Meet The McSisters

  • As a concerned citizen, I have felt compelled to join with my sisters in the quest to address the plastic crisis through education, finding solutions and changing behaviors.

    As the oldest of the McSisters, I have watched with great respect the dedication of my two younger sisters to protecting the earth. As an environmental attorney, Frances made it her profession to keep the public safe from pollution, and Barbara is dedicated to the elimination of single-use plastic. My background is in the performing arts and information technology, which I hope to leverage via our blog.

    I come from an era of consumerism that exploded the use of plastic products that now threaten to irreparably damage the environment. As a child, I enthusiastically welcomed the introduction of the plastic bottle for bathroom items because it took away the worry of having broken glass in the tub, sink or on the floor. It was also “disposable”, which was regarded as a good thing.

    I remember the iconic lines from the 1967 film “The Graduate”. “One word…plastics. There's a great future in plastics. Think about it.”

    “Disposable” plastic products were marketed as making my life easier. For example, I didn’t have to wash dishes, just use plastic plates and utensils one time and when done, throw them in the garbage. In my opinion, one of the grossest “disposable” products of all is the creation of the “disposable” diaper. Just imagine how gross our garbage dumps have become with poopy diapers in plastic that won’t degrade for a very long time.

    I have joined my McSisters to learn the extent that single-use plastic has damaged our planet. I want to learn how to reduce and eliminate my personal single-use plastic consumer practices and share what I have learned with our readers. I wish to help educate people about what we can do to end plastic pollution and find new ways of living life without plastic.

    I invite you to read our blog postings and find out what you can do to eliminate the use of single-use plastic in your life.

  • Protecting the environment has been a big part of my life since I was a young girl when I first visited Yosemite. We didn’t stay long on that visit because our family was moving from New Mexico to California, but I never forgot the incredible beauty. Eventually I became a strong advocate for the environment in my private life and my career.

    As a teenager, I and my school friends, part of the environmental club, convinced our City to save a bit of the last remaining open space in our community, and 50 years later it is still a park!! This experience gave me a taste for what is possible when we work together. I earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics and began a science career and then discovered my real passion and became an environmental attorney. I’ve spent 40 years enforcing laws to protect and clean up our surface and groundwater. Now, in retirement, I have the opportunity to join together with others to do something about single-use plastic.

    Like most of us, I’ve just gone along with the normal approach to single-use plastic. I’ve bought plenty of water bottles and ziplock bags, used lots and lots of plastic bags in the grocery stores, and not paid much attention to the rest of the single-use plastic I’ve used in my life. Like my sisters, I recently awoke to the devastating impact of that plastic on our world. Microplastic has now spread to nearly every part of our planet - our rivers, oceans, animals, and even impacting the organisms that remove carbon dioxide – the phytoplankton. So, I’ve made radical changes in my use of single-use plastic – constantly seeking different methods to store food, shop, cook, and travel. And, I’ve made a commitment to encourage others to make those changes in their lives too. It’s actually quite easy!! We invite you to read this blog and start making a difference for all of us.

  • There was a time when I brought cases of plastic water bottles with me when camping with my family. Sitting in a panga in San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja, Mexico with enormous beautiful gray whales-mothers and babies- just a few feet away in their home jolted me. I knew my behavior needed to change. Since that unforgettable experience and many that have followed, my goal is to understand the negative impact single-use plastic has on our precious plant, animal, land, water, and human life. I have made it my personal mission to radically change my habits and dependence on single-use plastic and encourage others to do the same. We only have one increasingly fragile planet, and we are covering it in plastic.

    After 35 rewarding years as a special education teacher, retirement has afforded me and my husband the opportunity for incredible travel and camping experiences. Our travel generally takes us out in nature and seeing things we are afraid won’t exist for future generations. This coupled with the arrival of our beautiful grandson reinforces my desire to protect this beautiful planet we call home.

    In retirement, I have become a very active member of the Rotary Club of Windsor, CA and increasingly involved in environmental and social justice causes. I am the chair of the Rotary District 5130 Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) and participate with a number of national and international environmental groups.

    I frequently share my discoveries about alternatives to single use plastic with friends and family members. A friend suggested that a blog would be a great way to share these discoveries with a wider audience. Brilliant!!! I invited my sisters to join me. Preparing for this blog has led us on a fascinating path of research and study on the perils of plastic. Along the way, we have met many dedicated individuals making a profound difference on the environment, and we look forward to introducing some to our subscribers. Here I am with my amazing sisters creating our own blog. Please join our journey to greatly curb unnecessary single-use plastic.