Diary: Newport Beach, CA Bans Styrofoam At Schoolkids Suggestion

Newport Beach, CA Bans Styrofoam At Schoolkids Suggestion
LibertyFight.com
7.16.09

"All men having power ought to be distrusted"-James Madison

Homer L. Bludau, City Manager of Newport Beach, CA released a newsletter on November 17, 2008 outlining how the city has banned 'expanded polystyrene'. The new law took effect April 26 '09. The original notice read:

Council Action to Eliminate Polystyrene Use in the City
Thanks to a determined group of local students from Mariners Elementary School and Newport Harbor High School, the City Council recently passed an ordinance that bans the use of expanded polystyrene (EPS) disposable food service ware in the city. A common brand name for EPS is Styrofoam-. EPS is not biodegradable and it easily breaks down into small pieces that often end up in storm drains, the bay, ocean and beaches, threatening wildlife that ingest the materials. The students first brought their concerns to the Council's attention last spring, and then to the Environmental Quality Affairs Citizens Advisory Committee (EQAC), which also recommended that the City adopt a ban on use of these products. The Council directed staff to conduct some research, work with local restaurants and return with a recommendation. With support from the Newport Beach Restaurant Association, the new ordinance becomes effective on April 26, 2009, at which time Newport Beach restaurants and all City facilities and events will be required to serve prepared food in containers made from something other than EPS.

No indication is given for the law's odd effective date of Sunday April 26th, which coincidentally fell four days after Earth Day 2009. Orange County, CA is known for being more "conservative republican" territory than it is for being an environmentalist 'earth worshipper' haven. The Orange County Register, the region's main newspaper, reportedly has the 4th largest readership in California and according to "BallotPedia"

'The Register is notable for its generally conservative/libertarian-leaning editorial page. It often supports Republican politicians and positions, but it is also the largest newspaper in the country to have opposed the Iraq war from the beginning and opposes laws regulating issues such as prostitution and drug use.'

Steven Greenhut of the Register's editorial board rejected the Republicans some time ago and wrote an appropriate 'Declarations on Independence' for July 4th, decrying government intrusion into most aspects of our lives.
Given the city's reputation, it's a bit odd that the city council would pass a law merely at the urging of public (government) schoolkids who are probably inundated with 'global warming' propaganda and Al Gore literature.

I hate to divert the topic of this article, but I can't resist, since the following has annoyed me for some time. If the City of Newport Beach is actually concerned with the well being of the environment and hopefully the people in it, they might take this opportunity to pass a law dictating that the city provide soap in the dozens of bathrooms along their beaches. The bathrooms have toilets, urinals and sinks, and usually carry toilet paper, but almost none of them have any soap dispensers. How could this be?

The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention warns us, "Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others". Since they seem to be more socialist oriented, maybe the city council could peruse this info from our neighbors to the north, at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety:

Is it important to wash your hands? Simply put, yes. Hand washing is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of infections. You can spread certain "germs" (a general term for microbes like viruses and bacteria) casually by touching another person. You can also catch germs when you touch contaminated objects or surfaces and then you touch your face (mouth, eyes, and nose). "Good" hand washing techniques include using an adequate amount of soap, rubbing the hands together to create friction, and rinsing under running water. The use of gloves is not a substitute for hand washing.

Also, Ehow.com covers a variety of Diseases From Not Washing Hands:

If you don't wash your hands, especially after using the bathroom or handling food, you are at risk of developing a slew of illnesses, some very serious. It is recommended that you wash your hands with soap or use hand sanitizer, especially before eating, before and after handling food and after using the bathroom ... Diseases that can be contracted from not washing your hands range from the common cold and flu to parasitic diseases like E.coli, Giardia and Salmonella.

Need I go on? How barbaric that a supposed affluent beach community such as Newport does not see fit to provide the most basic sanitary necessity of SOAP in their restrooms for the hundreeds of thousands, if not millions, of visitors that they get to their beaches and parks each year. Eegads.

Just imagine the implications of thousands of people visiting the beach, using parking meters, getting fast food, renting bikes, in Newport without the benefit of soap after using the toilet. I am sure that some of the parking tickets and traffic fines that the city generates could go a long way to buy some soap.

Maybe some concerned government schoolkids can send the following link to the Newport city council. If necessary, I can establish a "National Prevention of Communicable Disease/ Civilized Hand Washing Day" to get them inspired to action.

SUGGESTED LINKS:

Hand Washing with soap and water