Effects on Global Warming
Paper bags have the highest global warming impact on our atmosphere. According to the US EPA, 70% more global warming gases are emitted making a paper bag than a plastic bag, and 50 times more water pollution. They also consume 3.5 times more energy and contribute to global warming by destroying trees. It was reported by the American Forest and Paper Association that Americans used 10 billion paper shopping bags consuming 14 million trees. Moreover, the average person in America use between 350 and 500 bags per year, while the total amount of plastic bags used per year by the whole country is about 100 billion plastic bags. The making of plastic bags uses a lot of oil; an estimated 12 million barrels of oil are used to make 300 million plastic bags which is the amount of plastic bags Americans use in a year.
Effects on Land
It takes hundreds and hundreds of years to breakdown the average plastic bag. The land litter that is made up of plastic bags has the potential to kill over and over again. It has been estimated that one bag has the potential to unintentionally kill one animal per every three months due to unintentional digestion or inhalation. There is 1.5 to 3 million littered plastic bags which equals a lot of ecosystem sustaining lives lost. If the balance of the ecosystem food sources dry up then starvation occurs. Moreover, if there is an increase in using plastic bags all around the world, then it could also harm the human population.