January 17, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Happy Friday morning! There is so much to do in the world. I have a full day of clinic today and then it will be the glorious weekend. The Sweetwater Union High School Board is threatening to eliminate @drplasticpicker’s beloved International Baccalureate Program at my alma madre Bonita Vista High School. I try to stay out of politics, but I will take some time away from the environment to help attend a school board meeting and advocate for this program. I was going to write a ranting post about ineffective local officials and why ineffective systems pushed me into management and environmental activism – but I thought, better to channel my energy this morning into the Arroz Caldo post that I have been meaning to write. This evening, I will compose the letter and make calls to the school board members.

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January 11, 2020

by drplasticpicker

It’s difficult to be a child especially a teenager right now. I am trying to do everything we need to do as parents to ensure our kids’ future, and bring this decade’s work of rewilding the world with joy. Parents especially mothers have been mobilized because our children became activist. I have always been environmentally aware, but seeing the young including my own children strike for the climate – awoke me. But as they have been awoken, they are anxious. We actually don’t talk about the climate too much but they know why we are making the changes that we are making, and the donations Mr. Plastic Picker and I do for their sakes.

Our high-school son told me about the above figure EarthChan who is an anime-style anthropomorphic representation of planet Earth. She is a young girl and when you look at her from above, her hair is blue and green and covered with clouds and resembles the planet Earth. Initially when our son told us about Earth Chan and that many youngsters were being activated to help the earth due to her, I was dismissive. But then, I began to realize that just like the ancient Inca civilization and the present day Quechuan speak of the Pachamama – Earth Chan may be the current generation’s planet Earth – their Pachamama.

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January 8, 2020

by drplasticpicker

I am writing this post actually Janaury 7, 2020. Even though it is Tuesday, and this blogpost is a Wednesday series – I will publish today because it will be wonderful to have our blog’s 100th blogpost be a Hopeful Post. Again, this continues to be a joyful blog-post series and such an uplifting part of my week. This marks the 100th blogpost and that is something to be super hopeful about. Usually I get 200-300 pageviews a day, so that is 200-300 plastic picking posts people are reading a day. Who is reading? I am not really sure but folks are reading. And that might encourage someone to remember their reusable water bottle, refuse a plastic fork, donate to the Rainforest Trust or pick up a few pieces of plastic when they go to the beach. So this week, we have Eight Reasons to be Hopeful.

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January 5, 2020

by drplasticpicker

If you have reached this post, you are either a real new patient of drplasticpicker or a sentinent being out there in the internet universe looking for inspiration, free entertainment or were mistakenly directed during an Ecosia (not Google) search on Dr. Pimple Popper. Yes, Dr. Plastic Picker’s name was chosen trying to direct traffic from Dr. Pimple Popper. She picks zits under sterile technique. I pick ocean bound plastic using old bread bags as gloves. We are all doing a service.

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January 1, 2020

by drplasticpicker

I was having too much fun on Instagram. I was up to almost 200 followers and then my account was deactivated because I violated some rules. I’m pretty sure it was because the word I was trying to write for Korean New Year’s soup is maybe a bad word to someone. I don’t know. I haven’t learned how to type in Korean and Vietnamese on the internet yet. It’s on my to-do list for 2020, along with saving the earth. I’m just a middle-aged pediatrician trying to pick up trash! Anyway, I’ve emailed back the Instagram team and we’ll see what happens.

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January 1, 2020

by drplasticpicker

I included my haul from today for December 2019. Keeps my accounting easier. It’s 835AM and New Years Day. My mother-in-law is making special Korean soup that is delicious and we eat every New Years. It’s a tradition and the children look forward to it. The two tall Plastic Picker family children are sleeping, as they actually stayed up until midnight drinking bubbly apple cider which is a first. Life has given me so many new joys and opportunities for growth since I started ocean plastic picking and blogging 4 months ago, but I need to keep true to the mission – which is to get to the beach and pick up plastic and do my part.

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January 1, 2020

by drplasticpicker

Today is the first day of a new decade. The last decade that I actually knew what to call was the 1990s. The decade of my youth, when we were all into techno, dancing that Roger Rabbit and “raising the roof.” My children cringe when I show them the dances we used to do in college! The 2000s and 2010s, what were they called? I don’t think any of us really knew. But now it is the twenties, and it has a definite name and a definite goal. Our goal is to save ourselves from mass extinction and to rewild our earth. So on that note, I am truly hopeful because as famed anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed, it is the only thing that every has. ”

Five Reasons to be Hopeful on the First Day of The Year 2020.

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December 31, 2019

by drplasticpicker

I want to coin a new term. If I blog about it enough, perhaps it will gain traction and enter into the internet/instagram/English speaking lexicon. FISE – Financial Indepedence and Save the Earth. FIRE is well established. It’s Financial Independent Retire Early. I used to follow these FIRE blogs religiously about 15 years ago, when they were just getting started. I’ve been reading 3 bloggers pretty regularly, Retireby40, LenPenzo.com and Mr. Money Mustache. I read intermittently Financial Samurai as well. These financial bloggers pretty much just talk about their lives, how they spend their money, how much they save, and then all of them (except LenPenzo) left the workforce. Mr. Money Mustache is actually a closet environmentalist. He is probably the most popular of the FIRE bloggers. These bloggers all make money off their blogs through advertisements, links to financial planning services, links to credit card offers.

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