On cities banning plastic bags

H. Sterling Burnett's article in the Austin Statesman entitled Austin would be ill-advised to ban plastic bags, is an excellent example of well-meaning politicians who let their gris-gris trump reality.

The only problem is we have to wait until the end of the story to get this gem of a paragraph.

Environmental advocates often argue that government should follow the science. In this case, the science shows that plastic bags are not a substantive litter problem. Accordingly, the drawbacks to banning bags far outweigh the benefits of controlling a miniscule percent of litter.

via statesman.com