So there need to be a part 3part 1- question part 2- text part 3- more text My twin brother and I are at war. It all started a few months ago when Mom, Dad, Rya, Darius, and I were watching a movie. As a garbage truck rolled across the screen in one scene, Darius blurted out, “Paper or plastic?”

“What?” Dad looked from Darius to me as if I had something to do with Darius’s outburst.

Darius explained that his class was studying the effects of plastic bags on the environment.

“C’mon Dad,” Darius persisted. “Which do you prefer to use—paper or plastic?”

“Well, I guess I use plastic bags more than paper bags,” Dad replied.

Then Darius announced that we should stop using plastic bags altogether.

Dad said, “And I guess we would just use paper.”

Darius replied, “Of course!”

“Hey, wait a minute!” I added. “I‘m studying the effects of plastic bags on the environment too. Sometimes plastic is a better choice than paper.”

Dad contemplated both of our arguments. “Hmm. I’m not sure we need to abandon plastic bags altogether. Tell you what. I need more information before our house becomes a no-plastic zone. I’d also like to know what impact paper has on the environment. Each of you can do some research. Dina, why don’t you take plastic? Darius, you take paper, of course.”

And so it began. We were each charged with making a case for our assigned material. Then we would debate after dinner in another two weeks. Fast forward to dinner two weeks later. Darius and I each came to the table carrying a binder brimming with notes. Dad appeared awestruck by the sheer volume of our preparation. But I knew that Darius and I now saw this informal debate as a competition that we both wanted to win. Since Darius started this whole thing, Dad suggested that he go first.

Darius: Around the world, an estimated 15–20 billion plastic bags end up as litter every year. We could help the environment by using less plastic.

Dina: Hah, Americans alone use over 10 billion paper bags. Think of all the trees that are cut down to make paper bags—14 billion every year.

Darius: Recycling paper actually preserves trees and forests. A ton of recycled paper saves about seventeen trees. Did you know that recycling one ton of paper could save enough energy to power the average home for six months? It can also save 7,000 gallons of water.

Dina: It actually takes 98 percent less energy to recycle a pound of plastic than it does to recycle a pound of paper. By the way, aren’t toxic gases released during the recycling process of paper?