Viewpoints: An Earth Day Petition from NCPIRG
An Earth Day Petition from NCPIRG
Submitted by UNC Students
(Editor’s note: The following were submitted individually by members of NCPIRG, a student-led organization that facilities an informative approach to tackling many environmental and social injustices, in support of a petition calling on UNC-Chapel Hill to reduce plastic waste.)
Mariam Ali
My name is Mariam Ali, and I’m a volunteer at NCPIRG’s Media Outreach Committee at UNC-Chapel Hill. NCPIRG is a student-led organization that facilitates an informative approach to tackling many environmental and social injustices.
There’s no doubt that, unfortunately, the overconsumption of plastics has triggered many environmental and social injustices. Not only that, but there are little efforts made to raise awareness about this issue to all of those that need to hear it on campus. Plastics have demonstrated a significant influence on our lives. They’re inevitable to avoid since they’re always at our disposal. However, our constant reliance on plastics has contributed to more harm than good. It’s mind-bottling to learn that by the year 2050, there will be more plastic waste in our oceans than there will be fish. This problem starts with the ultimate culprits of the problem – us. That’s why NCPIRG’s Break Free From Plastic campaign prioritizes the highly overlooked issue of plastic usage. We, as collective individuals, are the primary sources of this issue. As Earth week approaches relatively soon, we believe it’s vital to address the problems we’re experiencing as we become more educated about plastic’s negative environmental impacts.