So I found out yesterday that plastic bags have been banned from grocery stores in The City. Apparently, this move was approved by the City Council at the beginning of this year, but I wasn’t aware of it until I went into the grocery store last night and they made a big deal out of joking around that they couldn’t give me plastic. There was also a big fuss because apparently Safeway is giving away canvas bags with a minimum purchase, but ran out within the first few hours. Now they’re providing rainchecks to everyone who comes through. Have to wonder if that move is just going to result in a huge glut of canvas bags floating somewhere in the ocean 1000 miles West of San Francisco. It can join the plastic islands forming there.

On my way home today, I ran into a few guys that are pushing to expand the ban already. They were dressed in clever and comprehensive plastic sack outfits, holding signs asking “Honk if I make you sick” and “Bags Banned from S.F. Migrating to Berkley”.

I guess that’s just one more point for The City. Not only is it one of the first cities in the world to ban plastic bags, but it also managed to set a trend as the first city in the US to pull the trigger. Now Oakland, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and - you guessed it - Berkeley want to join the movement, and Paris and London don’t appear to be far behind.