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OUR PLASTIC FOOTPRINT DAY PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, Plastics are ubiquitous in our society and may take hundreds of years or more to degrade in the environment, and WHEREAS, Petroleum-based plastics and plasticizer additives may be found in bags, bottles, toys, food packaging, storage containers, cookware, dental sealants, personal care products, and elsewhere, and WHEREAS, Biologically harmful chemicals are known to leach from some of those products, and WHEREAS, Such materials can affect thyroid and reproductive hormone production, as well as brain function, and WHEREAS, In many cases, more sustainable, greener alternatives to plastic are available, and WHEREAS, Between 1970 and 2003, plastics became the largest component of the waste stream in this Country, and WHEREAS, One isolated area of the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 miles northeast from Hawaii, includes an expanse of trash roughly twice the size of Texas, composed largely of plastics, and WHEREAS, The University of Idaho and Washington State University are hosting research vessel Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, who discovered that whirlpool of waste, for speaking engagements on April 12 and 13, and WHEREAS, Global recycling of plastics is less than while plastics production increased 25-fold between 1960 and 2000, and WHEREAS, Such plastic debris is harmful to marine biota, including fish consumed by humans and the marine plankton absorbing the Earth’s carbon dioxide, and WHEREAS, The public health and environmental effects of chemicals from plastics in unknown combinations and concentrations over extended periods of time are not well understood, and WHEREAS, Scientific knowledge and policies to address these concerns are expected to increase over time, NOW, THEREFORE, I, Nancy Chaney, Mayor of the City of Moscow, do hereby proclaim April 12, 2010 as Our Plastic Footprint Day in the City of Moscow, and I ask all citizens to use reusable receptacles for shopping, to think twice about the packaging of goods purchased, to recycle plastic waste, to make purchasing decisions that encourage the development and use of more environmentally-benign and degradable packaging, to consider potential for plastic chemical exposure associated with heating food in plastic containers, to assess whether glass, metal, paper, or some other material might suffice in lieu of plastic, and to generally be aware of possible risks to health and the environment from our increasing plastic footprint. DATED this 5th day of April, 2010. Nancy Chaney, Mayor Copy Copy Copy