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There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape.
There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is holding a cellphone to his ear. But there are no plastic bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life.
In a determined attempt to deal with litter, Ireland passed a plastic bag tax in 2002 – now 22 euro cents, about 33 U.S. cents – at the register if you want one with your purchases. There was an advertising awareness campaign. Then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.
Within weeks, there was a 94 percent drop in plastic bag use. Within a year, nearly everyone bought reusable cloth bags, which they now keep in the office and the back of their cars. Plastic bags became socially unacceptable – on par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after your dog…
Before the so called plas tax, Ireland was struggling with a plastic bag problem that is typical in much of the world. Frank Convery, a professor at University College Dublin and head of ENFO, Ireland’s environmental information service, said: “You’d be driving in the Irish countryside and the sides of the roads were covered in plastic – when the foliage dropped off in the fall what was left on branches was a bunch of old plastic bags waving in the wind. That’s gone and people love it.”
Do Americans care what their neighborhood looks like?
Good one Awake. It would be even funnier if when he was running as a candidate, he ran off a cliff.
Here’s one…
The Taco Bell Chihuahua, a Doberman and a Bulldog are in a bar having a drink when a great-looking female Collie comes up to them and says, “Whoever can impress me with a sentence containing liver and cheese, can have me.”
So the Doberman says, “I love liver and cheese.”
The Collie quickly replies, “That’s not good enough.”
The Bulldog says, “I hate liver and cheese.”
The Collie shakes her head and replies, “That’s not creative enough.”
Finally the Chihuahua says, “Liver alone . . . cheese mine.”
#19–JimR==why do we need growing population? Because just about all of our social spending programs are just still failing ponzi schemes.
Pro’s to no articifical preservatives and/or freezing of foods==decentralized food processing and sales. Great stimulus for local economies and jobs that cannot be outsourced. Healthier food. Really–the only downside is that there would be a decrease in variety and super large corporations would find it harder to compete against Mom and Pop outfits.
#21–best three dogs walk into a bar joke I have every heard. Not quite as funny as which is the smartest breed, but close.
JimR – Would you enjoy a dab of old-fashioned Chinese humor?
—
Ling, a vagrant minstrel, insinuated himself into the household of a great and influential mandarin. One night, he made off with a thousand of gold yuan and a jade lion beyond price. This theft so unhinged his former employer that the old man’s hair turned snow white in one night, and for the remainder of his life he did little other than sit on the dusty floor of his chamber, listlessly plucking at his p’ip’a and chanting, ‘Was that not a most curious minstrel?’
—
That one always cracks me up…
Bobbo, hmmm, I would go with no artificial preservatives for sure, but no freezing? The growing season here is 3-4 months tops. I need preserved food for 9 months of the year.
Three headed Cat, I don’t get it and I’ve read it through a bunch of times. Now I’m really depressed.
Don’t feel bad, JimR – Chinese humor is, shall we say, an acquired taste…
One innovative store that has set up shop in the USA is Aldi, a german grocer. They don’t have free bags, you must bring your own cloth bags. If you want plastic bags you must purchase them. The shopping carts also require a quarter, and to get your quarter back you must put your own shopping cart away.
Well thats only a small start – check this out!
http://tinyurl.com/2xx234
“A “plastic soup” of waste floating in the Pacific Ocean is growing at an alarming rate and now covers an area twice the size of the continental United States, scientists have said.”
Swell…
Cheers