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THE ENVIRONMENT VERSUS THE ECONOMY.
MUST THERE BE A LOSER?
Are we going to ban every product that has an environmental impact? Where does that road end? Don't ALL products have an environmental impact? Should we ban them all?
Our concern is that many people who care about the environment do not care about the economy. We need solutions that can protect both.
We recommend that you click here for a thought-provoking article that is relevant to this debate. We are not saying the article is right or wrong. Just thought-provoking.
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REALITY CHECK.
IS THE SAN FRANCISCO PLASTIC BAG BAN
HARMING THE ENVIRONMENT?
Plastic bags are banned in San Francisco. Most San Franciscans use paper bags instead, not reusable bags.
The bags in the photo were picked up as you see them at a Trader Joe's in San Francisco. Notice the double bagging. Paper handles are so weak that double bagging is necessary. Notice also that the bags are half-filled. Trader Joe's offers a paper bag like these even for a single item.
Paper bags are far worse for the environment than plastic bags. Paper bags result in 3.3 times more greenhouse gas emissions than plastic bags. Paper bags use up 2.5 times more landfill space than plastic bags. Not to mention the trees.
Paper bags weigh about 10 times more than plastic bags and require more fuel to carry to stores.
Isn't a lightweight, compact, energy efficient plastic bag better than this?
In California, plastic bags can be returned to stores for recycling.
Has the San Francisco ban improved the environment or harmed it?
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EXPOSING THE ANTI-PLASTIC BAG
MISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN
An editorial in the London Times states:
"Many of those who have demonized plastic bags have enlisted scientific study to their cause. By exaggerating a grain of truth into a larger falsehood, they spread misinformation and abuse the trust of their unwitting audiences."
- As a result of misinformation, many people believe that NOT TRUE. The London Times has exposed this as a myth based on a typographical error! The report on which the myth is based mentioned discarded nets, not plastic bags. (Click here.)
- As a result of misinformation, many people believe that plastic bags are made of oil. NOT TRUE. They are made of ethane which is a waste product from domestically produced natural gas. If the ethane is not used to make plastic bags, it will have to be burned off. (Click here.)
- As a result of misinformation, many people believe that plastic bags are not recyclable. NOT TRUE. Special plastic bag recycling bins have been installed in large supermarkets and retail stores throughout California since 2007. Virtually all of the plastic bags deposited in those bins are actually recycled. (Click here.)
- As a result of misinformation, many people believe that plastic bags "clog up" landfills. NOT TRUE. According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, plastic bags (including retail bags) use up only 0.4% of landfill space. (Click here.)
- As a result of misinformation, many people believe that NOT TRUE. Decomposing paper in landfills produces methane which is a greenhouse gas with 23 times the heat trapping power of CO2. (Click here.)
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As a result of misinformation, many people believe that paper bags are better for the environment than plastic bags. NOT TRUE. Paper bags result in 3.3 times more greenhouse gases than plastic bags and require much more fuel to transport. (Click here.)
Unfortunately, plastic bags are not the only victims of environmentalists playing fast and loose with the facts. Click here for another egregious example in which an independent body found that the National Park Service had "selectively presented, over-interpreted, or misrepresented the available scientific information on potential impacts" of an oyster farm. The Inspector General of the U.S. Department of the Interior accused the National Park Service of exaggerating data. The subject matter may be different, but the methods are the same. Some environmentalists simply don't care about the truth.
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MISINFORMATION IS BEING SPREAD
ABOUT PLASTIC BAGS AND LITTER
Two Los Angeles County Supervisors have published an article in the LA Times stating: "About $375 million each year is spent in California on cleanups and other efforts to mitigate the environmental effect of disposable bags, costing each household about $200."
The statement is NOT TRUE. It is utterly absurd. Simple arithmetic proves them wrong:
- The California population is 36.4 million.
- $375 million divided by 36.4 million is $10.30 per person.
Moreover, the $375 million figure is apparently the entire California cleanup budget for ALL litter and litter related programs. Plastic bags are only a very small percentage of total litter. The Supervisors are willfully ignoring cigarette butts (the biggest source of litter), cans, bottles, newspapers, etc.
Other anti-plastic bag activists also routinely attribute all litter cleanup to plastic bags. This is intentional misrepresentation.
Click here for a link to the Supervisors' article and our full response.
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AN AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY UNDER THREAT
85% of plastic bags used in the United States are manufactured in the United States. Taxing or banning plastic carryout bags will result in the direct loss of approximately 4,000 American jobs, including in California. In addition, there will be thousands of resin and distribution company job losses.
Destroying an American manufacturing industry based on myths and misinformation is irresponsible, absurd, and tragic.
Destroying American jobs during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression is unconscionable in the extreme.
Most reusable bags are made in China, including those sold by Trader Joe's, Safeway and Whole Foods.
Los Angeles-based plastic bag manufacturer employees visiting the California Senate. They are deeply worried about the misinformation being spread about plastic bags.
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Thanks to Natural News Network/Mike Adams
for permission to use the above cartoon.
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THE CITIZENS REVOLT!
The City of Seattle recently passed an ordinance imposing a 20 cent fee on plastic and paper bags. This was a highly unpopular move in the city. Now the citizens are fighting back!
The City Clerk sorts through the petitions.
Will the politicians get the message?The city verified a sufficient number of the signatures. The ordinance will be subject to a citizen's referendum in August 2009.
Remember the Boston Tea Party!
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In California, 58% oppose a 25 cent plastic bag tax
More than two-thirds of those polled in
Los Angeles and San Diego oppose the tax
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In Seattle, 63% oppose a plastic bag ban
74% of plastic bag users oppose a tax
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