A recent ABC news report said solid-waste managers across the country have been seeing noticeable declines in the amount of trash their communities generate … anywhere from 3 to 12 percent over the past few months to year.

Some of the managers attribute most of the decline to the struggling housing market. Fewer homes being built (or torn down to make room for newer, larger houses) mean less construction waste heading toward landfills. Others say increased recycling efforts might also be making a dent in solid waste hauls.

Read more of this story »

Let’s not start demonizing the corporations, especially those who have advanced conservationism through energy and fuel saving technologies, new environmentally-friendly products at lower prices, and new ways to recycle.  It’s no coincidence that the popularity of the green movement increased dramatically when corporations began to adopt - and promote - green practices.  Conservationism cannot be seen as the enemy of consumerism, but rather a lens through which to view it.

Read more of this story »

I’ve been obsessing about backpacks. Really, there is a lot to think about: No PVC (vinyl), lead, no or not much plastic, preferably made in the U.S. with sustainable materials. And all this for under 50 bucks.

I can tell you for preschoolers, it doesn’t exist. (Mama entrepreneurs, take note!). After searching each link on the Center for Health and Justice’s list of back to school items without PVC, I found nothing that would work. I’ve also searched some great resources posted recently on Enviroblog.

I think the search for the backpack is really a front for feeling anxious about letting her go. She is beginning that journey, up up and away, and while that is beautiful and exhilarating, it is also painful and sad for me.

Read more of this story »

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
—Albert Einstein

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! We are happy in proportion to the things we can do without.
—Henry David Thoreau

We must live simply, so that others may simply live.
—Gandhi

Ah, the simple life. No worries, no responsibilities, it’s the stuff of dreams. But in today’s world, living is far from simple. Simplifying your life often seems like one more impossible task on your long to-do list. Even though common sense tells us that the most environmentally conscious life is a simple one, it’s much easier said than done.

Read more of this story »

In Robin Shreeve’s provocative article, “Whose Responsibility is Sustainable Consumerism?”, she champions the youngest generation’s recognition that the responsibility for our actions lies with us individually, not mainly with corporations.  Three months ago, I would have toasted to her conclusion.  (Of course, I then believed we don’t need corporations whatsoever and we could live without them and be sustainable.)  Today, however, my reaction to Robin’s article is different.  I’m inclined to deeply disagree.

During the sustainable living experiment called the Sust Enable Film Project (which concludes by midnight today), I would argue that I succeeded in living sustainably less than a dozen days of the 3-month project.  Does this fact disappoint me?  At first, it did.  But I will tell you why my experiment failed.

There are systems in the United States–for getting food, for getting rid of our trash, for flushing away our body wastes–that collectively (and historically), we have all agreed to adopt and abide by.  They seem(ed) like the best solutions for problems we all face, and as a society (through the government) wereinforce these systems.  This was clear to me every time I flushed a public toilet, and another huge chunk was subtracted from my sustainable water use for the day.  This became even clearer when I learned that many sustainable living methods–such as dumpster diving, squatting, and building a composting toilet–are outright illegal in many towns.

Doing something illegal (like dumpster diving) if it seems right to you… that’s one thing.  Civil disobedience: often harmless, functional, and a true expression of freedom.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  But going hungry because the society-subverting alternatives are more difficult, demanding or have greater consequences than the unsustainable, mainstream options?

Read more of this story »

The results of the study are very interesting, and at least one of the findings I find both interesting and frustrating. According to the survey, the majority of American consumers feel that corporations hold more of a responsibility to create environmental changes than individuals do.

According to the findings:

close to all American consumers (90%) believe that acting in an environmentally responsible way is important, but feel corporations hold most of the responsibility to implement change over their own personal efforts and are increasingly implementing eco-friendly evaluation into their product purchasing decisions.

and

over half (53%) of consumers factor a company’s social and environmental activities into their purchasing decisions and while overall, consumer’s personal actions to protect the environment show minimal sacrifice in terms of changing one’s lifestyle, consumers are ready to reward those companies that prove their commitment to the cause

Read more of this story »

In a joint effort, the country’s paper manufacturer, Middle East Paper Company (MEPCO) and Tetra Pak Arabia will, exchange expertise and experiences in the recycling field and MEPCO’s role will be to collect, sort and do the actual recycling work. Beverage carton recycling will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites.

The partnership will address the issue of recycling thousands of cartons that get discarded by households and other establishments across Saudi Arabia on a daily basis, the first of its kind in the Middle East region.

The collaborators hope that apart from making a mark on the environment, they will be opening the recycled products, largely post consumer food and beverage cartons, to a wider international market, and follows successful trials conducted to demonstrate the recycling ability of Tetra Pak cartons by MEPCO.

Read more of this story »

For the most part, the muscle power that comes with large-volume merchandising has belonged to big corporations–Wal-Mart is by far the best example. When these megabusinesses flex that muscle, they often put the squeeze on more than just merchandise manufacturers; they also can squeeze out smaller, local businesses. After all, why would shoppers pay more for products at small pharmacy, grocery, and appliance stores when they can go to a single SUPERSTORE and buy everything they need at one place for a lower price? As these superplexes mushroom in size and number, the local “little guy” may quickly get strangled and suffocate.

In contrast, Earth Aid’s Group Buys puts the power back in the hands of consumers. As far as I can see, this is a great potential resource for consumers who are looking for ways to go green without spending all their hard-earned green. That is, Earth Aid allows consumers to wield the same power as large corporations–and so get those same big-purchase discounts from the manufacturers. Or, as Earth Aid puts it:

This process allows all of us to band our purchasing power together into a formidable force–which we use to drive prices down. And it works because of a very simple proposition–manufacturers can cut prices progressively for larger and larger bulk orders.

Read more of this story »

Steve Lambert/Anti-Advertising Agency
c/o Eyebeam OpenLab
540 W.21st ST.
New York, NY 10011

You will receive a package full of “you don’t need it” stickers to plaster on ads in your community.

Via: fashionindie

Shopdropping is sort of like reverse consumerism.   Artist Ryan Watkins-Hughes switches the mundane packages on tin cans, then sneaks them onto the shelves in stores, such as NYC’s Whole Foods.  He thinks of it as reverse shoplifting.

The German intellectual, Georg Lichtenberg, once said that “to do just the opposite is also a form of imitation,” but reversing Saint Nicholas’ image is certainly not the most sincere way to flatter it. Santa as a commercial icon undercuts the ideology of benevolence and humble giving. See this video on the chain of consumption for an idea of who gets left out when Santa goes corporate. A truer idea of the real Saint Nicholas and his current image around the world might reconnect us with the greater feelings of compassion and caring that should symbolize this (and every) season.

Read more of this story »

So, it was interesting to open up the New York Times magazine this morning to see an article about S. Prakash Sethi, the founder of the International Center for Corporate Accountability, a consulting firm he founded to evaluate companies such as Mattel on their social responsibility. He, at least, is able to go inside companies to see what their operations are like. Mattel invites him in. Mattel’s lead-paint-in-toys problems not withstanding, it does encourage me that there is a move toward monitoring all aspects of a company’s operations, including sourcing.

Read more of this story »

I stumbled upon this image on the web, and I thought it was very thought-provoking. It amazes me how young children begin to recognize labels and logos (called “environmental print” by educators) and use them to make choices. What would our lives be like without such brand knowledge?

Do you know about StumbleUpon? StumbleUpon is a fun way to surf the internet based upon your interests and those of the friends you make. It is the only social bookmarking site I have ever been able to understand and enjoy using. If you decide to start stumbling, please visit my page and add me as a friend. I haven’t had time to stumble lately, but it is a great way to promote your blog and favorite sites, as well as discover new sites and post fodder. Happy stumbling!

Now, I can pretty well predict how free-marketers would respond to this ("Aaaagh! There goes the economy!"). But how effective is the buy-nothing strategy environmentally? I’ve seen arguments both pro and con.

I try to buy responsibly (local produce, fair-trade and sustainable goods) and not to buy what I don’t need … but buy nothing (outside of the obvious food, medicine, essential clothing)? Is this a legitimate strategy for conserving and saving the Earth? What do you think?

Remember the logic word puzzle from middle school: “Which is heavier, a ton of feathers, or a ton of lead?” Some of us answered with the obvious response: they are of the same mass. Others of us got stuck on the materials under reference. For those of you who relate to the latter, I’m here to tell you it’s ok, and there is help.

Many factoids that we hear throughout the day are hard to process and comprehend. These numbers are originally relative to the individual. Yet when multiplied by the masses, they result in dramatically long numbers that are supposed to represent our collective actions on a daily basis. We commonly hear them on the radio, on TV, and in conversation, are we really expected to have the capacity to visualize 6+ digit numbers in our head on the fly?

Photographer Chris Jordan is working hard to help us comprehend these numerical conundrums. “Running the Numbers” is his new photographic series presented to rescue us more visually-oriented folks. These “digitally stitched” images effectively depict these number problems based on our collective consumption. Since our individual experiences are incomparable to these numbers-of-the-masses, it is hard to create a mental picture of massive amounts. For example, 426,000 cell phones are disposed of in the US every day. When the majority of us dispose of one every one to two years, it becomes difficult to understand the collective numerical value. Well, if you agree with me and really love to visually understand what these numbers look like, then Chris has already decided to help you.

In this image are 426,000 cell phones, the number disposed of every year by US residents.

This image is made of 106,000 aluminum cans, the number of cans used in the US every 30 seconds.

This is what 60,000 plastic bags looks like, the number used in the US every 5 seconds.

Now grab this last image, drag it to your desktop 30 times, and open up each one next to another. This is equal to the number of plastic bags we consume in the US every minute! (For you number people, that is 1,800,000.) With this image, it is easier to imagine what this amount looks like taking up space in our designated drop spots (aka landfills), and how they might be affecting our congested ecosystem.

“If we can more deeply feel the meaning behind numbers like these,” says Jordan, “maybe that will enable us to make more conscious choices about the behaviors that lead to them.”

Chris Jordan: Photographic Arts

For more information:
healthycar.org press release
2006/2007 Guide to Child Car Seats
Chemicals used on car seats ‘toxic’ to children, study warns
Is Your Child’s Car Seat Poisonous?

5/22 Update: I am returning our new car seats. The fumes from them are horrible, and I feel our older car seats are better, as hopefully they are done outgassing.

I don’t shop at Wal-Mart, in fact, I hate the overconsumerism and sweat labor this store promotes. I have viewed the company’s recent efforts at greenwashing to be profit driven to expand their customer base. A grass roots effort has successfully stopped Wal-Mart from entering the town we go to for services. Eureka still has Ma and Pa shops, with very little chain stores, and we want to keep it that way. Honestly, I can say I have only been inside a Wal-Mart store three times, but I know plenty of families that rely on the low prices for survival. Wal-Mart Watch provides more information on the company.

A grandmother discovered the lead in her grandson’s bib. After hearing about the lead in children’s lunchboxes, she bought a lead test kit (similar to what we did for my daughter’s backpack). The California-based Center for Environmental Health did more tests on the bibs and found lead levels in some Wal-Mart bibs more than 16 times the legal limit for lead in paint! That’s right, 16 TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT FOR LEAD IN PAINT! How could this be? The CEH writes, “‘These vinyl bibs pose a lead poisoning threat to infants and toddlers who are at the most vulnerable age,’ said Caroline Cox, Research Director at CEH and author of a report on lead in baby bibs released by CEH today. ‘As every parent knows, young children commonly chew and suck on their bibs, so if the bib is contaminated, children are being directly exposed to lead.’” Of course, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission claims the lead bibs are safe. They issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the bibs were safe if in good condition. If a bib “deteriorates to the point that a baby could pull or bite off and swallow a piece of vinyl containing the lead, then the amounts of lead consumed could approach levels of concern.”

Why do they put lead in baby bibs? To make them softer, of course! Here’s an alternative….organic cotton! Bumkins Organic Cotton Bibs offer softness without lead (imagine that),and you don’t have to worry about your child chewing on the edges or eating food that has fallen on the bib. Bumkins Organic Cotton Bibs are the way to go if you have a child learning to eat.

Tracey's family is behind her motivation (and mine) to downshift. She says, ""My children realise that if they want consumables it means that mum and dad have to work harder, which in their eyes equates to less playtime with mum and dad. That's what downshifting is. The less money you spend the less time you have to spend earning and the more time you have with the ones you love. " Tracey even makes recommendations for how children and schools can participate in Downshifting Week.

During this week, citizens in the UK and US are asked to "Slow Down and Green Up!" Here are a few tips from Tracey to help you downshift:

• Cut up a credit card
• Plant something in the garden you can cultivate and eat.
• Contact local food producers and re-think your vending machines at work.
• Book a half-day off work to spend with someone you love, no DIY allowed.

According to Tracey, “Learning to live within our means is key to downshifting and positively embracing living with less is better still. How can we have ‘quality time’ with great people, if we spend so much of it chasing the money? Money can’t buy you time."

Ready to downshift? Take the pledge: I hereby pledge to slow my life down a gear for the benefit of Tracey Smith, founder of Downshifting Weekmy health, my well being, my environment and for those around me whom I dearly love. Don't forget to read the Downshifting Manifesto, which includes mantras such as, "The more money you spend, the longer you need to work to pay for it."

Downshifting Week Blogroll:

• Grist Interactivist
• Great Lakes Bioneers
• Fit Sugar
• Treehugger
• Eco Child's Play