California Bag Ban - HAMMER TIME!

OK – hammer time is upon us. I’m told that this week is THE week for action on the California Bag Ban, AB 1998 – your mission (f you choose to accept it) is to call your senator [list below] and tell them that you want them, NEED them to pass AB 1998 and PASS IT NOW.

Why? China, Mexico, Ireland (tax), Bangladesh, Zimbabwe (just did it!), Israel (tax), UAE have already banned these environmental scourges and the list of places that have goes on. California, #7 on the world GDP list (ahead of all but one of those listed above), sets progressive trends for the world and sports a stunning array of environmental jewels that need protection from the now-ubiquitous “urban tumbleweed” – not least of which is its famous, unmatched coastline. Single-use plastics are nothing more than INSTANT TRASH – we don’t need that cr*p!

Take a look around your world – how many discarded plastic shopping bags do you see strewn about? LOTS! Did you put them there? H***, NO! Do you think anyone did it on purpose? NOT LIKELY! In a nutshell, that’s the whole enchilada…pretty easy to understand – per their basic design flaw, these bags are genetically predisposed to a life of being unsightly, sea-animal-choking weapons against an innocent, unknowing environment. We’re all guilty for letting it get this bad – now is the time for us all to act!

OK Californians, if you’ve been on the sidelines (or if you’ve already made the calls), this is THE time to dial up your senator and tell them how you feel. Easier than you think – you won’t get a 20-question grilling, your taxes won’t go up and you can knock the call out on the walk between your car/bus/bike/skateboard and your office…and you can do it up to once a day. Tomorrow is a new (call) day!

So check the list below for your jurisdiction - these are the Senators that need to hear your voice – so, please, GIT ON IT! You’ll be glad you did (as will your neighborhoods and your oceans). ☺

Los Angeles Area:
1. Azuza, Baldwin Park, Covina, Duarte, El Monte, Irwindale, La Puente, LA, Monterey Park, Rosemead, West Covina - Gloria Romero 916-651-4024
2. Montebello, Huntington Park - Ron Calderon 916-651-4030
3. Santa Ana/Fullerton - Lou Correa 916-651-4034
4. Huntington Beach/Costa Mesa - Tom Harman 916-651-4035
5. Laguna Niguel - Mimi Walters 916-651-4033
6. Compton, Gardena, Hawthorn, Inglewood, Lawndale, Long Beach, LA, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro - Roderick Wright 916-651-4025
7. Alhambra, LA, Maywood, San Marino, South Pasadena and Vernon) - Gilbert Cedillo 916-651-4022
8. Bakersfield, Coalinga, Delano, Dinuba, Fresno, Hanford, Lemoore) - Dean Florez 916-651-4016
9. Chino, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona) - Gloria Negrete McLeod 916-651-4032
10. Canoga Park, North Hills, North Hollywood, Northridge, Pacoima, San Fernando, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Van Nuys, Winneka) - Alex Padilla 916-651-4020
11. Culver City, Hancock Park, Hollywood, LA) - Curren Price 916-651-4026

San Diego Area:
1. Brawley, Calexico, Cathedral City, Chula Vista, Coachella, Coronado, El Centro, IB, Indio, National City, SD, San Ysidro - Denise Ducheny 916-651-4040

San Francisco Area:
1. Leland Yee 916-651-4008

Sacramento Area:
1. Davis, Fairfield, Manteca, Stockton, Tracy, Vacaville, West Sacramento - Lois Wolk 916-651-4005

Jack Johnson's "All At Once" Network

All At Once, Jack Johnson's social action network, encourages you to become active in your local and world community. All At Once connects you with local non-profit groups creating change through Your Actions, Your Voices and Your Choices.

This year's All At Once campaign features over 150 non-profit groups and focuses on supporting Sustainable Local Food Systems and Plastic Free Initiatives. Jack Johnson's To The Sea tour proceeds will go to these groups to support their projects.

All At Once introduces you to Plastic Free Initiatives. Plastic waste is harmful to the environment because it doesn't break down. Almost every bit of plastic that has ever been created still exists. The plastic pollution threatens our wildlife, oceans, and our health. Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour-every HOUR! Recycling isn't always the answer; most of the plastic waste ends up in landfills. Do your part to minimize single use plastic.

Here is what you can do to Strive to be Plastic Free!

Your Actions

Here are three actions you can take to support a vision for a plastic free environment. Your individual ACTIONS make a difference!

• Pledge to reduce your plastic waste. Take Surfrider Foundation's Rise Above Plastics pledge and the Plastic Pollution Coalition's S.U.P.E.R. Hero Pledge and learn more about what you can do to be plastic free.

• Bring your own reusable bag for purchases and use reusable beverage and food containers. Nearly every plastic bottle ever made still exists today. Do your part and reuse!

• Get involved with projects that are raising awareness about plastic free alternatives. Check out what others are doing to make a statement- Follow the Plastiki Voyage across the South Pacific and see what the Algalita Marine Research Foundation has discovered in the North Pacific Gyre.

Your Voice

Here are three more things you can do to support a vision for a plastic free environment. Let your VOICE be heard!

• Join the Take Back the Tap Campaign. Ditch single-use bottled water, support local water infrastructure, and refill at the tap.

• Support local or national policies and efforts to reduce or find alternatives to single use plastics. If you're in California, send a letter to your Assemblymember in support of Heal The Bay's Plastic Ban Policy to ban single use plastic bags, limit the distribution of paper bags, and require reusable bags for purchases.

• Sign up and stay informed on Plastic Free Initiatives. Check out RiseAbovePlastics.blogspot.com

Your Choice

Here are three choices you can make to support buying seasonal, locally grown, organic food. It's your CHOICE - make conscious purchasing decisions!

• Shop at your local farmers market or farm stand. Visit www.LocalHarvest.org for a farm or market near you.

• Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Become a shareholder of a local farm, support its operation, and receive fresh food throughout the growing season. Find your CSA here.

• Eat at restaurants that serve local organic produce. Check out Eat Well Guide's map for the To the Sea 2010 tour! Custom guides have been created for each city of the tour to help your find fresh, local and sustainable food.

Connect to the All At Once non-profit partners promoting sustainable local food systems.

At the Jack/All At Once Shows- Fill Up at Brita's FilterForGood Water Stations.

In an effort to be more plastic free, Jack Johnson's 2010 To The Sea Tour has partnered with Brita's FilterForGood Campaign to bring free water refill stations to every show on the U.S. Tour.

The FilterForGood campaign raises awareness of simple changes everyone can make to live eco-friendly lives. Help us improve the environment one bottle at a time by staying hydrated with filtered water and a reusable bottle instead of disposable bottled water. Come fill up your reusable bottle for free at the Brita Water Stations in the Village Green at the shows and take the FilterForGood Pledge to reduce plastic bottled water waste.

For more information on the Village Green, Brita Water Stations, and other To The Sea Tour Greening information, visit www.JackJohnsonMusic.com/greening

Learn more and become an All At Once member to explore, share, discuss, volunteer, and donate at www.AllAtOnce.org

[Thanks to Nicole Parisi-Smith of Surfrider San Fran, Head Count and MOP]

Jeremy Irons Plastic Bag Vid

Brought to us by our friends at Heal The Bay, and complete with helicopter shot and night-vision cams, this is a high-quality production about the lonely trials and tribulations of a discarded plastic grocery bag, just trying to get through the day. You see them everywhere, everyday, but have you ever pondered their difficult "life" path?

Similar to the Werner Herzog vid of a previous post on this blog, this one has a touch more humor and well, is quite a tear-jerker - wait 'till you see the "deadly" teacup yorkie open a can (cup?) of whoop-ass on our bag/friend...not sure whom to weep for in that scene, but pass the tissues, pleeeez.

In Heal The Bay's words: "Filmed in the style of a nature documentary and narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeremy Irons, this 'mockumentary', though lighthearted in tone, hammers home the stark reality of California’s plastic bag pollution situation. View on YouTube and share to help get AB 1998 approved by the Senate!"

Aloha From Plastic Beach!

A quick shout-out to Surfrider Oahu. They took out a RAP advert (designed by dream team: Lora Lamm, Sheila Sarhangi, Rob Barecca, Ryo Kubota) in the new-ish local mag Green Magazine Hawaii - fulfilling the "A" in Surfrider's C.A.R.E., "awareness" (call your local chapter for the other 3 points of CARE). You can see the mag and the ad in the current issue (page 22).

While you're there, skip back an issue or so for a cover article (page 34) on 5Gyres' Dr. Marcus Eriksen (of JunkBoat & JunkRide fame), oceanic plastic trash and it's play in 'the islands' - written by Surfrider's Stuart Coleman (famous as author of island tomes, Eddie Would Go and Fierce Heart).

Hawaii catches the brunt of sea-going trash, being on the spin-out fringe of the North Pacific Garbage Patch - bizarre...paradise filtering the world's cast-off junk. Lono don't like dat mess.

Nice work by the Oahu Nalu Ohana! It may only be Thursday boyz, but take an early PAU HANA & catch the end of the swell...MUCHOS MAHALOS! :)

PS - Stuart Coleman wrote another article about Dr. Marcus Eriksen in the Honolulu Civil Beat, revealing some interesting points about this peace & environmental activist. Check it out to find out who he's calling a "fossil fool".

California Bag Ban Update: Slimy Lobbyists Steering YOUR Future!

The time for the big push is NOW. As the selfish, narrow-minded, non-local ACC (bag manufacturer LOBBYing assn based in Virginia & Washington DC) tries to convince YOUR California politicians (hmmm…money, meals, & “special services” anyone?) that their profits are more important than your neighborhoods and the earth’s environment, it is time for us to contact our representatives and let them know how we feel.



The vote on California Assembly Bill AB 1998 should finally come up in the next couple of weeks. The ACC has been able to toss extra hurdles in front of the bill by somehow (wink-wink) convincing our local reps to require the bill to pass thru yet another committee before coming to a general vote on the senate floor. The ACC lobbyists are trying to delay, delay, delay until it becomes difficult to move the bill forward, those selfish little @#$%&*s!

Californians, take this time to use Surfrider’s handy state senator letter-writing gizmo to punch a letter of AB 1998 support out to your senator – click this link to DO IT! Don’t let some out-of-state greaseballs dictate your state’s future. (better yet, CALL the representative – the Surfrider tool will display your local rep’s phone number – mine is: Rep Christine Kehoe, Phone:(916) 651-4039 Fax:(916) 327-2188)

Meanwhile…check out Ed Begley Jr & Kate Conner's little video about good reasons to GO REUSABLE on your bags (the scenario in the van should look and feel familiar).

Buried in Plastic PSA Plastic Pollution Coalition from Dianna Cohen on Vimeo.

It’s Hammer Time!

Holiday Video Round-Up!

A few vids to ease back into the work week - all dealing with the scourge of single-use plastic bags:

1) California State Assemblywoman Julia Brownley announcing (fairly) recent progress of her Bag Ban bill currently working thru the legislature (it's a bit further along than when this vid was produced). Be on the look-out for favorably lit hot celebrities!



2) Actor Ed Norton and National Geographic team up for this Strange Day On Planet Earth anti-bag ditty. Oh man, this one reeeeally hits the spot - and who can argue with NatGeo? I mean, really.



3) An Israeli PSA (I think it's a PSA...?), reminding all Hebrew-speakers to bring their own reusable bags to the store. Plastic bag trash is just not kosher...it's a dang fashla gadol! ;)



4) House cats can be terrorized by single-use plastic bags (or maybe it's the Don Henley music?)...good for them, their owner-friends have hands with fingers & opposable thumbs and can come to the rescue. Wild animals ain't so lucky... :(



5) Saving the BEST for last. With first-"person"[bag] narration by famed film maker Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man; Aguirre, the Wrath of God; The Wild Blue Yonder; etc!), this one laments the sad life of a single-use plastic bag. It's a film by Ramin Bahrani called "PLASTIC BAG" made for Futurestates TV - take time to check them out. Live it up and go FULL SCREEN - and tell your friends about this one! [Note: this Futurestates full episode is 18+ minutes long...just so ya know.]



NOW - take time to roll down to the next blog-post here at The RAP Blog to sign the action alerts, contact your state senator(s) and help support Assemblywoman Brownley's AB 1998 Bag Ban bill!! Thanks a heap.

CA Bag Ban - What's Next??

Ok…well…”What the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is going on with the California Bag Ban bill?”, I ask myself everyday. To assuage my confusion of CA state government, I've contacted the experts, have sussed it all out, and, employing my superior desktop/spreadsheet/ninja-nerd skills, have created this handy matrix’d cheat-sheet (current as of July 2, 2010) - Click it to enlarge:


So, checking the smart-indicator color-keyed image – it looks like we may be more than half way there. It now sits in the trembling hands of the California State Senate. This is where YOU come in: this is the time to contact a California state senator to let them know that you support The Bill, The Ban and The Environment. Nice!

Here’s how you do it:

Click here to choose your senator.

Click here to sign Surfrider’s Action Alert.

Click here to explore Heal The Bay’s legislator contact options.

Click here to use Environment California’s Action Alert senator-contact tool (with example letter!).

Take your time, mix & match, tell yer ma to do it, but just do it - NOW IS THE TIME.

Meanwhile, for your "Friday-Lite" reading pleasure, our good friends over at the Plastic Pollution Coalition have compiled a list of supporters and opPOSERS of the bill. I have taken that list and eliminated crazeee environmental groups, and/or businesses that could make money on the ban and/or businesses who may lose money due to the ban and...the remainders are below – there are a few surprises (Steven Bochco Productions?)…cheque it out!!

Supporters:
California Grocer’s Association
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
Association of Communities United of South Los Angeles
California Association of Environmental Health Administrators
California State Lands Commission
City of Burbank
City of Del Mar
City of Long Beach
City of Newport Beach
City of Pasadena
City of San Buenaventura
City of San Clemente
City of Solana Beach
City of Ventura
Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market Inc.
Humboldt County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/ Integrated Waste Management Task Force
Marin County Board of Supervisors
Monterey County Board of Supervisors
Monterey Regional Waste Management District
Neighborhood Market Association
Planning and Conservation League
PW Supermarkets Inc. (San Jose)
Rite Aid
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Save Mart Supermarkets
Solid Waste Solutions Inc
Alameda County Waste Management Authority
Steven Bochco Productions
Super A Food Inc. (Commerce)
State Lands Commission
Washington Elementary PTA
Western States Council of the United Food & Commercial Workers
WinCo Foods Inc.
Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists
Youth Opportunities for High School and Associations of Communities United of South Los Angeles

Opposers:
Californians for Extended Producer Responsibility
Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Corona Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce
Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce

Have a trash-free July 4th beachy weekend!

Oil Spill Prevention Starts at Home...!

This from cartoonist/realist David Horsey:


I think our subject is also wearing those annoying Crocs - perhaps petroleum-based? Do I see inorganic cotton clothing items as well? Something to think about during your normal, daily goings-on - a LOT of what we "do" as humans nowadays is rooted in petroleum use/abuse - ESPECIALLY IF IT INVOLVES PLASTIC! Show this to yer mom too - some moms think that this stuff comes from plastic (and meat and Croc) trees... :(

The original posting site is here.

LA Times Hates Plastic Bags!

Well, maybe hate is too strong a word, but yesterday the LA Times took an Op/Ed stand in favor the California Bag Ban Bill, AB 1998. NICE! They state all of the known points about why we advocate squelching the flow of the nearly useless trash into our world, and go on to suggest that a fee on all bags (a similar, but weaker variation on what’s being proposed in AB 1998) could be a better plan of action, due to that idea’s resounding success elsewhere…but, in the end, the LA Times Op/Ed’rs embrace Brownley’s bill as being a “good compromise”.


Citing the low cost to business of the actual mechanics of the proposed ban and the fact that the California Grocers Assn wholeheartedly supports it, The Times goes on to call AB 1998, “the easiest and most effective step Californians can take toward cleaning up plastics pollution.” So that’s some great news! Let’s hope that the politicians considering the bill have taken time out to read the opinion – contact your CA state senator and give ‘em the Op/Ed link. GO!

On a whole ‘nuther front…and on the same day, in the same daily…a blog entry, essentially paid for by plastics manufacturers (“american chemistry council”…google it), touts a “study” that claims that reusable bags test positive for bacteria!! LIONS/TIGERS/BEARS/OH-MY! Just so ya know, the ACC always finds ways to (re)issue the findings of this elaborate science project in municipalities that are considering bans…so we’ve seen this before… ZZZzzzzz... :( The entertaining comments immediately following that spurious blog/report are worth the time you waste reading the blog entry itself, so go for it!

Jeez – I hope grandma knew about this cRaZeE bacteria “problem” back before plastic bags were unleashed on us – she might have died of BACTERIA POISONING (luckily she succumbed to old age before bacteria had a chance take her down - whew!). Well…frankly, bacteria resides on just about e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, including your face. Crops would not grow if not for the bacteria in the soil, and w/o it you can forget about vinegar, yogurt, cheese, etc, etc, etc…it even helps to break down oil spill pollution.

Really, if you're that worried about threats from bacteria, you should avoid using the grocery store shopping carts - EEEW! Just to be safe, do like me: always refrain from fishing things out of the commode with your reusable shopping bags, and you’ll probably be OK. ;)

Please take time to sign the Surfrider Action Alert supporting the ban bill.

Have a good 'un!

Kids Get It - AND Give It

Today, a couple of stories about how news of plastic pollution is inspiring kids to create awareness projects. Great news, as kids effectively "up-teach" their parents...the ones that can actually "vote with their dollars" to reduce plastics.

First off – renowned photog Chris Jordan keeps plenty busy with his Running the Numbers and Midway series images, and recently, the revelations illuminated by his work have done more than open a few people’s minds to the plastic-gyre problem. Seattle's Bertschi School 2nd graders have gone on to create their own representative art, and the two artists meet in this video.

Next up – An endearing video created by school children, of The International School of Monterey, about how, well…we are trampling the planet – but they have a savior: The Ocean Guardian! My mind's eye sees single-use-plastics manufacturers drowning in their own tears as they watch this one...prepare to bust out the un-bleached, recycled cotton/hemp towels. WARNING - Cuteness Factor: HIGH!



Enjoy summer vacation!

[OH YEAH, don't forget to contact your CA senator to tell them that you want them to pass AB 1998, the California BAG BAN Bill! Please sign Surfrider's AB 1998 Action Alert as well - it's crunch time!]