Letters 6/30/05

June 29, 2005

Dumped on
In regard to the “Sticky Situation” letter by Steve Bass on June 16, 2005:
I was secretly relieved to learn that Steve Bass had been cited when an unknown person littered public property with Bass’ business stickers. It means I can dump my old NEC computer monitor in a city park in the dark of night and be assured that government will rightly go after the manufacturer.

Stuart Heaslet • Cedar

Talkin‘ trash
I wanted to add one note on the House Democrats’ efforts to slow the dumping of Canadian and other out-of-state trash in Michigan. While you are right to point out that the Democrats’ plan will result in higher costs for regular folks, the state is limited both by constitutional law (that states can’t interfere with interstate commerce) and our international trade agreements from taking a more direct course (such as just saying no, or something similar).
In addition, because the vast majority of the price we pay for trash removal goes to the trash companies for truck maintenance, labor costs, profit, etc., the House Dems’ plan would only add, on average, $1 per month per household in Michigan.
Finally, I know some are concerned that this fee increase will hurt businesses. As someone who is lucky enough to call Northern Michigan home, I firmly believe that any business practice that encourages the destruction of our environment for temporary gain is neither sustainable in the long-term nor desirable in the short-term. Moreover, the experience in Pennsylvania, which recently increased their dumping fee by $5 per ton to $7.25, shows that such an increase here in Michigan will likely result both in less trash imported and an actual increase in employment and gross state product.

Dan Scripps • via email

Who would Jesus bomb?
I was recently listening to “Which way are you goin’,” a Jim Croce song written in the Vietnam War era. I was struck by how closely it describes our current leadership in Washington. Read the lyrics and tell me if anything has changed:

“Which way are you goin’. . . Which side will you be on,
Will you stand and watch while all the seeds of hate are sown,
Will you stand with those who say that HIS will be done,
One hand on the Bible, one hand on the gun,
Which way are you lookin’... Is it hard to see,
Do you say what’s wrong for him, is not wrong for me,
You walk the streets of righteousness, but you refuse to understand,
You say you love the baby, but then you crucify the man,

Chorus: Every day things are changin’
Words once honored turn to lies,
People wonderin’, can you blame them,
It’s too far to run, too late to hide,

Now you turn your back on all the things that you used to preach,
Now, it’s let him live in freedom, if he lives like me,
Well, your line has changed, confusion rings. What have you become?
Your olive branches turn to spears, when your flowers turn to guns,
Your olive branches turn to spears, when your flowers turn to guns,

(By Jim Croce -- from: “The Faces I’ve
Been” album}

Now, read the lyrics again and insert “I” or “Me” in the place of “You.” Then ask yourself this question: “Who would Jesus bomb?”

Dick Evans • TC

The zoo‘s choking fumes
PALEEEEZE
The way I see it, the zoo needs to be moved away from downtown Traverse City. Why? How would you like to wake up all summer to roaring traffic noise, fumes from automobiles on one side of your home, and more choking fumes coming from the wonderful big boats that come and go at our beautiful new marina.
Time marches on... the Grand Traverse Zoo Society wants to keep it where it is. I do not understand that. It’s like the facility has become a trap for all fumes in the area. I see it as almost animal abuse. Yes, I feel the caretakers take very good care of the animals, but let’s get real here.

Ann Peterson • TC

READINGS
“Over 400 people, mostly fishermen, live along the Loango Lagoon in Gabon, West Africa, and at day‘s end we pull into the camp of the local chief, who invites us to stay overnight and shares his pine nuts, breadfruit, and pineapple. He is the leader of approximately 1,000 people in a region rich with oil. Over the years, oil companies have earned $25 billion from the area, he estimates. The locals‘ take? Nothing. Bone-thin at 78, wearing only a pair of cut-off khakis, the chief tells us that Gabon‘s new national parks are a good thing, largely because they will employ many of his people as guides, cooks and drivers.“

-- Jon Bowermaster, “The Heart of Wildness,“ Condè Nast Traveler, June ‘05