Petitioner: Alexander Fraser
Status:
Closed
Date Lodged:
09 November 2014
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to:
- make teaching sustainability and the environment mandatory in secondary schools; and
- ban all disposable plastic bags in supermarkets and shops to aid the environment.
Summary:
25 November 2014: The Committee took evidence from Alexander Fraser. The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government, Zero Waste Scotland, the Scottish Retail Consortium and headteacher organisations. Link to Official Report 25 November 2014
17 February 2015: The Committee agreed to close the petition, under Rule 15.7, on the basis that having considered the response received, it is of the view that sufficient action is being taken in this area. Link to Official Report 17 February 2015
Written Submissions:
This government should resolve to help stop climate change and other environmental issues to safeguard our future and the planet. They are doing more work than most nations to help these issues but more must be done to prevent irreversible climate change. Their actions are not going far enough to help the situation. The proposals in this petition are required to stop the damage being done to our environment and should be acted on as soon as possible. I believe that the our education system is a perfect platform to educate people about sustainability and the environment but it is not currently being utilised to its full potential.
Plastic bags are not just harmful to the environment but also to wildlife. We see this in the Great Pacific Garbage Patchwhere wildlife dies daily as a result of human actions. Because of this plastic bags should be banned. At the same time just stopping the use of plastic bags will not be enough to tackle climate change.
We must also educate our children from an early age to show them the impact of what they do to the environment and not leave that chance. Education is the best way out of most problems and it is exactly the same here. If we can make children more aware of the dangers to the environment, we will not have to take tough decisions on the environment because their habits will change.