By Nelson Rios
I’m admittedly old enough to remember when gas cost a pair of dimes per gallon. We would collect pocket change, buy fifty-cents worth and cruise around all evening. Today, with gas on Orcas approaching $5.00 per gallon, and soon perhaps even more, times have changed but customs and habits have not. What we need is a paradigm shift in how we live on this island in the midst of an energy crisis and at the onset of an environmental catastrophe.
For example, I do as most of you do, and self-haul by driving to the “recycle” center to fulfill my green-earth responsibility and, presumably, save a landfill from my paper, plastic, metal and glass waste. As I do so, I watch as resident after resident drives in to do the same. I am guesstimating that each of us will make, on average, a 12-16 mile round-trip to help save the earth. But in doing so, we have each burned almost one gallon of very pricey, very polluting gasoline or diesel. We are doing today what Orcas residents decades earlier did — before gas was astronomical in price and even more astronomical in the political cost we have to pay to satisfy our energy needs; and, before we were aware of the environmental damage caused by fossil fuels.
But wait! Could there be a paradigm shift in how we approach this situation?
Could we have several “recycle” centers strategically placed to minimize the distances driven? Could we even have a truck or two pick up recyclable material as well as garbage at multiple depots around Orcas? Should these and other options have been a part of the trash and recycling debate recently concluded on Orcas (and elsewhere in the County)? Apparently not, as the considerations and decisions by the County Council failed to envision beyond the immediate future, and thus failed to consider many broader aspects of the trash and recycling situation. This appears to be another squandered opportunity that suggests a lack of foresight.
I also wonder about my even more frequent trips to the post office to check mail and to deliver outgoing mail. Although we have several of these facilities scattered about, unfortunately for me it is still a nine mile round trip or, at my current vehicle’s mileage, about a $2.50 trip. And woe be me if I get there late in the afternoon — a closed counter and no stamps in sight, not even a stamp dispensing machine. When I raised this matter with neighbors and asked them to consider petitioning for mail delivery, most thought it was quaint and traditional to go regularly to the post office, and objected to changing this cultural norm. Perhaps custom might triumph over logic when the cost was just a pair of dimes and the notions of carbon footprint and global warming were unheard. But today, what is needed is another paradigm shift in thinking, not just to save some coins, but to begin to help our planet recover and to (oh-so-slowly) begin to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, especially the imported variety.
And don’t get me started on what it takes to go grocery shopping. Anyone thought about a grocery delivery service? Or, establishing another full-service grocery outside of Eastsound? Or, what about another service station at the landing or Deer Harbor or Olga? Growth? Perhaps, so. Planned? Yes. Needed? Definitely.
Before I get lectured, I know I need a more fuel-efficient vehicle (but just imagine taking all your recycling and garbage in a miniscule Smart car). I know I need to plan trips with multiple purposes. I know I need to carpool with neighbors to the recycle center, or to Eastsound to buy groceries. I know, and, for the most part, I try. More often than not, however, I am told I should just accept how things are done on the island. I know all this, but what I know even more is that the times have changed, and so too must the way we live on this Emerald Isle. Because, “that’s the way it is done here” is not an answer, it’s just an excuse. Reevaluating how things are done on Orcas is not just an exercise, it’s a responsibility.
A pair of dimes does not get us very much today. And neither do many of the old paradigms. What is the difference between a pair of dimes and paradigms? A whole lot more than just how they are spelled.
Nelson Rios has had an extensive career in local government and in the non-profit sector, addressing societal issues. His prior political interest and involvement have included local and statewide political campaigns in Virginia.
i always appreciate your comments but my biggest fear is that your argument is being used to outsource our waste stream, which, if kept local and sorted here, would generate local INCOME while saving long-haul fuel costs which could include using less coal! these solutions are not black and white and need every one of us in the dialogue so we can educate ourselves and think for ourselves of both benefits and consequences. i think local pick up services would greatly enhance and improve our choices of how we manage our waste stream. (con’t)
i think the direction we’re heading with curbside and outsourcing our waste stream takes all the responsibility off the hands of the individual to handle waste in an eco-conscious and responsible way. shipping more and more volume to southeast oregon seems just as irresponsible and damaging as driving solo to the transfer station. plus, big corporations are making money and profit off of OUR waste stream and selling to secondary markets in china and elsewhere. the more we keep and process here, the better for the planet. i like the questions you ask, and how you are thinking about saving gas and carbon footprint; what can we do to prevent loss of local control of our resources, including our wastes, and educate the locals on why it’s a good idea to reduce, reuse, and recycle? i see this as a crucial thing to address. we can look to europe for some good models.
Thanks for your comments, Sadie. I, too, support local operation of the Orcas waste stream and have commented to that effect. My position regarding waste handling does not exclude ORS participation, nor calls for an end to self-haul, but rather suggests ways that these may be improved.