Hey, Aug!

You didn't add your thoughts to this. . . :(

What are they?

I think the self-declared leadership elite want us slow & dope-y for the next set of incursions against our Constitutional rights & dope has made most people unable and/or unwilling to even understand what these are & how they're being assaulted. . .

In the first year of Covid in BC liquor stores were required to stay open by law -- "necessary services" & what few dispensaries we had in 2020 had to do likewise. . .

There was no way to centrally reach & control the sellers of street narcotics, sothey just ramped up service at the Safe Injection Site

Remember when government tried to HELP people get OFF of addictions?

Bregards,

/George

Canadian cannabis sales reach all-time high in April
Retail sales top more than $372 million countrywide.
Author of the article: Sam Riches
Publishing date: Jun 23, 2022 - Last Updated June 23, 2022 - 2 minute read Canadian retail cannabis sales set a new monthly record sales
record in April, reaching $372.4 million.
Released by Statistics Canada, the latest figures mark a near
four per cent increase from March, when sales were $359
million, and about a 15 per cent increase from February, when
sales dipped to $324 million, according to revised numbers from
the federal agency.
Ontario, now home to more than 1,500 dispensaries, led the
country with more than $150 million in sales. Alberta posted
just under $65 million in sales, while B.C. recorded slightly
less than $53 million to round out the top three.
B.C. and P.E.I. were the only provinces to post a month-over-
month decrease, with sales dipping from $56 million in B.C. in
March.
P.E.I., meanwhile, saw a slight reduction, recording $1.75
million in sales in April, down from $1.76 million in March.
Quebec posted just over $50 million in sales. The figures will
likely look different next month, as more than 300 union
members of the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) began a
general strike in May.
Union members are calling for salaries and benefits similar to
those working in other comparable provincial corporations,
including the Quebec Liquor Corp. (SAQ).
"These SQDC workers barely earn $17/hour upon hiring and the
majority have no full-time position or job security, which puts
them in an untenable precarious position," the Canadian Union
of Public Employees noted in a statement last month.
A recent report from Connecticut-based data firm Cannabis
Benchmarks found that Quebec, where the government-owned SQDC
has a monopoly on recreational sales, is the country's "biggest
laggard" when it comes to cannabis retail.
As of April, there were 88 SQDC retail cannabis stores
operating in the province. The report found that the "optimal"
number of retail stores is more than 1,100.
The report also noted that Ontario could support nearly 500
more stores to reach its "optimal level."
Alberta, meanwhile, was the only province cited in the report
to have more cannabis stores than needed.
"We expect the number of stores in Alberta to decline over the
next 24 months, as competition intensifies and store economics
become less favourable," the report stated.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

On 31 Jan 23 07:13:58, George Pope said the following to August Abolins:

I think the self-declared leadership elite want us slow & dope-y for the ne set of incursions against our Constitutional rights & dope has made most people unable and/or unwilling to even understand what these are & how they being assaulted. . .

Those cannabis stores are everywhere, near schools, parks etc, and are just so incredibly sleazy, dirty in apperance and operation. Worse than a porn shop.

I wish pot was illegal again or at least such that its okay to smoke at home but to have none of those stupid stores all over the place.

Thankfully most of them that have opened in my neighborhood in Toronto have gone bankrupt and "for rent" signs on the storefronts. The more of them out of business, the better.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

Hello George Pope!

** On Tuesday 31.01.23 - 07:13, you wrote to me:

You didn't add your thoughts to this. . . :(
What are they?

Nuthin' much. I have no idea where the cannibus story will
lead to in the long run. But I think you are right about the
gov't is ok with people doped up.

I think the self-declared leadership elite want us slow &
dope-y for the next set of incursions against our
Constitutional rights & dope has made most people unable
and/or unwilling to even understand what these are & how
they're being assaulted. . .

I concur.

In the first year of Covid in BC liquor stores were
required to stay open by law -- "necessary services" &
what few dispensaries we had in 2020 had to do likewise.
. .

I read/heard that the reasoning behind keeping the BeerStore/
LCBO/cannibus outlets open during the lockdowns was to prevent
overwhelming the doctor's offices with cases of depression.


--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.57
* Origin: Age Doesn't Matter Unless You're a Cheese (1:396/45.29)

I read/heard that the reasoning behind keeping the BeerStore/
LCBO/cannibus outlets open during the lockdowns was to prevent
overwhelming the doctor's offices with cases of depression.

Cases of depression because of the illness or because the liquor stores would have been closed?

Let me tell you, I have been hospitalized with Covid19, breathing apparatus and everything, on the brink of not having made it and the only thing that got me depressed was the thought of maybe not seeing my grandchildren grow up and making their first steps in life ...

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

On 31 Jan 23 07:13:58, George Pope said the following to August Abolins:

I think the self-declared leadership elite want us slow & dope-y for the ne >> set of incursions against our Constitutional rights & dope has made most
people unable and/or unwilling to even understand what these are & how they >> being assaulted. . .

Those cannabis stores are everywhere, near schools, parks etc, and are just so
incredibly sleazy, dirty in apperance and operation. Worse than a porn shop. I wish pot was illegal again or at least such that its okay to smoke at home but to have none of those stupid stores all over the place.
Thankfully most of them that have opened in my neighborhood in Toronto have
gone bankrupt and "for rent" signs on the storefronts. The more of them out of
business, the better.

Yipes! I haven't been to see what they've done with our stores here in Metro Vancouver, but I suspect it's similar -- just like those who were promoting the perfectly good(great, even) idea of hemp as an alternative crop for food, fuel, paper, clothing, etc. The proponents of such were invariable filthy uber- stoned hippie types. . . I suspect the corporate hierarchy encourages this type of proponents for the alternative fuel/etc & the stores, so as to keep the public not overly enamoured with such unbeatable competition to their traditionally well-controlled(monopolized) resources.

I don't care either way -- I no longer have skin in this game -- I went through childish period from ages 10-22, of staying high as much as I could but thankfully I outgrew it finally.

I tried to help get marijuana, personal use, decriminalized, on the basis that free choice should remain free, for adults, & that marijuana is really no different, as a choice, than beer & wine for relaxation/enjoyment, & cannabis(hemp) has umpteen possibilities as a renewable natural resource.

I hoped legalization would shut down & shut up the oddball/freak fringes. . . We have strong laws about privately selling alcohol or cannabis within so many metres(yards) of schools, playgrounds, and community centres, as well as competing businesses of the same type (avoiding a build-up of an area specific to that supply. I've not heard anything about it not working adequately -- there were one or two reports of those who had to be informed & moved when it was newly legal, but I expected such and am happy corrections were made. .

I'm not a big fan of weed smoke leaking into my townhouse, but no more or less than of cigarette smoke doing so. . . Actually, I find the latter more offensive, as it's more deadly & has fewer benefits for all. . .

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

I think the self-declared leadership elite want us slow &
dope-y for the next set of incursions against our
Constitutional rights & dope has made most people unable
and/or unwilling to even understand what these are & how
they're being assaulted. . .

I concur.

You've been paying attention the past several decades, too, eh? :P *sigh*

In the first year of Covid in BC liquor stores were
required to stay open by law -- "necessary services" &
what few dispensaries we had in 2020 had to do likewise.
. .

I read/heard that the reasoning behind keeping the BeerStore/
LCBO/cannibus outlets open during the lockdowns was to prevent
overwhelming the doctor's offices with cases of depression.

I hadn't heard that one, but that's logical -- I understood the BC position was that addiction is counted as a disability by the BC Human Rights legislation, & thus access to the "medication" is medically & legally necessary. (I guess we cab safely to ignore the fact that the government is making fistsful of money from the sale of booze & weed?)

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

On 01 Mar 23 07:19:46, George Pope said the following to Nick Andre:

I tried to help get marijuana, personal use, decriminalized, on the basis that free choice should remain free, for adults, & that marijuana is reall no different, as a choice, than beer & wine for relaxation/enjoyment, & cannabis(hemp) has umpteen possibilities as a renewable natural resource.

I'm the same way, I just can't stand it that something that was never really a "problem" before, is now a problem, in that it must be taxed, it has stupid shops all over Toronto with no regulation as to how many per block or keeping them away from schools, parks, libraries etc.

Thats always been my biggest complaint with the pro-pot crowd; they never think ahead, they never have considerations about how pot may impact
others or those that would not quite appreciate it... in short they are incredibly selfish.

We used to live in a small apartment building where a lovely neighbor living downstairs constantly smoked pot. The smell was everywhere in the common hallway and stairwell. Very inconsiderate. My daughter at the time was
young and totally put off by it, disgusted and embarrassed to bring home friends from school. Now she's 16 and thankfully still has no interest in it.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

Hello George!

** On Wednesday 01.03.23 - 07:23, George Pope wrote to August Abolins:

[...] -- I understood the BC position was that addiction
is counted as a disability by the BC Human Rights
legislation, & thus access to the "medication" is
medically & legally necessary. (I guess we cab safely to
ignore the fact that the government is making fistsful of
money from the sale of booze & weed?)

If the gov't could tax the air we breath, they would.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.57
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

Hello Ward!

I read/heard that the reasoning behind keeping the BeerStore/
LCBO/cannibus outlets open during the lockdowns was to prevent
overwhelming the doctor's offices with cases of depression.

Cases of depression because of the illness or because the
liquor stores would have been closed?

The latter.

Let me tell you, I have been hospitalized with Covid19,
breathing apparatus and everything, on the brink of not
having made it and the only thing that got me depressed
was the thought of maybe not seeing my grandchildren grow
up and making their first steps in life ...

What were the drugs they treated you with?

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.57
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

August,

Let me tell you, I have been hospitalized with Covid19,
breathing apparatus and everything, on the brink of not
having made it and the only thing that got me depressed
was the thought of maybe not seeing my grandchildren grow
up and making their first steps in life ...

What were the drugs they treated you with?

Hydroxychloroquine ... the thing which Trump was advocating at the time and some people laughed about. My jaws hurt from having to say this, but Trump was right on thisone. It worked for me.

There was a serious risk of heart-complications and as a result I had a daily ECG to monitor the heart function.

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

I'm the same way, I just can't stand it that something that was never really a
"problem" before, is now a problem, in that it must be taxed, it has stupid shops all over Toronto with no regulation as to how many per block or keeping them away from schools, parks, libraries etc.
Thats always been my biggest complaint with the pro-pot crowd; they never think ahead, they never have considerations about how pot may impact
others or those that would not quite appreciate it... in short they are incredibly selfish.
We used to live in a small apartment building where a lovely neighbor living downstairs constantly smoked pot. The smell was everywhere in the common hallway and stairwell. Very inconsiderate. My daughter at the time was
young and totally put off by it, disgusted and embarrassed to bring home friends from school. Now she's 16 and thankfully still has no interest in it.

Yup -- it's up to all humans living in groups together to be aware of others & their interests/limits & to live reasonably accordingly. . .

The reason pot became so all-fired illegal in the USA is because they had a buttload of special police trained & on salary, from Prohibition, & students of history know that if you have a standing army, you MUST use it to wage war, else it will turn on YOU.

Part of the enthusiasm, of course, was that smoking marijuana was primarily known as a black activity, associated with the music style of the speakeasies

In Canada, we sought to support our neighbours tot he south (it was the diplomatic thing to do) but our primary motivation in illegalizing MJ was to attack the Chinese immigrants in Vancouver, who enjoyed openly hanging out in perfectly legal opium dens.

Making opium illegal was the basic goal, but all smokable recreation was included, as it turned out, as it's easier t maintain a stranglehold on the poorer elements of society, & the police can use possession of small amounts as leverage to lean on people to get names and information all the way up the organised crime chain (organised crime as in private sector not government)

Then, yes the hippie generation noticed that hemp, in the same family as marijuana, has many uses that would be a great boon to society & the world in general. The problem was these proponents were most often filthy & high while promoting the good scientific benefits of hemp. This, natch, turned off those leading big industry.

In the USA, it was Hearst, of Hearst Publishing, specifically who saw hemp as a worthy competitor to his millions of acres of pulpwood forests, making them essentially worthless, so he used his money & influence to get Congress to make the whole cannabis family more illegal than even cocaine & heroin!

Success. (For one greedy billionaire in a small period but Loss for millions of others for hundreds of years.)

& thus you have a corporation-run oligarchic plutocracy in a nutshell.

Q: What do you call a snake that works for the government? A: A Civil Serpent.

Q: What's the difference between the government and private sector's organised crime?
A: The MAFIA can turn a profit!

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

The reason pot became so all-fired illegal in the USA is because they had
a buttload of special police trained & on salary, from Prohibition, & students of history know that if you have a standing army, you MUST use
it to wage war, else it will turn on YOU.

How about the rest of the world where pot became/was illegal?

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

medically & legally necessary. (I guess we cab safely to
ignore the fact that the government is making fistsful of
money from the sale of booze & weed?)

If the gov't could tax the air we breath, they would.

Except it's awfully hard to control the supply -- as with US booze at one time. until it became socially unacceptable to make & sell your own, then they legalized it with massive taxes. Canada happily levied a "sin tax" on our own liquor supplies, too. (& outdid our American friends, in that it's almost cheaper to buy a 24-case of US beer in USA than a 6-pack of Canadian in Canada!

Marijuana was likewise banned, but with greed aforethought, as they knew it worked for alcohol. . . oplus Big Pharma kept the pressure on them to prevent "unfair" competition, as weed did more good with fewer side effects than so many of their potions & pills!

Also, certain industries, like those with millions of acres of pulpwood forests, weren't happy with how easily cannabis could supplant them

Old Man Hearst was thusly motivated to get US Congress to make cannabis, all varietals, the most illegal plant/drug, as he dd own millions of acres of pulpwood forests that made a tidy profit providing paper for his publications & to his competitors, too. .

I think we could certainly use cannabis varietals towards greater health, towards cheaper clothing, & as an abundant food source; I'm liking how they've found a way to make decomposable plastics from hemp oil. . .

Canada needs to be leading the way in all these, big-time!

If I had funds to invest & grow farms & factories, I would go All-In!

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Hello George Pope!

I think we could certainly use cannabis varietals towards
greater health, towards cheaper clothing, & as an abundant
food source; I'm liking how they've found a way to make
decomposable plastics from hemp oil. . .

I'd like to see an inexpensive hemp-based shopping bag that I
can provide at checkout.

I had no choice but to order more plastic ones. The average
price per bag (including shipping) is $0.08 to $0.10

I've never charged my customers a bag-fee, but I just might
have to now.
--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.57
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

I'd like to see an inexpensive hemp-based shopping bag that I
can provide at checkout.

They should last near-forever ...

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

I'd like to see an inexpensive hemp-based shopping bag that I
can provide at checkout.
I had no choice but to order more plastic ones. The average
price per bag (including shipping) is $0.08 to $0.10
I've never charged my customers a bag-fee, but I just might
have to now.

Ouch. In Richmond, here, it's illegal to provide plastic bags at checkout free or for-fee.

Supposedly to reduce plastic in landfills. but now I need to buy garbage bags, that come wrapped in plastic that I need to throw away inside one of these black plastic trash bags.

I re-used plastic bags i got for free or for 5c at least once -- as a garbage bag -- perfect size for tossing garbage down an apartment's trash chute (must be tied into a bag to use the chute)

Sometimes I even re-used them for shopping, instead of buying a bag. . .

Occasionally as packing material when mailing a package.

The real problem of single-use plastics, as I intend to present to my city council, with visual aids (one week's worth for a family of 4), is in packaging crap with too much -- sometimes I must fight through 3+ layers of plastic to get the item I paid for. All food is in plastic. Now we can return milk jugs for a 20c deposit for recycling, so that's a reasonable step.

I didn't like paying 5c for a bag either -- I just dropped $40 on your store's wares, & you can't include a 5c bag for free?!

Only one store did it right; Kin's Farm Markets gave free bags, but if you used your own, they donated 5c to an eco charity.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

On 10 May 23 13:26:34, George Pope said the following to August Abolins:

Ouch. In Richmond, here, it's illegal to provide plastic bags at checkout free or for-fee.

When I was a little boy I remember the grocery stores switched from paper to plastic because of the trees... Oh we just have to save the trees. Save the trees, save the forest, which eventually became save the rainforest.

What a bunch of liberal hippie nonsense. All of it.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

When I was a little boy I remember the grocery stores switched from paper to
plastic because of the trees... Oh we just have to save the trees. Save
the trees, save the forest, which eventually became save the
rainforest.

When I was a little boy, there were no bags in grocery stores. You brought your own linen bags which grqndma made from discarded garments ...... but because of the Panamanian rainforest declining there is less run-off of water to the higher-up lakes whose levels are lowering and ships have been warned to take smaller loads through the Panama canal or they may not fit over certain underwater ridges ... The Panama canal closing down due to not enough run-off water would substantially harm world trade ... The declining rainforst is worth saving not just for the Panama canal and world trade ... bio-diversity is pretty important and nowhere else than in the tropical rainforests ...

What a bunch of liberal hippie nonsense. All of it.

That is a pretty immature statement from someone I consider to be intelligent.

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

I re-used plastic bags i got for free or for 5c at least once -- as a garbage ag -- perfect size for tossing garbage down an apartment's trash chute (must
tied into a bag to use the chute)

Provided they don't come with pre-existing holes in them, they are the
perfect size for many non-kitchen waste baskets. That is what I reuse them for.

Sometimes I even re-used them for shopping, instead of buying a bag. . .

A local mom-and-pop does that. People bring in their used plastic bags and
he reuses them.

Occasionally as packing material when mailing a package.

I have also done this, and have received packages from individuals who have done this.

Only one store did it right; Kin's Farm Markets gave free bags, but if you

se

your own, they donated 5c to an eco charity.

Sounds like a good plan.

I was working in retail in the 1980's when they started moving from paper
to plastic. It was "for the environment" back then also... to "Save the Trees!" So not evey environmental idea turns out to be a good one a
generation or so later.


* SLMR 2.1a * Back Up My Hard Drive? I Can't Find The Reverse Switch!
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)

On 11 May 23 23:14:19, Ward Dossche said the following to Nick Andre:

What a bunch of liberal hippie nonsense. All of it.

That is a pretty immature statement from someone I consider to be intellige

I find the statements of liberals and environmentalists to be immature except I never considered any of them to be intelligent. Both are emotion-driven and all of them just as greedy as the capitalists they claim to despise. Their greed comes in the form of selfish antagonistic hysteria to push an agenda. And with most agendas its really all about power, control, money etc.

When they don't get the attention they crave they move the goal posts. Always making noise. When the noise and attention fades, the hysteria reinvents itself. We went from global cooling to global warming, to acid rain, to the ozone layer, to rainforests, to the whales, to the rising sea levels, to
now climate change. But this one is gonna stay awhile because its so vague.

By manipulating the overall stupidity of people to believe in such a vague euphemistic phrase of the English language they can now define "change" to be anything. We had a bad snowstorm this year? Climate change. Its a mere two degrees warmer than last year? Climate change. My fart just warmed the bottom of my chair? Climate change.

Usually on the same webpage of any news story about climate change hysteria nonsense is liberal nonsense involving diversity, equity and inclusion... it really seems that climate change and DEI seem to arrive hand-in-hand together.

Lets read an article about Trudeau's "climate action plan" and scroll down to find a story about a liberal parent protesting to the TDSB to take down a Mothers-Day signage at an elementary school for not being inclusive enough. The school board caved in to avoid liberal backlash and this is not the first time they have caved to these sort of demented hysterical emotional demands.

Both liberals and environmentalists use hysteria and media manipulation to push an agenda solely based on irrational fear, race cards and outright lies.

For example, transgenderism, critical race theory and climate change nonsense being taught in schools... in my daughter's school, to the point where I'm hearing from her how I'm supposed to believe the world will end in "10 years" or a man who transitions to a woman should somehow be called a woman.

Nick

--- Renegade vY2Ka2
* Origin: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? (1:229/426)

Hello George!

** On Wednesday 10.05.23 - 13:26, you wrote to me:

I didn't like paying 5c for a bag either -- I just dropped
$40 on your store's wares, & you can't include a 5c bag
for free?!

I already offer 10-40% discounts across my product line all the
time. Anything over 40% discount is a loss in my industry.
I've been doing this for over 10 years now. There is an
expectation by the consumer to pay for plastic bags now, so I
am willing to oblige to that I can at least break even with the
bag expenses. ;)

Only one store did it right; Kin's Farm Markets gave free
bags, but if you used your own, they donated 5c to an eco
charity.

I contribute to the community in other ways that exceed 5c per
bag ever would.

--
../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.57
* Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

On 10 May 23 13:26:34, George Pope said the following to August Abolins:

Ouch. In Richmond, here, it's illegal to provide plastic bags at checkout
free or for-fee.

When I was a little boy I remember the grocery stores switched from paper to plastic because of the trees... Oh we just have to save the trees. Save the trees, save the forest, which eventually became save the rainforest.
What a bunch of liberal hippie nonsense. All of it.

Well. we kind of do need the rain forests -- that's the lungs of the planet -- dunno about you but I like breathing our atmosphere, running about 21% Oxygen in the mixture. . .

The plastic bags issue is not one of pollution, as they don't alter the environment, they only add to it -- & some people have deemed a 1,000-year decomposition to be bad (it's UGLY!)

How do we know that Nature didn't evolve man explicitly to create plastic & fill the landscape with it? This is a facetious argument made by George Carlin, but I find it a reasonable question to ask the so-called eco know-it-alls.

Ooh, there's a giant island of plastic in the ocean!

So what? The ecosystem has adapted to it just fine -- removing the island in a clean-up will result in the deaths of thousands of creatures who now call it home.

Maybe humans need to STFU and realize that the world doesn't give a {Senatorial opinion} about humans -- we're just one more partially evolved creature that she made. . .

What will be will be, & so what -- I'm all for actions that directly reflect on self-preservation (such as stopping the corporations who are clear-cutting Brazil for the benefit of a scarce 0.01%'s gain, at the expense of everyone else.)

I'm quite happy eating Canadian-grown food & breathing the universal atmosphere before vested interests fleep it up for everyone else, while they live in sealed environments. (I only want to know: are these places flammable? or otherwise breachable? We could get military explosives if we needed them.)

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

I re-used plastic bags i got for free or for 5c at least once -- as a garbage >> ag -- perfect size for tossing garbage down an apartment's trash chute (must >> tied into a bag to use the chute)

Provided they don't come with pre-existing holes in them, they are the perfect size for many non-kitchen waste baskets. That is what I reuse them for.

Exactly. Why should I buy a pack of plastic garbage just to throw the packaging & bags away in the end? The grocery bag has already served one good use (I like to re-use non-recyclables for at least two purposes)

Our family of 4 is down to a single garbage bag into the dumpster per week, down from 4-6 before we started separating & composting. . .

Sometimes I even re-used them for shopping, instead of buying a bag. . .

A local mom-and-pop does that. People bring in their used plastic bags and he reuses them.

One of our charity thrifty stores does this -- provides donated bags to those who don't have one (saves buying a pack of commercial ones out of the funds raised); I always carry a bunch of solid cloth bags with me.

Only one store did it right; Kin's Farm Markets gave free bags, but if you

se

your own, they donated 5c to an eco charity.

Sounds like a good plan.
I was working in retail in the 1980's when they started moving from paper
to plastic. It was "for the environment" back then also... to "Save the Trees!" So not every environmental idea turns out to be a good one a generation or so later.

It's like sex: each new generation thinks they invented it & they do it best.

I never considered plastic grocery bags to be a problem, nor plastic straws (one picture of a turtle with a straw bent into its mouth 7 nose & the interworld goes CRAZY!)

How do we know some kid didn't deliberately put that straw like that?

A better solution to the problem of plastic litter is to put a 25c refundable deposit on everything plastic & disposable.

I got no beef with litter so much as with pollution.

If you toss an apple core, sure it looks tacky, to have garage strewn in your neighbourhood, but that core will be absorbed by the natural ecosystem quickly enough. I tend to toss mine under a bush so it's not openly offensive, & the little critters can get to it & enjoy it. . . when it rains, it'll rot & provide fertilizer to the bish's roots.

If you pour used motor oil into a sewer drain that flows directly into the river or ocean, that's fleeping up the environment for all -- I don't want oil stuck to my salmon nor any plant or animal population I like to eat being poisoned.

If people spit, I don't care either, bt prefer if they spit away from where kids might walk, or wheelchairs might have to roll through it. That's just common courtesy, people! I'm capable of re-absorbing any saliva my body produces, & not worrying about where to loose it that won't be gross or offensive. As a kid I don't care, but I'm evolving daily. . .

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Hello George!
** On Wednesday 10.05.23 - 13:26, you wrote to me:

I didn't like paying 5c for a bag either -- I just dropped
$40 on your store's wares, & you can't include a 5c bag
for free?!

I already offer 10-40% discounts across my product line all the
time. Anything over 40% discount is a loss in my industry.
I've been doing this for over 10 years now. There is an
expectation by the consumer to pay for plastic bags now, so I
am willing to oblige to that I can at least break even with the
bag expenses. ;)

I didn't mean you personally -- I'm more referring to the big corporates, like Safeway or Shoppers Drug Mart

Only one store did it right; Kin's Farm Markets gave free
bags, but if you used your own, they donated 5c to an eco
charity.

I contribute to the community in other ways that exceed 5c per
bag ever would.

Fair enough! I can see your POV in charging the 5c -- I think it'd be nice to write this up in a nice little opster to hang on the wall near the cash register. Maybe include a little chart showing average discount per item or per sale then compare to the cost of supplying a free bag. (costs include a portion of all overhead, obviously, to give people this opportunity not to be sucked into the corporate bookselling machine, to have the personalized service options you provide (I'll bet money you look for individually requested books?)


--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Ooh, there's a giant island of plastic in the ocean!

Is there?

Where are the photos?

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

Ooh, there's a giant island of plastic in the ocean!

Is there?

Where are the photos?

This story is from 2019.

https://chiletoday.cl/floating-garbage-patches-grow-in-the-pacific-ocean/

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

Alan,

Ooh, there's a giant island of plastic in the ocean!

Is there?

Where are the photos?

This story is from 2019.

https://chiletoday.cl/floating-garbage-patches-grow-in-the-pacific-ocean/

Pls do not change the subject ... the mention was "a giant island of plastic in the ocean" ... but you are now mentioning "garbage patches".

So show me some photos of a "giant island of plastic" ... No photo? No NASA imagery? Sorry Alan, didn't happen ... no island.

And I have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about after a lifetime of environmental protecion (OK, OK ... 51 years now) working for UNEP (UN Environmental Programme), the European Environmental Bureau, Greenpeace, the International Water Tribunal and others ...

I am aware of large trash heaps for example at Bohuslan on the Swedish coast where I helped remove a roughly 3 meter layer of compacted plastics of all kinds of sources ... There are photos of that trash heap ... but there is no "giant island of plastic garbage" in the ocean. That "island" has become an urban legend, told over and over again to such an extent it is even mentioned in scientific publications but without proof.

Let me share with you another story ... with the Dublin Bay Environment Group (Ireland) we had annual campaigns of cleaning the beaches there by picking up used condoms and plastic backs of women's sanitary pads. The church was very powerful and the use of condoms was frowned upon, so after use they were flushed through the toilet in order to leave no trace. We collected all that in a hazaqrd-free way and it was recycled into benches which were placed throughout town ... I never sat on a plastic Irish bench anymore.

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)

Where are the photos?

This story is from 2019.

https://chiletoday.cl/floating-garbage-patches-grow-in-the-pacific-ocean/

Pls do not change the subject ... the mention was "a giant island of plastic in the ocean" ... but you are now mentioning "garbage patches".

I am not changing the subject.

You asked for a picture (there is more, if you care look it up) and I gave you a story to look at that included a picture.

I'm sorry that garbage patch isn't what you were looking for!

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Toy-6
* Origin: The Rusty MailBox - Penticton, BC Canada (1:153/757)

BY: Ward Dossche (2:292/854)

Is there?

Where are the photos?

\%/@rd

Oh, it's there. I've seen the photos. It might not be an 'actual' soil-based island, with a living population of humans on top, nor does it have an authentic island name, but it's pretty darn big.

<< Please put silly arguments HERE >>


Mick Manning

-- The Blues had a child and they called it Rock and Roll

--- WWIV 5.8.0.3685[Windows]
* Origin: Central Ontario Remote WWIV (1:229/308)

Alan,

You asked for a picture (there is more, if you care look it up) and I
gave you a story to look at that included a picture.

I'm sorry that garbage patch isn't what you were looking for!

I am aware of the "Chile Today" publication but the photo there has got nothing to do with a mid-ocean plastic waste island which has now been reduced to the well known patch or vortex. Look at the horizon of the photo, it's even in-shore and in Japan after the 2011 Tsunami there. It's not even established it's major plastic debris (not waste, that's different) or something else.

The reality is it cannot be photographed. You could be in your boat, sail through it and not even notice it, catch fish for food.

It doesn't mean it isn't there, it means there is no trash island to photograph, there even is no trash patch photos in existance. Not in "Nature", not in "National Geographic", not in "NASA immagery".

Photos being used by "Ocean Cleanup", the non-profit started by Dutch college drop-out Boyan Slat, were staged on deck of a Maersk vessel.

The plastic waste problem cannot be solved if it is not tackled at the source, and the source is a stretch from the Indian peninsula comprising the coasts of the whole of SE Asia where waste is simply dumped in rivers by garbage trucks. North America is not the problem, South America is not the problem, Europe is not the problem ... Mainland Asia is. And no issuing plastic bags at our supermarkets is not going to solve a thing, it's not the source of the problem ... the source of the problem is elsewhere. When supermarkets issue no longer plastic bags, it's not out of environmental concern, but to cut costs...while at the same time they use thin-film packaging for foods which is considered OK...

Take care,

\%/@rd

--- DB4 - 20230201
* Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)