Being Brook

created by:

Brook

Dragging Green Doors

created by:

Kristen

my speak

created by:

Tiffany
Being Brook

Read more of Brook's Journal here!

Here's Brook's latest journal entry:
March 01, 2010

Bag the plastic

Floating listlessly in the middle of the North Pacific is the Great Pacific Plastic Patch, a sea of man-made plastic debris spanning an area twice the size of Alaska. The Patch can be deadly to wildlife. Ingredients in this noxious stew are often ingested and monofilament and six-pack rings entangle. The other oceans contain similar patches – disturbing monuments to our profligate ways.

Plastic bottles and bags are part of the problem, especially the thin bags distributed at grocery stores. How many times are they seen along a shoreline or tangled in trees, snagged during their windborne journeys? Imagine how many are adrift in our waters. I’ve personally, tediously removed them from coral reefs, the entwined bags smothering living polyps. They are ubiquitous in the environment.

But it’s easy to fight back: Just bag the plastic! Give it up. Just say no. More and more people have ands so are cities and countries. San Francisco banned plastic grocery bags and so did China, saving the populous nation millions of precious barrels of oil. Many U.S. cities are considering a bag tax. Set the stage for action in your community by taking reusable bags wherever you shop. Stash reusable bags in strategic places like your car, so they are there when you need them.

I'm pleased to pass through the automatic doors of the grocery store carrying a bundle of “good” bags. People look, sometimes with guilt obvious on their faces, hopefully considering the sensibility of bringing their own bags and the senseless waste of not doing so. The point is reinforced at checkout when they witness the sturdy, upright nature of the bags and their ability to handle a hefty cargo.

I’m elated when I notice others bearing good bags. At the store I frequent, such occasions are infrequent, but others say reusable bags are catching-on. Let’s hope so, for the ocean’s sake and, ultimately, our own. In the end, it’s all about carrying capacity.

Journal
Often times, it takes just one person to inspire many to move to action. The iConservePA journals provide food for thought on how we can all be better stewards of our natural resources. Each journal, or blog, is a glimpse into one person’s life -- their perspective on conservation. We hope the journals will fill you with ideas and inspire you to take steps to protect and enjoy Pennsylvania’s natural resources.
 

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