Submitted by Amber Perlmutter on the 2016 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
“Plastic: the gift we leave our children, our children’s children, their children and every generation for next 450 years.” This is the sentence displayed on the child sculpture made out of plastic bottles and bottle caps.
It is amazing to me how even a small, developing country such as Dominica can be so aware of the negative environmental effects that plastic can leave behind. In general, Americans do not think twice about the plastic they use and abuse in their everyday lives. If an island as small as Dominica (~70,000 people) can be environmentally conscious, then the rest of the world should be able to, as well. As an environmental science major, these images make me feel optimistic that there are still people out there who are mindful of the fact that materials such as plastic water bottles end up somewhere other than our trash cans. They are not, in fact, out of sight out of mind. The island of Dominica is truly a model of conservation and environmentalism.
