The press release header read : “Man Sits in World’s Largest Reusable Shopping Bag to Raise Environmental Awareness about Plastic Bags”

So naturally I thought it was a joke. It’s not, and I love every minute of this article. Creativity gets you everywhere in this world…

Sure, it’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but that doesn’t mean that nothing has happened! Quebec is considering a 20 cent tax for plastic bags, Loblaws in Milton, ON is the first retailer in Canada to not offer plastic bags at the checkout, and the Kerala government in India banned plastic bags.

But this story touches everyone. An English community is currently voting on designs for new cotton bags which will then be manufactured in Mumbai, India. The English community (Overton) is hoping to go plastic bag free by the end of November.

I know I’ve mentioned before how much I adore and respect the UK for many many reasons, but their environmental stewardship is certainly close to the top of that list. Now if we could only bring another batch of those Anya Hindmarch bags to North America…!

Dear North American municipalities,

Why is it that entire countries in other continents are able to ban plastic bags, while only a handful of cities in North America have been able to get their act together? Don’t get me wrong - I’m in no way belittling the efforts of the cities who have managed to do this. I’m especially proud of Leaf Rapids, Manitoba!

Uganda has just decided to ban plastic bags. But this isn’t the first time that Africa has lapped North America on this issue. Earlier this year, a sizeable portion of Tanzania went plastic bag-free, and a number of other countries over the years have taken decisive action, be it bans or taxes.

It’s time to play catch-up. If they can do it, we can do it.

Sincerely, Rena

I’ve mentioned this before but I clearly can’t stress this point enough: Green is the new black. But it’s almost more than that now. It’s a craze but hopefully not a fad that will fade like Backstreet Boys, pogs, or the 80’s in general.

Yesterday we were able to witness the entire globe go green for the Al Gore-organised Live Earth shows around the world. Musical artists joined together for 29 hours of non-stop entertainment to raise awareness about environmental issues. Your parents and your geography teachers can smack you over the head with the message, but when Sting tells you to recycle, you listen.

And now this - riots in Hong Kong over the now ubiquitous Anya Hindmarch “I’m not a Plastic Bag” bags. It’s almost as funny as it is sad, but simultanously encouraging. That a reusable bag would cause such a stir speaks highly of both the bag and the people clamouring for it. Turn up your speakers, kids - this link has a YouTube clip!

Oakland is next on the California plastic bag chopping block, discussing the possibility of a ban on plastic bags and fining non-cooperative stores $500.

I have to say, I’m pretty proud of California. This has got to be the greenest red state I’ve ever seen. I mean sure I expected this from the northeastern states but all of these Californian municipalities are taking the lead from one another and banding together against plastic bags. It’s really great to watch all of this unfold - pretty soon, plastic bags will be so taboo in California that the trend will resonate throughout the rest of the nation, making it untrendy to carry plastic. We can only hope that Hollywood trends carry over to environmental issues as well!

There’s a group of nearly 2000 kids in Kingston, Ontario who signed a petition to their local government, encouraging them to ban plastic bags in all grocery stores in Kingston. Their teacher, while teaching them on how governments function, encouraged this petition and explained that despite the fact that they are far too young to vote, they still have the ability to affect change. These kids are hoping to inspire other municipalities by their actions, so I say kudos to them, and also a big kudos to this progressive and innovative teacher. We’ll be watching to see what happens…!

Once again, my hyperlink is dysfunctional but you can have a look at the story here: http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=580284&catname=Local%20news&classif=

The two largest cities in the state of Maryland - both Baltimore and Annapolis - are considering enacting bans on plastic bags. So now we’ve pretty much covered every corner of the country with potential bans.

Here’s the thing I don’t understand. I just don’t get why more governments and more cities don’t enact measures against the frequent use of plastic bags. It’s a measure and an announcement that costs the government NOTHING and gains them infinite popularity, assuming in their constituency the environmentalists outnumber the plastics lobbyists and advocates. And I’d make a reasonable guess that that is most places. So kudos to every city and town who is considering a ban or who has already done so… and to everyone else, what are you waiting for?

There’s a chance (though not a large one) that you, dear reader, have not yet picked up on my recent love affair with all things London. And sure it’s because of the suits and the accents and the men and their gallantry and Trafalgar Square and their (obnoxiosly) overvalued currency. But it’s also because they do things like this there. Stick a sign in the window, and suddenly your shoppers know that you’re going to have to ask for a plastic bag if you decide that you need one. This is all in hopes that eventually asking for a plastic bag will be a societal taboo. It’s just not cool to use plastic anymore in these shops. Well, at least plastic that isn’t of the Visa variety…

In this report, there’s mention that checkout clerks at the chain of supermarkets called Progressive is meant to ask all customers purchasing less than three items if they really need a plastic bag.

Now, as it turns out, this approach hasn’t been working so well, largely because most clerks haven’t been asking the question. But it’s something I had never thought of before - sure, we can do consumer education all we want. We can publish news stories and really try to drive the environmental point home. But at the end of the day, what works best as a deterrant? That’s right. Guilt. Asking that question right on the spot makes consumers think about their actions instantaneously. I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that if all checkout clerks asked that question, we’d be able to reduce the use of more plastic bags than we can even fathom…

Despite the best lobbying efforts of a key group of people, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities recently decided to scrap their plan to implement a tax on plastic bags used. For some reason, my hyperlink option is not operational, but if you copy and paste this link into your browser, you can find the story: http://www.mapleridgenews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=46&cat=23&id=987712&more=

It would be a lie to say that I’m not disappointed. I had such high hopes for BC. It’s an option that’s been taken off the table though that doesn’t necessarily mean forever. Between Ontario’s voluntary ban, and Manitobans trying to catch up with their northern town of Leaf Rapids who were able to ban plastic bags entirely, I had a good feeling that British Columbia would be next with sweeping measures to save the planet. They still might be… but not quite yet.