Call me old if you will, but I remember when our
supermarkets phased out paper bags and introduced us to plastic ones. The reason was because all the paper bags
being used was an unsustainable and pointless use of a valuable resource, namely
trees.
Fast forward to today.
With concern for our environment, our government has enacted laws that
phased out our using plastic carry bags for our groceries. We all duly bought our own bags to use (mine
are made of hard-wearing canvas).
That is fine, but it hasn’t decreased my use of plastic
bags. Now, instead of recycling the
plastic bag as a rubbish bag I purchase plastic bags to use as rubbish bags.
Produce bags were next in the firing line, but most
supermarkets still give you plastic bags to put your fruit and vegetables into. Our local supermarket has just returned to
the paper bag system – a beautiful thick brown paper bag to place one broccoli
into. It seems such a waste.
Of course, I could avoid using the paper bags and buy the
produce already packaged up – in plastic bags!
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| Can you imagine a world without trees? |
Plastic is not good for our environment. There is no argument with that. But sustainability is also important. Humans have a sad history of raping their
world, using a natural resource until it is no longer viable. We are still doing this, from mining minerals
to catching fish to impoverishing our soils.
I think it is incredibly sad when one sees how creatures of
this world can suffer because of human greed and pollution, but realistically I
can also realise that if we continue to use trees to provide throw-away paper
products than our whole earth is going to suffer (remember that trees are one
of the major producers of oxygen on the planet).
Is there an answer to this dilemma? I really don’t know.
We could all return to growing our own fruit and vegetables,
using a basket when we go shopping, only buying things in glass that can be
recycled and reused. But that isn’t
feasible in our society today, as it is not just groceries that use
plastic.
We are too consumer driven and our markets are too global. Plastic is everywhere. Our whole civilisation depends upon it.
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| Our Earth is strong, but it is also very fragile |
On a personal level, I think it is good that we each do as
much as we can to protect our personal environment, but our efforts are infinitesimal
in the big scheme of things.
Nothing is really going to change until the big corporations
and the world’s governments unite together to change the whole lifestyle of the
people they rule over.
Can you see that happening in the near future, or ever?
It makes you think, doesn’t it?
Margaret 😊
