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Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by dc_dux
I agree its frustrating to do more at a personal level when others dont.
The other component is what we can do as a nation in terms of better policies and practices.
In the 70s, in response to the degradation of the environment that was all too evident (polluted lakes and streams, smog, open dumps...) we enacted the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Hazardous Waste Management Act, etc. Many industries (and conservatives) bitched and moaned about the cost or improper government interference in commerce, but I think we can conclude that our waterways are cleaner, our air is more breathable and no one sacrificed too much.
If we accept that current industrial and agricultural practices contribute to global warming, what is wrong with taking these environmental laws a step further, like the new law in Cali or laws to require more sustainable agricultural practices?
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Absolutely nothing wrong with it. It creates a blanket that covers EVERYONE. I'm fine with that. Although again, I'll cite that the MTBE fiasco from California IMO does cost more for the little gains made.
As an aside to give you an idea just how absurd this can be from time to time:
In my cooperative of 1600 housing units, we have to recycle. After 9/11 Bloomberg stopped the recycling requirement stating it was too costly for the city. It was recently restarted. To enforce compliance, there is a ratio of weight recycling:waste that is used to estimate what the recycling expectation is for the building. There is some forumula to come up with this number. Even if everyone recycles or doesn't buy products that constitute these recycleable materials, the city fines out building for not recycling. Also if they find any recycleable materials in the refuse, again we are cited.
To make sure we don't get cited we pay a union man (he's got a good contract getting guaranteed 3%/4%/4% raises for three years) to pick through the garbage to make sure there are no recycleables in the trash.
Where I used to bring the recycleables downstairs to the designated location, I no longer bring my recycleables downstairs and I put them in the chute since I know that someone is being paid specifically to pick through the garbage. I'm paying for someone to do that work, he should have some work to do.
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Last edited by Cynthetiq; 10-03-2007 at 06:31 AM..
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