banning plastic bags is great for the world, right

Even then, the question remains as to whether single-use bags are necessarily always worse than reusable ones. Back to those three Rs we learned when we were in elementary school, the reduce the Reuse and Recycle. Still, many environmentalists argue that plastic is worse than paper. On the other hand, were using thicker bags, which might be emitting more carbon and pollution into the atmosphere. The breakthroughs and innovations that we uncover lead to new ways of thinking, new connections, and new industries. We talked about a whole list of issues in our first segment, and those dont vanish. In addition to being my celebrity couple name with a girl named Polly, polyethylene is a string of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Major funding forPeril and Promiseis provided byDr. P. Roy Vagelos and Diana T. Vageloswith additional funding from Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III,and the Estate of Worthington Mayo-Smith. Every time you need to process a new batch of polyethylene, you bring it to the facility and say, Polly want a cracker?. Paper does have its own environmental consequences in terms of how much energy it takes to generate, acknowledges Emily Norton, director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club. ETHAN: Why does all that matter? Thats the intended goal of the policy. In the case of using a tax, the government is also then able to raise some money, which can be used to either lower taxes elsewhere or go toward environmental cleanup efforts or most importantly, turning Niagara Falls into a waterslide. ETHAN: Beyond climate though, crackers cause a lot of issues for surrounding communities. Not good places to be adding more polluting facilities. Twitter, Follow us on Its what we put in the bag at the grocery store that really matters., 2023 Cond Nast. ETHAN: After we drill and frack and insert other PG13 sounding term here, we have to actually turn our fossil fuels into polyethylene. So I am an environmental economist. Over Half of the Worlds Penguin Species Are Threatened, A New Natural Gas Project in Mozambique Gives Locals All of the Costs and None of the Benefits. NADJA: After much deliberation, Nandor and I have invited a new resident into the house. Start with your washing machine. And even if you use the word fee, sometimes people dont like that as well. the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed by many retail businesses and require a charge of 10 cents or more for a recycled paper or reusable bag. I mean, look at all the kids roaming the streets looking for water after eating a single Saltine. Killing wildlife 5. What a deal! Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast India followed the UK with a . And I think part of what intrigues me is a sort of principle of like free market economics is that people are rational actors. I took a look at a 2017 Congressional Report which found the petrochemical industry was, at the time, pursuing 48 new plastics-related projects in the Houston area. But theres also so much nuance to this issue, and its important to consider these consequences of bag bans as we come up with the best possible solutions. California and Hawaii already have . Increasingly, environmentalists are pushing for laws that include fees for all single-use bags, and that require paper bags to be made with recycled content, which could lower their carbon footprint. But studies conducted in Australia or Europe have limited applicability in the US, particularly when youre considering climate impact, because every country has a different energy mix. And cotton, unlike paper, is not currently recycled in most places. . Okay, maybe Im going overboard, but honestly, if it were a small ordeal to get a single-use bag, I could see the inconvenience of that motivating people to bring their reusable bags to the store a whole lot more than a five or ten cent tax. Doing either earns you a special shoutout at the end of the show; joining the Patreon gets you merch, bonus content, and a whole lot more. Paper does have its own environmental consequences in terms of how much energy it takes to generate, acknowledges Emily Norton, director of the Massachusetts Sierra Club. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of Peril and Promise or The WNET Group. 'Banning plastic bags is great for the world, Right? And in pretty much any case, people shift to an alternative type of grocery bag, and while plastic is unique in that it does not decompose, other types of bags have issues of their own. Theres no easy answer, says Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which backed NYCs bag fee. Last month, the New York City Council passed a 5-cent-per-bag fee on single-use bags handed out by most retailers. Then, that ethylene can be sent to a new plant where theyll add a catalyst which initiates a chemical reaction and forms our high-density polyethylene. And all of these materials do better? ETHAN: Hopefully ethylene makes its What We Do In The Shadows debut in season five. Its vital reporting made entirely possible by loyal readers like you. Put all that together, and National Geographic estimates that a paper bag would need to be used anywhere from 3 to 43 times in order to neutralize its environmental impact as compared to plastic. If we do that, well see less polluted oceans, improved public health, and maybe, for the first time in history, Polly wont want a cracker. Every so often, our star fires off a plasma bomb in a random direction. Before I jump in, were trying out a little bit of a different format today. Not So Fast. TAYLOR: Yeah, I think one thing that stands out, when we think about plastic bags, and when we think about sort of packaging, in general, is that theres this perception that its free, that theres no price, and that you can you know, youre not paying for the plastic bags that you use, thats not actually true, you actually do pay for the plastic bags that you use at the supermarket. Heres Why That Matters. Theres no easy answer, says Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which backed NYCs bag fee. First off, I had a lot of cracker jokes, but more importantly being a heat intensive process, the production of plastic bags requires a good amount of energy, and it should come as no surprise that these petrochemical facilities typically use natural gas for their electricity source. Businesses may be reluctant to engage in default choice modification because customers might not realize the law and think theyre just getting bad service. Have a listen. There are also policy options that dont involve bans. A Canadian Gas Field Is Polluting First Nation Communities, How Climate Change, Poverty, and Social Stigma Affect Menstrual Hygiene. Microsoft quietly supported legislation to make it easier to fix devices. This material which is widely used worldwide has been an issue for years now and these readings gives some explanation on why. It honestly sounds like a superhero, doesnt it? The Bad Astronomer Takes You on a Tour of the Cosmos. What if they used solar or wind? Some bills, like in Massachusetts, try to reduce the use of paper bags as well as plastic, but still favor paper. So thats exactly what I did. Politicians "looking for something to do" like banning plastic bags routinely do more harm than good. A lovely tote made from single use plastic bags. Two weeks ago, the Massachusetts State Senate passed a measure that would ban plastic bags from being dispensed Any time someone needs bags, make a trip to the back to get them and have them wait. Not so fast. Follow us on Both authors of these essays specifically speak about how the use of plastic can be harmful for the mother-nature, and have introduced ways to compensate this loss. In Staten Island, perhaps? Heres why thats a big deal. ETHAN: Welcome to episode 106 of The Sweaty Penguin: Antarcticas Hottest Podcast. But what if reusable bags arent good either? Bags made out of woven plastic like polypropylene can be reused over and over, meaning even though there are consequences to producing plastic, you dont have to manufacture as many bags. Grist is the only award-winning newsroom focused on exploring equitable solutions to climate change. People still need bags to bring home their groceries. Plastic bags are not biodegradable and can do great harms to wildlife. I also mistake plastic bags for food sometimes, and let me tell you, Walmart makes a delicious tall kitchen. People still need bags to bring home their groceries. Maybe call the manager over or fly the CEO in on a helicopter or pull the fire alarm so everyone starts screaming and running. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? One of the most comprehensive research papers on the environmental impact of bags, published in 2007 by an Australian state government agency, found that paper bags have a higher carbon footprint than plastic. Come on, why have we not tried this yet? And I also looked at not just shopping at a supermarket across the border but also eating out Instead of grocery shopping, and I do find that there is this, you know, substitution, this cross border shopping, some people do try to avoid going to, you know, regulated supermarkets, especially if they live near a border, where they can easily get to another another grocery store, while other customers if they dont live near a border, they might be slightly more likely to decide to eat out for dinner as opposed to grocery shopping, especially if they didnt bring their bags with them or that party. A lot of the waste ends up in our communities, says Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE, an environmental and social justice-oriented community organization in Brooklyn. Capacitors. ETHAN: So just to wrap up this point, would you say that its a net positive or negative? Produce sellers in this busy agricultural hub 95 miles. And beyond that, ethylene itself is a dangerous pollutant. Electrify everything, California says including trucks and trains. You know, thats a bit of sort of the speculation of why these behavioral changes occurred. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? You can try, but nine times out of ten, its going to rip your original in half. Climate change, they say, isnt the only form of environmental degradation to worry about. For more than 250 years, mathematicians have wondered if the Euler equations might sometimes fail to describe a fluids flow. Now, a new law hopes to take things a step further by banning these: single-use plastic pre-checkout bags that are not recyclable and can contaminate compost facilities. This really needs to be top priority. Now a hybrid ban, where you ban a particular thin plastic or film plastic, as long as theres also consideration for the other types of bags such as paper bags, and reusable bags, and requiring stores to charge for those other bags. And sort of the bottom line, what I found with in terms of like the amount of plastic, was about a third of the plastic that was eliminated by the carry out bag ban came back in the form of garbage bags, which do tend to be a bit thicker than the carry out bags. NADJA: Will you at least go and talk to it? How do we make polyethylene? Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? And as you mentioned, tote bags can be actually more harmful. But in terms of plastic, you are correct. The instinct to favor reusable bags springs from an understandable urge to reduce our chronic overconsumption, but the bags we use are not the big problem. One of the most comprehensive research papers on the environmental impact of bags, published in 2007 by anAustralian state government agency, found that paper bags have a higher carbon footprint than plastic. I asked Dr. Taylor how we can account for the cost of alternatives when we create policies to address plastic bags. I guess the name does make sense. Animals can become entangled in the bags and drown or mistake the bags for food which can clog their intestines and cause them to starve. Fees have a smaller, but still significant, effect. Quick Navigation for Reasons Why Plastic Shopping Bags Should Be Banned REASONS 1. Thats the percentage the Massachusetts Sierra Club has advocated for at the state level and when lobbying for municipal bag rules. And paper bags, when you compare them to plastic bags, they are environmentally more environmentally friendly in some ways, but in other ways, theyre less environmentally friendly. Definitely not the intention. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. So if its, if it makes it into the environment, it stays there, it breaks into smaller pieces, it gets blown around the world, many different ecosystems. Christmas: no, were not going to stop. The one perk with bans is that its by far the easiest policy to explain and enforce. Washington, DCs government estimates that its 5-cent bag tax has led to a 60 percent reduction in the number of these bags being used, although that figure is contested by other sources. If a plastic bag is reused in the home as the garbage bag in a bathroom waste bin, does that reduce its footprint by eliminating the need for another small plastic garbage bag? Plastic bag bans are spreading. But are they truly effective? Paper bags do have some pros over plastic theyre biodegradable, recyclable, compostable, reusable, all the fun -ables. People look at [paper] and say its degradable, therefore its much better for the environment, but its not in terms of climate change impact, says David Tyler, a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon who has examined the research on the environmental impact of bag use. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? Not So Fast Those are the kinds of topics that I focus on in my research. Right now, one of the best ways to help Grist continue to thrive is by becoming a monthly member. Theyre less than five millimeters across and they are everywhere, from the oceans to mountaintops to the Arctic to our food and blood. A substantial shift to more durable bags would deliver environmental gains through reductions in greenhouse gases, energy and water use, resource depletion and litter, the study concluded. There are many factors to consider when looking at the environmental impact of plastic bags, and also paper bags may not be as environmentally friendly as people think. Often, the problem shifts. In a queer vacation hot spot on Cape Cod, an ad hoc community proved that Americans can stifle large outbreaksif they want to. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Ironic.plastic is still better than cloth, but it just has to be more than single-use. Like cigarettes, plastic bags have recently gone from a tolerated nuisance to a widely despised and discouraged vice. Does it get recycled? Thats a border shopping behavior. Recently, many politicians were in such a hurry to ban plastic bags. And so my recommendation is to use as few bags as you can reuse the ones that you do purchase and purchase your bags, make it an active decision. Monthly or one-time, donate now when all donations will be matched by a generous group of donors. Banning Plastic Bags Is Great for the World, Right? What do they think this is, a Ritz quick scheme? I also looked at paper bags as well. They are not the largest sources of plastic pollution Plastic waste is indeed a. In fact, we can take it a step further. Very broadly, carbon footprints are proportional to mass of an object, says Tyler. ETHAN: Its true. ETHAN: Now, it is worth noting that a single-use plastic grocery bag takes about 20 years to break down in the environment about as long as it takes the average to break down. Now theres a breakthrough. Adler, Ben. Eat one less meat dish a weekthats what will have a real impact on the environment, says Tyler. We use [drumroll] oil and gas! The measure now under consideration in Massachusetts, for example, would mandate that single-use paper bags contain at least 40 percent recycled fiber. However, when you just have a ban, and you dont consider the substitutes, thats when we see the largest unintended consequences. But for UPROSE, that concern is outweighed by the negative impacts of plastic bags on disadvantaged communities. But that carbon footprint could also very easily be lower, which is why I bring it up. I mean, I know it loves to hang at the cracker plants and all but wouldnt it have more fun hanging out with other creatures of the night? Banning plastic bags is great for the world, right? The adverse impacts of plastic bags are undeniable: When theyre not piling up in landfills, theyre blocking storm drains, littering streets, getting stuck in trees, and contaminating oceans, where fish, seabirds, and other marine animals eat them or get tangled up in them. Unlike reusable fabric bags, plastic bags can take lifetimes to biodegrade.Over that time, their light weight allows them to be carried long distances, causing environmental havoc along the way. As part of our commitment to sustainability, in 2021 Grist moved its office headquarters to the Bullitt Center in Seattles vibrant Capitol Hill neighborhood. ETHAN: When environmentalists talk about plastic bags though, its often not about the production process, but rather what happens after we throw them out. Testimony on the Proposed Paper Carryout Bag Fee | CBCNY Thats leading to a split in the anti-bag movement. All donations doubled for a limited time. How Are Muskoxen Faring in a Changing Climate? Facebook, Follow us on Yeah, that was even rough for my standards. This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. So have at least 88 localities in California, including the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, plus cities and towns in more than a dozen other states and more than a dozen other countries. Studies of bags environmental impacts over their life cycle have reached widely varying conclusions. And the question that I had was, how does banning this plastic carry out bag affect the use of other types of plastic bags, and in particular, garbage bags, because as a consumer myself, I knew that I reused many of my carry out grocery bags as garbage bags. Cracker plants release air pollutants such as benzene which is linked to cancer and childhood leukemia, toluene which is linked to birth defects and brain, liver, and kidney problems, formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen, and particulate matter which is linked to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and lung and bladder cancer.

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