Plastic bags are more evil then the super devil.

These plastic bag things keep flying back up into the tree branches, almost as if they don’t biodegrade or anything…

Oh..

I was reading Mary Agnes Welch’s article in the freep, and I noticed something a little, off. The article starts off well, with a bunch of students from Cecil Rhodes school (who haven’t yet been corrupted by the evils of GTA IV) eagerly awaiting the results of a reading of a private members’ bill that was written by Dr. Jon Gerrard, liberal leader (they left out the doctor part, its cool though because I caught it for you). These kids are holding onto their notebooks in class, glancing up at the clock, mumbling to themselves:

‘Ohh that bag bill is going to get read and I can wait ‘til it gets passed!’

‘Soon we will be able to skip all the way back home without having the gangs of plastic bags blocking our paths!’

‘Plastic bags and video games make me so angry that I do drugs!’

Like tossing a grenade into a room and shutting the door behind it, Mary writes that the bill is unlikely to pass. Take that Cecil Rhodes students! Stop wasting your time waiting to hear what happens in the house. Mary saved you a couple of hours of thoughtful debate, so run along now.>

And then, like opening the door again, and tossing in another grenade, and slamming it shut again Mary writes:

'The bags clog up landfills, entangle wildlife, litter streets and are almost impossible to recycle. Manitobans use about 200 million of them each year.'

What wildlife are being tangled up by plastic bags? I have cats, and my cats like to play with plastic bags, and through countless hours of observation, I have come to realize that if any animal gets stuck in a Safeway bag, and can’t solve its way out, it should die. That animal is genetically deficient, and it will improve the strength of the species for its seed will not be reproduced. Let’s just take a quote from this ‘Timesonline’ article from March 8^th 2008:

They “don’t figure” in the majority of cases where animals die from marine debris, said David Laist, the author of a seminal 1997 study on the subject. Most deaths were caused when creatures became caught up in waste produce. “Plastic bags don’t figure in entanglement,” he said. “The main culprits are fishing gear, ropes, lines and strapping bands. Most mammals are too big to get caught up in a plastic bag.”

He added: “The impact of bags on whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals ranges from nil for most species to very minor for perhaps a few species. For birds, plastic bags are not a problem either.”

Theres another great line in that article

“…there is no scientific evidence to show that the bags pose any direct threat to marine mammals.”

After this whole article, that is basically bashing the poor defenseless plastic bag (after all, plastic bags have only tried to help you bring in your groceries, and carry up that 4L jug of milk up the stairs) Mary Agnes Welch closes with this little bit:

'On the Ban bandwagon

Leaf Rapids -- Banned in 2007 San Francisco -- Banned in 2007 China -- Ban starts June 1 South Africa -- Banned in 2003

Bags aren't so bad

It might be unhealthy to carry meat in anything other than disposable bags.

Paper bags are actually worse for the environment to manufacture, transport and recycle.

Plastic bags tend to be reused at a fairly high rate.'

It is a complete and total contradiction to the story above. I don’t know if Mary wrote this part, or the editors added it after.

Meanwhile back at Cecil Rhodes Jr. High…

All this time you had a hate on for plastic bags, well guess what, they are actually better for the environment. You should be praising these bags. There is just one issue though: as there are no citations listed, where did the freep get their data?

In fact, now that I think about it, in another recent article, “Super bug expected to flourish in Winnipeg” by Jen Skerrit, they again have a bunch of stats at the end of a somewhat flawed and alarmist sounding article, but no citations.

Now why do I say that article is flawed? Well let’s break down some of it. We are going to have some quotes here so hang on.

“..as much as 20 per cent of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) found in hospitals is being brought in by people who picked up the infection in their communities..”

Not shocking. If you have MRSA, you need to get to a hospital or you will die.

Ok…just one more thing:

‘Zhanel said the superbug is booming in places with a high number of people engaging in skin-to-skin contact, including gyms, day cares, prisons, reserves and the military -- primarily among young, healthy people.’

Ok sure….

‘Zhanel said researchers aren't sure what to do about people who are "colonized" with MRSA but not infected, and are still learning about how cats and dogs can spread MRSA to humans and vice versa.’

This is something I haven’t heard of, but it seems a little extreme to me. For bacteria to cross species and infect it has to be one hell of a bug. Bacteria and viruses are species-specific. To jump from one species to another and set up an infection is very rare, and then for that same bacteria to be spread from one person to another is very very rare. But I guess scientist need to check out any and all possible forms of transmission.

The truth is, that for a bacterium that was discovered in 1961, we still don’t know a lot about it. It can live on the skin for years, it infects some people not others, and its method of transmission is somewhat confusing. Drugs have been developed to treat it, but it’s a harsh treatment.

But instead of showing all this doom and gloom, let’s start looking forward. There are other treatment options that seem to be having some success.

Platensimycin is a new form of antibiotic, and is proving to be quite successful.

Maggot treatment, as revolting as it sounds, involves having disinfected maggots clean the wound of the dead skin and seems to help

And there is also Phage therapy, which involves modifying bacteriophage, a viruses that only attacks bacteria. MRSA is a bacterium, so this is essentially germ warfare on germs.

We have options.

Antibiotic Resistant Bugs are an issue we need to deal with, and understand. But like any other major issue, making alarmist statements doesn’t help. Such as street gangs and inner city violence, we can’t turn our heads on ‘super bugs’, but need to start actively addressing these issues.