Opinion
The 3Rs are very important, when it’s convenient, when it’s trendy…….
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, the 3Rs is popular among people and is tossed out there, often, in the news. When it comes to plastic bottles, bags and straws but not when it comes to cars and neighbourhoods, for example.
There are a lot of small cars out there and most often it is an economic decision, but not always. You go to any parking lot, even those in front of discount stores and you will see many new, very large vehicles. The 3Rs do not seem to apply to our vehicles, apparently.
Our neighbourhoods offer another example. We all seem to be clamouring for newer, bigger homes in new neighbourhoods. When I was growing up it was normal to see a family of six living in houses of a 1,000 square feet. Now a family of six is rare but houses of 1000 square feet is rarer, and even rarer still is a family of six living in a 1000 square foot house.
The 3Rs comes into play when you hit retirement and it is usually a health or an economic decision.
Why do we march on Parliament Hill to stop using plastic straws and piping oil if we insist on bigger houses and bigger cars?
History says that we are building on the best agricultural land as we expand our cities with new neighbourhoods. I do not think reducing our arable land or reusing or recycling our farmland into residential neighbourhoods and industrial parks is in the goal of the 3Rs philosophy.
It seems to me that we pave over 1000s of acres of farmland to build newer homes every year, but we are worked up over how many plastic straws hit our waste management sites.
Every city has older run down neighbourhoods, ignored or avoided by homebuyers and politicians. Often times they become rentals or the first step on the property ladder, seldom thought about in the 3Rs scheme of things. Focusing on appearances and not on the potential it often easier to build or buy new houses in new neighbourhoods.
I live in an older neighbourhood, a mid century home, with deer visiting my yard. I have a view of trees and a short walk to the creek. I also have decade old cracks in my sidewalk, a shrub growing in my street. The neighbour’s house sold recently but it was a hard sell and it went for less than it was bought for almost 10 years ago. A realtor mentioned that people want new, modern homes inside mid-century houses. They see antiques and character as simply old.
So the politicians are only following the wishes of the populace when they abandon the 3Rs, pave over farmland to make room for new homes, new roads and new conveniences.
Are we only environmentalists when it is convenient and only in trends?
I do not wish to live in a cave, but I think that there is a sense of disproportionate importance in our lives that needs addressing.
Maybe the answer is paving new roads out of used plastic bags and straws, and building new houses out of bricks made of compacted trash. Maybe, and this may be unrealistic, we could just reduce the number of neighbourhoods, recycle our old houses and reuse abandoned schools.
Just a thought.
From StosselTV
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are here – but will they be able to fix our budget crisis?
Our government is $36 trillion in debt, yet it keeps wasting money on absurd projects like $118,000 to study if metal fingers can snap (spoiler alert: they can’t) and $700,000 to research parrot mating habits. It also spends more than a TRILLION in subsidies to state and local governments. Meanwhile, Washington sits on 300,000 buildings, many of which are unused, and land worth TRILLIONS of dollars. Yet instead of selling, it keeps buying more.
Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute says the first thing DOGE should cut are the subsidies to state and local governments. Then, they should slash the $180 billion a year spent in subsidies for corporations. But even if Musk’s new DOGE eliminates these expenses, the real culprits (Medicare and Social Security) are off limits.
So will DOGE be enough? Our new video above takes a look.
After 40+ years of reporting, I now understand the importance of limited government and personal freedom.
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Libertarian journalist John Stossel created Stossel TV to explain liberty and free markets to young people.
Prior to Stossel TV he hosted a show on Fox Business and co-anchored ABC’s primetime newsmagazine show, 20/20. Stossel’s economic programs have been adapted into teaching kits by a non-profit organization, “Stossel in the Classroom.” High school teachers in American public schools now use the videos to help educate their students on economics and economic freedom. They are seen by more than 12 million students every year.
Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Other honors include the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.
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From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Hailey Gomez
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reportedly offered payouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The CIA has apparently become the first intelligence agency to offer its employees a way out, as they were reportedly offered a bid to quit their jobs in exchange for roughly eight months of pay and benefits, the outlet reported. Trump administration officials told the outlet that the move is a signal to help those who oppose President Donald Trump’s agenda find other work.
In addition to the offer, the WSJ reported that an aide to CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the agency is freezing its hiring for job seekers with conditional offers, with some expected to be rescinded if the agents don’t have the background necessary for the agency’s new direction.
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“Director Ratcliffe is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities. These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position the CIA to deliver on its mission,” a CIA spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Ratcliffe was confirmed as the CIA’s new leader on Jan. 23, after the Senate approved him in a 74-25 vote. In his opening remarks during his confirmation process, Ratcliffe said he would adhere to the CIA’s core mission and focus on threats from the Chinese Communist Party.
“We will collect intelligence — especially human intelligence — in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult,” Ratcliffe said in his testimony. “We will produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products. We will conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do.”
The move from the CIA comes a week after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management released an email on Jan. 28, showing that millions of federal employees were offered deferred compensation through Sept. 30, provided they submit their resignation notices by Feb. 6.
“If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce,” the email said. “At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions.”
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