In-between classes I like to cruise the news to see what’s happening to save the world. It is simply amazing to see the inventions that human beings are capable of. It is also equally amazing to hear about simple solutions to save the world. One interesting thing I read today was how coffee grounds make wonderful composting material. This is pretty neat since coffee is the second largest import after oil. I am a huge fan of coffee. I drink at least 2 cups a day and I work for one of the biggest coffee chain companies in the world (which I imagine is similar to working for Satan). My question would be what to do with those coffee grounds since I do not as of yet compost (I live in an apartment!!!). I wonder if I should put an ad up on craigslist offering free coffee grounds for composting.
Anyways, on to more important environmental issues, the proposed wind dam in Russia. This gigantic wind dam, designed by the British architectural firm Chetwood Associates, measures 75 meters wide and 25 meters high and will cost approximately 5 million dollars. What is not known as of yet is how much energy this dam will harvest, nor what the impacts such a large structure will have on the surrounding areas. One can only imagine how this will immediately effect the bird populations. However, this is a first step of many in leading the way towards solutions to the inevitable energy crisis. As long as we keep thinking forward and keep funding projects, alternative energy sources will be found.
Lastly for today, lets talk about the strike happening in Paris, France. Rail workers went on strike on Tuesday over the issue of pension reforms. What this strike means for people is loss of access to the rail train to get around. This also means that a lot of people are walking and riding bikes (Paris has a newly introduced rent-a-bike service) and ride-sharing to work (hooray for that!) but it’s sad to see such a widely used public transportation system down. I am not a fan of unions (I blame my girlfriend for that) because it just seems like people are getting greedier and greedier. If your hired to do a job you should get it done, who are you to make demands? I agree that unions used to be necessary because of working conditions, but it seems that they need to be phased out. Especially in a place like France where unions go on strike so often that it is considered a joke. As I am typing there is a strike going on at my campus (UMASS Amherst) but its clearly ineffective because everyone is still here attending classes. There just doesn’t seem to be a common cause that we can all relate to. That’s why it is so hard to decide which candidate to vote for in the upcoming election (don’t be crazy…vote for Hillary!!!!!) but anyways I digress.
Questions to ponder: Why aren’t there more effective public transportation systems in the U.S.
Interesting History Tidbit: What were GM, Firestone and Standard Oil convicted of in the early 20th century? The great American streetcar scandal! What is this you ask? These companies acquired almost all the streetcar operations throughout the United States and dismantled them, only to replace them with busses. This forced people to drive, as this was also the time when people were moving out of the city and into the suburbs. Busses couldn’t do the job that the streetcar systems could and so people were forced to buy automobiles, which in turn made GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil very rich.
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