RiverWired Blogs

Are Pay-As-You-Throw trash programs fair?

jchait — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:18:30 -0500

As of 2006, the last time the EPA took down stats, about 7,095 communities were participating in Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs. PAYT programs are unit pricing or variable-rate pricing programs for trash disposal. Basically, residents are charged for the collection of their solid waste, i.e. what ends up in their trash can instead of a flat rate. For one thing this creates an economic incentive to recycle and so far programs like this result in communities that recycle more and trash less.

However, one common argument I’ve heard is, “Are these programs really fair?” In my opinion they are, because if we don’t charge people for larger amounts of trash, someone has to pay for it, which means even if you recycle diligently, you may still be subsidizing your neighbor’s trash by means of taxes. IF your community has a good recycling program in place, that’s easy to manage, it seems fair to me.

Plus of course excess trash harms the planet, so it’s tough to argue that programs like this suck - they do encourage recycling.

Problems that may make the program unfair:

Communities that have bad recycling programs in place. It’s impossible to get people on board with recycling when it’s nearly impossible to manage. For example, in New Mexico I had to make special trips, in my car, simply to recycle. Here in Oregon, it’s terribly easy with curbside pickup weekly.

Rural communities where the cost of curbside is prohibitive. The EPA notes that this is an issue in some communities but some have changed to monthly vs. weekly recycling pick-up which has worked well.

Too little education: Recycling, like any task is a learned task. People aren’t born knowing how to discard of their recyclables properly and plenty of communities don’t make this easily accessible public knowledge. I mean, when was the last time you saw a good deal of how-to-recycle commercials on television, or got some mail about it? Rarely. In fact, I live in one of the so-called greenest places in the U.S. and I meet people all the time who have no clue about recycling. I think that of all the unfair arguments, this one is the most valid. As a country, we really need to push for greener education initiates that are also accessible to everyone.

What do you think? Are PAYT programs a great way to encourage recycling or just a way to get more money out of a community?

X Prize Contenders at SEMA 2009

khallgeisler — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:50:05 -0500

A dozen of the contenders for the Progressive Automotive X Prize were on hand in the “Making Green Cool Zone” at SEMA 2009 in Las Vegas. I’ll keep the text short — you know by now that this is a competition to create a buildable, drivable car that gets 100 MPGe with a $10 million purse — so you can peruse the cars below.

Team Hydrophi Ford 500 PHI Ride
Team Future Vehicle Technologies eVaro
Team Edison 2 Very Light Car
Team EVI Wave 2
Team Tango
Team Optamotive Surge
Team Aptera 2e

Fight Off Three Home Toxins

jchait — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:14:06 -0500

There are so many toxins out there nowadays - from auto emissions to mercury in the water to pesticides in city parks and more. You can’t stop your exposure to all things toxic, but what you can do is limit your home exposure. Following are three home toxins that are easy to wage war on…

Carbon monoxide (CO): An odorless but highly toxic gas that can come from all sorts of places; wood stoves, furnaces, leaky chimneys, badly ventilated gas stoves, and indoor grilling products.

Health effects: CO at high levels can result in death but it’s still no fun at lower levels which can result in fatigue, nausea, headaches, confusion, impaired coordination and vision and more.

Fight CO: Your home should have a CO detector installed and you need to do a battery check at least every other month.

Mold: Mold while naturally occurring is just as toxic as any other baddie toxin. It’s caused by little spores in the air that settle down and multiply on damp or wet surfaces. Mold is common in basements, at baseboards, in kitchen, near windows, and under sinks.

Health effects: Mold can produce general allergies, but also may cause rash, asthma, and other more serious issues.

Fight mold Make a homemade mold and mildew remover and use it. Once mold sets up camp for a while, it’s much harder to get rid of so prevention before mold invades is key. IF it’s too late and mold is rampant, you can try to get rid of it using more chemicals (which sucks, but you don’t want mold). Check out the CDC guide to mold for more ideas.

VOCs: We’ve talked at length about what VOCs are here before - it’s a lengthy topic. They’re not good at all though and they’re in an insane amount of products.

Health effects: VOCs can irritate your whole body - your skin, muscles, head, eyes, and so on. They can cause coughing, headache, and a ton of other very serious health problems.

Fight VOCs: There are many ways to keep VOCs out of your home which improves both your indoor air quality and health. Read the following for more info:

Eco-rate Your Green Home Products

jchait — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:19:22 -0500

There’s a newer green consumer site in town. Ok, not THAT new. Eco-rate launched last May and aims to make green living a little easier with reviews of green home products that weigh “The environmental and economic costs of product ownership, providing a unique platform for meaningful product comparison.” Eco-rate offers this little click-friendly house you see below. Simply click on a room, and get information on technology and products related to that space, plus product buying guides.

According to site owners Brycelaine Self and Colby Self, “The site is an evolving project aimed to inform and inspire. We update the site daily based on our continued research and your feedback.” The owners credentials are as follows…

Brycelaine is a Principal of Eco-innovations, along with expertise in economics, sustainable product innovation and environmental stewardship program management. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and an ENERGY STAR partner and home verifier. Colby is also a Principal of Eco-innovations and has experience in environmental policy and socio-economics. He’s also an ENERGY STAR partner and home verifier, and EPEAT and WaterSense partner liaison.

I checked out the site and they have an extensive area dedicated to how they rate and product criteria, which is nice. It’s shocking how many green sites who review products fail to offer this basic info. There’s a news and forum section (not too busy yet), along with a nice eco-dictionary. The reviews vary in length, but some are very in-depth and there’s enough reviews posted that it’d be easy to visit Eco-rate and choose some products. To give you an idea review areas look like the image below…

I like that they show how far away the product is made - that’s cool and makes you think about how big a footprint you really want. Plus consumers can leave their own reviews too.

If you’re looking to buy some green products for your home, I’d check out Eco-rate and see if you can learn more before buying.

Wellness Water Filters - Clean and Enhanced Home Water

jchait — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:56:38 -0500

Wellness Enterprises makes water filters for the home kitchen, bathroom, and even products for on the go. Of course we talk about water all the time here, and I usually go with drinking tap. However, since not everyone is down with tap water, and some people do actually need a filter to make their water safe to drink, a wellness filter might be a good choice.

All in all the company offers, filtered water bottles (great for plastic landfill reduction), shower heads, kitchen units, and a newly launched Wellness home device that filters and enhances water from the source (i.e. all sinks, hoses, shower heads etc).

According to the company, Wellness filters are not like regular filters. They filter 99% of all water containment, bacteria and viruses plus enhance the water by adding minerals and antioxidants that are proven to aid the skin in healing, aging, and increasing skin hydration by 115%. Additionally these cartridges last an extremely long time - about a year for a family of four (1,200 gallons).

The company tells me that they offer a recycling program for the Wellness Kitchen cartridge - although note, I looked around the site and couldn’t find info on any recycling program, so hopefully they can answer specific recycling questions if you contact them. In addition, each cartridge filters and enhances 1,200 gallons of water which is equivalent to more than 9,000 of the standard 500mL plastic bottles which of course saves landfill space (no plastic bottles) and saves you money.

The Wellness MG-III Home system does not use cartridges and provides filtering for an extended life of 7 – 10 years of life before the filtration media need to be replaced.

Visit Wellness Filter to learn more about all their home water filtering products.

Reduce the lead in your home water supply

jchait — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:30:57 -0400

There could be lead in your water supply and that’s not a good thing. Lead can cause delays in physical and mental development plus deficits in attention span and learning abilities in children. Adults may experience increased in blood pressure and kidney problems when exposed to lead.

The stories you hear about lead in your hot water are true. If you’re used to filling up pots with hot water from the sink, make the switch to cold. Cold water, unlike hot won’t cause lead to leach from your pipes. According to the EPA houses built before 1986 are most likely to have pipes with lead. However, note that even “lead-safe” pipes can contain some lead - cool water is simply a better choice.

Cold water or not you should run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours, this allows any possible lead to drain out before you get to it.

Most tap water is pretty safe. However, if you’re concerned, it’s easy to find out if your water is safe or not. If not you may want to consider a water filter.

Put your water in a safe pitcher - it’s silly to get lead-free water from the sink only to put it in a pitcher that can add lead to the water.

Which is Greener – Car Wash or Hauling out the Hose at Home?

susan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:50:14 -0400

By Susan Seliger
Grabbing a sponge and turning on the hose at home is definitely a cheaper way to clean your car than driving to your local car wash – unless you factor in the value of your time, but really, you weren’t doing anything anybody was going to pay you for this weekend, anyway, now were you?

But is it more eco-friendly?

First, the car wash is likely to use less water than you will. Some automatic car washes use only 30 gallons of water in a drive-through wash. You’re likely to use that much in only four minutes – and lots more, if like me, you wind up chatting with your neighbor and get a little distracted (you call it ADD, I call it being sociable). Score one for the car wash on the green scale — as long as you don’t have to guzzle too much gas to get there.

Even more important — the handling of the runoff water is key. Sure, there is dirty water either way – and the water isn’t simply dirty but contaminated with detergent, gasoline, antifreeze, oil and whatever other toxic filth your car has accumulated in your travels. But, when you do the deed at home, your filthy water just runs out into the street, into the nearest storm drain, which empties into nearby waterways – and could end up killing little fishes in rivers and creeks near and far.

The car wash, however, is required by law to dispose of their waste water at local sewage treatment plants – where it is filtered — and the residue deposited at landfills. Depending on how well the car wash complies with the law, that’s Score Two for the carwash.

So don’t feel guilty – put the sponge and hose away – grab your kids (or your neighbor’s kids, if you don’t have any) and go for a drive-through adventure.

Win an Outdoor Adventure Trip Worth $3,000

susan — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:03:46 -0400

By Susan Seliger

You know you’re tired of staying indoors and staring at that computer screen. It’s time for an outdoor adventure – made even more invigorating when someone else pays for the whole deal. So just sign your name and you may be one of four lucky duos to win a $2,000 certificate for an adventure trip for two – plus a $1,000 airfare voucher.

And if the thought of the outdoors is making you thirsty, you could also win a year’s supply of Honest Tea or Honest Ade, which you can sip while riding the Mountain bike you might win if you are one of eight runners-up prize winners. All courtesy of Honest Tea and the Sierra Club. So start clicking… the deadline is 3/31/10, but they’re awarding some of the prizes even sooner.

Update on the Appalachian Trail and Governor Sanford of S.C.

susan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:54:57 -0400

Bu Susan Seliger

We don’t really care to comment about South Carolina’s Governor, Mark Sanford’s admission today that he had an affair with an Argentinian woman. We like to steer clear of politics and keep life focused on what really counts — the eco side of the economy.

But what we cannot understand is his misrepresentation to his wife and staff — and really, to all of us — that he was on the Appalachian Trail when he wasn’t. (See yesterday’s post.) We were so proud of him as we imagined him hiking amidst all those outdoorsy folks, walking stoically past those out there out parading in their birthday suits on Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail — eyes straight ahead and thinking only of the beauty of nature.

No, what is really hard to believe is that anyone would chose Argentina over the Appalachian Trail. We are mystified and a little sad about being misled.

But we are pleased that in his press conference today, Governor Sanford did reaffirm his love of the Appalachian Trail. And after all this brouhaha, maybe a peaceful hike on that trail would be just what he –and all of us, come to think of it — need to think things over.

So once again, turn off the TV, put down the paper, and check out the Appalachian Trail website for the the fastest way to hit the trail and get away from it all.

Photo Credit: purebound.com

Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail: Missing Governor Sanford Found — Just Hiking the Trail

susan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:11:39 -0400

By Susan Seliger

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina is no longer considered missing. Though he seems to have disappeared for a few days over Father’s Day, his staff now says he was just out hiking the Appalachian Trail and could not be reached. And it is only a “coincidence” that he was out there on Naked Hiking Day — yes, there is a naked hiking day on the trail — celebrated on the first day of summer. (No, that is not the Governor in any of these photos.)

The Governor has still not returned, according to the Christian Science Monitor but his wife says she is not concerned — he was writing something and needed his space. The staff say Naked Day had nothing to do with his disappearance. And the Park rangers say that they do not condone or encourage Naked Day — and people caught out in nature au naturel could get fined.

Who says hiking can’t be sexy?

For more on hiking the Appalachian Trail — any day — go to their website. Clothes optional.