Sacred or Synthetic? The Environmental Cost of Modern Offerings by Kevin Walsh

We speak of honouring the land with one breath while leaving behind plastic as an act of “respect.” We call places sacred while covering trees in synthetic ribbons whose plastic threads will outlive our grandchildren. We pour alcohol and food into polluted rivers, leave paraffin candles and wax in ancient monuments, and tie polyester clooties to hawthorn branches in the name of reverence.