23. Worldwide Movement To Ban or Charge Fees For Plastic Bags

Shoppers worldwide are using 500 billion to one trillion single-use plastic bags per year. The average use time of a plastic bag is 12 minutes. Plastic bags pollute our waters, smother wetlands and entangle and kill animals. This eventually affects our health because larger animals eat small, plastic-laden creatures and plastics work their way up the food chain until eventually, humans consume animals that have eaten some form of plastic. Plastic is non-biodegradable and is made from a non-renewable resource: oil. An estimated 3 million barrels of oil are required to produce the 19 billion plastic bags used annually in California.

As of this writing, 35 countries have already banned the use of plastic bags, 9 countries have passed levies and fees on use, 12 countries are considering bans or fees and 26 states in the US have introduced a form of legislation concerning plastic bag use. Most plastic contains harmful chemicals like BPA and phthalates, which can be unsafe for human consumption or use. These can be avoided by substituting plastic materials and products with other alternative materials like reusable cloth bags, stainless steel water bottles and other wooden, glass and metal substitutes. With the preservation of our environment becoming increasingly critical, what steps will you take to reduce plastic use?

Sources:

“Got Plastic???” Jim Ries, One More Generation, November 29, 2010. http://onemoregeneration.org/2010/11/29/got-plastic

“Plastic Rap: Here Are 10 Ways to Reduce Plastics in Your Home,” Lisa Davis, The Southern.com, McClatchy-Tribune News, January 31, 2010. http://thesouthern.com/lifestyles/leisure/article_2e25cb1c-0e21-11df-8b25-001cc4c002e0.html

“The Retail Bags Report Maps and Related Detailed Lists Page | Division of Waste Management | Florida DEP,” Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Web Update: 28 Jan. 2011. http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/retailbags/pages/mapsandlists.htm

Save The Bay – San Francisco Bay’s Leading Champion since 1961. http://www.savesfbay.org/about-campaign

Student Researcher: Robert Usher, San Francisco State University

Faculty Evaluator: Kenn Burrows, San Francisco State University

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James Carroll

You simply haven’t any idea what you are writing about, still, and it shows.
Anonymous

Wow that was an excellent deconstruction of my comment. You’re a super awesome debater–are you thinking of running for president some day?
James Carroll

And you have yet to demonstrate that you have considered the points made to you previously; how plastics are beneficial and that even ‘bags’ are an integral part of medicine, and that the curtailing of their use is harmful and unjust, and that your factual errors about plastics, especially biodegradability are easily dismissed as willful ignorance.

If all you have are logical fallacies, personal contempt and ad hominem in place of supporting your misguided views, then you are empty handed, and do little here but represent yourself and statist liberalism poorly.

Feel free to “deconstruct” the facts you have wrong, and the points which you’ve reacted to, allergically, with the temperament of a badly behaved child.

(1) Litter would still exist
(2) Plastics do “degrade”
(3) Medicine is the best “excuse” and Santitation is another
(4) Plastic is far “greener’ than Paper for bags
(5) Textile bags are an option for shopping, but more expensive
(6) Petroleum formation has two tested theories, not just one
(7) “Laziness” is a relative personal characteristic, and has been with “us” alot longer than “six generations” and will endure, no matter how you choose to define it, or the value you place on it
(8) “Homo” is our Genus, our Species is H. Sapiens; “we” show no signs of becoming extinct ([sic] dead) within any few generations
(9) What “needs done” is subjective, and you give no indication of being in a position to decide anything for yourself or anyone else, since you are unencumbered with a basic knowledge of the facts
(10) Your insinuation that a fact must not be a fact because it is published in a community peer-reviewed cyclopedia is stupid; very stupid, and cynical
(11) “All those studies” which you failed to cite a single one of…
(12) Whatever delusion you have about anyone else’s “Matrix” is purely projectionary; not only in the Cinematic sense, either
(13) Our “society” is inherently “sustainable” since “we” have “made it this far” as things are; and whether or not it has any “integrity” in the personal sense, is itself a personal relative assessment
(14) The modern so-called “sustainability” movement is arguably DRIVEN by fear and laziness; the fear of the Lazy, by the Wealthy
(15) Your factual errors have been corrected publicly against your preference to remain undisciplined and uninformed
(16) No future president would take the time to correct the idiotic ramblings of children smart enough to turn on a computer, but dumb enough to believe the propaganda displayed on it

Your education is your responsibility, and I’ve wasted enough time your way- to gladly give you the final volley; support any of your errors or accept their corrections; show any sign of the humility, humanity, or integrity you demand of others; or even just be a bit less snide or condescending.

If that is even possible.

Good day.
Anonymous

I support the use of reusable bags. Any kind of one-time use bag is going to produce a lot of waste and costs a lot given the little use that it serves. When I don’t have any reusable bag on me, and I’m given a plastic bag at a store, I reuse it at home as a trash bag or leave them in my trunk for future store visits. The problem with recycling is that most plastic is not recycled, and what is recycled, is either turned into something entirely different than it’s original form, one which isn’t recyclable, or it gets downcycled into a lower quality product.
I’ve been to some stores where they offer you up the boxes that were used to transport the products to their store, to take your items home. They were just going to throw the cardboard boxes away anyway, so this way everyone wins.
I do agree with those of you who stated that educating America is the main problem. Getting people to respect the environment by not littering and not taking our planet for granted. You could cut down a lot more on oil usage by eliminating the disgusting mass feed lots for cattle, chicken, and pigs, and cutting down on these and other food products that get shipped halfway around the world. Support local farmers, say no to everything related to Monsanto.
Anonymous

A skilled troll is a subtle troll…
Anonymous

1. I didn’t say it wouldn’t ‘exist,’ I said it wouldn’t be a problem (c’mon now, I know you didn’t ‘mishear’ me).
2. I said they don’t BIOdegrade.
3. What’s your point here? Plastics are a key component in hospital routine and maintenance. If you don’t think that’s true, visit one and look around.
4. Cite your source.
5. They are only more expensive if you don’t REUSE them.
6. Two tested hypotheses, only one of which has scores of evidence and data to back it up making it a theory.
7. Duh. So instead of hoping people will quit being lazy and littering, we need to make packaging that doesn’t take thousands of years to decompose. Then it doesn’t matter if they’re littering: it would even help to more even redistribute used resources back to local ecosystems instead of building mountains of garbage.
8. No, we don’t. But with thousands of other species going extinct every day, it’s not that much of a stretch to say we could be in a real tight spot in the near future, especially with what’s happening in our oceans. Healthy ecosystems are vital to our future. Period.
9. Well you’re certainly pretentious enough to decide things for everyone, aren’t you?
10. ANY person can change ANY article at ANY time. Wikipedia is good for getting a basic introduction to subjects, but since it requires no expertise or even for you to leave your name on your article of alleged ‘facts,’ it cannot be used as a reliable source. Pretty much anyone on a University campus can tell you that.
11. Fair enough. I get most of my information from various University websites and ones like the BBC, Smithsonian and Nasa. Still, I’m not going to bother with hunting down some old articles you probably wouldn’t even read since you’re too full of yourself anyway.
12. I’m sorry, your sarcasm meter seems to be experiencing difficulties, perhaps you should get it looked at?
13. Oh? It’s sustainable since ‘we made it this far,’ huh? Well that’s a flawless argument if I ever heard. Oh, sorry I forgot–that was sarcasm just then (hope you get that meter fixed soon, dude).
14. Yeah, I can see how it’s driven by fear. Concern is definitely derived from fear. But laziness? Really? You know that the tendency of those who are lazy is more to keep things the same than try to change them. The lazy people you know sure sound motivated, I wonder how they feel being paradoxes?
15. Oh god, I’m just so embarrassed. You got me. I’m never going on the internet again! I might as well kill myself since James Carroll publicly humiliated me. lolz
16. That’s a shame, James. You would’ve fit right in.
Anonymous

1. I didn’t say it wouldn’t ‘exist,’ I said it wouldn’t be a problem (c’mon now, I know you didn’t ‘mishear’ me).
2. I said they don’t BIOdegrade.
3. What’s your point here? Plastics are a key component in hospital routine and maintenance. If you don’t think that’s true, visit one and look around.
4. Cite your source.
5. They are only more expensive if you don’t REUSE them.
6. Two tested hypotheses, only one of which has scores of evidence and data to back it up making it a theory.
7. Duh. So instead of hoping people will quit being lazy and littering, we need to make packaging that doesn’t take thousands of years to decompose. Then it doesn’t matter if they’re littering: it would even help to more even redistribute used resources back to local ecosystems instead of building mountains of garbage.
8. No, we don’t. But with thousands of other species going extinct every day, it’s not that much of a stretch to say we could be in a real tight spot in the near future, especially with what’s happening in our oceans. Healthy ecosystems are vital to our future. Period.
9. Well you’re certainly pretentious enough to decide things for everyone, aren’t you?
10. ANY person can change ANY article at ANY time. Wikipedia is good for getting a basic introduction to subjects, but since it requires no expertise or even for you to leave your name on your article of alleged ‘facts,’ it cannot be used as a reliable source. Pretty much anyone on a University campus can tell you that.
11. Fair enough. I get most of my information from various University websites and ones like the BBC, Smithsonian and Nasa. Still, I’m not going to bother with hunting down some old articles you probably wouldn’t even read since you’re too full of yourself anyway.
12. I’m sorry, your sarcasm meter seems to be experiencing difficulties, perhaps you should get it looked at?
13. Oh? It’s sustainable since ‘we made it this far,’ huh? Well that’s a flawless argument if I ever heard. Oh, sorry I forgot–that was sarcasm just then (hope you get that meter fixed soon, dude).
14. Yeah, I can see how it’s driven by fear. Concern is definitely derived from fear. But laziness? Really? You know that the tendency of those who are lazy is more to keep things the same than try to change them. The lazy people you know sure sound motivated, I wonder how they feel being paradoxes?
15. Oh god, I’m just so embarrassed. You got me. I’m never going on the internet again! I might as well kill myself since James Carroll publicly humiliated me. lolz
16. That’s a shame, James. You would’ve fit right in.
Anonymous

1. I didn’t say it wouldn’t ‘exist,’ I said it wouldn’t be a problem (c’mon now, I know you didn’t ‘mishear’ me).
2. I said they don’t BIOdegrade.
3. What’s your point here? Plastics are a key component in hospital routine and maintenance. If you don’t think that’s true, visit one and look around.
4. Cite your source.
5. They are only more expensive if you don’t REUSE them.
6. Two tested hypotheses, only one of which has scores of evidence and data to back it up making it a theory.
7. Duh. So instead of hoping people will quit being lazy and littering, we need to make packaging that doesn’t take thousands of years to decompose. Then it doesn’t matter if they’re littering: it would even help to more even redistribute used resources back to local ecosystems instead of building mountains of garbage.
8. No, we don’t. But with thousands of other species going extinct every day, it’s not that much of a stretch to say we could be in a real tight spot in the near future, especially with what’s happening in our oceans. Healthy ecosystems are vital to our future. Period.
9. Well you’re certainly pretentious enough to decide things for everyone, aren’t you?
10. ANY person can change ANY article at ANY time. Wikipedia is good for getting a basic introduction to subjects, but since it requires no expertise or even for you to leave your name on your article of alleged ‘facts,’ it cannot be used as a reliable source. Pretty much anyone on a University campus can tell you that.
11. Fair enough. I get most of my information from various University websites and ones like the BBC, Smithsonian and Nasa. Still, I’m not going to bother with hunting down some old articles you probably wouldn’t even read since you’re too full of yourself anyway.
12. I’m sorry, your sarcasm meter seems to be experiencing difficulties, perhaps you should get it looked at?
13. Oh? It’s sustainable since ‘we made it this far,’ huh? Well that’s a flawless argument if I ever heard. Oh, sorry I forgot–that was sarcasm just then (hope you get that meter fixed soon, dude).
14. Yeah, I can see how it’s driven by fear. Concern is definitely derived from fear. But laziness? Really? You know that the tendency of those who are lazy is more to keep things the same than try to change them. The lazy people you know sure sound motivated, I wonder how they feel being paradoxes?
15. Oh god, I’m just so embarrassed. You got me. I’m never going on the internet again! I might as well kill myself since James Carroll publicly humiliated me. lolz
16. That’s a shame, James. You would’ve fit right in.
Anonymous

1. I didn’t say it wouldn’t ‘exist,’ I said it wouldn’t be a problem (c’mon now, I know you didn’t ‘mishear’ me).
2. I said they don’t BIOdegrade.
3. What’s your point here? Plastics are a key component in hospital routine and maintenance. If you don’t think that’s true, visit one and look around.
4. Cite your source.
5. They are only more expensive if you don’t REUSE them.
6. Two tested hypotheses, only one of which has scores of evidence and data to back it up making it a theory.
7. Duh. So instead of hoping people will quit being lazy and littering, we need to make packaging that doesn’t take thousands of years to decompose. Then it doesn’t matter if they’re littering: it would even help to more even redistribute used resources back to local ecosystems instead of building mountains of garbage.
8. No, we don’t. But with thousands of other species going extinct every day, it’s not that much of a stretch to say we could be in a real tight spot in the near future, especially with what’s happening in our oceans. Healthy ecosystems are vital to our future. Period.
9. Well you’re certainly pretentious enough to decide things for everyone, aren’t you?
10. ANY person can change ANY article at ANY time. Wikipedia is good for getting a basic introduction to subjects, but since it requires no expertise or even for you to leave your name on your article of alleged ‘facts,’ it cannot be used as a reliable source. Pretty much anyone on a University campus can tell you that.
11. Fair enough. I get most of my information from various University websites and ones like the BBC, Smithsonian and Nasa. Still, I’m not going to bother with hunting down some old articles you probably wouldn’t even read since you’re too full of yourself anyway.
12. I’m sorry, your sarcasm meter seems to be experiencing difficulties, perhaps you should get it looked at?
13. Oh? It’s sustainable since ‘we made it this far,’ huh? Well that’s a flawless argument if I ever heard. Oh, sorry I forgot–that was sarcasm just then (hope you get that meter fixed soon, dude).
14. Yeah, I can see how it’s driven by fear. Concern is definitely derived from fear. But laziness? Really? You know that the tendency of those who are lazy is more to keep things the same than try to change them. The lazy people you know sure sound motivated, I wonder how they feel being paradoxes?
15. Oh god, I’m just so embarrassed. You got me. I’m never going on the internet again! I might as well kill myself since James Carroll publicly humiliated me. lolz
16. That’s a shame, James. You would’ve fit right in.
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Vince D

Paper or Plastic???
If you were around in the early 70″s you will remember when your grocer used brown paper bags to put your groceries in. You couldn’t get them to use plastic bags. Then in the late 70′s or early 80′s the push was on to ask your grocer to put your groceries into plastic bags. I believe it was being pushed by big oil and plastics manufacturers.

There were commercials on television about how much better plastic bags were for the environment than paper bags. There was propaganda about how quickly the sun would break down plastic bags if they were dumped on the side of the road. The downside to paper bags was if they got damp because of condensate or rain, they would tear open and the bottles which were made of glass then would break. So, people just blindly accepted the plastic bags.

I was against using plastic bags from the beginning. I didn’t believe they were good for the environment, but I also had family employed in the paper bag industry.

Who stands to gain from this push to get away from plastic bags. Someone will end up putting a lot of money in their pocket. Never believe that anything being pushed for in this country is just for the good of the country. Money talks! You can’t always find out where it goes, but if you can follow the money, you will find out why things were done.

Just look at former Vice President Al Gore. He’s getting super rich by selling people on Global Warming. Well now, it’s Global Weather Changes because of all of the record low temperatures. The SUN is more responsible for our weather than anything man can ever do.
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