I'm a Libertarian living in Humboldt County, CA. I've lived here in Eureka since 1973 and joined the Libertarian Party in 1992. This blog will mostly focus on local political issues, but I may stray into state and national issues as well, when I can't help myself. Please post your comments by clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of each post. Although I do moderate comments, you need not be a registered user to post them.
As some of you may know from an earlier post on Eric's blog, San Francisco, in its infinited wisdom, decided to ban the ubiquitous plastic grocery bag. There's an op- ed in USA Today this morning that gives a few reasons one might not want to consider doing the same thing elsewhere.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:16 AM
17 comments
17 Comments:
What is "infinited wisdom?"
Isn't USA Today a trashy tabloid type newspaper?
You and I might think USA Today is trashy tabloid. However, there are many like my 77 year old Dad who loves USA Today.
It is too bad paper bags take so much energy to make and recycle. Like I wrote in Eric's post I try to reuse them. One way is to cut the bags and lay them down between rows in the garden, then place grass clippings or mulch on top. The bags slowly decompose and the weeds are kept from growing.
Ok, I read the USA Today piece.
The best answer to the paper or plastic question is neither. Each individual can do more to help the environment by reusing whatever bags groceries distribute or buying a canvas sack to carry goods.
Why does there have to be a "best" answer? There are many answers, most of them valid, including banning plastic bags and offering recycling bins.
The thread on Eric's blog had several people admit they can't remember to bring bags from home to reuse at the grocery store. People need more prodding to change wasteful habits.
The cloth bags work well at the North Coast Coop and I use them there, but I have never seen anyone at Costco with one. They do "recycle" cardboard boxes there, so as Heraldo suggests, in reducing our impact on the environment we are going to need to be flexible if we are going to be effective.
We recycle both plastic and paper bags. We ask for paper. I do not like the use of plastic. I was on an organizing attempt at a plastic bags plant called Roplast in Oroville and they treated their long term employees poorly. As Carol mentioned, paper is biodegradeable. Big plus.
A few years back, supermarkets started charging a nickel for a new bag and gave a credit if you brought your own to reuse. Enough people didn't care about saving the nickel so supermarkets stopped doing it.
But now USA Today is concerned about the nickel(or so) cost of biodegradable bags. The rightwing media challenges the value of any investment in the environmnet but justifies any cost for immediate convenience. That's short term thinking and not what a real conservative would do. Conservatives traditionally recycled whatever they could because they believe in CONSERVING.
I agree with heraldo; the people definitely "need more prodding" to comply with whatever mindless touchy feely behavior the idiot "progressive" wackos decide is best for us. After all, isn't "prodding" what it's all about?
Carol wrote, "One way is to cut the bags and lay them down between rows in the garden, then place grass clippings or mulch on top".
I used to do that with newspapers.
Ireland has a good solution. They charge 15 cents per bag
see here
This law has dramatically reduced plastic bag litter in Ireland.
and here
According to the Irish Department of the Environment, shoppers used around 1.2 billion plastic bags per year before the tax was imposed in March 2002. Since then, the use has dropped by around 95 percent.
As of July 28, [2003] the levy had raised 13.5 million euros ($15.15 million), that the department has plowed into recycling facilities around the country.
Fred wrote: "I used to do that with newspapers."
I like newspapers for mulch, too, although it can be tricky if there is a breeze. Flattened cardboard works well, too. I like using fresh straw around the strawberry plants.
The answer to all "problems" defined by progressives: a new tax. How original! Karl Marx would be proud.
And your answer is what? There is no problem? It'll fix itself? Trust Karl Rove and all will be fine? You can criticize, but can you help?
Karl Marx "would be proud"? What is this 1964?
I'm all for taxing people for these "conveniences" which I pick up all over the neighborhood, just as I wouldn't mind another tax on cigarettes, so that at least the government would be compensated for the butts that I pick up.
It looks like the tide has turned on this blog site. There are more liberal/progressives than reactionary/authoritarians. WE WON !
Actually, there's always been more lefties visiting this site.
I actually ran a poll here (was it last year) asking what political party viewers were in. I forget the exact numbers, but most were lefties.
How many of your visitors are ambidextrous? (feel free to ignore me:)
Being ambidextrous, would still place one on the "right."
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