Recycling Christmas & Wind Energy

Recycling Christmas & Wind Energy plus Food Forethought. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.

Here in the Pacific Northwest many areas are embracing wind energy. Besides current projects generating power for the area there are a number of others in the works. Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association says the wind industry is a fabulous partner for farm country.

BODE: Because not only do we do long term, very good leasing but we’re really good neighbors because we don’t use any water, we don’t leave any residue, we build roads where people need them to get in and out.

With the Christmas holiday over you may be buried in wrapping paper, boxes and the thought of taking the tree out. Now is the time to start thinking about doing a little recycling. Take a few minutes to go through all that wrapping paper provided you didn’t scrunch it all up and see if you can’t roll up some to be reused next year. Same with the bows and ribbons. If not, find a recycle bin. As for that live tree that is quickly drying out, many local cities offer tree recycling programs. By recycling the trees, residents can help save landfill space. The trees may be mulched or chipped for use as landscaping material, animal bedding and an energy source.

Now with today’s Food Forethought, here’s Lacy Gray.

Talk is cheap, apparently, so are votes. The decisions regarding illegal immigration should not be based on popularity at the polls. That being said, it’s not as easy an issue to resolve as most seem to think. This is a monumental issue that should be addressed with careful consideration for the future well being of all legal American citizens, no matter what their native origin. The one word though that seems to be lost in all the ugliness being tossed back and forth over immigration law and the proposed Dream Act is “illegal”. A person doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry, be proud or dismayed that only in America could illegal immigrants have the courage, if you can call it that, perhaps audacity is more appropriate, to protest over their illegality. Contrary to what many hispanic voters and their allies are expecting from the Obama administration; a similar deal for immigration as he afforded health care and taxation, I personally don’t feel the government should turn the issue of illegal immigration into a spinoff of “Let’s Make a Deal”. I don’t profess to know the answer, but perhaps enforcing already existing immigration laws would be a nice place to start.

Thanks Lacy. That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.