Reading some of the responses to a recent editorial at the Rocky Mountain News, one of the things that strikes me the most is the chest-thumping, “I’m gonna do what I want” mentality of boorish, conservative idiots who feel that the environment is merely something that gets scraped off the bottom of their shoes.
The hue and cry of this crowd revolves around some sort of mentality that believes someone is trying to take away their freedom, as though using a plastic grocery bag is the ultimate expression of personal liberty and guaranteed by the constitution. It is this sort of mentality that gives us such intellectual responses as:
“You get my plastic bags when you pry them from my dead cold fingers. Go away you nannyists.”
“God save us from the poor, misguided, misinformed ‘tree-huggers’ and global-warming nuts.”
“Require the people DEMANDING that we TAX plastic bag use WEAR one on their head. With a zip tie around the neck.”
“The watermelon enviros strike again. Green on the outside, red on the inside. … If the enviros want to save the earth, go visit the third world, like china, and attack their horrible pollution problems. Please leave us alone!”
Are you then saying that if China and other countries decide to start addressing their environmental impact that you would be okay with figuring out how to address the impact of our plastic bags? Why not set the example instead of being a follower all the time?
“I refuse to recycle. … I use plastic bags and throw them in the garbage. I drive a car and only worry about emissions at inspection time. … I intentionally try to put as much carbon back into the environment that I can. I refuse to yeild the road I pay taxes to keep up to bicycles.”
This guy probably drives a Hummer as well.
“Just like good little brainwashed commie watermelons… Algore’s religion is not far removed from the Hitlerjugend…”
“if the people don’t start ganging up against this fascist green movement, we are going to have even worse problems than now.”
Trying to solve the environmental problem posed by the use of plastic bags (or paper bags, for that matter) isn’t some effort to invoke a nanny state—it’s an attempt to get “We the People” to make an honest effort to do better for ourselves, the community in which we live, and those who will inherit what we have wrought.
To those who are so vehemently opposed to this proposal, I wonder if they have ever complained about the value of their property? What has been done about it? What has been done to improve their corner of the world? When dealing with a problem and it comes to sitting on one’s hands or doing something, which do they choose? What if “doing something” isn’t perfect the first time? Do they just go back to sitting on their hands? Or do they try to come up with something better?
What is it that really drives their hatred of the environment? What is it that causes them to actively oppose anything in society that doesn’t meet their narrow view of the world?
Or do they really just hate to do anything that requires change?
What is the real assault on America? People with a mentality that says “I can do whatever I want.” No one can force anyone to change their ways. But if you have reaped any benefit whatsoever from living in the U.S., then you have an obligation to every other citizen to do your part in making something better than what you started with.
Spare the “extremism in defense of liberty” trope, because it has little appreciation for the responsibilities that go along with liberty. For a government to protect individual liberty at the expense of every other citizen is a worthless endeavor by any standard. You insist on an unfettered right to express your individual liberty? Cut yourself off from society completely: Quit your job, leave the city, go into the wilderness, and eke a living off the land, with no benefit from anyone. No roads, no public services (e.g., garbage collection, electricity, water, etc.), no stores, nothing—like Ted Kaczynski. Until then, you’re part of what’s going on here and you have an obligation to not take a dump in someone else’s yard.
1 response so far ↓
1 Becca // Feb 1, 2009 at 7:26 am
So how about this:
Target bags, period. Paper and plastic.
Incentivize stores to encourage shoppers to use their own bags. For example, establish a tax credit that is 1% of a store’s total profit. The more the store reduces disposable bags, the bigger credit the store gets. Or something along those lines.
Don’t get rid of the bags altogether. They still come in handy when someone forgets their reusable bag or they have more groceries than will fit into their reusable bags.
Educate/encourage re-use of existing bags. I currently use paper bags to empty my shredder. This conveniently puts all paper recyclables into a single unit.
Develop biodegradable materials for the current common uses of plastic bags (dog/cat waste)
It’s not a complete solution, but its a start.
You must log in to post a comment.