"China announces plastic bag ban"
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(I sent this comment to the BBC:)
I can't understand why Quinten Somerville can't understand the Chinese concern with plastic bags. In his first report he said, "...there are bigger polluters like coal-fired power plants...". In his second report he said "Green Peace hasn't said anything about plastic bags". In both cases he answered his own quandry witin one breath: "...it takes 37 Million barrels of oil to prduce these bags..."
The concern has nothing to do with pollution, or Green Peace; it has to do with the 37 Million barrels of oil. Why waste a resource to produce something that adds no value? The bags can't be recylcled into something of value, and oil resources can be used for much more lucrative pursuits such as computer parts, consumer goods or fuel for China's rapidly growing automobile culture.