Talk of the Town: Let’s rid ourselves of blasted plastic—bags, that is

I am guilty and I am lazy. There, I confessed all. I’m not doing all I can to help save this planet. I still find myself using those blasted plastic bags and it’s not good. Not good at all. ?In fact it’s downright selfish! I’m a plastic bag junkie!!

The 39th Earth Day will be celebrated this Tuesday, April 22 and this is my year to break the plastic bag habit.

This year the Earth Day Network is spearheading one of the largest Earth Day gatherings in U.S. history - major daylong events on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and seven other cities, 1,000 college campuses, and hundreds of community events that are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of participants and rally support for immediate and equitable national action on global warming.

“This Earth Day, it’s time to change the forecast for global warming,” said Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network. “Climate change must rise to the top of the national agenda this election year.”

Earth Day Network will be calling for people to take personal steps to fight climate change, such as taking public transportation or carpooling to Earth Day events and stop using plastic bags to carry their snacks.

According to EDN, the raw material of plastic bags is oil. Therefore, the more we use plastic bags, the more we waste oil - a non-renewable energy source.

The petroleum-based plastic bags take decades to break down, so if they are not recycled they litter. It creates visual pollution: in the streets, on the beaches etc. Also, they can clog roadside drains, which could cause street flooding during heavy rainfall.

Plastic bags can be recycled but it rarely happens; according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, only 1 percent of plastic bags were recycled in 2000, against 20 percent for paper bags.

They endanger wildlife and particularly sea life such as sea turtles and dolphins, which can die of entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion because they assume that these bags are jellyfish.

What is being done?

For the past few years, there has been rising international awareness regarding the damaging and dangerous impact on the environment of plastic bags. Governments all over the world have decided to get involved in that particular issue.

Some governments have decided to ban them: Bangladesh, Bhutan and Zanzibar.

Plastic bags should no more be given for free in China from June 1.

These bags are surcharged in Germany, South Africa, Ireland and Israel.

Several countries try and promote, through major retailers, the use of cloth bags, paper bags or grocery bags: United Kingdom (with Tesco), France (with Carrefour), Wal-Mart cloth bags here in the U.S. and Safeway and Bashas’ right here in Green Valley.

In the U.S., plastic bags are already used less than paper bags by American consumers, and there have been no government actions to further curb their use. But large cities such as San Francisco and Portland, Ore., have planned or plan to ban plastic bags, whereas Seattle, Wash., will certainly launch a 20 cent “green fee” on plastic bags.

What you can still do!

Reuse your plastic shopping bags; use them as trash so as not to buy others that are more energy wasting; use them for storage.

Use paper bags rather than plastic bags when you are given the choice.

Use reusable grocery bags, which always have a lower environmental impact.

When possible, purchase goods in cans or glass instead of plastic containers. Glass can be recycled indefinitely.

Look for multipurpose cleaners instead of buying one for each kind of surface.

Close the loop. Purchase products that have themselves been made from recycled materials. For example, Seventh Generation makes paper products from 100 percent recycled materials.

It’s true, plastic bags have made our lives easier in many ways. Unfortunately, they are often not disposed of properly.

We see them blowing around in the streets and they often end up in streams and the oceans.

These bags can be dangerous to animals, such as turtles, that ingest them or are strangled by them, especially in marine environments where plastic bags resemble jellyfish and other food items.

One solution to this problem is to make degradable bags, such as those from starch. Starch, obtained from corn or potatoes, can be converted into lactic acid, which can be polymerized to the biodegradable plastic known as polylactide.

Another solution is to add an ultraviolet-light absorber to make the material degrade when exposed to sunlight.

Unfortunately, these solutions can make the plastics more expensive, so they haven’t caught on with consumers.

Plastics have been around for more than 100 years, and they will be around for many more. Without a doubt, they are extremely useful. But when it comes to shopping, some environmentally conscious consumers prefer to avoid plastic bags, opting instead for paper bags. And some go even further, just reusing the same cloth bag over and over again.

Green Valley Elks Lodge #2592 installed new officers March 29 for the 2008-09 year.

Taking over command were Phyllis Curran, the new exalted ruler; Tom Shanahan, leading knight; Jack Najar, loyal knight; Pat Hudson, lecturing knight; Arturo Gabaldon, esquire; Cheryl Ponzo, chaplain; Denny Scanlan, inner guard; Rose Mattarocci, tiler; Tom Curran, lodge secretary, past exalted ruler (PER); Ray Austin, treasurer; Ray Zucker. PER and five-year trustee; Tom Bright PER and four-year trustee; Mayme Specht, PER and three-year trustee; Chuck George, past district deputy grand exalted ruler and PER, two-year trustee; and Bert Imse, PER and one-year trustee. Walter Henderson is presiding justice.

The official organist is Tamara Kahrimanis, who played the introductory music for the event and Bert Imse greeted and seated the guests, officers, their spouses and installing dignitaries.

The welcoming speech was presented by Earl Wilford, Elks past state president, a past district deputy grand exalted ruler and PER from Tucson Lodge #385.

A reception was held following the installation with presentation of gifts.

To commemorate this special event, the Elks Lodge #2592 hosted an inaugural ball, which included dinner and dancing.

Honored guests included Al Skorupski, PDDGER, PER and his wife Diane from Tucson Lodge #385: Rena Kiernan, Nanuet, N.Y.; Karen Gannon, Monroe, N.Y.; Juan and Sandy Garcia, New Mexico; Chuck George and his wife, Kathi, Green Valley; and Woody Woodruff and his wife, The Honorable Judge Gail Wight, Green Valley.

rford@gvnews.com