Missed the point

I was always under the impression that people recycled because it was a good thing to do. You know, doing your part for the environment, right? I know some areas have pick-up for your recycling. You just leave the old blue bin outside, and they take it away for you.

Not here. In my little part of the world, recycling requires some effort. You need to sort everything out, and take it to the depot, all under your own power. One would think that it shows that you care more about the enviroment this way. It's not so automatic, you need to put in of your own time. That's fine with me. Door to door service would be nice, but I'm not going to loose any sleep over it.

In a community such as this, were I feel things like the environment take a back seat to more pressing issues, such as: bigger, louder 4x4's with bigger, louder stereos, I find it a pleasure to see people at the recycling depot on a Sunday morning, dropping off their stack of flyers, and pizza boxes. And it was a sunny morning. Crisp, but still nice. And as I unloaded my truck (yes, I needed to use the truck. I waited too long, and it wouldn't all fit in the car. But think of all the trips I saved) I noticed two things:

First, everybody there was driving something with enough horse power to drive the Calgary Stampede.

Second, mine was the only one shut off.

There is a fear in this town that if you turn off your truck, or car, it will never run again. Or that, "It's harder on the engine to shut it off, and start it again" Or worse yet, "I paid for those polished chrome headers, with a 2 inch pipe, and tuned muffler (aka no muffler) Damn it, I want to hear it!"

Guess what, I don't. I don't fear that my truck won't start again. I don't think it's hard on my engine to shut it off for a few minutes if it's already warmed up. And I sure as hell don't want to hear your noisy stinking truck. In fact, if you want to hear it better, park it in your garage, close the door, and rev the hell out of that thing. It will make all of us happier.

Back to my point. If you have gone through all the effort to "Do your part", why not finish what you've started? Cut back on 5 minutes worth of emissions. Use fewer non-renewable resoucres. Save some cash. FYI dude, the Ford F350, with the 36 inch mudders does not get the best gas mileage on the planet, and that price at the gas station is still for a litre, not a gallon.

It's a start.