When somebody did something very well, my mom said, “They did it up brown.” At the time I didn’t know where the phrase came from, but I now suspect it had cooking roots.

Anyway, The Villages, announced a trash recycling program that they’ve been working on for three years. Three years, you say? This required careful coordination with several trash companies and two of the three affected local county governments. They have also coordinated with local merchants like Publix, Wal-Mart, Lowes, Ace Hardware, and Home Depot, to make sure there will be enough supply of the required trash bags.¹

Here’s the plan:Homeowners collect recyclables into 13 gallon clear drawstring trash bags. Pretty much everything that is recyclable is eligible: plastic, newspaper, magazines, phone books, aluminum and steel cans, glass, etc. (See the reprint on the left) Then they leave the recycling bags at curbside on one of the two “trash pickup days” each week. Simple as that. No sorting. On top of that it’s only $1.47 per month added to the trash bill and the first month, March, is free.

Some folks are complaining about the $1.47 and that the system’s too complex. I guess there’s no pleasing some folks. For me, it’s a painless way to be a little bit green…and do it up brown.

© 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

1. That they’ve all sold out is not The Villages fault

• 40% are Republicans and 36% are Democrats
• 21% live in the Midwest, and 31% in the Northeast. Just 16% live on the West Coast.
• 57% are over the age of 45.
• 49% don’t have a college degree, and 35% make less then $40,000 a year.

SOURCE: Autobytel.com

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Increasing Interest in Social Justice: As the election cycle heats up, both parties are taking notice of the increasing interest of younger Christian voters in a number of issues related to social justice. AIDS, poverty, and the environment are all of interest to a demographic long associated only with abortion and homosexual issues. One indicator is that evangelical Wheaton College (IL) boasts the second most active chapter of the Student Global AIDS Campaign – behind Harvard. Coupled with greater involvement by a number of campus ministries, today’s students see a very real connection between the gospel and social engagement. (Daily Northwestern April 25, 2007)

It remains to be seen, however, whether either party can get students to the polls.

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

© 2007 – 2008, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

Also, if you have an hour and fifteen minutes, check out The Great Global Warning Swindle¹ recently aired on Britain’s Channel 4.

© 2007 – 2009, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.

1. no longer available on videos.google.com

While the article claims no conclusions can be drawn about global warming on Mars, given the “evidence” on Earth, we can postulate that Martians are contributing to global warming by their proliferation of greenhouse gasses.

© 2007 – 2009, J. M. Erickson. All rights reserved.