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Regarding the photo of the bales, full of holes (http://media.oregonlive.com/environment_impact/photo/garbagebalesjpg-05f796033a43ac7b.jpg)

This is what they look like BEFORE shipment? Kind of hard to believe they'll stay sealed during the entire trip. I see they have attempted repairs using duct tape - that really instills confidence in the whole idea!

I did some googling on this and found this quote (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/us/23garbage.html):

"Thinking the approval was imminent, the company began collecting garbage in September and shrink-wrapping it in plastic.

For a time they stored the garbage at the docks, drawing complaints about gnats from neighboring businesses. Then they began storing it in a yard in an industrial park here in Kapolei."

Drawing complaints about gnats from neighboring businesses - the bales cannot be sealed all that well if they are attracting (or releasing?) gnats to the point that it causes the neighbors to complain.

I guess Wiliam McDonough is right - "away has gone away" (http://books.google.com/books?id=E7dHf3DuyfEC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27#v=onepage&q&f=false)

posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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My thoughts:

• I have experimented with the eco-lawn mixes and have been fairly happy with them.  Once established, I do not water or fertilize at all, and only mow it 3 times per year.   The flowers are awesome, though they decrease over time.  I pull thistles and other weeds by hand, though the grass is much thicker than my "standard" lawn so there are fewer weeds.  I used the "Northern Ecology Lawn Mix" from Nichols Garden Nursery in Albany: http://www.nicholsgardennursery.com/store/product-info.php?pid1165.html  Another local supplier is Hobbs & Hopkins, they call theirs Fleur de Lawn: http://www.protimelawnseed.com/products/fleur-de-lawn  If you want to see this mix in action, drive through the parking lot of the Honda Training Facility in Gresham: 16800 Northeast Sandy Boulevard (a LEED Platinum facility). 
• Use native plants wherever you can.  Most of them provide food for native wildlife, and once established they require almost no care.  Here is a fantastic resource from British Columbia: http://www.goert.ca/documents/GOERT_Gardeners_Handbook.pdf (most of the valleys west of the cascades used to be oak savanna)
• Learn more about permaculture.  Watch this beautiful 48 minute film from the UK: A Farm for the Future - http://www.viddler.com/explore/PermaScience/videos/4/  Here is a good book on Home-Scale Permaculture, by Toby Hemenway: http://www.amazon.com/Gaias-Garden-Second-Home-Scale-Permaculture/dp/1603580298

posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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... continuing...

In a nutshell, the FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue replacement, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment. This nonpartisan legislation (HR 25/S 1025) abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax -- administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities. The IRS is disbanded and defunded. The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn. The FairTax is a fair, efficient, transparent, and intelligent solution to the frustration and inequity of our current tax system.  (from www.fairtax.org)

If you are a fan of Al Gore, one of his mantras is "tax what we burn, not what we earn".   I say take that one step further - "tax what we consume, not what we earn".

Find everything you wanted to know about the FairTax at www.fairtax.org

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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I grew up in Oregon but now live in Camas, WA.  So I have experienced both tax systems (as well as CA).  Personally I think a sales tax works better, because it really makes you think twice before spending money on something that is more of a want than a need.   Thus it encourages you not to waste money on frivolous things.  Also, Oregon's high property taxes discourage people from saving to buy homes and land, which I think is a mistake.

You have to keep in mind that taxation is a form of behavior modification - whatever you place high taxes on is what people will tend to avoid.  Tax property, and people will buy less property.  Tax income, people will be less inclined to try to increase their income.  Tax cigarettes, etc.  So as a state you need to decide what you want to motivate people to do and not do.

I agree with your guest who pointed out that the tax system is minor in comparison to the recent tendency of state and (especially) federal governments to spend way beyond their means.  No tax system will provide much improvement if the people in government continue to live like there is no tomorrow.

At the federal level, I believe the best answer is the FairTax.  You know the tax system is hopeless when the Secretary of the Treasury cannot even figure out how to pay his taxes properly.  I am an engineer, and we try to follow the KISS principle - (keep it simple, stupid).  The FairTax does just that.  The federal tax code is 65,000 pages long.   You talked on your show about wanting a progressive tax - tell me, with a 65,000 page tax code, who is best able to avoid paying taxes, the rich or the poor?

Continued in next post due to form message size limit…

posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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