Books

The following was sent to me:

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then
campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are
against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and
high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations.
The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

Some books recommended by others:

BIG GREEN PURSE by Diane MacEachern. How to use your spending power to create a greener world.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE PLANET, by Gristmill. Information and tips.

HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT, Norma Lehmeier Hartie. General tips on "green" living.

THE ECOLOGY OF COMMERCE by Paul Hawkins. Published in 1994 it contains information on many environmentally destructive practices of too many businesses.

GREEN LIVING FOR DUMMIES

How rational are your decisions? Are you ever concerned that your options could be limited? Are you afraid to let your choices just go? Go to Door Game.

This game is based on the studies of Dan Ariely, who teaches behavioral economics at M.I.T. His book is entitled Predictably Irrational.

Some of the latest new books about the "knowledge-challenged" in America are out, according to an article I read recently in the New York Times. They are in no particular order (1) The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby, (2) Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy by Eric G. Wilson and (3) Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob by Lee Siegel.

Periodically we Americans indulge in a national self-analysis and evaluation when a significant number of us believe things have gotten "really bad" in the country. It seems to happen about every 20 years.

I attended the monthly Sierra Club meeting on Tuesday night at the Discovery Center to hear William Eddy and Richard Ballentine talk about hiking the Kansas City area. They're the authors of Hiking Kansas City, which is now in its fifth edition.

These gentlemen have been exploring pathways in the region a good many years and have included in their book more than 60 trails to fit your needs, from natural surfaces to paved surfaces; from horse trails to biking trails; from short walks to overnight backpacking hikes.

Speaking of the Discovery Center on Troost Ave. located in Kauffman Legacy Park, it remains one of my favorite places to visit in Kansas City. Before you even go inside you can wander around the garden, wetlands and take a look at some of the native plants in back of the building.

Did you know that the Grand Canyon is big enough to hold the entire population of the world? What about the fact that the fertilizer-choked dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi is larger than New Jersey? (As an aside, did you know that factory farms in Missouri are a contributor to the growing oxygen-depleted dead zone spreading across the Gulf of Mexico?) These and other facts can be found in the book by Alan Weisman entitled The World Without Us.

What would our planet be like if we humans just suddenly vanished? This is the theme of Weisman’s intriguing book. The good news is that our planet would likely recover from human depredation, but in the case of plastic for example, it might take thousands of years to break down or possibly morph into something else.