#206 - Spreading The Word

Sharing What I've Learned With Others

Those of you who read my blog know that I'm pretty much a closet-greenie. I make these changes here, in the safety of my own home, without discussing them with the outside world. Why? I dunno. Fear of looking like a tree-hugging hippie? Fear of looking like a freaked-out peak-oil doomsayer? Fear of sounding like an annoying missionary from the Church of Climate Change?

Doubt it. Most likely it's just that same old fear I've had since I was six. Fear of Being Different. Because for whatever reason, I'm one of those fucked up individuals who wants nothing more than to fit in with everyone else. Strange. Double-strange, actually, since I'm also the biggest, loudest attention-seeking ham you'll ever meet.

Well, for a couple weeks now I've been thinking how great it would be if the kids' preschool would do something -- anything -- to celebrate the upcoming Earth Day on April 22nd. And today... guess what I did? Mmmmmhmm. I marched my fat ass down to the preschool office, declared myself EcoDorkess, Lord of the Green Tips, and offered to create an educational flyer to stuff in every kids' cubby.

I held my breath and prepared for the worst. But you know what? It never came. They did not laugh. They did not point. They did not throw rotten tomatoes at me. They didn't even stifle giggles while humming circus music.

In fact, they thought it was a great idea and asked if there were any other eco-activities I'd like to coordinate. Shuh. Yeeaaahhhh!

So this post is gonna have to be short and to the point so I can get to work on the flyer. Did I make a point yet? Oh, guess not. Well my point is: I have amassed a certain amount of eco-knowledge over the past year in my quest to be more green and it's time I shared some of that information with others. Because by sharing our ideas with others, we inspire. And when we inspire, we encourage others to take action. And action, my friends, is what will make the difference in our planet.

So go spread the word, folks. With the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker. Or better yet, with a school near you!

Day Eighty-Four - Where Am I?

Learn World Geography

Every day I learn something new. Some days, all I learn is just how ignorant I am. Like yesterday. And the day before that. And Tuesday. And last week....

One of the things I've always been bad at is world geography. I don't know why. I can put most of the states in their proper places on Ethan's United States Puzzle, but beyond that, I'm an absolute moron. I'm definitely not one of the 3% of Americans who can point to Kobul on a map. But what does any of this have to do with the environment? Lots.

According to American Economic Alert, the 2007 to-date national trade deficit is roughly $540 BILLION. That number increases approximately $60,000,000 per month. Americans buy tons and tons of imported goods every year - literally. I won't get into the effect this has on the economy (but did you check out the fun Jib-Jab cartoon I posted?) because I'm certainly no expert, besides, I'm here to focus on the environmental impact of it all. An article from Environmental Health Perspectives gives the following "standard distribution path" of a toy doll:

A $9.97 doll is made in Asia by low-wage workers under conditions that may
subject them to a myriad of unregulated hazards. This doll is packed with 10,000
others into a container and loaded onto a marine vessel holding 4,000 other
containers carrying dolls, shoes, and electronics. Fueled by low-quality bunker
fuel, the ship leaves one of the world’s largest ports in Asia, chugs across the
Pacific, discharging nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulates, and other
pollutants into the earth’s environment. Arriving at the Southern California
ports of Los Angeles or Long Beach (where 40% of all U.S. imports arrive), the
container is unloaded by longshore workers, who breathe exhaust from the
idling ship as well as emissions from a row of idling trucks with drivers
waiting for their loads. For the next leg of the trip, the doll may be placed on
a big-rig truck and sent for repackaging to a mega-warehouse 50 miles from the
ports, an area that was formerly all dairy lands that has now given way to
million-square-foot warehouses for consumer goods (drawing thousands of diesel
trucks a day into formerly rural communities). Finally, the doll is trucked to
her destination, a big-box retailer in suburban Chicago. By this time, she has
traveled more than 8,000 miles—on diesel-burning conveyances the whole way.

So you see, just like eating locally grown produce and buying local fish, it's important to buy consumer goods that are produced "locally" as well. Unfortunately, due to the nature of manufacturing, "local" consumer goods won't likely be found in a 100-mile radius. This is where my ignorance of geography becomes important. Case in point:

I had to go to Target a couple weeks ago to pick up some miscellaneous clothing items for the kids, that I wasn't able to find second-hand. (Have I mentioned just how hard Compacting is?!?!). Anyhow, my choices for Ethan's clothing included items made in: India, Egypt, Vietnam, Philippines, China or Indonesia. Now without peeking, which is closest to the US and therefore uses less fuel to get here? Am I the only one who has no idea? In my mind, this is what I came up with:

Anyone who wants to keep their image of me as a semi-intelligent human being, please stop reading here!

• I'm 99% sure India is in the Middle East.
• Egypt is somewhere in the top part of Africa (notice the word "northern" never came to mind...)
• Vietnam is in the Pacific, but not Hawaii-type Pacific, ya know?
• The Philippines, Hmm.... not really sure.. I think they were affected by that tsunami a few years ago... now where was that?
• China is what cartoon characters hit when they dig straight through the earth and come out the other side, so it's the farthest.
• Indonesia sounds a little like "India", but also has an Asian flair, so I'll go with "somewhere between India and Asia"... but I think they also got hit with that tsunami. Where was that damn thing?

Yes, folks, I am really that dumb. Sadly, I bet I'm STILL on par with your Average American in terms of geographical knowledge. So I've come to realize once again, that to make better decisions, I need to be a more knowledgeable consumer. MUCH more knowledgeable.

I know, I know -- I didn't even touch on the fact that I should also learn about each country's environmental laws, whether the employees are treated fairly, the country's stance on the Kyoto Treaty, and all sorts of other things, but my tiny brain can only work on one thing at a time, and honestly, geography actually seems like the least daunting of those tasks.


Savings:

Damn near unquantifiable. I guess that if nothing else, the thought of having to learn all that geography has strengthened my resolve to search for second-hand goods, thereby eliminating the need for thought entirely. :-) And pre-used goods are always a better choice for the environment.


Difficulty Level: 4 out of 5

Again, geography is NOT a strong suit of mine. My first choice will definitely be to buy second-hand so that I don't have to worry about determining the distance to the country of origin. My second choice, as the daughter of a card-carrying AFL-CIO member will, of course, be to look for the MADE IN THE USA tag. Regardless, before I buy anymore consumer goods, I'll pull up Google maps of each continent and see if I can figure out where the hell I am in relation to the rest of the world. And I'll definitely add "Used World Globe" to my Christmas Wish List. :-)

Supplemental Post - Another Site of Interest

Wow, I must be surfing a lot!

This is a great online quiz presented by American Public Media (the people that bring you NPR) that shows you how many "Earths" of natural resources it would take to sustain all 6.6 billion humans… if everyone lived like you. It shows a "picture" of how earth looks based on your lifestyle too -- I think I got coal plants spewing in the background, just from living in Virginia. Hmmmm.... Apparently, as a whole, they don't take global warming too seriously here. A state where gay marriage is illegal but recycling is a personal choice - anyone else see a problem with those legislative priorities? I guess they're more concerned about burning in the hereafter, than here on earth. But that's a whole other rant...

My final result? I'm embarrassed to tell you that if everyone lived like me, we'd need 3.8 earths to sustain the lifestyle! And this is AFTER all my greening efforts to date! Imagine what it was like before I started this journey! The neat thing is, though, that in addition to getting to see my usage in bar graphs (inner-geek), I got to see the areas of my lifestyle that really need improving. I was surprised to see that "food" was one of my worst categories. Please don't take away my coffee... I have children, for God's sake!

Anyhow, here's the link.

Day Eighteen - The Great Plastic Controversy - Part I

Educating Myself About Plastics

It continues to amaze me how much I am learning about green living. One of the most fascinating areas is plastic. I never thought much about plastic before -- nothing bad, that is. In fact, I loved Ziplock Bags, Dollar Store Toys and Saran Wrap. However, the more I read, the more concerned I become about its devastating effect on our planet.

Let's just start with the fact that plastic is forever. What I used to consider the freedom of disposability, I now view as a long term commitment. Because, you know what? That $15 "Webslinger" I got at Walmart will outlive me, my kids and my grandchilren. It will not biodegrade, it cannot be recycled, and it can't be burned. The best I can hope for is that it does find it's way to a secure landfill where its petroleum-based plastic toxins will not eventually leak out.

According to Ocean Champions, every bit of plastic ever made still exists. That is a scary thought, when you think about it. Plastic is not biodegradable but it is photodegradable. That is, sunlight breaks plastic down to very tiny pieces, leaving its molecular structure intact. Those pieces of plastic, big or small, eventually find their way to the ocean and begin a journey through every conceivable corner of our ocean’s ecosystems.

Pollution from plastic debris is now wreaking havoc on our oceans. Because plastic pieces break down to so many sizes and exist in such a variety of colors, many marine animals mistake them for food and die with bellies full of bottle caps, lighters and other inedible scraps. If you're up for it, you can see video of an albatross necropsy here. Beware though, it is not for the faint of heart. Over 300 pieces of plastic were found in the poor animal.

Plastics in the ocean also leach deadly chemicals - into the water and the bodies of marine animals. The chemicals that give plastic its flexible, durable properties can affect creatures coming into contact with them in horrible ways.

According to the Monterey County Weekly, virtually every kind of petroleum-based plastic leaches chemicals into the substances it encounters. Some of the chemicals added to make plastic products more flexible, durable and flame-retardant are suspected endocrine disrupters and hormone mimickers that can affect the development of creatures exposed to them. For example, recent research has linked bisphenol-A exposure with early breast development and menstruation in girls, feminine characteristics in boys, and decreased fertility in both sexes.

Manufacturers make 60 billion tons of plastic every year, the majority of it for products that will be used once and thrown away.

One obvious solution is more recycling, but that’s tricky. Americans currently recycle less than 5% of their plastic waste, largely because only products coded #1 and #2— milk jugs, soda and water bottles— melt at low temperatures. However, even these can’t be re-used as food containers because chemicals and residues stay in the plastic and the quality degrades, so they’re destined to become less intimate products like furniture, carpet and fleece clothing. Higher codes, including polypropylene stuff like bottle caps, need high temperatures to melt. The toxic emissions they release make them virtually unrecyclable.

I know I'm throwing a lot of information out there, without telling you what I'm going to do about it. Well, the first step is education. Now I know how damaging plastics are to our environment, and I can make better informed decisions.

You can bet I won't be buying anymore Ziplock baggies or Saran Wrap. I'm going to purchase either used toys (recycling them :-) or toys made from natural, biodegradable materials. When given the choice between a plastic soda bottle or aluminum can, I'll choose the 100% recyclable can and I'll buy it in a cardboard-enclosed box, rather than a six-pack held together by plastic. And I will continue my work picking up litter left by jerks and the ignorant.


Savings:

If I save just one bird or whale or fish, I'll be happy.



Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5

Disposability has become the American lifestyle. This is going to be a difficult task, to give up ALL disposable plastic products and refrain from purchasing non-recyclable plastics. But I've already changed my DISPOSABLE ATTITUDE and that's half the battle.

Day Seven - Getting An Education

LEARNING WHAT CAN (AND CANNOT) BE RECYCLED


You know, up until now I actually considered myself a relatively educated recycler. I always rinsed my bottles and cans out, separated my paper from the other stuff, and always broke down my corrugated boxes. What I didn't do was actually check my county's website to see what is recyclable. I know it seems like a big step to skip, but hey, I'm from New York, I've been recycling for years now, I thought I knew the gig. Huh. Dummy.


Did you know that the items that can be recycled vary from state to state, depending on legislation and (more importantly) whether or not there is a market for the items? For instance, in New York, it was ok to recycle the pizza boxes your P'zone came in, but not in Virginia. Also, some states allow different types of plastics to be recycled. The good news is, most municipalities have websites that lay all this information out for you. Here's what I learned (that I didn't already know) about MY county's program:

• I can recycle #1 and #2 plastics (look on the bottom of the container for the recycle symbol, you'll see a number inside that tells you what type of plastic it is), but NOT #3 - #7. I did not know this. I was trying to recycle a lot of plastic in there that I shouldn't have and was actually tossing out items that were recyclable.


• I can recycle cereal boxes, granola bar boxes, 12-pack boxes, etc. Never knew that. I always thought it was just currogated cardboard. Hmm, I guess I should check the rules every ten years or so, to see if things have changed.


• I could toss everything into one big bin, I don't have to separate it all. Of course, the anal OCD psycho in me actually LIKES to separate everything, so I don't think I'll change this.

The funny thing is, I thought I was doing everything right. So before your next collection day rolls around, do a quick google search for your county's (or city's or parish's) recycle or waste management site. You might be surprised at what you learn.

SAVINGS:

I'm going to estimate that my new knowlege will easily DOUBLE the amount of items I recycle. That should cut my garbage load by about 1/3. Not bad considering our family averages one large kitchen (13 gallon) trash bag per day. That lessens our trash load by 121 big bags per year! Wow. What an impact!!

DIFFICULTY LEVEL: 1 OUT OF 5

Easy as sitting on my butt reading a webpage. The follow through won't be hard either, once I rearrange my trash/recycle cupboard to accomodate that shift from garbage to recycling. As I said, I've always been an avid recycler, I was just doing it wrong. Now that I know the right way to do it, I don't think keeping it up will be an issue. Now if I can just remember to check the site again in a few years to make sure nothing new happened....