As editor of It's not a scientific poll, obviously, but if you're interested in how California residents feel about the state Legislature's failure to pass a ban on single-use plastic bags, check the Los Angeles Times' "LA Now" blog.
Reader comments in blogs are always worth reading. Here are a few that represent a variety of positions:
I am so sad to hear big industry won out over the environment once again. We could have set a benchmark for the nation! I refuse plastic and take my bags to the store every week. The person who commented about the 100's of uses for their plastic bags needs to consider that the pastic bag doesn't last forever and eventually ends up in a land fill or in the ocean... wanting to protect the environment is not a lefty-loons idea, it should be everyones goal!
Work on the budget! That's the ONLY item on which the legislature and the governor should be working. Other than that, the only law they should pass right now is a new law suspending the legislature's ability to entertain any new legislation until after the annual budget has been completed and signed. Of course, not that they would follow it. They certainly don't seem bothered that state law requires a budget balanced and on time. If California goes Republican, this will be the reason.
People should care enough about their State to take personal responsibility for its environment and take their own re-usable bags to the store with them. The cut in cost for the stores could be passed on to the shopper through lower prices.
Doesn't matter how many jobs it kills. These things need to go, and move the jobs over to a biodegradable bag company.
Great news, indeed. Banning plastic bags is an attempt to take over the world. Everyone knows that. Didn't Glen Beck just have a rally to declare this a one bag nation?Good save California. Everyone knows that cloth or canvass bags are inferior and don't have 100s of uses. Besides they're anti-freedom.
Conservative thinking has got our backs. Continue to pollute the earth, as long as powerful industry lobbyists get their way.
Here the state is falling down over our heads and these bozo's are worrying about plastic bags ! What a disconnect ! Lets get people in there who can see the big picture.
This is ridiculous. Job killer? Bag factories can easily be retooled for other purposes, and plastic bags would still be available. Will 5 cents a bag really sink us economically? No. But it will help us change our habits and use less bags. For the people who say they re-use them, 5 cents for a bag you use for many purposes is a deal. The ACC are the real culprits in this.
Thank goodness. The last thing consumers need is another tax every time they buy something. The last thing businesses need in a recession is a new tax and another impediment to selling their merchandise. The nanny-state just won't give up.
It's tough for politicians to do what citizens want when citizens themselves can't agree on issues. The electorate is so polarized these days, it's impossible to make everyone happy.
If I was considering a wager, though, I'd say there's enough support for a bag ban that we'll see this legislation proposed again next year.