The Post About How Using Plastic Bags Helps The Terrorists Win

Blog Action Day is an annual event held every October 15 that unites bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking discussion around important issue. This year's topic is Climate Change.

I'm actually very interested in simply being less of an annoyance to the temporary home God created for me. So I'm sharing a previous post about how I try to do that with a new bonus tip at the end.

Originally posted April 22, 2008

The Post About Tree Huggin' and Kissin'

Today is Earth Day. I know that means different things to different folks. We could probably even start a nice and juicy political discussion, but let’s not and say we did.

I’d like to focus only on the issues of simplicity and stewardship. I’m not someone you would call simple. Maybe simple-minded at times, but I’m all about the more the merrier in my life. More shoes, more caffeine, more Tivo, more miles on the car. But the newsflash is none of my worth comes from any of those things. Perhaps if I could embrace that, I would live a simpler life. Secondly, I believe any stuff I do have is actually on loan from God so I need to value it like I value Him.

Here are my quick tips on how we all can lead simpler and stewardishy lives:
a. Avoid buying bottled water. Get a nice shiny reusable aluminum bottle and fill it to your heart’s content.
b. Wash towels only after using them more than once. Be discerning about your dirtiness.
c. Get off junk mail lists. Greendimes will help make that happen.
d. Don't pre-rinse dishes. Tests show pre-rinsing doesn't improve dishwasher cleaning, and you'll save as much as 20 gallons of water per load.

NEW TIP: Use canvas grocery bags or reuse plastic bags. The production of plastic bags requires petroleum and often natural gas, both non-renewable resources that increase our dependency on foreign suppliers (hence, the terrorists winning). An estimated 8 billion pounds of plastic bags, wraps and sacks enter the waste stream every year in the US alone, putting an unnecessary burden on our diminishing landfill space and causing air pollution if incinerated. And they take 20-1000 years to biodegrade (depending on if the sun's hittin' it right.)

Do you have tips of your own? Do you?

{image: Jamie}

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