" bugler, my head grazes the roof in the compact and intermediate sedans of all the major automakers, that is one reason I don't drive one. My Ford Freestyle gives me the same head and leg room I had in the pick-up trucks I drove in pre-motherhood days. My husband has a Hyundai Elantra and anytime I ride with him and we go over a speed bump, my head bumps the ceiling.
But my original reply had nothing to do with a particular car, I just pulled a make/model off the top of my head and the one my inlaws own was about as off the top as it gets. It had to do with someone throwing a stereotype out there, making a polarizing, prejudiced statement. While there are a few people who go mudding who bought their wheels for just that, a larger number are using trucks that they use for their farm work. A better rounded statement about gas guzzlers would have included people who have SUVs as a status symbol as opposed to a work truck, as I put in my original reply.
And to Politically Incorrect, a front wheel drive 4 cylinder might get you out of the snow in Carbondale or Marion, but not out on South Rt 127 and out in the hollows and bends around Alto Pass and Pomona. "

" Ritzysmom- I agree we need to be less polarized, but the issue is important. A simple risk impact analysis should tell you that. Ever heard of how the deep sea current that keeps europe warmer then they should be has a tendency to shut down very rapidly when things get out of whack? What we don't know is exactly why we need to be cautious. As for me, I have kept up with climate studies/theories since 1988. I debated in high school and we would research the theories of scientists to plug into our policy rounds. As for have i checked the deniers funding, yes, i have, everytime i come across one that doesn't sound crazy, and never once did they come up clean. Maybe some scientists that believe in global warming have selfish reasons, but the vast majority are scientists because they are driven by a search for the truth, which is why it doesn't surprise me to know most of them tend to side with Gore over Exxon, because the basic theory is sound, do we know everything? no, Are the climate models 100% accurate? no, but seriously, if you only have 1 house, you don't risk destroying it. "

" Ritzysmom, why not just admit when you're wrong. If you can't sit in a Prius without your head hitting the roof, you can't sit in any compact or intermediate sedan from the major manufacturers (Ford, GM, Toyota, ...) without your head hitting the roof. Or maybe you need to take off your hat?

As to global warming, the majority of climate scientists believe it exists and is caused by people. I acknowledge that the group who disagree is more than a tiny number, but it is a minority. Who mentioned money? "

" Gmoney - when my car breaks down I call AAA. You don't need a gas guzzler when it snows in southern Illinois - a front wheel drive 4cylinder car actually is very good, even on ice. And mostly, you don't need an "SUV" to transport EMS gear.

But I think the whole point of Marion Rez is that, for the most part a gas guzzler is not needed most of the time. I see people all the time going to work (not in a farm and not pulling a trailer) in a dually truck. No one is making fun of "rednecks" - they do a good job on their own. "

" Bugler, you may have me beat by a couple of inches, but that doesn't necessarily give your statement merit. If you have more of your height in your legs, then yes you have more headroom. If more of the height is in your torso, such as myself, headroom is tighter.
And just because someone can scream louder (or has millions of dollars to make a movie) does not make what they are saying the truth.
To you and 1st Amendment, have either of you looked at any of the documents and studies done by the "global warmer deniers" yourselves to see who they are and who sponsored their studies? Do you know for a fact seen by your own eyes that those studies were overwhelmingly sponsored by 'big oil' companies? Or are you just taking Al Gore's and party's word for it? In England, they are not allowed to show his movie in the schools as a 'documentary' as it has been found to contain many, many factual errors and exaggerations. With the internet being what is today, it would seem that people would access the wealth of information and find the truth for themselves. Instead they fall victim to more misinformation and propaganda. And its just as big on the liberal side, maybe more so, as it is on the conservative side. I think both camps need to take a long walk off a short pier and cool off. Our country is so far polarized in one direction or the other that no one gets to see the middle ground and few people will get off their high horse and stand on it and get SOMETHING, ANYTHING done. The money spent on that stupid movie to beat people over the heads with (goad, as 1st Amendment said) would have been much better spent on setting the example or furthering research to work towards any of the ways to reduce emmissions or an education plan (curriculum, books) in schools to teach kids in school energy saving methods. Better yet, a reward to people who build or convert their homes with energy saving equipment.
YOu get more flies with honey than with vinegar. "

" Ritzysmom- Bugler's right, the vast, overwhelming majority of scientists tend to side with Gore, furthermore, the "scientists" who are global warmiing deniers, are almost to a man funded by big oil, et al. I challenge any person to show me a global warming denier scientist who isn't bankrolled by Big oil, et al, It is silly, it is like listening to the tobacco "doctors" that big tobacco trotted out to say that smoking doesn't cause cancer. Keep in mind also, the fact that there so much we don't know about what CAN happen is not cause to throw caution to the wind. Why is that so hard for conservatives to get? I mean taking care of the only planet we have is the CONSERVATIVE thing to do. Don't get me wrong, you seem level headed, but the only way to gode society into action is by doing what Gore is doing. Without Gore and those like him the big oil noise machine would keep us complacent until its too late. Remember, all those climate cycles you mention didnt happen when there was 7 billion people affecting the carbon cycle, and china and india modernizing up the backstretch. Also, thanks for typing more then me, i now no longer have the title. "

" Ritzysmom, don't make things up just to make your point. I drive a Prius, I am 6"1", I have no problem. They have more headroom than many other sedans.

As to Al Gore, there are certainly scientists who disagree with him, but at last count (if you read actual scientific publications), there are several times as many qualified ecologists who agree with him than disagree. "

" To Bugler:
I've seen the Prius, my in-laws have 2 of them. They are fine if you are only 5'2", like my mother in law. I prefer to not have the roof of the car touching the top of my head. And her car would never make it out to my dad's farm between the months of November and June. And just because they carry more than the average car of their wheelbase, doesn't mean they carry much.
I have a great idea, lets make the Congress people give up their giant luxury cars and be transported to and from work in Priuses.

I've got NO problem slapping an extra tax on people using HUMMERS and Suburbans as single occupancy vehicles, those same people need to take special drivers training to drive them, too.

As far as Al Gore and the econuts, I've no problem with people who read ALL the information out there and form an opinion. THere just as many, maybe more, educated, trained, and well respected experts that disagree with Mr. Gore as there are those who support his opinion. And sometimes there are errors in the studies that are done. But Mr. Gore and his blind followers formed an opinion and then went and found people who would support it. That is a dangerous thing to do. I have a degree in Biology and Chemistry and took classes in Ecology. The earths climate operates in cycles over thousands of years, there have been ice ages and near tropical times over and over. There are many reasons and mankind wasn't around to see and record every little detail as to why each time. We may be having an impact, but it might not be as large as Mr. Gore would have us to believe. I think we should do more to be more responsible for our planet, but Carbon Credits is not it, everyone needs to do and not be able to live the wasteful life and pay someone else to live a more austere one, that's stupidest thing I ever heard of in my life. In Europe, sorting your trash for recyling is mandatory, we are a high living enough country that we should do the same. Europe has used nuclear power for decades, we should highly regulate it and use it as well. Wind farms where they will pull the most, solar panels where they would be lighted the most, or every new house be built with solar panels on the roofs. Mandatory plumbing regs such as smaller tanked toilets, tankless hot water heaters. All state and federal buildings required to have locks on the AC and heat so that they cannot be set above or below a certain temperature, lights off if no one is a room (we used to have stickers all over the light switches in Army buildings and even family housing apartment buildings reminding us to turn off the light when we left).
We need to approach the oil crisis from the angle of consumption as much or more as finding new sources. Ethanol is NOT the answer. I know people along the line are making some money now with corn because of the ethanol, but its nearly as non-renewable as oil in the sense that corn strips nutrients from the soil, you can't grow it year after year on the same field and get the same yield. It has to rotated with a replenishing crop like soybeans. And we've only got a finite amount of land as well, and we need to grow food and livestock and the livestock need that corn, too.
We need to get away from the materialism and laziness of households that have 3 cars---even ones that don't have teenagers in teh house. And it boggles my mind to see someone drive 4 blocks only to get a newspaper. They need to get off their lazy duffs and walk, they rank up there with the people who drive in circles around parking lots looking for a closer space instead of just parking out there by the edge and getting tin the exercise that they are going to burm more gas and money to drive home and change clothes to drive out again to go to the gym to work out. Geesh. There is no reason for this country to not have as good or better public transportation system as the Europeans, from sea to shining sea. If we took freight off of 18-wheelers and put it on cargo trains, we would replace more than 20 trucks with 2 or 3 train engines everytime a train pulled out. And having those huge trucks off the road would cut down A LOT of wear and tear on our roads. Wbile a passenger train won't get you anywhere as fast as a plane, the most modern trains in Europe aren't anything to sneeze at, and would do fine for a lot of leisure travel or mid-distant travel. Busses that carry 60 people as oppposed to having 60 cars on the road would be nice too, and it saves wear and tear on the roads again. And some families wouldn't have to have a second car for mom or an extra car or two for the kids if we had the extensive bus system that they have in Europe.
We are all in this together and we all need to be doing EVERYTHING possible to approach these problems from EVERY direction, and EVERYONE should be held responsible for their own actions. "

" MarionRez: 3 things...
You'll be thanking me when my "gas-guzzling" SUV pulls your prius out of a ditch when it's snowing...

You'll be thanking me when my "gas-guzzling" SUV pulls up and I grab all my EMS gear out of the back to pull you out of your prius when it gets crumpled when it goes into said ditch...

Finally... You'll be thanking me that my "gas-guzzling" wasn't out "huntin'" or "muddin'" to do 1 and 2. -These larger vehicles 'do' have many uses.

...And remember: "Everyone makes fun of a RedNeck until their car breaks down" "

" Brazil started an alternative fuel program the same time Jimmah Carter launched one here, and soon after. GoldBricker Reagan took office and shut ours off. Brazil makes enough ethanol they export the stuff. They call it alcohol and sell pure ethanol or a blend that must be at least 26 percent alcohol. Half the cars manufactured in Brazil this year by G M and V W will be able to run on straight ethanol or their ethanol gasoline blend. Unfortunately ethanol has cut into world food supplies causing more food shortages in poor countries, and food prices to go enough up so even the stoics amongst us are concerned. "

" Here are a couple ideas. Why doesn't the state invest in coal to liquids research. That way we decrease our dependence on foreign sources and put people in So. Il. to work mining. Why don't we use the farm land to grow crops for food instead of ethanol. In my opinion, ethanol is the biggest scam going these days. By the time you factor in all the diesel it take to plant, fertilize, harvest, and convert the corn there isn't that big of a gain. Other than lining someones else's pockets. "

" Many of you may knock me and my ideas now, but when gasoline hits $5 a gallon, I guarantee you'll be singing to a different tune. "

" To ritzymom,

You have a large vehicle because you need a large vehicle? Fine. (You have never looked carefully at a Prius, by the way, or you would realize that they are fairly high off the ground, so they do a lot better on bad gravel roads than most sedans. And they can carry more stuff in the trunk than the average car of their wheelbase. Let that pass for now.) But I doubt that more than 10% of the huge, inefficient pickups and SUVs that we see on Carbondale roads have ever been inside a real working farm. Okay, let's put a really high tax on all gas guzzlers unless they are primarily used for work purposes.

Oh, yes, please let us see the evidence you have for "The people who scream the most and the loudest about global warming are econuts who have absolutely no scientific training in their backgrounds who can't understand the science." At least Al Gore quoted scientists and gave data, unlike those Fox News and similar pundits who pretend that opinions are facts.


"

" MarionRez, it is obvious you are not a native of this area and never spent one minute on a farm. Our "muddin' and hunting" trucks are the same trucks we use to do our farm work. When we need to take a part out to the tractor in the corn field, that Prius sure isn't going to make it out there, let alone back. THat prius does not have teh cargo space to haul the tool box out there so I can put in that part, or for that matter, some of the parts themselves, especially if I have to haul a tire out there. And when that farm is out on 5 miles of gravel road that has some pretty bad days during the winter and spring. A Prius would probably leave the oil pan, the suspension, and the muffler out there in the dust, it would never make it the the house, let alone the cornfield. And a Prius would be hard pressed to haul a couple of 50lb bags of seed, let alone 30 or 50 bags of it. Or tow a wagon of corn back to town or a trailer of hogs to the sale barn. So unless you want to start eating the grass in your lawn and raising your own chickens, get off your high horse on that one buddy.
I do agree that we need to ramp up our public transportation system, nationwide in fact. I lived in Germany for 5 years while my husband was in the service and we could go anywhere without a car, in fact had not choice for the first few months we were there. My husband rode his bike the 2 miles to work every morning on a paved path, we had neighbors who biked 10 miles to the next town to work because the paths all intersected and networked. I walked the same path to catch the bus to go to the grocery store at the post 2 towns over. Admittedly, I couldn't haul very much groceries at any one time and it was a lot better when we got a car. When I took the bus I had to go to the store every other day to get everything we needed, once we got a car I could knock it out in one trip every week or two.
We took the street car system to local shops and the state train to bigger cities and site seeing. Not every citizen has a car, most have bicycles even if they have a car. They have baskets for the front and saddle bag baskets for the back so they can carry stuff to a certain size back and forth. They walk a lot because parking spaces are a premium and expensive, all parking is permit or paid parking. You can go anywhere in Germany and in fact all of Europe just by bus and train. Our country used to be the same, but now every one thinks they HAVE to have a car of their own and the public train systems have gone by the wayside outside of the commuter trains in BIG cities, the same for buses other than Greyhound and its affiliates. Cargo trains used to be the only way cargo traveled across country, next to none of these semis we have now. But after all but a few train companies have gone under, tracks have been ripped out. It will be a lot of money to put them back in, but I think it would be worth it. Yeah it will take a lot longer to go from Carbondale to D.C., but not as long as it does on AmTrak now if we got all the old routes back and got the superspeed trains that Europe has. Airplanes that everyone hops on to travel are eating up as much or more fuel and polluting as much or more than our "hillbilly" trucks.
And if you are going to take issue with one group, lets take issue with another group. Those who like their status symbol SUVs, who have no practical reason to own one. Going down the highway in that huge honkin' Hummer or Expedition or Denali and there is only 1 person in the car and no cargo. I have 4 kids, so I have a 'mini'-SUV, a Ford Freestyle, that holds 7 passengers and I can fold down the 3d row seats to haul my groceries. And the people in the spotlight screaming the loudest on the TV and in the papers about global warming are the ones that own 6 giagantic homes, an SUV in the garage at each one plus a limo and a private plane. They scream at the suggestion that anyone ruin their view with a wind farm, even when it was on an island that nobody could see from the shore.
The people who scream the most and the loudest about global warming are econuts who have absolutely no scientific training in their backgrounds who can't understand the science. And gloom and doom sells papers and TV ratings, so the media picks it up, whether it is the truth or not. Nobody can prove beyond a doubt that the Earth is not going through a normal cycling of warming or cooling at any given time. So yes, we should be responible with our resources, stop hopping in the car just to go 3 blocks down to the 7-11 for a paper. There are so many little things that people could do, but Americans as a whole are lazy, selfish, and materialistic. That is the reason more than anything that people around the world hate us. "

" Me too Charley 35. Seeing TV public service announcements with Neut G and Nancy P in one, and Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson in another all agreeing we need to address global warming issues has me scratching my head wondering what's next. HMmmm. Maybe McCain will throw everyone for a loop and choose Joe Lieberman for his running mate. "

" I wonder come the earth went through cooling and warming cycles before all the man made things that are blamed for the so called "warming of the earth" supposedly happening now? "

" Teflon John? That's interesting. Here's a little to much TMI following Teflon John's offering. I like plastic bags cause they come in handy to line my smaller waste cans. Every day or two I use one along with a arm extender grabber to pick up trash thrown out by otherwise probably environmental friendly motorists, and their passengers. My partner got the arm extender from her rehab PT back in the 80's after she had a laminectomy performed on her. She's never used it, but it's sure came in handy for policing up our yard and a short stretch of our surrounding throughfares and walk ways. Thing retailed for $71 dollars. HMmmm. I wonder if all who believe earth is experiencing global warming are hippies? "

" I like my pickup truck. "

" I've read recent speculation that part of the oil food price problem (and in fact the Enron debacle) can be traced to the waning days of the Clinton admin, when regulations governing commodity trading were removed, so part of the price problems now may very well be being driven by speculators. "

" To the Hogwash writer, hogwash to you. Plastic doesn't litter things because it is harmful, people litter. You also ruin your complete argument by giving any relevance to global warming being caused by humans. Maybe that group is right about a few things, maybe you are not. Plastic bags are more energy friendly to produce than paper, throw them away where they belong and there is no problem. The reason they are not recycled is because this is a waste of energy. Do a little research instead of just regurgitation what you hear the hippies say. "

" Are you that dumb to state your opinion as fact. CO2 which causes global warming? yeah, get up to date and you may change your stance. Alleviate our rising temperatures? Our CO2 production is higher this last year than any year before, yet temperatures have went down, again check your facts. "

" I love the idea of anointing “MarionRez” as "The Czar" responsible to overseeing the great unwashed. In fact, MarionRez could be our version if Fidel Castro, since he too, advises the unwashed about what they should drive. Just think how much fun it would be to drive a non-polluting, 1952 Chevy, Dodge or Studebaker--while wearing Birkenstocks. "

" My fellow posters--let us all anoint “Marion Rez” as the Czar responsible to overseeing the great unwashed. You know, those huntin’, muddin’ angry "typical white people.” Marion Rez, in the infinite wisdom of a Birkenstock wearing doer-of-good deeds will from now on dictate what type of vehicles we will drive (bicycles) where to shop (not Wal-Mart) and what to eat (tofu hamburgers laced with organically grown pot). Thanks Marion Rez for sharing our thoughts and I look forward to receiving your first in an unending series “Proclamations from The Czar”. "

" Ways to help the environment and reduce emissions caused by automobiles:

1.) Get all the hillbillies (especially around here) to give up their heavy-duty mega pick-up trucks they use to go "huntin'" and muddin'" in. There is NO reason why any human being needs a gas-guzzler that only gets 10 miles a gallon. The state of Illinois should jack up taxes on any personal commuter vehicle that gets less than 20 miles a gallon. They could use that revenue to invest in alternative energy sources and maybe discourage some of these rednecks from buying gas hogs.

2.) Invest more in mass transit. It is an absolute travesty that this country does not have more transportation options than we do now. Instead of building new interstates and freeways, let's start building high speed railways, let's build more hybrid busses. I live in rural Marion, but work in Carbondale. It is a shame that there is not some sort of mass transit available in our area. I realize that neither Marion nor Carbondale are "big cities", but the combined population of Williamson and Jackson Counties is 120,000+. The two counties could very easily support a transit system. We have the population base.

3.) Encourage and build more bike trails in cities, towns, and even rural areas. It will give people a safe alternative to driving a car. I understand that you can't ride a bike everywhere, but it would be nice to have a safe bicycle route to the grocery store, library, or employer (if possible). Bikes do not pollute the air and riding a bike is about the best exercise you can get. It would help the environment and people's health all at the same time.

Now, of course more than likely none of these will ever come to fruition because most Southern Illinoisans, and Americans in general, are afraid of change. They refuse to let go of their own personal convenience and comfort factors and insist on being selfish. How sad. "

" My friend Grayson, you are correct. This is a national security issue. If we were no longer in a position where oil is an overriding national interest, we would not have to spend so much of our national treasure defending it. 1st, you are also right, worst case, we leave a cleaner healthier world for our kids and grandkids. While I do not buy in to the global warming hysteria, we must face the fact that oil is finite. It behooves us to start looking for alternatives now, instead of at the last minute. When we are independent of oil, we can tell the middle east to take their worthless sand and pound it. "

" To My Freinds:

What if.....

(1) We lived in a country that did not have to "play nice" with the pre-eminent sponsors of Wahhabism (the Saudis) who, indirectly (and perhaps tacitly) supports Islamic fundamentalism?

(2) We lived in a country that did not have to rely on international markets to set the price of a needed commodity--thereby making the American people and our lives subject to the ebb and flow of foreign markets?

(3) That the needed commodity (oil) was no longer as relevant as it now is and America was able to diminish our reliance on that commodity?

(4) The issue of oil was not viewed through just and environmental lens--but additionally through the lens of "what is best for America"--now, and in the long term?

Regardless of your environmental stance, we must face (and deal with) America's increasing dependence on fossil fuels. Folks, this is also a tremendous national security issue. "

" If thats true billorights why did Bush recently say we needed to act to reduce greenhouse emissions, why did the CIA, the Pentagon, the state department, and the insurance industry ALL say that their best scientific analysis shows that global warming is real and is getting worse and is manmade? i urge you billofrights to please take it upon yourself to read about the issue from neutral sources, that haven't been getting money from biased sources. Bottom line, if you are right and we go ahead and develop alternative ways to fuel our economy and cars, then the worst thing that happens is the air gets cleaner, the ozone hole gets smaller, and fewer people die from air pollution related illness, and we can tell the crazies in the mideast to go take a hike. If your wrong, and with all due respect, you are, then we lose big time, heck the leading scientists say that we are already going to suffer major shocks, why risk it getting any worse? Can't corporations make money selling hydrogen cars, and solar cells, and other alternative energy? Face it, the oil is not here forever. "

" "these wealthy corporations", "global warming is not caused by humans", we are entering a cooling off period and these nazi scientists are rushing around like chicken little trying to find some "theory" they can foist on the dumb and dumber amongs us to keep their global warming hoax alive, so now we need to make something out of switch grass...what if a MEAN OLD WEALTHY CORPORATION FINDS A WAY???? JUNK SCIENCE is all the rage in 2008...AlGore makes a ton of money on the uneducated with his acorn on the head junk talk... "

" The Southern Illinoisan contributes to the problem of plastic bags. One day a week ads wrapped in a plastic bag are thrown into people's yards. Quite often the distribution of these ad sheets are redundant. Wouldn't the Southern be a better environmental partner if they just stopped this practice? "

" 1st Amendment quote "scientists believe that man is accelerating warming" Believe????? that isn't very convincing. There are plenty of scientists that are positive "global warming" isn't caused by humans. Ha, ha, just busting your chops 1st Amendment. "

" I'm sorry Geez, but your position is the opposite of true conservatism. The vast majority of scientists believe that man is accelerating warming via the greehouse effect, yet the junk science funded by big oil etc, nitpicks, saying we don't know how to make the climate models totally accurate etc, but why not erre on the side of caution, we only have 1 planet. You keep beating e-85 to death, but the problem there isn't ethanol, its what they used to get it. There are alternatives from non-edible sources like switch grass that could be a net benefit, but the fact that we need to do something doesn't hinge on e-85. Hydrogen cars are a promising example. One thing is for sure, we won't be any worse off if we take away the billions we give to big oil in corporate welfare and redirect that money to development of alternative energy. "

" Until Al Gore convinces everyone with factual,indisputable, scientific evidence, then that is all this is, opinions. Additionally, these house and senate bills don't really accomplish anything other than set standards higher. I don't see any new technology suggested. Barbara says that these technologies will allow you to recover your cost in fuel savings. Then, just as you fuel savings have paid the additional cost for the hybrid car, you will need to replace the battery for a couple of thousand dollars. There goes your savings. Driving a hybrid or burning E85 fuel is a feel good thing for the driver but overall isn't really accomplishing anything. "

" Geez, is a case in point, if the corporate trade groups didn't fund junk science to create a fake controversey where there is none, ie gloabl warming is real and made worse by man, then nice folks like Geez wouldn't say "opinion" when talking about global warming being caused by man. What they are doing, selfishly, is slowing down our response time to the problem, by making it seem like there is a debate, the stakes are too high not to try and act now. If nothing else, people should act for their children and future generations. "

" Barbara, what is this clean technology you are referring too that will pay for itself. Are you referring to E85 ethanol fuel? The savings in price of E85 is offset by the reduction in fuel mileage. Are you referring to hybrids? That opens up a whole other issue with cost of the vehicle and the batteries. I also don't believe that "global warming" is caused by man, but you are entitled to your opinion. Humans also exhale carbon dioxide so what do you propose we do about that? "

" Baglady- What i find troubling is that this newspaper and others has a disturbing habit of publishing work from "authors" that work for trade groups that represent these global warming deniers. These wealthy corporations via their trade groups sink millions into funding junk science, or fake research to try and create an air of controversey about issues where there shouldn't be any controversey. You attack Fischoff as a propagandist, but that is silly considering the author od the story defines the term. Also, if the plastic bags don't degrade for hundreds of years and aren't being recycled, thats a very strong argument against them, regardless of whether they kill X number of marine mammals. "

" Eco-propagandist Stuart Fischoff just can't get it right. The central claim of campaigners is that the bags kill more than 100,000 marine mammals and one million seabirds every year. However, this figure is based on a misinterpretation of a 1987 Canadian study in Newfoundland, which found that, between 1981 and 1984, more than 100,000 marine mammals, including birds, were killed by discarded NETS. The Canadian study DID NOT MENTION plastic bags. Personally, I prefer using paper bags--because they are made from trees. "