More things that don't make sense
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
As promised last month, here is my second column on things that don't make sense.
Inadequate trail rules: As area cities build biking and walking trails, they also need to post more explicit rules for their use, as bigger cities do. For instance, pedestrians have the right of way over bikes. However, pedestrians should keep to the right, respecting the use of bikes. In other cities, bikers traditionally ring their bells or say something like "on your left"as they approach a pedestrian from behind, rather than just surprising them. A pedestrian who is unaware of a bike approaching from behind might make a sudden movement that the bike can't correct for, causing a collision. I can attest to several near misses during my own walks, including from children who think it is funny to careen toward me or our dog. Similarly, rules should be posted about littering, and cities need to provide more garbage receptacles. Over the years, I have picked up more than my fair share of trail trash.
Drinking grandma's drugs: Ever wonder why we all seem to be getting sicker – I mean aside from our lousy diets and lack of exercise ? Well, apparently we are ingesting each others' prescription and over-the-counter drugs in our drinking water. For decades we have worried about lead, mercury and PCBs in our water. But the Associated Press found in a recent study that everything from sex hormones, to antibiotics, to anti-cholesterol drugs, to tranquilizers can be found in the drinking water of at least 41 million Americans in at least 24 major metropolitan areas nationwide as a result of human and animal excretions, landfills, etc. Small communities, aquifers, watersheds, wells, bottled water and home filtration systems are also at risk. There is no federal requirement for testing or setting safety limits. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency says no sewage treatment systems can specifically remove drug residues. Reverse osmosis can, but it is expensive and leaves behind more polluted water than it cleans. And some drugs, such as those for cholesterol, epilepsy and depression, are particularly resistant to treatment. What's worse, the chlorine we use to treat our water makes some drugs even more toxic. What will change this ? Put pressure on the EPA through your member of Congress to study the human and environmental effects of drug residues in our water and find a solution sooner rather than later.
Indiscriminate tree cutting: It seems the first rule of residential and commercial developments in our area is the clear-cutting of trees. And yet it is the very existence of grown trees that makes neighborhood and business parks seem pleasant and established. Trees help reduce air-conditioning bills, prevent erosion, clean the air, provide a habitat for wildlife and even increase property values. It's also important to replant trees lost to storms. Global warming is real, folks, and it starts in our backyard. We can't just point to the decimation of jungles in Africa or South America as the problem; our own subdivisions (and highways ) are to blame as well. There's got to be a way to retain trees and still make development affordable. A standout: Kudos to John Brown University, which should win an award for planting an abundance and variety of trees and shrubbery, and taking excellent care of them.
Bizarre houses: It must be men building all these houses that have tiny, dark kitchens, clothing closets accessible only via bathrooms and oddly constructed top floors that are partitioned in such ways as to be virtually unusable. We've seen some whoppers, and some at outrageous prices. One house that is selling for more than $ 400, 000 (and still on the market – no surprise ) has one enormous, undivided room upstairs without plumbing that I can only see being used as a basketball court. You can put all the granite in the kitchens and make all the whirlpools in the bathrooms that you want, but a house has to make functional sense. Tiny spiral staircases that lead to one upstairs room do not. Nor do driveways so steep you'd be a fool to attempt them in icy conditions (and you certainly couldn't ask elderly people to scale them ). Ditto houses built on such inclines that you'd swear they are going to topple over, or ceilings so high you can just feel your energy bills climbing. Secondly, too many older houses for sale in this area are filled with clutter, have dingy old carpets, contain dark, all-wood walls, are painted with children's scenes or in bizarre shades, or have unkempt back yards. HGTV is a great place to learn how to stage and landscape your house to sell, often at little cost. With so many houses sitting on the market, building houses that make sense and staging them to sell is a must.
Discriminatory charges for checked baggage: Airlines are so nickel-and-diming us with bogus charges that I think it's time someone sued them for discrimination on the checked baggage issue.
Some airlines now charge if you check your only bag. Yet many people who are disabled or elderly or sick have to check their bags because they are unable to carry them onboard. And of course if they have to pack anything liquid, they must also check their luggage and pay a fee. So only the healthy don't pay. This is discriminatory, and someone needs to initiate a class action lawsuit to stop it.
Good to hear from you, but …: While it was nice to hear from people agreeing with my campaign against indiscriminate mosquito spraying by cities, telling me your concerns is not going to stop us from being poisoned.
I say this on the heels of recently having gotten a good lungful of insecticide myself from the spray truck in Siloam Springs.
I just want to remind everyone that nothing will change unless you contact your city leaders and / or write a letter to the editor. I can only share your frustrations.
Oh, and when the city tells you it won't harm you, ask them to guarantee in writing that 10 years from now the health problems you are then experiencing have nothing to do with the all the insecticides and other toxins you've accumulated, including grandpa's Viagra in your drinking water.
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