Have you ever rode down Princess Anne Rd. past Target, Home Depot, on the way to the Amphitheater and noticed the rare forms of albino melons growing in the empty fields? Or eyed the big, sun-bleached fruits growing on the Bradford Pear trees? Bradford Pears? Hey, wait, them ‘r bags! Plastic bags.

Follow up:

Yes, from the shores of the Stumpy Lake wild woods to the sun kissed shores of the Oceanfront, Virginia Beach has been inundated with non-bio-degradable plastic invaders from the sky. They hang from trees, affix themselves to bushes, clog storm drains, and float across roadways. They entangle wild life and can mimic a delectable jellyfish to an unsuspecting sea turtle. But by no means is Virginia Beach alone in this blight.

North Carolina is acting on legislation to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags less than 2.25 mils thick at large retailers in three Outer Banks counties. A measure that would ban plastic bags at large stores in Colorado has won the approval of a state Senate committee. The ban would take effect in 2012 and has widespread support except for big-box and department store retailers.

San Francisco has banned plastic bags outright. A citizen group in Seattle is challenging that city’s 20-cent bag fee and has collected enough signatures to send the matter to voters later this year. Bag fees also have been considered in New York and Boston. A 25-cent fee in Ireland has helped reduce the number of plastic shopping bags used there by 90 percent. Bills also have been considered in Connecticut, Maryland, Texas, and even in our own Virginia general assembly.

The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store. A study has estimated that 12 million barrels of oil or equivalent natural gas are used to produce the half-billion to several trillion plastic bags consumed annually in the United States. I think half of that half billion are right here in Virginia Beach.

Look, environmentalists; you're all into Quixote off-shore windmills, clean coal Surry plants, and what-not. Hey somebody, can you save a turtle!