Iowa Forges a Bold Path Towards Going Green

There’s a saying out there: go bold or go home. Some of us choose to go home, but the United States’ Midwest is going bold! To be specific, the great state of Iowa. Over the coming weeks and months, there may be some big changes in the old IA.

For one thing, the Iowa City Council has made plans to discuss the possibility of a plastic bag ban for the city!

Council member Connie Champion suggested earlier this month that the council address the issue. She says she doesn’t necessarily support a ban but thinks it should be considered.

“I don’t know where I’m going to stand on it, but I think that it’s worth discussing,” she said.

Mayor Regenia Bailey says a ban on plastic bags is a trend that’s catching on nationwide.

We’ll have to stay tuned for more developments on that as they unfold, but the mere fact that talks and considerations are happening is a good sign. In other news, Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources is encouraging Iowans to “Be Green This Season” with a new campaign, featuring a list of tips on how to stay environmentally conscious throughout the rest of the holiday season.

• # Buy local. Locally made gifts have a lower carbon footprint due to reduced gasoline use and air pollution associated with transportation.
• # Recycle your gift wrap and greeting cards. Recycling is simple to do but can be easily neglected during the holiday excitement. Have a designated bin for recyclables right next to your trash can so recycling is just as easy as throwing away garbage.
• # Reuse your packaging. Save boxes, ribbons and gift bags that can be used again for another holiday.
• # Take your own reusable shopping bags. When shopping during the holiday season, avoid the hassle of accumulating single-use bags by bringing your own reusable bags.

Check out the Iowa DNR official site for more tips on how to conserve this season! And give a hand to Iowa, for taking the environment seriously in more ways than one, and making it a big issue during a season when most people put it on the back burner. Go Hawkeyes!

Monday, December 29th, 2008 at 1:09 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.