Thursday, January 11, 2007

So, the other day I took an action step and went to the Plainville, MA Town Hall. I was looking for one of the recycling bins I see out in front of peoples houses on trash day. We already had the sticker we needed. It had been laying around the house for a couple of years I think. I remember asking Lisa (my wife), "What is that thing" and she replied "That's the Recycling Sticker," and out of my mind it went. The big Blue Recycling Bins were on the right as you come through the front door. They were beautiful and just what I was looking for. Should I just take one, are they free? "Maybe I better check it out". So I poked my head into the first office I came upon, Deeds or something like that, and inquired, "What office would I go to with Recycling Questions"? The polite lady replied, " Just down the hall take a left it's the last office on the left". As it turned out it was the last office on the right, Environmental something or other. I wondered if that lady was stupid or whether I was wrong and she really said "on the right". I'll never know because I will never go back and ask her. In all likeliness what she said and what I heard were different, although her being wrong would help with my confidence in the area of mental health. As it all turned out, we, here in Plainville are not required to have a certain type of bin, basically you can use whatever you want as long as you show a sticker. Actually you can use more than one bin, as long as that ONE sticker is showing. They only require certain guidelines for what goes with what. The bottom line is that it's not rocket science and it only takes a small effort to achieve Recycling Status as a family. This all brings you closer to those that like to Save the Owls . I hope that doesn't offend your sensibilities. The Web Site I'm creating will have all this information and the certain nuances and requirements, fees, pick-up schedules and any other pertinent info relating to Recycling Efforts in your town and any other enerygy conservation efforts specific to your location.

As it turned out the Bin thing was the source of a heated debate between my wife and I. First, I told her we could use whatever we wanted. I would be happy to use a clear bin. She would be happy to use some sort of Designer Bin, with a lid, that you'd have to open up and place the trash in, every time you throw something away. After a bit of back and forth I said, "It's all yours do whatever you want", and I skulked off in defeat. I went off to the office for awhile to calm down. Upon my return, she had, in the kitchen, a rolling cabinet thing that had four separate clear plastic bins in it. That would be just fine, I'd already resolved myself to any extra effort it might take to achieve this goal. In this case opening a door and pulling out a sliding bin. Life would go on.

It's 33 degrees out, Thursday, January 11, 2007. More like Winter but I'm still not convinced!

Monday, January 8, 2007

DISCLAIMER: You can be assured that I would not show the slightest bit of interest in the Global Warming Movement if I was not convinced of it's immediate importance to the common everyday Joe or Josephine. I am hereby opening up myself to ridicule (especially by my closest friends and family) and scrutiny, (by whose toes I might step on in the process). I am not political nor do I claim to know much about politics. I gave up any and all interest when it became clear to me that it was better suited to those willing to play that particular game. It's my take on the whole thing ignorant as it may be. So here I am a political ignoramus, 49 years old who up to this point didn't care or know much about what is going on our world. I plan to pursue and educate myself on this subject and to take some action. I will not be running for President! It is my hope that I can be of service.



About a week back I watched a movie "An Inconvenient Truth" Al Gores Global Warming "Warning". It convinced me that Global Warming is Real and that we've got to start considering this as an ever present reality and stop making fun of the people who like to save owls, or at least tone it down.

So what can "I" do about it? Well "I" can take responsibility on a personal level by doing some of the simple things suggested during the credits at the end of the movie. It also occurred to me that not much is being done on the level of Town, City and State. So armed with those assumed notions and without much further thought I've secured several domains here on the Internet, starting with www.globalwarminggrassroots.com and several similar domains. I'm brainstorming ideas about how to develop a grassroots effort to educate and inform the public of the realities of Global Warming. This is all very new to me and is going to require much research and education on my behalf. Do I have the energy? We'll see.

By the way it's 52 degrees Fahrenheit here in Plainville, MA 02762, Tuesday Jan. 9 2007, middle of the winter!