Doing My Part

[Buffalobob]

I am just doing my part to reduce dependence on foreign oil. So here I am in front of DC Council testifying on what some of the lazy Americans are doing with all of that foreign oil. The black plastic bag is made in Korea.

Click on the link and then move the time pointer to 33:30 minutes and after it buffers you will see what I have to say.

http://octt.dc.gov/services/on_demand_video/channel13/april2009/04_01_09_GOVOPS_1.asx

I am followed in my testimony by the deerslayer . You may remember her from the pictures in the link below. She cleans up pretty well.
http://www.professionalsoldiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21854

We waded unarmed down streams that most people on the forum would not walk even armed much less get in and wade. Sometimes it reminded me of the PCZ or RVN except during the winter survey when it reminded me of Ft Devens .

I know some of the new guys on the forum believe that Al Queda is after all of us Ex-SF but anytime they want me they can come and get me. But Al Queda better remember the deerslayer is with me and bring help and pack a lunch. :p

[nmap]

Interesting report. I hear that Texas plans to impose a 7 cent charge per plastic bag at some point. Perhaps that is part of a trend.

[Buffalobob]

The vote was unanimous!!! The legislative process is so slow I might die of old age and impatience before this thing goes into effect.

Paper or Plastic? D.C. Council Votes for 5-Cent Tax on Both.
By Tim Craig and Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The D.C. Council voted unanimously yesterday to assess a 5-cent tax on paper and plastic bags to try to discourage their use, putting the District at the forefront of efforts nationwide to promote reusable shopping bags.
The proposal, which must be voted on again later this month before it becomes law, is designed to limit pollution of the Anacostia River and its tributaries. The tax would apply to grocery stores, pharmacies and other food-service providers.
Council member Jack Evans said the bill can be viewed as a "first step" toward the long-term goal of severely limiting plastic bags and bottles nationwide.
"There is not a river I go to, a park I go, a stream I go to, where I don't see plastic bags everywhere," Evans (D-Ward 2) said. "The fact is our country is becoming inundated with plastic bags and plastic bottles. . . . This is the first step to try to address this issue."
The council vote came during an eight-hour session in which Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) fended off an attempt to shorten the controversial Summer Jobs Program and Michelle A. Rhee came in for some of the harshest criticism she has encountered from the council in her two years as chancellor of the city's public schools.
Under the plastic bag legislation, called the Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act, businesses would keep a penny for each bag sold, and the other four cents would go into a fund to clean up the Anacostia. If businesses offer a discount to consumers who bring reusable bags, they would get to keep two cents for each bag sold.
The legislation, sponsored by council members Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) and Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3), was fast-tracked even as some cities rethink proposed plastic bag taxes because of the recession.
The Seattle City Council tried to impose a 20-cent fee on plastic and paper, but the proposal must go before voters in August. In New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) had inserted a similar 5-cent fee on plastic bags in his budget proposal, but the City Council blocked the measure last month over concerns that it would hurt consumers in tight times.
San Francisco is the only large U.S. city that has banned plastic bags.
The plastics industry, several local businesses and the D.C. Republican Party opposed the tax. Critics said it would disproportionately affect the city's poorest residents. The city GOP sent out a statement yesterday accusing the council of imposing a $9.5 million tax on District residents.



We are working on Phase II of the project and here is the deerslayer collecting trash from a storm sewer outfall that serves a medium density residential area. You will notice that a watermelon rind and canteloupe rind came through the storm sewer.

[Buffalobob]

I was thinking about it this morning. Running Recon we buried all of our trash after every meal. There must be a deuce and a half of C-rat cans and LRRP wrappers still buried all over South Vietnam just from me alone.

[Utah Bob]

I've used those canvas grocery bags for years. Plastic bags are a pain in the ass. I used to watch dead sea turtles float ashore in Florida, killed by eating plastic bags they thought were jellyfish.