The vehicular metaphor for a common fate applies equally well to the economy, however, for anyone who creates wealth inevitably bestows a bounty on his shipmates. Anyone who says otherwise betrays ignorance, or malice. Kids love to propagandize their parents about the alleged virtues of recycling. It makes them feel morally superior. The only problem is, they've got their facts all wrong.
Recycling is frequently more trouble than it's worth, and quite often downright counterproductive.
Perhaps parents should confront their patronizing progeny and discuss exactly what it means to think globally, act locally. It's clear from recent test scores that American kids don't much about geography, among other things. Acting locally is something children can do, however, and the more local the better. Behind The Headlines is syndicated to newspapers and radio stations, free of charge, by America's Future, a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1946 and dedicated to the preservation of our free-enterprise system and our constitutional form of government.