The bag ban bill AB 1998 passed out of the California State Legislature in June. It was followed by an outstanding statement of support from the Governor (below). Now we need the final push to get this bill through the Senate in August.

AB 1998 would ban plastic single-use carryout bags and require recycled paper carryout bags be sold at supermarkets, retail pharmacies and convenience stores throughout the state. SF, Malibu, Fairfax and Palo Alto have banned plastic bags and at least 20 more cities in California are considering this approach. Rather than taking a piecemeal city-by-city approach, AB 1998 will create one uniform policy for addressing all types of single-use bags to encourage consumers to use resusable bags, a more sustainable alternative.
*Click on the link below to automatically send an e-mail to your Senator
http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1827

Support AB 1358 [Assembly members Hill, Nava]
Safe & Sustainable Takeout Food Packaging Act

The Problem: Polystyrene foam (PS), (commonly known as Styrofoam®) is pervasive in the environment, is extremely damaging throughout its lifecycle, and is rarely recycled. Workers in polystyrene products manufacturing are exposed to many harmful
chemicals, including Styrene, Toluene, Xylene, Acetone, Methyl Chloride, and Methyl Ketone. Occupational exposure to Styrene increases risk of lymphoma, leukemia, lung tumors, pancreatic cancer, urinary bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal
cancer. High rates of neurotoxicological effects have been reported in workers. Public health is impacted by the use of polystyrene food containers. Styrene can migrate from polystyrene containers into food and beverages when heated, or in contact
with fatty or acidic foods. Styrene residues are found in 100% of all samples of human fat tissue.

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Keep updated at Save Trestles, but in the meantime here are some shots from the party!

Now is the time to ask your state representative to help RISE
ABOVE PLASTICS by enacting progressive legislation to fight
marine debris. AB 2058 would enact a regulation to help address
the prevalence of single-use plastic bags, which easily enter
the litter stream and wreak havoc on our ocean environment.

You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/ab2058final/iekxnwzo735nn6i

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As you may know, there are currently about 20 proposals to build
ocean desalination facilities along the California coast. The
environmental community has been tracking and providing feedback
to several California government agencies about ocean
desalination to ensure that these are designed and located to
avoid environmental damage.

These ocean desalination projects are extremely energy-intensive
and can potentially undermine California’s efforts to reduce our
greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the ocean water intakes
for these facilities can suck up and kill marine life -
significantly affecting healthy marine life populations and
healthy oceans.

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