Ok, I'm whining. But the obsession with paper vs. plastic shopping bags just plain bugs me.
As The Oregonian's Michael Milstein correctly points out: both paper and plastic have their pros and cons. Plastic has some surprising environmental advantages (more here), but also some unexpected drawbacks, including gumming up recycling equipment -- which makes it hard to figure out which option is actually worse in practice. But quite clearly, reusing bags you already have is better than asking for a new one.
The thing is, we already know all this. What's more, we've known it for decades.
And (heresy alert!) the truth is that paper-vs-plastic is an astonishingly low-priority issue.
For example, choosing a bag at the checkout line is typically far less important than choosing what to put in those bags. Meat vs. grains, local vs. non-local, and organic vs. conventional all arguably have bigger environmental consequences than paper vs. plastic. Likewise, the kind of bag you use probably matters far less than what kind of car (if any) you drove to the store, and how far you had to drive it.
Now, I don't mean to denigrate all the well-intentioned folks who've taken an interest in this issue, or to deny that collective, voluntary action can make a difference in the world.
But in my view, the paper-vs-plastic "debate" fascinates us not so much because it's genuinely important but because it reinforces a common frame about sustainability: that it's all about personal choices. Paper vs. plastic is one of the few "either-or" environmental decisions that we confront daily. And for some reason we conflate making a choice with making an impact.
Obviously, some choices do make an impact -- especially the big ones, about your home or your car or your major appliances. Those big decisions really are worth thinking through. But the daily agonizing over paper vs. plastic is pretty small beer -- so small that I worry that all the attention to the choice of paper-vs.-plastic simply dissipates our energies and distracts us from far more important things.
I, for one, wish the whole paper-vs.-plastic "debate" would just go away.
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Biodiversivist Posted 11:53 am
21 May 2007
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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leewalsh Posted 1:10 pm
21 May 2007
By Brower and Leon, its full title is The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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antidoto Posted 1:12 pm
21 May 2007
I wrote about the individual-choice paradigm at great length here, though not with respect to environmental issues.
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sm00bs Posted 1:39 pm
21 May 2007
What about cloth vs. disposable diapers? I'm curious to know what the pros and cons are of each without wondering if there is bias in any of the information.
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amazingdrx Posted 2:34 pm
21 May 2007
I think that bridges the gap created by linear thinking, typified by the paper versus plastic controversy.
Change comes from the grassroots up. It's zen.
In linear thought mode the battle to save the planet is hopeless. Facing the most powerful corporate/government hegemonic forces ever assembled with a grassroots movement? Clearly impossible.
In zen mode it can actually happen. That is if enough of the population gets into that zen mode.
Then momentum takes over. But the zen makes you take a bag to the store with you, or shut the water off while brushing your teeth, or mixing the charcoal left over from your campire with your garden soil.
None of these actions can beat hegemony. Or can they?
If enough people have the basic motivation to do these simple things. It's like the breath of fire. If you work on your breathing every moment you can remember throughout the day, stop holding your breath. Stop the stressfull mode of tension.
Eventually the zen breathing mode takes over and your whole consciousness shifts slightly.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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Ron Steenblik Posted 4:27 pm
21 May 2007
Here in France, the choice in recent years has been more "pay for your plastic bag or bring your own." It is not a policy applied by all grocery stores yet, but by enough that it is starting to cut down on that component of waste. My wife and I normally show up to shop with a bunch of canvas bags (from L.L. Bean or Land's End), which actually make shopping easier, because they are much more sturdy than bags made of either flimsy plastic or paper.
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caniscandida Posted 5:41 pm
21 May 2007
Those pitiful few teeth that still hang from thy cruel jaws, which thou sharpenest every Sabbath with flint-stones, there in thy cave, to such mournful music as maketh the little dogs wail, the children weep and the grandmothers groan: with those very same teeth thou bitest off the heads of chickens, and other unfortunate fowls and small deer that thou hast caught in thy clench, biting close to their hearts, so that the blood and gore rush down over thy beard and over thy belly! O God!
Oh, the horror!; the horror!
: ( : ( : ( : ( : ( : ( : (
I hope at least your toothpaste is something fresh and minty, like Pepsodent.
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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Greta Posted 12:25 am
22 May 2007
First of all, arguments like these:
"And (heresy alert!) the truth is that paper-vs-plastic is an astonishingly low-priority issue."
help nothing. Like telling a father of 10 who has just been laid off, 'Hey, it could be worse. You could have cancer.'
So, I propose a ban on pointless deflection.
Moral of the story: Sadly, most people need to be trained to be responsible. And, training starts with small things and repetition. Once people manage to make a responsible choice about a grocery bag (BYOB) -- something they use frequently -- they can graduate onto bigger things...like turning off the water when they brush. :-)
Secondly, we all know that reuse is better than recycle. So, the question really should be plastic-paper-BYOB. And, the checkout people should ask that. If you present it this way, people will be trained to know there is yet a better option.
Thirdly, I take issue with that Ilea report. A single paper bag holds way more volume than a plastic bag, if used correctly. The checkout people will put 1 single item in a double plastic bag, and few items in each other bag. Whereas, a paper bag can be packed more efficiently. Here's a tip shopper: Hold your hand under the bottom of the bag. Whee!
Moreover, at the end of the day, the shopper could put that brown paper bag in their compost bin, where it will decay quickly. Whereas, a shopper might use that plastic bag as a trashcan liner, but that never diminishes its substance.
----
I too subscribe to the Ghandi tenet. Maybe things will not change globally in my lifetime, but I feel good about my choices. And, who knows, maybe someone will accidently catch a responsible act and be inspired. And, so on, and so on. (Yep, been using my own bags for years.)
www.NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org
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amazingdrx Posted 12:51 am
22 May 2007
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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Jon Rynn Posted 1:06 am
22 May 2007
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amazingdrx Posted 1:20 am
22 May 2007
Auuummm...
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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MarkUK Posted 1:47 am
22 May 2007
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Pathos Posted 3:28 am
22 May 2007
There was an article in Daily Grist a few years ago... I'm afraid someone else is going to have to dig it up if you want to read it, because I lack the attention span... But apparently, the British government commissioned an extensive study of the cloth-vs.-plastic diaper issue--they even went so far as to take into account the question of commercial diaper laundry vs. washing your own--and after who knows how many person-hours of work and how many millions of pounds spent, their big conclusion was: It does not matter.
The environmental difference between washing cloth diapers vs. throwing away disposable ones is apparently just not that significant. So, yeah. Enjoy your disposable diapers--maybe find some environmentlaly friendly ones, if there are any.
And if I can offer a small suggestion, take some of the time and energy you'll save on washing diapers, and instead use it to write to your Congressman/Member of Parliament, and urge them to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Then you'll really have done some good. :)
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PBrazelton Posted 3:47 am
22 May 2007
MarkUK: there are ways around icky-poo smells. You can store cloth diapers in airtight (or close, anyway) containers. This container can be any inexpensive plastic container with a lid. We have two, so when one is next to the washing machine you still have a place to put the nappies. You can also store diapers 'wet', which I hear cuts down on odors and detergent. I'm skeptical, but there you go. Anyway, when you wash the diapers you'll be unhappy, but that's just a few hours a week. Or you could use a diaper service, which is really the best of both worlds.
There is also the gDiaper. It's a compromise for several reasons, but we've used them on the road and found them acceptable. Check it out.
Do research. Be creative. Be rugged and come up with solutions. The alternative is perpetuating the waste of virgin materials and landfill space on a staggering scale.
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WKB Posted 6:46 am
22 May 2007
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amazingdrx Posted 7:03 am
22 May 2007
Everyone cut it out! My dental hygenist informed me of the uselessness of toothpaste a few months ago, it does nothing for dental health. It's the brushing and flossing that does all the work.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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natureguru Posted 9:54 am
22 May 2007
It's important to look at the reasons for resistance to any issue. It's easy enough to cut down on the use of grocery bags; getting companies to change their packaging, reducing the cost of organics, etc. -- that's harder. We must do what we can.
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Delay And Deny Posted 4:37 am
23 May 2007
Just get an oversized raincoat with lots of pockets and "boost" some savings.
John Bailo, The "Denier Guy"
You Read It Here First
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Michael Beneke Posted 12:34 pm
23 May 2007
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sm00bs Posted 3:52 pm
25 May 2007
Also, gDiapers are incredibly awesome! Our cloth system is actually Gerber DSQ prefolds folded up to fit inside gPants. We were using the flushable inserts while we were out and about but have decided they're neither worth the money nor the hassle since we love cloth so much, but for people who don't like cloth, they're wonderful. There is a learning curve, and every time I try to use a flushable I get frustrated because I don't do it often enough to be a pro (they take a bit of time to insert until several diapers have been filled for practice).
I can't think that it wouldn't matter when choosing cloth or disposable diapers. I can't see how that study could be correct (bias, anyone?). Seriously, the resources needed for making all those disposables my baby would wear compared to the resources needed for making the three dozen cloth diapers we have... it's like comparing apples and oranges! Granted, there are resources used in doing the laundry, but my diapers are not taking up space in a landfill for the next however many years. Besides, who really wants all those nasty and stinky (Lord, how I hate the smell of a disposable diaper) chemicals next to baby's skin?
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