A few weeks ago, when a little orange bar on the dashboard of my truck warned me that if I didn’t satisfy its need for the elixir that gives it energy to keep me from being stranded, I stopped at a gas station along US-19.
It wasn’t the sticker price that made me do a double take – by then there was an assumption that it would be, and was, a few pennies more than the day before, a fact that I had become accustomed to as the forever-increasing cost of a fill-up dug a little deeper in the funds available from a wallet-sized debit card.
I was concerned about the sticker prominently displayed on the gas pump that informed me an additive was now a part of the mixture that keeps my truck motoring. I had no choice but to accept what is, in my opinion, a ten percent disillusionment that ethanol might help save the planet from the affects of all the nasty residues that our civilization has accumulated over the past century.
As our country became industrialized, and the billows of smoke rose from the stacks of factories, the harmful gases of fossil fuels filled the skies and acted as a smoke-screen to what would eventually be realized as poisons to planet Earth.
I did double take at the sticker that had a permanent look about it. A frown and a little shake of the head wouldn’t take away the concern I felt for what was glaring at me in the eyes. I had little choice but to fill ‘er up or before long I’d be stranded.
The media has told me repeatedly that an ethanol level of 10% ethanol wouldn’t have an effect on engine performance but with somewhat fewer miles per gallon. I seldom imbibe these days but I felt a little woozy at the thought of what the side affects will be for a misbegotten attempt to right the wrongs of uncontrolled carbon footprints into the atmosphere. I had a sense of malnutrition. I heard a growling sound but to this day I don’t know if was my stomach or a guttural sound from the depth of my lungs.
I know full well the need to rid us of foreign oil dependence. I also acknowledge an immediate obligation to contain the emission of green house gases. But there has to be a better way to accomplish this goal without adding to the pangs of world hunger. Diverting corn from the mouths and stomachs of people has become a major problem, creating a health risk for millions upon millions of those in third world countries.
Nearly everything we consume with our daily bread hits our pocketbooks right where it hurts: having to divert any of our earnings from the consumption of discretionary spending, most prominent being high tech electronics. This is not good for capitalism; it narrows the scope of profitable businesses and harms the growth of the economy.
Right now, thanks in part to Al Gore and his inconvenient solution to global air pollution, we’re addressing the carbon footprint of man without consideration of our fellow inhabitants of the planet.
Diverting grain products from the mouths of the hungry is misplaced because lobbyists and a Congress willing to supplement the profits of mega-farmers intensifies the ill affects of a hasty solution. Higher food prices are already giving them hedge funds with profits detrimental to the rest of us. Small, family owned farmers don’t reap the same benefits.
Rather than giving consideration to mega-farmers, these misspent moneys would be better given to areas in need of assistance due to natural disasters. The best example is the recent floods in Missouri. These areas won’t recovery from the loss of crops, and livelihoods, without emergency funding from the federal government.
Fertilizers laced with phosphates have their own side affects with poisons that make rivers, lakes and even larger bodies of water uninhabitable to every form of freshwater and sea life. Woops! There goes another food source!
Politicians are eager to get on bandwagons to appease the electorate but their loads are marching bands supporting another term in office. Their wagons need to be filled with life’s grains of plenty.
Yes, steps must be taken to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions but until there is committed dialogue on solutions to save planet Earth from the ravages of mankind, and when food is again bountiful, the sound of growling will continue to fill the air. I won’t know for sure if it’s coming from me or from the empty mouths of the hungry.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
An Assimilation of Prosperity
A stimulant is meant to temporarily boost the activity of an organism. Hypothetically, the heart of government stimulus payments is going to give the American economy a booster shot.
President Bush hopes to spur consumer spending, an attempt that some view as a misbegotten idea sure to come short of what's needed to get the economy on the road to recovery. The formula that the government uses to give validity to a recession is more lenient than what is on the minds of most consumers. Recovery has little relevance to the pocketbooks of cash-strapped Americans.
The sad reality of the payments is that they are actually more like a loan, the repayment of which will be added to other debts placed upon the next generation, possibly two. Those of us in our 50s or older will be less affected, or so we think. But our futures will most likely provide less security as the social costs of Medicare bring higher deductibles and reduced benefits.
Very few are immune from this Administration’s relentless spending of money that just isn’t there. Corporate elitists are the exception. They too will get their share of stimulus dollars, however reduced with a formula that lessens the amount for those making over $75,000, but to them it amounts to pocket change, a dime in their pockets compared to emergency funds as viewed by most of us.
Some people are disappointed in the payment schedule. Payments began May 2nd with electronic deposits. People relying on postal delivery for the legal size envelope with a government-issued check are most likely those without bank accounts, living week-by-week or day-by-day with limited funds. Many will have to hang in there until the final batch of play dough is mailed on July 11th. We’re half way there.
It’s not likely that lower income citizens will spend their dollars as the government intends. Mortgage payments, car loans, outstanding credit card balances and medical expenses will be primary concerns to many people. Food and gas might take precedence above all else. You have to eat; you must get to work. Spending money on luxury items will be less common.
Sunday newspapers will continue to offer deals with pages of glossy inserts offering a myriad of enticements to tempt consumers
The government cringes at the word “savings” but people are beginning to realize that having cash reserves is a means to ward off future economically challenging times. Years of false security and promises of ever-increasing buying power have come to an end. Frivolous spending has helped damage the economy. Living on borrowed money has to stop.
When analysts suggest dwindling home values are a natural order to bring pricing to realistic figures, it also points to a change of consumer habits whereby discretionary spending may come to a dribble. This will be devastating to an already gloomy economy but it may be necessary to bring America down from its high-hat altitude.
For years, consumers have accommodated corporations and their executives with mounting fortunes. A 360 is in order. Their profit margins will have to right size the economy. Many sustain their profits by reducing their workforce. Wall Street has a history of going goo-goo every time layoffs are announced, ignoring the affects of declining wages and unemployment. Us poor folks can no longer fill the corporate feedbag.
Whichever way you look at it, bailouts by the federal government are poor business practices. Ultimately, it is put on the economic shoulders of every taxpayer; many are spent-out. This land of milk and honey is turning sour; the hive is near empty. For the past three decades, we have been led to believe the trickle down effect from corporate successes will bring us all prosperity. The tide has turned and the lost earnings of the millions of American jobs shipped overseas are biting these businesses where it hurts in the end: sustainable profits.
Perhaps the best any of us can do with our stimulus dollars will be to give a little boost to
local businesses where friends and relatives are employed. Otherwise, those loved ones may find themselves in the ranks of the unemployed.
Whatever you do with your stimulus payments, it will be an assimilation of prosperity. The real thing may be a long time in coming.
President Bush hopes to spur consumer spending, an attempt that some view as a misbegotten idea sure to come short of what's needed to get the economy on the road to recovery. The formula that the government uses to give validity to a recession is more lenient than what is on the minds of most consumers. Recovery has little relevance to the pocketbooks of cash-strapped Americans.
The sad reality of the payments is that they are actually more like a loan, the repayment of which will be added to other debts placed upon the next generation, possibly two. Those of us in our 50s or older will be less affected, or so we think. But our futures will most likely provide less security as the social costs of Medicare bring higher deductibles and reduced benefits.
Very few are immune from this Administration’s relentless spending of money that just isn’t there. Corporate elitists are the exception. They too will get their share of stimulus dollars, however reduced with a formula that lessens the amount for those making over $75,000, but to them it amounts to pocket change, a dime in their pockets compared to emergency funds as viewed by most of us.
Some people are disappointed in the payment schedule. Payments began May 2nd with electronic deposits. People relying on postal delivery for the legal size envelope with a government-issued check are most likely those without bank accounts, living week-by-week or day-by-day with limited funds. Many will have to hang in there until the final batch of play dough is mailed on July 11th. We’re half way there.
It’s not likely that lower income citizens will spend their dollars as the government intends. Mortgage payments, car loans, outstanding credit card balances and medical expenses will be primary concerns to many people. Food and gas might take precedence above all else. You have to eat; you must get to work. Spending money on luxury items will be less common.
Sunday newspapers will continue to offer deals with pages of glossy inserts offering a myriad of enticements to tempt consumers
The government cringes at the word “savings” but people are beginning to realize that having cash reserves is a means to ward off future economically challenging times. Years of false security and promises of ever-increasing buying power have come to an end. Frivolous spending has helped damage the economy. Living on borrowed money has to stop.
When analysts suggest dwindling home values are a natural order to bring pricing to realistic figures, it also points to a change of consumer habits whereby discretionary spending may come to a dribble. This will be devastating to an already gloomy economy but it may be necessary to bring America down from its high-hat altitude.
For years, consumers have accommodated corporations and their executives with mounting fortunes. A 360 is in order. Their profit margins will have to right size the economy. Many sustain their profits by reducing their workforce. Wall Street has a history of going goo-goo every time layoffs are announced, ignoring the affects of declining wages and unemployment. Us poor folks can no longer fill the corporate feedbag.
Whichever way you look at it, bailouts by the federal government are poor business practices. Ultimately, it is put on the economic shoulders of every taxpayer; many are spent-out. This land of milk and honey is turning sour; the hive is near empty. For the past three decades, we have been led to believe the trickle down effect from corporate successes will bring us all prosperity. The tide has turned and the lost earnings of the millions of American jobs shipped overseas are biting these businesses where it hurts in the end: sustainable profits.
Perhaps the best any of us can do with our stimulus dollars will be to give a little boost to
local businesses where friends and relatives are employed. Otherwise, those loved ones may find themselves in the ranks of the unemployed.
Whatever you do with your stimulus payments, it will be an assimilation of prosperity. The real thing may be a long time in coming.
Honey Dippin'
Living in Spring Hill FL has given me some very uncommon experiences. For one, having a garbage disposal has been a convenience throughout my adult life but having my very own underground cesspool is very unique. Adapting to the dos and don’ts of a septic tank has been a slow process.
Most notably, bones, shellfish casings, eggshells, glass, plastics and greases are among the obvious items to avoid. Fibrous foods, such as celery, cornhusks and potato skins, should also be avoided; they’re not easily broken down. Pieces of cut citrus peels are suggested to sweeten the disposal drain and, if frozen, help clean the unit of food buildup.
Toxic household cleaners will eventually seep into the soil, on it’s way to underground water supplies.
Simply put, the only items intended for the septic tank are water, human waste and “septic safe” bathroom tissue. Following that simple rule can save the expense of contacting a place of business that uses a hose called a “honey dipper” that fills up a “honey truck”!
This brings to mind my childhood on the farm. For one thing, there was no electric disposal. We had a wastebasket for man-made trash but also a separate “garbage pail” strictly for table scraps and other food wastes. It wasn’t a pretty sight or pleasingly scented and flies and bees tended to guard the contents during summer months. The pail would go to a farmer’s best disposal system: hogs. The pig slop was supplemental to a mixture of feed grains – those hogs had a very healthy, balanced diet.
These comments came to mind from information offered by Hernando County Utilities Director Joe Stapf.
Mr. Stapf invited homeowners to discard their food wastes along with the twice-weekly regular trash pick-ups, thereby avoiding the septic from reaching a state where un-decomposed sediment can restrict proper drainage. You don’t want a septic backup or the cost of a honey truck.
Mr. Stapf explained that the garbage would be added as landfill material along with other trash. My thoughts immediately foresaw a manmade hill that could eventually rival the higher altitude of Hickory Hill, a high-end community in the next ten to twenty years. Of course, residual soil contamination prohibits such development, but many a golf course has found its home atop these mounds of trash.
I also wondered if the added tonnage of trash pickup would result in increased fees to Waste Management Inc. Rates may go up anyway. (I’m in awe that WMI has transformed their fleet of trucks from diesel fuel to natural gas – cleaner means greener.)
Since 1962, 70 municipal landfill sites have given way to 39 golf courses, surrounded by upscale housing. Although landfills are given a daily cover of compressed soil to prevent an interaction between the waste and air, the breakdown of organic materials is restricted, producing large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas over 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide. As much as 70 million metric tons of methane escape into the atmosphere each year.
Although precautions are taken to lessen the release of methane, the most respectful means to maintain earth-friendly conditions is through organic recycling, where for-profit companies strictly recycle organic waste (treated wood is not used). California has been a leader in this field for decades, benefiting vineyards and other crops with nutrient-rich soil. Amerigrow, headquartered in Delray Beach, supplies organic products including mulches and compost soils. There are many others across the country.
Recycling organic wastes on an individual level can be a relatively easy endeavor. There are a variety of compost bins, such as wire mesh, fencing or a hole in the backyard. Above ground composts are generally 3’W x 3’H and a length as needed.
Vegetables and fruit waste with intermittent layers of finely cut grass and leaf clippings and dried cow manure starts the process. Turning the pile weekly and introducing worms to the pile will speed things up; they both maintain aeration for better decomposing. Keeping the pile moist will result in a naturally rich fertilizer within a matter of weeks, ready to be used in gardens, flowerbeds, and fruit and vegetable plants.
Unless you fail to follow established guidelines, especially turning, there should be no foul odor.
With increasing food costs, there are plenty of incentives for homeowners to grow their own gardens. The local 4-H Chapter can assist residents in their efforts to be successful in their farming endeavors.
Mr. Stapf can be commended for offering homeowners a convenient option to rid themselves of additional waste products with regular roadside pickup. The easiest is continued use of the garbage disposal. Or you can feed the scraps to your pig.
Most notably, bones, shellfish casings, eggshells, glass, plastics and greases are among the obvious items to avoid. Fibrous foods, such as celery, cornhusks and potato skins, should also be avoided; they’re not easily broken down. Pieces of cut citrus peels are suggested to sweeten the disposal drain and, if frozen, help clean the unit of food buildup.
Toxic household cleaners will eventually seep into the soil, on it’s way to underground water supplies.
Simply put, the only items intended for the septic tank are water, human waste and “septic safe” bathroom tissue. Following that simple rule can save the expense of contacting a place of business that uses a hose called a “honey dipper” that fills up a “honey truck”!
This brings to mind my childhood on the farm. For one thing, there was no electric disposal. We had a wastebasket for man-made trash but also a separate “garbage pail” strictly for table scraps and other food wastes. It wasn’t a pretty sight or pleasingly scented and flies and bees tended to guard the contents during summer months. The pail would go to a farmer’s best disposal system: hogs. The pig slop was supplemental to a mixture of feed grains – those hogs had a very healthy, balanced diet.
These comments came to mind from information offered by Hernando County Utilities Director Joe Stapf.
Mr. Stapf invited homeowners to discard their food wastes along with the twice-weekly regular trash pick-ups, thereby avoiding the septic from reaching a state where un-decomposed sediment can restrict proper drainage. You don’t want a septic backup or the cost of a honey truck.
Mr. Stapf explained that the garbage would be added as landfill material along with other trash. My thoughts immediately foresaw a manmade hill that could eventually rival the higher altitude of Hickory Hill, a high-end community in the next ten to twenty years. Of course, residual soil contamination prohibits such development, but many a golf course has found its home atop these mounds of trash.
I also wondered if the added tonnage of trash pickup would result in increased fees to Waste Management Inc. Rates may go up anyway. (I’m in awe that WMI has transformed their fleet of trucks from diesel fuel to natural gas – cleaner means greener.)
Since 1962, 70 municipal landfill sites have given way to 39 golf courses, surrounded by upscale housing. Although landfills are given a daily cover of compressed soil to prevent an interaction between the waste and air, the breakdown of organic materials is restricted, producing large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas over 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide. As much as 70 million metric tons of methane escape into the atmosphere each year.
Although precautions are taken to lessen the release of methane, the most respectful means to maintain earth-friendly conditions is through organic recycling, where for-profit companies strictly recycle organic waste (treated wood is not used). California has been a leader in this field for decades, benefiting vineyards and other crops with nutrient-rich soil. Amerigrow, headquartered in Delray Beach, supplies organic products including mulches and compost soils. There are many others across the country.
Recycling organic wastes on an individual level can be a relatively easy endeavor. There are a variety of compost bins, such as wire mesh, fencing or a hole in the backyard. Above ground composts are generally 3’W x 3’H and a length as needed.
Vegetables and fruit waste with intermittent layers of finely cut grass and leaf clippings and dried cow manure starts the process. Turning the pile weekly and introducing worms to the pile will speed things up; they both maintain aeration for better decomposing. Keeping the pile moist will result in a naturally rich fertilizer within a matter of weeks, ready to be used in gardens, flowerbeds, and fruit and vegetable plants.
Unless you fail to follow established guidelines, especially turning, there should be no foul odor.
With increasing food costs, there are plenty of incentives for homeowners to grow their own gardens. The local 4-H Chapter can assist residents in their efforts to be successful in their farming endeavors.
Mr. Stapf can be commended for offering homeowners a convenient option to rid themselves of additional waste products with regular roadside pickup. The easiest is continued use of the garbage disposal. Or you can feed the scraps to your pig.
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