The Good News

“We are back to saying plastic bags are okay, until we find other ways to get rid of them….” Dr. Tazim Jamal

No, that’s not the good news. The good news is that my dear, dear friend Tazim Jamal, or Dr. Tazim Jamal, Professor of the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, deep in the heart of Bush country, sounds the call to battle against environmental arsonists wherever she goes, as below.

Think of that Starbucks latte you bought and felt so zen.

Or that tall, thick plastic cup of ice-cold beverage you just got at the fast-food window, with that bright, warm smile from someone working there for $10/hour and no benefits.

Or those luscious, bendy straws for your Daiquiri. Or that organic meal or soup that makes you feel so wholesome, so right, except you can’t recycle the container. Or your favorite restaurant’s take-out containers that go straight into the garbage, time after time. And so much, much more. You consume and the planet takes it in the gut.

Please consider the impact of your everyday pleasures and journeys, Dr. Jamal says. After all, a coffee, a coke, a meal or a daiquiri will last for a one-time thrill, but the planet’s gotta last a bit longer than that, no?