MARCH 28, 2006
The
one with the most statistics wins! Today, the famous bumper sticker the one with the most toys wins has been replaced by the idea that if we have available to us a bunch of facts and figures we can out science our opponents. Everyone has opinions about the environment. The next step is to back up the opinion with fact. Following that one must have good sound science to back up the fact. Then, competing science says the opposite, so we are back to square one with our opinion. However, some science is more credible than other science. Some is independent, some is industry financed, and some is pure genius.
However, I want to return to statistics and figures for a moment. Numbers can be helpful as we try assessing the gravity of any situation.
For example: A Not so fun Fact from the Santa Monica Environmental Directory, but facts that may help us all change our behavior.
100,000 residents
3.75 tons of toilet bowl cleaner per
13.75 tons of liquid household cleaner per.
3.45 tons of motor oil perARE DISCHAGED INTO Santa Monica CITY DRAINS EACH MONTH.
I found this hard to believe. If this is standard practice, and I have no reason to doubt the City's stats, do the math: Get out our calculators and go to work and the amount going into our sewage and drain system is mind boggling. How many cities of a population of 100.000 or more in the world, and Santa Monica is already one of the cleanest, and you see the scale of the problem we face.
There are 17 million residents in Los Angeles area and the assault on creation from our common everyday practices will impact our lives forever. It becomes really clear that government and citizens must work cooperatively to reduce the statistically equivalent of an on-going war on the planets eco-systems.
If we must discharge lets discharge benign products that do no harm. Biodegradable soaps, cleaners, pastes, solvents etc. help diminish the impact on our environment.
--Peter