Monday, August8, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com LTe ficfgn 3al Stale sustainability Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan sincey1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@umich.edu BETHANY BIRON EDITOR IN CHIEF MARK BURNS MANAGING EDITOR TEDDY PAPES EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorialboard. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Bongs and thongs belong City Council shouldn't act as cultural police Ann Arbor City Council is yet again trying to dictate the activities of downtown businesses. After closing The Fifth Quarter and attempting to close Dream Nite Club, City Council is taking an even more controlling stance by forcing a soon to be opened store, Bongs and Thongs, to alter the mer- chandise it plans on selling. In an attempt to make the store's products more "community-friendly," City Council is citing an obscure ordinance that limits the sale of sexual paraphernalia. City Council should not micromanage store inventories, espe- cially if they are following legitimate laws, and it shouldn't dig up age-old ordinances to impede stores that carry merchan- dise it doesn't like. This outdated law should be abandoned and Bongs and Thongs should be able to open without any merchan- "The Kids Are All Right" has an underlying theme of organic, local living that's overshadowed by the lesbian love angle. Two sides of the issue are equally por- trayed: thoset who act sus- tainably and those that find NICK a way to criti- BRINGARDNER cize those who do for their pretentiousness. Annette Ben- ning's character gets fed up with the sustainability trend and goes on this rant: "I just can't with the hemp milk and the organic farm- ing. If I bear one more person say they love heirloom tomatoes, I'm gonna kill myself. Do you know that we're composting now? 'Oh no, don't throw that in the trash. You have to put that in the composting bin where all the beautiful little worms will turn it into organic mulch and then we'll all feel good about ourselves."' While watching it I realized that Annette Benning was right. This "holier-than-thou" mental- ity is a prevailing one in Ann Arbor. Many of the fancy, Main Street res- taurants have menus packed with descriptions of every ingredient, some even including the farm of origin. A handful of those places also boast a beer and spirits selec- tion that consist entirely of locally brewed or manufactured alcohol and it's most certainly a point of pride for those establishments. But does that give them the right to criticize other places that do not follow the same policy? Does it mean Michigan beers are somehow better or that organic heirloom tomatoes taste better? Not neces- sarily. It's a matter of opinion. "Organic" might carry different connotations depending on where you use the word. In Ann Arbor it is praised, but elsewhere it may be regarded as pompous, simply label- ing something different * for the sake of increasing the price. Keep in mind that "organic" for food only means a harsher set of FDA stan- dards for production and distribu- tion of the product and there still is insufficient evidence to support the claim that organic food is safer, healthier or better tasting than conventionally grown foods. We're very satisfied whenever we mention our responsible choic- es, but sometimes that stinks of arrogance. That also applies to the general sustainability movement, especially when it's billed as a hip, life-changing decision. I'm not arguing about the movement itself. Taking steps toward saving the Earth is absolutely the right choice. However, since its nascence, the sustain-ability initiative has been a somewhat hideous creature, a many-headed beast dividing Amer- icans between partisan lines and revealing our many faults - the most salient being not everyone can afford to be green. Sustain- ability is often publicized as a rich man's endeavor. Yes, we are still years away from having responsible technology that is accessible to the entire public and not just a wealthy minority. In places outside Ann Save the arrogance when you eat organic. Arbor, recyclingisn't always easy. A wide variety of items, such as sty- rofoam, are accepted here, but not elsewhere. In cities where waste management doesn't have adequate resources, you have to make a con- certed effort to dispose of recy- clables. Similarly, local farmers' markets might seem like the best choice when it comes to purchas- ing your-produce, but there aren't farmers' markets everywhere. And the difference in price that might seem infinitesimal to us may be enough, to outweigh the benefits of the farm-to-dinner table option. However, there are also plenty of sustainable solutions as simple as unplugging your electronics after using them and taking the bus. You don't have to go so far as to buy a hybrid car, solar panels and a wind turbine. Having those items doesn't mean you're saving the planet that much more than the other guy. The problem is that local, organic food and sustainability are far too often promoted as an alternative lifestyle when it should be integrat- ed into normal lifestyle. But that takes time, money and a collective, inclusive effort. We should strive to create change without an air of superiority. Nick Bringardner can be reached at njbring@umich.edu. 6 0 S dise restrictions. Bongs and Thongs is not engag- ing in anything illegal. City Coun- cil is condemning the store before its doors have even opened, forc- inga store to change its inventory. Ann Arbor should allow stores to exist, regardless of how outland- ish or socially controversial their products may be. If purchas- ing thongs were illegal, or if the store were causing crime rates to increase, City Council might have had a more legitimate case against the store. In reality, however, the city is blocking the new business not because of serious legal issues, but rather due to its easily offend- ed sensibilities. The law that the city is citing was created in 1978 and limited the sale of genital-like objects and sexually stimulating products to less than 20 percent of merchan- dise. There are many old ordi- nances that the city could invoke to prevent all kinds' of different activities, but do not because they are largely vestigial or utterly obsolete, such as anordinancethat prevents bowling between 12:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The law being cited to dictate merchandise sales at Bongs and Thongs is completely arbitrary and doesn't reflect any current state or federal law. The City Council should not block the opening of a store that does not violate any legitimate statute. Worse than the citation of out- dated ordinances, though, is that store owner Kilo Hassan is up against the close-mindedness of a city that usually has an open mind. In this case, the law is sim- ply being used as an excuse to get rid of a store that sells cultural oddities. While there maybe some valid concerns about the opening of a marijuana-friendly, sexuali- ty-enhancing store in downtown Ann Arbor, the real problem seems to be that people are sim- ply uncomfortable being around such a store. The U.S. prides itself on having free enterprise, and it is Hassan's right to run a business, provided the products sold are legal. If this store is going to be a bane to Ann Arbor, people can avoid it and it will go out of busi- ness. If it does well, then it proves that the citizens of this town actu- ally welcome a store that provides recreation rather than preserv- ing cultural taboos. City Council should not act as cultural police and should allow Bongs and Thongs to stock its shelves the way Hassan wants them to be filled. It should be the job of the market, not City Council, to determine if Ann Arbor has too many dildos.