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This measure is more of a symbol than an effective way to reduce carbon emissions. Attacking symbols is a always nice, but isn't it a little bit late for that?
by pl-94 6y ago
This measure is more of a symbol than an effective way to reduce carbon emissions. Attacking symbols is a always nice, but isn't it a little bit late for that? I can't wait the day where EU will try for real to follow Paris agreement.
- azinman2 6y agoIs carbon emission reduction the goal? I didn’t see that mentioned, but rather an attack on “throw away culture.” You might possibly increase carbon emissions, at least in the short term, to accomplish that. However we’re drowning in plastic in our oceans, raining micro-plastics in our protected lands, and likely consuming a lot of leeched chemicals in the process.
- jankassens 6y agoI see this as primarily avoiding garbage in the environment. A paper bag or cotton swab with wooden stick just dissolves if it ends up in nature. Plastic versions are around for a long time.
- andrew_eit 6y agoI think you are talking about two different environmental issues. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but the Paris Agreement covers climate change, carbon emissions, energy production, etc. The topic of single-use plastics, while related to sustainability, covers an entirely different emerging issue, namely: the infiltration of micro-plastics into our environment. Besides the environmental effects that microplastics already seem to have, such as hindering plant growth [1], microplastics are also entering the food chain, and making their way back to us. The long-term affects are as far as I know, quite unknown. [1] https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b01339 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b01339
- balfirevic 6y agoI'm sorry, but how is it OK to ban stuff people find useful for purely symbolic reasons? And you say this so nonchalantly!