Nice arse

This is the 2nd day in a row I've blogged about something topical. Normal service will resume shortly and by that I mean whimsy, odd thoughts that pop into my head on the drive to work, news about my dog, things that make me laugh and household chores, but I read this article and was pretty disgusted.

I went and bought my lunch today and was in the queue when I realised I didn’t have a bag on me. Which, to my shame, is fairly typical of me. I buy them and forget to use them quite often, so rather than use plastic bags, I buy more reusable bags and so it continues. So today I had to buy another reusable bag – this time a rather natty string affair (turtle friendly apparently) from M & S for my lunch bits and pieces. I am determined to keep this one with me, even if like mittens, I have to somehow attach it to the sleeve of my jacket. The point is, you read stories like this and you realise one plastic bag does make a difference, and the more we continue to fuck up the less choice we will have.

I’m amazed when people whinge about environmental issues and how they can’t afford to make changes, or it’s too difficult. (Which does make you question how they function on a day-to-day basis when they apparently can’t manage to switch a light bulb to a low-energy one, buy a 50p reusable grocery bag, and recycle a few tins and cereal boxes… obviously someone else ties their shoelaces.) If we keep dumping rubbish at the rate we are; we will no longer have the choice to do something about it. We will HAVE to do something about it. You may find yourself charged just to get rid of your every-day refuse, you will be fined for not recycling, you won’t be able to go and visit beautiful places in the world, because we will have despoiled them all, animals will continue to die – in greater numbers and more often – their bellies full of plastic and toxins. And if you’ll allow me some artistic licence, the air will be thick and greasy with burning rubbish because there is no more land to fill and we have to get rid of it somehow. If you think air quality is poor now, just you wait…

And this because it’s not just household waste anymore it’s the endless TV sets, stereos, gadgets, toys, computers, clothes, furniture and other things we throw away each day and yes, plastic bags too. What doesn't go in our bins (or by the bins as if somehow our crap will dispose of itself), goes down our toilets or is dumped in the street, in rivers and seas until it becomes a floating mass of cheap and nasty buy one get one free's.

But of course, all this will be dismissed as more belly aching from a left-wing greenie feminist loonie (guilty as charged m’lud). But I’m just puzzled because problems are usually well, problematic. However, we have the solution to this problem and yet we continue to stick our heads in the sand and show our arses to the rest of the planet...

PS. Click on the title to take you to the BBC story. Which oddly, has nothing to do with arses!