There are some fundamental questions in life that — as much as we may try to avoid them — are, in the end, inescapable. Sometimes the ensuing debate may last for hours, charged with a flurry of passion and emotion.

What am I talking about? Age-old questions involving decisions such as being a Democrat or a Republican, having the right to choose or being pro-life, cheering for the Cardinals or the Cubs — and opting for paper over plastic.

What? Paper or plastic?

Yes, paper or plastic. Sure, this is a decision made in all of two seconds standing in line at the grocery store, but it does go deeper than that. Perhaps in the near future this may be a question that is decided for us.

In 1995, California banned smoking in most indoor work environments and then further exacted the law in 1998, becoming the first state to also outlaw smoking in bars and casinos. Municipalities around North America soon followed suit.

Just like smoking, it is California again surging to the forefront, with cities like San Francisco and San Jose looking to outlaw the way we literally ‘bring home the bacon.’ Both cities have implemented bans on plastic shopping bags — albeit with difficulty — which then turned into targeting only very large retailers.

Others are also jumping on the bandwagon, recognizing that plastic bags pose a problem to society. While the impacts of these problems have continually been debated by environmentalists and plastic sack manufacturers, one thing is certain: plastic bags are an unsightly litter concern.

Based on statistics compiled by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), more than 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the United States each year.

But plastic bag production is cheaper than paper, even with oil as a constituent component. It is the after-production component that fails to meet up.

Plastics do not biodegrade, and instead break down into smaller and smaller pieces. As such, they will be with us for decades. It’s a lose-lose situation because we need trees for paper bags, which some see as contributing to global warming through their removal.

This is a conundrum of epic proportions. No matter which way one turns in making a ‘green’ decision, there is still an associated cost. As my law professor would say, “there is no free lunch.”

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) reports that even plastic biodegradable bags have drawbacks, in that many of them have inks and other contaminants that leach into the ground.

Many biodegradable bags still have plastic in them, so even as they break down, the plastic content just gets smaller and smaller — and is never fully assimilated.

The New York Times reported in January that the city of New York successfully passed a new bill, supported by retailers and manufacturers as well as citizens, ensuring stores place recycling bins for their plastic bags as well as bags from other stores in a prominent location.

Given that these items are lightweight and abundantly available to consumers, it is nearly impossible to walk through even one park space without seeing a plastic bag lying on the ground or tied up in vegetation.

It’s about time that governments start regulating these activities, since we are so obviously incapable of doing so.

But recycling is only one part of the issue; governments should do more. Recycling does not affect the supply or social attitude of using a plastic bag. Take Aldi’s in west Ames, for example. For each plastic bag that leaves the store, a small fee is charged at the patron’s expense. It forces people to decide whether they really need that bag or not.

Charging a nominal fee is definitely a step in the right direction, whether you are using paper bags or the plastic variety. But with intervention from local governments, this could be applied on a larger scale to more stores.

In the New York example, the recycling bill targets stores that are larger than 5,000 square feet and franchises with more than five locations throughout the city.

We have gotten used to living without cigarettes in our favorite hangouts, and similarly, we can get through a transition period to decrease our dependence on plastic bags.

New York Governor David Patterson said, “By making changes in our daily lives and business practices, we can conserve natural resources, save energy and reduce our ecological footprint.” Closer to home, the Iowa City Council has been considering banning plastic bags since December.

Reusable bags are a great alternative, and there are more styles and selection for those than ever before.

Often trendy and colorful, the reusable bag is more than a fashion statement — it a conscious effort to clean up our streets and parkways, while setting an example that is easy for others to follow.

 — Erin Mastre is a graduate student in landscape architecture from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.