This Moment on Earth - the Kerry's

John and Teresa Kerry were featured on This Week with George Stephanopoulos (click HERE to view the video) promoting the environment and their book This Moment on Earth about REGULAR folks impacted by toxicity in our environment and what we as REGULAR folks can do to help fix it.

According to the Kerry's we have 10 years to make this right before we have a major catastrophe. John Kerry is saying that the US needs to take a stand and be the leader and research to do better by the environment. It's expensive, but it's only going to get more and more expensive as we wait. It makes me think about visits to the dentist where I'm told I need a crown... it's expensive, but not as expensive as waiting until I have an absess and need both a root canal and a crown... hmmm.

Watching some of the highlights from the book - namely the info about Rick Dove and his experience while he was fishing (watch the video) has solidified my decision to go Vegetarian. Yes, I've decided to go that way. :) I've already been eating that way for a bit and I even feel better. Now I have to decide whether or not to take my family (well, my kids I can't make my husband change the way he eats) with me.

I plan to check the book out when it hits my local library and will share more about it then.

San Francisco to ban plastic bags?

Mayor Gavin Newsom is backing the proposed ban on plastic bags. The city tried to impose a 17-cent per bag tax in 2005, which resulted in a voluntary agreement to use less bags, thereby avoiding the tax. Now the SF environmental council wants to ban bags altogether, charging the grocery stores have not done enough to reduce plastic bag use. The Environmental Council proposes offering recyclable paper, compostable plastic, or reusable cloth bags instead. If the ordinance passes, stores that do $2 million and up in sales would be affected. Grocery store chains are (of course) against the ban. Peter Larkin, president of the grocers association, has this to say: "Compelling more than 50 grocery stores to make the switch would also cause more environmental harm as baffled consumers mix biodegradable bags with regular plastic bags in recycling bins, contaminating recycled plastic, Larkin argued.
"You would end up with a situation where non-grocery stores are using regular plastic bags and the consumers will never be able to tell the difference or segregate the waste stream," he said. "We think it is going to confuse consumers and do damage to our efforts to recycle more." (msnbc.com)

Ok...let me get this straight. They think that people won't be smart enough to tell the difference between a recyclable/compostable bag and a regular plastic bag, thereby jeopardizing the TINY portion of plastic grocery bags that are currently recycled? Oy. Personally, I am all for getting rid of plastic bags. I think that people who take the time to bring their bags back to the store will know the difference AND since SF has a curbside food compost program, consumers could even use the compostable grocery bags to store food until pick-up. Although San Francisco may be the first US city to propose such a (radical) thing, bans on plastic grocery bags are already in effect in other parts of the world.

Go San Francisco! Go Mayor Newsom!