Is it a sin to use a plastic bag?

Sir, People do not have any qualms about the hundreds of things they do to harm the environment. It is not a sin surely. Using a plastic bag was not a sin in the old days when there was no plastic. Neitherwas using your car for short distance a sin. There were no cars to drive.
Today the situation is quite different. And most people do not seem to realise how fast it could change still further, when the problems are increasing exponentially. God made the best things in life in such a way that they would be free. The sunrise and sunset, the rains, the forest, the sea are all supposed to be enjoyed for free. The birds do not charge for their song, or the flowers for a display of their beauty. One does not have to pay to see the starry sky at night. Simple food, fresh air, good sleep - these are the Dieasures of life. But we as humans have succeeded
tuitting a price tag on everything, even these simple thirc, whether it is paying hefty sums to go to a hill
to enjoy fresh air or trudging all the way to a \at nal Park, all of which will soon deteriorate too at tire rate ‘: e are going. The villages and country is where we have these. We have succeeded in putting dirt in the poor man’s food so that only the rich can afford the unadulterated food in fancy tetra packs or sealed in plastic.
Our children grow up never knowing how calm it is to be among the trees and the grass or with the waves lashing at their feet. What was once the elixir of life is now restricted to the status of entertainment, when that once in a year holiday comes around. The result - restlessness and hypertension. When scientists bemoan the loss of a species we have never seen somewhere in an unknown place, it does not seem like anything to worry about, especially for us who are far away’. It should not, except that along with the species a lot of living things depending on it die a slow death. It is usually more than just the extinction of one species — it is a warning signal of danger to the whole forest in which this could happen and to the world that made it happen.
Hopefully, by God’s grace things will never turn so bad as some people project it. But if things ever reach that stage by our fault, it will be too late to do ANYTHING then. One only has to be a little careful and take a little more effort in order to save the situation. It is not as hard as most of us imagine. Perhaps one could take a bus once in a way or may be just walk a little or use a little thinking in choosing one’s method of pest control, use a little creativity for reusing things or may be just take a cloth bag or even a long lasting plastic bag along for shopping (using paper could start another problem of shortage!). letter published in examiner,mumbai,written by
Divya Fernandez
Kalamboli, navi mumbai