August 11, 2024

Hi and welcome to newsletter #44 of OneBeautifulPlanet.org!

This message goes to my 205 subscribers, with a big Thank you for signing up. If you have just subscribed, check out the Newsletter archive. I wrote the first issue in June 2023, and an overview of the effort at the 100th subscriber milestone.

Plogging

Since it’s summer, I prefer running outside when working out, as opposed to on a treadmill. And while running on a trail or on the street, I often can’t simply run past litter when I see it, and so I often stop to pick it up. Recently I learned that this combination of running and environmental action has a name. It is called “plogging”: an eco-friendly fitness trend that combines jogging with picking up litter.

Originating in Sweden, the word "plogging" merges "plocka upp" (Swedish for "pick up") and "jogging." Participants jog or walk while collecting trash along their route, ideally using bags or gloves to safely pick up and dispose of litter. It not only benefits personal health by promoting exercise but also contributes to environmental conservation by cleaning up public spaces.

Plogging can be done individually or as part of a group, making it a social and community-driven activity. It's a simple yet impactful way to keep fit while making a positive difference in the environment!

Almost everyone who enjoys working out outside can do some plogging. In fact, none other than the President of Iceland was once “caught” plogging in 2018 by someone who posted this admirable example on their FaceBook page:

Mindset

“People say, "What is the sense of our small effort?" They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time.”

— Dorothy Day

What Do You Do While Your EV Is Charging?

Whenever I stop to charge my electric vehicle at a public station, it becomes a perfect opportunity to make good use of the time. Earlier this week, as I have done before, I grabbed my ArcMate litter grabber provided by my friends at Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, and spent 25 minutes cleaning up the surrounding area.

The recent rainstorms had left a lot of litter, mostly food and beverage packaging, accumulated around the metal drainage grates near a Wawa shopping center in Bensalem, PA. It was a straightforward task to clean up and fill a roughly 10-gallon trash bag.

I posted the pics and stats on three of my favorite litter cleanup tracking apps (Pirika, CleanSomethingforNothing, CleanUp, as well as on Instagram, FaceBook and the r/DeTrashed subreddit. It is always encouraging to see the positive replies and supportive comments!

On the website development and administrative front, I continue to convert past newsletter articles I wrote to stand-alone blog posts. My most recent one is on Carl Stokes, the prominent political figure of the 1960s and 1970s who was instrumental in the adoption of the Clean Water Act:

If you found this newsletter helpful or interesting, please share it. Thank you. And of course, if you would like to collaborate in some way, whether in writing, or volunteering together at a cleanup, please let me know.

Razvan