All of you have calculated your emissions and you have surely discovered the unexpectedly high impact of some of your behaviors (eating meat, flying to a sunny destination, etc.) on your total footprints.
Are there any behaviors that you are really willing to change or to improve for the sake of the environment? What challenges do you encounter or think you will encounter while trying to change these things? What help, support, and insights from others would make your life easier with these new behaviors?
Let's discuss these issues and make our pledges here!
Now It's Time for Action >
The Price of Plastic Bags
Plastic bags are one of the biggest problems that we face in America. Most Americans buy their food and supplies from local markets or larger stores. This is because it is easier and quicker to drive to the store and get everything you want rather than waiting several weeks before your plants create fruits or vegetables. The convenience of this encourages shoppers to buy more. What they don’t realize is how many plastic bags they’re using which has a large carbon emission.
An idea I was thinking of would be to start charging for every plastic bag after using 5 at the cash register. Although it seems too greedy for the stores to do that, it is a way that can hold people back from using more plastic bags. The average number of plastic bags used for grocery shopping vary from 10-20. Half of those plastic bags are useless with only a few small items in them. These small items can easily transfer into one bag which will save at least 4-5 bags. Here are a few statistics on plastic bags: http://www.projectgreenbag.com/plastic- … emissions/
I agree with the whole plastic bgs issue. It's sad to occasionally see a bag tumbling down the side of the road, almost certainly never to be picked up. Where these bags go is another big issue. There is a big trash zone in the middle of the Pacific Ocean that is the size of Texas. It's called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Theres actually two distinct patches of trash, the eastern one and the western one. This stuff accumulates in the ocean from being dropped down a sewer, which leads to a river or directly to the ocean. The Garbage Patch gets bigger every year because not much of it, if any is biodegradable. The trash collects in two different spots because of the ocean's natural currents. From the western shore of America, trash might go down south to mexico first, then hitch a ride on the North Equatorial Current, leading it to its destination of the eastern garbage patch. If we as a human race would stop using, even manufacturing plastic bags, which is almost unreal at this point, the garbage patches would stop growing and maybe even over time shrink. But for that to happen we need to make a change. I found all of my information here: http://education.nationalgeographic.com … ch/?ar_a=1