Re: WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

dkirkwks@igc.apc.org
Fri, 22 Jan 1999 16:23:56 -0500


Gary -

I thought about Waste Not, Want Not too in making my comments
to Bill's message. However, it seems the essence of this point is that
our society/laws/taxes/subsidies/regulations/market structure in essence
encourage wasting more and have turned the simple and true wisdom
of Waste Not, Want Not on its head.

To address this we need to attack the problem of corporate subsidies etc.
for waste, along the lines of...

MAKE POLLUTERS PAY

MAKE WASTERS PAY

WASTE MORE, PAY MORE

WASTE LOTS, PAY LOTS

As I type these, though, it is evident that none of these is as catchy as
Waste Not, Want Not though - and they do give the connotation of making
money through waste. Perhaps we should stick with the folk saying and
explain that our current market/regulatory/tax system needs to be corrected
to make this simple wisdom once again effective for individuals, homes,
businesses, industries, and institutions - buy rewarding conservation, waste
reduction, use of recyclable materials - and penalizing raw materials
extraction, waste disposal, energy waste, etc.

SO I RECKON I AGREE WITH...

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT

But let's also keep campaign finance and political reform in there as a way
of achieving this objective.

That's all of my cogitations for now...

Dave K.

>Bill,
>
>Sounds like consensus to me on the idea - now let's agree on the slogan.
> Maybe we should reconsider the idea on the call that didn't get recorded:
>
>WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
>
>That's as American as apple pie, but could be the umbrella for the economic
>messages we want to carry forward.
>
>Gary Liss
>
>
>