A few thoughts

I can be a bit of an oxymoron. I am a conservative environmentalist. (okay maybe not the best use of the term oxymoron, but it applies in a strange way). And of course the root word for conservative is to conserve.

A few posts ago I mentioned that maybe using graywater technology should be part of municipalities building codes going forward. And the use, especially in government buildings really comes together for me as a conservative environmentalist. It achieves two goals. It can save on tax dollars and it can save on water.

This would work for school districts, city parks, and other facilities that have large amounts of land associated with a building.

And for cities there are many productive uses such as all the large skyscrapers in central business districts could adapt the technology and send back the water for use in other areas. The benefit is twofold; the businesses could receive tax credits, water bill credits, actual income from the water, or some combination. You have to think there is much water coming out of the buildings that could be recycled. The water district or utility district now has non potable water that it can use to sell to department of transportation for highway landscaping or other similar ideas such as developing or maintaining green belts within city limits.

And these are just some examples off the top of my head. Over time many applications of the technology could be applied to help save on water more than just my original idea of new houses being built with it to help with landscaping and water conservation. It is beneficial for neighborhoods to have greenery etc. This helps to create much healthier environment for everyone to have trees, grass etc. to balance out all the cement. Yes, you could have landscaping that doesn’t use water and that helps reduce use of water, however, you lose much in the big picture when it comes to balance.



I was reading on a website called Daily Caller I think (read it the other day) about an interview with President Obama. Part of the discussion was about immigration and the importance of diversity; the other part was the President saying conservatives were the problem in our country. I think it mentioned the original interview came from the New York Times.

First of all, Mr. President there is a big difference between a conservative and the current right wing monologue dominating our political landscape. Please understand there are many conservatives that do not associate with the current tea party or establishment Republicans. Please learn that conservatism in this country is much more than a few slogans and obstructionists.

Second, if you want to have your diversity, then many Democratic policies are going to be a problem. Our country is so large that you cannot create a one size solution for all the problems facing our country. The federal government cannot even begin to solve all the problems each community may face and most definitely should not try. The government can create policy frameworks each community can adapt to their situation, but to solve problems at the local level is a pipe dream.

This reliance or idea of the Democratic Party that all problems are fixable by the Federal government is dangerous and unrealistic. This is one of the reasons why our government is so cumbersome. There are too many federal agencies spread all over the place accomplishing nothing. Yes there are national problems our government needs to address such as the highway/interstate system. And yes there are some obstructionists that do not realize the importance of this infrastructure, but the federal government needs to stick to the issues that affect the whole nation.

Again the Federal government can lay out policy ideas, resources, invest in research etc. so our states and communities have the tools they need, but much of the actual work and legislation needs to be done at the local level where the problems exist. We are a very large and diverse nation, which is one reason we are a great nation, but to continue to be great the best answers will come from the people, not bureaucrats far removed from the situation.


I like to mention another comment around diversity and balance. We need both liberals and conservatives. There are times when certain policies are better than others. Yes there can be times when the government does need to increase spending such as to help lead us out of a recession if the spending is well executed and targeted to the needs of the day it can be beneficial. Yet government spending to solve all our problems will only create a bloated federal budget in the long run.

The other side of the coin for example: it is better during times of prosperity for the government to cut back on spending to keep inflation down, to save surpluses, to enact policies that encourage saving among the populace, tax cuts for working class to upper middle class, add back into the social security trust, (which is actually a democratic program that would benefit from some savings applications), and to keep the budget balanced to be prepared for future economic downturns.

Overall we need a government that can adapt to problems, not add layers of government on top of layers to solve problems.

And no matter what though, we need an education system that helps our children understand the true meaning of democracy and how blessed all of us are to live in this country. And for some strange and inexplicable reason our current crop of Democrats and Republicans on the hill just don’t seem to understand education is paramount to a successful democracy. Then again our current crop of Democrats and Republicans aren’t liberals or conservatives, they are just politicians and self-serving ones in the worst way.

Finally tonight, who let the gates of you know where wide open? The barbarous behavior going on in the Middle East has no rational solution in a civilized world. And how is a civilized world supposed to respond? It does us no good to resort to their level to eradicate them. The purpose of becoming civilized is for us, as humanity, to grow and evolve for the benefit of all humankind. Yet we are faced with a monstrous dilemma that should never have surfaced in the 21st century.

Yet we need to do something so we don’t go backwards. And it would help if some of the parties in the Middle East step up to the plate and bring their people into the 21st century and also help find a solution to the current crisis.

We are not who we think we are and nowhere near who we can be as humans on this planet. Until we truly understand how valuable and precious the gift of life is and live and teach this value, we are destined to destroy ourselves. And you may not want to hear it, but no one’s history is perfect.


Interesting side note, the US/west could potentially fight the Russians in the Ukraine and according to press rumors flying side by side in Iraq. We, as humans, are the strangest lot sometimes.