8/31/08
6/18/08
About my campaign for not using plastic bags...
Every storie has two sides... and this is a quite humorous one.
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She loses it over reusable bags
By Beth Teitell - Globe Correspondent / April 17, 2008
Like countless other Al Gore-fearing Americans, I'm finally making the big switch to reusable grocery bags. In fact, I'm so eager to do my part for Earth that each time I go shopping, I make sure to forget my bags at home, thereby allowing me to buy a whole new set! Not to brag, but my collection could fill a landfill. Oh, but, of course, I'd never throw them away. They're reusable. Well, theoretically.
more stories like this
The cabinet next to my sink bulges with my good intentions. To open the door is to set off an avalanche of hemp, recycled organic cotton, and 80 percent post-consumer waste (plus, to be honest, plastic bags I'm hoarding). Closing it involves stuffing the cascading bags back in while slamming shut the door. Save a sea turtle or a tree, lose a finger. OK, I admit it. Sometimes I don't forget my bags. I simply lack the mental energy to do the dance.
I'm not alone in my bag-nesia. Endless products address the modern challenge of having several grocery bags with you at all times. There are bags that hook onto your keychain, the idea being that you won't forget your keys, so you won't forget your bag. Never mind that you can lose both, leaving you locked out of your house and forcing you to buy yet another reusable bag. There are compact bags to toss into your purse or pockets. Who cares if there's no room for your wallet, a brush, and a book?
You can store bags in the trunk of your car. But even driving the bags to the store is not a guarantee you'll actually take them inside. At Whole Foods in Brighton, customers occasionally dash out of the checkout line to the parking lot to retrieve their bags, reports the store's marketing team leader, Lauren Klatsky.
Klatsky insists none of the other customers mind. But I don't know. Perhaps it's time to replace the "12 items or fewer" aisles with express lanes for shoppers who can prove they have their reusable bags in their possession - or who are willing to carry out items in their bare hands.
Not to complain about the cost, because what's a few hundred dollars - or more - compared with the long-term health of the planet? But reusable bags can get expensive. Ninety-nine cents here, $960 there (for a reusable silk Hermès bag). It starts to add up. With the money I'm spending to transport my groceries, eating out might be more cost-effective.
And there's another issue: fashion. If you're a certain type of person, it's not enough that your reusable grocery bag holds groceries. It must also establish your style. With designers getting in on the action, a Self magazine headline sums up the challenge: "Look chic at the farmers market." Better you should show up in curlers and sweatpants than be seen carrying your organic herbs and heirloom tomatoes home in a plastic bag.
Statistics on reusable-bag production are hard to come by, but when I asked Vincent Cobb, founder and president of reusablebags.com, if the solution is becoming part of the problem, he didn't hesitate a moment.
"Absolutely," he said, explaining that some are made so cheaply they fall apart after a few uses. "They are becoming more of the junk."
5/10/08
4/22/08
April 22nd - Earth's Day
Creative Commons License Earthcast 2008 Web badge by Web badge by Jason Robertshaw is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Earth's Day is celebrated today with an international event - EarthCast 2008 - 24hour Webcastathon all around the world.
You can check what is going on live at the website: http://edtechtalk.com/earthcast08
4/16/08
Earth Day Tips 2008
from the Green Guide
"Earth Day is a great time to turn over a new leaf and give that green New Year’s resolution a second chance. It’s an opportunity to do something nice for your community, your health and your planet. Here are seven simple ideas for change.
1. Save time and a lot of paper: Switch to tree-free billing and pay those bills online with the click of a button or an automatic debit. Forests provide habitat for all sorts of Earth’s creatures and remove carbon dioxide from the air. Approximately one billion trees-worth of paper are trashed each year in the U.S., and hard copy bills alone generate almost 700,000 tons of waste and almost two million tons of carbon dioxide. Both you and the planet will be happier without the excess garbage.
2. Take it a step further by preserving forests, which provide habitat for all sorts of Earth’s creatures and remove carbon dioxide from the air. Donate to Plant-I, 2020, which will plant an indigenous tree for each dollar you give or join the Nature Conservancy in their Plant a Billion Trees program and donate to plant trees in Brazilian rainforest.
3. Enjoy a certified wildlife habitat just by stepping out the back door. The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) certifies yards, community gardens, school grounds and business sites through the “Garden for Wildlife” program, which looks for animal shelters and resources, the use of least-toxic pesticides, and water conservation. Start creating a backyard where native species take haven. See nwf.org for details.
4. Talk to your office manager about greening the workplace and, for starters, print on both sides of the paper. For a list of better paper products to choose, including Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper from well-managed forests, see our Paper Buying Guide For more office greening tips, check out True Green @ Work.
5. Get your choo-choo on. Planning a trip? Check out the train schedule. According to the Nature Conservancy, on a cross-country trip, a train emits only about 4 to 15 percent of the carbon dioxide that a plane does (and an automobile is not much better). May 10 marks the first annual National Train Day, so it’s a good opportunity to give the rails a try. See amtrak.com for details.
6. Save water: According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense program, Americans use an average of 170 gallons of water per day, and at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional or statewide water shortages by 2013. Use an egg timer to shave time off of your daily shower, and start collecting the “warm-up” water to use on your garden. For more ways to save water, see "Bathroom Revamp."
7. Get involved in the environment in your own neighborhood. You’ll become more personally invested in the earth’s health and will therefore be a better resident of your community and the planet. This Earth Day, do a little research. Visit a nearby farm to meet the people that make your food—to find farms and farmer's markets, check localharvest.org or ams.usda.gov. Learn about the quality of your local air quality and nearby rivers and streams from “Window to My Environment,” the EPA’s web tool for making a difference close to home, at epa.gov. And find out how to support endangered and threatened species in your area by for visiting your state Fish and Wildlife services via fishandwildlife.org.
Finally, take a hike! Get outdoors: One of the best motivations for protecting the planet is to enjoy it. And what better time than Earth Day?"
4/3/08
3/9/08
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