Look at the plastic bags: Change is never as hard as it looks

I do miss the weird wonder of a plastic bag blowing around in the wind like that bit in American Beauty -  it's so easy to be a cynic about it, but it really is the only part of that movie to still hold up - but that's all I miss about them

The world changes every day, and while unfortunately a lot of those changes are for the worst, there are bright spots out there, where things are actually getting properly better.

Take the issue of one-use plastic bags. They were banned a few years back around here, and there was so much deep concern about what this meant, and how it was the nanny state run wild, and people would now face the massive inconvenience of having to remember to bring reusable bags. 

And it all turned out to be fine. It's not hard. All the whining and worrying was for nothing, people adjusted easily enough and remembered to bring their bags next time they went shopping. And if they forget, that's okay, because there are all sorts of environmentally friendlier options, and that's a tiny price to pay to keep decaying plastic bags out of every gutter.

I had to get out a bunch of Christmas decorations recently and they were in bags that were just a few years old, and they were nasty as fuck. I don't miss them at all.

This is not going to change the world, it takes far more than any one gesture, it's a grand effort. The actual environmental impact of all those bags might be little more than greenwashing, but it does make the world a slightly better place, and maybe we could all use a few more tiny inconveniences to get our arses into gear.