The Online Newspaper of Lakewood High School

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    Bringing Back the Green Planet

    Bringing Back the Green Planet

    Some might say that global warming is serious and some may not. As it is a big economic topic in politics and the United States government, many businesses are taking action. Stores in Ohio are ending the use of plastic bags which may eventually have the idea to stop other plastic products. Other factors include paying per plastic bag which is not much needed, so reusable bags or other alternatives will be quite useful.

    Plastic bags were a necessity when it came to a lot of groceries and storage. These bags could be used for many things such as storage at home and pet waste bags. However, these bags are a negative impact to the environment. Some people do not intentionally think about the harm plastic can do, so littering is huge problem. So here in Lakewood, we do not have an ocean to take care of, but we have Lake Erie.

    Here in Lakewood, Ohio, Giant Eagle, a grocery supermarket is not allowing the use of plastic bags starting January 15, 2020. This 2020, may be the new year of people realizing that much can be saved as a whole to our environment.

    “It is good to see companies actually doing something to limit plastic waste rather than just saying it is a problem” claims Owen Gerba, a junior at Saint Ignatius High School.

    Stores such as Whole Foods, Costco, and Sam’s Club, etc. only have paper bags for shoppers. Restaurants use paper straws or some have no plastic straws. From further research of the harm that plastic and plastic bags are doing, it is a great thing that these stores are doing. According to biologicaldiversity.org, on average Americans use 100 billion plastic bags in a year. Almost up to 100,000 ocean animals are killed by plastic bags annually and 267 species are being affected by plastic pollution in the ocean. One statistical fact is that, it takes almost more than 500 years to decompose or break down slightly. This is why paper bags are more effective, because paper breaks down in water easier.

    Why are we using plastic if paper easily breaks down and helps the environment? Yes, trees could be the next issue if that changes. This means that being a consumer, be thoughtful of the environment and make a greater change. Save the turtles, save the whales, save the ocean, save planet Earth.

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