It’s great to see so many American flags displayed around the community. What’s even better is to see POW/MIA flags flown as well. It’s unknown how many Prisoners of War (POW) are still missing, but there are some numbers on how many members of our Armed Forces are still Missing in Action (MIA) from all our wars. Here are some numbers and facts concerning the MIAs:
- 72,220 are still missing from World War II.
- 7,497 still missing from the Korean War.
- 1,579 missing from the war in Vietnam.
- 132 are missing from the Cold War, Operation El Dorado Canyon (Northern Africa) and the Persian Gulf War.
The search continues for all those missing or for those being held as prisoners.
I doubt we’ll ever see the price of gas much below $3/per gallon. The oil companies keep us all on the “Gas Price Roller Coaster.” The price drops pennies at a time, then just as we start to enjoy the low price, they raise it twenty cents. I can understand having to raise the price because of a refinery fire or a weather emergency, but why is it cheaper to buy our gas in Sturgis or Portage? If you’re a member of Costco or Sam’s Club, you get a nice discount. The price of gasoline at these two sites can be twenty-five cents per gallon cheaper. This could save you more than the annual membership fee if you live nearby and drive lots of miles annually.
Another way to save money on gasoline is to slow down. Most cars get the best gas mileage at about 55 mph. Typically, 65 mph is 8 percent less efficient than 55 mph, and 80 mph is 28 percent less efficient.
I’m hoping I don’t see the day when electric cars are the only means of transportation. We are already having trouble with power grids being over-worked during the summer months.
Next Monday, Sept. 4, is Labor Day. There won’t be any trash pick-up on Labor Day, which means that all that week, your trash will be picked up one day later than usual.
Some facts that are more fact than fiction: - Our population grew more in the last 50 years than it did in the last 4 million years.
- At least 50 million acres of rain-forests are lost every year. That’s the size of Wales, England and Scotland combined.
- If we recycled every newspaper, we can save 250 million trees every year.
- It will cost 13 billion dollars a year to provide the whole world with sanitation and food. That’s the same amount spent by Americans and Europeans on perfume and colognes alone.
- 40 percent of all bottled water sold globally is bottled tap water.
- The amount of sunlight that falls on the Earth every hour is enough to power the whole population in a year.
We all need to be more aware about how we treat our natural resources.
“Stores are full of shaving aids, but all you need is this and blades.” -BURMA SHAVE
See you Out and About!
Norm Stutesman lives in Three Rivers. He receives mail at P.O. Box 103 in Three Rivers.