July 2007
No plastic checkout bags!
This and other issues...
| A message from Sam No plastic checkout bags! Living simply on earth 4th of July events |
Ward 7 coffee July 18 City podcasts begin Report that pothole Now here's a thought |
Happy 4th of July!
click here to enjoy John Wayne's tribute to America
Plastic bags litter our city streets and neighborhoods. They clog our storm drains and pollute our streams and the Chesapeake Bay. They are harmful to aquatic life. Appearing as jellyfish, when swallowed they kill marine animals. Plastic bags often fill with silt and act like sand bags in storm drains and on the bottoms of creeks and rivers. They are petroleum based, eating us large amounts of fossil fuels. And when they're released into the environment they simply don't go away. They will be around for hundreds of years.
At our Monday evening, July 9th, City Council meeting, I will be introducing legislation to prohibit the distribution of plastic checkout bags by retail grocers, drug stores and shops within the City of Annapolis. A public hearing on the bill will be held on Monday evening, July 23rd.
When the ordinance is passed merchants will be able to offer only recycled paper bags or to encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. While this may seem like firing a beebee at the enormous giant of overconsumption, this will, I'm quite certain, be a "shot heard round the world." Already positive news about this legislation has appeared on TV and in newspapers throughout the United States and in many countries.
This legislation, while producing a bit of inconvenience initially, will improve our environment and quality of life as its momentum builds.
Please read carefully the following article "No Bag Please!" This is our reasonable argument for the legislation.
I believe that Annapolis, as the state capital, should set an example for Baltimore and other Maryland municipalities. This is a moral issue. It's about what's right for the environment including the ecological sustainability of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It's also a common sense issue because it's about protecting our city and its waterways for future generations.
Retailers who've already made the switch to recycled paper or reusable bags find their decision popular and welcomed.
Numerous Annapolis businesses and environmental leaders have endorsed this legislation. A confab of Virginia, Maryland and DC environmental organizations are being invited to Annapolis on July 23rd to discuss this legislative move.
I believe we Annapolitans can (and we must!) save Annapolis's environment and our beloved Chesapeake Bay. When implementing this measure we will be encouraging other governments here and abroad to take similar action.
To view the legislation click here.
It's time for Annapolis to lead. Thank you for your support!
Upcoming City Council Meetings:
July 9th, 7:30 p.m., City Council Legislative Meeting
July 23rd, 7:00 p.m., City Council Public Hearing
(The Thursday prior to each meeting an agenda will be posted on the City of Annapolis website. You can view the agenda by clicking here.)
(adapted from an article by landscape artist Karen Pearce)
With all due respect to Kermit the Frog, it's easy being green. Although we may be overwhelmed by the environmental catastrophes that seem to occur around us with alarming regularity, there is a simple way each and every person can make a difference. It doesn't involve travelling the world to clean up oil spills or standing in the path of bulldozers to prevent land clearing. It actually involves shopping...
Consider the ubiquitous plastic checkout bag: Light in weight yet capable of handling hefty items. Cheap to produce. They cost very little. Shoppers practically consider it a birthright to be queried, "Paper or plastic?" Yet production of the both plastic and paper bags consumes natural resources. Plastic checkout bags frequently end up as litter in our streets, storm drains, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. It requires a lot of cleanup. The plastic varieties are difficult for garbage haulers, recyclers and landfill operators to handle. And all of this costs money.
Plastic shopping bags and the environment
The environmental issues associated with plastic shopping bags have featured in the news in the last couple of months, following the apparent success of the plastic bag tax in Ireland in reducing the number of plastic shopping bags that are used in that country. The same approach has also been suggested for addressing the problem in Australia, and other countries.
Alderman Sam Shropshire is proposing legislation that will totally prohibit the distribution of plastic checkout bags by Annapolis businesses. However, until we are able to put this law into effect, the best thing we can do for the environment is simply refuse plastic and use reusable mesh or canvas bags. Easy!
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, plastic shopping bags have a surprisingly significant environmental impact. As well as being an eyesore (next time you are outside, have a look around - you'll be amazed at the number of plastic bags in Annapolis's streets and waterways) plastic checkout bags can fill with silt acting as sand bags clogging our storm drains, choking our creeks and waterways. They kill large numbers of wildlife each year. In the water, plastic bags can be mistaken for jellyfish by wildlife. This makes plastic bag pollution in marine environments particularly dangerous, as birds, whales, seals and turtles ingest the bags, then die from intestinal blockages. Disturbingly, it is claimed that plastic bags are the most common man-made item seen by sailors at sea!
The biggest problem with plastic bags is that they do not readily break down in the environment, with estimates for the time it takes them to decompose ranging from 20 to 1000 years. One of the disquieting facts stemming from this is that plastic bags can become serial killers. Once an animal that had ingested a plastic bag dies, it decays at a much faster rate than the bag. Once the animal has decomposed, the bag is released back into the environment more or less intact, ready to be eaten by another misguided organism. The incredibly slow rate of decay of plastic bags also means that each bag we use compounds the problem, because the bags simply accumulate.
Please read the rest of this article by clicking here!
Plastic bags in the news: (Click below to read or watch...)
Plastic--a wonder material you can't get rid of (CBS Sunday Morning, June 24, 2007)
Plastic bag revolt spreads across England (Christian Science Monitor, June 20, 2007)
Annapolis lawmaker proposes banning plastic bags (Fox 5 News, June 15, 2007)
Will my plastic bag be here in 2057? (slate.com)
Barry & Mary--Two American Dreams
By David Rippe & Jared Rosen
Reprinted with permission from The GreenMoney Journal
Copyright © 2007
Let's take a look at two typical Americans, Barry and Mary, from the same society but living in two completely different worlds. Stick with us; we promise the artistic license will be worth it.
Barry is heavily invested in the American Dream... physically, emotionally, financially and spiritually, Barry is bought in. For years he has worked arduously to climb his way up to material nirvana. Yet his ascent is slowed by mountainous credit card debt, first and second mortgages, impulse buys of things unneeded, irrational spending on status items, and bills, bills, bills.
Barry feels trapped by the possessions he now has to work so hard to pay for and has so little time to enjoy. Despite a decent salary, money is a constant concern. He sometimes wakes up sweating in the middle of the night, his heart pounding, as he wonders if he remembered to pay a particular credit card on time. Enticed and seduced by offers of 0% interest, Barry gambled on the balance transfer game. He was two days late on a payment once and his rate skyrocketed to 30.99% for the life of the balance. To compound difficulties, he recently saw his minimum payment due doubled thanks to the infamous 2005 Bankruptcy Act. Barry feels betrayed.
Yes, he made the bad decisions that got him into this mess. Yes, he believes in fulfilling his obligations. After he was drilled with late charges and a staggering interest rate, Barry went back and read the fine print on his contract. And what fine print it is: legalese in 3-point type, so complex Alan Greenspan would scratch his noggin in bafflement. Barry now realizes the deck was stacked against him. He's been had by the moneymen.
Remarkably, even though Barry is over his head in debt and racked with anxiety, he continues to live beyond his means. He continues to work the credit card offers. He and his family are in denial, preferring not to face their precarious financial circumstances. On those nights when Barry wakes up anxious, he usually pops an Ambien and drifts back to sleep. Problem solved.
During the day when he is not under the influence of mood-improving drugs, Barry frets over layoffs, budget cuts, and reduced benefits at work. His health care plan gets more expensive each year, irrespective of reductions in coverage and increases in deductibles and out of pocket expenses.
Barry sees his life spinning into chaos. But he dare not voice his anxiety. He is experiencing a quadruple whammy: increased health care costs, higher energy prices, out of control finance charges, and higher local taxes that far exceed his meager federal tax cut. Surprisingly, Barry cannot seem to stop himself from spending. Like an emotionally distressed person who overeats for comfort, Barry finds temporary pleasure in deluding himself that he is a man of means. He spends, his wife spends. They indulge their daughter's material desires. The more he has the more he wants -- and the more he needs to distract himself from the truth. At his core, however, Barry feels empty and he knows that his false "damn the torpedoes" bravado is fast accelerating his day of financial reckoning.
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
On the flip side, let's take a look at Mary. Mary's identity comes from her soul. It is her spirit that guides her as she navigates back and forth between the Right Side Up and upside -- down worlds. While she likes and appreciates nice things, Mary finds joy in simple gifts-time spent with loved ones, handwritten note cards, homemade cookies given out of love. Yes, she occasionally splurges on things she likes, but only after careful consideration of her finances. She is not cheap or miserly, rather she simply has never bought into the concept that happiness comes from possessions.
To continue reading the article click here.
Suggested simple living links on the web:
The Simplicity Forum
The Simple Living Network
Alternatives for Simple Living
Simple Living With Wanda Urbanska
Take Back Your Time
Recommended reading:
Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin
Affluenza by John deGraff, David Wann and Thomas Naylor
The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka
4th of July Events
This American holiday was first observed in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. At that time the Declaration of Independence was read aloud and city bells rang and bands played. It was not declared a legal holiday, however, until 1941.
Many of us will be enjoying the tradition of backyard barbecues and neighborly camaraderie on Independence Day. However, we'd like to encourage you to attend two significant Annapolis happenings in celebration of our nation's birth.
West Street / Main Street Parade kicks off at 4:30 p.m. Begins near Westgate Circle and continues down West Street to Main Street and on to the Annapolis City Dock.
Independence Day concert and fireworks at 8:00 p.m. at the City Dock (Susan B. Campbell Park). Performance by the US Naval Academy Band. The program will include patriotic favorites and feature guest artists, including six-year-old trumpeter Geoffrey Gallante and narrator Naval Academy Professor Carl Schneider.
Ward 7 Community Coffee!
Wednesday, July 18th, at Zü Coffee
Yes, you're invited to coffee with Sam and his guests at Zü Coffee, Wednesday, July 18th, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Our guest speaker will be Craig Purcell, AIA, LEED. Craig is a principal with the firm Matrix Settles located in downtown Annapolis. His firm is designing their own LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) certified office. He is an advocate for alternative forms of transit on the Annapolis Peninsula and a Comprehensive Plan advisor. Alternative transit perspectives in planning include walking, bicycling, buses, jitneys, smart trams, ferries, rail, etc. Please join us for this discussion of Transit Oriented Development (TOD).
This is also a great opportunity for you to also voice any concerns about our community to Alderman Shropshire. Sam wants to meet you face to face. He wants to know what you think.
Zü Coffee is located at 934 Bay Ridge Road. Zü Coffee features great pastries, coffees and teas at reasonable prices!
We hope to see you there!
City podcasting begins
The 10-12 minute podcasts feature the latest in city information, along with interviews with the Mayor and other City Officials.
City Public Information Officer Ray Weaver says the podcast is just one more way to help keep residents and visitors informed about what is happening in and around Annapolis.
“Many people are choosing podcasts as the way to get information." Mr. Weaver said. "It's mobile, it's on-demand and convenient.”
The podcast webpage also includes the weekly audio from Mayor Moyer's "Talk With the Mayor" program which is broadcast live at 2:00 p.m. every Monday on 1430 AM WNAV.
“This is a way for people to hear the interview even if they can't listen live. I think the podcast will actually encourage people to listen to the live interviews, where they can call in and email questions.” Mr. Weaver said. “I hope to develop the podcast with different guests each week and welcome ideas and suggestions from the public.”
The podcast can be subscribed to via the City of Annapolis website by clicking here.
Want to report a pothole or a street light that's out?
The Annapolis Department of Public Works is led by a very qualified staff. You can get information about how to report potholes. You can learn about the City's mosquito management program, get recycling hints, or find out about the many other services offered by the department by clicking here!
Now here's a thought!
“Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to now he hasn't been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wildlife's become extinct, the climate's ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day.”
--Anton Chekhov, Uncle Vanya, 1897
and a thought-provoking poem by comedian George Carlin...
Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticided grain,
For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain.
America, America, man sheds his waste on thee,
And hides the pines with billboard signs, from sea to oily sea.
used here with permission
Oops! We made a mistake!
In our June e-Newsletter we gave the wrong web link to the Naval Academy's Midshipman Sponsorship Program. We encourage you to be involved in this very worthy program. It's not too late to participate. You can reach the correct site by clicking here!
Quick Links...
Register to Vote!
Alderman Sam Website
Annapolis City Council
Back Creek Nature Park
Annapolis Maritime Museum
Bay Theatre
