Enviro-wacho Recycling

March 4, 2007

Enviro-whackos should stop recycle of abuse
By IAN ROBINSON

Somehow, in this bizarre, topsy-turvy world in which we find ourselves, arguing against recycling is akin to endorsing the political platform of the North American Man-Boy Love Association.

No, I didn't make the aforementioned organization up. It actually exists, and its mandate is to make acceptable the sexual abuse of boy children who haven't reached puberty by homosexual pedophiles.

A powerful City of Calgary committee has endorsed the notion that every household in this city pay $21 a month -- a $252 annual tax grab -- to impose curbside recycling.

Actually, "curbside recycling" is a misnomer.

What it actually means is the City of Calgary is going to force every citizen to work as an unpaid garbage collector.

We will have to muck about in our own waste, separating paper from plastic from coffee grinds from aluminum, sort it into different boxes and put it out on the curb to satisfy this latest whim from the enviro-whackos on council.

The neo-pagan passion for the "environment" permeates all our lives.

It is, in essence, a form of self-hate that not only elevates the interests of the otter and the whale over the interests of human beings, it elevates those interests over any possible, ephemeral threat to the otter and whale.

It has seen -- again, bizarrely -- Al Gore, former vice-president of the United States of America, winning an Oscar for a documentary on global warming that is so inept, so inexpert, that one of the most left-wing, politically trendy young women that I know, said it was a piece of garbage that failed to make its point.

Besides, it's Al Gore. Who lied about inventing the Internet. Who lied about being the inspiration for Love Story. Who lied about seeing anything resembling combat in Vietnam. One wonders what he's lying about now.

The notion behind the recycling program is to divert garbage from Calgary's landfills.

Why? Because ... because ... garbage is bad?

Garbage is a necessary side-effect of living.

If we were running out of the natural resources required for living, we wouldn't have to pay for recycling. Businesses would call us up to beg us for our garbage. But they aren't.

The private firms already engaged in the business of recycling actually charge those who want to recycle.

That means the stuff we're recycling is economically worthless.

And why are we worrying about diverting stuff from landfills?

A landfill -- we called them "dumps" when I was young -- is a well-engineered hole in the ground that has minimal environmental impact. There are Calgarians living above former landfills with no ill-effect.

If our landfill is getting full, how 'bout we just dig a bigger hole?

Ald. Ric (Dr. No) McIver -- worries this tax-and-spend liberal council will steal the recycling money from us and not return it in the form of a tax break.

"In the past," he said, "city council has demonstrated they will not give the taxpayer back the tax money that gets switched over on to the utility bill -- it just becomes double taxation."

He's right. He usually is.

Not to mention the private recycling companies -- who serve those guilt-ridden folk who think recycling matters -- will probably go out of business.

And if you think this committee's estimate of the cost of curbside recycling is anywhere accurate, I think you're placing way more trust in them than is warranted.

One expects governments to be dumb. One expects governments to sway with the political whim of the moment. But I had hoped they wouldn't be quite this stupid.