Question: What's scarier than plastic in our landfills? 

How about an ocean that's more plastic than plankton? Every day, the Pacific and other oceans of the world become more and more clogged by plastic pollution.  And every day we make the small decisions that contribute to this problem—especially when we use single-use, disposable plastic products. Well over half the plastic that now threatens to entangle, drown, choke, poison or starve marine life and seabirds comes from land. And one of the biggest sources is from single-use plastic bags.

Americans alone toss 100 billion bags each year, equivalent to 12 million barrels of oil.

This August, the city of Edmonds in Washington took a giant leap forward in helping to protect the mighty sea that laps the state's shores by banning the use of plastic bags in all stores. There has been no major fall out, with customers and businesses adjusting to the ordinance calmly, effectively and quickly.  It seems they weren't tricked by the the American Chemistry Council, who poured millions into campaigns to block such bans. The ACC's scare tactics worked to turn Californians into cowards this fall and to prevent Seattle's first initiative to tax plastic bag use.

The example of Edmonds shows there is nothing scary about banning plastic bags.

Let the members of Seattle's Council know it is time they stopped being such scaredey-cats.

photo credit: eflon