During Thanksgiving weekend I went into a used bookstore in Tucson. I went to the counter to buy a book, and while I was paying the salesperson put the book in a plastic bag. Considering that a bag for just one book is wasteful, I gave him my standard answer, “No, thanks. I’m trying to stop American dependence on foreign oil. Save a plastic tree.” The salesperson replied, “Well, one plastic bag won’t make a difference.”

Won’t make a difference? I was shocked.

Having traveled abroad in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I have seen the effects of abusing our environment. When I was in Macedonia, I saw cars and abandoned refrigerators leaking Freon thrown into steams. A half kilometer downriver, there were children swimming in the stream. In Iraq, the stifling summer air would trap all of the fumes from the cars. A permanent brownish-grey cloud hung over Mosul, and breathing was difficult. When the rains finally began in October, rain covered everything outside with a half of a centimeter of filth because of these fumes.

After returning from the other side of the pond, I noticed that American society does not treat our environment much better. We are an incredibly wasteful society. We think nothing about throwing away half of a burrito from Taco Bell if we are no longer hungry. We will take incredibly long showers because we do not have to worry about a shortage of potable water. We will crank up the heat in the winter because of the harsh cold.

We waste an enormous amount of natural resources in the United States. As a result, we have some serious consequences. One of the consequences is the fact that we are increasingly dependent on foreign oil, and a large share of that foreign oil is in unstable regions such as Nigeria, Central Asia and the Middle East. We may have contributed to the instability, but in reality, we need to become less dependent on these foreign natural resources and do our part for the environment.

That is why I was shocked when I went into the bookstore. Does one plastic bag save the world? Of course not, but the position of at least trying to do something to make a difference is what matters. While I am not the prototypical environmental activist (and admittedly, long showers are a guilty pleasure of mine), we can become more cognizant of how wasteful we are.

I have noticed how wasteful I myself am. Last winter, I noticed how much I drive. Besides taking the bus to class, I would drive everywhere. Now, I try to drive less by walking or taking the bus. After going to Woodman’s for groceries, I realized that I had twenty plastic bags lying around. Now I try to not have my groceries double bagged and use the bags I do get as garbage bags. I cannot stand cold weather, and I like to have the heat set at 70 degrees. With the increase in heating prices, I have kept the heat turned down to 67.

Do these small things I do make a difference? I do not know, but if more of us used these measures, maybe we could help the environment and stop our dependence on foreign oil in our own small way. The futile attitude of the salesperson at the bookstore is most definitely not making a difference.

One bag may not make a difference, but a bag every other day totals 182 bags per year. Others may notice and begin to save as well. Changing our attitude towards the environment is necessary before the United States truly has a gas crunch because all of our American natural resources are gone.

I have lived in places where the environment has been nearly destroyed. Our environment truly is precious. While I do not think that the United States can change overnight, we can begin to change the little things in our daily lives to make a change in all of our lives and our environment. Yes, we can make a difference.

Now maybe I should think about taking shorter showers …

Jeff Carnes ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in linguistics.