you are what you throw away

Because of yesterday’s post by Matt about his thoughts on trash, we thought it appropriate to link to the latest Special Report by The Economist.  This is a series of ten articles all about waste and America and climate change.  Below is an excerpt from the introduction:

 

The waste industry: A load of rubbish

 

Rubbish can cause all sorts of problems. It often stinks, attracts vermin and creates eyesores. More seriously, it can release harmful chemicals into the soil and water when dumped, or into the air when burned. It is the source of almost 4% of the world’s greenhouse gases, mostly in the form of methane from rotting food—and that does not include all the methane generated by animal slurry and other farm waste. And then there are some really nasty forms of industrial waste, such as spent nuclear fuel, for which no universally accepted disposal methods have thus far been developed.

Some of the articles include “you are what you throw away”, “the value of recycling”, and “down in the dumps”.  As someone who recently started composting and getting a major lesson on the amount of trash I create… this is an invaluable discussion.  Take the time to pick up the issue or go online (even better… NO WASTE!)

 

why we should move away from plastics

First, a digression:  Have you guys heard of Stumble Upon?

Oh my word, it is ever addicting.  It happens in two ways.  The first way is by adding the ‘stumble’ button to your internet browser. Anytime you are in need of something new, you hit the button and stumble to a new website.  The other way it works is when you see the “stumble” button on a website you are visiting… see the column on the right hand side for this website’s button… hit the button!  The website gets voted as something you think others would like to see.

The point:  there are a lot of interesting things on the web that you can ‘stumble upon’.

For example, THIS slide show we found about plastic bags.  We would never have found out about this without the brilliance of Stumble… very grateful!

waste not, want not

You order something online and you anxiously await its arrival. Or, you are surprised one day by a lovely gift from a friend. Or, you get an unsolicited piece of marketing. In any case, harm has been done to the environment by the simple means of transportation for that package.

Twenty-five per cent of the 2.4 million hectares of trees cut down annually in the southeastern U. S. (the largest paper-producing region in the world) ends up as packaging. Millions and millions of items that are wastefully wrapped, and scores of large, almost-empty boxes that consume valuable shipping space, all translate into an enormous waste of materials and energy. And it’s not just about litter and landfills; it’s also about deforestation, air quality, and global warming.

And, unfortunately, we are at the time of year when all of this is magnified:

At no other time of the year is our plethora of packaging more obvious than during the holidays. North America’s waste output–the packaging, wrapping paper and party paraphernalia that together gives new meaning to “gifts that keep on giving”–goes up around 25 per cent from the end of November to just after Christmas.

You may not be able to stop all of the packaging that comes your way. However, maybe this is a little reminder to use your power as a consumer, at least in local shopping: bring your own bag, ask to be bag free, don’t have them wrap your item in 15 sheets of tissue paper… you get the idea. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

article HERE

fall back

Well, we all woke this morning to a new time. I can never remember if we are on Daylight Saving Time now or did we just leave it…?

I think what is more important to know, however, is that by saving daylight we are wasting energy.

There have been many studies about the actual necessity of this biannual event, but the most telling was reported in the Wall Street Journal.

So the study began with Indiana counties inconsistent on the application of the time change. Then they all did. And then they discovered this:
Having the entire state switch to daylight-saving time each year, rather than stay on standard time, costs Indiana households an additional $8.6 million in electricity bills. They conclude that the reduced cost of lighting in afternoons during daylight-saving time is more than offset by the higher air-conditioning costs on hot afternoons and increased heating costs on cool mornings.

You can learn more by going HERE. Wikipedia has a ton of information about it, as well, HERE

don’t be so trashy

Here is an interesting article about food waste.

The food crisis is not one of lack of food but over production of food that cannot get to people who need it, therefore becoming waste. The point of the article is to also bring to light the volume of water that is used to make the food, therefore it is wasted, as well.

I think the thing that stands out to me about this, and similar articles, is that we need to look at the whole life span of what we buy, whether it is food or other goods. To produce beef it costs 2500 gallons of water per pound. When you throw that away, you have contributed to the waste of not only that item, but everything it took to make that item.

don’t be so trashy

Here is an interesting article about food waste.

The food crisis is not one of lack of food but over production of food that cannot get to people who need it, therefore becoming waste. The point of the article is to also bring to light the volume of water that is used to make the food, therefore it is wasted, as well.

I think the thing that stands out to me about this, and similar articles, is that we need to look at the whole life span of what we buy, whether it is food or other goods. To produce beef it costs 2500 gallons of water per pound. When you throw that away, you have contributed to the waste of not only that item, but everything it took to make that item.