Note: I wrote this as a final paper for a class, I'm unsure at the moment whether I intend to keep working on it and expand upon it further. It's currently a 12 page one-act.
--
LEBON:
Ever since that dickhead Nixon put the kibosh on T.V and radio advertising, our jobs have gotten that much more difficult. Those are two major mediums! Factor in the Truth campaign and it’s a surprise we’re still on the payroll.
TUSKEG:
Let’s not overdramatize, Carl. We’re selling a product that sells itself. Plus, I recall the World Bank reporting that a partial advertising ban has little to no effect on reducing tobacco consumption. There are other dynamics involved, I’m sure. I doubt the Truth campaign people have put a significant dent in our revenues, so I’m guessing either more people are switching to pot, or these damned increased taxes are forcing people to quit cold turkey. Whatever it is, we can try and fix it. We just have to be smart about it.
LEBON:
You don’t think some of the Truth ads have changed people’s minds?
TUSKEG:
Carl, do you like potato chips?
LEBON:
Sure I do.
TUSKEG:
Can you name every single ingredient in your favorite potato chips?
LEBON:
Including the preservatives? No, I probably couldn’t.
TUSKEG:
And if you saw an ad that listed every single ingredient in potato chips, would it change your mind about eating them?
LEBON:
No, I’ll eat them anyway because I like potato chips.
TUSKEG:
Exactly!
(Takes a drink)
We learned this back in ad school – more information doesn’t necessarily lead to better decision making. The Truth people can put out all the propaganda it wants about the 4000+ ingredients in the common cigarette, but the truth is (no pun intended), that we are exposed to a lot of the same chemicals and carcinogens every single day. Every time we go outside on a sunny day, our risk of developing skin cancer increases. If you spent all your time worrying about every single component of your cigarette, like every single ingredient in your potato chip, you’d probably never leave the house- you might as well just curl up and die.
FOX:
He’s right Carl, but I don’t want to turn this meeting into a back and forth on the merits and shortcomings of anti-tobacco advertising, so I’ll end by saying – let them put out whatever “truthful” information they want, our job is to locate the important variables in a consumer’s decision making process – and highlight the shit out of them in glossy magazines while we still can.
LEBON:
I’ll drink to that!
--
Here is a long speech given by Fox's daughter occurring as a stage flashback at the end of the play:
“Why do you light up? Stress relief maybe, sometimes it just feels good. I like menthols. Menthols give you that cool, soothing sensation on your tongue that might be too intense if you ever tried to replicate the effect with gum or a mint. Hell, I barely inhale the smoke, but I’ll smoke occasionally - rarely might be more accurate, in fact. But there’s a vintage glamour about it, even if you’re anti-smoking, you can’t get past the almost visceral manifestation of sexy-cool beatniks lounging in smoky jazz bars, talking philosophy, life and love, some strung out and looking blasé; the image of Humphrey Bogart climbing out of his car in an unnamed city where it seems to rain all the time, belting his trench coat and walking into the home of a woman who might be the missing link to a pending investigation, and sharing a cigarette, mini bottle of rye and innuendo with her before getting down to brass tacks.
How do you put into words the acrid nostalgia that hits you on your face the minute you walk into a 20+ year old hotel or any casino? There’s a Jungian grace about it – it’s choking and intrusive, yet subdued and oddly comforting.
Some things have changed – I wouldn’t find a man buying me a pack of smokes romantic and I’m not sure who would outside a trailer park or prison block.
When I smoke and write I feel like Albert Camus, though I’m not nearly as intellectual. It gets my creative juices flowing, my brain cooperates in producing dialog, arguments and images – the part of my brain that isn’t focused on knocking off ash or making sure I don’t burn some part of my arm. But I try to smoke when I’m alone, with other smokers, or somewhere public enough where any residual stench on my hair and clothing doesn’t really matter. I have a very big pet peeve about having to deal with the smell of fresh cigarette smoke coming off the body of student who has just sat next to me in a class, even if other seats were available. It sucks, and it almost makes me gag, but so does the smell of Doritos, and I wouldn’t want those banned.
The list of things I don’t like could go on for a while, but I won’t rattle off a boring list. Its summer now, and often I can’t help but unfortunately remain fixated on the sight of dimpled and rippled skin in a pair of short shorts. It sucks, and part of me wants to tell them to stop the madness, but I don’t, because they’re human too. I’m actually asthmatic, smoke can bug me at times, but I have never gone to the hospital because of it, I did however have to visit the hospital at 15 because of an asthma attack triggered by a strongly perfumed shampoo, but I never intended to sue the manufacturer.
I’ve always tried to make it a point to tell people not to keep their mouth shut, that they should always stand up for what they think is right, even if others, including myself, think they’re a complete moron. I won’t like what you’re saying, but I will like that you’re saying it, and I will respect you more than the blindly assimilated civilian who cruises through life never once challenging the system.
If you oppose public smoking, by all means, make noise and be heard – but don’t expect business owners to listen to you and walk away with their tail between their legs. Their bottom line is as important as yours. If a private business owner thinks a smoking ban will increase profits by attracting more customers who are averse to smoke rather than smoking customers, let him ban it, but don’t force him to do so through the barrel of a gun.”
Monday, May 10, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Season Plays - Media Blurbs
Cabaret
Berlin, 1930. The Nazi influence is slowly increasing, the party gaining members. The Kit Kat Club remains a peaceful and decadent escape haven for the more liberal minded folk. Sally Bowles, a British singer performs a sexy cabaret piece and wins the heart of Cliff Bradshaw, with whom she eventually falls in love. Not all in Cliff and Sally’s life is a dream however. When Cliff asks Sally to return to America with him, she sharply refuses, believing their life in Germany is fantastic and choosing to consciously ignore the oppressive regime growing ever more prevalent. Lovely songs, costumes and scenery unite on stage in this fantastically romantic yet tragic musical.
The 39 Steps
What do you get when you mix the ‘hard-boiled’ detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett, the romantic espionage of Alfred Hitchcock and the absurdist comedy of Monty Python? Answer: ‘The 39 Steps’! Broadway’s longest running comedy thriller is hitting the Tallahassee Little Theatre. When an average Joe learns about a secret spy organization run by a man with a missing finger and then gets tangled up in a murder investigation, what started off as a typical night at a bar soon becomes a heart-pounding and hilarious manhunt. ‘The 39 Steps’ is sure to provide edge-of-your seat, tour-de-force fun for everyone in the family.
The Color Purple
In this poetic and beautiful musical which was recently attached to one of the biggest names in entertainment, Oprah Winfrey, a young woman converses with God about life, love and loss. Set in rural Georgia in 1909, 14 year old Cecile is pregnant for a second time and dealing with the death of her mother. She lives a life of quiet desperation, suffering poverty, sexual abuse and physical abuse. Her saving grace comes in the form of sultry blues singer Shug Avery, who gives Cecile the strength and support needed to turn her life around and start fresh. This tear-jerker is sure to stick with you long after the show is over.
The Foreigner
When you pose as an exotic stranger, the results aren’t always glamorous- you may become privy to information you wish you hadn’t learned! In this side-splitting comedy, outgoing military man Froggy LeSueur and timid Englishman Charlie Baker are vacationing in a fishing resort. Charlie is too shy to even speak, so Froggy tells fellow guests that he is from a faraway land and doesn’t understand any English. This constructed affectation soon proves to be trouble, when more and more guests begin revealing their deepest and darkest secrets and scandals to Charlie. This colorful cast includes a young simpleton, a racist property inspector, a Southern heiress, and a preacher with a naughty side.
How I Learned To Drive
Growing up in 1960’s Maryland with some less than enlightened family members proves difficult for young Li’l Bit, our starring actress. Her mother and grandmother both became pregnant at a very young age, her grandfather is an ignorant misogynist, and her Uncle Peck is a recovering alcoholic who molests her during a driving lesson when Li’l Bit is only 11 years old. As time goes on, Peck begins taking sexually suggestive photos of his niece, and continues his sexual advances, but because he is kind and supportive, Li’l Bit ignores the uncomfortable feelings she has toward the situation and instead focuses on her driving lessons with Peck. Driving gives her a small sense of freedom and control – the one thing she is thankful for despite being part of a tumultuous family.
The Member of the Wedding
‘The Member of the Wedding’ tells the story of Frankie Addams, an introspective twelve year old girl growing up with a widowed father who shows her no affection, and their black cook Berenice Brown, a warm woman who lends a shoulder to Frankie. When Frankie’s older brother Jarvis returns from the army and announces his impending marriage, Frankie is ecstatic at the prospect of being a member of the wedding, but once she finds out she will not have a part in the honeymoon celebration as she thought she would, she is distraught. Despite her anguish over the wedding arrangements, her younger cousin John Henry tragically dying of meningitis and her beloved Berenice leaving to get married herself, Frankie still sees better days ahead, and her very first romantic feelings become stirred.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
In this fun-filled battle of the sneakiest two con artists, Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson attempt to find young female targets in the French Riviera. Instead of fighting for the money outright, they devise a scheme: the first man to obtain $50,000 from their mark is the winner and may stay in town, but the loser must leave for good. The women they target are looking for love, so the men might get more than they bargained for! This comedic musical adapted from the hilarious 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin is sure to get your feet tapping and your fingers snapping!
Berlin, 1930. The Nazi influence is slowly increasing, the party gaining members. The Kit Kat Club remains a peaceful and decadent escape haven for the more liberal minded folk. Sally Bowles, a British singer performs a sexy cabaret piece and wins the heart of Cliff Bradshaw, with whom she eventually falls in love. Not all in Cliff and Sally’s life is a dream however. When Cliff asks Sally to return to America with him, she sharply refuses, believing their life in Germany is fantastic and choosing to consciously ignore the oppressive regime growing ever more prevalent. Lovely songs, costumes and scenery unite on stage in this fantastically romantic yet tragic musical.
The 39 Steps
What do you get when you mix the ‘hard-boiled’ detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett, the romantic espionage of Alfred Hitchcock and the absurdist comedy of Monty Python? Answer: ‘The 39 Steps’! Broadway’s longest running comedy thriller is hitting the Tallahassee Little Theatre. When an average Joe learns about a secret spy organization run by a man with a missing finger and then gets tangled up in a murder investigation, what started off as a typical night at a bar soon becomes a heart-pounding and hilarious manhunt. ‘The 39 Steps’ is sure to provide edge-of-your seat, tour-de-force fun for everyone in the family.
The Color Purple
In this poetic and beautiful musical which was recently attached to one of the biggest names in entertainment, Oprah Winfrey, a young woman converses with God about life, love and loss. Set in rural Georgia in 1909, 14 year old Cecile is pregnant for a second time and dealing with the death of her mother. She lives a life of quiet desperation, suffering poverty, sexual abuse and physical abuse. Her saving grace comes in the form of sultry blues singer Shug Avery, who gives Cecile the strength and support needed to turn her life around and start fresh. This tear-jerker is sure to stick with you long after the show is over.
The Foreigner
When you pose as an exotic stranger, the results aren’t always glamorous- you may become privy to information you wish you hadn’t learned! In this side-splitting comedy, outgoing military man Froggy LeSueur and timid Englishman Charlie Baker are vacationing in a fishing resort. Charlie is too shy to even speak, so Froggy tells fellow guests that he is from a faraway land and doesn’t understand any English. This constructed affectation soon proves to be trouble, when more and more guests begin revealing their deepest and darkest secrets and scandals to Charlie. This colorful cast includes a young simpleton, a racist property inspector, a Southern heiress, and a preacher with a naughty side.
How I Learned To Drive
Growing up in 1960’s Maryland with some less than enlightened family members proves difficult for young Li’l Bit, our starring actress. Her mother and grandmother both became pregnant at a very young age, her grandfather is an ignorant misogynist, and her Uncle Peck is a recovering alcoholic who molests her during a driving lesson when Li’l Bit is only 11 years old. As time goes on, Peck begins taking sexually suggestive photos of his niece, and continues his sexual advances, but because he is kind and supportive, Li’l Bit ignores the uncomfortable feelings she has toward the situation and instead focuses on her driving lessons with Peck. Driving gives her a small sense of freedom and control – the one thing she is thankful for despite being part of a tumultuous family.
The Member of the Wedding
‘The Member of the Wedding’ tells the story of Frankie Addams, an introspective twelve year old girl growing up with a widowed father who shows her no affection, and their black cook Berenice Brown, a warm woman who lends a shoulder to Frankie. When Frankie’s older brother Jarvis returns from the army and announces his impending marriage, Frankie is ecstatic at the prospect of being a member of the wedding, but once she finds out she will not have a part in the honeymoon celebration as she thought she would, she is distraught. Despite her anguish over the wedding arrangements, her younger cousin John Henry tragically dying of meningitis and her beloved Berenice leaving to get married herself, Frankie still sees better days ahead, and her very first romantic feelings become stirred.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
In this fun-filled battle of the sneakiest two con artists, Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson attempt to find young female targets in the French Riviera. Instead of fighting for the money outright, they devise a scheme: the first man to obtain $50,000 from their mark is the winner and may stay in town, but the loser must leave for good. The women they target are looking for love, so the men might get more than they bargained for! This comedic musical adapted from the hilarious 1988 film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin is sure to get your feet tapping and your fingers snapping!
Friday, January 8, 2010
First press release, final rough draft
Tallahassee Little Theatre to present Agatha Christie murder mystery play
Jan 8, 2010, Tallahassee, FL
Agatha Christie’s classic British who-dun-it ‘Black Coffee’ will be premiering at the Tallahassee Little Theatre. Christie, known for such thrilling murder mystery novels as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile wrote ‘Black Coffee’ as her first stage play in 1930. Despite its crime thriller genre status, subtle humor abounds throughout the play, including a light-hearted jab at a puritan Victorian-era belief that babies were found under gooseberry bushes.
Believing someone in his family has stolen his secret formula for a brand new atomic explosive; Sir Claud locks his French windows to keep everyone in the house until the arrival of Beglian detective Hercule Poirot and Captain Arthur Hastings who will conduct a thorough investigation and inquiry of any and all suspects.
Set in Sir Claud’s ornate English home, the play opens with several of the characters tending to Lucia Amory, who is recovering from an apparent near-fainting spell. Upon the arrival of a foreign acquaintance of Lucias’, an Italian doctor named Carelli, Richard Amory, Sir Claud’s son, begins to question his wife’s fidelity, believing that she is having an affair with Carelli.
Barbara Amory, Sir Claud’s niece, rummages through a box containing a “motley collection” of hospital supplies and several strong poisons including strychnine, a common pesticide, and hyoscine hydrobromide, a poison which If consumed results in a “swift, dreamless sleep with no awakening”, according to Dr. Carelli.
Several of the characters throughout the play fumble with a window locked by one of Sir Claud’s ingenious devices, thus increasing the mounting tension in a room of distrusting and self-motivated individuals. Sir Claud is dead by the time Detective Poirot arrives at the scene and the theory of a presumed heart attack as the cause of death is quickly thrown out the window when some pills from the hospital supply box are discovered to be missing. What results then is an edge-of-your-seat spectacle, diving into the characters fears, secrets and dreams before the culprit is uncovered in a surprise twist ending.
“I am very appreciative of getting a very strong cast, most are seasoned performers” said Director Lanny Thomas. Thomas’ goal in the production was to utilize the talent of the performers to bring out the subtle quirks of each character.
Particularly because Detective Poirot and Captain Hastings appear as best friends in a number of Christies’ works, it was important for Thomas to remove the preconceptions audiences may have about both men through their representations in her novels.
“Everyone has secrets about everyone else in the play, they are all hiding from each other” said Thomas. An interesting array of characters – mysterious foreign men, liberal females with a taste for gossip and staunch male traditionalists lends even more excitement to an already thrilling detective story.
The talent of the actors in the play also serves to highlight the more ironic elements of appearance vs. reality, the problems of fickle gossip, and a fixation on untrue stereotypes that are explored throughout the play.
Audiences will be treated to a new taste of Poirot and Hastings brought out by actors Jim McMurtry and Ben Taylor, respectively. The cast includes Laura Johnson as Lucia Amory, Travis Young as Richard Amory, Art Wallace as Dr. Carelli, and Chuck Olsen as Sir Claud Amory.
The production runs from Jan 28 until Feb 14 at the Tallahassee Little Theatre on 1861 Thomasville Road. Tickets are $20 for adults and $16 for students and seniors. For tickets please call the box office at 850-224-8474 from 10-4pm on Mon-Fri.
For more information about this or any upcoming Tallahassee Little Theatre productions, please call 850-224-4597.
###
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Years Resolution?
I'll start updating this bad boy more often..
Tune in for some upcoming press releases, possible articles and rants of varying degrees of intellectual compromise or intensity. :D
Tune in for some upcoming press releases, possible articles and rants of varying degrees of intellectual compromise or intensity. :D
Friday, July 31, 2009
Guilty As Charged
I wrote this poem before,"I'll show you love in a handful of dust the way Eliot showed us fear."
I used bits and pieces of this poem, which to some people was a bit too bleh, like a series of statements - no cohesion, in the final poem.
Just a brief warning: I wrote this when I went through a heavy Nihilist phase in high school.
I used bits and pieces of this poem, which to some people was a bit too bleh, like a series of statements - no cohesion, in the final poem.
Just a brief warning: I wrote this when I went through a heavy Nihilist phase in high school.
Guilty As Charged
The world is still at midnight - time
Stands still, or rather seems to yield when dawn meets dusk
Sleep is the everyman's escape tool.
Reality is mundane
You're not the ink you write your rantings on.
Anticipations lead to disappointments.
Disappointments lead to apathy
Indifference. Indifference is the left-fold path
To nirvana
It's a mirror image.
I don't care enough to be nonchalant
In the grand scheme of things, you are marginally as important as the paper you are reading this on.
I'll show you love in a handful of dust the way Eliot showed us fear.
You can only live when you realize that you will one day die.
Apathy is irony and the verdict reads we are all guilty.
Showing apathy towards the misbegotten, while enjoying Oliver Twist.
This is the way the world works.
Angst is standard operating procedure
No worries, no reality; to worry is to be calm and to be calm is to be chaotic –
in nature, anarchist at heart, primitivist in brain and nihilist by the book.
Calm is not a virtue and requires no intellect of thought, no spark of spirit.
The true geniuses are the tortured souls who never stop thinking.
Critiques lend character to a useless frame
All your choices are illusions; bad faith has missed its aim.
Cheer up, we are all guilty as charged.
I'll Show You Love in a Handful of Dust
A poem I wrote some time last year. The slight zig-zag spacing is deliberate.
I'll show you love in a handful of dust the way Eliot showed us fear.
Sleep is the everyman's escape tool as dawn meets dusk.
Words are spoken:
“Reality is mundane.”
“I don't care enough to be nonchalant.”
“You're not the ink you write your rantings on.”
Images that strike you like a calculated gaze.
Words are noted:
“Anticipations lead to disappointments.”
“Disappointments lead to apathy.”
The mirror image of Eastern enlightenment
How are we amused?
Apathy towards the misbegotten after “Dickens had it right!”
Anarchists by law, nihilists by the book, and agricultural primitivists...
When don’t humans plummet into contradictions?
We are our own ‘noble savages.’
Angst is standard operating procedure.
Assimilation: requires no intellect of thought, no je ne sais quoi
You may already be a member.
This is the way the world works.
Critiques and critics: lend a character to a useless frame.
All your choices are illusions and bad faith has missed its aim.Monday, July 13, 2009
Uneasy Being Green
Here is an op-ed article I wrote back in Febuary, entitled: "Uneasy being green."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go Green! Save the Planet! [Insert your favorite eco-cliché of choice.] For the past few years these slogans have become the mantra for environmentally conscious consumers. Many companies, in an effort to remain au courant have followed suit, producing a number of all-singing, all-dancing "green" products.
The release of Al Gore's doomsday prophecy An Inconvenient Truth marked a new era of fervent environmentalism, a "second coming", if you will.
The Monkey Wrench Gang, once a favorite novel of 1970's Green Anarchists has been replaced by the more kid-friendly and considerably less anti-establishment, The Green Book, reusable totes are now a third option to add to the paper or plastic category, and nearly every clothing company has proudly printed t-shirts with an array of crying globes, screaming trees and the infamous recycling logo, illustrating the concepts of "reduce, reuse and recycle."
As expected, MDC has hopped on the bio-diesel gravy train.
Last September, College President Eduardo Padron announced a college-wide waste reduction program, made in partnership with the Southeastern Recycling Corporation. Southeastern and MDC negotiated a zero-cost, one year contract. Southeastern made suggestions to each campus as to the number of bins needed according to campus size and population. The large bins were provided free of charge, but the college still has to shell out for the smaller, blue bins in offices and the collection of the materials.
The contract will be revisited in August to determine whether the college will receive any revenues from the program. The college is currently hoping to break even.
According to Judy Schmelzer, Dean of Administration for Wolfson Campus, the recycling initiative is currently not appearing profitable. She suggests that it may be due to the economic recession.
College administrators and directors for Southeastern were supposed to hold a meeting after the first of this year to discuss potential ramifications of the recycling contract. To date, the meeting has not yet been held.
It is unclear whether the self-appointed yeomen in charge of the program will reject the contract in August if it is shown that a cost-benefit analysis of the new recycling initiative reveals an incurred deficit.
Recycling is often incorrectly regarded as an environmental panacea; this is far from the truth.
Let's put aside the naïve assumption that these new efforts towards saving the planet have nothing to do with a company's natural predilection towards profit and focus on specific, little-known facts about recycling.
Plastic
Most of the plastic containers produced are non-recyclable. A common misconception is that the arrows printed on the bottle indicate recyclability; in actuality, the arrows are meaningless. Currently, plastic products are collected, but not generally recycled.
Aluminum
Aluminum is the one material that is unequivocally beneficial to recycle. Even recycling critics will agree that it is more efficient to recycle aluminum than it is to extract more of it from the earth.
Paper
The vast majority of the paper we consume is derived from forests that are specifically grown for this paper. These trees, regardless of their "farmed" status, still produce an important resource: oxygen. If paper production is vastly decreased, the acres of land reserved for these pulp forests will become obsolete, causing land owners to cut the trees down and build towards a more profitable venture, usually made of concrete. Our demand for paper thus increases the supply of trees.
Separating recyclables
A lot of fuss is made over separating materials into their designated receptacles. The truth is that, at least in Miami-Dade County, trash and recyclable goods go to the same center and are all mixed together – employees at the individual locations sort through the rubbish themselves, dividing it into separate plastic, aluminum and paper piles for later processing.
The question of profit
Where does the money paid to the recycling companies go? Is it used towards advocacy campaigns, advertising the benefits of the practice? Does it go towards research for the development of new recycling procedures? We are unsure what hands the money fall in. Could the profit from the separate bins even go towards paying the employees that will eventually sort through the trash?
Landfill Space
The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) estimates that the existing landfills in the United States have about 20 years of disposal capacity left. Some states have less than five years of capacity remaining, and there are NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) issues with the creation of new landfills, but jurisdictions wiling to build landfills still exist. There are some landfills that make use of the methane gas released from decaying waste, using it for energy to power neighboring towns or cities. Granted, this may not be as "clean" or "renewable" as some would wish for, but nevertheless, quixotic hopes and non-solutions should be replaced with practical answers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask yourselves: With the college already struggling economically: uncomfortable students piling up in cramped classrooms, parking spots becoming ever more elusive, and clubs raising nearly all of their travel funds; should we really have to back a hip program with dubious benefits that may actually result in a loss of money?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go Green! Save the Planet! [Insert your favorite eco-cliché of choice.] For the past few years these slogans have become the mantra for environmentally conscious consumers. Many companies, in an effort to remain au courant have followed suit, producing a number of all-singing, all-dancing "green" products.
The release of Al Gore's doomsday prophecy An Inconvenient Truth marked a new era of fervent environmentalism, a "second coming", if you will.
The Monkey Wrench Gang, once a favorite novel of 1970's Green Anarchists has been replaced by the more kid-friendly and considerably less anti-establishment, The Green Book, reusable totes are now a third option to add to the paper or plastic category, and nearly every clothing company has proudly printed t-shirts with an array of crying globes, screaming trees and the infamous recycling logo, illustrating the concepts of "reduce, reuse and recycle."
As expected, MDC has hopped on the bio-diesel gravy train.
Last September, College President Eduardo Padron announced a college-wide waste reduction program, made in partnership with the Southeastern Recycling Corporation. Southeastern and MDC negotiated a zero-cost, one year contract. Southeastern made suggestions to each campus as to the number of bins needed according to campus size and population. The large bins were provided free of charge, but the college still has to shell out for the smaller, blue bins in offices and the collection of the materials.
The contract will be revisited in August to determine whether the college will receive any revenues from the program. The college is currently hoping to break even.
According to Judy Schmelzer, Dean of Administration for Wolfson Campus, the recycling initiative is currently not appearing profitable. She suggests that it may be due to the economic recession.
College administrators and directors for Southeastern were supposed to hold a meeting after the first of this year to discuss potential ramifications of the recycling contract. To date, the meeting has not yet been held.
It is unclear whether the self-appointed yeomen in charge of the program will reject the contract in August if it is shown that a cost-benefit analysis of the new recycling initiative reveals an incurred deficit.
Recycling is often incorrectly regarded as an environmental panacea; this is far from the truth.
Let's put aside the naïve assumption that these new efforts towards saving the planet have nothing to do with a company's natural predilection towards profit and focus on specific, little-known facts about recycling.
Plastic
Most of the plastic containers produced are non-recyclable. A common misconception is that the arrows printed on the bottle indicate recyclability; in actuality, the arrows are meaningless. Currently, plastic products are collected, but not generally recycled.
Aluminum
Aluminum is the one material that is unequivocally beneficial to recycle. Even recycling critics will agree that it is more efficient to recycle aluminum than it is to extract more of it from the earth.
Paper
The vast majority of the paper we consume is derived from forests that are specifically grown for this paper. These trees, regardless of their "farmed" status, still produce an important resource: oxygen. If paper production is vastly decreased, the acres of land reserved for these pulp forests will become obsolete, causing land owners to cut the trees down and build towards a more profitable venture, usually made of concrete. Our demand for paper thus increases the supply of trees.
Separating recyclables
A lot of fuss is made over separating materials into their designated receptacles. The truth is that, at least in Miami-Dade County, trash and recyclable goods go to the same center and are all mixed together – employees at the individual locations sort through the rubbish themselves, dividing it into separate plastic, aluminum and paper piles for later processing.
The question of profit
Where does the money paid to the recycling companies go? Is it used towards advocacy campaigns, advertising the benefits of the practice? Does it go towards research for the development of new recycling procedures? We are unsure what hands the money fall in. Could the profit from the separate bins even go towards paying the employees that will eventually sort through the trash?
Landfill Space
The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) estimates that the existing landfills in the United States have about 20 years of disposal capacity left. Some states have less than five years of capacity remaining, and there are NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) issues with the creation of new landfills, but jurisdictions wiling to build landfills still exist. There are some landfills that make use of the methane gas released from decaying waste, using it for energy to power neighboring towns or cities. Granted, this may not be as "clean" or "renewable" as some would wish for, but nevertheless, quixotic hopes and non-solutions should be replaced with practical answers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask yourselves: With the college already struggling economically: uncomfortable students piling up in cramped classrooms, parking spots becoming ever more elusive, and clubs raising nearly all of their travel funds; should we really have to back a hip program with dubious benefits that may actually result in a loss of money?
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