California's war on plastic bag use seems to have backfired. Lawmakers are trying again

It was a decade ago when California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of anti-plastic legislation from coast to coast. But in the years after California seemingly kicked its plastic grocery sack habit, material recovery facilities and environmental activists noticed a peculiar trend: Plastic bag waste by weight was increasing to unprecedented levels.

Plastic has been found everywhere scientists have looked: From the deepest oceanic trenches to the highest alpine peaks. Petroleum-based plastics do not biodegrade. Over time, they break down into smaller and smaller pieces — known as microplastics, microfibers and nanoplastics — and have been found in household dust, drinking water and human tissue and blood. These small plastic pieces also carry chemicals and heavy metals known to cause illness and disease.

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California Lawmakers Introduce Reparations Bills for Black Descendants of Enslaved PeopleA group of California lawmakers is tackling reparations for Black descendants of enslaved people with a set of bills modeled after recommendations that a state reparations task force spent years studying and developing. The legislative package — a set of 14 bills the California Legislative Black Caucus released Wednesday — addresses everything from criminal justice to food.
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