AliveAndKickN

Somebody Tell Me it's too Simple

If you've never read my stuff before, know that I try to keep things simple and solve multiple issues with single ideas.  On Monday, America2050 project.  Just imagine southern DC through Boston working together.  With 38 million people there already, and another 20 million more expected by 2050, we better start.  Public engagement is necessary, there's no place for "I" in policy, and there is no place for political immediacy.  Results are going to be long term.  Property taxes can only go up.  Get used to high energy costs.

According to the panel, there is currently no national or state master transportation plan (not that important I guess).  Only $570million has been earmarked by the federal government (in loans, not grants) for billions of needed infrastructure.  NJ is on the hook for the rest.  The Environmental Infrastructure Trust fund is almost empty.  In the 1940's, that generation was proud of its belt-tightening.  In the 50's, the growth of roads and power.  The '60's was proud of space exploration.  I don't think anything good happened in the '70's (maybe tube tops).  The fall of communism took place in the '80's.  The Internet came along in the '90's.  What will this decade be proud of?  We still have a few years, but we might considering picking up the pace. 

The water people were concerned about the infrastructure of aging wood and lead piping, combined with additional growth needs, such as new high-rises in the inner cities.  The electricity people were concerned about additional needed capacity, combined with the need for clean technology.  Clean coal still doesn't exist and nuclear is (as it should be) a tough sell.  Deep sea drilling?  Again, my thought is to have the utility companies, who are flush with cash currently, lease space on the rooftops of every flat unimpeded box store, warehouse, plant, etc.  Setup rainwater capturing to use for non-potable purposes and setup solar panels to increase capacity right at the source, instead of losing 65% of the energy during transmission from West Virginia.  Setup net meters, so power can be sold back to the grid during peak demand.  The building owner gets some rent money or a discount.  The utility company gets more capacity.  The NIMBYs don't have to get in an uproar about additional generators in their backyard. 

P3s, or Public Private Partnerships were discussed in length as well.  Apparently, this is what Governor Corzine was trying to sell to raise money via asset monetization.  Being the simpleton, I asked if it was like using a home equity loan to buy new shoes, or to pay down expensive credit card loans.  I was told it was latter.  Unfortunately, either Governor Corzine's office couldn't sell it or New Jerseyans weren't interested in buying.  My idea would be to cut snow plow usage to save money.  If the roads are that bad, stay home.  Otherwise, you're on your own. 

Supposedly the environment in Trenton and Washington is so partisan, it's impossible to get anything done.  If I was President or Governor, I wouldn't sign a bill that wasn't approved by both sides.  There's no sense in approving something once, only to have it rescinded when the other party gets in power.    

I took a tour of a wastewater treatment facility.  The water supposedly supercedes EPA clean standards after getting through the process, and the solid waste is shipped via rail to Virginia to use as fertilizer.  A methane capturing cogeneration plant is almost finished so most of the energy needed to run the plant will be self-sustaining.  The plant manager was very proud of his for-profit mentality, but he also said something interesting - Environmentalists aren't scientific.  Think it's true?                

Lead a donkey/elephant to water...

Every time I look at pictures of the candidates on the campaign trail, I get annoyed looking at the lighting.  Virtually every venue still has a ceiling full of metal halides that are not only inefficient, but also give off lousy light and can't be controlled.  If I was running the campaign, I'd have a green team be part of the advance team that goes to each event ahead of time.  At no charge, I'd evaluate the lighting and the building envelope of the auditorium, school or otherwise.  I'd also have the hotel evaluated for lighting and mechanical, plus laundry to see if they are still using hot water.  I'd do studies of the manufacturing plants and warehouses, evaluating recycling methodology to ensure that they are not disposing of anything that can be recycled, especially paper and chemicals.  Every photo-op place needs to be checked first anyway, so why not do two things at once? 

While there, the green team can show energy usage, potential for energy savings and renewable investment, rainwater capturing, financial implications such as tax incentives and rebates, and return on investment in real dollars.  From there, the choice is up to the venue.

Is anyone else at all perturbed about the latest national debt numbers?  Are you kidding?   

What if...Big and Large Ruled the World?

I took #3 to see WALL-E yesterday.  I thought it would be the usual cute Pixar movie, with talking bugs, monsters in the closet, or clown fish.  Instead, it was a pretty vivid lambaste on some of the same subjects we discuss here.  Assuming no 4-year olds are reading this, and assuming some of you haven't seen the movie, the essential plot is that WALL-E is the last remaining thing on earth, besides a roach.  WALL-E is a solar powered robot designed to pickup, compact, and create mountains out of trash.  Unfortunately, B&L (Big and Large, AKA some sort of Wal-Mart/McDonald's hybrid) had taken over virtually everything, and so much trash and gas was created, that earth became unsustainable.  As the plot unfolds, it turns out that B&L had sent a spaceship with people out into orbit several hundred years earlier, and that some people are there.  These people have lost most of their ability to move, as they are shuttled on movable lounge chairs, sipping all of their nutrition from a cup and straw.  Video screens everywhere, including attached to their chairs, tell them what to do.  WALL-E finds a plant growing on earth and brings it to the spaceship, causing the people to wake up and return to earth to try to bring it back to life.  Obviously there was the usual cute stuff in between, but you get the story.   

So are movie people just a bunch of bleeding heart liberal environmentalists?  Most movies about the future are somewhat apocolyptic.  Or is there something to be learned?  As I indicated previously when #2's school grade did a program on wildlife conservation, what if children were lobbyists?  Would quarterly earnings still outweigh endangered species?   

What if...Your Life Depended Upon It?

The other day, we had a massive storm blow threw town, tearing down a few trees and taking out power for several hours in many locations, including around me.  School was closed for the day, but unless I am mistaken, the damage was not that significant, especially compared to other parts of the country, such as the midwest, where flooding was ruining hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.  At the end of my workday, I went out to the garden and checked my "crops," all $200 worth of vegetables, fruit shrubs and fruit trees.  I found my blueberries gone, some vegetables uprooted and eaten, and I was devastated.  Then finally, I went into the refrigerator, which I kept shut during the power outage, and cooked everything potentially near spoilage into a chowder.  My point is this - I consider myself lucky.  Can you imagine being a farmer completely relying on crops for sustinence, only to find nature taking it away?  Can you imagine being in a poor country, only to find nature or a dictatorship taking away what little you have?  Can you imagine living in fear as a foreign laborer in a country, such as the US, which can deport you at any give time?  Can you imagine having your entire nest egg of stock options taken away in fraud issue? 

Something to think about. 

Sweet!!

Somehow I managed to find organic sugar buried on the bottom shelf of the baking aisle at the supermarket.  At eye level was Splenda, Equal, and the various other processed sweeteners, just as compact flurescent bulbs are buried on the top shelves with incandescents at eye level.  I decided that the organic sugar was worth the additional cost and 30 calories per coffee cup.  I will say that the taste is definitely better, especially the aftertaste, which tends to last quite a long time.  I have actually noticed that I'm taller and have re-grown hair on my forehead, so that's a plus as well.  On the toilet paper note, my wife and oldest have indicated their displeasure with the texture, so I'm going to have to find an alternative to the Marcal 100% recycled.  I'll let you know what I come up with. 

After the overblown CNN coverage of the primaries in North Carolina and Indiana (I don't know whether I should be more pissed at Rush Limbaugh's stunt or the media that he is poking), I decided to get out for a breath of fresh air.  On a night before paper recycling pickup, I found only about 50% of the houses had their paper out for the next day.  Granted that some people put out their recycling with the late night dog walk, and maybe some were on vacation, and maybe some don't get junk mail or bills, so they don't have recycling.  But considering our little town makes about $5000/month on paper, and with budgetary constraints coming up the turnpike (and parkway), maybe even more could put out their recycling and double that monthly amount (sound like a better campaign slogan than IFRTALOT?)  In the past seven days, I was in two healthcare facilities that don't recycle, which means they don't receive that revenue either.  In addition, they actually pay sanitation companies by the pound to fill landfills with their shredded paper and cardboard. 

In the past week, I was in eight warehouses and a healthcare facility totaling over a million square feet, all filled with metal halides and older fluorescents (I packed my homemade oatmeal cookies and refilled my coffee and water containers, so no waste, and ate at the local deli).  Each of these places had proposals presented years ago, and had financials put in front of them that would have paid for themselves years ago as well.  What people don't realize is that the demand is not decreasing.  Pressure put on oil, gas, and coal (sorry - clean coal) are pushing prices up, not only at the pump, but in the electrical outlets as well. 

I'm currently racking my brain trying to figure out where I would spend my gas tax windfall first.  Maybe I'll buy a petro-dinner for the family at Taco Bell and hope the experimental corn shells don't affect me worse than the refried beans.         

What if...Cows really got "mad?"

2007 Net earnings at ADM was $2.2 billion.  Net earnings at Cargill was $4billion.  Net income at ConAgra was $1.5billion.  How much of this is from taxpayer subsidized money?  The Farm Bill is still up for review, but doesn't appear to be changing much from the last one.  Supposedly our transition to shoulder to shoulder animal farming, and long distance distribution is a bigger contributor to environmental issues than anything else (grain and fuel for processing and transportation, clear cutting and drought, runoff into drinking water).  There is a mass run on food prices globally as fuel prices increase.  Anybody see a problem here?

What if we took all of the processed grain eating animals and processed them for food production?  No I am not for animal cruelty, but these animals are currently in this capacity as of our time in history.  Then, we can actually migrate the animals back towards eating grass instead of corn and steroids.  Supposedly Europe is going to start imposing taxes on fuel used for international food distribution (currently there is none, which has made it cheaper to grow elsewhere and ship).  Maine has imposed a tax on soda.  Drops in the petroleum bucket if we don't do something more radical.  Feed the world, and change things for a better environment in the future?  I know too simple.

The seeds I've sown indoors for the past several weeks went into the ground yesterday.  Some more will go in this week.  With any luck, I'll have broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, beets, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins.  Throw in some sunflowers, berries and marigolds for color and to attract birds.  With all of this ruffage, I wish I could plant toilet paper.          

Food, Water, and More Politics

My previous post made it into the Record today, although in its edited state, much of my sarcasm was lost in the shuffle, including the fact that I do shop at A&P.  Anyway, the news this week, aside from the flack that ABC "News" received for their lack of moral fortitude in the Presidential "debate" centered around the shortage of food, or more correctly, the inability to afford food globally.  When I think about people making a few dollars a week and then scouring the garbage dumps looking for scraps, I think about the world around us locally.  We have row after row of useless "food" products lining our supermarkets, turning precious resources into petroleum-based nonsense.  Organic food costs are increasing as well, as it costs more to deliver, causing many organic farmers to reconsider their choice.  We have thousands of patients in nursing homes being kept alive with cans of nutraceuticals against their will (I distribute this stuff by the way), costing Medicare hundreds of thousands of dollars each per year.  We average 390 pounds of trash per mile of shoreline, more than any of the country in the world by far.  Freedom lovers around me scoff when I have discussions like this, citing that the US is great because we have such freedoms.  The question is, what is the cost of this freedom?  These same individuals don't like big government, and the costs that come with it.  So when our freedoms create excess issues like we have now, are we missing the boat?  When a reservoir dries up and bags of dog poop and various other discarded items are found at the bottom, are those business people going to clean it up with corporate money or is it "big government's responsibility?" 

In Maine, the Governor just signed a bill implementing a tax on soda, and an increased tax on alcohol.  In NJ, we are looking at a huge deficit, and closings of various departments, including Agriculture and state parks.  If Maine can take on big food to pay for other programs, can NJ?  Can other states and what would be the outcome?

What if...My Best Job Function was as a Father?

I've decided to go where few bloggers have dared to go.  Last night I stood in front of an audience of fellow soccer coaches and parents, and announced my idea to help people who maybe can't help themselves as much as we can.  I'm not sure if I said anything coherent, and I'm not sure if the clapping afterward was because my ideas were good or because they were trying to get out in time for the NCAA basketball tournament.  Either way, the "goal" is to raise money for two organizations that use soccer as a medium for helping others - Grassroots Soccer that helps raise AIDS awareness in Africa and Street Soccer USA, an organization in Charlotte that helps the homeless and disenfranchised.  In addition, I've decided to run for town council.  So far, only two of us are running for two seats.  I think the latest CNN poll has me tied for third with Brooke Shields, who hasn't lived in town for years.  I better make sure I don't attend any radical sermons anytime soon. 

I guess I'll find out if any of my rantings has had the desired effect.  Be careful what you ask for.  If I fail, I can always go back to being dad...and work.  My 12 year old thought the attached video was poignant (maybe he didn't use that word, but I like it).  As he gets older, I'll take any input he offers.  Today, he preferred me dropping him off at religious school early, as opposed to stopping at my office to take care of some business first.       

What if..North Korea Poisoned the Meat?

Tonight's meeting was a presentation given by Food and Water Watch, a DC group that was previously part of Ralph Nader's consumer safety group.  Their campaign, if you couldn't tell from the name, is aimed towards creating a more sustainable environment towards the food we eat and the water we drink.  Among other things, the presenter posed a poignant question - what if a North Korean person or group, or someone else from the "Axis of Evil" claimed responsibility for the potential poisoning of the gazillion pounds of recalled beef sent to our schoolchildren?  Would the NJ National Guard units be on their way to the Korean peninsula as we speak?  Obviously this wasn't the case, and there was no repercussion since it was an isolated accidental case (by the way, food companies are not obligated legally to issue a recall - it's optional since they self-police).  Food and Water Watch is trying to keep the Farm Bill from passing "as is", since the system of having 4 companies controlling 85% of our food obviously isn't working.  It probably won't pass until the 2008 election anyway, as the current congress can't make a deal that works.  The presentor doesn't believe market forces will change the system enough, as only certain people of means will be able to have a choice.  Those who shop at Wal Mart and/or people who don't have much option, will take what they get unfortunately (does Whole Foods take food stamps?).  As a wholesome organic company gets big enough and takes market share, the bigger companies gobble them up and try and change the rules.  Now I understand business, and progress, and as long as companies like Stonyfield get acquired but maintain their integrity, I have no issue.  When quality is reduced, everyone loses except shareholders once again.

Once again, I ask what's wrong with this picture:

The farmer has only a few choices in seed.  He has to plant fence to fence in order to break even so he needs chemicals to nourish the soil.  He has only a few companies to sell his crops to, and it costs more to transport them further away to sell them.  Or how about this scenario.  The farmer has to keep animals shoulder to shoulder to make a living.  He has to feed them corn and steroids to fatten them in 18 months instead of 3 years.  He has to inject them with antibiotics to keep them from getting sick in such close proximity.  The runoff from the crap pools pollutes the local watershed.  Once again, he only has a few companies to sell his animals to, and it costs more to transport it further away to sell them.  With no one looking out for the individual farmer, everyone wonders why the next generation runs away to the big city.  With subsidies from the farm bill putting Mexican corn and sugar farmers out of business, we wonder why the family farmers are being replaced with illegal immigrants.  Interestingly enough, although the issue was the infrastructure of our water system needing an overhaul (since it apparently hasn't been done in 30+ years), much of the questions revolved around foreign companies owning our water systems, such as Suez, which owns United Water.  In the end, patriotism keeps us from looking at the bigger picture - we're doing this to ourselves, and only a handful are benefitting from it.      

Fuel prices are going through the roof.  Corn prices are going through the roof.  Less than 2% of all food brought into the country is actually inspected.  Five million new people are diagnosed with nutritionally related illnesses each year.  Would it make sense to change?  Still willing to let the NJ government do away with the Department of Agriculture?  Are there ways of raising revenue while reducing bad habits - drive thru fast food tax anybody?  What if NJ were to sell Bergen and Hudson Counties to NYC?  The state could reduce its debt and get out of congestion pricing at the same time.            

What if...Ice Cream Makers Governed Us?

With all of the financial talk lately, I took it upon myself to Google the national budget.  I wound up on the Ben and Jerry's web site.  Not a bad place to be, so I grabbed my favorite B&J ice cream, Napolean Dynamite (half Cherry Garcia, half Chocolate Fudge Brownie) and settled in.  In between tablespoonfuls (remember, I don't chew my food), I found some interesting data, which if it's true, could explain some of our shortcomings, both in finance and potentially in wisdom.  According to the pie chart, three fifths of the budget goes towards entitlement programs (debt, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security), which is mandated by law.  The other two fifths is considered discretionary.  Of the discretionary, supposedly $463 billion is spent by the Pentagon for defense, but is not currently accountable to the OIG, and in all likelihood could not pass an audit.  This doesn't even include the cost of the war in Iraq, although I can't imagine we are not paying for that as well.  Compared to the $463 billion spent on the military, somewhat less is spent on the following:

$38 billion for K-12 education, $50 billion for children's health insurance, $13 billion on humanitarian foreign aid (which I believe goes mostly to food companies like ConAgra and Cargill instead of currency that the country could put to better use), and of course a whopping $2 billion on renewable energy research and $8 billion for the EPA. 

With my meager means of research, I don't have the ability to verify these numbers.  Maybe your local congressperson does (hint, hint).  If you didn't catch the first two episodes of John Adams on HBO last night, I think you will find it intriguing.  Imagine starting a revolution of your own, knowing the potential consequences.  Could you do it?       

What if...All Lobbyists were 8 years old

Today, my wife and I attended "middle's" second grade play.  The topic was our endangered wildlife and kids were in various costumes, representing various animals - green tree frog, great white shark, sumatra tiger, grizzly bear, bald eagles, hippos and more.  They sang the song from the movie Pocohontas (Color of the Wind).  At the end of the play, they sold class-made book marks with all proceeds going to the World Wildlife Foundation.  I think I bought at least a dozen.  Now I can bookmark all of my bathroom reading instead of earmarks, and all the money went to a good cause.  Once again, 8-year olds can solve multiple problems.  Unfortunately we adults create much bigger problems that require bigger solutions. 

His teachers promised the next play would be about the importance of maximizing shareholder value, and that it would be followed by a class president contest to see which child could be the most aggressive.  No one likes a pacifist running a group, especially when the goal is to destroy as much limited resources as possible in the least amount of time.  The enemy might take advantage.

      

What if it didn't matter...The Quarterly Scorecard

Does activism exist if others aren't inspired to act (If a man is alone in the woods, is he still wrong?)  For the last few months, aside from my blog, you've probably been inundated with ways to make a difference.  So what have you done so far?  Have you contacted an elected official/campaigned about an issue?  Participated in a committee or volunteer?  Changed your consumption to include more local/organic and less high fructose corn syrup/hormones/chemicals?  Had your energy usage/head/colon examined?  Switched to canvas tote bags/compact fluorescent bulbs/hybrid?  Consuming less overall and recycling more?  Have you really gotten aggressive and looked into solar/growing your own food?  Something else? 

Doing nothing is easy.  Sacrifice is difficult.   Share your comments.  We're all family. 

What if...we were too informed

I received a letter from Senator Menendez today thanking me for my input on the Farm Bill of 2007 (I'm sure my fellow east coasters were following it), which unfortunately did not significantly reform much of the subsidy payment system from the 2002 bill.  I think the bigger disapppointing fact in the letter was the increase of Americans living in poverty from 31.5 million to 34.6 million over the last 5 years.  I thought we were somehow better than that as a society.

At the end of March, NYC chain restaurants will be obligated to list their caloric content next to each item on the menu, theoretically enabling those "overinformed" to make a decision.  The Seattle area already has it, and some 21 other national locales are considering similar legislation.  Unfortunately according the NY Times, the soon-to-be president of the Obesity Society is concerned that the poor people will pass the 2700 calorie fried onion or 1500 calorie triple cheeseburger with bacon at the counter, only to go home and make their own 2500 calorie artichoke dip, or worse.  Oh, the NY Restaurant Association and Coca-Cola apparently contribute to his research, and he has also been an advisor to Kraft and Frito-Lay.  Wolf guarding the chickens?  For all we know, ConAgra, Monsanto and Cargill run the FDA.   

From my perspective, I'd like to see the other less important facts that don't go into the menu.  I'd like to see the true cost of producing the food.  That $6 extra value meal costs significantly more.  You just don't realize it because it is subsidized.  The rest is all marketing (especially to our kids), packaging and transportation.  A few months ago, our Governor Corzine proposed a significant increase on tolls to offset budget shortfalls.  In response, I offered a solution by adding a tax on takeout.  Maybe by charging "true" costs on fast food, we might reduce consumption and thereby slow down the negative repercussions that come with it.  So far, the only response has been that "poor people eat fast food."  Who wins and who loses by maintaining the status quo? 

So what's an EcoMom/EcoDad to do?  Since this is a vacation week and there were no sports on the agenda, I decided to make some meals for the next few days to have on hand.  I made some multigrain rolls, an apricot/goat cheese tart and some carmelized onion/blue cheese mini-pizzas.  In response, my kids decided to microwave some frozen macaroni and cheese.  My wife had coffee ice cream with chocolate syrup.   

I think I may need to see an ecopsychologist for my ecoanxiety.      

What if...Electricity was on steroids

Everyone has been focusing their attention on oil prices lately and for good reason!  But what has gone unnoticed is the price of coal.  While most understand that high per barrel oil prices drive up prices at the pump, few think about the relationship between coal and the kilowatt/hour (kWhr) price of electricity.  About 50% of the electricity generated in the U.S. is derived by burning coal.  A recent article in the WSJ discussed the rising price of coal and there were several staggering facts.  The first is that coal in the last 6 months has almost doubled in price and is 3 times higher than a year and a half ago.  The second is what is causing this increase in price, China's growing economy!  Five years ago China exported 83 million tons of coal, but last year that number fell to 3 million, an 80 million ton net loss which equates to about 12% of the world market.  More importantly China is expected to become a net importer of coal to the tune of 15 million tons next year!  What do you think that is going to do to the price of coal and electricity in this country?  What is good for the coal producers in the US is not necessarily good for electric consumers!  As an example, NJ electricity prices are scheduled to increase another 11-17% as of June 1.  Prices in NY went up as of February 1.

Every year, Wal Mart (and other concerned discount retailers) plants a gazillion trees and sells a gazillion compact fluorescent bulbs.  But every time another coal burning plant goes up in China, it negates the benefits of all that work.  But in order to meet the pricing standards of the US consumer, US companies send their manufacturing to China.  Quite a quagmire, wouldn't you say?  Does anybody remember the Energy Bill, which only pushed for biofuels as an alternative?  Look what that's done.  Forests globally are being razed to make room for corn and other fuel producing crops.  And with the price of corn (and wheat) going through the roof, the price of food is going right with it.

      

So with energy and food prices increasing, and with the potential for up to 5 million people about to lose their homes in the subprime debacle, today, our Congressional officials spent several grueling hours trying to get to the bottom of one of the biggest issues our country currently faces, steroids in the WWE, I mean Major League Baseball.  So, to all of my peers and player parents who consider me grumpy when I discuss worldly issues, I apologize.  All's well, remain calm!!

I still haven't found the signficant downside to solar and wind power, except the upfront cost.  Remember, as part of the stimulus package, small businesses can spend almost twice as much on new equipment (up to $250,000) and get the 50% bonus deduction, so invest in efficiency.  For those who want to spend their rebates, think local and small business as well.  They benefit the most and directly. 

By the way, my wife's beagle Sadie was very pleased with the Westminster Kennel Club outcome.  Supposedly a beagle won for the first time ever.  It just goes to show that persistence pays off and sometimes the "underdog" can win after all.                  

What if....we made a list (and checked it more than once)?

If you haven't been frustrated by the political debates, you don't need to read further.  First of all, there have been too many, and second, the questions for the most part have been inconsequential.  I have argued that energy and agriculture are one in the same.  Maybe I should have realized sooner that reporting and entertainment are one in the same.  Here's an idea.  Why don't we make a list of things of issue that we seem to care about - say every four years.  Then, we as a country can decide whether or not we care.  Do we care about polar bears and bengal tigers?  Do we care about rainforest preservation and polar ice melting?  Do we care about all of the nutritional disease-states being created and the massive amount of institutionalized care necessary in the future to accommodate this?  Do we care that government subsidies are going to many corporations that are generating billions in profit?  I'm sure there are more, but you get my point.  Once the master list is complete, we can actually make some decisions.  If we care about the environment, we do everything we can to protect it now, not starting in the next election cycle with a 2% reduction every 20 years.  If we care about saving endangered species that keep the ecosystem in tact (remember the wolf?), then we do something about it.  If we would like to see our children live healthy lives and not bankrupt an already failing healthcare system, we do something about it now. 

Of course if all that matters is quarterly earnings, pro athletes on steroids, or Chuck Norris' opinion on age, we can decide that as well.        

What if...Election Days and Major Snow Days were Days Off?

If businesses and schools were closed on election day, including retail, would there be a greater voter turnout?  Would it benefit some types of candidates over others?  Similarly, what if businesses were to shut down on major snow days.  If the roads didn't need plowing as often, would it save some highway money, and potentially prevent major tie-ups and further issues?

What If...Takeout Tax?

We don't want our roads privatized, but we don't want increased tolls.  We want to help the environment, but we don't want to give up our driving habits.  We want to be healthier, but we don't want to give up our bad nutritional habits.  We want our earmarks, but we don't want to pay for them through income taxes.  We want to protect individual business owners as well, as more and more chains take over. Are there steps we can take to solve some/any of these issues? 

With an estimated $1.5 billion spent daily on food and drink outside of the home, what if there were a surcharge (tax) levied on only takeout food, which supposedly accounts for 40% of the amount?  Unless my math is off, if we charged only a 10% tax, it would be $21.9 billion in revenue.  Think about it.  The consumption, the driving, the packaging, the carbon emissions, the landfill.  Would anything change?  Maybe.  If nothing was reduced, at least the revenue could pay for the mess created.  If you sit and enjoy your meal at the place of service (restaurant, coffee shop, etc), there would be no additional charge, assuming the facility had a recycling program or actually used plates, glasses and utensils. 

Food choices are just that.  For the most part, commuting to work is not.  Too simple?      

What If... Toy Food

What would happen if toys were no longer included for free in cereal boxes and fast food meals?  Think about it from an environmental, nutritional, and financial viewpoint.