To the editor:

We are facing a global epidemic, which is wreaking havoc on the planet and her inhabitants indiscriminately.

The collective human consciousness is decidedly uncluttered by thoughts of the before, during and after repercussions of our blind consumption, yet the evidence abounds, in waterways, on beaches, in our parks and streets, in trees, in the stumps where trees once stood.

Americans dispose of approximately 100 billion plastic shopping bags each year, the manufacturing of which requires some 12 million barrels of non-renewable petroleum oil, costing more than $500 million and creating 300,000 tons of landfill waste.

They are a blight on society, leaching toxins into our environment and killing an estimated 100,000 marine animals each year. Every square mile of ocean contains approximately 46,000 pieces of floating plastic, which act as sponges for toxic chemicals, are ingested by unsuspecting sea life and introduced into the food chain.

Paper is hardly a better option. An estimated 14 million trees are felled each year to make the 10 billion paper bags consumed by the American public, destroying wildlife habitat and drastically compromising soil, air and water quality.

For being so elusive, the solution is simple: reusable bags. We’ve convinced ourselves that we need only to throw something away in order for it to be gone, but there is no “away.”

Restrictions and bans on disposable bags have been effectively implemented in 25 percent of the world’s countries. You can make it happen here by signing and sharing the full petition at: www.change.org/petitions/m aine-ban-the-bag.

Rebecca Tripp
Searsport