Bill approved to ban plastic bags statewide in California (Santa Monica: rental, schools)

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Bummer

Simply put, Nullgeo . . .

You have cities going or have already declared bankruptcy, your state is so far in debt it'll take years, if ever, to recover, while your clueless governor is more concerned about such things as BANNING PLASTIC BAGS? Promote reusable bags or any other alternative but to declare a ban is ridiculous and just another example of why the State of California is so frequently laughed at by the rest of the country.

That is DYSFUNCTIONAL POLITICS.

Over 500 municipalities have gone bankrupt since 1931 when the Chapter 9 laws governing public defaults went into effect. There are a dozen or more municipal bankruptcies in process right now all across the country -- in Idaho, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and more, as well as California.

The entire nation is so far in debt it'll take years, if ever to recover (except that, by the system of economics we live in under central banking money creation, we are not supposed to ever pay off our debt ... indeed there is not enough money in the system to ever pay off the debt that exists now ... and debt is the only way new money is created -- literal fact I gather you are not aware of)

How do you know our "clueless governor" is "more concerned about banning plastic bags" than debt issues? Elected officials need to address many issues in governance at once.

Why is it any more ridiculous for California to declare a ban than over a dozen other states and many more municipalities -- indeed than a number of other countries internationally?

If California is "laughed at" by the "rest of the country" it is because the "rest of the country" is apparently uninformed about which state leads the nation in GDP and contribution to national GDP, and which state has the world's 8th largest economy, far surpassing any other state's international comparison, and which state has -- by far -- the greatest amount of venture capital working, and more of the finest institutions of higher learning than others, and which state is the produce basket for the entire rest of the nation, and which state has reserved more public land for the public's use than any of the lower 48 states -- and other similar notables.

Funny ha-ha? Or funny strange?

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Do you deny that these plastic bags are clogging the oceans and despoiling the environment?
Do you deny they last for typically hundreds of years as trash?
Is that a good thing in your opinion? To trash your environment and kill off large segments of your nutritional future?

There can be no doubt that certain low lifes litter with plastic bags. How much damage do they really cause? It's not clear. Locally they present eye sores. They may be ingested but the rate is unknown. The actual contribution from NORTH AMERICAN retail bags to things like the Great Pacific (many small, small bits of) Plastic Patch has not been demonstrated but realistically it must be low, given our strict environmental laws and relatively controlled refuse disposal practices versus most other countries in the world.

Plastic bags don't last very long in the out doors especially if exposed to sun or in contact with the soil. Put one in your back yard for a few months and see for yourself.

I think there are bigger fish to fry right now (even within the realm of ecological issues) than plastic bags.

NEEEEXXXXXXXXT!

[Fontucky]

What he said. I don't buy in to the tree hugger hype about plastic grocery bags.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

There can be no doubt that certain low lifes litter with plastic bags. How much damage do they really cause? It's not clear. Locally they present eye sores. They may be ingested but the rate is unknown. The actual contribution from NORTH AMERICAN retail bags to things like the Great Pacific (many small, small bits of) Plastic Patch has not been demonstrated but realistically it must be low, given our strict environmental laws and relatively controlled refuse disposal practices versus most other countries in the world.

Plastic bags don't last very long in the out doors especially if exposed to sun or in contact with the soil. Put one in your back yard for a few months and see for yourself.

I think there are bigger fish to fry right now (even within the realm of ecological issues) than plastic bags.

NEEEEXXXXXXXXT!

Originally Posted by Fontucky

What he said. I don't buy in to the tree hugger hype about plastic grocery bags.

Youse guys obviously aren't sailors ... nor live on or by beaches. I am. I do. It is disgusting and destructive as hell. And America is the number one source by far. Regardless of environmental laws the bags end up tossed around outside of "refuse disposal systems" by the hundreds of billions.

"Bigger fish to fry"? Bigger than your children's future? I see. So while you are frying the Big Fish, it's too much trouble to work with a reusable bag? Americans are entitled to trash the world because it's easier than washing a cloth bag with your laundry? Can't be bothered?

Even if littering didn't cause environmental harm -- which it does -- do you really consider it an optional personal habit? Respect for others is beneath Americans?

Here's some facts for you to reconsider:
• about 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags are thrown away each year in America alone
• between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year.
• 8.7 plastic checkout bags contain enough embodied petroleum energy to drive a car 1 kilometre
• fewer than 1% of bags are recycled
• plastic trash kills over 1 million sea creatures of various kinds every year
• Plastic bags are often mistaken as food by marine mammals. 100,000 marine mammals die yearly by eating plastic bags. These animals suffer a painful death, the plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Funny ha-ha? Or funny strange?

I surrender, Nullgeo . . . obviously you're hooked on that Nancy Pelosi Kool-Aid.

I'll close with this . . . YOU NEED TO GET OUT MORE.

[LexusNexus]

Now, how about a similar ban on street gangs, preferences for foreigners and out-of-staters to get the higher tuition fees, and the preference for foreigners displacing qualified americans through outsourcing?

[senzanome]

I am in favor of the ban. Our streets and highways are littered with bags. People are not re-cycling. People will pay the
ten cents for each paper bag and then throw them away. The people employed making plastic bags will change jobs to
making paper bags. Actually most plastic bags come from China, anyway.

[caligirlz]

Originally Posted by steel7

Ca is a over-lawned nanny state so im not surprised. I do use the paper bags for trash. I believe it will be a dime per bag. We have a VERY dysfunctional legislature & govenor.

I totally agree. This is total BS from a legislature who can't pass a decent budget. Cut the crap & get back to work!!

[Gentoo]

Dear God I just got through dealing with this in the Seattle forum. Do some of us really need to school people again?

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

There can be no doubt that certain low lifes litter with plastic bags. How much damage do they really cause? It's not clear. Locally they present eye sores. They may be ingested but the rate is unknown. The actual contribution from NORTH AMERICAN retail bags to things like the Great Pacific (many small, small bits of) Plastic Patch has not been demonstrated but realistically it must be low, given our strict environmental laws and relatively controlled refuse disposal practices versus most other countries in the world.

Plastic bags don't last very long in the out doors especially if exposed to sun or in contact with the soil. Put one in your back yard for a few months and see for yourself.

I think there are bigger fish to fry right now (even within the realm of ecological issues) than plastic bags.

NEEEEXXXXXXXXT!

Volunteer at a rescue facility and you're see for yourself.