Proof of just how affluent some people are!

Forsyth MO - Located on the grounds of the Taneycomo Terrace Condominium are a fair number of dumpsters that are meant to service the needs of the one hundred and some condominiums that are located there. The picture above was taken of the dumpster that services my building which contains approximately 12 active units, all of which use this dumpster to get rid of their trash. As you can see, this rather sizable 6 yard dumpster is full and even beyond full. (It's like that pretty much every week when the Republic Services comes each Wednesday to haul it all away). Sometimes there's even large appliances leaning up against the dumpster and that really makes me feel that eleven of the resident's must produce God awful amounts of trash! (I say eleven, because as the twelfth unit owner, I typically have only two or three small bags totaling about 30 pounds that I carry out and dump each week).

After doing some fast and loose math, I figured the above dumpster holds about 6 cubic yards, I have estimated the capacity of this dumpster at somewhere around 7200 pounds of trash. (This could be more or less depending on the type of trash that in it). Now, since it is filled every seven days, one could then surmise that those other eleven unit owners are producing something like 600 pounds of trash per person every week, and they do it like clockwork. (Amazingly, I did the math and figured that between them, they must be dumping a total of over 171 tons of junk a year versus my rather meager 3/4 ton)! Can you say unreal?

So, the message here is very clear. I really need to jack up my lifestyle A LOT if I am to 'keep up with the Jones'. My only problem will be to figure out how to exactly do that!

Cameras in the wilderness! A good thing?

In general, I am not a big fan of the Federal government. I consider it a bloated and ill beast that often causes more loss than gain. However, on rare occasions, there is something to be said for a few of its departments and one of them is the Corps of Engineers.

The CoE is a U.S. federal agency under the Department of Defense and a major Army command made up of some 37,000 civilian and military personnel, making it one of the world's largest public engineering, design, and construction management agencies. That government to civilian connect makes it rather unique, in my view. Unlike the Bureau of Land Management which is a complete cluster fuck, the CoE actually can get some good things done and one of them would be to help us all keep an eye on our public forests, parks and wilderness areas.

The problem that needs addressing are the small yet growing number of miscreants that like to use our public lands as their personal dump sites. These are often the same group of individuals who often pooch game illegally, cook drugs in secluded spots and generally leave a trail of trash where ever they happen to wander. In their small minds, they get away with this form of misconduct because there's nobody around to watch them. I'd like to propose we change that!

My plan is really quite simple and would be a great benefit to many groups. What I would propose is that the CoE embark on a project like 'Operation Lookout' that would allow them to place surveillance cameras in random areas in select locations that could be changed from time to time. These cameras would be linked to the Internet and would be available 24/7 for public view. This kind of arrangement could benefit all sorts of groups including land owners, parks, animal lovers, etc. More importantly, such an arrangement would pose a great deterrent to people who make trashing our landscape a lifestyle.

Such an operation could be funded from numerous sources form Federal, State and local resources. The cameras could be placed high enough to cover large swaths of ground and, (just like in a grocery store), would act as a potential deterrent to evil doers everywhere. The only downside I see in such an endeavor would be objections by people who might accuse the agencies involved in spying on them. To that I have no answer other than to say we live in a far different world than that of our grandparents and must weigh our privacy issues carefully before we implement any potential solution.

Are thoughtless people a sign of the times?

Yes, walking in August can be fun, (if you can take the heat)! But, it becomes not as fun when you encounter the thoughtless trash (over 50 aluminum cans), others have left on the side of the road. I can tell a lot about a person that does that sort of thing:

1. The person has a major drinking problem.
2. He has no regard for himself, others or the environment.
3. He is most likely unemployed and unemployable.
4. In other words, your run of the mill, total loser.

The sad part is he lives in my neighborhood and if I knew who he was, I be happy to fill up his rectal area with these cans he left behind for me to pick up. Actually, that would be something to videotape!