Long Term Solutions Needed in America
Long term solutions don’t sell in today’s political marketplace. Every new Congress adopts a fresh agenda. Priorities shift every time the presidency changes hands. Programs that take 10 years to show clear results have no chance in this environment. But we still need to find durable solutions to our nation’s chronic problems.
Water Conservation
When storms blow through the state, rain pours off our roofs into the oil covered streets and down the storm drains. All of this rain water gurgling through the gutters could be collected and used later to water our lawns. This would save drinking water and help keep our rivers and streams clear of polluted run off.
We’ve certainly had the technology to collect and store groundwater for a while now. It’s just another proactive solution our government should promote more heavily than it does.
Crime Prevention
Prison overcrowding continues to plague California, and is now made worse by the massive budget deficit projected for the coming year. A federal judge has already intervened. This chronic problem has been exacerbated by “get tough” sentencing mandates over the past 20 years.
A program of aggressive intervention in the lives of at risk kids would work better. It would require a long, slow process of reaching out to one youngster at a time with training or mental health counseling in an effort to turn them away from a life of crime. Apparently plans of this sort don’t have the same emotional appeal as do tough law and order regulations.
Energy Independence
People never think about electricity until the power goes out. California has slowly increased investment in renewable energy sources and businesses are beginning to discover the benefits of energy efficiency. Still everyone knows that dramatically reducing our dependence on fossils fuels will take decades.
politics, Congress, long term solutions, crime prevention, water conservation, energy independence
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