{"id":372311,"date":"2025-03-27T16:19:25","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T15:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=372311"},"modified":"2025-03-27T16:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T15:19:27","slug":"virtue-signaling-is-complicated-choosing-grocery-bags-in-the-church-of-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=372311","title":{"rendered":"Virtue Signaling Is Complicated: Choosing Grocery Bags in the Church of Climate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are few modern rituals more spiritually affirming than standing at the checkout counter, gazing into the cashier\u2019s eyes, and declaring, \u201cNo bag, thanks. I brought my own.\u201d It\u2019s a moment of environmental piety\u2014a reusable tote pressed reverently to the chest, cotton fibers woven with the smugness of 149 plastic bags not used (but, as it turns out, probably still made). The problem is that like all good sermons, the gospel of the grocery bag is riddled with contradictions, caveats, and a whole lot of carbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New York Times, ever ready to preach the faith of \u201cclimate responsibility,\u201d recently published a piece titled \u201c<\/em><\/a>What Shopping Bags Should I Use?\u201d<\/a><\/em> It\u2019s a fascinating read, not because it provides clarity, but because it demonstrates just how convoluted eco-virtue has become. Spoiler alert: you can\u2019t win. But you can feel<\/em> like you\u2019re winning, and maybe that\u2019s the point.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/24\/climate\/shopping-bags-paper-plastic-grocery-totes.html<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Let\u2019s start with the usual demon in the pews: plastic. Plastic bags, we are told, are the spawn of fossil fuels, and as such, must be banished. Their recycling rate is a dismal 10%, and their afterlife often involves floating past a turtle\u2019s nose or breaking into confetti-sized microplastics that haunt us for centuries. But here\u2019s the twist\u2014according to not one but two<\/em> studies cited by the article (from Britain\u2019s Environment Agency <\/a>and Denmark\u2019s Environmental Protection Agency)<\/a>, those unholy plastic bags actually have the smallest<\/em> environmental footprint of the lot when judged by greenhouse gas emissions\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how did they become public enemy number one? Simple. They look<\/em> bad. They\u2019re flimsy, crinkly, and associated with other people who don\u2019t<\/em> bring their own bags to Trader Joe\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s paper\u2014renewable, biodegradable, and about as sturdy as wet tissue paper and prone to tearing dramatically halfway across the parking lot, right as your oat milk makes a break for it. Surely this is the sanctified option? Not quite. Paper bags, according to the same British study, need to be reused three times to match the global warming impact of a single plastic bag. Which, for anyone who\u2019s ever had a soggy-bottomed paper bag explode in the rain, is optimistic bordering on delusional\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, paper has better PR. Its recycling rate is 43%\u2014respectable, though still meaning most paper bags end up decomposing into methane and carbon dioxide in landfills. Methane, for those keeping theological score, is one of the top demons in the pantheon of greenhouse gases. That\u2019s right: while plastic might just sit there<\/em>, paper actively farts<\/em> its way through the afterlife\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then we arrive at the high priests of environmental virtue: the reusable totes. These cotton-clad chalices of consumer conscience are everywhere\u2014handed out at conferences, weddings, political rallies, yoga studios. Each one whispers, \u201cYou\u2019re a good person.\u201d But the truth, as always, is inconvenient. The British study concluded a cotton tote needs to be reused 131 times to match a plastic bag. The Danish study said 149. And that\u2019s assuming<\/em> you ever use them more than once, instead of stuffing them into the growing pile of canvas guilt under your sink\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This begs the question: are we really trying to save the planet, or just auditioning for sainthood?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Samantha MacBride of Baruch College offers a clue. She notes that plastic bags \u201cperpetuate the fossil fuel industry,\u201d and that \u201csystem needs to retract if we\u2019re going to have a future.\u201d Ah, there it is. The issue isn\u2019t just emissions or landfill space. It\u2019s symbolism<\/em>. Plastic is original sin. Paper is purgatory. And totes\u2014well, they\u2019re your chance at salvation, provided you repent and reuse until your shoulder gives out\u200b.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the article\u2019s \u201cbottom line\u201d is a masterclass in hedging. \u201cExperts agree that reusing [your bag] as many times as possible is key.\u201d So, after thousands of words, we arrive at a tautology: reuse the thing you have, unless you have too many of them, in which case, feel bad. But also, don\u2019t use plastic. And try not to kill trees. And maybe learn to sew your own bags from discarded hemp curtains sourced locally from your grandmother\u2019s attic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtue signaling, it turns out, is a full-time job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps this is the real story here\u2014not the science, which is flimsy and contradictory\u2014but the performance<\/em>. Climate consumerism doesn\u2019t demand outcomes; it demands gestures. It doesn\u2019t care if your tote has the carbon footprint of a coal train, so long as you mean well<\/em>. It\u2019s not about solving problems; it\u2019s about demonstrating allegiance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because if the numbers mattered, we\u2019d be mass-producing low-density polyethylene bags and setting up efficient return-reuse programs. But that would be practical<\/em>, and practicality doesn\u2019t trend on Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, we are left with a strange theological message: the road to environmental heaven is paved with good intentions, reinforced stitching, and a sturdy sense of self-righteousness. And if you can\u2019t save the Earth, at least make sure your bag says you tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay tuned for the next sermon: compostable dog poop bags\u2014divine miracle or methane-spewing indulgence?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

H\/T Marc Morano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are few modern rituals more spiritually affirming than standing at the checkout counter, gazing into the cashier\u2019s eyes, and declaring, \u201cNo bag, thanks. I brought my own.\u201d It\u2019s a moment of environmental piety\u2014a reusable tote pressed reverently to the chest, cotton fibers woven with the smugness of 149 plastic bags not used (but, as it turns out, probably still made). The problem is that like all good sermons, the gospel of the grocery bag is riddled with contradictions, caveats, and a whole lot of carbon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":372317,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691834097,691829997,691819522,691818087,691826963,691820439,691826644,691834096,691834095],"class_list":{"0":"post-372311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-british-study","9":"tag-carbon-dioxide-co","10":"tag-carbon-footprint","11":"tag-global-warming","12":"tag-methane-ch4","13":"tag-new-york-times","14":"tag-plastic-bags","15":"tag-recycling-rate","16":"tag-shopping-bags","18":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0lca-grocery-bags.jpg?fit=2000%2C1200&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1yR1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":348990,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=348990","url_meta":{"origin":372311,"position":0},"title":"Feel-Good Environmental Regulations Won\u2019t Save the Planet, But They Do Harm Consumers","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"26\/10\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The fight against climate change is increasingly riddled with lawmakers\u2019 feel-good attempts to save the planet by imposing top-down regulations that do nothing in the way of meaningfully reducing global temperatures or cutting pollution. 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