Ken Schram: Good idea, Mayor Nickels, but don't go too far

Ken Schram: Good idea, Mayor Nickels, but don't go too far

Story Published: Apr 3, 2008 at 12:31 PM PDT

Story Updated: Apr 3, 2008 at 9:49 PM PDT

By Ken Schram

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SEATTLE -- Seattle mayor Greg Five-Pennies, a.k.a. Nickels, has taken a decent idea a couple of steps too far.

On the table is a proposal to put a 20-cent tax on disposable shopping bags, a ban on Styrofoam cups and containers and eventually getting rid of those plastic food containers that can't be recycled.

Now, I'm pretty much good to go with ideas that'll help all of us be better stewards of the environment.

But I think the hitch in Mayor Five-Pennies giddy-up plan is that he lumps paper bags in with plastic.

He's come up with some gobbledygook about factoring the logging and shipping of paper sacks into the equation, which I think is nuts.

Sounds to me that the mayor is on the beginnings of a tear to rid the world of its dependency on paper.

Maybe a few less proclamations would work just as well.

As for the rest of what he's come up with, I say go for it.

Seattle shoppers use up over 300 million plastic bags a year and most of them wind up in landfills.

You don't have to belong to "Earth First" to recognize how irresponsible that makes us.

Mayor Five-Pennies will take some flak for this plan but I hope he sticks with it.

Just not the paper part.

Have something to say to Ken? E-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.

And be sure to join Ken, along with John Carlson, on "The Commentators", which airs every weekday from 3-6 p.m. on AM 570 KVI.

It's a lively exchange of information, insight and perspective with two guys who don't agree on much, but still manage to enjoy each other as they tackle issues of the day. Even better, callers are invited in on the verbal action.

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