I'm living in Kusatsu-shi, Shiga-ken for an undetermined amount of time and teaching English as a second language at a local high school. This journal is to document my experiences, thoughts, and to stay connected with others at home and abroad.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

If they can understand, what wrong with everyone elses' ears?

This is a quote from an article I received in the New York Times about recycling programs suffering during this economic crises.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/business/08recycle.html?partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

The part I'm really aiming for is in italics, but I wanted to provide the context as well. Just further shows that we're going to have to start making responsible decisions in spite of the economic weather, because there are certain things that are just non-debatable. Maybe we could try to stop consuming less. I may be mistaken, but I remember reading that Denmark has laws in place that require 100% recycling of certain materials (plastic bottles & glass were the ones I believe mentioned). How is that a bad decision? If everyone plays fair––or is made to play fair because right now they're only in it for the money––for everyone's gain (a cleaner environment), how can we lose?


' The recycling slump has even provoked a protestof sorts. At Ruthlawn Elementary School in South Charleston, W.V., second-graders who began recycling at the school in September were told that the program might be discontinued. They chose to forgo recess and instead use the time to write letters to the governor and mayor, imploring them to keep recycling, Rachel Fisk, their teacher, said.

The students’ pleas seem to have been heard; the city plans to start trucking the recyclables to Kentucky.

“They were telling them, ‘We really don’t care what you say about the economy. If you don’t recycle, our planet will be dirty,’ ” Ms. Fisk said.'


I think one of the saddest parts of watching people age is watching them begin to measure and balance ethics on the same scales as dollars and quarterly income.

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