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PROFILES OF OUR COMMUNITY
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SUDOKU by Myles Mellor Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle, each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium Last week’s solution:
SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION SOLUTION
S a n C le m e n te
See today’s solution in next week’s issue.
Ban the Bags Students travel to Sacramento to support plastic bag ban By Madi Swayne San Clemente Times
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his past summer, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley authored a bill proposing a statewide ban of single-use plastic bags to alleviate plastic pollution. When the bill, AB 1998, failed in Senate by only a few votes, many environmental groups, employees and businesses were saddened by the loss, but vowed not to give up feeling they had the momentum to continue. On Monday, November 29, Green Cities California (GCC) a coalition of 13 top environmentally friendly cities, joined together in a press conference on the western steps of the California State Capitol. Members of the GCC along with the Clean Seas Coalition spoke, “To promote a statewide strategy of local governments adopting a uniform single use bag ordinance that is based on AB 1998.” Members of Green Cities California include Berkeley, Hayward, Los Angeles, Marin County, Oakland, Pasadena, Richmond, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Barbara and Santa Monica. Representatives from each of these cities were in attendance along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and my group of youth leaders from the South Orange County Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Kirsty Hibbard (JSerra Catholic High School), Katie Hibbard (JSerra Catholic High School), Lulu Erkeneff (Dana Hills High School) and I, Madi Swayne (San Clemente High School), all traveled to Sacramento to restate our support for a statewide plastic bag ban. Our goal was to let representatives know that we care and to bring attention to the fact that there is growing grassroots support in South Orange County cities for the proposed ban. We wanted to let policy makers from our cities (San Clemente, Dana Point, and San Juan Capistrano) know that the youth is behind the effort; we are prepared to continue working not only toward a community ban in our tri-city area, but a statewide one as well. Kirsty and I first traveled to Sacramento in early August (before the Senate voted on the bill) to lobby for support of the bill from Assembly members and senators alike. We felt it was important to return to the Capitol to www.sanclementetimes.com
Surfrider Foundation members (L to R) Dana Hills club member Lulu Erkeneff, JSerra club founder/president Kirsty Hibbard and sister Katie Hibbard and San Clemente High club founder/president Madi Swayne joined others in support of a plastic bag ban. Photo by Denise Erkeneff
QUICK FACTS • California uses more than 19 million plastic bags each year • Single use bags generate 147,038 tons of waste each year • California throws away over 600 plastic bags each second • Only about 5% of plastic bags are actually recycled • A bag ban will create new green jobs in California • Plastic bags are made from one of the scarcest resources — oil • Bags cost about 2-5 cents a piece, and that price is embedded into the cost of items we buy everyday • China, parts of Africa, parts of Australia, Mexico City and parts of India have all introduced bans on plastic bags • We pay about 17 cents per bag to clean up the mess Source: Heal the Bay
restate our support. At the press conference, we had the opportunity to meet many instrumental people working for goals similar to our own. We met Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, Suja Lowenthal, a Long Beach councilwoman, Andy Keller, president and founder of ChicoBag Company and Charles McGlashan, a Marin County supervisor, among many others. It was great to see that the activists we look up to so much
Governor Schwarzenegger looks on as AB 1998 bill author Julia Brownley speaks at the Nov. 29 press conference. Photo by Kirsty Hibbard
are also behind us. It was exciting to hear all about the most recent plastic bag ban in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County that was passed earlier this month. This monumental ban encompasses thousands of citizens in a county so large that if it were a state it would be the eighth-largest in the country. The ban in Los Angeles County will make it easier for cities within the county to draft legislation of their own, strong enough to stand up against the ban’s biggest opponent—the American Chemistry Council (ACC). There has been a lot of back-and-forth between supporters of the ban and the ACC, and money has become a selling point. The bag ban is not an economical problem or a partisan issue. It is not about a law, it is
about doing the right thing. Lulu, Katie, Kirsty and I have seen the plastic bag issue firsthand as members, presidents and founders of Surfrider Foundation clubs on our respective high school campuses. We have each picked up thousands of pieces of plastic litter on our beaches and see this bill as a reasonable solution to the problem. Lulu Erkeneff said, “It’s about what’s good for the general public, not what’s convenient and irresponsible. It is about changing a habit.” I like to relate this issue to when the seat belt law was introduced. Before the law, not everybody wore seat belts (especially those of older generations), but after the law was passed people started a new, healthier habit. The same would be true of a plastic bag ban. Not everyone uses reusable bags at the present, but with legislation, habits would change, along with the health of the environment. “When we get together and talk about this bill we don’t talk about if it passes, we talk about when it passes. This is a real issue that is not going to go away and our generation is not going to carry on like the generations before with our heads in the sand,” says Kirsty Hibbard. Katie Hibbard, her younger sister agreed, saying, “I think by the goodness of mankind people will want to be the solution rather than the problem and will begin to do the right thing.” So now, we ask you to do your part and consider the effects your choices have on the environment. Also, get in contact with your assembly member or senator and let them know it is time to stop the consumption of the more than 19 billion plastic bags used in the State of California annually. The solution isn’t paper or plastic, it’s neither. Choose to reuse! It was great to have a second opportunity to visit Sacramento and to witness firsthand the progress this bill is making in other parts of our state and participate in an important press conference at the Capitol. We often only hear about the negativity coming from the state Capitol as it is read to us by a newscaster on television, but this trip allowed us to meet and network face-to-face with many people who are very passionate about making this change happen. One of the most passionate was Governor Schwarzenegger himself. He spoke with conviction and even acknowledged our work with Surfrider by name. The mood was decidedly optimistic and gave us the boost we needed to encourage our continued efforts and reinforce the importance of our stewardship so far. The anecdotes and personal stories he used when speaking about the plastic blight let us know how much this bill means to him, as a fellow steward of the environment. SC
December 2–8, 2010 • San Clemente Times • Page 19