Daily Archives: April 23, 2013
Unintended Consequences . . .
I’m sure you’ve heard about how some cities, especially ones in California, have outlawed paper and plastic grocery bags, requiring people to bring their own reusable cloth bags.
The only problem with this is that according to the CDC, these reusable bags are breeding grounds for E. coli, salmonella, and other dangerous bacteria. In fact, a study by the University of Pennsylvania and George Mason University showed that just in the first 6 months after San Francisco enacted their total ban, emergency room admissions and deaths relating to E. coli jumped almost 50%.
So, where does all this E. coli and salmonella come from?
Well, you know how they tell you to always wash your fresh fruits and vegetables before you eat them, well now you know why.
Or did that stockboy wash his hands after using the bathroom before he put your can of beans on the shelves?
Now the CDC recommends you wash all your bags after every use. Of course, that would mean millions of bags being washed every week, using precious water and putting more detergents and other chemicals into the environment.
So what’s an environmentally-aware person to do? Of course, it’s apparently hard to be an environmentalist anyway.
Are you an environmentalist that supports solar power, or are you an environmentalist who protests a solar power project being built in the Mojave Desert because it might harm the Desert Tortoise. What, tortoises don’t like shade?
Are you an environmentalist that supports wind power, or are you an environmentalist that campaigns against wind power because they kill thousands of birds every year.
Decisions, decisions.
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Jan and I headed over to Wal-Mart around 2pm to get some stuff, and also let Jan get her hair done. Then on the way home I stopped off at an Auto Zone to pick up some battery terminal cleaner and protector spray, since both Nick and I want to clean our rig batteries.
Later we picked up Nick and Terry a little after 5pm and drove over to Sourdough Pizza for dinner. Jan was happy to see that they had her favorite meat ravioli, and we shared our usual pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and mushrooms, along with very nice small dinner salads.
The one thing that was unusual here was that the pizza sauce was kind of sweet. According to Google, a sweeter sauce is kind of a regional thing. But the first bite was a bit of a surprise.
Tomorrow I’ve got some more rig projects to work on, and then Nick and I may work on cleaning our rig battery terminals.
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Thought for the Day:
I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. – James Madison
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