Every step we take...

I was reading the Dot Earth blog (one of the blogs I have listed on the side) the other day and they were talking about this artist, Chris Jordan. The purpose of Chris Jordan’s art work is to show how one action by one person can build up to something colossal when you consider everybody. Mostly he was focusing on negative activities or results, for example: art created from plastic refuse found in the Pacific Ocean (this is what got my attention, it’s amazing), the number of plastic cups airlines use stacked in a mind- boggling display, cigarette cartons fashioned into a skull portrait.
He covers a wide-array of issues, many of them having to do with our impact on the environment. After I saw his paper cup towers, I tried to hide my Starbucks cardboard cup that had held a delightful chai latte. According to this piece of “art” we collectively use 410,000 paper cups every 15 minutes.
I remember when I was growing up and I would think about littering. For some reason I remember people saying that it was no big deal, but that might have been in my mind, manufactured for the sake of my mental argument. “Yes, but” my young mind would continue, “if everyone littered then it would be a big deal. So we all have to do our part and not litter.” The point is that littering, drinking from a plastic cup, driving just because it’s easy, using something once and throwing it away- none of these activities is a big deal when just one person does them. But we are millions of people, actually billions- 6.5 billion and growing- all doing these activities.
I did a quick, and very inaccurate (very low estimate), calculation of miles we drive every week in Flagstaff. I based it on driving five miles per day for seven days, I would venture that most people drive more than that. I will let you know if I ever find the statistics to back this up. I based it on a low mileage week for me, just to show you how the numbers add up quickly. So assuming that around 30,000 people in Flagstaff, out of a population of 62,000 (all ages) drive at least 35 miles per week, that would equal 1.05 million miles per week or 383 million miles per year- four times to the sun and back in a year. And that’s just Flagstaff. Imagine if you include Arizona, the United States, the world.
After I saw the 410,000 paper cups, I got to thinking, “Hey, I have a cup I can bring to Starbucks and they can refill it.” I guess that’s a small start to lessening those paper cup towers. Next year I will ride the bus to Climb to Conquer Cancer because driving does make a difference.
For all of my negative behaviors, anything I can change, I believe can make a difference. Naysayers can say I am just trying to empty the ocean with a bucket. But just flip those art pieces around. What if he showed us: the cumulative impacts of people biking or walking to work, choosing to reduce and reuse or do without, or ???
But no guilt to what I do, I will focus on what I can do and I will have my latte- just in my reusable mug.