The California rush to ban foam takeout food containers is starting to look like a frenetic race that would embarrass even the most aggressive Black Friday shoppers.
Currently, 119 cities and counties in California prohibit businesses from providing customers with takeout food packaging made of polystyrene....
Supposedly civic-minded prohibitions on consumer conveniences always have unintended consequences. California’s single-use plastic bag ban, for instance, has led to a surge in E. coli infections, created a swarm of thicker plastics bags that are a greater environmental hazard than the outlawed single-use plastic bags,...
San Diego has just dreamed up a Styrofoam prohibition so harsh that it will require consumers to change their foam containers to alternative packaging when they visit city property.
The City Council recently voted 5-3 to approve an ordinance banning “the distribution of egg cartons, food service ware,...
By Hank Campbell and Henry I. Miller
A recent op-ed harangue in the Washington Post — "Scientists know plastics are dangerous. Why won't the government say so? — by radical activist Paul Thacker seeks to create concern about the health effects of plastics and plasticizers. It reads like a cross between...
Having successfully outlawed plastic bags and straws, the next target of California lawmakers, who seem intent on criminalizing as many consumer conveniences as possible, just might be those foam containers used to hold take-out food.
Polystyrene, often called by its brand name Styrofoam, is used for...
Many of you may be unaware, but this past week was National Clean Energy Week. And, while many economically harmful policies have been proposed in pursuit of clean, efficient, and cost-effective renewable energy, the goal is worthwhile. It just matters how we get there.
The Clean Capitalist Coalition (full...
California, where there’s been some talk of secession, has long had the privilege of regulating emissions as if it were a nation rather than one of 50 states. A challenge has emerged, though. The Trump administration wants to revoke the federal waiver that allows the...
Earlier this month, The New York Times gave space to a climate activist who argued that policymakers must “Free California of Fossil Fuels.” Six days later, the Times’ California Today feature covered the state’s “Move to Mandate 100% Carbon-Free Electricity” through Senate Bill 100.
A significant portion...
California’s chronic water problems were once again national news when Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation establishing a code of water-use restrictions that would be more fitting for an undeveloped nation. As usual, policymakers chose the austerity of coercive public policy over the voluntary, cooperative agreements...
Making housing more affordable in California has been at the top of the agenda in Sacramento for more than a year.
Unfortunately, lawmakers have mishandled the opportunity to pass meaningful reforms and now a new solar energy mandate will soon force homes prices even higher.
The Energy...
Do polystyrene bans actually accomplish anything?
The California rush to ban foam takeout food containers is starting to look like a frenetic race that would embarrass even the most aggressive Black Friday shoppers. Currently, 119 cities and counties in California prohibit businesses from providing customers with takeout food packaging made of polystyrene....
Statewide Polystyrene Ban Would Bring Unintended Consequences
Supposedly civic-minded prohibitions on consumer conveniences always have unintended consequences. California’s single-use plastic bag ban, for instance, has led to a surge in E. coli infections, created a swarm of thicker plastics bags that are a greater environmental hazard than the outlawed single-use plastic bags,...
San Diego Ignores Alternatives in Rush to Ban Styrofoam
San Diego has just dreamed up a Styrofoam prohibition so harsh that it will require consumers to change their foam containers to alternative packaging when they visit city property. The City Council recently voted 5-3 to approve an ordinance banning “the distribution of egg cartons, food service ware,...
The Latest Target Of The Eco-Fundamentalists: Plastics
By Hank Campbell and Henry I. Miller A recent op-ed harangue in the Washington Post — "Scientists know plastics are dangerous. Why won't the government say so? — by radical activist Paul Thacker seeks to create concern about the health effects of plastics and plasticizers. It reads like a cross between...
Banning Polystyrene Won’t Help California’s Environment — But It Will Hurt Jobs, Economy
Having successfully outlawed plastic bags and straws, the next target of California lawmakers, who seem intent on criminalizing as many consumer conveniences as possible, just might be those foam containers used to hold take-out food. Polystyrene, often called by its brand name Styrofoam, is used for...
Free-market Environmentalism
Many of you may be unaware, but this past week was National Clean Energy Week. And, while many economically harmful policies have been proposed in pursuit of clean, efficient, and cost-effective renewable energy, the goal is worthwhile. It just matters how we get there. The Clean Capitalist Coalition (full...
Reforming California’s auto emission standards will bring relief to working poor
California, where there’s been some talk of secession, has long had the privilege of regulating emissions as if it were a nation rather than one of 50 states. A challenge has emerged, though. The Trump administration wants to revoke the federal waiver that allows the...
California Can Either Make Use of Its Sea of Oil, Or Drown In It
Earlier this month, The New York Times gave space to a climate activist who argued that policymakers must “Free California of Fossil Fuels.” Six days later, the Times’ California Today feature covered the state’s “Move to Mandate 100% Carbon-Free Electricity” through Senate Bill 100. A significant portion...
A way out of California’s water crisis
California’s chronic water problems were once again national news when Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation establishing a code of water-use restrictions that would be more fitting for an undeveloped nation. As usual, policymakers chose the austerity of coercive public policy over the voluntary, cooperative agreements...
New Solar Mandate Latest Chapter in ‘California Craziness’ Story
Making housing more affordable in California has been at the top of the agenda in Sacramento for more than a year. Unfortunately, lawmakers have mishandled the opportunity to pass meaningful reforms and now a new solar energy mandate will soon force homes prices even higher. The Energy...