PLASTIC BAGS FOR THE PEOPLE!

San Francisco is considering charging fees at stores for plastic bags. The idea is that plastic bags are bad for the environment and are prone to being picked up by the wind and cluttering the city more than other kinds of garbage. My problem with the idea is that it will hurt many of the more environmentally friendly residents of this city - people, like me, who don't own cars and walk or take public transportation.

It's a minor inconvenience for those folks with SUV's and garages. Simply walk your unbagged items to your vehicle in your shopping cart, or have one of the grocery store employees do it for you. The only hard part after that is getting the unbagged items from your SUV to your kitchen, bathroom, etc. If you have an attached garage, this isn't much of an inconvenience at all.

For us non-car folks, we have to figure out how to carry our groceries home and possibly on the bus or train. The truth is, it's probably not that difficult - just buy a couple of reusable bags, maybe the city should distribute reusable bags to low-income residents. But the point is, it will be more problematic for us (non-car owners) to make this transition.

Anyway, it is probably a decent idea, but wouldn't it be better to go after people who drive too much first if you care about the environment? Maybe add a fuel tax to help clean up the plastic bags while discouraging driving to help clean up the air. I get the feeling a lot of the people pushing this policy care less about the environment and more about the appearance of the city to tourists and big-spending consumers.