On Fri, 02 Apr 2004 04:03:00 GMT, Stephen M. Henning wrote:

wrote:

I don't think the retailers "want
to waste the resources of the world," but I do think they don't give
such things as value, morality or ethics a moments thought.

Retailers are business people dealing in commodities. The plants they
sell are grown just for them whether they be trees or petunias. If they
destroy them, I just means that they have expanded the horticulture
business by paying for excess production. Since plants are a renewable
resource, the only thing wasted is the container materials and energy.
Throwing away a dented can of veggies or fruit is more of a waste of
resources than throwing away plants.

What do you mean by energy?

What about peat and the other elements in the potting soil? Peat is not always
harvested renewably. What about the petrochemicals consumed to produce the
plants' fertilizer? And what about the run-off? How about the smog produced
to truck these plants from grower to warehouse to store only to have them
thrown away? Just a few of the costs not factored into the $2.99 retail
price...

--
John GOTTS http://linuxsavvy.com/staff/jgotts