Plastic, garbage, pollution

2210: The Collapse is a National Geographic show. Quite startling as they posit what will happen to, for example, L.A., when they run out of potable water. There are lessons here.

We've been watching a show about the end of the world. I remember teaching Ancient Civilizations to my gr. 5's. It was very interesting. Drought, running out of trees (the Mayas), escalating warfare; there are many reasons for the collapse of these ancient  civilizations.

The Maya cut down the forest to produce plaster to decorate temples. Flash flooding, which meant soil erosion and drastic conditions led to disease and malnutrition. With an expanding population and diminishing resources, fighting began.
Warfare a symptom, not a cause of deprivation, they tell us.

But garbage concerns me. Taking a walk up towards Ian Millar's place, I spotted 16 deer feeding on recently exposed grass. I also spotted much garbage, including beer cans, bottles, plastics, on the side of the road.

Oprah's green episode for Earth Day (2009) started with sad footage and a description of a giant island of trash -- "The Great Pacific Garbage Patch". Horrible what we are doing.


What I found interesting was thinking about what they will conclude about us when archeologists uncover the crap we leave around.

What do our toys say about us?

Giant neighbourhoods, like this one in BBQhaven, with swimming pools holding enough water for a family in an undeveloped country for a year.

Then there are the toys we make out of plastic.

These I came across these plastic toys in a catalogue.

I couldn't stop laughing. I cannot imagine who might be the target audience for this one!

I have hopes that the next generation will make a difference.

Racing Granddads

Racing Grannies

Fighting granddads

I spotted this video on Kay's blog. It interests me, as my kids run their car on cooking oil. A converted Jetta, it also runs on diesel when necessary.
These are things that are possible.