The State of Washington determined last year that our state needed to reduce the amount of material deposited in the waste stream (garbage). They passed a bill in the legislature that set the stage for cities like Seattle to develop local ordinances making it illegal to use Styrofoam clamshells, plastic food and beverage containers and enabling them to levy “Green” fees for plastic bags. Their intent was to reduce the consumption of not just plastic things, but clearly biodegradable items as well. Even though paper bags are not covered by the Seattle ordinance, they will be in the next wave.
I prefer to look at the massive volume of waste as an opportunity for a business rather than a penalty.
I look at the massive volume of waste we deposit in land fills and see millions of dollars worth of product being buried in the ground. If that bothered the legislature a lot, they should have offered incentives to change behavior rather than penalties.
I remember the time when there were people at the dump that salvaged much of the stuff we dumped. The trucks dumped the garbage on the ground and the salvage sorters jumped all over it.
Today, we encapsulate our garbage in plastic bags inside plastic bags. Then, we bury it in the ground in a dry landfill where no oxidation takes place. No significant biodegrading is taking place when there is not water or oxygen; particularly when these plastic bags are left intact.
I make no claim of ownership to the idea that at a minimum, we should be shredding the garbage bags to facilitate oxidation of the contents.
But there is more to this idea as well.
The shredding would allow a machine to separate different types of waste so that those items that are clearly biodegradable can be composted, while the metals, plastics and other non-biodegradable items would be separated and reprocessed. For materials that are organic, but not particularly biodegradable, we would incinerate and capture the energy in a co-generation plant. It might be that we don’t need land fills.
Certainly there are issues to be dealt with regarding the burning, but this whole process could be a business opportunity rather than a business penalty. This would be a system that is the friendliest to the environment. Why isn’t Greg Nickels pitching sorting and incinerating?
I would offer tax credits to the companies that developed the plants to move this plan ahead. I might offer public land to set up the plants as well.
We pay millions to transport our garbage out of the region. We pay the railroad and the county that receives the trash. If my system turns waste into a marketable commodity, the value of your garbage could reduce or eliminate the cost to the consumer, rather than creating additional burdens.
Since nobody in our region is talking about this idea, I doubt the publicly stated goal is the real one they don’t want you to know about.
What do you think? Does my idea have merit or am I clueless?
No Loss for Words 
Is Marital Infidelity a Character Flaw?
by Steve DanaI was listening to the radio this morning and during a segment of the news, they were talking about John Edwards. He has been hounded for a couple years about an extramarital affair he was alleged to be having. Of course, he assured us that there was no truth to the allegations.
He campaigned this past year for president with his wife at his side on many occasions. He talked about being a family man with kids at home and how much they mean to him. He continuously denied the rumors.
Recently, the National Enquirer reported that the woman Edwards was alleged to be having the affair with had a baby. That sparked new interest in Edwards’ continuing relationship with the woman and the prospects that she had his “love child”.
Of course, he said that it wasn’t true. Then when reports were confirmed that Edwards had been caught leaving a hotel room that woman was registered in, he knew he had been caught “with his pants down” so to speak. He decided to come clean and admit his affair.
Personally, I don’t care whether John Edwards cheats on his wife or not. I am trying to figure out whether he admitted to having a short term love affair with a woman he now says he doesn’t/didn’t love. I guess it was just about the sex. Or did he admit to having a continuing affair that has been ongoing for more than two years. I thought the news account said he was recently observed leaving the woman’s hotel room.
Even though the details won’t affect my opinion of the man any more than the general story already has, I am intrigued with the current spin. The admission that Edwards had demonstrated a lack of good judgment two years ago is not the same as a two year affair that continues today.
The wife admits that she knew about the affair two years ago. Was she aware that it was ongoing? How could she be treated that way and still stand by her man?
Does this story sound familiar? Sadly it does.
I am not suggesting that Bill Clinton and John Edwards are the only serial cheaters out there. I think in the circles those guys run in, that is more the norm than the exception.
What I have learned in my brief political experience is this. Regardless of your profession, the elite top performers in any field have “super star egos” that are black holes for attention. They need for people to pay attention to their needs, their whims, their opinions.
I know there are some down to earth regular folks that are successful and don’t let their success go to their heads. My experience is that every politician, actor, musician, you name it, at the top of their game have people around them handling their needs because the public relations people constantly tell these “stars” that they are so great. Before too long, anyone in that position might begin to believe the hype.
Sports stars and actors are the most visible examples of this treatment. In most cases these folks with one endearing quality suddenly find that quality in demand. It starts in high school for jocks. The ones with gifted athletic ability are given special treatment from an early age. Is it any wonder that when they get older, they expect special treatment?
Politicians elected by increasingly larger constituencies tend to equate their ability to sway voters as acknowledgment that they are pretty special people. Just think about the people you know in sports or government. How many of them have big egos?
In government, it takes a big ego to do the work. The responsibilities are enormous. How could any person think they could do the job if they didn’t have that ego?
Certainly that is no excuse for their boorish behavior; it just seems to be the way it is.
For the most part, celebrities have that attitude that they are better than non celebrities. Somehow, they think that the very people that hold them in such high esteem are beneath them. What’s wrong with that picture?
If it weren’t for the fact that Edwards was running for President of the United States, I wouldn’t care a lick about him. He can cheat on his wife all he wants.
I expect better character from my presidential candidates. And I don’t care which party they come from. Left wingers don’t have a corner on the market.
The dilemma we face with public figures in general and political figures specifically is “What part of a candidate’s character matters when we are selecting our leaders? Is the fact that a person cheats a character flaw or is the lying about it the character flaw?”
If all we have to gauge a person’s fitness to serve in public office is their words and deeds, what are we to do when both the words and deeds are pure deception?
The radio news person was interviewing people on the street for their opinions. I think a majority of the responses I heard supported Edwards and the fact that what he does in his private life are his business.
My last question would be “What measure do we use for a political candidate if character doesn’t matter?”
Posted in Political commentary, Snohomish County Political Commentary | 1 Comment »