Dearest readers...

I would like to share with you today's "Dear Abby."

DEAR ABBY: I am 8 years old, and I love science. I am writing you because when I go to the doughnut shop, they always give me paper bags when I order my doughnut to eat there. I also notice other people getting bags they don't need because they are eating their doughnuts there, too.
How many trees have to die for no reason?

I care about recycling and how long it takes for things to break down in the earth. What can I do so the doughnut shop will stop wasting bags? -- MANDI IN SCARSDALE, N.Y.

DEAR MANDI: I respect the fact that you are conscientious about how your actions -- and the actions of the people around you -- affect the environment. You are a sharp young lady.

What you should do is speak to the manager of the doughnut shop. Tell him or her that these days a strong selling point in many businesses is that they are "going green." In the case of the doughnut shop, it would cost them less and even gain them more customers if they would stop handing out bags to customers who are eating their doughnuts on the premises and tell them why. (A piece of waxed paper would suffice and create less waste.)

Readers, if you are interested in how long it takes the items we toss into our landfills to decompose, I found the following illuminating. Read on:

Paper ................... 2 to 5 months

Orange peels ............ 6 months

Milk cartons ............ 5 years

Filter-tip cigarettes ... 10 to 12 years

Plastic bags ............ 10 to 20 years

Leather shoes ........... 24 to 40 years

Plastic containers ...... 50 to 80 years

Disposable diapers ...... 75 years

Tin cans ................ 100 years

Aluminum cans ........... 200 to 500 years

Styrofoam ............... Never


Please realize that we only have one earth and our resources are finite. If everyone does what they can to "go green" and recycle we can insure a furture for our children and our children's children. Please do what you can! Every little bit helps!

"There's so much pollution in the air now that if it weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all."
-Robert Orben