Eco Optimism

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Old Electronics

When it comes to old electronics, I feel a bit like Kermit the Frog: It Ain't Easy Being Green.  I've had the same old video camera in my closet for years.  I really doubt I'll shoot tape, but there it is next to my old jeans with the 33-inch waist.  Someday I'll get to it, right?

Wired! magazine just published a great article called Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Your Old Gadgets.  It is well worth the read.  It suggests several easy, convenient and lesser know options to get rid of TVs, computers, phones, etc.

Now all I need to do is come to terms with the fact that even if I do get down to 165-lbs again, chances are that the acid washed look is (thankfully) gone forever.

Fine with me...Can I have another slice of that coffee cake, please?

San Francisco is America's Least Wasteful City

Study Shows San Francisco is America's Least Wasteful City

From rain barrels and recycling to walking and buying second-hand clothes,"The Nalgene Least Wasteful City Study" puts top 25 metros under scrutiny for wasteful behavior.

With thrift and conservation on the minds of many Americans, a new study put the spotlight on wasteful behavior in our nation's cities. "The Nalgene Least Wasteful City Study" ranked 23 waste-focused habits of urban Americans, from recycling, to using public transportation, to shutting off the lights when leaving the room. When the results were tallied, San Francisco earned the title of America's Least Wasteful City, while Atlanta ranked last in the study.

Other cities at the top of the least wasteful list are New York (2), Portland, OR (3) and Seattle (4). In addition to Atlanta, Dallas (24), Indianapolis (23), Houston (22) and St. Louis (21) were in the bottom five of those surveyed. Individuals can visit www.leastwastefulcities.com for complete rankings or to the take the survey themselves.

Surprisingly, in trying economic times, frugality isn't the leading factor motivating Americans to change wasteful ways. In fact, over half surveyed (57 percent) cited "that it is our responsibility to ensure the health of our planet for future generations" as the motivation for changing behavior, followed by "it makes financial sense" (22 percent).

Recycling: What's Wrong With This Picture?

At my house, we recycle religiously, as do many across the US.  And we're real proud of ourselves. But I think it's time we rethought recycling.  It's waste that's killing us. Too much packaging and still too much consumption, at least from where I stand.  

Check out this photo I snapped in front of my house this morning:  one lonely bag of trash, but a virtual mountain of recycling.

Granted, this isn't all bad.  And to be honest, it's a month worth of recycling and a week of trash,  But still it illustrates the point that REDUCE is the new RECYCLE.  What we don't use is much more important than what we reuse.

I'll let you know how it goes.