YouthTalk

It was a bright sunny day with a whimsical cool breeze playing across our faces, as we walked down the street breathing in the holiday spirit.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, a plastic bag, buffeted by the wind, smacked us in the face. Spoils the picture, doesn't it?

Bahrain seems to be filled with an exasperating amount of irksome plastic carrier bags.

Tottering piles of plastic bags are wasted in supermarkets and other stores.

Magazines are unnecessarily enveloped in plastic sheets to maintain the immaculate condition of the books. And disposable cutlery seems to be living up to its name.

Wake up Bahrain!

Plastic seems to be the root of all evil. Nip it in the bud. Previously, when questioned about the amount of plastic used, people would shrug and point out that there was no recycling facility.

Now, Bahrain proudly hosts a recycling plant, with proceeds going to charity. Multi-coloured bins line the walls of many established institutions. It is up to us to fill them with used plastic so that they may be recycled for future use.

2012, the new blockbuster directed by Roland Emmerich earned a lot of cynicism and a great deal of scoffing.

The end of the world seems like a fantastic idea now - something ludicrous at this point in time.

We're all caught up in our work and responsibilities that we forget to see the big picture. We are teetering on the edge of a possible end-of-the-world scenario.

Plastic is non-biodegradable. Thus, it is tearing down the Earth; suffocating animals, polluting the environment and choking a hope for a better future.

It is one of the most toxic substances used today and its poison is slowly creeping in. Moreover, manufacturing plastic takes up copious amounts of energy, adding to our fuel problem.

But all is not lost; the world can be rejuvenated - asking just a little help of everybody. Be judicious, make wise choices. We can change the doomed fate we are destined for. So maybe the world's not going to end in 2012 as the Mayans believed. But, if we continue our wasteful ways, in the near future, we may end up drowning in.