Monday, March 31, 2008

Hardening of the arteries in North Carolina

I'm going to stay out of the politics, but had to do a quickie post on Raleigh's ban on (new) in-sink garbage disposals. (Catch up via Newsweek or NPR.) Kitchen grease—including cooking oil, bacon fat, and other essential elements of Southern cooking—is being blamed for sewage overflows, one of which reportedly "swallowed a Corvette" last year.

(When I first clicked the "Listen Now" link at NPR's website, the report was prefaced by a "non-commercial commercial" for Cargill. Apparently these get rotated, however, so you might miss out on this ironic juxtaposition. Best of luck... Also, bonus points for anyone who can find YouTube video of the Corvette's demise.)

Dale Crisp, Raleigh's public utilities director, is quoted as saying that "Grease clogs the lines like it does arteries, and our system is at the point where it's going to have a stroke." Wait a minute—you mean the food I eat might be bad for me?!?

No comments: