Trash Talkin'

Many people complain that America imports too many things, and doesn't really manufacture anything anymore. That goes a long way towards explaining the weak dollar and other economic ills. If you agree with this assessment, then there's some good news for you: Hawaii is stepping up its exports!! Granted, the product is garbage, and it's being shipped to the mainland of the U.S., but an export is an export.

The problem is that our 50th state is running out of landfill space. The island of Oahu in particular produces an average of 10 pounds of garbage per day compared with 4.5 pounds per resident in the rest of the country. And with no place to put all that trash, the island is considering a measure to ship some of it across the Pacific, up the Columbia River, and to a landfill in Washington state.

This seems like a terrible waste. Can't Hawaiians just dump their trash on the side of the road like the rest of us? Or how about into a nearby lava flow? Those things are a dime a dozen in Hawaii.