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How to Have a Green Fourth of July
Tweet Share on Facebook July 3, 2008 Comment (2)Be green while you celebrate the red, white, and blue with these tips for an eco-friendly Fourth:
—Use dishware, not paper plates, to serve guests. It may require some extra cleanup for you, but you'll save trees and keep garbage out of landfills.
—For picnics, try a reusable sandwich wrap, rather than plastic wrap.
—Go to a community fireworks show, rather than buying your own. Big fireworks displays are getting greener and eliminating some of the most hazardous chemicals.
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Bike Shares Stalled Across the Country
Tweet Share on Facebook July 2, 2008 Comment (1)Bad news for the bikeless: Hourly bike rental systems are being delayed in three U.S. cities because of various concerns.
Chicago residents won't see rental bikes until legal issues are resolved—the city must establish whether the biker, company, or city is legally liable for any injuries incurred while riding. Officials have not announced a time frame for the rollout of the bikes. In Portland, Ore., plans are stalled indefinitely while city officials study the pros and cons of similar programs in Paris, Rome, and New Zealand.
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Kick Your Bad Energy Habits and Save
Tweet Share on Facebook July 1, 2008 Comment (5)A recent report revealing that Australia's households waste 300 million in Australian dollars (about $288 million U.S.) simply on neglectful habits is a good reminder for us—after all, the United States is the biggest energy consumer in the world, so the money we send down the drain with every power strip and light left on would far surpass that of the land down under. Some energy-saving tips from U.S. News and the rest of the blogosphere:
- Unplug the appliances you use only for a few minutes each day, and you'll save pounds of carbon emissions over the course of the year.
- Computers consume more energy than you think—so make sure your next purchase is Energy Star rated. And when you go to sleep, don't let your computer do the same: Turn it off, instead.
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Will 'WALL-E' Make Us Greener?
Tweet Share on Facebook June 30, 2008 Comment (25)An imaginary, cartoon robot has the potential to change our behavior in a big way. Or instead, it may just provide air-conditioned, popcorn-scented relief from the summer heat in multiplexes across the United States, where viewers won't give a second thought to the mountains of trash on a ruined planet the titular robot cleans. For a film so moving, the second scenario is less likely.
Critical response to Pixar's latest film, WALL-E, has been overwhelming, due in equal parts to the beautiful, meticulous animation and the film's aggressively green message.
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Apple Ranks Low in Green Report
Tweet Share on Facebook June 27, 2008 Comment (3)I'm typing this entry from an Apple iBook, which has never let me down until now. Nothing is wrong with the computer itself—it's Apple, rather, which ranked a disappointing 11th out of 18 tech companies on Greenpeace's most recent scoring of each company's environmental efforts. PC makers including Dell, Toshiba, and Samsung ranked higher, so maybe the "Get a Mac" guy should tone down the smug attitude a bit.
Greenpeace gave each of the companies a report card, scoring their recycling programs, removal of toxic chemicals from their products, carbon footprint, and product energy efficiency, among other factors. Apple earned high marks for planning to phase out PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and brominated flame retardants by the end of 2008, and also for exceeding Energy Star efficiency requirements. Despite this, it refuses to disclose its carbon footprint or amount of renewable energy used and has not announced any plans for using recycled plastic in products other than MacBook Air.
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With This Parking System, Your Search Is Over
Tweet Share on Facebook June 26, 2008 Comment (1)There are few things more frustrating than circling city blocks for parking spaces that never seem to materialize. Not only are you wasting your time, but you're also wasting precious fuel and spewing emissions into the air. The city of San Francisco thinks it has a solution: A new parking system that tallies the number of available spots, and raises and lowers the meter price of parking according to supply and demand.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the program, which will begin as a government-sponsored trial in September, will allow drivers to check the availability of parking throughout the city via BlackBerry or phone. Sensors embedded in the pavement will keep track of which spaces are empty and which are full. The program will also make it harder for San Franciscans to accidentally get a ticket: They can sign up for text-message alerts of when their meters are running low, and if they're out of change, can pay via credit card or cellphone.
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Fast Fashion's Effect on Planet Isn't Pretty
Tweet Share on Facebook June 25, 2008 Comment (8)Like any fashion-forward girl on a budget, I'm always grateful for the cheap dresses and tops I find at H&M and Target's Go International lines to satisfy my fashion fix and keep me up to trend. Only recently did I begin to consider the effect that the fast-fashion industry—made up of megaretailers like H&M, Steve & Barry's, and Forever 21—has on the environment with its cheaply made, throwaway chic.
Fast-fashion purveyors make their millions by knocking off runway designs and marketing them to the masses. Because they're so successful in copying styles and shipping them off to Middle America, the now escalated trend cycle forces designers and retailers to churn out more clothing than ever: Those who can afford the designer versions of a shoe or purse won't wear them once middle-schoolers in Ohio can buy them at the mall, and the knockoffs are made cheaply and won't last more than a season or two. So, the companies churn out new lines, and women wear them and dispose of them.
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Mandatory Solar Panels Make Germans Whine
Tweet Share on Facebook June 25, 2008 CommentThere's a big dot over my present location, Washington, D.C., in this map by the Brookings Institution charting per capita carbon emissions from residential energy use.
Chances are, if you live in a mid-Atlantic or midwestern city, there's one over you as well, because of these states' use of nonrenewable energy sources, like coal, for electricity. Though Americans who live in cities often have much smaller carbon footprints than their suburban or rural compatriots, this recent study shows that the amount of carbon urbanites use varies widely across the country, with easterners accounting for the lion's share.
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Forgive Us Our Eco-Sins
Tweet Share on Facebook June 25, 2008 Comment (2)Forgive me, blogosphere, for I have sinned. I took a really long shower the other day, and I didn't bring a canvas bag to the grocery store, so I had to use (gasp!) plastic bags. I used a Styrofoam cup while my reusable water bottle was in the office dishwasher. For penance, I'll be sure to eat vegetarian more frequently this week. Amen.
One of the surest signs of a massive cultural switch is some good old-fashioned guilt-tripping. Take smoking, for example. Smokers once were sexy and cool; now, they're relegated to huddling 50 feet away from the building in the rain to feed a smelly addiction that most Americans shun. Now, with an avalanche of books about going green and even a TV network devoted to the cause, being a mindlessly eco-destructive consumer is our next scarlet letter.
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