Last Friday I attended a birthday party for Roberto Conti, who is the CEO of a company that takes plastics, and reverse engineers them into fuel and other products like paraffin . https://www.contigroupinternational.com/. Please take a moment and check out their website. Also, check out their Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/contigroupllc/.
Mr. Conti, originally from Nicaragua, is an international businessman CEO. He gave me his business card, and I checked out his company online. I am quite impressed.
There is no question that plastic products, ranging from water bottles to plastic bags, are a major contributing factor to the pollution problems that we have in this world. However, plastics are not going away. We use plastics in everything from automobile parts to IV bags in hospitals, and then some. The problem is, what do we do with plastic products once they have been used for their designed purpose? Yes, you can use plastic grocery bags to pick up animal waste, but then all you have is a shitty plastic bag.
Recycling as we know it, even though it is one of the blessed sacraments of the Left, is basically a feel-good operation, and a lot of it is nothing but a scam. If you do some research, you will see that most recyclables end up in a landfill. For example, 91% of plastic waste is not recycled. They just take the plastic bottles etc, that you throw in your blue recycle bin, and dump it in the landfill with the rest of your trash. Please, read this article from National Geographic. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/.
Sorry hippies, Roberto Conte is a big "C" Conservative. He is doing more to help this planet, than you are doing preening and showing off your self-importance. I can hear the whining now: "He's getting rich converting plastics to fuel, so he's not really helping the planet." You are right, he IS getting rich, and you're not! Let's see, taking plastic items from the pollution in our oceans, waterways, and the unrecyclable plastic in our landfills, and converting them to fuel that can be used cheaply in the developing world is bad? Why is helping the developing world a bad thing? First world countries pollute a lot less than second and third world countries. Have you ever tried to drink the water in India? Or, how about breathing the air in China?
Fuel is one of the largest drivers of economic development. We have transitioned from using wood, to coal, to natural gas, and where that is not available, fuel oil. We even use gasoline in our cars and trucks, diesel fuel in our trucks and locomotives, and jet fuel in our airplanes. We are in the process of developing energy sources from solar to wind power, that will help contribute to our energy grid. As we move our transportation sources from petroleum based fuels to electric energy, there is going to be a huge learning curve. We also have to heavy up our national electrical grid, and make it as safe from attack as possible.
The developing world will go through the same learning curve we went through, but they will go through it much quicker. We, the First World, have stepped in it enough times, and as the other parts of the world start to develop, they will be able to have learned from our blunders. Now, let's quit the bitching, put down the coloring books, and stop petting the emotional support puppies, and get to work making things better for all.
Friday, December 20, 2019
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Housing issues and other sundries
Here is my first post on this blog for the new year. Now that I am semi-retired, I'm going to start concentrating on being more active in promoting affordable housing and increasing the quantity and quality of our public transportation issues here in Prince George's County, MD.
Let's start with housing issues here in College Park. According to Zillow, the average price of a house in CP is around $335,000. Rents run around $2000+ each month. That is a lot of money. If I were looking for a house today, I would not be able to afford to live in this area. I would end up way out in the exurbs, and have to rely on an automobile to get myself around everywhere. That's not my style. I did buy my house back in 1982. I've refinanced it a few times, and I like where my mortgage payment is right now. Yes, I would love to live in a high rise building right next to the Metro...Downtown Silver Spring comes to mind, but moving would not be cost effective. Therefore, I have to compromise somewhere.
I am going to stay put, and hope that Metro and PG County's The Bus will increase the bus service in this area. It would be nice if the J4 bus ran from the College Park Metro station to Bethesda all day, instead of only during rush hour. We also need the Purple Line, and we have needed it for quite some time. Driving to the Metro and paying to park is the compromise that I have to endure at this time.
The demographics of College Park are changing. When I moved into my house back in 1982, the neighborhood was about 95% working class white. Now it is about 50% white, and not just working class. There are a lot of professionals and semi-professionals moving into the area, because even with a median house price of $330,000, it's a lot cheaper than either DC or Montgomery County.
I see the value of the houses in this area going up, because with Amazon moving over to Chrystal City area in Virginia, there is going to be a huge ripple effect of other companies moving into this area. There is not enough housing expansion. Therefore, it's the law of supply and demand. That affects the price.
Zoning laws are going to have to change, so that the emphasis is on building what is commonly referred to as the "missing middle." Prior to World War II, housing for the middle class in the cities was part of the cities' master plans. After the war, the concentration was to expand housing into the suburbs, and make this automobile reliant.We need to swing the pendulum back in the other direction. To lure people back into the cities, you have to make it affordable, safe, and have good schools. It's going to be quite a challenge.
Let's start with housing issues here in College Park. According to Zillow, the average price of a house in CP is around $335,000. Rents run around $2000+ each month. That is a lot of money. If I were looking for a house today, I would not be able to afford to live in this area. I would end up way out in the exurbs, and have to rely on an automobile to get myself around everywhere. That's not my style. I did buy my house back in 1982. I've refinanced it a few times, and I like where my mortgage payment is right now. Yes, I would love to live in a high rise building right next to the Metro...Downtown Silver Spring comes to mind, but moving would not be cost effective. Therefore, I have to compromise somewhere.
I am going to stay put, and hope that Metro and PG County's The Bus will increase the bus service in this area. It would be nice if the J4 bus ran from the College Park Metro station to Bethesda all day, instead of only during rush hour. We also need the Purple Line, and we have needed it for quite some time. Driving to the Metro and paying to park is the compromise that I have to endure at this time.
The demographics of College Park are changing. When I moved into my house back in 1982, the neighborhood was about 95% working class white. Now it is about 50% white, and not just working class. There are a lot of professionals and semi-professionals moving into the area, because even with a median house price of $330,000, it's a lot cheaper than either DC or Montgomery County.
I see the value of the houses in this area going up, because with Amazon moving over to Chrystal City area in Virginia, there is going to be a huge ripple effect of other companies moving into this area. There is not enough housing expansion. Therefore, it's the law of supply and demand. That affects the price.
Zoning laws are going to have to change, so that the emphasis is on building what is commonly referred to as the "missing middle." Prior to World War II, housing for the middle class in the cities was part of the cities' master plans. After the war, the concentration was to expand housing into the suburbs, and make this automobile reliant.We need to swing the pendulum back in the other direction. To lure people back into the cities, you have to make it affordable, safe, and have good schools. It's going to be quite a challenge.
Sunday, September 23, 2018
First Post
Greetings all. This is my first post here. I guess this is a get to know me post. On this blog, I will address the urban issues that pertain to me, mainly those issues regarding public transportation and affordable housing. I live in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, so I am quite familiar with getting around without a car, as well as what the cost of real estate and rents are in this area.
I will get the word out about this blog after a couple of posts.
I will get the word out about this blog after a couple of posts.
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