Earth Day

When I woke up yesterday morning,I didn't really plan on doing anything for Earth Day. Not that I don't think it is a great idea, I do. We should all try a little harder to do good things to help the Earth. Other than planting seeds in the garden with my children when they were small, I can't say that I have every really thought about doing anything. As there had been patchy frost over night, I knew that I would not be doing any seed planting.
So, I went about my day,starting with my usual trip to the Mega Grocery store near my home. As I rounded the corner of the aisle across from the sea food case, I noticed 4 men in suits, with clip boards. They, along with the store manager were inspecting the cases and taking notes. Ahh,the Big Wigs,from headquarters. Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head! I remembered that I had put a copy of the safe seafood list from the Monterrey Bay Aquarium in my purse. I walked up to the nearest man and said "I see from your signs around the store,that you are interested in being more organic and green,yes?" He was polite ,and replied that he was very interested in any suggestions to help the store in this area. I put the list in his hand,and, he did look a little puzzled,at first. I explained that the columns on the page represented fish to choose,and fish to avoid. He said,"That's great, but I am not sure what to do with it?" I suggested that he take the list and give it to the fish buyers back at HQ. That way, they can make better informed choices.too He asked to keep the list,so maybe that is a sign that he will actually do something about it.
I do know that it made me feel like I had actually done something for Earth Day! It seems like a pretty simple thing to make more informed choices. Especially with the internet. Information is only a click away. And let's face it, as divers, we have a front row seat to all the beauty in the oceans. Making informed decisions is one thing that we can all do,everyday!
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx

One of my pet peeves

This has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time. Plastic bags. Yes, plastic grocery bags. How many divers have seen them on a dive? Caught up in a reef, half buried in the sand, or floating free, like a jelly fish? Maybe the correct question is, how many haven't seen them?
Here, in the north, when the snow thaws, they are everywhere. Blowing across fields, caught up in trees, in ditches, flowing in streams on their way to lakes, then oceans. They are the single most visible form of litter everywhere.
This isn't a plea for all of us to start bringing re-usable bags with us to the store(although, that is a great idea). From what I see, many people are starting to do that on a regular basis. What I am wondering is if we could get the stores to stop carrying them completely. No more plastic grocery bags, ever!
I am just thinking out loud here, but can a bag be manufactured out of something bio-degradable? Some of the carry-out containers are now being made from bio-degradable products.
Maybe, it isn't as serious of a problem as I think. I just envision future archeologists digging up whole layers of earth that contain nothing but plastic bags. I wonder what they will think of us?