The next time you leave the grocery store with plastic bags in tote and notice the disapproving glare from someone proudly carrying a canvas bag that's printed (using earth-friendly ink) with words that one way or another say "I care more about the environment than you do," you can now confidently look back and say "not so fast." A recent study as reported by Townhall finds that the HDPE (plastic) bag is actually the most earth-friendly. From the study: The conventional HDPE bag had the lowest environmental impacts of the lightweight bags in eight of the nine impact categories. The bag performed well because it was the lightest bag considered. The lifecycle impact of the bag was dictated by raw material extraction and bag production, with the use of Chinese grid electricity significantly affecting the acidification and ecotoxicity of the bag.  From Townhall:  The study reports that a canvas bag is expected to last for 52 trips (Table A.3.1). With that as a reference, a...(Read Full Post)