La Cuesta

I take Environmental Science, and I have to say it’s made me more aware. However, no matter how much I nag, I can’t get my parents to comply with the much-needed changes. But there is one thing that they have followed through on: re-using our plastic bags.

As many people know, numerous chain stores are starting to offer reusable bags in hopes of lowering the amount of plastic bags produced. In class, I learned that plastic bags are not very recyclable at all, and that they pollute the environment horribly, especially since they are also not biodegradable. By recyclable, by the way, I mean that a plant has a hard time re-processing the used plastic bag for future use, unlike paper or aluminum. A plastic bag will stay a plastic bag, and people really only give thmselves the illusion of recycling by re-using one as a trash bag. Another thing I learned: many opt, then, for paper, but actually, paper takes up more energy to produce and recycle than does a plastic bag.

People sometimes don’t realize that even the production of every day products, such as plastic bags, can contribute to global climate change (I hate saying “global warming” because, in reality, it’s not just warming). To manufacture these goods, machines need to work, things need to get melted, and all of that uses energy and fuel–which, as we all know, is then released into the air as CO2 and other lovely greenhouse gases.

 Well, I was at Whole Foods this weekend (yesterday, on Sunday, to be exact) grocery shopping with my parents. My family follows a strict organic diet, so we dish out the extra dollars for more quality, and we trek over to Whole Foods. There, at the checkout, I saw that most of the bags people piled their groceries into were the reusable bags! I even saw a couple of Trader Joe’s bags in there (I’m sure Whole Foods didn’t mind).

Of course, we forgot to bring in our plastic bags. In our defense, it was right after church, and an impulse thing.

I was pleasantly surprised, because I had never seen so many people springing into action at once. Later that evening, I watched NatGeo’s “Six Degrees Could Change the Earth,” and was promptly scared and depressed to death.

But I still retain hope because of what I saw. As a perk, Whole Foods offers a 10 cent discount for every plastic bag you reuse. I know Ikea has a reusable bag system, as, obviously, does Trader Joe’s. I highly suggest that you all participate. It’s so easy, and it’s cheap, and, really, if it doesn’t hit home, watch NatGeo on the weekends. You’ll be so scared for the future generations, you’ll be compelledto adopt more eco-friendly habits.