Today's MOZEN: FOS - ALL

Words and photo by F LoBuono

Let's get beyond ALL the rhetoric from ALL the candidates by saying this: they are ALL just so full of shit. ALL of them. ALL of them make promises that they can't keep by saying almost anything mostly because they think it's what YOU want to hear. And, chances are that because they said what you wanted to hear, you'll vote for them. It's just a matter of is it the right shit for you?

Here's an example - the Democrats consider themselves to be more in touch with the environment then their Republican counterparts. In general, they support environmental issues like a ban on fracking and other initiatives to help reduce the effects of global warming. One of those platforms include greater recycling of non perishable materials, particularly plastics. I support them in these efforts. This is the shit that I want to hear.

Still, while working at the recently completed Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia the amount of waste material, particularly plastic water bottles, that could have been recycled and wasn't was staggering! Boxes and barrels placed outside of every work space in the venue were filled to capacity with TONS of plastic water bottles and emptied every hour or so for the course of the entire convention. This translated to tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of water bottles that where thrown into mixed garbage instead of recycling bins! Why? Perhaps, they were separated and recycled after the fact, but I doubt that - too expensive. Besides, it would have been much easier to have had them placed in recycle containers in the first place! So, why? Oversight?

At the end of every shift, I would do a little clean-up of our work space. In addition to the normal business detritus, I would throw away hundreds of half-used water bottles. Things would get hectic and people would misplace their water. Instead of trying to locate their original bottle (mostly futile), people would just grab a fresh one - they were FREE, after all. Understandable, but think of the waste! To try to do my part and minimize the waste, I would label my water bottle with my initials so that I could locate it and at least finish one at a time. But, I worked a long shift and drank a lot of water. That translated to a lot of plastic, no matter how hard I tried. The amount of waste was shameful.

So, how difficult would it have been for someone, some "Big Shot" in the Democratic Party, to put into practice what the Party preaches and given at least SOME thought as to what was being wasted, literally, during the course of their Convention. Make no mistake, the GOP's Convention was just as wasteful. But, the Republicans are not that interested in the environment - and make no bones about it. At least they're honest in their disdain for it.

If the Democrats want to talk the talk, they need to walk the walk - and, it's easier than you think.