The City of Oceanside needs to help protect our local beach environment, especially when the city's biggest focal point is the coast. Plastic bags are an unneccesary environmental hazard now that there are many eco-friendly options that exist including canvas and paper bags. At a time where people and organizations are trying to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we are collectively using about 12million barrels of oil each year to produce plastic bags. Many of these bags end up on our streets, sidewalks, our rivers and streams where they eventually wash out to sea. Once they end up in the ocean, plastic debris are mistaken for food by seabirds, turtles, and other marine life. Up to 1 Million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and turtles die each year as a result of plastic debris. Lets become an environmentally responsible city and break ourselves of the plastic bag habit. Lets join the 72 municipalities in California who already have ordinances in place to ban plastic bags NOW. Lets take a stand together as a community and tell our City Council that this is a BIG step in the right direction in making our beach town a greener place to live.