SACRAMENTO – North Coast Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro today congratulated the Ukiah High School Environmental Club for winning an award from the California Air Resources Board for leadership in the effort to reduce the use of environmentally destructive single-use plastic shopping bags.
The 2011 "Climate Generation" award recognizes Ukiah High's Environmental Club for its role in persuading the Ukiah City Council to start the process of passing a ban on single-use shopping bags by local retailers. Student members of the Environmental Club reached out to local businesses and community members to build support for the ordinance, which the City Council adopted in April.
"What these students accomplished is nothing short of remarkable," said Chesbro, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, which scrutinizes environmental legislation in the Assembly. "Often, these things start at the local level, which in turn has an influence on the Legislature. What the Ukiah High School Environmental Club accomplished will help to shape policy on the state level."
Chesbro was coauthor of an Assembly bill last year that sought to ban single-use plastic bags, which ultimately died in the Senate. Chesbro is also the principal coauthor of a bill this year, AB 298, which has a similar goal.
"Californians alone use an estimated 12 billion single-use plastic bags every year," Chesbro said. "These bags are a major source of pollution. They never fully biodegrade and they ultimately end up in the ocean where they are lethal to marine life. Local governments incur significant cost to clean up plastic bag litter."
The student members of the Ukiah High School Environmental Club estimated that banning single-use plastic bags in Ukiah alone will take 8 million of these bags out of the environment, said Ezra Post, faculty adviser to the Club. The students took into account that thousands of people who live in out-lying rural communities travel to Ukiah every week to do their shopping.
Chesbro has invited the student members of the Environmental Club to spend a day at the Capitol observing the Legislature in action. Chesbro will also present a Member's Resolution to the student members of the club commemorating the Climate Generation award. The California Air Resources Board named Ukiah High School Student Aimee Johnson, one of the Environmental Club's leaders, a "California Climate Champion" for her role in the Club's efforts.
California's Climate Generation and Climate Champions programs are the result of a partnership among the State of California, the British Council and the Will Steger Foundation. The purpose of the programs is to link environmental projects with school curriculum. Worldwide, Climate Generation programs engage 120,000 students in 65 nations.
Contact: Andrew Bird, Chesbro communications director, (916) 319-2001
