These bags are created from oil that
is extracted from the planet using
increasingly invasive methods, requiring energy to manufacture them, are
transported to their destination using
fossil fuels to power the vehicles, used
once (maybe twice if you then use
them to line your trash cans) and then
are disposed of to linger for a thousand years in a landfill.
When they do degrade, they break
down into non organic materials that
have a huge effect on the Earth’s ecosystems.
This is to say nothing of the bags
that end up as litter, blown by the
wind about the landscape to get
caught in trees or washed out the
ocean via watersheds, there to be mistaken for prey by the wildlife and thus
cause irreparable damage to already
vulnerable and dwindling marine species.
Buy and use reusable shopping bags.
Keep a stock of them in your trunk for
your groceries and one in your purse
or pocket for other day-to-day shopping.
2.) Turn off the taps – The average
North American household uses 1,400
litres of water per day. This water is
drawn from the lakes and rivers that
surround our region.
Cleaning this water to make it suitable for human consumption takes
energy, and energy in its current
incarnation creates pollution.
The solution? Turn off the taps
when you brush your teeth