle and increase our recycling of the ones that we can. And maybe the geniuses among us can figure out how to recycle 3-7. Or maybe how we can eliminate 3-7 and have all plastics be 1-2. (Shout out to Whole Foods -- who have abandoned plastic deli containers for cardboard.)

If you feel comfortable, pass along the article to your friends and coworkers -- post it in the lounge. Surely, most people are unaware of this issue. People need to realize the value of doing "their part" -- doing what they can.

Because enough people doing "their part" could be a whole lotta people and parts.

Oh, and while you're at it. Donate blood and your organs and fill out an advanced directive. Thank you, that is all.

P.S. I *know*! What happened to Cathy, man? She's all green-this and recycle-that? She went from smoking Pepsi drinker to running planet saver. Cha. -- Well, I can assure you, no trees have been hugged in the writing of this message.