Lancaster farming. (Lancaster, Pa., etc.) 1955-current, May 09, 1970, Image 4
4 —Lancaster Farming. Saturday. May D. 1970 How Much Do We Pay? Jus' 20 >eais ago. ''environment” was little more than a word in the dictionary, •accept to a lew scientists and others in specialized fields But population and in dustrial growth, along with the growing tendency of people to cluster together in massive urban centers, has made environ ment a household word. Environment has literally become a matter of life and death in some areas and is becoming so in others. The problem, the subject of a nation wide teach-in April 22. largely stems from the sheer numbers of people. The country's population now increases each year by the millions at a rate each year comparable to the total national population in the early days of the country. We now think of the .vorld population m terms of billions. Costs Business It should be recognized that in main instances if a company or industry had stepped too far ahead of its time in install ing antipollution deuces. e\en if they had been available, the firm would have priced tself out of the market Fighting pollution on the scale the public now considers neces sary is very. very costly for businesses. As an official of one company com nents. “If we do not heed the public de mands for en\ ironmental conservation. a lostile business enuronment could have a drastic effect on our market position." This company has become a leader in en vironmental improvements both for econo mic and aesthetic ieason=; But its management points out that -“progress in emironmental control cannot be achieved without enormous expenditures of money. These costs will meutably be , borne by . (the public) in higher taxes . . . and in higher prices . Removing Lead Automobiles are the nation's biggest source of air pollution. Lead-free gasoline would help cut down on this pollution. But a changeover to lead-free gas w ould force the petroleum industry to make a capital investment of S 4 billion in new refinery equipment. As a result of the S 4 billion expendi- Food Service Costs The Economic Research Service of the USD A has issued a leaflet entitled "What Makes Food Prices 7 ' to help explain the elemental facts of marketing and prices There are many factors besides infla tion that determine the relationship be tween pocketbooks and supermarkets "Today" says the leaflet, "we can bin more foods throughout the year than e\er before, thanks to canning, heezing and other ways of keeping foods Seasons don't exist in food stores We expect to buy let tuce, tomatoes, fresh fruit and other vege tables in January, the same as we do in August e\en though thev cost a little more Many of the things we eat are brought thousands of miles from warmer climates during off seasons because people want them Another factor in food puces is that more L\NC VSTER FARMING Lancastei Countv’s Own Farm Weekly P O Box 266 - Lititz Pa 17543 Office 22 E Main St Lititz Pa 17543 Phone Lancastei 394-3047 oi Lititz 626 2191 RobeitG Campbell AcivciUsing Duector Zane Wilson Managing Ec'itoi Subscuption p>ice S 2 o*-' >cv in Lenc?=tei Count} S 3 elsewhere Established \o\embei 4 1955 Published eterv Satin d-n b\ Lana Me; Fanning Lititz Pa Second CJa=s Ponaee nad at Lititz P? 17543 Member of Nev.snanei Fa; -n Ec itoi s Assn Pa Newspaper Association ind National Newsnapei irtion turc. consumer prices for gas would rise about two cents per gallon. That would be more than a'tyve per cent increase in gaso line costs. Since the a\erage family spends several hundred dollars a year on gas. the removal of lead would cost several dollars per person each year. And that’s just one of many possible steps to impro\e the environment. Cost of a reasonably clean environment, including both air and water, could easily run several hundred dollars per person each year. A clean environment could easily take a signi ficant portion of each family’s income and severely restrict the amount left over for other uses. We’ll Pay This is a point which should not be for gotten in the discussion on improung the quality of the emironment. You and I will pay tor it, e\ery bit of it, in the form of higher costs for the things we buy If the go\eminent does it, we'll pay in higher taxes. If business does it, we’ll pay in higher costs for products we use. Either way, we'll pay. Because cleaning up the environment is so costly for us. we need to weigh carefully how much of our time and resources we want to spend on the effort. We need to decide how fast we want to proceed The faster a thing is done the more it generally costs. How Much? We need to decide what priority the emaronment should have in relation to all the other needs and luxuries we're constant ly spending money on Money spent on the environment isn't a\ ailable for other things All this, however, is not an argument against a clean environment. We all need an alive and healthy environment A health}, environment, like a healthy body, is essen tial; it is a natural right; without it nothing else matters. The point is that all such things cost and we are going to pay the price. The real issue is How clean is clean enough and how much do we want to pay? foods are pre-w ashed, pre-peeled, pre-cook ed, pre-mi\ed and pre-packaged prepara tion that costs more, but proudes a con venience for which consumers are willing to pay. It costs about S6O billion a year to pi e pare, transport and distribute food to local stores About 45 per cent of this sum goes to pay the five million people employed by the food industry The supermarket ends up with a profit of about a penny per dollar of sales. The leaflet also points out, about one fifth of most people's grocery bill isn’t gro ceries at all. It is something to wear, read listen to or clean with. Altogether, it means that while the shopper groans about high food costs, the complamer often unjustly includes non-fooc items in the family food budget and ignores the extent to which basic, inexpensne food items are by-passed in fa\ or of food sen ice People are “living high off the hog They're buying service, instead of food The truth is that if we're willing to buy in season and forego strawberries and let tuce in winter, if we're willing to biu ir bulk and go the trouble of doing our own packaging, cutting and freezing, if weie willing to forego some of the fancy, hign cost foods, in short, if we’re willing to jus: buy food without all the costly sen ices. :* really doesn't cost much, it doesn’t take a \ery large portion of our incomes to eat quality food But most of us don’t just buy food < - buy service and complain about the r, cost of food. 1 To Use Pesticides Carefully As warmer weather brings out dormant insects, diseases, and other pests that attack both plant and animal life, pesticides play a larger role. When we refer to pesticides we mean all chemicals used for controlling all destruc tive forms of plant and animal life All gardeners and farmers a r e urged to follow pesticide la- Dels and instructions very care fully. The misuse of pesticides has caused most ot the trouble «e near about today To Practice Farm Vacation Safty \ tarn vacation is fast becom ng an inexpensive means of re laxation for uiban families The farm owher should make suie n.s guests have a safe vacation n tne count'y Visiting youngst ers should be warned about the danger of macnmeiy, livestock THE THUNDER OF DEEDS Leftecn for May 10,1970 Backsnwiri Scripture: Acts 13 rfirsujh 14. Duntimal Runlins: Acts 10.34-43, If We are going to communi cate the Christian message to day, we must concentrate less on words and more on deeds. This is because many people will no longer listen to preaching. —*•« need the message, for most part, 11 not come to tur churches, tst of them lore street >mer preaching id even mass Hies. The same true of tracts, ibles, and other >oks. Loud deeds The only thing that will gain their attention will he deeds of witness that speak so loudly that they cannot be ignored. They are used to words, both printed and spoken, and have taught them selves to ignore them. They are conditioned to doubt and disbe lieve all claims, particularly those that promise “a better way of life.” What reaches these people then’ Often the only thing that will communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ is an unselfish act of service, help rendered with out the expectation of receiving something tangible m return. Whenever we see people “put themselves out” for others, we are tempted to ask “why?” Church people in a particular city may run a downtown coffee house for young adults or youth. Knowing that most people do not ordinarily give freely of their time and effort, many pa trons will want to know “why?” A group of women may spend one day a week at the local mental hospital, doing what they can to bring some personal warmth into the lives of patients. These acts can be far more efedave in speaking of God’s love than all the sermons, tracts, signboards, or advertisements. If people «re going to hear the NOW IS THE TIME... By Max Smith Lancaster County Agent electric fences, farm ponds and other attractions that are strange to them Be suie that any acci dents is not due to your negli gence. Insurance cmerage is es sential. To Prevent Herbicide Injury The control of weeds has al ways been a majoi farm or gar den chore With the introduction of chemicals to kill weeds, the control appeals easier but more dangerous if care is not exercis ed. The matenals to oe used on certain crops may injure others; spray equipment mav need to be thoroughly cleaned and soaked in older to prevent damage to the next crop The drJt of the spiay to nearby ciops and trees is often serious All spray opera tor are uiged to be very care ful Tobacco, legumes, grape vin es, shade tiees, and most garden and flowei plants a.e easily in jmed by many he. Divides. Christian message today, It win, be, not because of our words, but because of our involvement in mission. 1 The beginning of mission How does mission begin? Act* 13, the story of the beginning o£ Paul’s so called "first mission ary journey, ’’ provides us with some counsel. First of all, %hfjr asked for guidance. The church at Antioch was gathered togeth er for worship. They were fast ing, a sign that they were -seek ing Gods guidance. At last 1110 sought-after counsel came: *'S»fc apart ifor me Barnabbas had Saul (Paul) for the work -ift which I have called them" Atif* 132)., k Secondly, they accepted hfoJfc guidance. When God shows! them what he wanted them %o do, they accepted the task. Thirdly, they set apart peojflfe for the task. It is not enough ho recognize our particular mission, specific persons must he (desig nated to do specific tasks. Finally, they were sent forth. One does not get the impression that, once Paul and BarnabMs had gone, the church at Antioch forgot about them. We can imagine that they followed -them with their prayers and possibly even material help. If we ask him Perhaps these four steps cm be instructive for us too. We need to seek God’s guidance and, ask where he wants us to witness today. We may be assured ifhafc if we ask him he will 3snt | e3y show us. Our answer may come in the form of someone’s re quest for help, or we may dis cover a situation of specific need. Sometimes we will see<h«t a project is required, while it others we will recognize %*t 4t is simply an individual net witness that is called for. If we feel God has not shown us any field for witness, it really means that we have been nnwill ing to accept what he has “already shown us. Perhaps he shows tis a task that may seem unpleasant. We may dismiss it, thinking, “Surely He doesn’t expect me to do that?” Or we may see n pro ject that seems beyond -our ca pacities and assume that it wjll have to w r ait for a more extra ordinary Christian. What'we must learn it that if God shows these tasks, it is only because he intends for us to do them. Then it will be that 'the thunder of our deeds will «peak more loudly for Christ than MI our words. " (Based on outlines copyrighted bv theDhrisior el Christian Education, National Council of lh« Churches et Christ m the U. S. A. Released %y Community Tress Service,) _