Apparently, it doesn't take much to flummox Brian Williams. He wrapped up Monday's NBC Nightly News with a whole story devoted to a “paralyzing question” which “can make otherwise competent adults quake with fear.” The dilemma? “Paper or plastic” at the grocery store. “The grocery store dilemma,” he teased, “'paper or plastic?' What is the right answer to that paralyzing question in the checkout line?” Williams repeated his terminology in plugging the story before an ad break: “What is the right answer to that often-paralyzing question at the checkout, 'paper or plastic?'”
Williams introduced the eventual May 7 story by fretting about how people “are made to feel like the fate of the planet hinges on our decision.” Maybe if you're a self-obsessed environmental extremist with too much free time, but I doubt most people feel such pressure and are able to easily make the choice without liberal guilt. Williams asserted: “Tonight, as part of our ongoing series of reports on the environment, 'America Goes Green,' we take on the question that can make otherwise competent adults quake with fear. We've all been there. You come to the end of the checkout line and then comes that question, 'paper or plastic?' For that one brief moment, we grocery buyers are made to feel like the fate of the planet hinges on our decision. Is there a correct answer?”
Reporter Anne Thompson turned to a left-wing activist group, naturally unlabeled, for the answer:
“To find out what to do in the grocery store, we turned to Alan Hershkowitz of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Plastic bags threaten wildlife along the coast. So if that's where you call home, Hershkowitz says the choice should be paper. In the heartland, he says, it's plastic.”
She elaborated:
“To make all the bags we use a year it takes 14 million trees for paper, 12 million barrels of oil for plastic. The production of paper bags create 70 percent more air pollution than plastic. But plastic bags create four times the solid waist, enough to fill the Empire State Building two and a half times. And they can last up to a thousand years.”
The bottom line: Avoid both, as she concluded:
“Re-use and recycle is the environmentalist mantra for plastic and paper. But the best choice, they say, is cloth or canvas and B.Y.O.B. -- Bring your own bags.”
Related NB item (Ken Shepherd | May 8, 11:50 EDT):
This post reminded me of another item posted earlier on NewsBusters suitable for the "Ways Brian Williams Is Not Like Joe Sixpack." It's my colleague Paul Detrick's March 7 item, "Men's Vogue Magazine Worships 'Nightly News' Anchor." (excerpted here):
NBC Nightly News anchor, Brian Williams graces the cover of Men's Vogue this month and is profiled by Deputy Editor Ned Martel as being an anchor who, because of "today's debunking culture" (Wink Wink Newsbusters.org), is both "in the know and in on the joke."
Martel panders to Williams as an anchor who is "affable", "witty", and even "an unapologetic throwback to the era of Cronkite".
Martel says that viewers can relate to Williams because he, "has a vast interest in so many of their passions." He further says that Williams "embraces his regular-guy status" and "trumpets his middlebrow tastes".
Williams apparently considers his "instinctive understanding of Middle America" to be a payoff for Nightly News. That understanding must be a tall order for someone who wears a "black-faced Rolex and Supreme Court cufflinks" and splits his time between a "pied-a-terre in a new Upper East Side tower" and a "restored farmhouse in Connecticut".
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
I tell the bagger, "I
May 7, 2007 - 21:00 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveI tell the bagger, "I don't care" and let them fret about the decision.
Maybe sometime I should say, "Half and half!" or "Double bag them, just make sure it's one plastic bag in one paper bag" just to aggravate them more.
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
Not long ago ....
May 7, 2007 - 22:37 ET by SportPoliticsNot long ago... I was asked, " Is plastic okay ?"
It occurs to me the correct answer is, " No, it's not okay."
I think I'll say that next time. Then I'll add in a harsh tone, " Don't you know it's destroying the earth ?" I'll wait while staring, for a comment. Then when paper becomes the decision I'll say, " Do you care about the rain forests or not ? You want the children of the next generation to suffer ? Have you no soul ? "
I think I'll take an indian blanket in with me, and line the bottom of the grocery cart, then grab the four corners and haul it off like a bum on the lamb.
Then before leaving I'll ask them why they never bag the milk carton. They usually have a blank stare after that. They don't know why, they just have always done it that way. If they have half a watt - they say because it has a handle. Then I tell them the handle is cold, and I'll file a class action lawsuit unless they bag it to protect my health. That usually works wonders.
LOL! The idiots around here
May 7, 2007 - 23:22 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveLOL! The idiots around here bag the milk cartons...I hate it. They have a certain propensity for putting only one or two items in a plastic bag before getting a new one out. So I end up with 4 or 5 bags when I only had enough items to still qualify for the quick/express checkout lane.
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
There is only one correct ans
May 8, 2007 - 11:01 ET by taznarThere is only one correct answer -paper.
But put it in a plastic bag first so it won't leak all over the back of my SUV.
“Tonight, as part of our on
May 7, 2007 - 21:05 ET by Blonde“Tonight, as part of our ongoing series of reports on the environment, 'America Goes Green,' we take on the question that can make otherwise competent adults quake with fear. We've all been there. You come to the end of the checkout line and then comes that question, 'paper or plastic?' For that one brief moment, we grocery buyers are made to feel like the fate of the planet hinges on our decision. Is there a correct answer?”
Brent, you're kidding, right?
These tree hugging (literally, don't cut down a renewable resource like a tree) libs are totally out of control.
Go for the plastic bags, everyone! My retirement is dependent on it.
Sheesh...what a bunch of silliness.
As to the media bias.....it is totally biased to focus on such a non-issue. It is the supreme deflection of important issues of the day....terrorism, socialism, UN trying to usurp our autonomy, etc. Unreal.
Brian the Idiot is trying to make an argument that "bags" are equivalent to Rome burning. Tiresome.
Brian, don't you know there
May 7, 2007 - 22:07 ET by motherbelt(sarcasm on) Brian, don't you know there are senior citizens trying to decide whether to buy food or medicine?
(sarcasm off) Get a grip.
The Answer Is "Yes!"
May 7, 2007 - 22:31 ET by CGatton...'paper or plastic?'...
Unless you have brought with you the recommended alternative bags, the answer to this question can only be, "Yes!" Clearly you want paper or plastic, however you weren't asked which you wanted, only if you wanted one or the other.
At any rate, it's the answer I give everytime I'm asked by a new bagger. (It's amazing how quickly they learn to recognize repeat customers!) Of course, initially I get some very baffled looks, but eventually they catch on, that I just don't care which they use.
V/R
Clyde
"...the aspirants to tyranny are either the...men of the state, who in democracies are demagogues,... or those who hold great offices, and have a long tenure.." - Aristotle, Politics, c350BC
Fear Not Brian
May 7, 2007 - 21:07 ET by RiharMy solution is to ask for both. Then when you are done with them take a refreshing walk in the forest, natures cathedral. Start a campfire with the paper bag and whatever animal gets frightened by "Man's Invasion of the Wood" you chase it down and jam the plastic bag down it's throat. Voila! Dinner is served! You know as Jed Clampet used to say "Possum innards are better the second day". There, I've REDUCED the need for petroleum based fire starters. REUSED my resources, and RECYCLED both paper and plastic by giving them a new purpose.
When a liberal speaks, the truth is busy elsewhere.
at least it's still at the gr
May 7, 2007 - 21:08 ET by botgat least it's still at the grocery store and not Ms Crow telling us it one square or plastic
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Gee Brian, your life must b
May 7, 2007 - 21:34 ET by terrigGee Brian, your life must be pretty easy if this is the biggest question of the week for you. Personally, I could care less but I always re-use the bags as waste bags for my little cans in the restroom. Is that good enough for the greenies I wonder? Also, I use the paper bags when I mail presents so again I'm recylcling but that's not good enough for these folks. No, they want to be in every room of my entire home telling me what kind of light I can use in my lamps. Brian and all the other Alcolytes: keep your laws out of house.
Ditto..I do exactly the sam
May 7, 2007 - 21:47 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveDitto..I do exactly the same with mine...I never buy bubble wrap or styrofoam peanuts...the bags do just as well and they're free! The local Wal-Mart here even has a plastic bag recycling collection point. I drop off the bags there when they accumulate to a critical mass in my mud room.
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
Mean,My local Publix has recy
May 7, 2007 - 23:39 ET by msh1973Mean,
My local Publix has recycle bins for those crazy bags too. I use them around the house and then when I have enough I take them back to Publix. No thought on my part.
We request plastic bags becau
May 8, 2007 - 05:19 ET by JWFWe request plastic bags because we recycle them! We use them to hold the kitty poo from the litter box. We also use them to hold the dog poo from the park. The trash man only comes once a week. Can you imagine storing these substances in a paper bag in the garage until then?
In my imagination, the dog and cat poo forms a toxic noxious substance that completely degrades the bags within months. So there, ecoweenies!
If people stop desiring paper
May 7, 2007 - 21:39 ET by zfIf people stop desiring paper products that takes away a hugh incentive to keep as many trees as possible around. Why don't these Green Goons see that?
And why do we need a segment on the news promoting nature worship? What does NBC stand for now anyway: Nature Boosting Corporation?
Thousands of loggers would
May 7, 2007 - 21:48 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveThousands of loggers would lose their livelihood as well. Too many of them have already lost their jobs because of the stupid spotted owl.
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
Well as far as the trees go
May 7, 2007 - 22:12 ET by motherbeltWell as far as the trees go....can you say "renewable resource"??????
Good answer motherbelt
May 7, 2007 - 22:29 ET by SportPoliticsmotherbelt, I believe you deserve the million dollar study grant. The idiot libs can't figure it out anymore, but you did. We can grow more trees, but we can't grow more oil... yet.
So a big bravo for having such deep thinking capabilities that far outstrip the massively overpaid activist professional experts.
The plastic is "renewa
May 7, 2007 - 22:31 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveThe plastic is "renewable" too. It can be recylced in various ways, one of which is TDP (or Google Thermal Depolymerization).
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
Well I was talking renewabl
May 7, 2007 - 23:10 ET by motherbeltWell I was talking renewable, as in growing more, not recycling. We can grow mor trees, have been doing it for years. And I don't like either recycled paper or recycled plastic. The paper bags rip when you pick them up, the plastic ones always have holes in them, and both almost always need to be doubled. Flimsy, flimsy. But I guess we have to live with it.
Mean Genes link spoke of turk
May 7, 2007 - 23:13 ET by botgMean Genes link spoke of turkey parts made into oil can we raise turkeys or grow corn? then use the oil to make plastic?
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Sure! But, it wouldn't be c
May 7, 2007 - 23:31 ET by Mean Gene Dr. LoveSure! But, it wouldn't be cost effective. Last time I read about it the TDP plant outside the Butterball slaughterhouse was running at a loss for numerous reasons...one of which was complaints about the smell but, I can't think of much else that can smell worse than a slaughterhouse. They also haven't opened it up to public investment, so I think their lack of capital is hobbling their effort to prove the viability of TDP. If every land-fill in the U.S. had one, we could reclaim millions of tons of metals, minerals, and oil from the stuff just sitting in our land fills.
I think it is a promising technology but, I think it is one of those technologies that only benefits from economies of scale.
"Believe what you want. You work your side of the street, and I'll work mine." --Frank Bullitt
brian williams
May 7, 2007 - 22:08 ET by zoro7957This is just one reason I eat all my food in the check-out line.........
“To make all the bags we us
May 7, 2007 - 22:15 ET by Nortonalec“To make all the bags we use a year it takes 14 million trees for paper, 12 million barrels of oil for plastic. The production of paper bags create 70 percent more air pollution than plastic." How many trees die every day for the New York Times? How did Ann Curry get to Saudi Arabia? Binge-flying?!
Nortonalec
Anyone who denies that paper
May 7, 2007 - 22:23 ET by danboAnyone who denies that paper production doesn't affect air quality. Has never been down wind of a paper mill.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Pulp mills DO stink.. no dou
May 7, 2007 - 22:27 ET by rimskyPulp mills DO stink.. no doubt.
yerah, so do...
May 7, 2007 - 22:43 ET by SportPoliticsyerah, so do... pig farms, egg farms, and moo farms. Al Gore figured out butts are global destruction pollution.
I guess the Amish had it right all along. Thank God they're religious or the libs would have already mandated horse and buggy locomotion.
smells like money!Supreme Cou
May 7, 2007 - 22:45 ET by botgsmells like money!
Supreme Court, National Security, Borders, Fiscal Restraint, my litmus test for President.
Pulp mills DO stink.. no dou
May 7, 2007 - 22:27 ET by rimskyPulp mills DO stink.. no doubt.
lol
May 7, 2007 - 22:36 ET by dahliatraverslol
..often-paralyzing question?
May 7, 2007 - 22:25 ET by rimsky..often-paralyzing question? Oh, the drama. I never get the question. It's always plastic.
I used to be a bagger at a grocery store when I was in high school.. a long time ago.. and of course it was always paper then. Frankly, I prefer paper. It's easier to bag groceries in paper and easier to arrange paper bags in the trunk of a car or the back seat. Plastic bags have no shape, so things spill out.
Brian loves to get so serious with these kind of reports. He talks slowly, like we can't understand him any other way.. afterall, we are the plebs, so he's got to speak slowly, otherwise we won't be able to retain it all.. Hey Brye.. I'm falling asleep with this s**t!
Easy one. Plastic. You just h
May 7, 2007 - 22:31 ET by danboEasy one. Plastic. You just have to remember to record the debit charge from your check book. You save the time in not writing the check. Or making sure you go by the bank on the way to the store to get cash.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Still get the double bagging charge ?
May 7, 2007 - 22:54 ET by SportPoliticsRemember a few years back they used to charge for double bagging. I think it was a nickel or a quarter here, and they'ed ask if you wanted double bagging, and they'ed charge for it, since the libs were on a national news crusade.
Then, the libs had the enlightenment hit again... and they figured out a thicker paper sack didn't require double bagging. So, we had a year of printing and bragging rights at all the grocers about their single strength bags, no double bagging required ! Oh boy, heaven on earth.
If the libs hadn't whined about too much paper being used, they would have never thinned the paper bags to begin with, which required more nickels and quarters for double bagging, and waste in the end.
Now, since there's a health hazard national nazi crew afoot, and we are used to a hospital clean environment, reusing plastic or paper bags is forbidden by health codes.
I'd bet cloth carriers like Granny uses will be declared to be filled with bacterium and viruses, and food crumb and juice mold, perhaps the black plague, so those are out.
I think I'll threaten lawsuit next time for all the packaging surrounding my groceries, claiming they are destroying the earth and endangering the public and the children of the next generation. If they don't like that, I'll tell them their parking lot is causing butyl and carbon black runoff into the local surrounding soils, as well as oil runoff from vehicular traffic, all so that we can't grow our own food and they can corner the market. Man, why am I not a millionaire from this already ? Can I have a million bucks for a study grant ?
Sorry, SP, just because the
May 7, 2007 - 23:16 ET by motherbeltSorry, SP, just because they print "no double bagging required" doesn't mean it works out that way. They are still flimsy. I have had them rip all the way down the side when I take them out of the trunk. When I do my own bagging at the U-Scan, I have to double my paper bags, and I put less than normal in the plastic ones, because they are flimsy too, and the handles break if they are heavy. So I use more bags than I would otherwise. Is that a saving for "the planet"??
PS I also notice that the store baggers frequently double the plastic bags...they've learned from experience too.
True paper carries more. But
May 7, 2007 - 23:33 ET by danboTrue paper carries more. But with plastic, I can carry 6-8, sometimes 10 or more, bags at a time. I can't do that with paper. You only need to double plastic when you're filling them with 2-2 litre drinks, or a gallon.
I can also run a bungie cord through the handles so the groceries don't roll around the bed of my pickup.
As an added adventage. The plastic bags are good for taking out wet garbage. Paper isn't very good for wet garbage.
"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” H.L. Mencken
Paper bags with paper handles
May 8, 2007 - 00:02 ET by SportPoliticsSometimes they have paper bags with paper handles here, like once a year around Christmas at the grocery. That seems to create a swarm of customers, those paper bags with the handles are highly sought after.
I have to say that nowadays, they only half the time have a bagger, and it's highly unlikely that someone loads the groceries in your car.
As a kid we used to want to hold up the reciept with the black crayon cart numbers on it against the window, so the "loader" guy would know which cart(s) to load. I suppose nowadays that is just to dangerous, as the vehicle might be scratched or dented, or whatever terrible lawsuit or argument might arise from it. I suppose the groceries would be stolen by ne'er do wells. The company saves money by making every customer do the work, and most customers nowadays seem to want it that way.
I don't think there's even a full service line at a gas station left in this city anywhere. Not sure if there are any in the USA anymore.
I wonder how any business survived when it used to pay for customer service persons.
Thank you SP, for reminding
May 8, 2007 - 10:57 ET by SarahAnnieThank you SP, for reminding me how nice I have it here. At the grocery store where I do most of my shopping, they always have paper bags with paper handles, someone to bag my groceries (usually a semi-responsible teenager who realizes that soup cans oughtn't go atop a loaf of bread), AND the option to load my groceries into my car. Life is sweet in Nebraska, except for the tornadic activity.
Nebraskans for War: Peace through Strength
Yes, yes of course
May 7, 2007 - 23:47 ET by SportPoliticsThat stuff I was talking about happened years back, now they've gone back to SOP. I think the thick paper bags went back to thin when plastic bags became the craze.
Remember the walmart lawsuit... the couple bought mayonnaise and pickels, and they carried it out to the car and drove home.. on the way into the house the plastic bag broke and dropped on the guys toes, breaking a bone or two. They sued, and won.
Guess it doesn't matter, as you point out, plastic is double bagged now. I think it just points out how stupid our society has become in too many cases.
Now they've got this great new 13 gallon kitchen trash bag that has "linear strength" - and they splay the fibers along it's length, so it lifts "more weight". Problem is as you open the bag, the side splits and the tear runs down a straight line toward the bottom. I consider it a Chinese implementation or a new liberal scientist invention.
Liberals create four year courses on problem solving and logical thought, so they can some day hope to get past the problem above. Aim high.
:)
I still do not buy the issue
May 7, 2007 - 22:47 ET by alamojbI still do not buy the issue with landfills. From what I have seen, the landfills just end up being made into artificial hills and covered in grass. We lived outside of Conroe, Texas for a number of years, which is relatively flat. We would refer to the local landfill as "Mount Conroe".
On a side note, how long will it take the national media in all these "Green" stories to admit that "Big Oil" Texas is now the nations leading Wind Energy State? Could it be they are trying to avoid that because a certain former Governor named Bush was a big proponent of Wind Energy Development in Texas? http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_wind.htm
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/09/25/texas_is_more_hosp
itable_than_mass_to_wind_farms/?page=1
Well, that would destroy the
May 8, 2007 - 06:48 ET by UnsaneWell, that would destroy the image the media wants you to have of TX: the most evil red state of them all, with HQs for Hyper-Evil Big Oil, and the home of record of the most Hyper-Evil man of them all, the President.
I am still bummed that TX only gets 10% of its juice from STNP and Comanche Park.
"HAV3 TH3 BRIDG3S OF INSANITY B33N CROSS3D AND FOR3V3R R3TRACT3D???." - Meshuggah, "3ntrapm3nt", from Catch Thirty Thr33 (2005)
When I run into a clerk tha
May 8, 2007 - 01:21 ET by Col-CrockettWhen I run into a clerk that can't handle my answer of "I don't care" to that paralyzing question...I look at them and say.....
"You know.. if I use paper, they tell me I am killing trees, when I use plastic, they tell me I am filling up landfills... so here's what you do.. cut down a tree, throw it in a plastic bag and dump the whole mess into the landfill.. then just give me my groceries and I will be happy."
I LOVE the looks I get with that one.
Why is he having trouble with
May 8, 2007 - 10:20 ET by ucWhy is he having trouble with a "garbage in garbage" out scenario? They may both be recycled products. Check also how your garbage in disposed of/recycled? in your local communities. Have you seen the methane from landfill energy stories yet?
Recycled News
May 8, 2007 - 10:39 ET by PawpawNDon't know why anyone would get upset in the MSM, they use RECYCLED NEWS all the time!!
I'm sorry, I just had to laug
May 8, 2007 - 10:40 ET by rubylensI'm sorry, I just had to laugh at the mental image of Brian Willams in a grocery store checkout line, shaking like a chihuahua in a cold draft. What a stupid thing to say, that adults "quake with fear" about the terrible decision of paper or plastic!
Now his network rivals know how to take him out of the competition--just whisper "paper or plastic" in his ear right before he goes on the air. He'll just sit there paralyzed with fear and not be able to deliver the news.
Choices, choices
May 8, 2007 - 10:49 ET by desertphreakKill a tree, choke a duck...I just can't decide. When asked if I'd like plastic or paper I just reply "Yes, yes I would."
“To make all the bags we
May 8, 2007 - 11:13 ET by Dave in Texas“To make all the bags we use a year it takes 14 million trees for paper, 12 million barrels of oil for plastic."
300 million Americans. That's about a 20th of a tree, and a 25th of a barrel of oil per person. So if I plant one tree, I'm good for 20 years of paper bags. Anyone know how many gallons of gas you get out of a barrel of oil?
Best Response Ever
May 8, 2007 - 11:18 ET by TheGuru22Hands down, the best response given to the question "Paper or Plastc" was given by a friend of my father. He looked at the cashier and with a slight lisp said... "It doesn't matter. I'm Bi-Sacksual...."
Late,
The Guru
Brian "Hoody Doody"
May 8, 2007 - 11:27 ET by jdhawkBrian "Hoody Doody" Williams . . . "often-paralyzing question . . ."
This is the poster child and poster network for why the drive by media is truly worthless.
Meanwhile, what the drive by media is "driving at" is for all to use their own cloth bags. Some time ago, there was a movement in San Francisco to make that law. It was met with such howls of protest that it was quickly dropped. That is the reason that "Hoody Doody" approached this the way he did.
Watch for a steady drumbeat to make this happen. You'll be bringing you own cloth bag(s) to go shopping before long. And, "Hoody Doody" will be getting a Peabody award or whatever the liberal drive bys give themselves these days for his "America Goes Green" series.
By the way, we have a list of all of you on this blog and we will be buy this evening to inspect the number of CFLs you are using. I hope we don't have to resort to fines again.
What else are Libs scared of?
May 8, 2007 - 11:51 ET by PawpawNLet's see FIRST-they're afraid of Global Warming(even tho all their meeting in the winter & early spring were cancelled due to snow & cold); SECOND-they're scared to go on Fox News Channel; THIRD-they're scared of question Paper or Plastic; golly, what's next, oh, I forgot, FOURTH-only one section of toilet tissue(the French love this so they can sell more bidets!!
The important part is that yo
May 8, 2007 - 12:55 ET by Ruths husband BenThe important part is that you feel guilty over whatever decision you make. Guilt is a great social tool to make people conform to nut-job ideologies. I personally use plastic as it hangs from the hooks in the back of my SUV. Paper bags are better for icecream and dead animals (such as beef and pork chops), expecially if you double bag them, but vegetables like catsup and mustard do fine in plastic.
As a side note, do you think that endangered animals (spotted owls, etc.) are that way because they are tastier than non-endangered ones? Could these environmentalists be holding out on us?
Yaba daba doo! -Fred Flintstone campaign slogan
Paralyzing question....oh com
May 8, 2007 - 23:11 ET by bigtimerParalyzing question....oh come on now.
This is a joke right.
He has lived a real life they say...he used to be a fire-fighter I heard once....
ROFL....
This guy has never been married....not a real marriage anyway.
Paralyzing question....I seriously am dying laughing here!
Paper or plastic...oh yeah, our number one worry.