Posts Tagged ‘united states’

Mary, recent college graduate, is finding her idealism on a collision course with reality. She strongly believes people who live in the United States are obliged to make the world a level playing field for all human beings, with equality in resources, healthcare, education, economic security, and a pristine (perfect/ unspoiled) environment for all. Yet she also understands that the sheer size of the human population make this impossible. Kristen recently said she cannot be party to hard choices and actions that go against her ideals, and she just wants nature to solve the problem for us. What can you say on this true story?

Start from here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7734998370503499886&q=penn+teller+duration%3Along+recycling

Wouldn’t it be great to have confidence in Recycling again?

***
So in a practical sense, under what circumstances is Recyling OF PAPER OR PLASTIC worthwhile?
***

By "worthwhile" I mean economically viable, environmentally favorable in the short/medium/long term, and/or beneficial to people/animals. Any statements declaring a positive should take into account its tradeoffs (eg. recycling of plastic saves petroleum, but is that worth the chemical byproducts and energy cost associated with recyling it?). Social arguments along the lines of "it increases awareness of environmental issues" are probably not sufficient since the URL above shows that we can all be aware without necessarily being informed or correct.

Answers focusing on the United States (or even urban California, where I live) are great!

Responses based mostly on opinion or conjecture are discouraged.

What are the specific climate changes for the Southeast United States? This year crops were ruined by too much rain, will this continue? What is the longer range prediction?