Check out Chris Jordan's TED talks and his artwork.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjK0cvbm20M
Then cry. Then change what you do. Here are some tips:
https://myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreeguide/
The installation features 5,000 recycled clear plastic water bottles from UNCW campus, selectively collected over the course of 3 months. Every bottle represents a bottle I have bought. According to 'ban the bottle' https://www.banthebottle.net/bottled-water-facts/ the average US American uses 165 plastic bottles per year. That number seems low to me, but what it means is that by the time we are 35, we have used as many bottles as there are in my installation. I personally, have used almost twice that many, it took me 20 years. And my installation only looks at plastic water bottles, not the plastic wrappers our food comes in, plastic that our clothes and shoes are made of, the plastic that our toys are made from, the plastic that all the useless shit is made from, the plastic that our entire society is wrapped up in.
Globally, according to Forbes, people buy 1 Million plastic bottles a minute. Per MINUTE! 91% are not recycled.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/07/26/million-plastic-bottles-minute-91-not-recycled/#2cc34496292c
We live in denial. We don't care enough, we don't feel enough. We are surrounded by plastic, it is nearly impossible to get away.
So we can enter this installation and write a letter to water. We can enter and be confronted with our very own impact on the world around us. Come see a reflection of your life, or at least, of my life. A tiny part of my carbon footprint.
More info about my installation will be coming as things develop.
Currently, I am looking for an exhibition location where the installation can be up for several months.
Photo by Ryan Mulder.