Everyday Low Prices
An article in today’s Salon.com looks at “the intimate connection between Americans expressing their free will at Wal-Mart (or Target or Home Depot, etc.) and the ripping up and shredding of American jobs…”
My thesis is gravitating towards this area. Specifically, I’m looking at combining the idea of storytelling with information streams. Naturally, as Salon.com points out:
More information won’t necessarily lead to a more perfect world, of course—when one doesn’t have a whole lot of dollars in one’s pocket, the lowest price makes a compelling argument. But it’s an essential part of any comprehensive solution, a place where government and the media both bear a clear civic responsibility.
The question of civic responsibility brings to mind the City of Berkeley in California, which has a ban on polystyrene foam. Many of the reasons for imposing the ban cover civic issues such as urban blight and solid waste management:
A. Solid waste that is non-degradable or non-recyclable poses an acute problem for any environmentally and financially responsible program of solid waste management. Such waste covers the City’s streets, parks, public places, and open spaces.
G. The City of Berkeley has the duty to responsibly dispose of its solid waste, yet existing landfill sites are rapidly approaching capacity, and additional sites are increasingly unavailable.
The question of stakeholders popped up during the last thesis review in December, specifically around the compost economy concept. This subject is related to regulation, and I think it’s more productive for me to talk about them in my thesis report.