Much time away from the blog this spring... The RERA/SEERA (Responsible Electronics Recycling Act, rebranded as the Secure E-Waste Export and Recycling Act) made it's sneaky appearance in the House "America Competes Act" in February 2022. I've been writing letters, and editorials against Section 30612.
That's scary. Under the Texas (always Texas, since Green Thompson) amendment, and now
But rather than blog about it again, I want to list the cool projects Good Point is working on that might be ruined by the anti-export law.
1. Reopen refurbishing factory in North Africa.
My generation became invested in Recycling before the "Mobro Barge" and garbage crisis (closing of small unlined landfills under RCRA).
The energy, carbon, environmental harm, habitat depletion, species loss, toxics, everything in mining and petroleum pumping, was the reason to recycle. We made a calculated bargain to put recycling into the waste management business, to benefit from rising landfill costs, but I have argued we lost our way.
Mining and forestry build roads into forests, which expose humanity to #bushmeat trade (illegal poaching). That brings endangered-species-platter to so-called "wet markets", which brings us HIV, AIDS, and Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) through chimp and pangolin and bat hunting.
FOOTPRINT: We pierce habitats because we don't recycle enough, and we need the supply of virgin raw materials.
FINGERPRINT: We obsess over our recycling - the costs, the quality, the access - losing site of the fact that recycling has always paid for itself if the cost of mining, forestry, and oil drilling have to pay for themselves as well.
Here's a reminder of our #owngoal, a Midgely-esque policy still championed as environmentally sustainable, which failed to do the math. ROHS, or leadfree solder.
Environmentalists are mentally multitasking between preserving scares natural resources for future generations, preserving endangered species, the climate change thing, and postponing World War Three.
In my end-boomer/pre-GenX age group, there's a growing mantra of #we'refucted.
To me, this mentality is realistic. It's like we're in a chess game and we've already lost so many pieces that "resign" is the only move suggested in the playbook.
But who is the real opponent in this chess game? Society? Lobbyists? Corporations? Overpopulation? Ignorance? This blog often focuses on #owngoals, #collateraldamage, #accidentalracism, #bullyboys, and other mistaken moves on our own chess playtable. But who is the actual opponent?
