You see the difference....A turtle does not...

[Playinghardball]

I want plastic bags banned NOW!!

[joeybee12]

1. We treat a lot of creatures horribly, but it seems we're especially bad to tortoises...

all those freaking Florida condos built on traditional nesting grounds...the newly hatched guys have only a few minutes to get into the water or die, and the condos and all their lights disorient them...predators are waiting, some aren't strong enough, and then we get into the mix as well.

[Boom Sound 416]

6. They are pretty well protected on the beaches

Forest folks build barricades around the nests and they are monitored. Very common to see that.

Jupiter, Fl has a rehab facility as well

[upaloopa]

2. I have no problem doing without plastic

bags. We carry cloth bags in the car because some places we shop no longer use plastic bags or charge extra for them.
But I wonder if plastic bags look like that in the sea. I would think they would be deflated. And the jelly fish I see are not as big as a inflated plastic bag would be.

[NYC_SKP]

3. Plastic bags are now allowed in my new community.

I get by quite nicely, keep a bunch of reusables in my car.

In my old community, they may be here forever unless the state or federal laws come to be.

[marions ghost]

23. It is a terrible problem

Loggerhead turtles eat a wide variety of marine debris such as plastic bags, plastic and styrofoam pieces, tar balls, balloons and raw plastic pellets. Effects of consumption include interference in metabolism or gut function, even at low levels of ingestion, as well as absorption of toxic byproducts. NMFS is currently analyzing stranding data and available necropsy information to determine the magnitude of debris ingestion and entanglement.

http://www.orf.org/turtles_loggerhead.htm

[Betsy Ross]

4. My personal solution: Resident Helps Others Get Rid of Plastic Bags

http://www.alamedasun.com/local-and-hometown/13054-14

[angstlessk]

5. Is there a petition to the Whitehouse?

I will sign

[pragmatic_dem]

7. This is a truly brilliant image that has power to change people nt

[A Little Weird]

8. I thought this thread was going to be about Mitch McConnell

[Jackpine Radical]

9. So did I.

[FSogol]

13. Am I a bad person if I place some plastic bags in McConnell's path?

[eppur_se_muova]

19. PhotoShop opportunity ! nt

[Chisox08]

20. Only if you place a piece of lettuce under the bag

[JohnnyRingo]

10. I'm not sure how you can go about banning them

Certainly, there has to be an alternative before we tell people they aren't allowed to put their products in a plastic bag. I guess there's old fashioned paper sacks, but then you'll run afoul of those who see mass deforestation as an even bigger issue.

Just telling people they have to make their own arrangements before they stop in a store will absolutely create more of a backlash than the outrage caused by environmental damage. Such a change will be slow in the making as educating people to the cause is prerequisite to implementing a ban. Public support must come before legislation, and citing turtles isn't going to do it.

I agree with you that's it's a problem. When I go to a Dollar General they put two items in a bag. I tell them I can easily carry my few items to the car without wasting a plastic yellow bag, but such is the culture that needs changed. It's been a while since someone even asked if I need a bag.

I'd say you have some years of PR work ahead if you want to eliminate plastic bags. As usual, California will be the first, but even that progressive state is a long way from requiring people to BYOB.

Maybe you have a solution I haven't considered? I'd be interested to hear how far you thought this out.

[BrotherIvan]

11. They are no longer offered in any stores in my area of SoCal and I think it's making a difference.

People are carrying around reusable bags. The stores charge 10 cents for a thicker bag if you forget yours. That adds up after a while. When I was in Denmark last year, they charged over $1 for each bag. That will teach you to have your reusable bag on hand right quick.

[TBF]

15. I keep a bunch of reusables in my car -

it's easier to remember to use them if you have them with you.

[Warpy]

26. I have a hook next to my front door

When I empty a bag, there it goes.

[TBF]

27. If bags were $1 each everyone

would have them handy.

[Warpy]

28. Not everyone

People struggling on minimum wage would have to take things home in pillowcases, if they have them, wearing those out ahead of schedule.

Carrots work a lot better than sticks do.

[TBF]

29. Good point -

how would you encourage the use of reusables then?

[Warpy]

30. First, raise wages

Without that, nothing will ever happen.

Second, subsidize the string and/or canvas bags for anyone on EIB or WIC.

THEN you can enact a dollar a bag penalty for not using reusables. Only make those penalty bags themselves reusable, at least short term.

[TBF]

31. All good ideas -

Sounds like a great plan and I am all for it.

[CBGLuthier]

16. After all, Jefferson raised crops of plastic bags right after inventing the leafblower

so the founding fathers must have been in favor of our inalienable right to use plastics however we see fit.

[roody]

17. They are no longer given out

in my N. California town.

[IronLionZion]

18. Reusable cloth, or biodegradable materials

Most grocery stores sell cloth bags now

in my county in MD and in nearby DC we have a tax on plastic bags. They have to ask if we want it. The self-checkout machines also charge for each bag you think you would need, and then a person will give you however many you paid for.

For some reason that I don't quite understand, stores like whole foods and wegmans wrap meat and fish in paper. Which I think is more wasteful and less convenient since the liquid soaks through so I end up grabbing a free plastic produce bag anyway.

[marions ghost]

24. Lots of places considering bans

it's coming. Not only for water protection but also for farming--they clutter up fields and ruin machinery.

http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/plastic-bag-legislation.aspx

[JohnnyRingo]

32. I figured it would pass locally in some places.

I think my point is that passing a federal law banning them nationwide is a long uphill battle that isn't even on the horizon. The OP wants them banned "now", and that was what I was responding to.

I can't imagine such a law getting heard on the House floor, and Obama is likely to save his executive orders for more pressing issues, like seating federal judges and election reform (hopefully). As I said, we'll know it's getting closer when California passes a state law, but that's probably years away.

Trust me, I'm no fan of plastic bags. I don't know what would happen if people stopped stockpiling them in the bottom kitchen drawer all at once. LOL

[marions ghost]

33. I can

just barely remember a time of no plastic shopping bags when I was a kid. People can easily survive without them. Many stores are giving away or selling for cheap those recycled plastic ones you can use over and over. Canvas is even better. Also nylon and string bags. There's no excuse for not using them. It's no hardship. If people would just refuse plastic bags at the store we wouldn't even need a ban.

But I hope California leads the way in banning them, because a lot won't do it unless they have to. Apparently Ireland's countryside was covered with them until they put a big tax on them. Now Ireland looks a whole lot better and the sea life has benefited.

America is always last in doing things for the common good. So discouraging.

[silverweb]

12. Plastic bags aren't banned here ... yet.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]But the ban is coming and it can't be too soon.

Here are two ways to get a jump on the coming demise of plastic bags:

[font face="Arial"]http://www.chicobag.com [font face="Verdana"]
I keep two of these in my purse and plan to buy more over time for major shopping trips. They're strong, compact, and nothing short of wonderful.

[font face="Arial"]http://www.biobagusa.com[font face="Verdana"]
For at-home wastebaskets, spend a little on certified biodegradable/compostable bags. I get mine at the local co-op, but they're also available on Amazon, E-Bay, and the manufacture's website.

There's no need to wait until laws are passed to make your personal commitment to stop using plastic bags.

[LiberalElite]

14. NYC Proposed Law

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/03/27/3419856/nyc-considers-ban-single-use-bags/

The New York City Council introduced legislation Wednesday that would charge customers 10 cents for plastic or paper bags at most city stores.

The fee would apply to grocery stores, bodegas, street vendors selling fruits and vegetables, as well as clothing, drug, and department stores. Shoppers would get a pass on take-out bags at restaurants, prescription bags at pharmacies and bags at liquor stores.

New Yorkers currently throw away 5.2 billion plastic bags per year, which costs the city $10 million a year to transport the waste to landfills. Plastic bags are also guilty of clogging up city storm drains, which exacerbates flooding. Plastic bags have a significant climate impact — in the U.S., plastic bags take about 12 million barrels of oil to produce each year. The bill is aiming for a 90 percent reduction in single-use bags.

This is not the first time such a ban has been proposed. Last August, council member Brad Lander sponsored similar legislation but that measure only garnered the support of eight council members and so never even made it to a vote.

[marions ghost]

34. New York needs to get behind this

People there would adapt easily with a bit of a push. Most people carry some type of bag anyway.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. The old style bio-frendly paper bags HOLD MORE.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

22. My cotton bag with handles holds as much

I live in the northwest where it rains, paper doesn't hold up well in the rain, the cotton bag holds at least four times the weight as paper, with no tearing and when it gets dirty, I just throw it in the washer, what could be easier.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. People used to use baskets before wheeled carts came out....

They took the basket home because it was their own basket.



They shopped more often too, especially in the days when an icebox was powered by ice.