Ever Wonder What to do with Your Plastic Bags?

Lets help out the environment a bit. I found this article in WikiHow (I just LOVE taht website). Someone apparently wrote up an article on how to Recycle Plastic bags. Something we probably don't give much thought to but should because it is one of the simplest of things we can all do to help the environment. With wiki, you can edit articles. I am going to see if I can edit this one in some way to add my own ideas. If you have any you should look the article up and edit it as well. The more more ideas and options of what to do with these plastic bags, the better.

1)Take them with you to the grocery store to be reused when bagging your groceries, instead of taking new ones.

2)Return your bags back to the grocery store for recycling. Most stores have a container to take these bags back and recycle them for you.

3)Keep plastic bags around the house to replace trash can liners in the bathrooms, office and bedrooms... anywhere you have a small trashcan.

4) Keep some in the laundry room to throw out pocket trash found in clothes and empty the lint filter in the dryer.

5) Use plastic bags in the kitchen to store perishable trash in the refrigerator. This is especially good to do in the summer. If you have a long wait between trash pick-ups, it will keep flies out of your trash can.

6)Keep a stash of bags in each vehicle to help keep the car tidy. Hang one over a seat, arm rest, or simply keep it under a seat.

7)If you have pets, use plastic bags to clean out the litter box or scoop the poop in the yard. When you take your dog for a walk, tie a couple of bags to the leash handle so you will always have a bag available to scoop the poop.

8)Donate them to animal shelters who often need plastic bags for cleaning and to use when walking dogs, they'll appreciate having a few extra around.

9)Donate the bags to your local charity shop or thrift store library, so that people who borrow books can use them to bring the books home.

10)Plastic bags can be used for packing material for packages to be mailed or stored. Wad them up and stuff around the items.

11)When removing old vacuum cleaner bags put the bag in a plastic bag and tie. If the pets or kids get into the trash (or you press down instead of taking out) you won't end up with a fine dust cloud.

12)Shove them inside of shoes to help keep their shape while air drying.

13)Cut into strips and knit/crochet into a stronger reusable shopping bag. You can find a crochet pattern here. These work well because strips of plastic bag have a lot of tensile strength and the knit/crochet stitch makes this even stronger. For instructions go to this site: Take them with you to the grocery store to be reused when bagging your groceries, instead of taking new ones. (I think these were put together by a woman by the name of Marla.)

14)You can store them in fabric bag tubes at local craft or kitchen stores. These tubes have small elastic holes at the top and bottom and a loop for hanging it on the back of a door or on a hook. You may be able to find one in a color scheme for your decor. You could also use an empty baby wipe container or empty tissue box - this keeps them tidy and you'll always know where to find them.

15)The best strategy is to avoid getting plastic bags in the first place. Get a couple of canvas bags and take them with you to the store. They're stronger and hold more than the flimsy plastic bags that most stores use -- this means fewer trips from the car once you're home, and no risk of a bag breaking and spilling your groceries all over the ground.

16)Some stores give a small discount for bringing your own bags, but the real benefit is not consuming or accumulating plastic bags.

17)Use one of the bags to stuff the rest in just for storage. Hang the bag in the garage, pantry, under the kitchen sink or in the laundry room. Alternatively, wad up the first bag, and put it into the next. Wad this up, and put it into the next, and so on. This way, you can always just remove the outermost bag-layer.

18)Find a specific place to keep your extra bags. Once this area is full of bags you should take them to the store for recycling and not try to find more places
If you do art paint or ceramic painting on top of the kitchen table, spread out a bag on top of the table to keep the paint off the table. When you are finished, toss in any mess you made and toss the bags away.

19)Don't reuse plastic bags that were used to transport meat or poultry. They may contain bacteria that can be harmful.

Massive Ice Chunk Collapses in Anartica

A huge portion of Antarctic ice -- said to be about seven times the size of Manhattan -- can been seen breaking off from an even larger portion of glacial ice Tuesday. Scientists said the chunk broke off from the Wilkins Ice Shelf in western Antarctica, and had been there for anywhere between hundreds to 1,500 years.

Massive Ice Chunk Collapses in Antarctica
By SETH BORENSTEIN,AP
Posted: 2008-03-25 21:44:32
Filed Under: Science News

WASHINGTON (March 25) - A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

This is the result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.

Because scientists noticed satellite images within hours, they diverted satellite cameras and even flew an airplane over the ongoing collapse for rare pictures and video.

"It's an event we don't get to see very often," said Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. "The cracks fill with water and slice off and topple... That gets to be a runaway situation."

While icebergs naturally break away from the mainland, collapses like this are unusual but are happening more frequently in recent decades, Vaughan said. The collapse is similar to what happens to hardened glass when it is smashed with a hammer, he said.

The rest of the Wilkins ice shelf, which is about the size of Connecticut, is holding on by a narrow beam of thin ice. Scientists worry that it too may collapse. Larger, more dramatic ice collapses occurred in 2002 and 1995.

Vaughan had predicted the Wilkins shelf would collapse about 15 years from now. The part that recently gave way makes up about 4 percent of the overall shelf, but it's an important part that can trigger further collapse.

There's still a chance the rest of the ice shelf will survive until next year because this is the end of the Antarctic summer and colder weather is setting in, Vaughan said.

Scientists said they are not concerned about a rise in sea level from the latest event, but say it's a sign of worsening global warming.

Such occurrences are "more indicative of a tipping point or trigger in the climate system," said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

"These are things that are not re-forming," Das said. "So once they're gone, they're gone."

Climate in Antarctica is complicated and more isolated from the rest of the world.

Much of the continent is not warming and some parts are even cooling, Vaughan said. However, the western peninsula, which includes the Wilkins ice shelf, juts out into the ocean and is warming. This is the part of the continent where scientists are most concern about ice-melt triggering sea level rise.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-03-25 15:04:23

NOTE: Who are the IDIOTS in our government that have the NERVE to say that "Global warming" does not exist and is "just" "hype?" What do they think we are? Stupid? Just look at what our "made up" global warming is doing to our world!!