Sunday January 13, 2008, 6:18 am
Wonderful news! So why hasn't the US already done this?

Sunday January 13, 2008, 5:58 pm
THE PLATIC PLAGUE - SOME FACTS... 2:33 AM
THE PLASTIC PLAGUE - some facts....





Source: www.messageinthewaves.com





About four-fifths of marine trash comes from land, swept by wind or
washed by rain off highways and city streets, down streams and rivers,
and out to sea. Nearly 90% of floating marine litter is plastic.





- In June 2006 United Nations Environmental Program report estimated
that there are an average of 46,000 pieces of plastic debris floating
on or near the surface of every square mile of ocean.





Of the 500,000 Laysan albatross chicks born on Midway Atoll (Northern
Hawaiian Island Chain) each year, about 200,000 die, mostly from
dehydration or starvation. A two-year study funded by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency showed that chicks that died from those
causes had twice as much plastic in their stomachs as those that died
for other reasons. The report, "Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans",
by international environmental group Greenpeace, said at least 267
marine species are known to have suffered from entanglement or
ingestion of marine debris. An estimated 1 million seabirds choke or
get tangled in plastic nets or other debris every year.





Plastic Bags



The world uses over 1.2 trillion plastic bags a year. That averages about 300 bags for each adult on the planet. That comes out to over one million bags being used per minute.





On average we use each plastic bag for approximately 12 minutes before disposing. It then lasts in the environment for decades.





Not all litter is deliberate. 47% of wind borne litter escaping from
landfills is plastic. Much of this is plastic bags. In the marine
environment plastic bag litter is lethal, killing at least 100,000
birds, whales, seals and turtles every year. After
an animal is killed by plastic bags, its body decomposes and the
plastic is released back into the environment where it can kill again.





If you think there is no point in developed nations stopping the use of
disposable plastic bags because the world’s developing nations will
never follow…check out the following list.





Countries and States that have banned or taken action to discourage the use of plastic bags include:





Australia, China, Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, Taiwan, Mumbai (formerly
Bombay), Scotland, France, West Bengal, Zanzibar, Tanzania,
Switzerland, Rwanda, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, California,
Somalia, Botswana, and the Philippines.





Plastic bags, as with all forms of plastic, do not biodegrade. They
photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits
contaminating soil, waterways, oceans and entering the food web when
ingested by animals.





For information on the Australian plastic bag campaign see:


- Planet Ark


- The Global Marine Litter Information Gateway

That was from sandra W., thx Wolf!

Sunday January 13, 2008, 6:22 pm
Lovely... hopefully all countries can do this asap!

Sunday January 13, 2008, 7:01 pm
I'm agree with Cecilia.