As some of you may know, San Francisco has gone ahead and banned plastic shopping bags. Clark says he never really gives much thought when baggers in the grocery store ask him if he wants paper or plastic. He leaves it up to them and they usually opt for plastic. But the city of San Francisco is concerned about the environmental impact of plastic bags, which usually are made from foreign oil. So the Golden Gate City has banned all bags that aren't biodegradable. The idea of the government telling a private business how to handle bagging your groceries doesn't sit well with Clark. Instead, he'd like to see the government tax people who want their groceries in a plastic bag, while offering recyclable paper bags for free. As Clark says, if there is a valid environmental concern here, we should let the marketplace sort it out. Interestingly enough, San Francisco lawmakers at first considered levying a tax of 17 cents per plastic bag, but the stores preferred the ban over the tax. On a related note, a recent poll on Clark's site asked web users if they would pay more for environmentally safe picnic utensils. Overwhelmingly you said no.