Sometimes I wonder about Americans. In some ways they are the most progressive and thinking people under the sun and in some ways they are so completely regressive in their actions.

Having observed the success of the tax on plastic bags in Ireland, concerned citizens groups in California mooted a tax on plastic bags. Their authorities worked out that it cost their system 17 cents per plastic bag to collect, transport and intern them in landfill.

Why, they asked, should everyone pay for this cost? Why not make the actual polluter pay it? A tax on every plastic bag would do just that. Shift the burden of this cost from all the citizens to only those who chose to use plastic bags. Completely logical and fair.

BUT when the California State Assembly passed a “Plastic Bag Litter and Waste Reduction Bill” (AB2449), it turned out to be just eyewash as the bill not only doesn’t impose a tax on plastic bags but also restricts all local governments from doing so.

I just read a blog by Anna in Santa Monica where she outlines what’s wrong with that bill and why Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger should veto it. Please go visit her blog and support her by leaving comments or writing to Schwarzenegger.

Keep at it Anna! There are lots of us around the world rooting for you!

Stumble it!