Bag Bans, Industry Strong Arming and The Metaphorical Significance of Sea Turtles
By Stiv Wilson on May 12, 2011
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(above was a tweet we got after the 5th International Marine Debris Conference from the ACC. And below is why I don't believe them.)
I've worked on a bag ban in Portland, Oregon, my hometown for four years and had a citywide victory clenched last summer. I received awards and media attention for my efforts, but none of that matters to me. This fight is about something bigger than me, my ego, and my ambition. And I can tell you this for damn sure, I sure as hell am not fighting plastic pollution for the money!
Here's how the issue went down: politicians on the state level jockeyed to stop the ordinance, despite the will and wish of the Portland people, wanting rather ambitiously to be the first state to ban the bag and didn't want any citywide actions convoluting their work. Politically, they thought they were wiser than our local lawmakers. And it was bad timing, really. That's what I think. Despite good intentions by many legislators, they miscalculated and ended up drawing a huge target on Oregon. With the failure of AB1988 in California, the hired industry guns moved just one state up. In Oregon, we have a ballot referral process where city ordinances can be challenged if special interest gathers enough signatures to refer the ordinance to the ballot. Industry will pay to gather signatures and then will convolute the issue, confuse the voters, and poor a lot of money in to guard their interests. Such was the case in Seattle.
Portland's mayor and staff were confident that even if the ordinance would have been referred to the ballot, that stakeholders and local politicians could beat the industry on the ground. Media attempted to draw a wedge between environmentalists and city politicians, looking for controversy that didn't exist. No, to the contrary, local lawmakers and activists were in lock step, carefully working the process strategically. Statewide legislators thought otherwise. And now, here we are, one vote short of a majority in the senate which in essence keeps the legislation in committee. Until we get support of one more senator, the bill languishes. And it's all politics, really. It doesn't have anything to do with the issue so much. It's about horsetrading and anger about certain interest groups supporting certain politicians and such and who is giving who more money. It's the kind of stuff that makes people to queasy to be the 'We' in 'We The People'. It's the kind of crap that makes people apathetic about voting.
And somewhere, right now, a sea turtle is choking on a plastic bag. I know that sounds funny-- that's the knee jerk bleeding liberal mantra-- 'YOU'RE KILLING THE ANIMALS!'
But let me ask you, have you ever swam with a sea turtle? I have. I swam over a reef on Oahu not four weeks ago with a turtle who was three times older than I was. Her shell was larger than a kitchen table, and with effortless motion, glided ahead of me in the water. I had to full throttle slam the butterfly to keep up. But here's the point: swimming with turtles is a life changing experience whether you're a registered Republican or Democrat. Like dolphins, turtle liking knows no political party. Swimming with one was an experience that made me a better human being. Why? Because I felt connected to this earth that bore me, felt a part rather than apart of nature. I was engaged in something that steeped me in the world, rather than insulating me from it. I was reminded of the mystery, beauty and imagination that the ocean primeval imparts on a pilgrim who ventures there to meet it on her terms. And that kind of thing translates to pure, uncut human happiness. Joy. The kind of happiness that isn't contingent on anything at all. Not your job. Not your salary. Not your lot in life. No, in the ocean you are nothing but another creature, a joe schmoe amidst the backdrop of the sublime. You want a society of happy educated kids? Throw them in the ocean with a few turtles. Give them opportunity to swim in unpolluted water, witnessing a world that inspires awe.
But back to the battle. We have incredible statewide support for the Ban The Bag legislation, including grocers and recyclers, but out of state money has infiltrated and the effects are palpable. It's a real David and Goliath scenario, a fight that won't be decided by one match up; no, this is one that will be won by constant pressure, endlessly applied. The industry rhetoric is confusing, the American Chemistry Council funds scientists to publicly tell us what we already know (hell, they're even making artless youtube viral videos now): we don't know a lot about oceanic plastic pollution. Strategically, this is done so that lawmakers have to say, 'we need more information' before we act. It's ugly, it's cynical. And it's transparent. And it's an age old tactic.
Well, I know this: plastic is in every gyre in the world, we've been there. We have proof. And it's not right. Not one microfragment in the middle of nowhere is all right. Does it really matter how much? It's funny, to watch the same tactics that climate change deniers use to confuse and frustrate the truth by spending countless dollars on ensuring that we 'don't know enough.' Here's another tactic: challenging municipalities that require that environmental impact assessments must be done before environmental policy is adopted. Here's the rub--- often these assessments are cost prohibitive and will essentially yield the same results: Plastic is bad. Paper is bad. Paper has a larger carbon footprint to produce than plastic, but end of life analysis for plastic isn't attributable without surveying every sewer system and watershed in the country. Reusables are better. YES! We have a solution! But even there, the industry wants to put reusable bag manufacturers out of business: they're suing ChicoBag for god's sake for quoting NOAA and EPA statistics about plastic pollution on their website! But I digress, more on that in another post. Most municipalities in the country can't afford expensive environmental impact assessments, and it's also politically unpopular to spend money on them. The industry knows this, and that's why they're suing municipalities in California. They want city councils around the country to say, 'hey, we can't touch that issue, see what happened at X'.
ARGGHHH!!!! But if you can't keep a sense of humor, then you have no business being an activist. So with grace, humor and undying energy we fight on. Thanks to The ONION for making me laugh, and using humor to get at the exact root of the problem.
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Tags
Plastic Pollution South Atlantic Gyre Ban The Bag Marine Debris Conference South Pacific Gyre South Pacific Garbage Patch Maximenko
