Johan

Johan Oosthuizen is a full-time internet marketer and provides people with guidance on how to better themselves, by showing them how to live a healthier life, make more money and how to improve their relationship with other people

Why Plastic Straws Are a Problem

Self Improvement Articles / By

Why Plastic Straws Are a Problem

Many people take plastic straws for granted as a part of daily life if they are having a soda, smoothie, or other chilled beverage. But as more and more people are starting to look at the dangers of plastic pollution, straws are coming under their scrutiny as being harmful to the environment.

Recent moves by certain fast food restaurants and other eateries to ban plastic straws has been met with approval by those who want to cut back on plastic waste as quickly as possible.

The Problem with Plastic Straws

Plastic straws are not recycled. Estimates show that Americans throw away half a billion every single day, including drinking straws, plastic coffee stirrers, cocktail straws, and so on. That is enough to circle the Earth twice, or fill 125 school buses. Just think how many straws that is in one year. They may be small, but they are part of the eight million tons of plastic dumped into the oceans every year.

While it is true that a small number of people need to drink with a straw for medical reasons such as having trouble chewing and swallowing, it is also true there are alternatives to plastic. Paper straws are the most obvious example. But now there are also glass, stainless steel and bamboo reusable straws. The only downside is remembering to take your straw with you everywhere when you dine out, and to not leave it behind at the end of your meal.

The Effect of Plastic on the Environment

Plastics can sit in landfills for more than 70 years. In the ocean, they have become a floating obstacle course that kills millions of marine animals every year. The plastic debris also washes up on the beaches, leading to unsanitary conditions and an unsuitable environment for marine life who nest, live or find food on the beach.

Plastic increases the temperature of the water and makes it more acidic, therefore killing off many sensitive microorganisms upon which the balance of ocean life depends. Marine animals can get entangled in plastic and drown, or eat it and die of poisoning.

What You Can Do to Save the Planet

There are a number of things you can do to save the planet. The first is to say no to straws. The second is to start educating others about the pollutions straws cause, and the harm they do. There are a number of groups that focus on spreading the word, including:

http://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/no-straw-please/

In addition to taking your own personal pledge to go straw-free, and encouraging friends and family to do so as well, there are a number of awareness-raising activities that can help. Discuss the issue in the local eateries you attend. Give copies of this printout, or leave it when you pay your check:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55b29de4e4b088f33db802c6/t/58c8172dbf629ac501c67309/1489508151451/2017StrawsUponRequestCard.pdf

An obvious benefit to most businesses is the amount of money saved by not buying plastic straws. Paper ones can be given on demand if requested, and will be much cheaper.

You might even be able to get local businesses to sign a pledge and show that they are committed to greening their businesses:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55b29de4e4b088f33db802c6/t/5ae341296d2a738cae5b5540/1524842794283/Pledge+Straws+Business.pdf

Plastic straws may seem like a small thing to cut down on, but it can have a huge beneficial impact on the environment.

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Advice For Successfully Improving Your Overall Fitness

Health Articles / By

Advice For Successfully Improving Your Overall Fitness

Physical fitness is an activity that many people want to incorporate into their lives. Fitness‘s main goal is building a healthier body and life for you. You can create a better fitness routine if follow the tips listed below.

Remember that not everything you read about exercise is true. Always check the credentials of the author you’re looking at or the trainer you’re working with, before accepting their word as gospel. Some might be very new to the field, or just expressing their own theories that have not been proven.

Start an exercise program that doesn’t cost anything. Even if you can’t afford to join a gym or buy expensive home-training equipment, you can still get a great workout. Go down to your local school on the weekends and play basketball or run on the track. Even walking briskly through your neighborhood can give you decent cardio without spending a dime.

You can better your running skills and increase your speed by maintaining good running form. This consists of looking ahead naturally (not down at your feet!), a loose upper body (with shoulders low, not raised), and a quick, short stride. You should land softly on the middle of your foot and roll the foot forward. Without unnecessary tension in your body, you will be able to maintain a running pace for longer distances and time.

If you’re having difficulty motivating yourself to stay active, think about including your dog in your fitness regiment. Dogs love to run, and you might be able to pick up some of that energy and remind yourself that you could enjoy running, as well. Research has also shown that those who exercise with Fido are more likely to stick with it, compared to those who exercise on their own or with a human friend.

You can help to prevent knee injuries that can result from fitness by strengthening your hip muscles. This will help to lessen the burden on your knees, as your hips will have more control over the movement of your legs. Some simple exercises that can help to build hip muscles are lunges and bridges.

If you injure yourself while exercising, it is important to ice the injured area. Ice helps reduce inflammation and can numb a degree of the pain. You want to make sure that you are icing the injury long enough that your muscle is soothed, but not so long that you cause frostbite to your skin. 15-20 minutes has been proven to be an ideal icing time frame.

Use the Apps on your smartphone to help you workout. There are plenty of motivating and fun fitness applications that will let you get and stay in shape. There are Apps for running, cardio training, stretching, walking and more. Browse the App store for your smartphone to find the ones that interest you.

Get yourself some good fitness and workout DVDs. These can be incredibly motivating, and varying your workout to include different exercise routines will keep you from getting bored. Also, it will never matter what the weather is outside. If you have a few high-quality workouts on DVD, you can stay fit by working out anytime you like.

A great tip that you can apply to your workouts in order to achieve a physically fit body is to stretch your muscles in between sets of exercises. It is ideal that you take 20 to 30 seconds to stretch the muscles that you have worked. Researchers found that this increases strength by 20 percent.

There are many different kinds of fitness activities for different kinds of people. There are activities that everyone can work with and enjoy. With the above tips in mind, you can reap the benefits of physical fitness too.

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