Northeast Reltonia: A New "Gold Mine" of Sorts??

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

In an earlier blog (Installment 492, June 19, 2019) I described the old landfill that borders northeast Reltonia. It was obvious in that blog that the area just north of Reltonia's northeastern corner has been severely damaged by solid wastes -- and that much of that so-called "trash" is slowly percolating down into the ground -- and into Reltonia...

Now I see (NBC News, on May 11, 2023) that new technological breakthroughs are making it possible to process trash much more quickly than before -- leading to hope that we will be better able to identify and sort out our huge amounts of trash more efficiently. This could lead to a much more efficient "reuse, recycle, reduce" approach to dealing with all of the hard-to-get-rid-of trash that we have heaped upon ourselves.

For example, AI is now able to quickly identify the chemical composition of the trash that it inspects. This will make it possible to sort our our trash more thoroughly -- and without, as Suzanne Jones -- manager of a nonprofit recycling

center in Boulder, Colorado -- describes such "workers" (my quotes) as "not needing lunch breaks, never calling in sick, (having) no need for vacations. " AND "They can work a double shift."

"The river of refuse (that flows from us each day) could become a pool of materials we never throw away," said Jeff Ward NBC News Boulder, Colorado, who was reporting on how new technologies are offering hope in the battle against pollution and waste. Mr. Ward noted that "69 million tons" of trash are processed in the United States yearly -- but that -- to paraphrase -- "approximately 223 million tons are not."

The company "AMP Robotics" uses machine vision and a vacuum grabber to pick out what it can! This AI system even "learns" as kit works --kit can identify the exact chemical composition of each item. -- and in so doing, identify the manufacturing company!

Indeed in a world so hopeless that even grasping at straws should be considered, we need to make the most of our new technologies -- all the while, of course, while trying to corral any dangerous turns these technologies may lead us to in the process! Automation and AI have become a part of the process, like it or not!

Steve Walker

Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.