Philadelphia is looking to ban plastic bags, because they are environmentally unfriendly, and people litter. But are they? Paper production is not exactly green, and neither is recycling paper. Both are pretty energy intensive process that are laden with hazardous chemicals.
Councilman Jim “F*** you” Kenney will also be touting a bill to ban Styrofoam food containers.   Again, it’s not like paper production is an environmentally friendly process.
Perhaps city council should consider a bill mandating that shoppers bring their own burlap sacks, and that diners eat everything they order. That would be more environmentally friendly, but then again, why actually be environmentally friendly, when you can pass a bill that will make people think you are.  If there’s one thing the city politicians are good at, it’s offering the illusion of action.
“… ban plastic bags, because they are environmentally unfriendly”
So are rocks, water, newspapers, light bulbs – almost anything you can think of, if not in its proper place. I happen to like plastic bags, largely because I can take up to six of them into the house at a time vs two paper and rain does not leave me carrying loose items. And I reuse them.
Reminds me of two things immediately. Yesterday, police in one UK area announced they will be using their CCTV recordings to bust smokers who discard cigarettes outside pubs – now that they are not allowed to do so inside. And one town I used to live in over several years first banned burning leaves/grass (OK, I can see that), then passed a law that such must be in 50-gallon paper sacks, then that these sacks would not be collected with the trash, and finally that you could not even bring them to the dump yourself. I never did figure out what to do with them, moved that year.