This was an interesting discussion, and I've been meaning to get back with you. I wish I had a chance to call.

I live in an apartment, and access to recycling is impossible. Last December, my lease expired and I made it a point to search for apartment complexes which did recycling. Here's the problem: I could not find a single apartment that offered recycling in Houston! (I looked at about 20). I asked an experienced apartment locator to tell me which apartments offered recyling. He had a database with all sorts of sort criteria (crime rate, fitness center, etc), but nobody had bothered to gather data about that. It wasn't even in the database.

My informal survey of apartments found that the typical monthly charge for trash pickup was $3. If I could ask one question of your City of Houston rep, it would be, how much would apartments need to charge to contract for waste management companies which could offer recycling methods?

Several people I talked to in the apartment world said 1)apartment consumers would never accept a price hike necessary for recycling, 2)no apartment complex would take the initiative to offer recycling unless it were a mandatory requirement for all apartments.

I would be very curious if anyone in a Houston apartment has recycling?

I understand that whether an apartment offers recycling is not the most important factor in selecting an apartment. But not even having this information available for potential renters is part of the problem.

I have heard that the Obama administration has deemed a "Single Payer" health plan as unworthy of discussion.
This concerns me not only because the loss of this option eliminates a economic multiplier effect we wouldn't be afforded from cheaper medical costs but also that his mandate for change could ignore the wishes of so many constituents. Yesterday on the Amy Goodman show I heard that physicians supported by 59% a single payer system and I believe I heard that the percentage of support from the general public is about the same.
A single payer system would be a low carbon stimulus to our economy.

I have heard that the Obama administration has deemed a "Single Payer" health plan as unworthy of discussion.
This concerns me not only because the loss of this option eliminates a economic multiplier effect we wouldn't be afforded from cheaper medical costs but also that his mandate for change could ignore the wishes of so many constituents. Yesterday on the Amy Goodman show I heard that physicians supported by 59% a single payer system and I believe I heard that the percentage of support from the general public is about the same.
A single payer system would be a low carbon stimulus to our economy.