Eco-Believe IT!!!
Lauren Slezak
Cash For Trash
1.) How Poop Could Help The Economy
But why should this be interesting to anyone? Well, think about it. Since the fertilizer is free, costs would be cut down so our food would be cheaper. Also, it gets rid of the problem of the disposal of human waste, which is a huge deal. The excrement has to go somewhere, so why not put it to good use and put it back into the soil where it can improve our crops and make the soil healthy again?
I chose this topic because I thought it was very interesting when I first heard about it. I thought that it was a good sort of Innovation because it follows the exact definition of the word: a new idea or more effective process. This is a much better idea than just burying or burning it because we are actually putting it to good use and reintroducing it to the Earth.
2.) Earthships
What if you were told that you could have an off-the-grid, self sufficient house with high end appliances and the only utility bill you would ever pay was propane for cooking? But, it is made of trash? Well, that might not sound appealing but once you see what Michael Reynolds thought up, you'll be very surprised. By using everyday throw-away items like tires and glass bottles. Using tires to make a wall is actually extremely efficient because they are great insulators, meaning no heating or cooling bills!
This brilliant solution doesn't just cut down on the amount of trash going into landfills every year, it also makes living affordable. You can find the materials for a fraction of the cost of a regular house, cutting down the cost of living. This way, the builder can afford to have high-end luxuries like solar panels for energy, flat screen TVs, dishwashers, and any other 'creature comfort' you could want!
3.) Ore Price Collapse Hits Minnesota's 'Iron Range'
The prices of iron ore, called taconite, in northern Minnesota have hit a low, dropping from $190 per ton in 2011 down to $60 per ton today. The main reason for this is that global demand for the good is down, especially from China. This drop in price has caused one of the six mining companies operating on the Iron Range to lay off over a thousand of it’s workers. But this doesn’t just affect the workers. As storeowner Doug Ellis says, “my business is built on mining money.” When the mines are having a bad time, the people living around them have an even worse time. When the people living near Ellis’s store can’t afford to buy the steel-toed boots and rifles, his business will take a hit.
I found this interesting because it can show what happens to an economy that is so dependent upon a single export. I also visited the Iron Range last year and they seemed to be doing fine, with just a little bit of trouble at the mines. I was shocked when I saw this specific area being reported on the NPR website. This fits into the category of Demand because it is the demand of iron ore that is affecting this region so badly. When China decreased it's demand for iron ore, the economy started tanking because that is their main, or only, export.
4.) Los Angeles City Council Passes $15 Minimum Wage
The restaurant owners in Los Angeles said that 'it would be OK to have a higher minimum wage if tips counted towards it'. Unfortunately, California is a state where a worker cannot make less than the minimum wage. This would crush restaurants because they are already fighting to keep their heads above water. This would only make it worse.
But, it may change the restaurant structure a bit, becoming a bit more like European restaurants that have mandatory service charges instead of tips. In my mind, this relates to the category of Profit. It's not that the restaurants are making profits but that they are losing them and that this might make it even worse. I thought that it was a perfect economic scenario of what would happen if the minimum wage went up significantly. I expect this to cause a bit of a shock to the working system in Los Angeles for a while but they will eventually get used to it as the economy catches up.
Caroline Styne at her LA restaurant, Lucques
Lucques
Current wages for workers are already hurting the profit margins
5.) Group Makes Character Key Part Of Reducing Baltimore Unemployment
The Center for Urban Families says that 300 go through this employment training each year and over 200 have found jobs! Of those 200 placed individuals, the average wage is $13/hour. Granted, some of the bad habits from before the training stuck and the people have had to be placed two, three, or four times. But by continuing this project, imagine what could happen.
This sort of training could turn around entire communities and possibly even lower the unemployment rate. Just think if we all tried to have a better attitude despite our background or even the place we are in right now. How much would your world change? And if those that were unemployed (or were employed but in a gang or other illegal work) all started working, imagine what our economy would be like in the near future. In the context of Unemployment, this would help tremendously.