A Woman Needs Disposable Bags Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle

There’s a weekly news column in Pittsburg (The Kansas one, not Pennsylvania) called What Women Need, and shockingly enough it’s not Mel Gibson. In fact, for the next few weeks the articles will be dedicated to curbing our petroleum consumption and it all starts off with ditching the plastic bags.

In upcoming weeks, “What Women Need” will explore several of the factors that contribute to rising costs and dwindling resources — all of which are the result of everyday human choices.

The good news? There are simple yet effective alternatives to these choices that will directly impact our pocketbook, our environment, and future generations. What women need is to know about them, then act on them.

This week, plastic bags. I have never felt good about loading my groceries into them, but I was stunned to read a report released by AlterNet that the number we use each year is causing a global epidemic. As of the Fourth of July, I will never use them again.

What makes this a women’s issue? Further along, the article points out that — even in this enlightened day and age — women do the majority of household grocery shopping. (I was indignant at this accusation, but then I remembered that even in my own experiences it’s pretty much true.) Well then, it’s up to us to save the environment! The article suggests picking up $1 reusable bags at Wal-Mart, and while I wouldn’t want to support one mega-conglomerate while trying to tackle another, I suppose it’s a blessing they even sell them at all.

So how about it, ladies? Let’s get down to business.

Image via Oddio Overplay!

Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 1:48 pm and is filed under The Daily. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.