Commentary: Repealing plastic bag ban puts convenience before the planet

I was outraged by the Huntington Beach council’s vote to repeal the city’s plastic bag ban (“Repeal of bag ban advances,” April 23).

With the exception of Mayor Jill Hardy, the council members gutlessly chose to bury their heads in the sand. Six opted to ignore the considerable evidence of the harm to our environment caused by single-use plastic bags.

I wish to commend Hardy for objecting to the limited amount of time the council and the public were given to properly examine the environmental impact report addendum before the meeting.

Councilman Mike Posey was the only member to articulate his reasons for wanting the ban rescinded. He seems to feel that the ban is an infringement on our personal liberties. Posey appealed to his fellow council members by asking, “What’s next?” and then suggesting the next targets could be diapers and plastic bottles.

Possibly, and so what? Let’s do what we can to clean up the contamination our disposable-loving societies have inflicted on the oceans, marine life and Earth as a whole.

Posey rationalized that as adults, we know how to properly dispose of plastic bags. If that were true, I probably wouldn’t have walked through an unbroken trash path along the shore stretching from Magnolia Street to Beach Boulevard last August. I saw bits of broken toys, tennis ball fragments, plastic eating utensils, straws and, yes, plastic bag remnants. The debris appeared to have washed in from the sea and unfortunately was being carried back out by the tide. I took pictures to document this.

Although the councilman stated that he has modified his behavior by using paper bags and reusable bags, he noted that doesn’t mean everyone else has.

Why not? It is not a lot to ask.

America will not morph into a “nanny state” because some limits are placed on the amount of damage people can inflict on the environment. Governments often must employ mandatory behavior modifications. That’s why we have strict child pornography laws; laws restricting people from operating vehicles while intoxicated; laws to discourage residents from engaging in violence against one another; and laws to keep idiots from texting while driving.

Thousands of decrees monitor personal behaviors that common sense tells us we shouldn’t engage in, because people don’t always do the right thing if there are no consequences.

I don’t like excessive government intrusion any more than anyone else. Most of us don’t enjoy being told what to do. I couldn’t even tolerate a homeowners association dictating the color of my house or the length of my lawn. I’ve been known to defy a commandment or two.

Passing laws that put the welfare of the planet before our personal convenience does not constitute a violation of anyone’s rights.

What makes me uneasy are leaders who try to connect needed environmental mandates with some insidious plot to strip Americans of their inalienable rights. Politicians love to make speeches pitting the average citizen against the enemy, big government. I’m not saying they are always wrong. I’d just prefer they save the rhetoric for issues that really affect American lives.

Rescinding the original ordinance gives the perception that Huntington Beach is a city that puts convenience ahead of a clean environment. I call that garbage.

Mary Franklin

Huntington Beach