Mother Earth Topic

Posts: 4438
Joined: 05/26/07

Posted: May 25, 2009 - 2:59pm

picture a bright blue ball...

suggested by Stuman: How about a forum deadicated just to our Mother Earth ? A place where we can talk specificly about recycling tips, reusing of what we can`t recycle and reducing waste. And other enviromental issues. I'm actually surprised we don't have something like this. Greenpeace and other groups have always been around the shows (at least the shows I remember) . And the GD has been into saving the rainforest and saving our Mother Earth. So lets talk about it here. Earth Day should be every day!! what do you all think abt it?

Comments

Something new to think about Post Script

On May 31st, 2009 crypticalmystic said:

After reviewing my post I believe that I really didn't get to the crux of the issue that I was trying to present.

It's really great that we promulgate the effort to become more environmentally conscious and offer tips here that may help us all live better lives in accordance with the rhythms of this planet. But I am finding that the finger pointing and brow raising that occurs on both sides of the fence...those that do try to live environmentally friendly..and those that do not...is exactly what the establishment wants...all the while keeping the heat off of them. There is even a think tank that churns out propaganda that promotes the idea that the whole concept of a "they" is really "us"-which is at best mildly true. There is a "they"...and it includes every government in the world. "It" or "they" are the giant corporations and governments of the world that have been given by supreme court decree the status of "person". Look in any websters dictionary and look at the definition of "person"- it includes a corporation...which in the legal world gives a corporation rights that previously only a human being had- the only problem with that is that a corporation has so many heads that none knows what the other is doing- and it becomes a BEAST out of control- with NO CARING for individuals. There are serious implications for this.
So my point is is that we all must become aware that yes...we should do our part...but we must also shift the focus on the real perpetrators and the real source of the worlds major pollutants.

thanks but

On May 31st, 2009 stuman said:

don`t we have a forum for politics ? take it up with obama. I know he`s full of crap but thats another place . please .

well

On May 31st, 2009 marye said:

I certainly agree with you that there are self-serving twits and worse on all sides of this issue, and that critical thinking is good. I read a really great article not long ago in which Freeman Dyson, who's certainly one of the brightest and most conscientious souls on the planet, makes a pretty good case that man-made global warming is, if not a non-issue, pretty close. If anyone cares I'll dig out the url.

on the other hand

On May 31st, 2009 marye said:

this is the kind of thing that makes you crazy.

Those who know me will attest that dog hair is in lavish supply in my world, and that much of it winds up on inappropriate surfaces. So, prompted by some ad somewhere, I went forth today to acquire the Pledge Fabric Sweeper for Pet Hair.

Let me just say that it works in very impressive fashion, though given the number of engineers I hang out with I'm already finding fault with the design--I can see no reason other than general cheapness to have semicircular rollers rather than full rollers.

But that's not the bad part. The bad part is that they are very firm on the subject that one must not attempt to disassemble the device or empty the container. That's right, you're just supposed to toss it, PET plastic, dog hair and all, and spend five bucks on another one.

Leaving aside the fact that this idea is a complete nonstarter due to the fact that I got the thing filled within minutes, hence it would cost a small fortune for the car alone, it seems REALLY ENVIRONMENTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE to use the disposable model for something like this. They're comparing it to sticky rollers. Uh, no, it's a mini carpet sweeper, essentially. Bad choice of metaphor leading to bad design.

SC Johnson seems to me to be a pretty benign company as large megacorps go (staying in the family for generations is a plus in my book), but this is so inexplicable that I'm going to write 'em a letter.

And then I'm going to cut a hole in the top of the dome and empty out the dog hair, and see what happens.

Use and toss

On June 1st, 2009 gratefaldean said:

Makes me insane. With the swine flu scare, all-of-a-sudden my local market has a handwipe dispenser as you enter the store. Saturday I walked in and saw my wife wiping her hands with one, then wiping off the handle to the grocery cart...and then tossed it out. She got points for using it twice (hands, handle) instead of using two, but still. I nagged a little, she gave me one of those looks.

I'm all for hygiene, but this makes me nuts. Of course, I'm also paranoid that widespread use of antimicrobials is breeding superbugs, but that's a different subject.

yeah, that too

On June 1st, 2009 marye said:

I use the hand sanitizer gel (which is, essentially, alcohol) by the quart; I figure any adaptation to alcohol took place a long time ago. Antibiotics, last resort. Can't recall the last time any of us had any. (Also there appear to be fads in this regard. About 15 years ago they suddenly decided that all us people with heart murmurs had to take antibiotics before and after dental work. Last time I talked to my doctor en route to the dentist, that was out of fashion.)

The hand sanitizer gel is a big boon, though, especially for dog people, And here in California where they're always on our case to save water...

Tradeoffs, always tradeoffs, just like you said.

I made my peace........

On June 1st, 2009 docks of the city said:

........with the snails and slugs along time ago. It was win/win. Everything that grows around here now coexists with the rest of us. I'm coastal with ferns, poppies, fuchais, geraniums and the most beautiful little mounds of natural growing beach grasses. For some reason (old conditioning, I guess) I still remove dandelions. It's a lot of work but i just carry the tool around to pull them when I am down handcutting grass. I read recently that if you spray them with vinegar (white) it kills them. It does but it is kind of sick to see how quickly they die. Are dandelion leaves edible? I've been around as long as The Boys and it's getting more difficult crawling around. Of course if I lose the dayjob (not too shabby) I'll be back harvesting my dandelions if they are edible. One thing for sure, you will never see me buying weed & feed or at Wal-mart.

from "sfgate.com' The San Francisco Chronicle online

On June 10th, 2009 docks of the city said:

June 2009
Throwing orange peels, coffee grounds and grease-stained pizza boxes in the trash will be against the law in San Francisco, and could even lead to a fine.

The Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 Tuesday to approve Mayor Gavin Newsom's proposal for the most comprehensive mandatory composting and recycling law in the country. It's an aggressive push to cut greenhouse gas emissions and have the city sending nothing to landfills or incinerators by 2020.

"San Francisco has the best recycling and composting programs in the nation," Newsom said, praising the board's vote on a plan that some residents had decried as heavy-handed and impractical. "We can build on our success."

The ordinance is expected to take effect this fall.

The legislation calls for every residence and business in the city to have three separate color-coded bins for waste: blue for recycling, green for compost and black for trash.

Failing to properly sort your refuse could result in a fine after several warnings, but Newsom and other officials say fines will only be levied in the most egregious cases.

Fines for almost all residential customers and many small businesses - anyone who generates less than a cubic yard of refuse a week - are initially capped at $100. Businesses that don't have proper bins face escalating fines up to $500.

There is a moratorium on fines until at least July 2011 for tenants and owners of multifamily buildings or multitenant commercial properties to get people used to composting. Buildings where recycling carts won't fit can get a waiver.

"In any scenario there will be repeated notices and phone calls before we even start talking about fines," said Jared Blumenfeld, head of the city's Department of the Environment. "We don't want to fine people."

The proposal, hailed as an effective way to cut about two-thirds of the 618,000 tons of waste the city sent to landfill in 2007, drew resistance from some apartment building owners when details emerged about a year ago. And some residents were upset over the possibility of inspectors checking their garbage.

The ordinance calls for garbage collectors to leave tags on containers when they spot incorrectly sorted material, but those collectors are only going to view what's on top of the container and have no intention of going through them, said Robert Reed, a spokesman for San Francisco collectors Sunset Scavenger Co. and Golden Gate Disposal & Recycling Co., subsidiaries of Recology, formerly Norcal Waste Systems.

"Our role is to pick up the garbage and to make recycling as easy and convenient as possible for our customers," Reed said. "Our collection drivers will not become enforcers."

City officials would levy any fines, and the legislation doesn't provide funding for new trash inspectors.

"It doesn't create trash police," Blumenfeld

neighbors helping neighbors

On June 10th, 2009 docks of the city said:

I recently read in the Eugene, Oregon "Register Guard" newpaper that the Trainsong neighborhood organized a trash collecting day where one could put out an old washer, vacumn, etc. They collected about 8 old vacumns and loads of other stuff. Really helped people. They were disposed of properly with commercial recyclers involved. So good to see these efforts.
That story Marye related about the pet hair removal tool was hysterical. I've used a "dustbuster" on the couch but it isn't fast enough for me. If I bring a small bowl of water over to the coffee table and keeping my hands lightly damp with it, I run my hands over the couch and the animal hairs gather nicely. Good Luck ............. our dog has been in the islands for 3 yrs now and i still come across her short black hairs.....lots of 'em.

My two cents worth - The Library Book Principle

On June 12th, 2009 rosa rugosa said:

I never stay up nights worrying about global warming, PET, etc. I'm totally confident that the planet will outlast me -and if it doesn't - BOOM - we're all ashes, ashes . . .
I try my best to follow what I think of to myself as the Library Book Principle. I have no kids, and so no grandkids, and don't even particularly like kids, but -
the planet doesn't belong to me, so I should try to take care of it, leave it in the condition I found it in, and so it will be there for your kids/grandkids, etc. to enjoy just as I have. I always return my library books in good condition too, because they don't belong to me, and someone else will be enjoying them next. I always recycle (if I had a dollar for every time I sliced my hand open washing out a cat food can!), and I've been really working on diminishing the unnecessary shopping and consumption, which translates into so much less repackaging material in the recycling bin. This one turns out to be less of a hardship than a refocusing on better values. The peonies blooming in my garden right now are more beautiful than anything I can buy in any store!