Paper or Plastic? Not at Wholefoods
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In case you haven’t been to a Whole Foods recently I’ve got an update for you. Since Earth Day (April 22nd, 2008) Whole Foods stopped offering plastic bags to their customers. Only paper bags will be offered, or you can bring your own.
This is a great example of an authority figure nudging the public towards healthier living, just like the smoking ban in NYC - now my clothes don’t stink like other people’s smoke! Sometimes it takes a push for people to change their habits, but it’s good to see a company take bold actions.
This got me thinking about America’s impact on the environment. I found some interesting stats about the U.S. at Garden Girl.
- The people of the US represent less than 5% of the world’s population but we account for more than 25% of the consumption of the world’s resources. That alone is just plain sad.
- If everyone in the US lowered their thermostats by 1 degree in the winter, the nation would save 230 million barrels of crude oil - enough to fill an oil tanker 400 times.
- One gallon of used oil - the amount from a small car engine - can pollute 1 million (!!!!) gallons of fresh water and create an 8-acre oil slick. YIPES. Each year nearly 200 million gallons of used oil are illegally dumped on the ground, tossed in the trash or pound down storm sewers and drains.
- If every American switched to receiving just ONE bill as an electronic statement instead of a paper one, the one-time savings would be nearly 218 million sheets - enough to completely blanket the island of Key West in a single layer of paper.
Good thing we have companies pushing us in the right direction.
Written by: Gregory Schnese
