Plastic bags.

• Position: TALKING PICTURES - Brief Article

Tool, clothing, shelter, toy--possibly even food, if the dolphin below thinks it's sneaking up on a jellyfish--is there anything the plastic bag cannot do? Well, yes: go away. The bags are discarded by the tens of billions every year, and though most wind up serving many uses, their persistence in the environment, and the blight and damage they inflict, have led to bans in some countries and taxes in others. (See "Life-Cycle Studies," World Watch January/February...