Can plastic bags save the planet?

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:03:00 +0000

It's hard to imagine that the attorney Stephen Joseph wasn’t seized by a fit of contrarian glee when he adopted the name “Save the Plastic Bag Coalition” for his organization, back in 2008. After all, most people advocating controversial industrial causes seek out names vague enough to induce a coma. But Joseph and his coalition aren’t hiding; for the past four years, they’ve waged an in-your-face, rhetorical and legal assault on the scientific claims and legislative efforts promoted by the growing legion of would-be bag banners—who regard the ubiquitous single-use plastic bag as an intrusive icon of throw-away consumerism run amok. Almost everything the antibag crusaders think they know about plastic bags, Joseph insists, is flat-out wrong, and whatever legislative solutions they propose will only make the nonexistent problem worse. But when pressed about the coalition’s name, Joseph seems surprised that anyone might find it audacious. “I’m pure passion,” he insists, “but no spin.”

Salon.com > Plastic Bags

Can plastic bags save the planet?