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Good News, One Person at a Time.

July 8, 2012 Comments off

Today, our news is filled with accounts of sensationalized news, recent horrible storms, a terrible record-setting heat wave with temperatures reaching 105 degrees, and other bad news; such as the economy, unemployment, murder, crime, war and the like. There has indeed been a substantive amount of news lately, and even more complaining about certain local electric company’s inability to fixing things fast enough.

 Well, yesterday I heard a story, by word of mouth, from a friend (about 15 miles away in Germantown, Maryland) where an 86 a year old woman had walked to the big box food store in the 100 degree heat to buy some food and ice as she was out of her small ration of food which she had kept on ice in a little cooler which contained bologna and cheese for sandwiches.
More critically, no one, not a single person had checked in on her and she had no family in the area. She mentioned to the deli worker that there were a lot of elderly in her neighborhood.  She did not have any AC. She did not own a car anymore.  She did not have a cell phone. She did not have the Internet.  And, she had survived the intense 100 degree weather by sitting in her doorway step to catch a little breeze when it came through.
 I was shocked, no I was mad actually to hear about this.   No one had checked on her or the other elderly in her neighbor.  But, she assured my friend that she was fine, just a little hot.My friend could not leave her job with 35 people in line buying food in the aftermath of the storms and electrical outages, but she gave her personal phone number-just encase she needed anything-at any time. The elderly woman then walked back home, in the 100 plus degree weather.
 It is my hope that you will take the time to go take some food and ice with you to the house bound, and the elderly who are possibly shut ins, check on them and offer to take them to nearby cooling centers or a local mall.
 The heat has indeed been daunting (and winter time is also another tough time for specific at risk populations. Please go early and check on your neighbors, go door-to-door if need be. It will only take about a half hour of your time.
 And, lest we forget the power of good and how just one single person can make a difference in the lives of others, I would like to share the following story I came across this morning.  I would like to encourage those of you reading to take a look at the short video clip directly below.

If you have not ever seen this before, it is a moving experience recently annotated (2008-1009) more than some 70 years later about Sir Nicholas Winton’s impact.

I hope we all can take to heart the quiet example of this one person and apply it to our lives today, without a lot of fan fare and news coverage.  In 2009, Sir Nicholas Winton turned 100 years old and he is now 103 years old. 
His advice from a long life: “Don’t be content in your life to just do no wrong, be ready everyday to do something good”

For more information here are a few other links:

Sir Nicholas Winton

A short news documentary by Joe Schlesinger:

A short student documentary about students’ experiences during the Bratislava History Project included meeting Sir Nicholas Winton and HM Queen Elizabeth II. It is a student film produced by 12th grade IB Film students at the British International School of Bratislava.

May each of us remember the potential impact for good we each have in our own lives to touch others.

We do not need modern technology to do some thing genuinely good for others, but because of modern technology we are able to learn of the selfless deeds of one man some 70 years earlier.

 

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Plastic Bags? Ban ’em?

January 5, 2012 Comments off

This is a personal social commentary. In the pursuit to eliminate all that is not green, plastic bags seem to be a natural target these days. Eliminate them from shopping? Or charge people for using them when shopping?

Whatever happened to our wonderful big sumptuous decomposing brown paper bags which were taken from us when we were forced to use only plastic bags a few years ago? It was a huge change back in the day. Now, because “they” are our nearly only choice for use in retail stores (which are the same stores who bought us into this whole mess and forced us to use them a few years ago) Now, we the consumer are being punished for using them? I already recycle them. I just want to yell, “foul!” Really?

The retail industry should be the ones paying the tax on the number of bags they order, not us. I can see it now, our children will be going back to brown paper sack lunches so they wont be taxed for each and every zip loc bag they use every day as well.

Because of the widespread use of plastic products and packaging, some say, these plastic bags have contributed to environmental conditions ranging from increased pollution to overloaded landfills to the country’s dependence on oil and not to say anything about its impact on animals (and no, it has not helped birds build warmer nests). 

In response, some cities have adopted legislation, and policies that tax our use of these bags and or ban plastic grocery bags made from polyethylene in favor of bags made from other materials such as cloth, compostable plastics, or paper. What about the composit plastic bags, if this really is an environmental issue. Come on, eventually they will end up in landfills as well, and they are even bigger/thicker bags.

I think the public consumer should be better informed, there needs to be a coordinated communication plan for this issue. And, I believe the newly imposed local policies with additional “hidden taxes” on plastic bags is made without informing the public correctly, nor fully disclosing all the facts and without providing the public a voice or vote on the policies being uniformly imposed on them. This is my opinion.

But, my concern is more about the hidden taxing with no voice, no vote nor any effective communication to us the people while imposed said changes are enacted on the individual consumer, instead of big retailers and manufacturers. Why tax us and punish us?

There are a myriad of other arguments like the environment and the trash. And, there can be other local changes made to fix overspending and budgetary woes. Heck, I am already growing my own food with a garden and raising a small gaggle of chickens to offset high costs and being environmentally more conscious. 

But now, I am thinking that I may start recycling my old T-shirts or jeans or better yet, start bringing my little red wagon or cardboard boxes for my shopping (from the Post Office, Fed Ex, UPS, DHL which are free for us to use).

Or, maybe I can simply side step all shopping in Montgomery County and boycott the county retailers and go buy my own plastic bags directly from the manufacturers, have them shipped to my house and skip the tax all together? Please see the links for the plastic bag. Less material means less waster and fewer emissions.

  • Plastic bags generate 80% less waste than paper bags.
  • Plastic grocery and retail bags make up a tiny fraction (less than 0.5%) of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream.
  • Plastic bags generate only 50% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of composted paper bags.
  • The production of plastic bags consumes less than 4% of the water needed to make paper bags. 
  • Plastic grocery bags are fully recyclable and the number of recycling programs is increasing daily.
  • Nationwide over 855 million pounds of bags and film were recycled in 2009—up 31 percent from 2005.
  • According to EPA’s data, about 13 percent of plastic bags and wraps were recycled in 2009.
  • Plastic bags can be made into dozens of useful new products, such as building and construction products, low-maintenance fencing and decking, and new bags.
  • In recent years, many grocers and retailers have introduced plastic bag collection programs. Tip: Look for a collection bin, usually located at the front of the store or near checkout areas.

I wonder if anyone publishes or considers the total consumer plight on being taxed to death for everything? This is a recession. Why are local governments and states taking even more money of our very limited incomes from families who are already stretched to the hilt, out of work and taxed beyond belief?

First we are force fed plastics, now we are taxed or banned from their use. And, now they are no longer so environmentally friendly? I am either thoroughly confused or have I been mislead with the wishy-washiness of just what is being touted as environmentally sound? Just what is the skinny on this plastic bag conundrum? Why punish the consumer for what was pushed down our throats a decade or three ago? 

\What about those big manufactures of the actual plastic bags or the retailers who create and buy them to start off with? Why not fine, tax, ban, limit or boycott these huge manufacturers and retailers for the creation, supply and distribution of the bags to retailers since they are the ones that actually buy them? And many are importing from China and Taiwan.

Here is a list or plastic bag manufactures that supply Maryland. www.iqsdirectory.com/plastic-bags/search/state/md

Search your state for manufacturers of plastic bags here. www.iqsdirectory.com/images/usamapoutline-sm1.png

Please read the following research from “Life Cycle Assessment for Three Types of Grocery Bags – Recyclable Plastic; Compostable, Biodegradable Plastic; and Recycled, Recyclable Paper.” The conclusions regarding the relative environmental impact when using a life cycle view are consistent with previous studies and need to be reinforced in the policy arena and communicated to the people more effectively. The policies to discourage plastic bags may have more to do with litter control or generating revenue for cash strapped municipalities than the overall environment.

Whatever the goals of the policy makers, these need to be far more explicit than general environmental improvement, since the life cycle story is consistent in favor of recyclable plastic bags. It is possible that the emphasis of another report might be that the full benefit of plastic bags is even higher when large recycling is in place, instead of taxing people.

Here are a few more facts about plastic bags:

Re-using, re-cycling, taxing manufacturers and distributors while instituting and providing for better public environmental communication plans from retailers on their own plastic bag purchases, bag use and conservation campaigns might be a solution, without pinching our already over taxed hardworking Americans supporting this economy and who are being left holding the bag, so to speak.

If you want to dig deeper below is a list of more references from Wikipedia:

 

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