More Unintended Consequences

There is something about this story that makes me laugh, and makes me glad that I don't live in Cairo, Egypt.  Earlier this month, I posted about how I felt that the government seems to operate in a vacuum and they do not fully think through all of the consequences of the laws they pass.  It's good to see that is not something that is unique to the US experience.

Currently in Cairo they have a major garbage problem.  The roads in Cairo have never been considered clean, especially compared to our suburbia, but the problem is taking on epic proportions.  The garbage in the streets continues to pile up and is rotting in the streets. 

The problem came about earlier this year when the Egyptian government tried to take some proactive action to head off the potential swine flu pandemic.  Their solution was to kill all of the pigs in the country.  Oops, the swine flu isn't transmitted by pigs.

This error has led to the current garbage crisis.  The pigs, along with goats, used to eat the organic garbage in the streets of Cairo.  The goats are still out there working, but they just can't keep up without the assistance of the pigs. 

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• First, Kill All the Pigs in Egypt. Then, Wade Through Garbage. (nytimes.com)
• An American in Cairo's 'Garbage City' (blogs.abcnews.com)