Every so often when a customer comes to my till I normally open a bag for them so that they can pack their shopping quickly, and hopefully get them out the shop before they irritate me too much(people in Luton are fucking demented and annoying),but every once in a while I will be opening a bag for someone and they will whip out(seemingly from nowhere)a bag thats seen better days or one of those "economical" bags that supposedly could withstand the fires of hell or something and they come up with the same line(or a variation of it)every damn time, "Just trying to do my bit for the environment mate". I honestly want to grab one of the dividers and clap those people round the head with it. My reply is always the same too, "We won't be around long enough to see the full effect of global warming".

Now I might be coming across as a cynic and an ignorant fool(and maybe I am)but I'm also a realist too. There's no denying that if we all recycled, etc that we'd have a better environment and what not but them people who chime in with that line make me feel like I'm not fucking doing my part for the environment, they make me feel like they are so much better at "protecting" the environment than I am with their super powered re-usable shopping bag, huzzah. I bet I do more recycling than most of those people anyway, our 2 green bins at the end of the week are always full and sometimes I find it hard to put stuff out because they're already full when I really need them, god I wish the binmen came twice a week:(

Most of the people who come in and use this line are pretty ancient, ok ancient is the wrong word but they are pretty old, so the chances of them seeing the full effects of global warming at its worst are slim to none(unless they ironically get killed by a tsunami or some kind of natural disaster caused by global warming), plus I'm sure OAPs have more to worry about than re-using bags over and over. I even doubt that global warming will be at its worst when I'm old.

I don't even know the point I'm trying to get at, it just plain annoys me to no end. I'm probably going to get flamed *prepares flame barracks* but that is just my two cents on the matter.

What do you think?
I now leave discussion to you guys:)

Well, the environment isn't solely the environment because you haven't popped your clogs yet. It may well delay global warming long enough for a few more generations to live happy lives and surely that's a cause worth doing something (even if a very small something) for. I can't really see why you're getting so annoyed about other people doing something that isn't inherently selfish, efficient or not.

Re-usable bags are a good thing. Not much effort, less plastic use = good.

However I can understand you getting pissed. I probably would too if I were a checkout-chick.

bunkymag:
I probably would too if I were a checkout-chick.

Except I'm a guy lol

Singing Gremlin:
surely that's a cause worth doing something for.

I do do something, I already said I recycle.

See the South Park episode "Smug Alert"

WlknCntrdiction:
What do you think?

I think, firstly, when global warming will hit the fan, if at all, is a matter of debate. Some predictions project that by the time we're middle-aged GW will be well and truly doing its thing.
Secondly, I think that just because you, or the person who's using these bags, or both, won't live long enough to see global warming is a pretty poor excuse not to care. Oh, I don't care if my children (or, since you've previously stated you aren't interested in having any, others' children) live through it so long as my life is a little easier.
Thirdly, I think you posted this because you resent that others might just be doing more of a "bit for the environment" than you are. That's ok, so long as you realise this and don't try explaining it away. I often get this rage too, but I'd never pretend that it's rational.

It's funny where people's willingness ends. A gigantic portion of methane gas being produced is from an overpopulation of cattle (yup, the old fashioned way), yet even less people who are willing to, god forbid, get a little exercise instead of driving everywhere, are willing to eat less or no beef.

Yes reusable bags are good but not as good as everyone thinks. Plastic bags are still being produced en masse and the fact they are not being used doesn't mean that they will stop making them. I get your frustration as well, those people that think they are better than you because they are 'green' annoy the hell out of me, I just want to bleed them dry.

I don't resent people for "being green", I do enough as it is for the environment, just don't go rubbing it in my face like you're doing anything more than me to help the environment, they may very well do more than me for the environment but that doesn't make you better than me, it's not like you're single handedly going to stop global warming by yourself.

Saskwach:
or, since you've previously stated you aren't interested in having any, others' children

I'm actually surprised someone remembered that tbh.

WlknCntrdiction:
I don't resent people for "being green", I do enough as it is for the environment, just don't go rubbing it in my face like you're doing anything more than me to help the environment, they may very well do more than me for the environment but that doesn't make you better than me, it's not like you're single handedly going to stop global warming by yourself.

Saskwach:
or, since you've previously stated you aren't interested in having any, others' children

I'm actually surprised someone remembered that tbh.

I don't see how "just doing my bit..." translates as "I'm better than you". I also don't think anyone saying it expects they'll single-handedly stop GW, hence the "my bit".

I'm still irritated by people's mindless following of this idea. People just go for it without any kind of information.

The recycling of plastics actually uses more energy and has more impact on the environment than it would to just make one anew. Pretty much everything is that way. Aluminum, though, is good to recycle. Making raw aluminum is fucking expensive, while recycling it is cheaper.

And then there's the problem of people doing pointless things to help the environment. Someone's going to use the bag, and the bag already exists, so it's already made its tiny, insignificant mark.

I think it's more of the tone in which they say it, rather than the words. Plus the fact that they say it with no provocation whatsoever.

WlknCntrdiction:
My reply is always the same too, "We won't be around long enough to see the full effect of global warming".

Wrong.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-no-ice-at-the-north-pole-855406.html

OK, not totally wrong, but thats because the "full effect" of climate change won't be seen for hundreds, if not, thousands of years. At which point homo-sapiens will probably be extinct.

WlknCntrdiction:
Now I might be coming across as a cynic and an ignorant fool

Yes, you sort of are.

That said, I agree with your point about a great many people who opt-in to various pointless measures (such as the 'green' shopping bags, which I hasten to add are merely attempts by very un-eco-friendly corporations to fool the uninformed consumer into thinking that they care) to 'save' the environment adopt a 'holier-than-thou' attitude, which I find more irritating than salt on my scrotum.

The only people with a right to such an attitude are not likely to be found in retail centres.

Edit: I think we're all going to have to learn to live with the fact that 90% of people are thoroughly misinformed.

my annoyance is with the earth hour crap, i don't participate in it cause i don't need to

all my neighbours turn off their lights for like 1 hour once a month. then they go back to turning every bloody light on in their house. so the good they just did was negated soon after and they always have every single light on in the house

i do a lot of small things here and there

Total agreement with WlknCntrdiction

Not having a plastic bag for your shopping has about as much effect on the world's resources as spitting in the Sahara to stop it drying out.

And as for Earth hour, switching all that power OFF actually used more power than it saved.

Protecting the Earth is a good idea; but ffs, there's Corporations that are bulldozing MOUNTAINS to get to resources; you not having a plastic bag is like saying "Keep the change" if an item costs $9.9999999

Doesn't mean we should pollute though. Saving the environment is a joint effort (corny, but it's true).

Some of the logic above suggests that people are simply recycling everything without it being used, which is illogical. IE taking home plastic bags then instantly putting them in the recycling without using them as bags, just taking them home...

I honestly just dont care. If global warming wipes all out, well, so be it. The earth will still be here we might not be, but at this point all i care about is what i can afford to do. Im not going out of my way to do damage to the environment, but im not going out of my way to do anything to protect the environment either. I just do not care.

Lets also not forget the brilliant situation in England when it was revealed that the alternative to plastic was a lovely hessian sack looking thing, which after some investigation was put together in a sweat shop in china and sent by container ship to Britain where it was driven all around the country in gas guzzling wagons!!

Most of the things humans try to do to counter Gw are actually counter productive and will only delay the end by a few years.

I don't have a problem with anyone trying to preserve our own comfy habitat, but it's only when people start adopting a "holier-than-thou" attitude that I start losing my temper.

I'm on the same page as smuckerisgood, I don't really care but I'm not going to harm the damn planet either. What will that do? Actually, I can't harm the planet at all, because once we've started doing that purposely we've already fucked ourselves over.

What I am willing to do is to find a nice balance to logically safe alternatives that may be beneficial to the environment without becoming a fear-mongering prophet of Environmentalism.

It's not so much the words, but it's the tone of voice that gets me.

Lots o' quoting, but there's lots o' sillyness in this thread, too.

"We won't be around long enough to see the full effect of global warming".

So what?

but them people who chime in with that line make me feel like I'm not fucking doing my part for the environment, they make me feel like they are so much better at "protecting" the environment than I am with their super powered re-usable shopping bag, huzzah.

The hell? From "just trying to do my bit for the environment, mate"? Either you haven't properly conveyed the mocking, holier-than-thou tone they say it with, or you're just being extraordinarily petty. When someone says "just doing my bit", they're looking for approval, not trying to point out your shortcomings. Do you have an inferiority complex, or something?

The recycling of plastics actually uses more energy and has more impact on the environment than it would to just make one anew. Pretty much everything is that way. Aluminum, though, is good to recycle. Making raw aluminum is fucking expensive, while recycling it is cheaper.

Except that the point is in not using a new bag, reducing the demand, and having the plastics company cut down on production.

The recycling of plastics actually uses more energy and has more impact on the environment than it would to just make one anew. Pretty much everything is that way.

It's more a point of finding new uses for non-biodegradable materials, than conservation of energy or atmosphere protection. Plastics will become more expensive in future, too, so it's better to refine the process before the pressure really starts up.

Not having a plastic bag for your shopping has about as much effect on the world's resources as spitting in the Sahara to stop it drying out.

A billion people have a lot of spit.

God, do you have to make a thread for EVERY little insignificant thought that enters your head?

Triffid:
God, do you have to make a thread for EVERY little insignificant thought that enters your head?

God, do you have to make an insignificant and irrelevant post in my insignificant thought process thread?

Break:

Not having a plastic bag for your shopping has about as much effect on the world's resources as spitting in the Sahara to stop it drying out.

A billion people have a lot of spit.

And it's still not enough to make the Sahara wet.

WlknCntrdiction:

Triffid:
God, do you have to make a thread for EVERY little insignificant thought that enters your head?

God, do you have to make an insignificant and irrelevant post in my insignificant thought process thread?

Right, because a five-second throwaway comment is totally the same as several ranty paragraphs.

And it's still not enough to make the Sahara wet.

You got any evidence behind that? It'd certainly be enough to make a nice little chunk of it soggy. The point is, scientists say that we're less likely to break the planet if we don't use as many plastic bags. It's a few little actions that make a little difference. Who cares if it makes little difference in the long run? I'd happily bring all my own bags to the supermarket for the rest of my life, if it meant that it pushed off the apocalypse for half an hour.

I see where your coming from, and I do care about the enviroment, as I live in it, and if that changes, and I fail to adapt, I die, the same story with every other person on the planet. Also I am only 18 so I probly will see the worse if sods law takes place!

The fact is I am worried about me, but for peolpe I know, I have a nephew who is about four, and will probly be affected by it, same with loads of other peolpe if they thought about it. But when people DO rub it in your faces, you just want to give them a napalm enima!

People who constantly point out their own virtues are really annoying. Personally I never do this (and I don't smoke or drink either!)

More seriously though, I wish attention wouldn't get shifted off genuine issues (nuclear waste disposal, disappearing rainforests, etc) and put onto a complete non-issue like plastic bags. There are worse things to be concerned about!

WlknCntrdiction:
I bet I do more recycling than most of those people anyway, our 2 green bins at the end of the week are always full and sometimes I find it hard to put stuff out because they're already full when I really need them, god I wish the binmen came twice a week:(

Since you were mean to strangers in your post, I'm giving myself permission to exclaim "MORON!" I shall assume that we've all been in third grade and learned about the 3 'R's, 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle'? Well they are in that order for a reason. I'm so sick of people being like "Well, I recycle and drive a hybrid, so I'm doing my part for the environment" when they can stop driving four blocks to buy more bottled water. I'm not saying you're like this, but I'm saying that from your post, you seem like just another smug consumer. You know what's a good solution for full bins? Stop buying so much crap! I'll admit, I'm not doing all I can and I am humbled before my ignored potential, but I don't generally snap at old folks with bags. You want to make a difference? Talk to your manager about providing cardboard boxes so people without their own canvas bags don't have to use plastic ones. Don't grumble about it until you can get home and post a rant on a forum. And the Easter Bunny isn't real!

Break:

And it's still not enough to make the Sahara wet.

You got any evidence behind that?

Well, let's see.
If we ignore the idea of getting a billion people to spit at the same time and getting them into the Sahara; I can pretty much say that each person's spittle will dry almost instantly; but that's just first hand evidence. Let's look at facts.
The average person produces approximately 700mL of saliva per day (Wiki); so that's 700,000,000,000 millilitres or 700 million litres.
The Sahara itself is 9 million square kilometres (Wiki), so that's about 70 litres per square kilometer.

Not really soaking is it? And that's with a full day's worth of spitting from a billion people.

It'd certainly be enough to make a nice little chunk of it soggy.

Yeah, and strangely enough, The Gulf War Oil Spill has been estimated at between 190 million litres and 2 billion litres; 3 times your spittle.

The point is, scientists say that we're less likely to break the planet if we don't use as many plastic bags.

And, to be fair, I'd ask for that proof as well.

It's a few little actions that make a little difference. Who cares if it makes little difference in the long run? I'd happily bring all my own bags to the supermarket for the rest of my life, if it meant that it pushed off the apocalypse for half an hour.

BUT...if Mr. American Corporation (Not blocked by Kyoto) is producing billions of plastic bags; that's speeding the apocalypse up by a year.

Sorry, 364 days and 23.5 hours. I forgot about your bags.

Recycling may be a good thing, but there's NO reason to joyous about staving off Armageddon when someone's undoing the whole country's work.

In a capitalist society, the loss of a mere thousand or so customers of product A is enough to decrease the production of product A, simple economics. Sorry, but I'm with Break on this one.

Plastic bags, we'd be in shit without them!
Or
Plastic bags, built to last 1000 years!

I reuse plastic bags for all kinds of things and those enviro bags(we call them green bags) will never go away. Plastic takes time but in the end it will go away, green bags will outlast the earth itself.

Singing Gremlin:
Well, the environment isn't solely the environment because you haven't popped your clogs yet. It may well delay global warming long enough for a few more generations to live happy lives and surely that's a cause worth doing something (even if a very small something) for. I can't really see why you're getting so annoyed about other people doing something that isn't inherently selfish, efficient or not.

He's getting annoyed because these Pompous ASSHATS are BRAGGING that they are better than people who don't recycle an old bag... Quite Frankly, I still don't believe HUMANS are the cause of global warming. It happens every so often that the Earth shifts its temperature. We have known that for decades. IT HAPPENS. We are being awfully conceited thinking we are ruining the planet. Furthermore. Fuck you. I like my cars, especially my 500 Horsepower supercars that 0-60 in less than 5 seconds. I am not driving one now, but if I had one, I would. Don't tell me how to live, and I won't be forced to kill you so I can live my life how I want to... /Rant!

Triffid:
God, do you have to make a thread for EVERY little insignificant thought that enters your head?

Yes. And the fact that we respond means that it was also in OUR heads too, so quit being a fucking douche. You were reported.