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 Problem of Plastic
Ten years ago, when checking out at the grocery store, you may have been asked these words by the cashier, “Paper or plastic?” Now in the twenty-first century, we pretty much only have the option of plastic. Everything from silverware to chairs can be made out of plastic. In the United States, 24 billion pounds of plastic are produced annually. On my carbon footprint, I was surprised to see how much carbon emission was due to the packaging of purchased items. One thing I can do and we all can do to reduce our carbon footprint is bring my own reusable grocery bags to the grocery store. Another thing I can do is pack metal silverware instead of plastic silverware in my lunch. When I go shopping, I can buy in bulk to reduce the plastic I use. If we all do these things as well as other suggestions posted on the website below, we can lower the amount of plastic waste building up in our landfills.
http://www.projectbluegreen.com/2011/06 … ollution-3
Hello Kristin,
I completely agree with you, I live in California where there has just been a plastic bag ban. I think this was the smartest thing that the state of California could have done. When first learning about this, I didn't know how big of an impact one person could make. I'm not going to lie, i would drink out of plastic water bottles every day and think nothing of it. But after learning about the Carbon dioxide emissions and how harmful it is to our environment, I bought a reusable water bottle right away. I also urged my mom to try and reuse as many containers we could. Learning about landfills and all the greenhouse gases they emit was shocking. Methane being the gas landfills emit the most. I feel as plastic bags should be banned in every state. Taking one step at a time is exactly what this world needs, and I believe trying to use as little plastic as possible should be the first step.
We can do so many thing to help the current climate change if we just get people educated about the subject. Many people do not believe in climate change and think that its fake. But if everyone could just join together on the subject, things could change drastically. Together, we can get the government to ban plastic from school cafeterias, or use biodegradable trays and silverware. There is so many things a group of people can do if they work really hard on. But at this point, if the world does not change their ways, we may not being able to fix this.