UT student avoids enlightenment
As far as elitist educations go, I feel I've successfully avoided one so far ("Coping with snobbery," June 30). I am still hopelessly clinging to guns and religion ... Will I ever become enlightened like J. Ridewood? I pray I don't. I drink my coffee black with two sugars. I shop at Wal-Mart because they have low prices, and I'm a poor college student. I know that big words make you look stupid if you use them when smaller ones will suffice. There is an American flag hanging in my apartment I don't feel is a bit ironic; I am proud of my country, our troops and, yes, even our government. I do not feel I am better than someone who didn't go to college. That specialty coffee you drink comes on a big-rig driven by an honest, hard-working American who might not boast the education I do, but is no less important than myself in the grand scheme of things. And finally, I am decidedly not excited over an Obama presidency, because he has no experience. He is Ivy-League and elitist and he shares no values with the common American. I want more than oaths and speeches to bind our leaders to their sacred duty. I want more than some faux avant-garde thinking, pointy-headed pseudo-intellectual running this country. I want a man of action, not words.
- Edward C. Oden IV YCT Vice Chair Government junior
Recycling a waste of time?
Monday's story about recycling illustrates something that's going to become clearer as time goes by: Recycling is simply a waste of time and money ("Local stores recycle less due to costs," June 30). In the frenzy to avoid putting anything into a landfill, we are being exhorted to keep and recycle materials that are so worthless that it costs thousands of dollars (in the case of one local store) to get someone even to accept them. The fact that it costs more money to recycle, transport, sort and reprocess a stream of waste than to send it to the landfill means that it takes more energy to recycle most things - glass, paper, etc. - than to just get rid of them and replace them with new ones. (Aluminum is the sole exception of which I am aware, in that it is just barely worth some people's time to collect it and sell it at the going rate.) Anything that requires energy impacts the environment - the more energy required, the greater the environmental impact. Thus, while recycling may feel good, it is not only a needless and truly wasted expense, but impacts the environment more than does not recycling.
- Alan McKendree UT staff
Restaurants could do more
In response to the June 30 article "Local stores recycle less due to costs," it was disappointing to see that local restaurants and stores aren't doing all they can to help reduce their impact on the planet. However, all is not lost, and there are still other things restaurants like Potbelly can do to lighten their carbon footprint, such as adding more vegetarian options. According to a recent United Nations study, raising animals for food contributes more to global warming than all of the cars, trains, boats, and trains combined. If these restaurants really want to make a difference, without having to spend thousands of dollars on recycling programs, the first step would be to cut out the meat.
Across the board, animal agriculture squanders the limited resources we have by funneling them through animals raised for meat and other animal products. For example, we currently feed more than 70 percent of the grains raised in this country to animals raised for food, rather than eating the grains directly. Similarly, nearly half of the water and 80 percent of agricultural land consumed in this country is used for livestock, when it could be used to grow food directly for human consumption. This wasteful use of our resources has a devastating effect on our local environments as well. Currently, farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire U.S. population, much of which finds its way into our local waterways.
Thankfully, it's never been easier to find delicious and cruelty-free meals on the go (especially in Austin). With local hotspots like Mr. Natural and Veggie Heaven only blocks from campus, and the dining halls consistently serving up tasty vegan meals, there's never been a better time to cut cruelty out of our diet for good. For more information about the impacts of animal agriculture on the environment, visit peta2.com to request free stickers and a DVD.
- Ryan Huling College Campaign Coordinator, peta2.com
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