Wood is a renewable resource," says one who wants to ban plastic bags. You think? Have you any concept of how long it takes a tree to grow?

Washington State does not appear to have the remotest concept of how the rape of the land will affect us, and certainly not that far in the future. Yes, there are attempts to establish "plantations" of trees... but I challenge some of you anti-plastic addicts to drive along the roads and highways among the "forests" up here.

My yes, along the roads there appear to be lush growths of green trees. Ha! walk up close... and look between the greenery at the devastation of the forests behind those fancy tall tree borders.

The rape of the land results in desert. O you think with our rainy seasons up here it won't come to that? Do your research. The massive deserts of the world didn't start that way. And how very interesting is the fact that plastic bags (which are not only a fraction of cost to create), but in today's technology can be created far more easily to be recyclable.

And do not ignore the fact that suddenly not only are correctly manufactured plastic bags cheaper and recyclable but we are now to pay for the paper bags we are to be forced to use?

And we are exporting our trees to Asia? That is the primary goal of too many of today's Timber Kings. And why does Asia need our wood? Why not grow their own? They used to. Well, the enlarging Gobi Desert and population explosion there is certainly part of it. It's about time we ban sending them our trees, conserve our forests, and DO THE RESEARCH.

Desertification (creating a desert) is the degradation of land [exponentially by human usage] into drylands.^[2] Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.^[3]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desertification

With escalation of world population, once tropically lush lands replete with ancient trees has resulted in such deserts as the Sahara Desert in North Africa. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara (incredible pictures on that link)

Oh, we don't have to worry..? It won't happen in our lifetimes? Don't count on it. Droughts have a nasty habit, historically, of creeping upwards, as the nearly fabled years of California drought of the 20th century has done and in many areas is still doing.

Hard to visualize when living in the Pacific Northwest... but since the fabled "global warming" (using the original term as a segment of the Ice Ages of this planet) in which we exist now we will be affected. No... fossil fuels don't cause it.. lol... an infinitesimal factor... but then they are a more substantial factor in creating electricity.

This idea of banning "plastic" by a Seattle council is not just foolish ... it's a devastating comment on our mental laziness. It makes far more sense to preserve our forests and utilize our technology to require plastic's environmentally sound construction.

We have the science for it. Use. it!

You know, doesn't anyone ever wonder what the dog owners will have to do now that there are no plastic bags for their dogs' droppings? I have tons of bags in my closet, and guess what, I try to be a responsible citizen and use them to pick up what my dog leaves behind on his walks. And don't tell me that those tiny little bags provided by the city are "good enough", for a little terrier, maybe, but not a big dog with proportional poop.

Yes, I know this comment may gross people out, but it has to be brought up because for every dog owner in these cities, it's something *we* have to think about.

We use plastic bags all the time, although I like paper at the grocery store. Plastic rolls around to much. Trouble is, those folks who just don't care and toss trash everywhere. Then you end up with an Arkansas tumbleweed at the top of your maple.