Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

MODBURY

“Doing a Modbury” has entered the English lexicon. It is the clarion call for a community to go plastic bag free. I met with the leading traders in this attractive Georgian town in the heart of my constituency on Friday to be briefed on the tremendous campaign that was launched there six months ago. The decision by every single trader to agree for the town to go plastic bag free as their contribution towards the health of the planet has captured the imagination of the national and international media, with camera crews regularly descending upon them. I congratulate every person involved.

It was triggered by concerns of a Modbury resident who works for the BBC and helped make a documentary that included footage of adult Albatross birds inadvertently feeding plastic bags to their young, thus choking them to death. Plastic bags do not decompose once we throw them away – or at least not for a very long time – they just sit there and contaminate our world: in the case of Albatross chicks, to devastating effect. The BBC correspondent shared her concerns with two Modbury traders and they decided to act. They called a meeting of all traders and they all, without exception, decided to go plastic bag free – even though this is at no small inconvenience and cost to some of them. They have produced “bags for life” instead and the culture of shopping in Modbury has changed for good. The retailers are now considering where next to act.

Of course, a small town taking this step will not suddenly right all of the careless wrongs of the industrial revolution. But just because we cannot do everything does not mean we should not do something. Action like this can inspire others to act, like kindling setting fire to bigger logs.
It is that way too with climate change and global warming – it all seems such a gigantic problem that we can become overwhelmed by it all. What is the point of me reducing my carbon footprint, or the UK, if China and the US will not?I am coming to see that we should all live in the most responsible way possible. Perhaps, we should all take a leaf out of the Modbury book and do one thing – maybe one new thing every year – that makes a contribution, big or small, to the sustainability of this fragile planet. Before it is too late.

posted by Nigel on Tuesday, December 04, 2007