What about This???

I want to put folks to work. Now that I'm unemployed, it's a good time to really get into this.

I have a great GREEN idea!

Take the throw away clothes that they can't sell at thrift stores and make them into rugs, bags, and seat cushions.

I was reading and article in the back-section of Mother Earth News online about frugal living, making do and living on less. One of the ideas was to use everything more than once.

Living on Less

I volunteered at the local Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store while I was doing my "Sweat Equity" for my home. I worked a lot in the clothing department. There was a lot of stuff we couldn't use - clothes that just ended up in the trash. Torn, dirty, stained, and so on. Not that it could be used by someone else, but it truly ended up in the landfill.

Why not use that material and make something useful out of it??? It would keep it out of the landfill, and keep our floors warm and decorate our homes.

Rag rugs sell for a mint! Have you noticed? Even the ones in big-box stores. And that stuff is all new material. It needs to be made: loomed, spending petro-fuel to make it. Why not use something that's already been made?

This whole idea would put 10+ people to work, keep stuff out of the landfill and recycle, and create a usable, beautiful object.

I talked to the head of the thrift store, and he sees no problem. They have to pay to take it to the dump, and this way they actually get to sell it - (a 50-gallon trash bag) to me to make into something.

It supports them, it keeps stuff out of the landfill, makes a beautiful object, gets people working....

About the people - they don't have to be hi-brain folks, but a couple need to be a bit specialized. I'll start by washing all the stuff, to remove any dryer sheets, softeners, cigarette smoke, and pet dander.

I can hire moms at home for a lot of it - making the clothing into strips and braiding it up. That can all be done by moms with little kids at home. They can do it while watching TV.

Sewing the strands together will be a little more specialized. I'll need a couple of heavy-duty sewing machines. Then, I'll need somebody to ship the finished items out to the buyers.

Sales can be handled on the internet or by catalogs. Colors will vary, but fabric content will be matched as closely as possible. That will take a little bit of training. Nothing about this is hard. It gives people jobs. It makes something nice.

Do you think we stand a chance???

I'm accepting rag clothing now, and I'll post a prototype photo as soon as I have a sample made up.

Global Warming or Class War?

I wonder how much of global warming can be ascribed to the lower classes. After all, emissions from older vehicles, the ones they can afford, are higher. The only thing these folks can do to lower their carbon footprint is recycle. How many recycling bins are in the older, cheaply built apartments on the lower east side?

Yeah, that's right. Blame the faceless working class for all the troubles of the world today! Yeah, do it!

: = : = : = : = : = : =

OK, Stop getting all in a lather. That was sarcasm, after all!

But it does seem to me that we are expecting an awful lot of folks whose main concerns are how to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. If you have those basic needs unmet, global warming seems like it isn't so important. "Yeah, it's hotter this year," or "yeah, it's colder this winter" - so what!

I need heat in winter to keep alive. I'm gonna use the most inexpensive heat source I can find. Well, maybe not always the cheapest - but certainly something I can afford - not some designer fuel that costs 3 times as much.

And I need water to keep alive during the hot months and to water my livestock and irrigate my fields. If the water isn't there, we may starve - my whole family! Maybe my whole tribe!

Sometimes I think that the only way to help this planet is to clear it off and start over. The inequalities are glaring. We expect much of those who have little and little of those who have much. It doesn't make sense.