You largely addressed the core point of why GMOs and youth gender medicine are different: GMOs have a much longer track record in public usage. I personally agree with that.
That said, my question was largely focused on Europe’s policies towards GMOs (not just your personal views) and how they are overly cautious on both those and youth gender medicine. Part of me is holding Europe’s caution for youth general medicine as a reliable authority, valid well being dismissive of their restriction towards GMO’s inconsistent.
Next time, I’ll try to make my question a little more concise. I just had a lot of thoughts on the LWT episode on gender therapy I did not get out at the time.
Your former colleagues seem to be all-in on composting to reduce our carbon footprints: "Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S, accounting for approximately 14% of methane emissions in 2021 [...] Wasted food is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions. [...] Organic materials are typically collected and processed into compost near where they are generated, often in the same county, city or even neighborhood." (https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/composting)
Having volunteered at some composting facilities, I agree that it's a disgusting activity. And you could be right that if one hauled food scraps for many miles in a high-emission vehicle, there would be no net benefit (though that stuff was going to get hauled pretty far anyway if it went to a landfill). But on balance it seems that diverting food from landfills does reduce emissions. Requiring people to collect food scraps may also get them to think twice before throwing out perfectly good food or buying more than they can use.
Maybe composting programs that are practical at scale exist, but I did not encounter one in my years at EPA. There's just too much hauling, and the market for compost is too small. If you haul stuff to a landfill, then at least 1) The trucks are already going there, and 2) That's the end, you don't need to haul it anywhere else.
All of which reminds me of a cartoon I saw many years ago. The driver of a hazardous waste truck reassures a concerned-looking woman: "We aren't taking it anywhere, ma'am. We're just driving it around."
Thanks to your dissertation on 100 year old copyright expired music, I was able to really appreciate John McWhorter's article on Rhapsody in Blue, especially since Paul Whiteman was mentioned in the second sentence.
Thank you for replying to my question
You largely addressed the core point of why GMOs and youth gender medicine are different: GMOs have a much longer track record in public usage. I personally agree with that.
That said, my question was largely focused on Europe’s policies towards GMOs (not just your personal views) and how they are overly cautious on both those and youth gender medicine. Part of me is holding Europe’s caution for youth general medicine as a reliable authority, valid well being dismissive of their restriction towards GMO’s inconsistent.
Next time, I’ll try to make my question a little more concise. I just had a lot of thoughts on the LWT episode on gender therapy I did not get out at the time.
Your former colleagues seem to be all-in on composting to reduce our carbon footprints: "Municipal solid waste landfills are the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the U.S, accounting for approximately 14% of methane emissions in 2021 [...] Wasted food is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions. [...] Organic materials are typically collected and processed into compost near where they are generated, often in the same county, city or even neighborhood." (https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/composting)
Having volunteered at some composting facilities, I agree that it's a disgusting activity. And you could be right that if one hauled food scraps for many miles in a high-emission vehicle, there would be no net benefit (though that stuff was going to get hauled pretty far anyway if it went to a landfill). But on balance it seems that diverting food from landfills does reduce emissions. Requiring people to collect food scraps may also get them to think twice before throwing out perfectly good food or buying more than they can use.
Maybe composting programs that are practical at scale exist, but I did not encounter one in my years at EPA. There's just too much hauling, and the market for compost is too small. If you haul stuff to a landfill, then at least 1) The trucks are already going there, and 2) That's the end, you don't need to haul it anywhere else.
This probably isn't scale-y enough for you, but it could be a model for other municipalities:
https://hudsonriverpark.org/the-park/sustainability/community-compost-program/ - "In 2021, HRPK diverted a total of over 505,000 pounds of organic waste from landfills"
The collection, processing, and compost use all happen in the park. The only hauling is by golf cart for a couple of miles a day.
All of which reminds me of a cartoon I saw many years ago. The driver of a hazardous waste truck reassures a concerned-looking woman: "We aren't taking it anywhere, ma'am. We're just driving it around."
I've never seen such vicious punching down, literally, as the atrocity that Larry David recently committed against Elmo.
Thanks to your dissertation on 100 year old copyright expired music, I was able to really appreciate John McWhorter's article on Rhapsody in Blue, especially since Paul Whiteman was mentioned in the second sentence.
Rhapsody in Blue?
Not my jam.
Nice ending though.
The last few minutes had the vague rythms of a pop song.....
"Singing Circles" is my new favorite term.
Thanks Jeff!