Posted by
Tom L. on Friday, January 23, 2009 6:00:00 AM
“Green” is in, not actually acting in an environmentally friendly way, or much less thinking about how your personal choices impact the environment, but rather talking a good “green” game.
One would assume (always a mistake) that among the reasons that people voted for Barack Obama was his stance on the environment.
Thus, it is interesting to note that when 1,500,000 or more of Mr. Obama’s closest friends gathered in Washington, D.C. for his inauguration, they left behind 100 tons of trash which was collected by City and Federal sanitation workers. I assume trash does not include the waste inside the 7,000 portable toilets used during the inaugural festivities.
One hundred tons seems like a lot, until you think about it: 2,000 pounds to a ton, so that is 200,000 pounds; assuming 1,500,000 people, that is about .13 pounds per person; with 16 ounces per pound, that makes about 2.1 ounces per person.
One hundred tons of trash has some impact on the environment, just imagine everyone throwing away a Butterfingers bar.