The plastic bag issue is fortunately getting some attention

This is good news indeed. That so many people all over the world are taking cognisance of the stupidity of using these harmful devices. I particularly loved the story about 93 year old Orpha Bell Lucas making these delightful caps from used plastic bags. Daily attention of this sort is what is needed to rid the world of this scourge. The city of Bendigo in Australia, it appears, is going to first largish community in the world to voluntarily ban plastic bags. Here's an extract from this truly inspiring story: Bruce Phillips, who will serve on the new working group, said a cultural shift was needed. While he commended major retailers for providing alternative options and consumers for adopting environmentally friendly bags, some intervention was needed. "The problem essentially is a product of the convenience of a throwaway society, and the ramifications are millions of plastic bags which take many years of course to degrade and they create litter and damage to the environment," he said. "When you think about it, an investment of $10 for the average family will avoid the use of something like 2000 plastic bags over a five year period." Cr Phillips said one possibility was to encourage major retailers to charge for plastic bags, and use the profits to cut the price of environmentally friendly bags. "There has to be a better way and it does require some intervention to change communal culture in this regard. We can, I believe, make a difference," he said. Ireland put a 10 cent tax on plastic bags and the usage fell 90%. Worth doing. A voluntary giving up is even better, of course. One of the reasons why people resist it is they believe calico bags would be an expensive alternative. They're not. See how affordable they are at http://www.badlani.com/bags/