Consumers have become unconscious about their shopping habits and stores are feeding the addiction by handing over purchases, even if they consist of a single bottle of aspirin, wrapped in plastic bags that take a thousand years to biodegrade. Now, San Francisco will become the first American city to lead consumers into new habits by banning single-use plastic bags. Elsewhere, the small town of Leaf Rapids, as of today, is the first Canadian community to prohibit the pesky plastic, following the lead taken in Ireland, Australia and Tanzania. (CBC)