Texas' Attempt to Ban Plastic Bag Bans Fails!

I am happy to announce with that the attempt by two Texas Legislators to limit local rule on plastic bag ordinances has failed in the Texas Legislature leaving local communities able to tackle plastic pollution on their own terms!  This was the result of a joint effort by all 5 Texas Chapters of the Surfrider Foundation and the Texas Campaign for the Environment.

This now leaves the door open for proposed plastic bag bans in Austin, Corpus Christi and Galveston to be passed and join South Padre Island, Brownsville and Fort Stockton as communities that have adopted plastic bag bans in an effort to reduce litter and plastics litter in their areas!  The passage of more plastic bag ordinances within the state of Texas is now imperative in the next 2 years so that Texas Legislators that supported the ban on plastic bag bans will be forced to defend actions that were taken in their districts to take care of their environment.

Ironically, Senator Troy Fraser who introduced the Senate version of the plastic bag ordinance ban was named as one of Texas Monthly's worst legislators for the 82nd Texas Legislative Session.  He actually introduced legislation that would give incentive to grow the states burgeoning solar energy industry but then failed to support the legislation himself.

A Sea Turtle's Bag

For those of you that refuse to believe that plastic bags have a direct effect on marine life see below.  This turtle was rescued by Sea Turtle, Inc. on South Padre Island.  The volunteer is having to aid the animal in passing the bag.  Most turtles are not so lucky to have assistance and end up dying. 

Yes.  This is a REAL turtle attempting to pass a REAL plastic shopping bag it consumed

Thanks to the hospital at Sea Turtle, Inc. this Sea Turtle will survive its mistake.  Most aren't so lucky.

Pass on the bag so another Sea Turtle won't have to!

Greatest Generation Had It Right. So What Happened?

We have a lot to learn from our Grandparents.  I find myself in awe with my Grandmother, Nana as I have known her my entire life.  She is the strongest and most opinionated woman I have ever met.  She isn't going to sugar coat anything when it comes to her beliefs.  Why not, she grew up in the Great Depression and watched all of her Brothers sail off to the Pacific in World War II.  She even tried to get certified to ferry B-17 bombers to Europe but luckily the war ended and ALL of her brothers came home to start their new lives.  The great life stories she tells only begin there!

To wrap her up in one sentence, my Dad used to say, "Nana can spit further and shoot straighter than any man alive and will prove it at the drop of a hat."  That being said, she is the essence of a truly radiant, polished and kind Texas woman.

That's a long intro for this post but it is important because Nana is strong willed.  The times she grew up in in South Texas made her that way.  She has never, to my knowledge, backed down from a challenge and rising above plastics is a huge challenge, especially to older people.  The irony is it shouldn't have ever happened that this campaign ever came about.  They already had it right!

Nana grew up in the Great Depression and World War II.  This time in America was all about living on very little and wasting nothing.  People were asked to collect scrap metal, tires, cans, to not drive, grow their own gardens.  Even cooking fat had value to be recycled for explosives.  Nana has told us multiple times of when they would get a stick of chewing gum as kids, it was such a big deal that they would stick it on their headboards when they went to sleep at night and chew it again the next day!

To use something once and throw it away was seen as not being a patriotic American and though times were very difficult, the people that came out were proud, not wasteful and saved everything!

My Grandmother now hates the fact that the City of San Antonio makes her recycle.  What?!  They even provide a large bin and sort it for her.  When you look back on the beginning of this post, you would think that recycling is at the core of her being. After all, she grew up doing it.  Do not get me wrong, this one aspect of her personality does not diminish her in my eyes at all.  I am just wanting to know what happened.  The woman still uses cloth napkins for crying out loud at just about every meal and then washes them! It doesn't jive.  

So what did happen to us in the few decades since the galvanizing of the "Greatest Generation". We got lazy and single use plastics led the way!  Why wash the dishes when you could use a paper plate or cup and throw it away?  Why have to use a soggy paper plate or cup when you could use the newer and stronger plastic ones?  Why go through the effort of taking that case of returnable glass bottles back to the store for that 5 cent refund when you could just get your soda in a convenient can or plastic bottle that can just be discarded when done?  Finally and the biggest one, why drink that "filthy" tap water out of the faucet or fountain when you can carry this "cleaner" and more stylish water around in a convenient SINGLE USE PLASTIC BOTTLE?

The "Rise Above Plastics" campaign is simple in concept and is one of the most challenging things you will ever do in life at the same time.  Breaking the habit of those plastic bottles and bags is hard and anyone who says any different is not being honest.  In fact, you have no real concept of just how much single use plastics have become a part of your life and our society until you decide to make that break.  It can be done though.

"Rise Above Plastics" is an attempt to get us back to where we were just 6 decades ago.  Our Grandparents and parents had it right.  It was good and patriotic to not produce so much waste and to reuse things.  Now through some twisted flip of the script businesses, lobbyists and politicians have convinced us that it is now oppressive and wrong to want our society to go back to the days before we threw away 215 plastic bottles per person in the United States a year.  That's 66 BILLION bottles annually!  There is something inherently wrong with that line of logic.

If you have not already started or tried, today is your day to go retro and emulate part of the greatness of the "Greatest Generation".  They did it.  My Grandmother still does it on some levels without even realizing it. Remember those cloth napkins?  I'm working with her on the other stuff but when I say strong willed, I am not kidding around.  It will be hard and you will stumble and forget your reusable bags or your reusable bottle or coffee cup but we all make mistakes AND we all become better as we move on from them.  Rehabilitate your life and feel good doing it.

Today is your day to start rising above plastics!!

Real Reason Coke Is Not Ditching BPA.

As a side note to the below article, I would like to comment that to this day, you can go into Mexico and buy and exchange your Coca-Cola, Topo Chico and yes, beer bottles any day of the week.  Unfortunately for myself and them, I am no longer willing to risk being caught in the cross fire of a firefight between the Mexican Military and the Drug Cartels to do this.  Yes, a country that is in the midst of a turmoil that we hopefully will never know here, still has a returnable bottle program that spreads across international borders and works.

From the April 29th article, " The Real Reason Coca-Cola Isn't Ditching Bisphenol A" at Treehugger by Lloyd Alter

"The REAL reason that Coke isn't talking is that they know perfectly well what the real answer is to the issue of how to get rid of BPA in cans: bring back the returnable bottle system that they have spent fifty years trying to destroy. As I noted in my post Recycling is Bullshit, the switch to disposables has enabled Coke to centralize production, eliminate the independent bottlers that served each community or region, and ship the stuff around the country on the interstates paid for by the taxpayers.

They have become hugely profitable because they have shifted the cost of taking back and dealing with the container from the company to Ariel and me and everyone else who pays for the garbage pickup, the landfill and the recycling costs.

Right now, there is no proven, reliable replacement for Bispenol A epoxies for acidic products like tomatoes or Coke. If people want to stop being exposed to it, they should demand returnable, refillable glass bottles. The stuff tastes better in it anyways."

Read the entire story here.

Texas Lege Attempts To Ban Plastic Bag Bans!

There are two bills in the Texas Legislature right now that represent what is wrong with our political "discourse" as of late.  They also do a hell of a job pointing out the hypocrisy that political parties regularly generate.

Senator Troy Fraser

Rep. Kelly Hancock

Everyone in Texas (Conservative, Liberal, Tea Party, Independent) should immediately contact their Texas State Senators and Representatives and ask them to strike out the last line of SB908 and HB1913.  These bills are 95% good (encouraging the recycling of plastic shopping bags and offering of reusable bags), but the two lawmakers that are sponsoring them, District 24 Senator Troy Fraser and  District 91 Representative Kelly Hancock, have decided to slide in a restrictive clause in the bill that would limit local community rights by not allowing them to enact any local ordinances that would conflict with these bills.  Some,myself among them, interpret this to mean that  Texas towns and counties will not be able to draft and implement plastic bag bans, fees or other ordinances that would aid in the reduction of litter in their area.

The reason that an environmental conscious person should object to the restrictions on their local governments is obvious.  Encouraging the recycling of plastic bags is nice but is really almost completely ineffectual and almost non existent.  These bags end up in our streets and gutters; clogging them up.  Those that get through the gutters move on to our lakes, rivers and oceans to finally end up being consumed by marine animals and birds that mistake them for food.

Only 1%-9% of plastic bags are recycled annually.  In addition the recyclables commodity market does not exactly encourage the recycling of plastic bags by private industry and is a huge loss for anyone who attempts it.  According to the Clean Air Council, it costs $1,000 to recycle one ton of plastic bags which can be turned around and sold for $32.  Not really a great cost benefit ratio there, huh?  Therefor it is obvious that we should reduce the amount and usage of these bags through bans on these bags being distributed at stores or by implementing fees that will discourage the use of the bags encourage reusable bags but still provide funding for those cities and towns to clean up the current plastic litter problem they are facing.

What if you think, despite the above information, that plastic bag bans, fees and other ordinances are not the answer and consumers should have the option of plastic bags and then recycle and reuse them?  Well, these bills seek to usurp local community's rights to enact laws and regulations that they feel would address their plastic and other litter issues.  Whether these laws end up being a ban, a fee or even an expanded recycling program- shouldn't those communities have THAT choice to tackle their problem?  After all the solution will be debated on the local level and not dictated by a lawmaker in Austin.

Isn't this what many of the Conservatives ran on to ride the wave of conservative change into the Texas Legislature in 2010?  They told their constituents that they, like them, were tired of being told what to do by the ever expanding state and federal government and they would protect the rights of their constituents to make their own choices for their communities and themselves.  The very fact that HB1913 and SB908 seek to limit these local powers is a slap in the face to these principles that conservative candidates  like Representative Hancock and Senator Fraser expounded on to get into office.  As a Conservative or Tea Party member, you should be outraged and send a message to them and your own local Legislators to leave your community alone and  let you decide these issues at the local level!

I urge you to please contact your local Texas State Representative and Senator and tell them to oppose HB1913 and SB908 and stop this attempt by the Texas Legislature to take away your local rights to enact laws that would benefit your communities!  Click on the link below to utilize a resource created by the Surfrider Foundation that will direct you to your Law Maker and help you send a letter to them today!

Don't Limit Local Rule on Plastics

Middle School Students Say 'No More Styrofoam!'

Kids can seem to cut right through the point with clear thoughts and emotional appeal. Students from Thomas Starr King Middle School in Los Angeles prove that with their passion against plastic, in this case polystyrene, aka styrofoam.

The good folks at www.good.is recently featured their story of disposable lunch trays that are used at alarming rates. Large school districts can go through millions of them in one school year. Small steps can lead to big change. Check out the full story for their school project to raise awareness.

What is 'Rise Above Plastics' by Angela Howe.

Surfrider Foundation's Legal Manager Angela Howe talking about the "Rise Above Plastics" Campaign, it's far reaching battles and victories and how you can plug in on a local level!

Taylor's Plastic Story

7 year old Taylor helped her Mom clean up litter this year in Port Aransas, Texas. What resulted is below.

The Story of Bottled Water

From the Story of Stuff Project, "The Story of Bottled Water"......

Brownsville, TX Bans The Bag!

Brownsville, Texas has become the first city in the state of Texas to successfully pass a plastic bag ban ordinance. I will be the first to admit that I was blown away when I heard that they had actually pulled this off. It took them two years of hard work to do so and I would like to congratulate the City for their efforts!

The ordinance (below) sets up a one year voluntary compliance with a mandatory compliance to go into effect in 2011. It allows for the use of reusable cloth bags, approved biodegradable plastic bags and recyclable paper bags to be used in the place of the traditional plastic bags that we have become accustomed to. It also sets up an advisory committee to oversee the implementation and enforcement of the new ordinance.

After talking with local Lower Laguna Madre area officials in the City of South Padre Island and Port Isabel, it seems that they are very interested in moving forward on a similar law in order to protect our Laguna Madre, Gulf of Mexico and their beaches from the dangers and negative effects of what has been popularly called Texas' new tumbleweeds.

A Visualization of the North Pacific Garbage Gyre

Taken from GOOD Magazine , May 12, 2009

Transparency: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
(Click on Image for link)

Gyre Illustration by Jacob Magraw-Mickelson

Plastic Wave By Kathleen Egan

Thanks to Jim for making us aware of this awesome video!



The Plastic Wave from Mark Lukach on Vimeo.

PLASTICFAIL

The Surfrider Foundation Portland Chapter Chair Stiv Wilson has just launched a new blog to help raise awareness of the impact of plastic pollution on the world's oceans!

PLASTICFAIL is based on the idea that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Stiv is currently looking for entries for the picture blog. So if you have a great photo or video link showing plastic's impact on our environment please send it to Stiv with your name and a very short entry and he will get it posted.

All Your Fault

I tend to pay attention to issues and subjects when I am entertained by the media that is presenting them. In my opinion, the best form of entertainment is comedy because it tends to cause an individual to disarm themselves, drop their barriers and keep their attention. It also leaves an indelible imprint in their mind to be drawn upon later. This is especially true when dealing with social issues.

I came across the following video on Youtube. It was done by Australian Darcy Pendergast who is a past winner of the Nestle Big Break Contest. While he may take some artistic liberties in historical events, the video's message is clear, concise and effective!

More Moore!

The more that I read, the more that I realize that recycling is not the answer but reduction in consumption is. What is already out there in our oceans can never be cleaned up and the only course of action is to stop using the single use plastic. Stop using throw away utensils, plates, shopping bags, water, soft-drink and sport-drink bottles.

To quote a friend of mine, "It is like bailing out a sinking ship with a teacup!".

Quite honestly, I still flub up here and there, but if you do not think that we as individuals need to change our consumption and disposal habits then please watch the following presentation from TED by Captain Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation.

Captain Charles Moore
February 2009

South Texas Chapter Scores Plastics Victory

The newest of the Surfrider Foundation's Texas Chapter Network, the South Texas Chapter, has scored a victory in the fight against the littering of our ocean with plastics, coastal armoring and enforcing the Texas Open Beaches Act.

Since the 2005 tropical season events of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico, the La Quinta Hotel on South Padre Island, Texas has been doing everything it could think of to keep the Gulf back. The La Quinta was, depending on who you ask, knowingly or unknowingly built past the critical dune line and in an erosional hot spot. Even though the 2005 hurricanes made landfall far north of South Padre, the barrier island experienced strong storm surges which resulted in the acceleration of erosion of the beach in front of the La Quinta.


The owner's response was to illegally start stacking thousands of polypropylene sandbags in front if his retaining wall, cover them with sand, plant some vegetation and call it a sand dune. This was done without the required beach construction permits that the Texas General Land Office and Town's Beach and Dune Task Force required to do so. Not to mention that the placement of plastics onto the beach is considered an illegal landfill by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.


Complaints were made with initially very little response or action by the GLO or the Town. However after the surge by Hurricane Ike caused the dune to wash out and spill the whole, partial and sun-rotted plastic sandbags into the public beach easement and Gulf of Mexico complaints increased and the GLO and TCEQ took notice.







Below is the letter addressing South Padre Island's Coastal Resources Manager, who has helped us with this issue, from the Texas General Land Office notifying La Quinta of its violations of the Texas Open Beaches Act, Dune Protection Act and South Padre Island's Beach and Dune Protection Plan and warning the Town to enforce its approved beach and dune plan by having the La Quinta remove all of the polypropylene sandbags or risk losing Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act Funding.

January 26,2009

Via Electronic Mail

The General Land Office (GLO) received several complaints concerning the placement of sand bags on and adjacent to the public beach at 7000 Padre Blvd seaward of the La Quinta Hotel in the Town of South Padre Island (Town). The location of the sand bags are less than 1,000 feet landward of the mean high tide line and seaward of the Town's dune protection line adopted by the Town of South Padre Island Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan October 5, 1994 (1994 Plan). The placement of the sand bags, within the beachfront construction/dune protection area requires a Beachfront Construction Certificate and Dune Protection Permit. The GLO has no record of reviewing an application for a Beachfront Construction Certificate and Dune Protection Permit for the placement of the sand bags. If the Town issued a building permit for the construction of the sand bags without GLO review of a Beachfront Construction Certificate and a Dune Protection Permit (if required), it has violated the terms of the 1994 Plan certified as consistent with state law at 3 1 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 5 15.30.

The placement of the sand bags on the public beach easement and construction of a shore protection project without a certificate or permit are direct violations of the Open Beaches Act ,Dune Protection Act, Beach/Dune Rules and the 1994 Plan. The Town of South Padre Island must enforce the provisions within the 1994 Plan or the GLO may make a determination of non-compliance with the local plan. If the Town does not address the issue of non-compliance, the GLO may determine that the town is not adequately administering its local plan, which could jeopardize the Town's ability to receive state funds from the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act (CEPRA). Our CEPRA project manager is currently looking at options to assist in the placement of sand in this area. The placement of beach quality sand is an acceptable erosion response project. Other options include the placement of a natural dune or a Town sponsored shore protection project in accordance with the Beach/Dune and Coastal Coordination Council Rules.

Sincerely,


Eddie Fisher
Director, Coastal Stewardship
Coastal Resources Division

Mexico's Plastic Bag Reformation Proposal

It looks as if the Distrito Federal de Mexico or Mexico City is considering a plastic bag ban in the city's mercantile production establishments! The reformation proposal was recently unanimously passed by the Commissions of Science, Technology and Environment and Ecological Protection of the Assembly.If this is truly the case and Mexico is able to implement the proposal as law, this would be a huge step for the country as a whole.

As one who has traveled many, many times from Brownsville, Texas to the Pacific Coast of the Mexican Mainland by bus and by car, the amount of plastic bags that can be seen blowing through the streets, air and down the mountainsides that line the side of the route down to my favorite surf spots blows my mind! Many times the bags can be seen in huge refuse piles in the villages along the coast breaking up in the sun's ultraviolet light and blowing down into the rivers and ocean.

I hope that this reformation proposal does become law and is the first step in the cleansing of a truly beautiful country!

Click here to read the "Prensa Latina" article announcing the proposal!

Helping Barney Take Care of His Pelagic Bretheren!

I find that a reason that many people use to keep plastic shopping bags around is that they are needed to dispose of their pet waste. When they leave the house or apartment they grab a couple of "old" plastic grocery bags and take Barney out to get some exercise and do his business. Well how exactly are Barney, his poo and you affecting our earth and oceans?

• Estimates vary, but between 500 BILLION and 1 TRILLION plastic bags are consumed annually worldwide.
• According to the Wall Street Journal, the United States consumes 100 billion plastic shopping bags which take an estimated 12 million barrels of oil to produce.
• Plastic bags contribute to the deaths of an estimated 100,000 plus sea turtles, seals, whales and dolphins every year and an estimated 1 million seabirds! Refer to the previous posting to see just how big of an impact this has made in Manhattan Beach, California
• Plastic bags are among the 12 most common things found in Marine Debris

So what if Barney doesn't want to do damage to our oceans every time nature calls? Don't worry there is hope for you and Barney! Yes, there is an alternative for using plastic bags to dispose of pet waste. There are now pet waste bags that are made out of water soluble PVA film. This allows you to take Barney for his walk, let him do his business, pick up after him and then flush the waste down YOUR toilet, NOT the local storm drain. The bag dissolves in the water in less than a minute and the fecal matter is sent to your local water treatment plant where it can be properly handled and treated!

A company that I have recently started buying these bags from is ECOmmitted and the bags are called "Flush Puppies"!

Power to The Children!

I am a firm believer in the power of children.

Their minds are open to new ideas and new ways of seeing the world around them. For a child it is often simply black or white and right or wrong. They couldn't care less about industry lobbyists, political wrangling or economics, they just want a cleaner, better planet to live on.

This article from Canada's Globeandmail.com dated November 12 illustrates this very well. A group of sixth graders armed with a poster, a petition and facts headed down to city hall to have their voices heard along with lobbyists and activists!

Students call for ban on plastic bags

Grade 6 class will appear at City Hall as council debates 10-cent discount for going bag-free

JEFF GRAY

With a report from Jennifer Lewington

November 12, 2008

Look out, you plastics and fast-food industry lobbyists trying to shoot down a city crackdown on packaging waste: A group of precocious, well-researched 11-year-olds in sweater vests and kilts has you in its sights and wants the city to go even further, demanding a ban on plastic bags.

MORE.....

Canada's Possible Plastic Baby Bottle Ban

Canada says BPA toxic, to ban baby bottles with it

By CHARMAINE NORONHA – Oct 18, 2008

TORONTO (AP) — Canada declared a chemical widely used in food packaging a toxic substance on Saturday and will now move to ban plastic baby bottles containing bisphenol A.

The toxic classification, issued in the Canada Gazette, makes Canada the first country to classify the chemical commonly used in the lining of food cans, eyeglass lenses and hundreds of household items, as risky.

"Many Canadians...have expressed their concern to me about the risks of bisphenol A in baby bottles," Environment Minister John Baird said in a statement. "Today's confirmation of our ban on BPA in baby bottles proves that our government did the right thing in taking action to protect the health and environment for all Canadians."

Canada's announcement came six months after its health ministry labeled BPA as dangerous. Health Minister Tony Clement said a report on bisphenol A has found the chemical endangers people, particularly newborns and infants, and the environment, citing concerns that the chemical in polycarbonate products and epoxy linings can migrate into food and beverages.

Baby bottles frequently contain BPA, used to harden plastic and make it shatterproof.

Several U.S. states are considering restricting BPA use, some manufacturers have begun promoting BPA-free baby bottles, and some stores are phasing out baby products containing the chemical. Wal-Mart Canada and other major retailers in Canada in recent months have begun removing BPA-based food-related products such as baby bottles and sipping cups from store shelves.

The scientific debate over BPA could drag on for years. The European Union and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration say the chemical is safe. However, the FDA is awaiting word from a scientific panel expected to deliver an independent risk assessment later this month.

The chemicals industry maintains that polycarbonate bottles contain little BPA and leach traces considered too low to harm humans.

Robert Brackett, chief science officer for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said Friday that Canada's precautionary action regarding the use of BPA is disproportional to the risk determined by public health agencies.

The biggest concern with this widely used chemical, traces of which can be found in more than 90 percent of Americans, has been over BPA's possible effects on reproductive development and hormone-related problems.