Just a reminder that what might seem like the apocalypse is no excuse for shitty behavior, which includes any of the following things that I and readers have noticed an uptick of in recent weeks:

  • masks discarded on sidewalks
  • gloves tossed in gutter, on sidewalks, on lawns
  • various other medical equipment strewn about

What is this, Idiocracy?

Speaking of idiocy, while everyone is plenty distracted with their worries about death and/or descending (deeper) into poverty, here is what our government is doing:

  • Suspending the plastic bag tax.

    Seriously, that just happened in Connecticut. The executive order reads: “while the Connecticut Department of Public Health has examined this issue and found that existing precautions, including frequent handwashing for at least 20 seconds or use of alcohol based sanitizer, avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, and routine cleaning of public spaces and frequently handled items will greatly reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission […] many employees of retail establishments have expressed concern about the handling of such bags.” So, it’s not the DPH making the recommendation, but an industry that largely fought against the plastic bag tax in the first place.

    If the concern is that employees may be exposed by touching a customer’s germ-covered cloth bag, then stop having them bag groceries. Problem solved. If I am opting to get takeout or delivery from a restaurant, I should be willing to pay the sin tax on that plastic bag.

    Are stores still using cash money? Are they still letting customers touch pinpads? Are gas stations allowing customers to continue pumping their own gas?

    FYI — a study done by National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University involved depositing a mimic virus on plastic surfaces; it could be detected two to three days after. Meanwhile, the CDC advises that an ill person’s clothing can be washed, more-or-less normally, but it’s the hamper/laundry basket that requires special disinfecting. Of course, none of this is definitive, but really, if you are going to backpedal on a plastic bag ban under the guise of virus control, you could at least have evidence that it can be detected on cloth longer than on plastic.

  • The Environmental Protection Agency — just before its 50th birthday — has suspended enforcement of environmental laws. This shows no consideration for younger generations, but then, we have come to expect that. As the Union of Concerned Scientists says, “we can’t use one crisis like #coronavirus to make another crisis like climate change worse.”

  • The governors in Texas, Mississippi, and Ohio have used the pandemic as an opportunity to push their anti-abortion agenda, banning the time-sensitive procedure. Since we are indisputably struggling to keep existing Americans alive, I won’t hold my breath waiting for any of those politicians to explain their plans to care for the babies resulting from forced births.

I understand that right now people are focused on one day at a time, but I work under the hopeful assumption that there will be some semblance of human life remaining after this, and the quality of that life matters. What I don’t want is a needlessly polluted planet, or one with a boom of babies that our government has forced with no intention of providing for post-birth.