TWDQ

I realize that I've been terrible about posting this week, so here's a discussion question to tide you over until Monday. I thought of this while walking to school yesterday.

What is the ecological footprint of a bum?

I ask because it seems to me that they've got to be pretty environmentally friendly people. I mean, if you don't have a house, that must rule out a huge portion of normal energy consumption levels. Furthermore, in Russia, they appear to constitute a large part of the recycling system. Rather than having recycling bins anywhere (it's very painful, but I've been having to throw away bottles and cans), the system seems to be that the bums pick them up off the street and out of the trash. (I don't know what they do with them, but I assume they're being recycled, otherwise they'd probably be doing something else.) I figure if I'm throwing stuff in the trash, the recycling is offsetting the bums' consumption, rather than mine.

It kind of has this weird moral edge to it. I feel like people don't tend to think the highest of bums, especially when thinking about who does and doesn't contribute to society. But perhaps from the grandest perspective, they are some of the people who are damaging the world the least. I guess that's kinda cool.

Speaking of people who are not damaging the world this summer, I hope you all know about the One Big Bike Movement?