To the editor:
On Monday night, May 6, the town of Great Barrington’s registered voters have an opportunity to reverse the ban on 1 litre or less PET water bottles. This ban is an issue that has divided the town for the past year. While I applaud the goal of reducing overall plastic usage throughout the world, this ban does essentially nothing to accomplish that. As water bottles make up only a fraction of a percent of the total plastic in the world, it has become clear to even the most ardent supporters of our little town’s ban that this is nothing more than a means to raise awareness of a global plastic problem.
The first thing to note in the division this ban has caused is that there is unity in the desire to not destroy the environment we live in. That is an important point. No one is saying we should destroy our planet and its eco-systems with plastic. What many of us are saying is this water bottle ban is not a viable answer. I have prepared a short precursor to my presentation for Monday night. It discusses the trade-offs with some of the alternatives. Armed with knowledge, it is incumbent upon each of us to employ the most environmentally friendly choice in every decision we make, given our circumstances at the moment.
I invite you to read through this document with an open mind and ponder the implications as we head into our annual town meeting. My intention is to expand my discussion and hopefully help you see why it is so important to vote yes on Article 28 and repeal the water-bottle ban.
Click here to read my statement.
Steve Farina
Great Barrington
