California Doing California Things

[TSwizzle]

now you know why it’s such a hellhole and no one wants to move there. Except homeless people.

Plenty of people and businesses are leaving California and It is only some areas of some cities that are hellholes. The state and many of its cities are governed by donkeys. Newsom has started pointing fingers at the cities for the homeless problems "do your damned job" he tells them.

This is what we have to put up with;

A passenger was shot and killed and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and taking its driver hostage was arrested following a terrifying pursuit and standoff Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

News

 

[Shadowy Man]

now you know why it’s such a hellhole and no one wants to move there. Except homeless people.

Plenty of people and businesses are leaving California

That's true, depending on your definition of "plenty". A quick internet search indicates the population decreased by 0.2% last year.

A passenger was shot and killed and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and taking its driver hostage was arrested following a terrifying pursuit and standoff Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

News

Well, in a state of early 40 million people, the occasional odd thing is destined to happen. It's not like it's Florida, though.

 

[TSwizzle]

Well, in a state of early 40 million people, the occasional odd thing is destined to happen. It's not like it's Florida, though.

Los Angeles is a open air psychiatric ward, these "odd things" are frequent.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Well, in a state of early 40 million people, the occasional odd thing is destined to happen. It's not like it's Florida, though.

Los Angeles is a open air psychiatric ward, these "odd things" are frequent.

Of course it's open air; as you so rightfully state, the weather is quite good most of the time.

 

[ZiprHead]

now you know why it’s such a hellhole and no one wants to move there. Except homeless people.

Plenty of people and businesses are leaving California and It is only some areas of some cities that are hellholes. The state and many of its cities are governed by donkeys. Newsom has started pointing fingers at the cities for the homeless problems "do your damned job" he tells them.

This is what we have to put up with;

A passenger was shot and killed and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and taking its driver hostage was arrested following a terrifying pursuit and standoff Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles.

News

Apparently crime doesn't happen elsewhere. You should probably move.

 

[Derec]

I just saw a nephrologist, so I am wondering what it does to my kidneys.

Did you ask him what he thought about it?

 

[Derec]

Hey, those seas of plastic in the oceans aren't a big deal. We can harvest from them in the next decade.

I am not saying we should not do something about plastic being dumped in oceans, but I am skeptical of such heavy-handed government regulation - i.e. a complete ban.

 

[Derec]

https://suffolkcountyny.gov/Portals/0/FormsDocs/health/PublicHealthProtection/Website%20Enviromental%20Impactsv3.pdf

Lots of information on these two pages of PDF that shows that you have no idea about what you are talking about.

Let's look at some of these "arsefacts" you posted critically, shall we?
When we are talking about a product that is widely used, it will have huge aggregate quantities. Such large numbers are good for propaganda, which is what this pamphlet by Suffolk County, NY government basically is.
"It requires 2.2 billion pounds of fossil fuel and 3.9 billion gallons of fresh water to produce the 100 billion plastic bags the US consumes each year."
Billions and billions. Tsts. But if we divide, it allegedly takes just about 10 g of fossil fuels and 150 mL of water to make a plastic bag. That looks far less impressive. Especially since it just says "plastic bags" which implies all plastic bags, not just the very thin standard shopping bags that do not use much material compared to other plastic bags people might use.
"The manufacturing of plastic bags produces a billion pounds of solid waste and 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)per year."
4.5 g of solid waste and 27 g of CO₂ in other words.
"Plastic shopping bags are made from polyethylene, a thermoplastic made from oil. Accordingly, reducing the use of plastic bags will decrease our dependence on fossil fuels. "
Not by much.
And it goes on like that.

I reuse my grocery shopping bags. They are useful for carrying small things and as trash bags, e.g. in a car or to line small trash bags like you might have in the bathroom.
And you have to compare these plastic bags with alternatives. How much energy and other inputs are required to make paper bags?
As far as reusable bags, how many trips do they last in practice? How much energy and water is needed to clean them?
And compare the plastic shopping bags with all the plastic packaging that ends up inside the bags. There is easily far more plastic inside the bags than in bags themselves.

 

[Derec]

Per Google AI:
Yup, totally insignificant.

I would not trust Google (or any other) AI with these things. It used the 8M metric tons figure for two different quantities for example.

That said, I never said that the problem of plastic pollution is insignificant. I just do not think that banning these thin grocery shopping bags that weigh a few grams or so is going to do anything significant. Especially given the amount of plastic packaging in groceries themselves.
I happen to have went to Publix today. Stocking up for that hurricane Helene that is bearing on us - you never know.
Produce? Lose produce gets put in a plastic bag. You know the kind, that you pull from a roll. Other produce, like a bag of spinach or a box of lettuce heads, is packed in plastic. So is the box of strawberries or mushrooms. Meats come in that little polystyrene tray and are shrink-wrapped. Fish was packed in paper though. Other stuff - bacon packed in plastic. Pasta - paper but color printed which takes energy and other inputs. Pasta sauce is in a glass jar but that is not free either resource-wise.
Some other things, but you get my drift.

Maybe instead of mindlessly banning all and sundry, California and other states could fund research into making better biodegradable plastics for single use applications.

 

[Derec]

A big problem with plastic bag that go to the land fill is that they reduce the amount of water peculation that helps break down the waste.

Wouldn't you want the amount of water peculation to be reduced?
Or, you must mean percolation. Aren't landfills already lined with water-impermeable liners on the bottom?
And it would be more durable bags, from plastic bags from clothing stores to discarded reusable grocery bags, that would present more of a barrier problem. The grocery store bags are so thin and flimsy, they tear apart easy.

Maybe grocery store can use bags like these instead. Would that not be better than restricting consumer choice by banning plastic bags outright?

 

[Derec]

Horry County, SC, home to North Myrtle Beach, is a strongly conservative area that has implemented a single-use plastic bag ban. The same goes for Beaufort County, where Hilton Head Island has also adopted similar bans.

Do you have a link?
What I could find is that it was the city of NMB, not the Horry County, that came up with that ban.
North Myrtle Beach City Council considers banning all plastic bags in city
Not sure about the politics of the city itself.

These are just two examples of Republican-leaning regions taking action to protect the environment. Not all conservatives disregard science or critical thinking. That's a personal choice.

My problem is not with science but with heavy-handed government regulation infringing on personal choice.

Edit: I never claimed entire states—what I specifically said was 'parts of.'

That's my point. Parts of states can have politics diametrically opposite to the states themselves. Same goes for counties.