Ecomunicipality.com

Talk about fundamental change in the way people conduct their daily lives, look at what tiny, purposeful Ireland has been able to achieve in a very short amount of time.  From the NYTimes:

In 2002, Ireland
passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33
cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness
campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of
these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent.
Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping
them in offices and in the backs of cars. Plastic bags were not
outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable — on a par
with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.

I call that impressive.  And it only took a small tax and a matter of weeks to get it done. 

Why not charge a dollar for plastic bags at the checkout counter?  We can live without them very easily and their overall impact on the planet is hugely negative, from the enormous floating islands of plastic goo in the ocean, to their ubiquitous presence hanging from every branch and twig in some cities in Africa, to their clogging of municipal waste pipes--this is a scourge and a symbol of needlessly wasteful behavior hidden under the guise of convenience.

We just need one city, one municipality somewhere in America to stand up and say, "Environmental leadership?  It starts with us."  At that point, there will be more media, more positive attention and interest than that municipality will know what to do with.  And, it will change people's lives in that community forever.

A small price to pay for a better world. 

We are collectively dying for this kind of vision linked to sensible policies and some understanding of long-term strategizing. 

Who lives in a city ready to take this step?