I posted about CA’s single use bag ban bill, AB 1998 Bill, in June and how I was expecting it to pass without a glitch.
Well, the glitch was the big green dollars. The American Chemistry Council has spent big bucks in the last few weeks to disseminate false information to the public and won the pockets of senators…like the video below.
So the bill, AB 1998, DID NOT friggin’ pass. It FAILED!! UGH. How could they not seize the momentum of the Californians who worked so hard to write, sent letters to senators, campaigned, and blogged about (including me) about this important legislation and pass the bill?
It’s really disappointing, to say the least. What can we do now?
Beth Terry of Fake Plastic Fish wrote a detailed ways that we can make a difference in her blog. Please read about the steps we can take to continue to reduce plastic in our environment.
The important thing to remember is that just because this bill didn’t pass, our mission to reduce plastic is not any different than before. We still have a responsibility and we still have to continue to live a plastic-free lifestyle.
American Chemistry Council’s Propaganda to the public to vote ‘NO’ to AB 1998 Bill
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This was such a disappointment. California could have done the right thing and instead succumbed to the influence of lobbyists. It’s just so messed up.
So I’ll keep avoiding plastic bags and any other plastic that I can. And I’ll keep preaching about the evils of plastic bags. And hopefully people will listen and follow suit.
It is really sad. The video really got me so mad and I can not believe that people got suckered into thinking that the bill would make CA worse economically. The irony is that if you use reusable bags, you can actually get money back from some grocery stores!! Another slimy propaganda to scare people. Ugh!
I am so shocked that this didn’t pass, I really thought this was a no-brainer. It does point a big scary magnifying glass at just how messed up the whole lobbyist/representative relationship is, however. I think if we’re ever really going to see change we need to either break up that incestuous relationship or somehow get people to rise above the idea of reliance on government intervention to tell us what is right.
I agree Lori. Gov’t intervention is not the answer and this is just another example of how crooked the system is. But I was really hopeful, since it passed in the Assembly, albeit by a narrow margin, that the Senate would be smart NOT to give into the big lobby group that lies.
We just have to keep on trying to educate people about the perils of plastic and all the other environmentally disastrous atrocities.