Stop! Think! Go Green!

Most people don’t wake up and think, "Hmm, today I think I'll eat breakfast and then pour some nasty chemicals down the sink." Unfortunately, even when we don’t mean to, we still manage to destroy our own environment while going about our day-to-day activities.

When you take a shower or brush your teeth using products that have got plastic microbeads, you fill the ocean with waste.

You can find plastic microbeads (listed as polyethylene and polypropylene in the ingredients) in many popular face soaps, body washes, and toothpastes. They are sometimes included in lip gloss, nail polish, and "age-defying" makeup. Most wastewater treatment doesn't filter out microbeads, and they end up in seas and rivers.

What happens when fish mistake the small plastic particles for food? Scientists are examining how micro plastics are affecting marine life once eaten. If fish eat micro plastics, will those chemicals be passed to humans when we eat seafood?

Next time you feel so hungry you could eat a cow, don't. When people eat too much meat, the effect on the environment is enormous. But how much is too much? Americans eat 60% more meat than Europeans and the global appetite for meat is growing. In the last 40 years, worldwide production of meat has tripled. If the demand keeps going at this rate, production will double by 2050.  All this extra meat will need more water, land and fuel. This rapid change will cause damage to the planet and global health. The meat industry causes so much pollution.