As parents and grandparents we are all aware of the truth of climate change, global warming, the science behind human intervention in the over use of natural resources, and how the air, water, soil and perhaps, soul, of the Earth is being harmed.

In June of 2022, then Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, announced the measure. to curb the use of single-use plastics in public lands and national parks.

As the manager of 480 million acres of federal land, she said, the department has an obligation to play a leading role in reducing plastic waste, including food and beverage containers, bottles, straws, cups, utensils and disposable plastic bags.

“As the steward of the nation’s public lands, including national parks and national wildlife refuges, and as the agency responsible for the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats, we are uniquely positioned to do better for our Earth,” she said in a statement.

Certainly this is good for the Earth, good for our children today, and proactively good for the future of the lives of today’s children and the children of the future.

The Interior Department’s order reflects an intensifying global push to address plastic waste pollution and the challenges of getting rid of it, as recycling alone, hampered by shortfalls in collection and transport, has not been enough for the United States to stay ahead of mountains of plastic.

May 21, 2025, the current administration has announced this order will be rescinded.  It is a logistical problem was part of the reason stated. My instinct tell me it is because plastic bottles are a product of the petroleum industry. Plastic bottles are more harmful than our everyday awareness is educated to be, so check this out from, Beyond Plastics.org,

Single-use plastic water bottles are clogging the world’s oceans, rivers, streets, and landfills; they’re poisoning the air when they're burned in incinerators or processed in “chemical recycling” facilities; they’re contributing to microplastic contamination of the environment and human bodies; and they’re emitting greenhouse gases that speed climate change. 

And, for the most part, they’re completely unnecessary since about 95% of people in the United States have access to affordable and safe tap water. Each year, 20 billion to 30 billion pounds of plastic enter the world’s oceans, harming wildlife directly and making their way into seafood that in turn introduces microplastics and the chemicals they contain into the human body. While not all ocean plastic is from plastic water bottles, single-use plastic (including water bottles) is a significant source of plastic ocean pollution globally.

So, why not deal with the “logistics” that the previous Secretary of the Interior had apparently figured out? Why not help educate the public to be less dependent on single-use plastics that have been found on the sides of roads, in rivers, and even in a giant plastic “island” in the ocean for the sake of a cleaner planet to give our children a cleaner Earth?

For those of us who care about the future of the planet so that our children and grandchildren have a chance at a cleaner planet with a natural world that does not resemble a pile of garbage, let’s set down the single-use plastics. Let’s limit the use of those single-use plastic bottles no matter how convenient they are, and they sure are convenient. I just love my kids and grandkids more than I love the convenience of single-use plastic bottles - how about you?

And if you have a mind to see your government work in your best interest, write your representatives in Congress for measures that puts a limit on single-use plastics in the consumer market. There will still be plenty for the oil industry to do without making single-use plastic bottles, don’t you think?