As I think about the 50th anniversary of the Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter, I reflect on the environmental issues the world faced back then, compared to today. In 1972, rivers were on fire, our ozone was turning into Swiss cheese, and air pollution was choking major cities like Los Angeles. Earth Day brought hundreds of thousands of people out to demand environmental protections. The world took notice and acted to save our environment. The U.S. government passed the Clean Air and Water Acts. 

Fast forward to today, and our environmental concerns range from massive to microscopic, but are equally urgent.

Climate change has brought raging wildfires, rising seas, and super storms and looms with approaching deadlines for our planet and species. At the same time, all individuals are living in a toxic soup of chemicals, ubiquitous in our everyday life, with exposures coming from plastics, personal care products, thermal receipt paper, and even from the food we eat and the air we breathe.

Microplastics threaten our world as much as extreme climate change impacts. If you doubt this, you need to read the recent report from Environment and Human Health, Inc., “Plastics and Microplastics: A Threat to the Environment and Health”. Microplastics are inside us, cannot be avoided, and have serious consequences for our health. They are everywhere, in our rivers, oceans, marine life, all the way up the food chain. As those millions of plastic bags and wrappers, single use Styrofoam containers and straws and laundry microfibers are discarded, they break apart but don’t break down. When you see those plastic patches in the ocean, know that there are masses of tiny microplastics below the surface to dwarf what can be seen. They get smaller to the point where they can no longer be seen with the eye, so small that we breathe them in the air. They are now calling these tiniest of plastic bits, ‘nanoplastics.’ 

Microplastics include microfibers released from our clothing during laundry, as many of our textiles, like rayon, polyester, and fleece, are now made from petrochemicals. 

There are things you can do to help prevent microplastics from getting into the water and air. You can buy a filter to catch the fibers released from your clothing when you do your laundry, you can use fewer plastic products and recycle responsibly (Not sure if it can be recycled? Go to RecycleCT.com and download the handy app which will answer all your questions about “What’s In? What’s Out?”)

You can join in our 50th Anniversary Clean Up CT Campaign 

Join Sierra Club Connecticut's 50 by 50 Community Clean Up Effort and organize a clean up in your town, or DIY by cleaning up your own favorite spot. Register and we will include you in the Campaign and send you a thank you treat! Send us a picture and your story if you like!