Biodegradable the best sort of plastic

Most plastic used in the U.S. are made from materials that come from petroleum. Petroleum products are a major problem in our rapidly filling landfills and a huge crisis on our dependency on foreign oil.

New biodegradable plastic products are being made from corn such as garbage bags, car parts and packing peanuts. The new corn plastic will degrade in under two years. Chemists say there is nothing now made from petroleum (non-degradable) that can't be produced from biodegradable corn. An acre growing 148 bushels of corn will remove 14 tons of carbon dioxide from the air.

Last year, Americans threw away 38 billion plastic water bottles, about $1 billion worth of plastic. That's a huge waste especially considering 1.5 million barrels of oil is enough to fuel 100,000 cars for a year. That's not even including the oil used for transportation.

You can make a difference by choosing to reduce your contribution to bottle water waste.

In May 2007, San Francisco became the first city in America to ban plastic shopping bags and bottles. Ninety-four percent of Americans say they are willing to make changes in their lives in order to help the environment.

Ask your local stores to only carry biodegradable bags, or bring your own bags to shop. Choose efficient vehicles. A car that gets 20 miles to the gallon emits 50 tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. A car that gets double that mileage emits half as much and will save you roughly $3,000 in gas.

Lets stop our dependency on foreign oil today. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

Chrisi Vineyard

Oswego