I’ve adopted a new expression to mean “Get a clue!” or “Get a grip!” or just “Calm down and approach this rationally”: “Sort your trash!” It comes from my favorite Ramones song, “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg (My Brain is Hanging Upside Down)”:

“You’ve got to pick up the pieces
Come on, sort your trash now
Pull yourself pack together …”

It’s a propos, since it also expresses disappointment, even aghast disgust, with the hypocrisy of a politician.

Your post also reminds me of a similar issue I blogged about when GreenFest hosted an event in Philadelphia–the GreenFest organizers were distributing plastic water bottles to all volunteers at the festival. My friend counted 90 out of 120 booths containing these disposable bottles.

On one hand, I find this irritating because it’s so easy for someone who’s not concerned about the environment to point out this blunder and say that environmentalists are a bunch of hypocrites (or something to that effect).

On the other hand, I do understand why it’s easy to overlook this issue when you’re focused on other things (e.g., the agenda, coordinating everyone’s schedule, and so on).

That’s why it’s important to have an Event Coordinator, or someone who’s really good at noticing the small details so these sort of things don’t happen.

Well, I look forward to hearing the Assemblywoman’s response. I hope they’re receptive to your suggestion–you’re making a very good point, and I hope they’ll listen.

And thanks for letting me know about the Trash Challenge! I think I’ll also participate–I dunno, though–I think this is actually a very easy challenge. I already compost my food waste, conserve, and recycle everything I possibly can, so I don’t generate a lot of trash. But who knows? Maybe the results of this challenge will surprise me of my trash habits. We’ll have to share notes to see who generates the least trash! :0)

M