To Bag or not To Bag...

Apparently the grocers of the country really, really say they want us to punt disposable bags. Yesterday Whole Foods gave away shopping bags. Today, from a national grocers association group comes this:

At the grocery store, when the check out clerk asks, "paper or plastic?," what's the more ecologically sound choice? Consider this: About 14 million trees are used annually to make paper bags for Americans.
And, it takes 12 million barrels of oil to make a year's worth of plastic bag. The National Co-op Grocers Association, which represents 109 natural food co-ops across the nation suggests the choice should be: "Neither."

"For the environmentally conscious, deciding whether to use paper or plastic at a grocery store can make you feel like you're caught between a paper mill and a petrochemical plant," said Robynn Shrader, chief executive officer for NCGA. "If at all possible, this environmental dilemma has a fairly easy solution: BYOB, 'bring your own bag.'"
Shrader suggests making a small investment in reusable bags and keeping them in one's home, car and/or office. Seek bags that are sturdy (heavy canvas is one good choice) and roomy enough to haul groceries (string cotton bags expand greatly but can also be easily tucked into a purse or backpack). Another option is bringing one's own storage crates, which make loading and unloading groceries especially easy.

We've got a guy here at the office that does the crate/box thing, and, man, do people look at him funny.