Paper or E. Coli?

Relevant at 6:35

   

We Yummy Foggots love getting together and philosophizing about the ironies of the Enviro-Elitist movement.  Make no mistakes, though, for the most part we are as Pro-Conservation as can be, but where the line is drawn between Conservation (good) and Environmentalism (silly) is fodder for another post entirely.

Nearly as entertaining as the electric car that creates more waste than simply buying a used gas clunker (a future Mountainman Manifesto) is the reusable grocery bag.

Now, it is one thing if some old lady wants to put her bread in her Reader's Digest tote from 1983, but the real problem is the same problem we always have with Enviro-Elitists.  The problem is that them doing it isn't good enough, they want to force others to obey their rules, or face the wrath of guilt illustrated in the above video.

Some cities have even proposed bans and/or taxes on the traditional paper or plastic disposable grocery bags.  I always thought that the paper and plastic grocery bags were reusable... just in different ways.  My old grocery bags are living fruitful second lives as trash bag liners in my bathroom and office, as a lunchbox to work, as a personal rain shield, or as a catch-all for collections of smaller items-- be it beer cans or magic markers.

I always thought the REALLY great thing about paper and plastic (I refuse to call them disposable, because I keep them for later usage) grocery bags is that I don't have to remember to take them to the store with me.

Besides that they are free.  And then, when I do reuse them, I don't have to remember to bring them back with me. 

Now, there is one more great thing about paper and plastic grocery bags:  you don't have to wash them regularly to prevent the possibility of death.

As it turns out, those hip reusable grocery bags need to be bleached and sanitized between each use... a fact overlooked by many of their enlightened proponents.  A University of Arizona study revealed not only did most people not realize this fact, but also 

"Our findings suggest a serious threat to public health, especially from coliform bacteria including E. coli, which were detected in half of the bags sampled".

To skeptics like myself, this isn't only reassuring, it is downright comical.  An earlier study, similar in nature to the one mentioned above, included mention of risks of skin infection and boils.  Ha!

And just in case you weren't sure if this trend weren't full of shit:

"The presence of fecal material in some of the reusable bags is particularly concerning".

Beautiful!