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Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Joe Corsiglia, President Trump, Henry Heimuller, VP Pence, Pat Robertson, Debi Corsiglia’s dog, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Standard Disclaimer.
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This is what an edible Six Pack looks Like
Edible Plastics
Now here is a story that will make even the most conservative to hell with the environment folks listen up. A craft beer company named Saltwater Brewery located in Delray Beach, Florida has brewed up a dazzling idea. They have created edible six-pack rings that feed, rather than kill, marine life -if the rings end up in the ocean and an animal happens to eat it. The rings are created from beer by-products during the brewing process such as barley and wheat and are completely safe for humans and fish to eat. These rings are 100% biodegradable and compostable,. This product is as strong and as good as plastic packaging, the only drawback is that is costs a bit more to manufacture, I think the extra cost is worth saving the sea creatures and the oceans. The brand also believes that if more breweries hop on this bandwagon, prices may go down. If more companies invested in the technology, production cost would go down and edible rings would become competitive with plastic ones, saving marine lives — which is desperately needed. According to a report published in the journal PNAS, researchers have found that about 90 percent of seabirds have eaten plastic and are likely to retain some in their gut. They also are “virtually certain” that by 2050, any seabird found dead will have plastic in their stomach. Whales are dying because of plastics which they have digested, hundreds of bags have been found in dead whale’s stomachs. Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, and other marine mammals, and more than 1 million seabirds die each year from ocean pollution and ingestion or entanglement in marine debris. Marine debris is manmade waste that is directly or indirectly disposed of in oceans, rivers, and other waterways. There are 5 major ocean gyres worldwide. In the Pacific Ocean, the North Pacific Gyre is home to the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, a large area that is approximately the size of Texas with debris extending 20 feet (6 meters) down into the water column. It’s estimated that this “plastic island” contains 3.5 million tons of trash and could double in size in the next 5 years. Researchers have also estimated that for every 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of plankton in this area, there is 13.2 pounds (6 kilograms) of plastic. Common marine debris items includes things like cigarette butts, cans, plastic bags and bottles, styrofoam, balloons, lighters, and toothbrushes. Discarded or lost fishing gear such as lines, nets and buoys are especially dangerous to sea life. Plastic bags are petroleum-based and do not biodegrade. Sea turtles and other marine creatures mistake plastics and other garbage as food (such as jellyfish) and ingest it. This mistake causes blockages within their digestive system and eventual death. According to the US EPA, Americans use more than 380 billion plastic bags and wraps each year. It takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce this many bags. Worldwide, as many as one trillion plastic bags are used each year. This equates to 100 million barrels of oil! A 2015 study estimated more than 15 trillion (!) pieces of plastic trash are in the ocean, and growing every year. Less than 5% of plastics are recycled worldwide! I believe that we must take a fast and pro- active aim at stopping plastic from being discarded into our oceans, if it cost us more money to save the planet and its animals and ourselves the price will not be too high we must invent, manufacture products which are totally safe for animals to eat. Thus we save them and we save ourselves it is a win, win, for all things living. We need more companies like Saltwater Brewery, if a little business can pull this off a huge company can too. Tammy
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