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In Mayor’s Plan, the Plastic Bag Will Carry a FeeBy DAVID W. CHENPublished: November 6, 2008In its struggle to make New York more green, the Bloomberg administration has tried discouraging people from using plastic bags. It has taken out ads beseeching residents to use cloth bags and set up recycling bins for plastic bags at supermarkets.But now the carrots have been put away, and the stick is out: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has called for charging shoppers 6 cents for every plastic bag needed at the register.If the proposal passes, New York City would follow the lead of many European countries and become one of the first places in the United States to assess a so-called plastic bag tax.Seattle voters will weigh in on a similar measure next year, and other places, like Los Angeles and Dallas, have studied the idea.
Although generally my personal convictions tend against government regulations like this, I have to applaud Mayor Bloomberg for suggesting this program. One can only hope it will pass--and that every other city, town, and municipality in the country will follow his lead.Why would someone against government regulation applaud such a suggestion? NATIONAL SECURITY.As one commentor noted, plastic bags are made from oil. They are one of the many, many non-essential things we take for granted, but which require us to be beholden to other countries for OIL. Each little step we can take to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil is a step in the right direction, and certainly follows in line with the policies suggested by our President-Elect.Other programs that might help us eliminate this dependence would be buy-back programs for plastic bottles and containers. How about a deposit return for each plastic bottle or container brought back to the local grocery store?Or, incentive recycling programs which encourage consumers to return their plastic office supplies, like pens, desk trays, and binders, to the store where they bought them?How about charging consumers 6 cents more per plastic container bought, and giving discounts on reusable and recyclable glass?With each of these small changes, we could slowly reduce our use of oil for non-essential purposes.If we could succeed with these changes, we could then move on to eliminating our need for sources of energy that are produced domestically that pollute our world, such as coal. I'd love to see a regulation which bans the use of incandescent lighting in homes, except in essential applications, and requires the change-over to compact flourescent bulbs. According to a recent Frontline special, this ALONE would eliminate the need for more than 20 new coal fired plants.Imagine what regulations requiring businesses to have motion sensor lights would do! No more useless lights lighting empty rooms at night would mean an end to wasted energy.The possibilities and gains from programs like this would do a LOT to eliminate our need for foreign oil and energy sources which pollute our environment. What a GREAT and SAFE nation we would be with more regulations like this.And, it's so easy to make the change: We can easily live without plastic bags to protect our nation. It's a simple and small act of patriotism. Plus, we might see some really hip cotton and cloth "freedom bags" with Americana themes that would allow people to show-off their patriotic act of ditching plastic!— Leslie Spornberger Jones, Athens, GA.
JUST EXTRA POLISH. I DO SOME WORK WITH EXCELL SO I KEEP THE CAPS LOCK ON :-P
When are the people going to get to vote on this?
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