Throwing 'Away'

We're living in a world where everything is disposable. It seems to be part of human nature to want the lastest, newest and best thing. We want it and we want it now. Out with old and in with the new, as it were. But was impact does this have on the environment?

The idea that out of sight is out of might plays a key role in the misconception that when we throw 'away' a plastic bag it just disappears. There is no 'away'. It just gets moved somewhere else so you don't have to deal with it anymore. 'Away' is usually a landfill and, without meaning to sound like a broken record, the habitats of animals both on land and water, and drainage systems causing flooding and contamination.

It is because we don't see that we don't acknowledge. The problem is most of us can't see direct and immediate links from our actions and the choices we make to and climate change. We can all see that weather patterns have become more extreme. We've all seen the images of polar ice-caps melting and the rainforests slowly disappearing. We've all seen the piles of garbage stacking up and contaminating our water and air. The problem is that for most of us, this isn't happening down the street. It's happening to other people, in other parts of the world.