To start, a tidbit from OZY Sunday Magazine : If the problem is the U.S. border with Mexico, is the solution an alligator-filled moat? In 2019, former President Donald Trump reportedly asked aides to explore that idea. In a response worthy of Jonathan Swift, defense strategist and author Peter W. Singer worked out the costs of replacing border fences with a moat filled with alligators and snakes. Spoiler alert: It’s surprisingly doable , costing $2.5 billion to acquire the reptiles and $1.8 billion a year to maintain them as a “border force.” The Rio Grande is 1255 miles of the 1954-mile long U.S.-Mexico border. If Donald Trump had succeeded in totally building a wall at a projected cost of $20 million/mile, the cost would eventually have been $39 billion. He was planning, though, to only construct 576 miles at a cost of $11 billion, using the Rio Grande as part of his barrier, and some previous walls to suffice. Gobal warming has made it easier to cross the Rio now, so this
New SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for PLANET EARTH AND HUMANITY: This blog site derives from the original version of Planet Earth & Humanity, but will be more WE than ME. The coverage will remain similar, but perhaps these postings will seem to come from a parallel universe, or maybe even Purgatory. But truth and reality will prevail, with dashes of whimsy and levity to help make your day.