Are Plastic Bags Our Enemy?

I am intrigued and amused that major retailers have been able to convince many consumers to buy woven plasticky bags in order to use fewer of the stores' thin plastic bags.

1. I'm not convinced that given the amount of actual use they receive, the reusable bags sold to consumers use any less plastic than the thin freebies (We have several of them, and they all seem to have a plastic coating on them, and some seem to have been made from polyester fibre).
2. Also, the stores sell the reusable bags (presumably at a price greater than the marginal costs of producing and selling them), and the stores' costs are reduced since they no longer have to supply as many of the thin store bags. So in the end, consumers are exhorted by major retailers: Save the environment (and by the way, increase our store's profits).

Rondi Adamson points out that plastic bags might even be better for the environment than paper bags [she swears she did not write the title for that article]:

Were I forced to use non-durable paper bags, or a non-rain proof cloth bag, I would likely take a cab home, generating pollution. And I can't even imagine a world where cat litter (and a doggie's business) are disposed of in non-durable and non-smell-non-leak-proof paper bags. ...

If I were convinced plastic bags were the sinister force they have been made out to be, it might be a little easier to smile at their slow death. But I am not convinced of the plastic bag's evil nature, at least not on the very relative scale of bags. ...

According to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, plastic bags consume 40% less energy to produce and cause 80% less solid waste. Paper bags cause more air and water pollutants than plastic. It takes approximately 90% less energy to recycle a pound of plastic as opposed to the same weight in paper.

Paper also takes up far more landfill space. And "current research demonstrates that paper in today's landfills does not degrade or break down at a substantially faster rate than plastic does."

One option I mentioned here several years ago: when people are charged even as little as two cents per bag, they cut way down on the number of bags they buy/use. In that price range, the price elasticity of demand is very high, and reusable bags make more sense.