About Going Green

     I was visiting my daughter in New York, and when we picked up groceries the cashier seemed irritated that my daughter brought along her own cloth bags.  She had to put the bags up twice because the first time the cashier shoved them over to the side.  When I got back home I went to get groceries and asked for paper instead of plastic because I forgot my cloth bags, again causing quite a stir.  I’ve heard so many bad things about what we are doing to the world with our plastic bags and plastic wrap that I’m a little surprised that all the stores seem to be pushing plastic.  I’ve cleaned out my car and made a space for my cloth bags so I won’t leave them behind again.  I’ve gone back to wrapping sandwiches in waxed paper instead of baggies.

     San Francisco has become the first city to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags in large grocery and drug stores.  Similar bag-banning measures are being considered in Boston; Baltimore; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Santa Monica, Calif.; and Steamboat Springs, Colo.  There is a growing movement to replace plastic bags with cloth one town at a time.  Plastic litter is killing whales, birds, seals, turtles, and livestock.  I for one would like to see the use of more cloth and paper bags, and more places to drop off the plastic for recycle.  What do YOU think?