The Importance of Reusable Bags

• Oct 25, 2019

Health Impacts of Climate Change

When you use reusable bags when you shop, you are working to slow climate change and plastic pollution. 

You may have seen the memes lately on facebook about how greenhouses use CO2 generators to help increase crop yields. Plants use CO2 gas to create sugar molecules and fuel for their growth with sunlight- this is called photosynthesis. Plants are the ultimate carbon scrubbers.

Plants often grow better when you talk or sing to them. Scientists have theorized that the extra CO2 exhaled by you helps them to increase their energy production. I like to think that they can feel the positive energy and love and thrive under that as well!

99% of scientists agree that our climate is changing due to increased greenhouse gasses. That’s a lot. The health impacts of climate change are too complex to adequately predict, in my opinion. An increase in insect borne disease is fairly certain, however. Lyme Disease, Yellow Fever, Malaria, West Nile, and probably more we don’t even know of yet, will have the potential to affect more people. Cold weather kills insects, and with smaller parts of the world experiencing deep freezes, those diseases could become more widespread. Put out a welcome mat for the mosquitos and cockroaches. Gross!

How can you slow climate change? Plant trees!! Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere because they use it to power themselves. You can also advocate for protection of the rainforest, the lungs of our planet.

Decrease your plastic use with this reusable bag.

Using reusable bags will also help to decrease the impact of plastic pollution in several ways.

• You will not need plastic bags at stores. We have to purchase bags in California, in an effort to support reusable bags. Even if you get paper, you are likely getting paper from sources that are not sustainable.
• Many of the reusable bags out there are made from plastic or unnatural materials. When they are made, washed and used, plastic and other chemicals are released into our air and water.

We talked extensively about the health impacts of plastic and how to reduce your use of it on this podcast.

 

To read more about how to lessen your daily plastic use, click here.