Dealing with a Full Deck


Deal with a Full Deck
By Rob Arner

Nearly a quarter of a century ago, I had a dream as the District's first recycling coordinator. I was inspired by Martin Luther King's dream. Ironically, Dr. King, who is remembered for non-violent action, was slain helping the Memphis garbage workers. I remember the resulting nightmare when numerous building on 7th and 14th Street were burned down.

Waste in DC can be utilized once we all better manage the bountiful forms of liquid, solid, gaseous, human, and other resources that are neglected. In the nation's capital, the city government knows exactly where your car is parked. But this town consumes more and knows less where the things it consumes end up than any other American city. Each year in the metro area we lose the equivalent of one Exxon Valdez just from the motor oil, car filters, and antifreeze dumped by do-it-yourself motorist.

Discovery happens in the act of recovery, which inspired me to create Ray CycleTM in 1981 while I was working for the D.C. Energy Office. Working to recycle paper and used oil, I created this educational character for my peace of mind. Later, I traded in my tights and ecology flag cap for a new costume when I got Ray's name trademarked, sharing it with the State of Connecticut. I became a court jester campaigning on April Fools Day at the US Capitol steps, proclaiming, "You are not dealing with a full deck when you throw the joker out!" Shakespeare once said, "I had rather a fool make me merry than experience to make me sad."

But for the past 25 years, I have observed that this region ignores what we lose. This reckless loss has both domestic and international implications, and I have tried to call attention to them. In my early twenties I testified before Congress and helped build a used-oil recycling facility. I even have done volunteer work in Africa, recycling oil in Namibia. But my last job helping the rural poor with water and waste was cut by the Feds. For over a year, I have been unemployed as I search for similar sorts of work. Why do we not value and reward those who wish to save things?

I estimate Americans use, discard and recycle more than 11 billion tons of waste, not including nuclear and hazardous waste. For years, I've watched the government waste trillions of dollars in programs coming out of the Pentagon, Medicare, Homeland Security, Agriculture and a host of other sources of pork projects. This activity has profound, destructive implications. You do not have go far to see how uncontrolled America is, evidenced by a Federal budget that continues to squander our grandchildren's chances.

There is an "out of sight, out of mind" violence happening with our "wasted mentality" culture. This act threatens our very well being, a form of waste that hides itself in many ways. We must detect the consequences by tracking waste more completely and responsibly. Yes, more people recycle than vote in the U.S., but we still tend to value "ending" over "mending." I am not just talking about appliances, but people, places and things. Our very freedom is in question until we wake from the nightmare myth that we have a limitless supply of goods and the right to do things that harm others.

Just consider a few by-products we all create. Where do our old computers go? Yearly, millions of old computers, spent mercury lamps, cell phones and other waste from our "e-culture" - materials that contain thousands of tons of toxins - are released into our environment. The floods in New Orleans show us that harmful products in our homes can create a terror of their own. Only when we can take greater responsibility for lessening our waste can we prevent that type of terror.

American's effluence is not just pernicious. The impacts are multi-dimensional. Our youth are dangerously overweight. Our consumptive addiction is sending many to ruin. We are no longer a country of plenty but are trillions of dollars in debt, and the debt is burgeoning. What's more, we are quickly becoming owned by China.

Yankee ingenuity must be reborn. We need frugal American leaders to stimulate true economy. Remember that our ancestors founded this nation with thrift. George Washington was one the first dedicated composters, and all of the revolutionary era patriots recycled and reused. Promoting sustainable economic growth by transforming waste will be an investment in the world's future prosperity. Both a transformational attitude and the gratitude of those who come after us will be the end result. A crisis is at hand, and it should make us ask how we can better conserve and practice daily acts that preserve.

Prosperity will pick up when we each salvage every form of resource imaginable for future Washingtonians. Responding to our national debt, citizens must counter with skillful forms of saving. That we will have to face our spending addiction is not a matter of if, but when. Reaching a tipping point in the direction of sanity will show the world we do practice what we preach. And we must keep in mind that American consumption is even killing us by our dangerous diet of junk food. So let's dump less toxic stuff in our trash and walk and ride our bikes more. We must explore what we have pushed "out of sight." We, the people, must become more lean and green. Our happiness depends on this. As we show greater respect for people, places and things, we will feel better about out future. The words "heart" and "earth" have the same five letters; let's do more to connect them. Please deal with a full deck and save the joker now!



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