Troubled waters…
Many years ago I took a Pacific cruise with a few friends onboard P & O’s Sea Princess. Early one evening as the sun was going down we sat out on the rear upper deck enjoying a Captain Morgan and coke. The sun was sinking fast into the stillness of the golden sea and with the vastness of the ocean around us… it was difficult to ignore the fact that the world seemed (in that moment) like a pretty incredible place!
As the sun slipped below the horizon and the last glow of dusk hovered there… our reverie (or was it revelry? grin) was disrupted by a rather strange sound. Kaaaa-splash… followed by another kaaaa-splash… and then another. We jumped up from our deck chairs thinking someone must have surely fallen overboard… and raced to the back railing that enclosed the stern of the ship. Leaning over very far in order to see down to the decks below I remember being shocked by what I saw.
There from the bottom deck in the service area of the ship a man was dumping garbage. I leaned over further and counted as 25 giant-sized dark green garbage bags were jettisoned from the back of the ship into the sea. Even in those days before pollution was a dirty word… before the hole in the ozone was known about… and way before global warming or climate change had entered the human consciousness… I knew this just had to be WRONG.
Has anyone ever heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch … (or GPGP for short)?
I hadn’t… until I stumbled upon it’s existence just the other day. Not that I should have been surprised after my own personal experience all those years ago. That garbage had to go somewhere… and I had finally found out where! I just wish that I’d known about the GPGP before Blog Action Day as it would have made a terrific (if also horrific) story on the environment!
artwork & content Copyright Jean Burman 2007
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is a giant toxic mass of plastic waste and debris larger than the US State of Texas. It swirls around in a sickening vortex… held in by the prevailing currents… in a remote area of the ocean known as the North Pacific subtropical Gyre somewhere between Hawaii and San Francisco. Here the ocean is dead. Oxygen levels in the ocean are so low that it can no longer support life. All that remains are microorganisms that do not need oxygen for life… anaerobic organisms that have adapted and learned to persist in the hypoxic environment.
Estimated to be around 1500 miles across and 30 metres deep (no one is absolutely certain of it’s size) the swirling cesspool of plastic waste… bags bottles wrappers condoms (you name it…if it’s plastic it’s there)… floats around in silent testimony to the mindlessness of the human race. It’s existence… a tragic byproduct of human over-consumption and scant regard for the planet we cannot survive without.
Bottle tops and other plastic objects are visible inside the decomposed carcass of this Laysan albatross on Kure Atoll, which lies in a remote and virtually uninhabited region of the North Pacific. The bird probably mistook the plastics for food and ingested them while foraging for prey. Picture from the article “Trashed” by Charles Moore
You’d think that if we couldn’t survive without it… someone somewhere would care about a situation such as this which is growing by the day. But no… world leaders, conservationists, scientists, environmentalists, politicians and the politically correct seem diverted by the more long term problems presented by global warming and climate change.
Global Warming is the new big thing. It’s fashionable. It’s policitally correct… (and it’s coming)… but not before other more imminent disasters take us out… perhaps even before we will notice a one degree change in the climate!
Clean air and clean water are fundamental to our survival here on planet Earth. And unless evolution intervenes and morphs us into anaerobic organisms not requiring oxygen… we had all darned well do something about this.
Finally… no more plastic bags for me. How about you?
Holloways Beach - not far from home
November 1st, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Oh my God Jean!!! I am horrified, absolutely and completely horrified!!!!!!!! I don’t think that I have ever been more disgusted with the human race as I have just now reading this atrocity!! I have seeen some pretty bad things as a by-product of human existence and what we call necessities, but your story takes the cake! Seeing that poor, poor bird - a victim of our greed and sloth! I remember when I was about 22 on my way to Cape York with a group of bird watchers, we stopped at Tully and stretched our legs along the beach there (Lord Howe Island is just across the bay) I could not tell what I was looking at along the water line on the beach - it stretched as far as I could see. I took a closer look to find a “wash” of tin cans, plastic bags, chip packets, drink bottles. I could not understand why it was all there….in such a beautiful place that appeared to be so isolated. I questioned this stream of garbage at the shop across the road. The gentleman informed me …with a shrug of his shoulders, that it was from the tourists on the island. He didn’t seem to care!!!!!!!!!!! If someone had cared, it would not have been there!!! I can understand the need for us as “machines” in todays society to need a break, but…does that mean a break from all responsibility!! Does the sun keep coming up every morning, do salmon stop swimming upstream to spawn, do whales just camp somewhere else because they are too tired to go where they need to go for the sake of their pod???? Wow Jean…this has got me soooo riled, so angry!!! Where do some people get off by just hoying rubbish “out of sight”. Do we know how many bushfires are started by lit cigarettes thrown from open car windows, that broken bottles concealed under dry grass and leaves also have the same effect….its all litter!!!!! I cannot comprehend why so many humans do not have the instincts to look after their planet. We are an intelligent species. Our eyes are in the front of our heads so we can see what is ahead of us…but how many really see that far????
November 1st, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Jools… thanks for commenting
Gosh… I didn’t mean to cause so much pain! Just wanted to bring awareness to a situation that continues to cry out for attention.
I would like to think that in these (comparatively) progressive times cruise ships are no longer jettisoning their garbage out the back of the ship… but who knows?
The beaches around Tully (my home town) are pristine these days. I think you will find that it’s Dunk Island opposite Mission Beach (which is the closest beach to Tully). It’s all so beautiful down there… and they have a very active environmental lobby there now which seems to keep a close watch on the area’s natural assets.
Not all humans are environmental vandals… (although looking at the Gyre one would have to wonder! LOL) I believe a lot of what’s in the oceans has been there a very long time… and much of it has probably found it’s way there inadvertently. IMO awareness about the environmental impact of plastic would go a long way to fixing the problem.
November 2nd, 2007 at 12:50 am
Thanks for sharing this Jean, I’ve long known that such mindless disposal of rubbish was causing many problems, but had never before heard of GPGP. How awful! Globallly, we have become a “throw-away” society. Comparitively few people recycle(it’s inconvenient)–I regularly do a trash run of my own in front of our little country acreage, picking up beer cans, plastic bags, wrappers, diapers, etc. and adding to our own trash can. Those of us who chose to be aware, and care, have to be vigilent. When we moved here around 12 years ago, I discovered much rubbish just pitched into the woods (out of sight) Plastic plant pots, broken bottles, etc. It has all been collected and disposed of, and I’m proud that our woods are such a clean place to be. It’s a small thing in the face of the GPGP, but a contribution I am able to make.
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:06 am
Bravo Feathers!
Without the commitment of people like you the world would be far worse off! I could have been a better recycler in the past (tho have never been a litterbug)… but somehow… learning about the plight of our oceans has shocked me to the core. When you think about it… plastic is so persistent in the environment… how could we expect it just to “go away”? Humankind’s collective attitude reminds me of the toddler who (when faced with getting into trouble) covers his eyes believing no-one can see him! *wink* LOL
November 2nd, 2007 at 9:38 am
Double Bravo Feathers!!!! I have been chastised for picking up rubbish in places that are not “my territory”..cries such as “Julie…what are you doing???? Thats rubbish!” My reply is “Yes it is, and someone has to pick it up!” But ofcourse, if it had never been dropped in the first place…no one would have to pick it up! Easy????
Sorry about my heated out burst Jean - there was no pain involved, just pure rage and frustration. I am so pleased to hear that Tully is clean again - that story came from 22 yrs ago!!!
Such a true analogy Jean…if you can’t see it, it can’t be there! Thank heavens some people are aware of the plight of our “world” and do see ahead. But I fear for the future, as people are taking too long to cast aside their ignorance and blindness as well as their thirst for “materialism”. It is the production of “fast and easy” and the “must have!” mentality that is destroying what is natural and beautiful!!!
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 am
Great article, Jean. I hadn’t known about the GPGP, but I did know that the dumping of garbage at sea has been routine for a long time, and a disaster in the making. It’s another example of what I call global harming, as opposed to global warming, which is just one aspect of the larger problem. I recommend Jared Diamond’s book “Collapse,” which chronicles the collapse of several societies throughout history, and foretells the impending collapse of the world as we know it if something isn’t done. (We won’t even go into the Bush notion of setting guidelines but not goals, and not holding anyone to them, especially, of course, the U.S.) I’ve long since given up plastic bags, and carry my canvas totes with me to the super market. It’s interesting that in my neighborhood a lot of the cleaning up of bottles and cans is done by cadres of homeless who exchange them for petty cash. The worst thing is the people who say they’d be happy to take environmentally friendly action but it wouldn’t do any good, because other people don’t. I tell them we should do it because it’s “the right thing to do,” regardless of others’ malfeasance.
November 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 am
Incidentally, love the cartoon!
November 2nd, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Jools… no need for apology! I just didn’t want to bring anyone grief… but it is a pretty shocking reality isn’t it? I have been trying to figure out which beach you were on Jools. 22 years ago I used to take my little bloke down to visit his grandparents at Bingil Bay and we would play on Mission Beach…but I have no recollection of a big litter problem. (But obviously I wasn’t there on that day!) I believe our litter laws here in Australia and projects like Keep Australia Beautiful and the Tidy Towns Competition have done wonders for this country. Generally speaking you don’t see very much rubbish lying around… and councils do a pretty good job there too. The snap of Holloways Beach is fairly representative of up here… (that photo hasn’t been re-touched or doctored or cleaned up in any way… that’s exactly how it was on the day) Belies the truth eh… when you think of the mucky mess further out in the Pacific! LOL
I think the way forward is to eliminate plastic altogether. Our throw-away society has way too much reliance on it! It’s totally scarey stuff. Not only do we have a problem with it’s disposal… but also with it’s use in food packaging. All round it’s dangerous.
It’s hazardous to produce.
It’s hazardous when heated… emitting carcinogens and xenoeostrogens into foodstuffs… (imagine the implications for babies bottles… and plastic food wrap… and any number of other products that are packaged and stored in the stuff!)
And then of course it’s hazardous when we throw it away without thought… for all of the above reasons! But like every other convenience we now have… we can’t live without it because there is nothing to replace it… and of course the companies who manufacture plastics have no intention of stopping… (when you consider how much plastic is out there it must be a very lucrative business!)
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Thank you John for mentioning the cartoon… I surprised even myself with that one! LOL
You know… you’d expect that the pitfalls of dumping rubbish at sea would be a total no-brainer wouldn’t you? But I guess there are more things in heaven and earth Horatio… *sigh*
Thanks for the reminder John…. I will try to find a copy of that book because it sounds like a really good read… (even if also a little scarey!) I think my main beef with the Global Warming circus is just that… it’s a circus… and everyone’s on the bandwagon with their own agenda. What concerns me is that by the time the pollies environmentalists and the like have bandied the issues around long enough to achieve their political purposes… the rest of us are going to be so darned sick of hearing about the environment (all those promises - all those lies) that we will close off to it altogether and then nothing will get done.
I guess I can relate to the seeming hopelessness of the individual effort… but you’re right… it has to start somewhere. I guess that “somewhere” has already begun with the efforts of the homeless in your neighbourhood… and the small (but not insignificant) efforts by people like Jools and Feathers… and you too John. (Digging out my green bags as we speak… I’m getting sick of juggling my groceries for fear of taking plastic… and I WILL remember to bring the bag with me next time promise!) wink LOL)
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:39 am
Love your article and illustrations Jean!!! As always you bring up interesting perspectives and poignant thoughts. The first time I even considered the practicality of bringing my own bags to market was when I went youth hosteling with my brother in England, (college days). Of course, restricted to a tight budget we often stopped at the grocers for sustenation, (Cadbury bars and berry pies…ah, invincible youth!). We always tended to make a scene as, we silly Americans, inevitably would forget to bring bags with us and thus had to, as you so aptly put it “juggle” our goods to the car. They don’t provide disposable bags there, (thank goodness!).
One of my biggest pet peaves though…is when I triumphantly plop my canvas bags down before other “environmentally clueless” customers at the grocers and the cud-chewing cashier proceeds to pack my goods into plastic bags BEFORE packing them again into my canvas bags! You can only imagine the indignity and forthcoming rage. How can people be so frustratingly mindless?! (I have intentions on speaking to the managers on this issue…your blog motivates me so…besides, if I can resolve this soon my blood pressure will settle! Just kidding…)
November 3rd, 2007 at 5:21 am
I have taken several cruises all on Holland America Lines which has a nothing overboard policy and means it. Great pictures Jean
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:26 am
Jean…yes your cartoon shoots straight from the hip, well done! Sory I did not mention that earlier!
The beach I went to is on the main “drag” - straight across the road from a shop that sells food. I guess tidal influences would change the amount of rubbish that drifts up onto the beach (it is the beach with the jetty!!! and the isand is directly opposite)
While watching the news last night - they were showing shots of Warragamba dam - Sydneys water supply and focused on the blue/green algae problem (which surfaces from lack of fresh - rain!!) coming into the holding. Blue/green algae forms from an overload of phosphates - found in fertilisers and washing detergents. It is a serious irritant and can cause all sorts of problems (including killing fish and other plant life as it blocks out oxygen from the water). It leaches into the water through the soil, or can drift in from airborne spores. The experts were saying “the water is safe - we drain from beneath the algae….ooooohhhhh! Gee - that makes it alright???
We have just had 20 mls of rain, with more on the way!!! Brilliant weather - consistent downpours is what we need to help the farmers and clear the air…as well as freshen up our waterways!!!
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
Thanks Mary! I love the way you write… it’s so descriptive! The “cud chewing cashier” conjures up vivid and immediate images… hahaha… I think I know that person! LOL
Yes… we’ve still got a lot to learn haven’t we? But I think part of the problem is that no-one’s come up with a really effective and viable alternative to the humble (or not so humble) plastic bag. It riles me too… to be told it’s all the fault of the consumer… I mean someone somewhere is making a heck of a profit churning these darned things out! They too should surely take some of the flak… along with Governments who can’t see the wood for the trees… and scientists who are happy to turn up once a year and take funding for “pie in the sky” projects while the real issues that need a solution get swept under the carpet (or out to sea!)
The green eco bags might seem to be an effective solution… when they are in the right hands… but they require a significant commitment from the community at large (ie remembering the darned things seems to be the biggest hurdle for most) and then there’s the case for large families with very large orders who would need a semi-trailer to carry it all home… those green bags when fully laden can be formidably heavy! The average family shop might require 24 of them… and an army of men to cart and carry.
What ever happened to those big thick brown paper bags we used to have for shopping? You know… the ones that used to go through the bottom if you left the cold things in there too long?!
LOL Then I suppose the tree lobby would jump up and down… but realistically… in these days of climate change and carbon credits could not the trees be grown specifically for paper manufacture… grown and harvested in rotation… so as to maintain a consistent supply (of both paper and fresh air). We could probably learn much from our eastern neigbours (in our case to the north) who have traditionally made paper products from all manner of plant material… like pineapple and banana fibre. I’m sure the technology could be developed to make this commercially viable… but it would require a commitment… and that (for some reason) is something that we humans have to think long and hard about!
Andrew has just been here for breakfast… he tells me I am incredibly “glass half empty” this morning! LOL Sorry if I’m sounding bleak!
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:26 am
Thanks Roger
That’s such good news about Holland America Line. I haven’t been on a cruise for years… but I couldn’t even begin to imagine what the oceans might be like by now if ocean liners had continued throughout all the ensuing years to dump overboard at such a rate. Good news that someone somewhere has seen the light. Progress…. yessss!
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:48 am
Jools… I finally figured out where you were! The jetty gave it away… as there’s only one jetty in the Mission Beach area and that’s at Clump Point… a pristine area where the rainforest comes right down to the sea (no shops). Then finally it dawned on me… I’ll bet you were in Cardwell? Cardwell is a small commercial fishing village right on the sea. The highway runs right through the town and there are shops across the road from the esplanade and jetty. Now I’m with you. Yes… Cardwell sits on mudflats and is extremely tidal. It’s a commercial centre too… and in those days their local dump was just to the south of town and (you guessed it) right on the water. Needless to say all manner of things leached from the dump into the sea… (so close to the Barrier Reef there too) It’s hard to imagine the short sightedness of council for locating it there… but thank goodness… now things have changed. The greenies jumped up and down like crazy when developer Keith Williams wanted to build a resort town on top of the dump site… they cited all sorts of reasons… from dugong habitats… to sea grass beds… to “you name it” as a reason to obstruct the project. Eventually the development went ahead… and it’s wonderful. Gone is the stinking dump… and in it’s place a modern marina village with beautiful homes and tree-lined boulevards. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea… but it’s a whole lot better than what was there. The greenies are not so vocal these days about Port Hinchinbrook… but had they had their way… nearby Cardwell would still be sitting there with effluent from it’s own rubbish dump being washed up on it’s shores.
Re the blue-green algae… a few years ago I was in the Lakes District in England and was horrified to see danger signs posted all round these pristine lakes warning of blue-green algae. You weren’t allowed to even touch the water let alone get into it… much less drink it! I was shocked that the water could be so bad in such a beautiful seemingly unspoiled place… but… there you have it. Sadly we have much to be accountable for.
November 3rd, 2007 at 9:21 am
Cardwell….thats it!!!!! Hinchinbrook Island, yes, yes!!!!! There was only 1 shop when I was there..I think it was a post office as well?????
Blue/green algae is disgusting stuff, it burns you, gives you all manner of intestinal problems (any water that is near it is “infected!”)….I mean - it kills fish!!!!!!!! Does that not alert some kind of warning! It is regarded as being toxic! Yet, it remains a constant problem in most water supplies and is the cause for many “viral” intestinal complaints. Even if you can catch a “live” fish out of water contaminated with it…you cannot eat the fish…food chain thing! Makes me think of the fish from the ocean, being ladden with mercury! Fish are supposed to be the “miracle” food that makes us smarter, lubricates our joints and reduces cholesterol….they also poison us! Damned if we do - damned if we don’t!
November 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 am
It’s always amazed me to see people in the third world washing their clothes and taking a bath in the water they would later drink! We are no different really… it’s just that we have a few (supposedly) sophisticated processes in between! I still have fish occasionally. I feel relatively safe eating the smaller reef fish caught locally here on the reef… but who really knows? As for my cod liver oil caps… well they’re triple filtered and mercury tested… all the way from Norway! OMG what a crazy cockamani world we live in!!! (((LOL)))
November 3rd, 2007 at 10:55 am
Makes me wonder what we shall eventually evolve into????? Lol!
November 3rd, 2007 at 11:09 am
Or maybe that should be “dissolve” into! (((LOL)))
November 3rd, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Phew wheee! The mind boggles Jean. Oooo more thunder rolling around here..speaking of water!! We have had 3 inches over 2 days…brilliant!! This rain is wide spread over New South Wales - getting to alot of places where it is needed! Hopefully Warragamba Dam will get some too!
November 3rd, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Great news Jools! Nothing like the sound of rain on the old tin roof! Brrrring it on…
LOL
November 4th, 2007 at 6:39 am
You are sooo right - lucky me has been listening to that for 3 nights now….aaaahhhhh!
We have only just been put on level 4 water restrictions……hand held hose, soaker hose or bucketing of water for 1 hr in the morning and 1 hr at night - Wed & Sun! It will remain that way, unless we get more rain to follow this. No lawn watering, no cleaning of hard surfaces (paths, patios, walls). The rain we are getting is good. Although it is heavy at times, it is soaking in and the storms are coming every couple of hours with warm sun poking through to keep it warm…perfect growing weather!!! Summer is the really wild time…hey Jean!!!! Did you see earthquakes in Indonesia and threats of Volcano going off?
The spring flush in my garden is just about over (need some help pruning and dead heading flowers) and then the summer burst is coming soon - my garden will go from the soft tones of pinks, mauves and soft blues to bright oranges, yellows and reds…wha hoo! I lurve it!
November 4th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Claire and I just checked my rain gauge - exactly 2 inches overnight. That makes 5 inches over 4 days!!!!!!!! Perfect!
November 4th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Jean - Guess what??? An old friend from Atherton has just turned up on my doorstep!!!!!! Actually he found me in the supermarket! So good to see him, its been 4 years! Catching up on gossip and talking about Atherton and Cairns - good stuff!
November 4th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Thank-you Jean this has been so,so interesting . My mind has been jumping from trying to list all the pollution that we now have here in the once beautiful Kyles of Bute . The new marinas (heads dumping etc ) The new sewage works …nothing taken away ,as it once was from Glasgow to the tattie fields of Ayrshire or even shipped Doon the Watter to be dumped not far from here
No, the local produce is just reduced mechanically and flushed out into our diahhorrea bay
Well thats the stuff that has the use of a sewer Now that most of the houses belong to rich townies as holiday homes at least they are only adding to the flow part of the year
.Sailing school had to move from the village out to a cleaner area with some loss to the village
Then we have our big fish swimming out there and the powers that be want to upgrade it (Trident)
Further down in the Soloway there is an ammunition dump and occasionally we are told NOT to touch certain articles found on beaches as we might lose a hand if not our lives .
I still enjoy queen scallops in season thinking Loch Fyne only has algie occasionally.
The local mackerel is still enjoyed straight out of the water (Have to shut mind off or we would boake)
Our plastic bags are reused over and over as they are returned to the local shop .Interesting to see where some have come from . Others are cut into strips ,woven or crocheted into mats or other articles .I can’t imagine wasting the time on that .We use the bags to sort out our recyleable stuff but I suppose in the end they still add to the clog . Methinks we have to find those other bags wherever they are hiding truth is the plastic bags are so useful maybe a new type of thin light strong material needs to be invented Maybe it has we just haven’t heard of it.
Half full Jean is still not empty ……..Elinor Mc
November 5th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Thanks Elinor… I’ll remember to tell Andrew that!
I just wrote a big long reply but then managed to delete it. Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something… (like it’s time to shut up!) Oh hang it all… you KNOW I can’t do that LOL
Elinor… it seems inconceivable to me that your little piece of paradise in Scotland faces the same challenges as the rest of the world! Dumping into waterways has become a way of life the world over I guess… no-one even thinks about it (out of sight out of mind)… just like the scant 6 miles of airspace we have over and around our heads. Our atmosphere is finite… (unlike the greater universe) but somehow people see the sky above and think fresh air goes on forever. It doesn’t.
The way I see it… our main problem is there’s just too many darned people on the planet … and too many vested interests. Re plastic… we need viable solutions. Bio-degradable bags are still plastic… and the green eco bags are… yep… still plastic. They’re re-usable for sure… but eventually will find their way into landfills (and waterways) where they are even more persistent than their light white disposable relatives! Cotton bags might seem like a solution but until they can produce a viable cost effective cotton crop without the heavy use of pesticides this will remain a debatable choice… and as we talked about above… paper and cardboard need trees and lots of ‘em! We’re between a rock and a hard place.
I’d like to see half the funding that is (fashionably) going into global warming and climate change diverted into finding innovative new solutions for more immediate and grassroots problems here on Earth. These smaller less popular efforts would have a positive spin off effect on climate change anyway. But that’s just what I think…
November 5th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Surely we as the “superior” species can harvest some sort of “material” that is beneficial to the world as a replacement for plastics, is a natural fibre and conributes to the cleaning of the air. We have managed to harvest many other viable products that do not have as much impact on the environment. Use and replace, use and replace! Necessity is the mother of invention!
I think your idea is a good one Jean! Putting money into projects that reduce waste, and increase environment safety.
November 5th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
GOOD NEWS!
I just stumbled upon a substitute for wood in the manufacture of paper. Kenaf is a fibre crop closely related to cotton and okra and has been successfully trialled in the US Thailand and India to name just a few. It has been a great success in the manufacture of paper cardboard and particle board. Sadly… most of the literature I found dated back to 1998. Why this information (and hence the commercial production of same) has been tucked away since 1998 is anyone’s guess… pardon my cynicism but you can bet your bottom dollar the plastics industries had something to do with it) Most recently more trials are currently underway in Central Queensland (here in Aus) with the Japanese vesting a great deal of interest and capital into the venture. Anyone interested can read about kenaf here…
http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/business/13196.html
Things are looking up… glass half empty now cup running over!
LOL
November 6th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
All they have to do, is see the “dollar value” in it Jean….and it will go ahead. Fingers crossed!
November 12th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Jean, I’ve just come along your “Troubled Waters” blog … and I do so agree with what you say here. Let’s take care of our waters, our land before we worry about global warming. Maybe if we take care of our back yard first, the rest will take care of itself. I’ve linked to your article through my Bridges 2 Design blog at http://vbridgeshoyt.com/wordpress/
Never stop writing, Jean.
November 12th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Hey thanks Nita!
It’s so great to hear from you btw! Absolutely fabulous news about your new venture! Never let it be said that I am not GREEN… (with envy) wink* wink* (((LOL)))… your new studio is EXACTLY right out of my dreams! Who knows… maybe I’ll get over there to Texas someday to check it all out? In the meantime… I wish you all the very best… it’s going to be a HUGE success!