Coming just a week after a whale died near Thailand and was found to have 17 pounds of plastic in its stomach, this year’s World Environment Day - today - has a timely theme: “Beat Plastic Pollution.” Begun by the United Nations (UN) in 1974 as way to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment, World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is observed in more than 100 countries.

My first job out of college was as engineer # 3884 in a large oil refinery. Yield, cost, and throughput were all more important to the organization than the front-line people who were nameless numbers to the higher-ups.

Many workers and outdoor enthusiasts’ are exposed to temperature extremes throughout the day. Most of the time this is due to work, exercise or in my case, a circulatory disorder which can make me sweat profusely.