Plastic Recycling - The Beginnings

Thirty years ago, recycling of any kind was just getting off its feet in the United States.  At the time, if you mentioned recycling to most people, they thought of newspapers.  But to a woman in Sauk county Wisconsin, a trip to Japan got her to thinking of recycling plastics.  Molly Zantow started her crusade with a simple question to a milk producer.  Molly asked what happens to flawed milk jugs when they come down the line.  She discovered that they were thrown back to be melted down and recycled through the system.  From this question she proceeded to founding her own recycling business.

Molly even helped develop a way of easily determining what kind of plastic a container was made of.  The triangle with a number inside was her idea. When you're trying to decide whether or not a container can be recycled, look for that triangle.  If the number inside is 1 or 2, you can recycle it.  Otherwise, the plastic isn't recyclable.

You can hear her own words on this video at madison.com.

Alabama GOP Gubernatorial Candidates

If you don't follow Alabama politics, you probably have never heard of Judge Roy Moore.  He was kicked off of the Alabama Supreme Court and out of his seat as Chief Justice for refusing to follow a federal court order to remove a Christian religious monument from the court house.  He's considered fairly right wing.  However, it seems that most of the Republican candidates for Governor in Alabama are even further to the right than Judge Moore.  According to an article in the Mobile Press Register, even Judge Moore thinks so.

This is really to be expected in a Bible belt state like Alabama.  But there is one candidate who seems to be taking things a little further.  James Potts, from Bibb county, thinks that it's ok to display monuments from other religions on government property, unless it's a monument to the Muslim faith.  In fact, Mr. Potts stated, "Either you accept our way of life or you go back to another country that is Muslim".  How can someone running for public office take a position that is so contrary to one of the basic principles of our nation?  When we deny one group the freedom to practice their religion, another chink is etched into the freedoms we all enjoy.

Rather than having knee jerk reactions to things that are different from our own way of thinking, perhaps we should try instead to understand our fellow man.  Maybe in that understanding, we would see that the violent elements found in Islam are actually the fringe and that the people who practice the religion are not that much different than we are.

Why Go to Mars?

I've heard this question many times lately.  Why should we go to Mars?  There are so many other things that our nations money should be spent on.  We should be creating jobs, feeding the hungry, funding health care, and any number of other good causes that the money could be spent on.  I agree, there will always be other, more worthwhile causes for our spending.

But I say, despite all the things we could be spending our money on, there is nothing better than funding a manned mission to Mars.  As a people, we have adventure in our blood.  The first inhabitants of North America walked across the Bering Strait.  Granted, they were probably just looking for a better place to live.  But whatever their motivation, they were explorers.

The Europeans who sailed thousands of miles across open ocean in tiny ships were driven by the hearts of explorers.  The need to see what was out there.  If they happened to find a way to profit from their adventure, that would be icing on the cake.

Then there were the explorers who were willing to take their chances to settle the most western regions of our nation.  It didn't matter that there were savages to battle or strange weather patterns to endure or hard land to tame and farm.  The promise of adventure and a better life for their families pushed them forward.

Now, what is left for the adventurers soul that lives in all of us?  The spirit passed down from generation to generation longs for the thrill of the unknown.  The nation was enthralled as the astronauts walked on the moon forty years ago.  For all these years, we've waited for the next great exploration, a manned mission to Mars.  Cost isn't an issue.  In fact, this exploration would create jobs, probably contribute new technologies, and would most assuredly stir a pride that has become dormant in the people of our nation.  As a side benefit, perhaps we could start a journey that will lead us to another inhabitable planet.  A planet that we could migrate to if ours ever becomes imperiled.   So, again I ask, why go to Mars?

Because We Can!

He's my Brother

Each of us has different roles in the lives we lead.  We're spouses, partners, children, parents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, friends, co-workers, and any of an innumerable list of roles.  He's a father, a son, an uncle, a friend, but for me, he's Brother.

I don't remember many times I've called him by name to his face.  I use his given name in conversation when talking about him with others.  But when he answers the phone, he says Hello, and I answer back, Hey Brother.  And I end the conversation with I Love You, Brother.  I guess the name everyone else uses just isn't personal enough for me.  After all, I'm the only one who will ever call him Brother.  That makes it kind of special.

He's grown from my scrawny little brother to a man I respect.  He loves his two boys.  His face softens when he's talking about them.  Even when they make him angry, you know how much he cares.  He wants to see them become the strong men that they are capable of becoming.

Don't get me wrong, he has his faults.  He's got that family temper that we all have.  But once it boils over, he goes back to being a gentle bear.  He's obstinate and strong-willed, but then I guess those are family traits as well.

Today, he's facing a demon that I never thought my Brother would face.  He has seminoma.  Not being in the medical field, I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it makes me worry.  I know he's strong and the story of Lance Armstrong makes me know that he can beat this.  I just wish I could be there for him.  It's hard being so far away from my strong little Brother at a time like this.

So, good night Brother.  I love you.

Alabama Politics

Alabama has long been known for its interesting politics. The most recent chapter in its rich history has to do with beer.

It seems that Senate has been trying to pass a bill to raise the alcohol cap on beer from 6% to 13.9% but have been faced with a filibuster. Senator Hank Erwin, a devout Baptist who had been working to block the bill, stepped out for a bathroom break. While he was out, the Senate rushed passage of the bill.

Just another day in Alabama politics.