Arm chair activism in mer world

[AniaR]

Saying your mermaid photos are to "help the ocean" is like our industry version of thoughts and prayers. It's nice, but it's better to get off your fishbutt and do something. Volunteer for environmental events like World Oceans Day. Give some educational workshops. Do a beach cleanup. Donate to charity in your business name. But please don't look down on others because you're pretty pics aren't doing much to save the planet. You might inspire the odd person just like thoughts and prayers do. But in the end, a photo shoot of a mermaid on the beach isn't going to clean up all the plastic pollution you moved to get the shot.

Disclaimer: I *do* believe art can enact change and I've seen it. But in our industry this is like something people say for cred with eco conscious crowds. So many do nothing else but standard mer photos and claim they're helping the ocean. Just be a mermaid model. It's ok. You don't have to assign yourself to a cause if activism isn't for you.

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[Agent Dragon]

I’ve been thinking about the environment a lot lately. I’ve been trying to reduce the plastic I use (not getting straws or lids at restaurants, carrying around a reusable water bottle, etc) and I recently went vegan. I live right by a creek in the woods that sometimes accumulates litter, too, so I carry around a small paper bag to collect it when I walk my dog.
What I’m getting at is this: you don’t have to organize something huge to make a difference. Just do what you can, and encourage others to do the same.


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[AniaR]

Exactly! So much can be done by just changing our habits!

[Yeka]

100% agree. Art can inspire change, but it's also important to put your money where your mouth is. I've always been a bit of an environmentalist, so I try to do little things in my daily life to do what I can. For example, be sure to clean up after yourself if you have a picnic outside. Recycle when you can. Pick up that rouge piece of garbage you come across while walking your dog. I have been know to take aluminum cans back to my home if there are no recycling receptacles available.

But also: please do a little fact checking! I see a lot of people getting upset over documentaries (ex. Blackfish), news reports, and even social media posts that misleading or even flat out lies. I recently discovered that plastic rings on soda packaging sold in the US are required to be photo-degradable. While it's still a good idea to recycle them and fine to cut them up, it's not as horrible for the environment as I once believed.

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[Lucinda]

As someone with a degree in environmental science, I would like to mention that clearing away plastic litter always makes a difference regardless of whether you're doing it on the beach or further up on land cause sooner or later the garbage will end up somewhere where it will pose a problem. For instance, it can be carried away by wind, rain or melt water and then just end up a bit later in the sea. Alternatively, the garbage can end up in a lake or somewhere where it can contaminate dricking water (microscopic pieces of plastic have been found in lake and drinking water samples). And the thing is, larger pieces of plastic will eventually fall apart into smaller pieces, so the sooner it is removed from the environment, the better. So if you're organizing a beach cleanup, you're doing Mother Nature a big service. But you would also be doing an equally import job if you were to organize a cleanup further up on land (such is in the city, your local woods, parks, neighbourhood etc.) I know it doesn't sound as "mermaidy" as cleaning up a beach, but you can also make a difference elsewhere.

[AniaR]

yup, the film "Revolution" really shows how this happens

[Lucinda]

yup, the film "Revolution" really shows how this happens

This one? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_(2012_film)

[AniaR]

Yes. I was friends with the film maker, he died tragically last year :( but the film is really amazing

[Yeka]

I'll have to watch that one!

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[Mermaid Delphinidae]

As someone with a degree in environmental science, I would like to mention that clearing away plastic litter always makes a difference regardless of whether you're doing it on the beach or further up on land cause sooner or later the garbage will end up somewhere where it will pose a problem. For instance, it can be carried away by wind, rain or melt water and then just end up a bit later in the sea. Alternatively, the garbage can end up in a lake or somewhere where it can contaminate dricking water (microscopic pieces of plastic have been found in lake and drinking water samples). And the thing is, larger pieces of plastic will eventually fall apart into smaller pieces, so the sooner it is removed from the environment, the better. So if you're organizing a beach cleanup, you're doing Mother Nature a big service. But you would also be doing an equally import job if you were to organize a cleanup further up on land (such is in the city, your local woods, parks, neighbourhood etc.) I know it doesn't sound as "mermaidy" as cleaning up a beach, but you can also make a difference elsewhere.

Truedat. I just did a bayou cleanup today, and trash REALLY accumulates in the water and washes up. Really, cleaning it up feels like a Sisyphean task but the difference was noticeable when we finished.

[Agent Dragon]

There’s a creek in my neighborhood and it seems like every local middle school does a cleanup of it once a year. Despite that in addition to the (at least) annual neighborhood cleanups, it never seems to stay clean [emoji20]


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[Lucinda]

Yes. I was friends with the film maker, he died tragically last year :( but the film is really amazing

I'm sorry to hear that. Losing a friend is never easy.