Comments on: Environment roundup https://www.overlawyered.com/2015/08/environment-roundup-22/ Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Thu, 27 Aug 2015 19:49:05 +0000 hourly 1 By: Bill Poser https://www.overlawyered.com/2015/08/environment-roundup-22/comment-page-1/#comment-327038 Thu, 27 Aug 2015 19:49:05 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=53646#comment-327038 Hunter-gatherers actually do, and did in the past, intentionally modify their environment. Probably the best and most widely documented practice is setting fires in forests. The removal of the deadfall and undergrowth, in fires that leave the large trees standing, makes the forest makes travel much easier. When fire clears an area, the new growth provides different plant resources from the forest. In particular, in North America, fires yield berry habitat. This is not to say that hunter-gatherers do not have ideas about sustainability, but it is not true that they uniformly avoid more than minimal modification of the landscape.

]]> By: Robert https://www.overlawyered.com/2015/08/environment-roundup-22/comment-page-1/#comment-327031 Thu, 27 Aug 2015 16:00:16 +0000 http://overlawyered.com/?p=53646#comment-327031 I said, only half kidding, to my neighbors after the plastic bag ban in Sunnyvale, CA, that first they’ll come for the bags, next they’ll come for our guns! Sure enough they did: See Sunnyvale Measure C (http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26949793/gun-rights-showdown-over-sunnyvale-law-reaches-appeals)

Anyway, back to bags:

Assuming that now everyone carries 6 ounces of canvas or other reusable bags around in their cars at all times, the extra fuel required to move that weight around, by any way I calculate it, exceeds any environmental savings from eliminating reusable plastic bags. (And environmentalists who do calculate “carbon footprint” of single use plastic bags always calculate the transport cost. This is not a “savings” because people have to drive their reusable bags into the store.)

The best argument for eliminating single use plastic isn’t “carbon footprint.” It’s just that they’re a source of unsightly litter because they get caught in the wind. At least when communities ban the bags, they should be honest about the reasons. This is a good enough reason for me. The “carbon footprint” arguments don’t make sense.

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