Solutions: Plastic bag tax

Typically when we are thinking about the appropriate role of government we talk about the "fist to the face rule"...your freedoms only extend until you start infringing on someone else's freedom. This argument was at the center of smoking ban debates around the country in recent years. Sure, you have the right to pollute your own body, but when someone else is being hurt the government should have the ability to regulate that. This logic also carries over, in my view, to plastic bags. Unfortunately plastic bags are FAR too prevalent. While there have been some small advancements like a few cents off of your groceries for bringing your own bag, and recently larger advances like laws that ban non bio-degradable bags like in San Francisco, plastic bags are not only acceptable but encouraged in many stores. We need to change that. Why?

* Most importantly, because plastic is basically made from oil!!!!(check out the process at that link). As you might already know, the burning of oil releases CO2, which is a greenhouse gas. It is calculated that the production of 5 plastic bags creates 1 kg of CO2, or 2.2lb!
---Under San Francisco's plan to ban plastic bags, they have calculated that by cutting 100 million plastic bags a year the city will save 1.5 million litres of oil, and eliminate 4.2 million kilograms of carbon dioxide!

And do you know how many plastic bags are produced in the world every year?
4 to 5 trillion.

*Plastic bags are not biodegradable. They clog waterways, spoil the landscape, and end up in landfills where they may take 1,000 years or more to break down into ever smaller particles that continue to pollute the soil and water.

Plastic is one of the leading contributors to global warming, which is a threat to all of us. Climate change will lead to famine, war, and massive refugee crises. Even the Pentagon says that Climate Change is more of a security threat than terrorism!!! We can't just wait and hope that people will start taking responsibility themselves. If you believe the government has a responsibility to protect it's people from terrorism, government also has a responsibility to regulate this threat.

The Irish have put a 33 cent tax on plastic bags that has reduced usage by 94 %. We can do this!

STOP USING PLASTIC!!! But more importantly...push your local government (like the DC City Council) to ban plastic bags in your city or town!