Current Events

United States of America

For some time now, the Flower Child has published this Blog and usually the focus is on one event for each post. Today we will alter that basic concept.

U. S. A Budget Deficit Elimination Program

Today our President nominated yet another Federal Income Tax Cheater for a high position in the Government of our Great Country. As I understand it the spouse of the nominee took great effort to pay back taxes, some as old as sixteen years, just hours before the Senate was to take up confirmation hearings.

From my point of view, this just may be our New President's method of reducing the deficit or at least garnering funds for the current Economic Stimulus Package being debated by our Honorable Senators even as I post this Blog entry.

A unique approach, but if our New President nominates enough Tax Cheaters we may just witness a viable solution to the money problems our Federal Government is facing at this point in time.

CFL Bulbs

This evening as I watched a local electronic media news program I was educated about the disposal of CFL bulbs. We have all heard that these marvels of saving energy do contain a small amount of mercury which is not good for our environment.

Because I am a home owner I can dispose of these bulbs, once they expire in my trash. Now if I own a business the expired bulbs have to be recycled and can not be placed in the trash. This is an interesting concept. Household CFL bulbs can go to the landfill. The manager/director of the Macon Landfill was quoted as saying that there is no danger in as much as the landfill is some 200 feet high and any mercury would have to filter through three layers to reach the bottom of the landfill. This is interesting information and appears to be quite out of place. If mercury is dangerous how can we in good faith dispose of it in a landfill?

The other side of this new information I heard about commercial/business organizations having to recyle these bulbs was equally interesting. I am not very brilliant, but almost all commercial/business organizations have owners and/or employees. I can just see the owners/employees taking the expired CFL bulbs to their private homes and disposing of same in an approved manner. This is a real farce!!!

From my limited background as a member of the human race it would appear most prudent to required our duly elected Lawmakers at a National level to required the firms that produce these dangerous blubs to have a recycling system in place before they can be shipped to wholesalers and/retailers.

I would encourage our duly elected Lawmakers to enact appropriate laws to require the "big box stores" that sell these dangerous CFL bulbs to have an inhouse recycling program. Thus the consumer could buy these energy efficient CFL bulbs and be confortably knowing that they could be disposed of in a proper manner once they expire and/or are broken in an honest accident.

As a citizen of this planet I would expect nothing less. How do you feel this dangerous mercury situation should be handled. Please, for the sake of each of us, leave your comments here.