Plastic bags are an environmental disaster.
For related background information, please see these two excellent diaries:
"Take your canvas bags ..." viral videoing to change the world
The Largest Man Made Thing on the Planet?
One thing we can do to mitigate this disaster is to get our towns, cities, and counties to simply ban plastic bags. It's already happened in the City & County of San Francisco. Why don't we ask our local officials to follow San Francisco's lead?
A link to San Francisco's ordinance - which provides a great template - follows below the field.
Here's a link to the San Francisco Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance:
http://www.municode.com/...
How about e-mailing that link to your mayor and city council members (or whatever elected officials you have in your jurisdiction) and asking them to enact a similar ordinance?
By the way, everyone on my holiday gift list this year is getting a canvas bag.
And here's one final thought - just to take this issue one additional step - the SusHI (Sustainability in Hawai`i) Blog says "the contents of your shopping bag matter far more than the bag itself." But maybe that's a topic for another diary.
For now, I'd be thrilled to see a wave of municipal ordinances fighting the evils of plastic bags. I don't see why it shouldn't happen.
Thanks for your consideration!