Waste Not - Want Not

I received a referral to this site from another blogger and I think it's a very hopeful sign and an inspiration.

Since the Calle El Cedro Comite has been formed and will part of a larger citizens organization on the municipal level charged with finding, obtaining financing, and contracting for services and projects to benefit our neighborhood and our municipality in the areas of infrastructure improvement, health, and safety; I was intrigued by some of the Google ads for battery recycling and tire recycling that appeared on the page. At this point in time we have no recycling program here and our landfill is getting full of some really bad stuff. We could turn waste materials into income producers for the neighborhoods and the municipality itself! Anyway, the ideas are very exciting. We certainly need to do something with all the garbage we produce!

Cheaper Labor Does Not Guarantee Jobs

The thinking has been that large corporations seeking ways to maximize profits and minimize costs are relocating to countries where the labor is to be had very cheaply. The news item below, however, belies this conventional wisdom. More than a cheap and plentiful labor force is required. To complete in the modern world, third world countries and developing nations need to invest in much better education and opportunities for learning. Costa Rica has very few, if any, free lending libraries, for example. This discourages reading and lowers the perceived value of books and education. Learning by rote is another Costa Rican educational flaw. Teachers must be allowed more flexibility in their teaching techniques and children need to be taught not only "facts" but more importantly how to think. Creativity, questioning, and logic are all far more important to a future work force than memorizing dates. Why bother memorizing something that can be easily referenced on the Internet or in a book. The trick is in learning that the information exists and is accessible should one need it.

NEWS of the WEIRD - Current News