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!]

BBC: Hip to the Tip

Another report from the UK's BBC2 on the oceanic plastic pollution problem. Documentarian Simon Reeve has made a couple of ace short reports of his trips around the world, exploring the dodgy, pear-shaped state of the world's natural environment (what there is of it, such as it is...), and this is his latest and it's quite stonking - in it, he really takes the biscuit and reminds us that it's time to stop faffing around.

Tell your mum that it's naff and to give it a look - that British accent has a way of calming and focusing the viewer - and frankly, RAP's essentially NorthAmerica-centric campaign right fancies any and all international insight and raised-awareness. Fab, indeed.

Stay spot-on and get gobsmacked - watch it on your telly, it's totally brill!

Tara (TTFN!)!

[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!]

Walmart...Getting a Head-Start on the Bag Ban in California

Well, well, well...hello to progressive retail, from...Walmart? YEP! Walmart, the largest grocery retailer in the United States, AND the largest private employer is starting to kick the single-use bag habit. Three Walmart stores in Norther California are conducting a pilot program in which they are operating as if the pending state bag ban had been passed. According to reports, things are going well, with the biggest "complaint" being the usual "I never remember to bring my reusable bags with me..." - but in this case, shoppers w/o bags find that their only option is to buy bags at checkout.

Pretty astounding? Well, yeah, but really it's just smart business - especially if the pending ban ban legislation being considered becomes law this year. Businesses can either grump and complain, or...get into the spirit of the movement and make it a positive change for themselves AND their customers...either way, Mother Nature will be grateful...!

Be sure to contact your CA state senator to tell them that you want them to pass the bag ban , AB 1998. It's now in the hands of the state Senate, having passed the Assembly earlier this month. Do what you can!!

A couple of articles on Walmart's progressive action:

Fast Company & Good Magazine.

The video embedded in the above articles probably won't work for you [youtube wants the ad revenue ;)], so here is the direct link for that.

Santa Monica Posts Its Bag Ban Environmental Impact Report!

Looking for a little summer reading? Well, the City of Santa Monica is dishing it up - 246 pages worth! Enough to choke a horse - OR an American Chemistry Council (ACC) attorney - KhHACK!

Ever wonder what an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) looks like?? I mean, we hear about 'em all the time, we know their function, but have you ever looked under the hood? This is the real thing - all killer, no filler.

For background, the City of Santa Monica (near Los Angeles, CA), attempted to ban single-use plastic bags a couple of years ago, and were clothes-lined by the non-local and obtusely un-neighborly ACC, who legally forced the city to produce an expensive (~$300,000) EIR to prove that the expected increase in the use of paper bags would not harm the environment...and no one is debating whether the ACC cares about the environment, because, well...aw never mind. Riiiight. ;)

The bottom line is, no city of this decade is in the position to spend the $$$,$$$ to produce the EIR - but Santa Monica accepted the mission and have produced the doc.

BRAVO SANTA MONICA!!

What's the next step? Expect the hanging legal debate to restart, with this new (draft) EIR as "Exhibit A". Stay tuned here for subsequent updates - and meanwhile, watch the Bag Monster at the SM city council meeting back in Feb 2008 when the whole shebang was just starting - NICE!

5Gyers Call To Action!

While we wait (after directly contacting our local politicians, of course) on the hanging-in-the-balance California Bag Ban legislation's (AB 1998) peristaltic movement through the Cali-legislature, some of us are busy back at the ranch-gyre...

Look at this: the "JunkRide" and "JunkRaft" team, 5Gyres, is building two new vessels to grab needed attention to the persistent pelagic plastic pollution problem (5Ps?). Read below and do what you can! (click to enlarge)

Bottled Water = OIL (French?)

With all this talk about filthy oil lately... From the Tapped movie people - a nice reminder that each water bottle comes pre-loaded with a 1/3 volume of petroleum - yummy-yum-yum! So, remember to keep your toothbrush and dispersant handy if you buy bottled water...



On the lighter side...comedian Jim Gaffigan reminds us of the ridiculous folly of bottled water, and how the French may be behind not only this whole, sick bottled water conspiracy...but they may also be to "blame" for the homogeneous nature of Mexican Food as well...quel/que catastrophe/lastima!

Jokes.com
Jim Gaffigan - Bottled Water
comedians.comedycentral.com
Futurama New Episodes Ugly Americans Funny TV Comedy Blog

Eat 'em up!