Citizens’ Voices Minutes
June 13, 2007
Present: Tom, Bill, Ardie,
Dave, Malda
Mike, Anne, Jeanne could not
be present. Tony will return to the next meeting.
Mike did notify Tom that he
is working on the story core. We will need to change the name of the project as
it is a legally registered name. He is meeting with Dave Engen & holding
meetings of the subgroup.
Tony told Tom that the whole
report of the student project on "benchmarks"
is on the web site. That is www.citizensvoicesmankato.com.
We then discussed possible
other project than the ones that we are currently working on or sponsoring. We
should each come with suggestions to the next meeting. The complexity is that
we do not want to "muddy the waters" for the current projects that
envision 2020 is working to implement.
In a a further discussion
those present did agree that the role of CV is "to give birth, not to
raise the child".
Next meeting on June 27th
agenda:
1. Anne on the Civility
project
2. Generate additional
topics for our possible sponsorship, possibly in the areas of education of the
public or the environment.
After meeting additional
information on the environment:
From June 25th Time
magazine:
In 2005 the per person lbs.
generated of trash was 1,643 in the
The recycling generated $236
billion in revenue.
From June 9th The Economist:
According to the Technical University
of Denmark, more than 80% of the time recycling was the most efficient thing to
do with household rubbish.
Recycling aluminum requires
95% les energy than making it from scratch; for plastics 70%, for paper 40%.
Other alternatives were burying or burning.
Economist's recommendation
is that the best way to get more people to recycle is to use the technologies that allow for a "single
stream" of recyclable waste which is sorted on a conveyor belt using an
arsenal of hands, spinning discs" screens and sorting machines.
Secondly acknowledge that
the best way of recycling waste may well be to sell it, often to emerging
nations. Recycling has economies of scale & the transport is virtually free
--filling up container that came to the West full of clothes & electronics.
Those who are prepared to buy waste are likely to make good use of it.
Finally make people pay for
the unrecyclables.
In 1980
There is a complete section
on environment in the Economist.