In one of his well known illustrations, Jesus told the listening crowds of his day that a city set on a hill could not be hidden. His point was about the abundantly obvious: a prominent community cannot help but broadcast messages about its culture, in the same manner as beacons guide travelers in choosing what to follow and what to avoid. Ironically, there are cities of varying sizes today built on the top of towering refuse heaps, such as the infamous ones of Calcutta and Mexico City. The messages of these particular communities are overt but a great deal of the planet’s cities hold lesser known tales and county recycling.
Canvas grocery bags have recently been making an appearance at the entrance to many grocery stores, selling for about $2 per bag. We know that plastic bags are bad for the environment, but are stores really trying to be more environmentally friendly, or are they just trying to get their customers to buy something else? Are canvas bags really more efficient than plastic bags?