THE PLASTIC INDUSTRY is not going to let a crisis go to waste. In early February, when most Americans were just learning about the coronavirus, the bag manufacturer Novolex reported that the outbreak in China had caused paper bag shortages and speculated that cities’ plastic bag bans could disrupt supply chains. By late February, that narrative had taken a turn. When the spread of COVID-19 in the United States looked to be inevitable, industry groups found a new boogeyman: reusable bags.
On February 28, the Competitive Enterprise Institute posted on its website: “Whether reusable bags could become a significant carrier of the coronavirus remains to be seen, but there are good reasons to fear they will harbor other equally dangerous bacteria and viruses transmitted from carrying meat and produce.” Not long afterward, John Tierney, a former New York Times columnist, and a climate change denier wrote in an op-ed for the conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute, “Reusable tote bags can sustain the Covid-19 and flu viruses—and spread the viruses throughout the store.”
This story is from the July/August 2020 edition of Mother Jones.
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This story is from the July/August 2020 edition of Mother Jones.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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In the Name of the Mother - How Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised a presidential contender
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Imagine obamacare is dead and millions of Americans have lost health coverage.
THE ARCHITECT
TRUMP WANTS TO BE KING. RUSS VOUGHT HAS A PLAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
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As an evangelical leader, I enticed lawmakers and federal judges to adopt a conservative Christian agenda. Donald Trump’s rise proved how wrong I was.
GOD'S COUNTRY
These Christian nationalists have a plan to take over Americafrom small towns to the highest court in the land.
