This is a day we remember and honor Fred Korematsu, an internee who challenged the Japanese-American internment during WWII. So it’s appropriate that today’s Thursday Thought be a quote from him. It’s an important warning about our treatment of all ethnic, religious, and even socio-economic groups today.
The Japanese think of everything. Like this automatic public shower. I’m not sure I’d try it. I don’t think I ever get dirty enough. Besides, if I do, I can ride through a car-wash in a convertible.
Okay. I admit it. I’m a tree hugger. I love being out in a forest. It relaxes me and helps me understand my place in the universe. Apparently, I’m not all that crazy; forest bathing is catching on in the U.S. Watch this video and see if it’s right for you.
https://www.facebook.com/worldeconomicforum/videos/10154303720471479/
You probably recycle those plastic bottles and anything else with the recycle symbol on it. I know I do. It’s a little thing we can do to help our environment. Except that there’s a problem. That is, many U.S. “recylers” haven’t been processing it (or electronic waste) here but shipping it to China, where it’s cheaper to deal with because they toss it into a landfill. China, drowning in our plastic, is wising up and saying NO MORE! They now have a Green Fence Policy, which says that they won’t be importing most of that plastic any longer.
What are our recyclers going to do? And those in Europe, Japan, and Hong Kong? They don’t know yet. And it’s a big problem–China imports 70% of the 500 million tons of electronic waste and 12 million tons of plastic waste each year that the world creates.
This will be costly (labor, technology, environmental safety standards), but it’s past time to actually recycle the waste rather than letting it pile up in landfills in China’s–or our–back yard.