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Do you want to return to the state of nature? Do you miss
the pristine beauty and awe-inspiring innocence of the natural world?
Beginning
in the eighteenth century Romantic poets and philosophers have been touting the
virtues of the natural world. Environmentalists before their time they blame
human beings and especially human industry for all of the ills that have
befallen our accursed species. They especially blame free market capitalism.
But, you know the drill.
Now, the city of Rome has taken it all just a little too
literally. Led by its first woman mayor, Virginia Raggi the city has ceased
picking up the trash. Considering that it’s a major part of the mayor’s job, we
cannot count Raggi as a great success.
With garbage piling up all over Rome the city is returning
to a time before Caesar, a time before the Roman Empire. It is returning to its
pristine and beautiful natural state.
The Heat St. blog has the story:
Wild
boar are taking over Rome, attracted to the Italian capital by mounds of
rotting rubbish.
That’s
the claim of increasingly angry residents frustrated by mayor Virginia Raggi’s
apparent inability to organize efficient refuse collections.
In
March, a 49-year-old man was killed when his scooter crashed into a hungry boar
prowling the city’s streets. Last month a family of boar invaded an elementary
school’s garden hunting for food. And a massive boar was recently caught on
video running in traffic near the Vatican.
Italy’s
boar population has rocketed to an estimated 1 million after a bigger,
fast-breeding type was imported from Eastern Europe in recent years for
hunting. A boar can now fetch 500 euros (about $550) on the open market.
But the
downside of the population explosion of these omnivores is becoming obvious, as
they spend more time in the metropolis in search of ways to sate their
rapacious appetite.
Environmentalists take note. And be careful what you wish
for.
5 comments:
I expect there's a law against capturing/killing a boar in Rome and then eating it.
I have no idea what this has to do with environmentalism, although you can make a lot less garbage if you garden and compost your yard and food wastes.
Here in Minnesota we mainly have racoon scavenging in the compost bins, but they're pretty skittish and don't cause many accidents to my knowledge.
And I'm pretty sure most environmentalists would disapprove of importing new wild species for the purpose of hunting.
Garbage and waste 'management' is vastly corrupted by Maffia an 'Ndrangheta in Italy, a situation that mayor Raggi inherited. Problems with garbage collection and disposal have been getting worse since ages. People have been bitten by rats too, all before Virginia Raggi became mayor.
Meanwhile, the streets are cleaner.
La Stampa reports on May 14: http://www.lastampa.it/2017/05/14/economia/roma-raggi-prigioniera-dei-rifiuti-cos-i-grillini-bocciano-gli-impianti-RbchObX0BT4yhfBL5kvGBP/pagina.html
"As expected, the streets of Rome are cleaner. Comune and Ama, the Campidoglio company that manages the service, have deployed 1,800 vehicles and 4,000 busy staff 24 hours a day, spending for overtime a number that sources connected with the works estimate at 2 million euros. This does not mean that the emergency is forgotten. The systems are under stress: to tilt system, one small fault will be enough, or a shutdown because of maintenance."
Rome... a hunting destination! Who would have imagined?
Wild boar is delicious. I recommend a .270 Win with 140 gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips to penetrate the shoulder and avoid damaging too much meat. Wild hogs are vicious bastards, so be careful.
Anonymous at 9:26 AM, thanks for the update. I did find that Virginia Raggi was just elected last summer and in a new political party. Politics is messy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Raggi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Star_Movement
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