Good News…Bad News

Let’s start with the good news. Californian’s plastic bag ban was upheld by voters with the passage of Proposition 67 last week. This means that effective immediately, single-use plastic bags will no longer be distributed by most grocery, convenience and liquor stores, as well as large pharmacies, statewide.

While the City of Los Angeles has already enacted legislation to ban plastic bags, a statewide plastic bag ban means that California proudly stands as an environmental leader in keeping pollution out of creeks, rivers and ultimately the Pacific Ocean. In past years as reported by California’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s office, about 15 billion single-use plastic use bags were distributed to Californians annually. That number will now drop significantly, which is excellent news for the environment and wildlife.

Now for the challenging news. It was recently reported that La Niña has returned. La Niña is “a cooling of the water in the equatorial Pacific that occurs at irregular intervals and is associated with widespread changes in weather patterns complementary to those of El Niño, but less extensive and damaging in their effects.” Historically, La Niña means drier conditions, which means a continuation of drought-like conditions here in Los Angeles.

And, LA’s ongoing drought means that Angelenos need to continue to conserve water. Our water conservation pledge is one way to show your support for saving the drop. And, as a thank you for promising to conserve water, we’ll send you a reusable cotton tote bag. Perfect timing for California’s plastic bag ban.