There was a time when a trip to the supermarket in the United States often ended with a seemingly simple question from the cashier, "Paper or plastic？"Well, which type of bag would you choose？

While both types of bags have some influence on the environment, it has long been supposed that paper bags are kinder. They are made from a renewable source, are broken down easily, burn without giving off thick smoke and can be recycled. However, the producing process behind paper bags uses more energy than that of plastic ones. How can this be true？

Studies show that paper bag production requires four times as much energy as plastic bag production.

And the amount of water used to make them is twenty times higher. Besides, the influence on forests is very serious. It takes about fourteen million trees to produce ten billion paper bags, which happen to be the number of bags used in the United States yearly. In terms of recycling, the idea that paper bags are more environment friendly than plastic ones can be quickly discarded. Research shows it requires about 98% less energy to recycle plastic than it does to recycle paper.

Even though paper bags might be more harmful than plastic ones, plastic still seems to be considered as the more harmful of the two by governments. In Ireland, for example, a tax has been introduced to discourage the use of plastic bags. People have to pay 22 cents for every plastic bag, and as a result, their use has dropped quickly.

There’s no doubt that it makes more sense to reuse these bags. However, we don’t seem to be doing that at present. That may be because they fall apart quickly. If so, cloth bags are a better choice, but still, their production also has a bad influence on the environment. So what to do? How should we answer the question of “Paper or plastic?” It seems that we first need to ask ourselves one more general question: “What can I do to help the environment?”

   Most artists have a favorite material they like to work with. For Kristen Alyce, it happens to be trash (废物). The eco-conscious designer uses her talent to transform garbage like empty drink bottles and Skittles wrappers into wonderful outfits (全套服装) that sell for thousands of dollars.

Kristen says the idea came to her after she saw how much waste she and her three college roommates produced on a daily basis. The Fine Arts student began to dream about transforming the bags and packages into beautiful clothes. Her first dress made of plastic bags and rolled magazines was unusual, funny and even fascinating. However, she only made it to test how she could create a beautiful dress with trash.

The young designer did not consider starting a commercial business until she spent a week working at Couture Fashion Week in New York City. There she observed the excitement caused by new looks and decided to see if her unusual idea would result in as much enthusiasm. She began by creating a line of 12 garbage-inspired dresses. They were a big success and Garbage Gone Glam was born!

Today the company produces a wide variety of outfits that range from cocktail dresses to ballgowns. Kristen, of course, doesn’t search for trash cans as her material any more. Since the designer can work with anything from brochures to yellow pages, from directory pages to candy wrappers, finding “trash” is never a problem.

However, if you think the garbage-inspired women dresses come cheap, think again. The price for ready made creations sold on the company’s site varies from $500 to $1,500. Those seeking custom (定制的) dresses have to pay as much as $2,000. Though those may appear expensive, the designer says that she has no shortage of customers. In fact thanks to so many requests she now even has trash-inspired outfits for men that include jackets, ties, trousers and even board shorts! While most of the outfits are hard enough to bear various wearing methods, whether they can be cleaned is a little unclear.

   Green Consumer Day is observed worldwide every year on September 28. The_______is to purchase only eco-friendly products as a way to________the impact consumerism has on the environment.

But we should NOT consume products even on Green Consumer Day.

Creating any product_______the use of energy; let's not_________climate change. For the most part, that energy is going to come from fossil fuels-coal, oil and natural gas._______coal or drilling for oil and natural gas creates environmental nightmares, while burning fossil fuels is the biggest_______of climate change. Unless a product is made using 100 percent_______energy, it will have a carbon footprint. We all know how_______the planet is heating up, so our goal should be to shrink our footprints, rather than expand them．

Manufacturing_______uses a lot of water. No matter how______a product is, water will be needed to clean the materials and clean it again_________the product is made. Many parts of the world are suffering from________ We can help conserve our precious water resources by buying fewer products, even if they're_____

Most products will still_________in trash. We don't need more solid waste! Even if the eco-product we buy is not disposable, the packaging it comes in will get thrown away.

Why go shopping when you could be out_________nature? Shopping can be a pretty stressful way to spend an hour or two. Wouldn't you rather take a walk, have a picnic or otherwise have fun with friends and family?

Buying more stuff adds to our_______and doesn't make us any happier. Most of us_______to have even more things than we can use. Adding to the load just increases the________of the mess we need to address. Plus most people________that spending time with family and friends makes them much happier than acquiring_________, even if it's green.

   Caroline Solomon was on her high school's swim team. But at times she could not go into the creek（小溪）near her home. It was simply too polluted. "I decided I wanted to do something about it，"she recalls. So she studied environmental science and public policy at Harvard University in Cambridge. Later，she went to graduate school. Some of her classes could be challenging，though，since she couldn't hear her teachers. "I've been deaf since I was 15 months old，"Solomon notes.

Today she teaches biology at Gallaudet University in Washington，DC. She has no trouble communicating with her students. They，too，are primarily deaf or hard of hearing. That's why all classes at Gallaudet are taught in American Sign Language. Solomon also has an active life outside the classroom. She especially enjoys hiking，biking and other activities with her family.

Her research takes her to the Anacostia River. "It is very close to Gallaudet，and I easily bring my students there，"she says. Water running through local forests and marshes drains into this river，so does water running off urban streets，golf courses and industrial sites." The river's watershed（流域）kind of concentrates all the things that happen when humans mess with the natural landscape，"she explains. Not surprisingly，this river has developed a reputation for being quite polluted.

Solomon has been focusing on how pollutants affect tiny organisms that form the base of the river's food web. "I am now looking at the bacteria population，" she says，"to see what types there are."

Solomon wants to see more students who are deaf or have other disabilities make a difference in environmental science and other fields. As she often says, "If I can do it, you can do it."