This state actually banned banning plastic bags....

Take a guess...which state would do a stupid thing like that?

Drum roll please......

On our trip to 15 states, 17 National Parks and over 8,400 miles driven, we saw restaurants not handing out plastic straws, grocery stores encouraging the public to bring their own bags and coffee cups with monetary incentives, and even a gas station that offered $0.59 cent soda, any size, if one brought his or her own cup!  We witnessed fabulous stewardship of our environment!

I had hoped to bring some of this progress back to the great Hoosier state. But, after this 31 day trip visiting the greatest lands of our country, our National Parks, I learned that environmental progress in Indiana is....nauseating.

Why?  I just learned today that in 2016, the Indiana legislature BANNED BANNING PLASTIC BAGS.  That's right.  Our state government banned local communities from protecting their environment.  What?  Did I just write that?  I am still trying to process this...

My Indiana government stopped local communities from getting rid of one of the worst environmental hazards of our time - plastic bags - by passing a law????.......Unfortunate answer = YES!

WOW! This really makes me want to go into a good old fashion Bob Knight rant and toss a few chairs at the State House!  

Follow the money and leadership!
Instead of our governor and legislature being leaders like other countries and cites, they cowardly passed a law because....well, I haven't got a clue why anyone would pass a law like this. 

But as you read the list of cites above, I had hopped that Indianapolis would do something to protect our health, our Earth, and our state, but no.  

So, let's follow the leadership.  

The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Brent Steele of Bedford, stated that "businesses and industry groups oppose regulating bags."  (See Indy Star article here).  Does our legislature always do what businesses and industry groups want?  Don't answer that.

Is Sen. Steele still in office?  Funny thing, in 2016 he decided to retire.  You see, and I quote from the Indy Star, 

"During his final weeks as an Indiana lawmaker, Sen. Brent Steele voted in favor of a controversial vaping bill that allowed only a handful of companies to make e-liquid sold in Indiana. Now, the recently retired lawmaker has taken a new job representing those companies. Steele has been hired as executive director of the Vapor Association of Indiana, which represents the few companies licensed to manufacture electronic smoking device liquid under Indiana's stringent new law. Steele, who did not seek re-election in November, said he sees no ethical issues with his new position.'My job will be to make sure the association is run professionally and that we continue to assure the public that we have a safe product out on the shelves,' he said."

Now there is a leader looking out for our Earth and our health!  
Vape - a safe product?  
Just read any of the reports in the past year about vaping.  Here are just three for your easy access.

CBS News - Concerns over health effects of vaping - and rising use among teens
Business Insider - Scientists are beginning to learn how vaping impacts your health — and the results are troubling
Fox News - E-cigarette use exposes teenagers to toxic chemicals, new study says

Thank you Mr. Steele for looking out for Hoosiers' health and the health of the Hoosier state! 

Who was the Governor of Indiana who signed this bill to ban the banning of plastic bags? 

 Yep, our current Vice President put a road block in the way of common people in Indiana trying to clean up our state by banning plastic bags just like other countries, states, and cities.  For whatever reason,  Mr. Pence, also holds the opinion that global warming is a myth.  On the contrary, every person at the National Parks that spoke with me was100% positive that global warming was a fact.  All they told me to do was look at the mountains.  It isn't snowing as much.  Thus, you get an article just a few days old from the Wall Street Journal that states:

 "At issue are falling water levels at the West’s biggest reservoir, Lake Mead. Having already dropped by more than 150 feet over the past two decades to 1,077 feet, the Nevada reservoir is two feet shy of falling below a federal threshold that can trigger mandatory cutbacks by U.S. officials."   

Or another article by CNN published last spring: The big melt: Glacier National Park is losing its glaciers

What is causing this Mr. Vice President?  Global Warming.  

But he doesn't think so. In an archived article Pence wrote titled "Global Warming Disaster" he says green house gasses...
"are real but are mostly the result of volcanoes, hurricanes and underwater geologic displacements. Regrettably, none of these causes can be corralled by environmentalists hungry for regulation and taxes and, therefore, must be ignored.  "   Our current Vice President has attributed greenhouse gasses to "volcanoes, hurricanes, and underwater geologic displacements". Hmmmm. This is true, but it avoids the fact that global warming, to the extent we see it, is caused by humans. 

I want to vomit.   

Unlike President Lincoln, President Taft, and President T. Roosevelt, who had the foresight to protect our lands and resources from "businesses and industry groups", our current leadership does not have this vision.  It is our job to clean this trash up.  

I would love to hear and read any comments you might have about this subject matter.  Your thoughts and solutions are important. Please leave a comment below.