To Aikya about plastic bottles of water and tour

March 8, 2006

Aikya wrote:

....Imagining a situation where there are thousands--perhaps tens of

thousands, of people coming to see Amma, the problem of what to do

with thousands of plastic bottles is a real issue, especially in

India, but also here in the US. Ten thousand plastic bottles is a

lot of plastic. In some cities, plastic is not recycled. Plastic

doesn't degrade into anything nice in landfill either...

Wow Aikya, I wasn't aware of this situation in India. However here in our

little backwater town of Silver City, NM, they recently stopped the recycling of

plastics. I was amazed. Like you, I have a bottle of filtered or distilled

or purified water that I carry with me everywhere I go, especially because of

my "dry mouth" from my illnesses and all the meds I take.

About a month ago, I had to go and buy a 6 pack of Propel (that is the size

of the water bottle I like because it is easier for me to count how many

ounces a day I'm drinking) because I had left every single bottle from the

previous 6 pack somewhere, just by forgetfulness ... at the doctor's office, at

the

gallery ... and a few other places I can't even remember. If I had the energy

to be an "activist" again, I'd go find out who made this decision about the

plastic and why and then start a big time local lobbying campaign to get them

to start up again.

That was one thing I loved about Takoma Park, MD. They recycled everything.

But I've discovered in the West, the awareness of things like this is

different. There's a real "you elected officials and lobbying groups just stay

out

of our back yard" mentality. I think it has to do with thinking there's still

lots and lots of land and people can just still throw things in the local

dump. Sadly the lots and lots of land is fast disappearing. The paper cups I

get

my favorite coffee in are quite solid and would probably hold up to carrying

around for at least a day. I will be interested to see how this all turns

out. Jai Ma ~ Linda

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