Duh

my psychiatrist: IS THIS A FREAKING JOKE TO YOU?!?!!??!

Hey. Let me tell you about something that has been bothering for a while now. Few months ago while aimlessly scrolling my instagram feed I came  across this photograph shared by one of my favourite activist/photographer /artist instagram story – Jack Harries ( I would also recommend checking out his twin brother Fin Harries – truly inspirational guys) This is the photograph that blew me away:

Amazing right? This photo lead me to Natural Geographic page where I found bunch of alarming articles about plastic pollution. Of course like many of you I knew about this problem before but I never really realized juts how fucked up this situation got and the powerful images they shared truly hit me hard.  Check out some of this articles to learn more.

There is a bunch of sad environmental videos, photographs or stories I could share with you but that’s not really my goal in this article. What I want to share with you is the ways we all could make a difference and show you some heroes that have been doing their part and don’t get much recognition for all of their hard work.

So here we go:

First of all I want to point you to this website called worldenvironmentday.global and their project BEAT PLASTIC POLLUTION with inspiring slogan if you can’t reuse it, refuse it.

They came up with amazing idea of organized clean up. Basically you can join a clean up event in your location and help get rid of and properly recycle plastic. Here you can learn more about clean ups and also about this app called Litterati which is simply an app tool to help you encourage others to collect plastic.

If you are more of a leader than follower you can organize your own clean up event and register it at this page and share it with people in your location with map of where exactly will the clean up be. Here is how you can register and start and make a difference.

With this organized clean ups I must introduce you someone. His name is Afroz Shah and to be fair I don’t know much about him but I aspire to be like him. This guy does the most amazing clean ups I have ever seen, he does post on his instagram page his clean up results of the week and there has been lot of weeks since he’s been doing this.

This was the picture I saw that led me to Afroz as he was the one of the volunteers. This truly restored my faith in humanity and I feel such satisfaction and relief that there are people who care and do something about plastic problem.

Here are some other photos I screenshoted that supports my theory about unknown hero:

I highly recommend you visit his instagram page HERE  and see for yourself the amazing things he did.

If you’re not into big events such as this you can still do your part by following many eco-friendly tips you can find on the internet and here are some:

The whole point is to reduce the amount of plastic you use every day, and if you are for some reason unable to stop using plastic the least you can do is reuse it. I understand that not all of the time you have your canvas bag with you, or your reusable bottle so you buy cheaper plastic version of this, but I’m sure you could find some use for them afterwards.

The sad thing is how cheap is to get this plastic option instead of ecologically friendly ones and trust me being a drop out student in between jobs, working part-time in KFC – money is heavy step back in my eco life as well. I feel so guilty every time I need to purchase a plastic bag and the amount of plastic waste I create on my own is upsetting. The least I can do is recycle it I – have bunch of plastic bags under my table that separates my plastic, paper and glass trash and once in a while I need to find a recycling bin and separate them. You would think that medicine a pharmacy students would have better access to recycling, but nah – if you want to recycle you must make an effort yourself what is such a difference from my primary school where each of our classes had recycling bins so kids could learn to dispose their trash properly.

This leads me to another topic and that’s leading and teachings kinds to reduce plastic waste. I would recommend you check out this stunning video called Oceans of future by Greenpeace. It’s important we grow sence of responsibility and ecological thinking in this kids. I’m so grateful my parents did that with me.

Since I was little we would always separate plastic or milk cartoons from other trash and recycle them later and my parents do that till this day. They actually fill the truck of our car with plastic and need to drive to recycling bins, because there are none in around our new place.

We would always need to turn off the lights when we would leave the room (sometimes not even when we leave the room – it’s so annoying when your dad turn of the lights off when you’re in the bathroom almost every time), turning the water off when you’re brushing your teeth, washing dishes or shampooing your hair. This might sounds ridiculous to you cuz I believe this things comes naturally to people and I find it useless to even mention such small things but I remember skyping with my grandma when she was living and working in america. She would always ask me if I tun off the water when I’m brushing my teeth and I always found it so weird she would ask me something like that. Of course I do. But the family she was staying at don’t find it as natural as I did and it was upsetting my grandma a lot.

We would always make fun of our family’s plastic bag full of plastic bags we would take whenever we went shopping, but once I moved out and lived on my own I realized how clever this idea is and now I have my own plastic bag of plastic bags.

I feel it’s important to put this sence of responsibility into kids and you can always do it in some fun kid friendly way. My parents would for example give me and my sisters bag and we would have to collect trash around our building – make a competition out of clean ups – who collects the most?

There is just no wrong or too little way to save the world.

How to be more eco-friendly if you work for larger corporations?

I currently work for large fast food chain restaurant KFC and let me tell you the amount of waste our single small store creates is alarming. The amount of food and plastic waste is unbelievable and the sad fact remains that single-handed part-time worker in such corporation can’t do literally anything without risking their jobs.

We do have separated trash bins for plastic, bio and mix waste, but we also have to throw all of the meat out once it reach its expiration period of extremely short 30 min! As a former vegetarian the amount of chicken meat, energy wasted for its preparation and basic situation of world hunger depresses me a lot. So what can I do  as an individual ? Girls gotta eat and pay bills.

Sadly I did not figure out answer to this question yet besides to push the big bosses into doing eco-friendly changes for whole restaurant chain. We did switched to paper to-go cups instead of plastic and we also use paper bags what is incredible step forward, but the amount of plastic straws is still bad and hopefully we would also make some changes like our competition did hat really pleases me :

Being a middle european I don’t really understand the demand for straws or ice, but switching to reusable metal straw could make a difference and prevent this from happening:

Of course I understand that if I refuse plastic straw at 27th June 2018  7pm from a cashier at fast food restaurant who has to offer me one I’m not gonna save the world – but if the fast food stops/reduce offering one – this might be actually a huge step  forward.

Why do I even write this?

Let me be so full of myself and believe that one day some big animal in some firm would come across this article, or some family member of their would mention Beat plastic pollution project to them and light up a spark of thought process in someone who actually could make bigger impact on environment.

Spread the word, get inspired, some people are really trying to make a change – why not be one of them ?

I’m not saying I’m perfect, I still occasionally buy plastic bag or bottle, I don’t always recycle materials that should be recycled and sometimes I’m just lazy and put plastic into mix trash can. But I also switch to bamboo toothbrush instead of plastic, I ordered bunch of canvas shopping bags (that would get deliver to me in plastic bag – how ridiculous is that? There should be something done by this issue as well, or the recipes – most of us don’t need them and sure as hell don’t have any way to reuse it – you might refuse it but that doesn’t mean it’s not gonna get printed anyway) and the least I can do is trying to be better and spread the word to people who care and even to those who don’t .

Also not every time is our effort met with actual results. I’m talking about fake recycling bins where all of the garbage ends up in same place without any recycling whatsoever. So if you see something like this in your building call out the authorities about it! Some of us are actually trying for crying out loud !

The amount of waste that ends up in oceans is just heart breaking. I grew up in a country without access to ocean and I only got to see sea or ocean at our summer family holidays and the memories  have from those trips do not meet the sad reality of how bad ocean pollution got.

Simple hard-working individual can not make a difference unless the individuals with actual powers makes changes to preserve the earth. But I feel like I’m slipping back into depressing side of this issue but I really want to point to positive effort of many people involve in helping solve this plastic pollution problem.

There is a note at our fridge in our dorms shared kitchen that states: “Our problem is that we believe someone else is gonna save the world” after one neighbour of mine got upset about number of plastic people from our hall were throwing away.

If you wat to make a difference but don’t know how to start here you can take  pledge at national geographic with simple tips of what to do to reduce your plastic waste.

Take your pledge

Thank you so much for your attention

xo Natalia

from this post 

Woman kills man for refusing to give her beer 

Woman stabs man for refusing to have sex with her, threatens to cry rape 

Woman rips off man’s testicle because he rejected her, tried to swallow it

Woman kills man for refusing to marry her 

Woman cuts off man’s penis because of argument 

Woman shoots her husband after argument 

Woman cuts off cheating boyfriend’s penis, flushes it

Woman suspects husband of cheating, stabs him to death 

Woman shoots, kills boyfriend for cheating 

Woman stabs boyfriend for cheating in Monopoly board game 

Woman shoots, kills man for ending relationship 

Woman sets husband’s genitals on fire for hugging another woman, dies 

Woman kills, dismembers husband’s body over argument 

Mother kills 18-month old twins to get back at husband she thought was cheating 

Woman kills husband after he confronts her about affair 

Woman kills cheating husband with lethal dose of heroin 

Woman runs over, kills cheating husband 

Obese woman sits on boyfriend, kills him and avoids jail time 

Woman kills boyfriend with stiletto shoe

Woman murders cheating husband with coffee mug 

Woman kills boyfriend for not buying her a gift 

Woman kills boyfriend who accused her of cheating 

Woman stabs and kills boyfriend , Judge: “I hope you die in prison”

Woman shoots, kills ex-boyfriend, buries him in pile of debris 

Woman shoots boyfriend in the back of the neck, killing him 

Woman shoots boyfriend six times, kills him after argument 

Woman stabs, kills boyfriend over mother’s day gift 

Woman stabs boyfriend to death, also stabbed her husband to death 7 years prior

Woman pushes way into home, stabs boyfriend to death over argument 

Woman angry at boyfriend takes her anger out on his 4 year-old 

Woman stabs boyfriend to death, thought he was cheating on her 

Woman bludgeons husband to death with hammer to pay back loan 

Woman stabs, kills boyfriend during argument 

Woman murders boyfriend for tweeting out his female crush 

Woman shoots and kills boyfriend, kills self while out on bail 

Woman stabs to death boyfriend over argument about an ex 

Woman stabs and kills boyfriend for social media posts 

Woman shoots boyfriend in the face, fails to make it look like suicide 

Woman kills boyfriend’s puppies during phone argument

Woman shoots boyfriend in the face with rifle during argument 

Woman pushes boyfriend off fence after argument, killing him 

Woman attacks boyfriend with large knife, intent to kill 

Woman abused, threatens to kill boyfriend in sleep

Woman beats, murders boyfriend and puts him in freezer because he wanted to break up with her

Woman held gun to boyfriend’s head, murders on Christmas 

Woman with previous assault charge on another boyfriend stabs and kills different boyfriend 

Woman attempts to murder boyfriend with giant breasts 

Woman stabs boyfriend in neck, killing him after argument 

Woman chokes and stabs ex-boyfriends cat to death 

Woman starts argument with boyfriend, stabs and kills with umbrella 

Woman kills boyfriend with her car after argument 

Woman shoots, kills boyfriend in his bathroom 

Woman shoots, kills boyfriend with illegal handgun 

Woman sets her boyfriend on fire, killing him 

Woman shoots and kills ex-boyfriend multiple times, kills herself

Woman shoots boyfriend in the head, found out he was dating other women 

Woman stabs and kills boyfriend over finances 

Woman stabs and kills boyfriend’s lizard because she thought he was flirting with other women 

Woman shoots, kills boyfriend who wanted to end their relationship and urged her to get an abortion 

Woman attempts to murder husband with poison in her vagina

Woman stabs boyfriend to death after he slaps daughter

Woman conspires to have secret lover murder her husband

Woman stabs, kills boyfriend over argument on Labor Day

Woman stabs boyfriend in the chest over argument 

Woman stabs boyfriend to death after finding photos of other women on cell phone 

Woman tortured ex-boyfriend’s dog until it died after argument 

Woman stabs boyfriend in his chest and through his lung, nearly killing him 

Woman fatally stabs boyfriend during heated argument 

Woman kills her boyfriend with blunt force trauma to the head using frying pan

Woman stabs boyfriend to death for drinking her beer 

Woman strangles boyfriend to death during argument 

Woman stabs boyfriend with serrated knife over argument 

Woman shoots, murders boyfriend while she was on house arrest for another murder 11 years prior 

Woman stabs, kills boyfriend then texts friend about eating the body 

Woman stabs, kills boyfriend over dispute 

Woman shoots boyfriend in the head, suspecting he was cheating 

Woman shoots man in the groin after argument 

Woman fires handgun into the home of man who denied her a kiss 

Woman stabs husband to death over cheating fears 

Woman shoots, kills ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend 

Women kills husband, commits suicide 

Woman shoots and kills man over argument 

Woman kills husband with baseball bat for talking back to her 

Woman kills husband, confesses to family then shoots herself 

Woman stabs boyfriend 31 times after he said ex’s name in his sleep 

Woman shoots husband in the head, shoots herself 

Woman kills boyfriend over argument at house party 

Woman shoots boyfriend with shotgun for texting another woman 

Woman kills boyfriend because she “smelled sex on him” 

Woman runs over boyfriend, kills him

Woman stabs boyfriend in the eye for turning down threesome 

Woman stabs ex-boyfriend for refusing to stop playing the Eagles 

Woman stabs boyfriend, throws out his prosthetic legs so he can’t chase her 

Woman ties up, stabs husband 193 times, jury finds her guilty for suspicion of trying to claim life insurance 

Woman stabs fiance for refusing to take her to the liquor store 

Woman assaults and threatens boyfriend with knife for not cuddling 

Woman stabs man with ceramic squirrel for not bring home beer 

Woman stabs taxi driver after he refuses to have sex with her 

Woman stabs ex-boyfriend in his penis after discovering he had a new girlfriend

Woman stabs boyfriend twice over time he spent in bathroom 

Woman stabs boyfriend over Facebook post 

Woman stabs her boyfriend several times because his dog ate her marijuana stash 

Woman stabs boyfriend for not calling her every two hours 

Woman shoots man five times for rejecting her, kills herself 

Woman murders ex-boyfriend with liquor laced with poison, was jealous he was engaged to new woman 

Comedian Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife on May 27th 1998

NFL player Steve McNair was murdered by his girlfriend on July 4th, 2009

John Wayne Bobbitt had his penis cut completely off on June 23rd, 1993

Travis Alexander was murdered by Jodi Arias on June 4th, 2008

Andrew Bagby was murdered by Shirley Jane Turner on November 6th, 2001 (She later murdered their 1 year-old son on August 18th, 2003)

Brenda Spencer killed two and injured nine at Cleveland Elementary School on January 29th, 1979

Laurie Dann killed one boy and injured five others at Hubbard Woods Elementary School on May 20th, 1988

Jennifer San Marco killed eight people at Goleta postal facility on January 30th, 2006

Sylvia Seegrist killed three and injured seven during a shooting spree at a Springfield mall on October 30th, 1985

Mary Ann Holder killed five children including her own son in Pleasent Gardens, NC on November 20th, 2011

Jullian Robbins killed one and injured two at Penn State on September 17th, 1997

Heather Smith killed two then committed suicide at Spanaway Junior High School on November 26th, 1985

Latina Williams killed two others then self at Louisiana Technical College on February 8th, 2008

Amy Bishop Anderson killed three and wounded three others at the University of Alabama on February 12th, 2010

What’s most interesting though is that mainstream media doesn’t even mention female shooters when they claim to show the history of the crime — but I guess they’re going by high scores. While its true that most shooting sprees are committed by males, it is also truethat most child abuse, neglect, and murders are committed by females.

Women who killed or attempted to kill children in the news, past 30 days (US):

Florida woman shoots, kills her 2 teenage sons 

Mother throws 1 year-old daughter under truck, kills her 

California mom stabs her 3 daughters to death. all under 2 years old

Mother attempts to kill her 3 teenage children 

Mother kills her infant son by stabbing him to death 

Woman kills 2 year-old girl, attempts to kill 10 year-old boy 

Utah mom murders 6 newborns, keeps them in garage 

Mother charged with trying to suffocate daughter 

Woman charged for killing 8-month old baby 

Women who killed or attempted to kill children in the news between January and April 2014 (US):

Mother drowns both of her sons aged 3 and 6 

Mother attempts to drown her 3 children in ocean 

Utah mother shoots and kills two teen daughters, then herself 

Mother suffocates 14 month old son, fails at attempted suicide 

Woman babysitter murders 19 month old boy 

Mom kills 7 month old daughter, blames Jesus 

Woman operating illegal daycare responsible for 3 month old girl’s death, police find 14 children in her basement 

Mom strangles 3 day old baby boy, discarded body in trashcan 

Woman suffocates 2 year old girl of fiance, fakes sexual assault by unknown assailant to cover tracks 

Mother charged with killing 2 year-old daughter 

Mother of several children with history of violence murdered and buried 2 year-old daughter in shallow grave 

Mother stabs and kills her 2 children in exorcism 

Mother kills her teen son and daughter, self 

Mother confesses to killing 10 year-old son 

Mother tortures and kills 3 year-old son, burned genitals with lighter 

This is only mid-year and I didn’t even include the reports of mothers killing their children from previous years or other countries.”