Photo Credit: Mo Riza
On a recent trip to California, I realized that I had committed a serious environmental faux pas. I had forgotten to bring my reusable shopping bag with me on vacation. For my errant ways, I was charged $0.10 for each and every (paper) bag I purchased while grocery shopping on my trip. Yes, I am both stubborn and cheap, but my annoyance here goes beyond the extra $0.70 or so that I shelled out while in the great state of California.
This October, California Governor Gerry Brown signed legislation banning single-use plastic bags in grocery stores by the start of 2015, and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016.
The bill preserves existing, local bag bans, like those I was subjected to on my travels. California has consistently been a national leader in environmental policy, from air quality standards to renewable energy, so becoming the first state in the country to ban single-use plastic bags would seem to fit the bill.
The only difference is that plastic bags are really not that bad. See this great article from Vox.
Let me be clear: there is nothing environmentally negative about a plastic bag ban. Thus, you might ask, “isn’t a small, but nonetheless positive, step better than no step at all?” Maybe. But maybe not.
The reason I think “maybe not” is somewhat complicated and abstract, but bear with me. More and more, we as a country are learning that robust scientific evidence and environmentally friendly technologies are not enough to address human-made environmental problems.
We see this as James Inhofe, a staunch climate denier, prepares to become the next leader of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in January. From the New York Times:
[Inhofe] published a book in 2012 called “The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future” and said in 2006 that that United Nations invented the idea of global warming in order to “shut down the machine called America.”
And he’s quoted in the Washington Post saying, “As we enter a new Congress, I will do everything in my power to rein in and shed light on the EPA’s unchecked regulations.” Well, that’s comforting.
But there have been times in the past when environmental issues were not so politically divisive. A great example of this is the Montreal Protocol. Signed in 1987, the Montreal Protocol addressed global production of ozone-damaging chemicals, and is arguably the most successful international environmental treaty in history. Though its success was the result of many factors, unprecedented cooperation and collaboration were major contributors.
Unfortunately, cooperation and collaboration are nowhere to be found when it comes to environmental legislation these days. In fact, I think that focusing on issues like plastic bags actually makes cooperation harder.
Because single-use plastic bags do not actually matter very much from an environmental perspective, the bag ban plays into an image – that image of “being green” that is part of so many liberally-minded voters.
And identity is surprisingly important when it comes to political issues. A recent study led by Dr. Kahan at Yale found that more people know and understand science than are willing to believe it, particularly when that science contradicts something about their identity. As Brendan Nyhan put it,“With science as with politics, identity often trumps the facts.”
All of this is to say that the “green” identity is a hugely powerful one. Tapping into that identity for trivial initiatives like banning bags is not only a waste of time and political resources, it allows people who identify as “green” to pat themselves on the back without having accomplished much at all. And, it further discredits the green movement in the eyes of those who do not identify with it.
If we are to truly address the large environmental problems we face, we need to focus on the environmental issues that make a real difference. We need to create an environmental identity that can transcend party lines or religious beliefs. Everyone has a stake in the environment, and the sooner we can come together to realize that, the sooner we can do something meaningful to address environmental issues.
The Karban Cycle 