Read Their Lips: No New Red Tape
Connecticut´s waste industry mob cleanout continues to unfold at a brisk
pace. Monday, Gov. Jodi Rell
floated the idea of creating a new agency to oversee the
state´s waste industy and to establish a hauler licensing system. Now
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and a handful of other Connecticut
officials are
weighing in with a chorus of Yes-Buts. The gist of the
counter-refrain is that while the state does indeed need to keep closer
tabs on its haulers, that task should go to an existing state agency,
not a new one.
Bible Belt Bottle Bill
Thanks to the reader who forwarded the above-linked dispatch from
Israel, which details some of the bumps and bruises endured by the
backers of that country´s bottle-deposit law. This is yet another bit of
evidence showing that there is nothing new under the sun. From Hawaii to
Halifax to the Holy Land, container recycling is container recycling,
and the victories seldom come easily.
She Almost Got Red-Carded
Thanks too to the reader who sent this link reporting Britain´s
first-ever prosecution -- which was unsuccessful -- for the crime of
failing to recycle household waste. The 31-year-old woman charged with
putting nonrecyclable waste in a wheelie bin outside her home in Exeter,
England, was cleared when the court found that the prosecution´s case
had not been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
One hopes the court can now return its attention to more serious
offenses like headbutting, groin-stomping and the like.
OK, This Is Officially Serious Now
The Washington Post reported Monday that the climate warming trend could
eventually spell disaster for much of the multibillion-dollar U.S. wine
industry. To which I say, this is starting to go too far. I can take
some ice caps melting, sea levels rising, even tropical storms getting
wilder and more damaging. But when you start to mess with the fruit of
the vine ...
The report goes on to say that California´s wine country is projected
to fare worst, but that grape-growing conditions may actually improve in
parts of the Northwest and Northeast. Can you say Reverse Sun Belt
Migratory Effect?
Pete Fehrenbach
is assistant managing editor of Waste News. Past installments of this
column are collected in
the Inbox
archive.
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contents copyright 2005 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.