Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action kicks off 'Break Free From Plastic ... - Parkersburg News
Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action kicks off ‘Break Free From Plastic’ campaign | News, Sports, Jobs - News and Sentinel
Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action kicks off ‘Break Free From Plastic’ campaign
(Image Provided) (Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)
(Graphic Illustration/MetroCreative)
PARKERSBURG — Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action’s campaign promoting alternatives to single-use, disposable plastics began Saturday.
“We’re inviting everyone to join us as we try to make July plastic-free this summer,” said Adeline Bailey, coordinator of the project.
A calendar of activities and events designed for the Mid-Ohio Valley can be viewed online at https://main.movclimateaction.org/plastic-free-july/. It includes two free in-person screenings of films about plastic pollution, three local expert speakers on plastics’ harms to personal well-being as well as to the planet and a hands-on workshop on repurposing items for more sustainable uses.
In addition, the calendar offers links to articles and videos about ways people can refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle disposable plastics in their homes and workplaces and why eliminating single-use plastic is an important step in the fight against the climate crisis.
“We’re also sponsoring a contest,” Bailey said. “We’re planning to develop a guide to MOV businesses and restaurants that use and encourage sustainable practices in their day-to-day operations, and we realized that we couldn’t gather the information on our own. That’s why we’re calling on local folks to help us investigate by conducting a short survey about single-use plastics as they shop or dine and send us the results. All registered participants will receive a reward for their efforts. The survey questions have been assigned point values, and each of the three top point-earners will win a prize package featuring alternatives to disposable plastics.”
(Image Provided)
More information about the whens and wheres of all the campaign events can be found on the MOVCA website ( http://main.movclimateaction.org), and frequent updates and announcements will be posted on MOVCA’s Facebook page.
“Look for MOVCA’s Break Free From Plastic billboards that are ‘large-size’ reminders to eliminate single-use plastics,” Bailey said. “A grant from the Mountain Watershed Association Direct Support Fund in support of our anti-plastic campaign helped make them possible.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”