BRATTLEBORO — One of my greatest pleasures and also a source of frustration comes from my role as advisor to a local school environmental group.
I get frustrated trying to decide which important steps we should take to make our school more Earth-friendly, and I feel pleasure is felt when I see their passion and commitment to address some of the environmental issues we face today.
I want to share a comment made by one student when I told her about a question that will appear on the ballot in Brattleboro on March 7. Article 2 advises and encourages the Selectboard of Brattleboro to enact a law that would ban the use of single-use plastic bags.
“It's about time!” she said.
I will not repeat all the facts that Tim Maciel stated in his letter, in which he laid out the ban and his support for it, but I will remind everyone that people in this country throw away 100 billion plastic bags a year.
These bags are made from petroleum, which must be drilled, imported, and shipped so that we have a cheap, disposable way to carry a few items for a short distance.
Is this necessary? No. Please support the ban on bags and decide what you can substitute for them in your own daily lives.