$0.05 per bag @ IKEA

Beginning March 15th, customers at all US IKEA stores will have to pay 5 cents for each plastic bag. Finally a significant chain has adopted this policy! All the proceeds will go to American Forests, the nation's oldest non-profit citizens conservation organization, to plant trees to restore forests and offset CO2 emissions. Also, to help alter customer behavior and endorse environmentally responsible habits, IKEA will be selling its iconic reusable 'Big Blue Bag' for 59 cents, a cost that has been reduced from 99 cents.

IKEA gave away 70 million disposable plastic bags last year and they expect that to be cut in half during the first year of this new program. IKEA launched this program in the UK in the spring of 2006 and achieved an amazing 95% reduction in bags!

IKEA has been at the forefront in a number of environmental initiatives. IKEA specialists work diligently to promote healthy forestry practices. Wood used for IKEA products comes from well managed forests and not from intact, natural, or old-growth forests.

I've been planning on stopping at the Chicago store on one of my trips through, and now I have another reason to.

A Local Story

This is a guest-written post by a friend in northern Michigan, about the local environmental council and their efforts and problems.

The local council is apparently divided;

the good news: several (mostly young) leaders actively seek locally sustained renewable resources (ranging from intelligent forestry, recycled animal and human waste, fresh produce, meat, milk, in a rather old-fashioned cycle which can (allegedly) be linked to the four seasons via production on the land round about -- but outside the vertical (one way) system of chemically polluting agribusiness (from chem loaded orchard to table). Their claim: this, when in place, will produce profit. I find the details fascinating. In the local business community support is growing.

The bad news: I see no evidence they can compete with Meijers or Walmart. I shop at both since on Soc Sec I have no choice. Gas prices restrict me to one trip a week, but I save more on produce imported from Chile and S. Cal.

The other bad news, if I read the literature correctly: many who appear to support these renewable alternatives actively crave a hippy-like return to the land, as if we can all survive only if we all become anti-tech like the Amish. Do these folks drive to the meetings?

He goes on to mention a well-intentioned art show about once a year from which the proceeds are donated to an environmental organization, but there are never any bikes among the gas guzzlers. On the other hand, he knows at least two locals that ride their bikes year round. Whether they do it for exercise or for the environmental benefits is beside the point.

The writer offers good examples of the challenges faced by, in my guess, a large majority of our population. Being green is not easy or cheap in many areas, and therefore is often not an option.

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There are a few topics mentioned here that I'll hit on in later posts: local products (edible or not) and how competitive they are, and the 'holier-than-thou' attitude of some of the more vocal environmentalists.