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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Last Straw

Groups Work to Make U.S. Go Strawless

About 500 million plastic straws are discarded daily in America, reports the U.S. National Park Service. Plastic that reaches waterways is ingested by marine life and our food chain. Individuals and municipalities are taking action to support options, including going strawless.
  • The Last Plastic Straw (TheLastPlasticStraw.org), a project of the Plastic Pollution Coalition, has a worldwide map locator that pinpoints restaurants that have ceased using plastic straws.
  • Milo Cress, who launched the Be Straw Free (BeStrawFree.org) campaign in 2011 when he was 9, is again speaking to school students this fall, primarily via Skype. “It’s exciting to inspire them to know that they can do something in their community,” says the senior high school student in Shelburne, Vermont.
  • Strawfree.org, a Southern California volunteer-driven organization, offers kits that include bamboo straws, carrying holders and cleaning brushes.
  • McDonald’s has announced it will transition from plastic to paper straws in its U.S., UK and Ireland restaurants beginning this year, and subsequently expand the switch to other countries.
  • In May, New York City lawmakers introduced a bill banning plastic straws in all bars and restaurants in the Big Apple, and Seattle has banned the use of single-use plastic straws, thanks to the Strawless in Seattle movement. Eco- Cycle, Inc. (EcoCycle.org) and the Inland Ocean Coalition, both in Boulder, Colorado, are asking restaurants citywide not to use them. In July, Starbucks announced plans to eliminate straw use globally by 2020.
  • StrawlessOcean.org offers straw alternatives made of paper by Aardvark, steel and silicone by Klean Kanteen, metal by Steelys Drinkware and bamboo by StrawFree.
  • EcoWatch.com suggests, “Unlike metal or glass, soft and bendable silicone straws don’t clink your teeth, making them ideal for kids and straw-biters” and that such products made by Softy Straws work with hot drinks and withstand dishwashers. It also recommends wheat stems, corn bioplastic and bucatini pasta, a spaghetti-like noodle with a hole in the middle.

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Eco Tip
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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