Here in 2015, it should come as no surprise, but we as human beings have a natural disposition for messing up the natural order of things.
Holy Scripture aside, Earth is not a commodity to be bought, sold or appraised, nor are the bounties from it everlasting. Scientists of today will point to increasing carbon emissions that will warm our air and acidify our oceans. They will direct us to the Mid-West and California, where climate change is effecting weather patterns and melting snow packs, drying out those regions and stressing crop output. And, then there are the polar ice caps.
The correlation between climate change and human-caused carbon emissions from cars, power-plants and deforestation has become politicized. It’s a topic for political parties to debate over, and the color tie you wear often dictates your point of you in the matter.
The Albany County Legislature deserves kudos for taking a stand on an environmental issue of a different matter. Last week the governing body legislation proposed to ban the use of microbeads commonly found in cleaning products, from facial cleansers to toothpaste.
An invention of convenience has turned into a potential disaster to natural wildlife, as it turns out these cleaning-aids are not filtered through our water treatment plants, and deposit out into our lakes and streams.
These plastic beads create problems in two ways. In one scenario, they are mistaken for food and are ingested. The other, harmful chemicals seep out into the water as the plastics degrade.
Microbead technology has been on the shelves for several years, so their accumulation has already been substantial. Since 2012, microplastics have increased at such a rate, the numbers rival that of the infamous garbage patches circumnavigating the world’s oceans.
The proposed legislation still must go to vote, but may not find any opposition. Local grocery stores like Wegman’s and Tops have taken such products off their shelves. And, those companies currently using microbeads in their products, like Johnson & Johnson and Neutrogena, are already taking steps to phase them out completely.
Once the legislation is passed, products using microbeads will be banned from being sold in Albany County.
So, kudos to the Legislature will be reserved for once they do pass this into law. The next step will be to have this same kind of effort shared throughout the country.
