What Comes Next?
“2021 Goal: Contribute to getting local and national laws passed that help to solve the plastics pollution problem.”
Bonita capture this South Pacific sunset!
I’ve got a hunch that I’m in good company feeling lost and disoriented thinking about 2021. It’s safe to say that for most of us last year didn’t go as planned, and we don’t have a roadmap for what comes next.
A year ago I was preparing for a month at sea with women across the globe to tackle the plastic pollution problem. I anticipated leaving with global connections to environmentalists and concrete action steps. What I received instead was a good serving of humble pie. 2020 set me straight that first I’d have to navigate getting home during a global pandemic, then I’d be torn between homeschooling my son, keeping my small business afloat, and securing basic needs like toilet paper and face masks. My conscious tugged on me to apply what I learned from the trip, but I only managed to scribble one question on my whiteboard: What comes next?
The question about what action I was supposed to take haunted me every time I walked past the hallway near my kitchen where the whiteboard hangs next to the calendar. I bought a lot less and tried to buy second-hand when I could. I avoided plastic at the grocery store and recycled what I did buy. Sure, those individual actions matter, but how much? I was overwhelmed and exhausted from making dozens of daily decisions trying to analyze what to buy and how to find non-plastic substitutions. I kept thinking there had to be a better use of my individual action.
That’s when I remembered my favorite workshop brainstorming solutions from our time sailing. One thing that surprised me was the faith that women living in other countries still have in government and industry to provide solutions. Given the undermining of our government administrations and the toxic influence of lobbying, I thought the only way to survive the plastic crisis was to consume less. A lot less. It was mind-boggling to hear women speak about the laws their countries enacted to reduce single-use plastic, increase the effectiveness of recycling, and to hold industry accountable for plastic pollutants. The realization that we don't have to do it on our own, we don't have to change all of our habits at once makes tackling the plastic crisis seem more manageable. The possibility of designing laws to influence industry to change made so much sense then and now.
Now when I think about individual action, I think more about the ways I can influence policy and impact the plastic pollution at the source. To make real change, government and industry support is absolutely necessary. My 2021 focus is to use my voice and collaborate with others to demand change.
Small glimmers of the path ahead revealed themselves. This much guided me:
I want to contribute at the source.
My law degree might help me advocate for environmental laws.
Once I attended a citizen-lobbying day at the state legislature and the day planted a seed that maybe I could lobby.
As an eXXpedition ambassador, I have a network of women around the globe committed to working on solving the plastic crisis.
I want to lobby for the “The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act” and implement plastic bag bans on a local level.
If you have any advice about how to plug into this movement, let me know! I’d love to be connected to people immersed in the plastic pollution conversation, non-profits already doing the work, or roadmaps with tips on how to influence local policies and laws.