Maybe because it's Earth Month?

In the last few days, discovery of the plastic island in the Atlantic ("cousin" to the Pacific Garbage Patch), was on many mainstream news sources... ABC News, Huffington Post, MSNBC news, Yahoo News, etc. And these stories hope to encourage people to buy less, waste less, and recycle more. That's great.

But, I have to ask, why is this on the news now? It's not entirely NEW news. The researchers who studied the garbage in the Atlantic (for two decades!) presented their findings in January and February. And in fact, the BBC ran this story on February 25, and National Geographic ran it on March 2.

Hmmmmm..... Did mainstream media time this story to coincide with Earth Month?

So, here's what I learn from this:

1) Don't rely on only mainstream news sources to bring "news."

2) Keeping updated on world events is an active task, not passive. I have to do the searching....

3) There is hope! Even though it's almost two months late, at least it's on the news, right?

Okay, the media did their part. Now it's our turn. Make today the day you buy a few reusable bags at the grocery store and never have to use plastic bags again. Make today the day you invest in a water bottle (usually around 10 bucks, make sure it's BPA-free!) and never have to use plastic water bottles again. Make today the day you reduce your use, reuse what you do use, and recycle what you don't use.