How to have a truly happy earth day

Happy Earth Day! I say that with more than a hint of sarcasm since most of the Earth Day messages I've gotten these past few days have come from companies. Did you know that L.A. is the 8th least wasteful city? I saw that mentioned on latimes.com today and clicked through to the original story in Good Magazine. But on closer inspection, this is not news. It's results from a poll by Nalgene of a few thousand people in the 25 largest cities. If you take the environmental quiz yourself, you get 25% off a new Nalgene product.

Then there was this even more egregious story in my Everything Long Beach e-mail today: 10 tips for using technology to go green!! From Verizon!! Tip #8: Use Verizon's VZ Navigator so you don't get lost and waste gas. I know companies are spitting out these press releases but that it ended up as a "story" in my inbox is insulting.

But I didn't spend too much time dwelling on the inevitable of companies trying to make money off Earth Day because I spent my evening watching Food, Inc. on PBS. The documentary investigates food production practices and their impact on health and the environment. A lot of it was familiar since I've read one of Michael Pollan's books (he's featured in the doc). But the sight of thousands of chickens crammed into a chicken house, sitting in their own feces and too weak to stand up because they'd been injected with hormones to make them grow faster ... well, it was disturbing. So was the sight of pigs being killed and cows being processed but I don't eat meat or pork so I got to feel self-righteous during those parts.

It was crazy to see just how much meat these companies are processing. At the largest pig processing plant in the country, they slaughter 23,000 pigs a day. Obviously when companies are raising, killing and processing that amount of meat, bad things are going to happen (e-coli outbreaks, for example).

So what to do? After reading Pollan's book I tried to buy free range chicken from Whole Foods but after a while it got expensive so I stopped. I think the component I was missing was trying to eat less meat. Americans consume way more meat today than in the past because modern practices (and corn subsidies) have made the meat cheaper. I do it too. Last week I bought  2 1/2 pounds of chicken because it was on sale. What does one girl living alone need with that much meat? But if I eat less of it, my hope is that the cost of buying the quality stuff will even out. It was like the one farmer in Food, Inc. said. People would come to his farm and complain about how much his chickens cost while holding a soda in their hands. We've gotta think more about how we want to spend our money and what we're spending it on instead of being sucked in by the marketing of these giant food companies.

That's the point of Earth Day, right? Raising awareness. Not buying a Nalgene bottle or GPS system.

Can I recycle that?

We've all asked ourselves that question a million times. Yesterday I finished a bottle of mustard and normally would be wondering if I could recycle the plastic cap. But now I know I can. I learned this from a reputable source -- Lisa Harris, Long Beach's recycling specialist (pretty cool title).

Lisa recently started answering recycling questions for Rene Lynch, the Los Angeles Times blogger who goes by the moniker The Recyclist. The post announcing this generated a robust discussion in the comments section with lots of great questions and tips. But that's not the way I contacted her. I e-mailed the city's Environmental Services Bureau when I noticed that they hadn't updated their website to say that they were now accepting Styrofoam for recycling. They'd mailed a flier announcing the change several months ago so I figured it was an oversight (and was being gleefully anal in contacting them). She was the one who replied back to say thanks, so realizing she was the same person who was answering questions for The Recyclist, I asked her my most burning recycling questions. I have many, many more questions but I started small, with just two questions. Didn't want her to think I was a freak or anything.

Me: I know plastic bottles can be recycled, but what about the caps? And I believe I can recycle soy milk cartons but wanted to make sure. I have a stack waiting to be recycled.

Lisa: In our curbside program we try and keep it as easy for the resident as possible. ...you may leave the caps on ... but if it's convenient and there is nothing smelly inside take them off. Yes, you can put soy milk cartons or even regular milk cartons in the purple bins.

Score! Best part is, she said I can always ask her directly. I haven't abused her kindness yet, but I'll be e-mailing her again with some of my other pressing recycling questions, particularly about whether it's worth it to use biodegradable bags. 

In the meantime, I enjoyed reading this post from The Recyclist about small things you can do. I couldn't resist and left a comment about what we do at work to reduce waste.

Environmentalism v. our disposable culture

My new toaster arrived today. It's the same brand and style as my decade-old one but bigger, such is the way kitchen gadgets are these days. Pots and fridges are growing while cell phones and computers are shrinking. And it's not even one of those convection oven monstrosities. But it's so shiny and new I'll forgive it's wasteful girth.

In this blog I've been writing about trying to use less stuff to reduce my impact on the environment. My views are reinforced every time I turn on the radio, go online or pick up the newspaper (that may be bad for the environment but I've cut back to just Sunday). The latest reminder? Today while driving home I heard an interview on NPR by yes, another person who wrote a book about how we're ruining our planet. This guy was saying Earth is not the same as what we inherited. The air has 5% more moisture and the oceans have more acid. Yikes.

But life, and the little moments that make it up, sometimes get in the way of our best intentions. I blogged last month about my new ceramic mug with a lid that makes it look like a paper cup. But there I was on Sunday night after dinner with a friend, buying a chamomile tea in the Coffee Bean with no reusable mug. She's working the overnight shift and wanted a coffee to keep her awake. Me, I was cold. We'd sat outside for dinner sans heat lamps and  I wanted to be warm on our walk home. So should I have just gone without and stayed cold a little longer? It's not the end of the world, for sure. Comfort v. discipline. Being conscientious v. just relaxing already.

I've also blogged about how I eat way fewer energy bars since the wrappers aren't recyclable. But I bought one today after work because I was hungry and was going to be running the hill. I could have gone without but I would have been cranky and had less energy.

And well, then there's my daily culprit: my 60-mile roundtrip commute.

I think I'm partly sharing this so I don't have to feel like a hypocrite, waxing poetic about all the great things I do for the environment in my blog, when in reality it's a constant battle. Our disposable culture is all around us so when someone like myself wants to live more responsibly, I'm constantly tempted to run into a store or go online and in just a few seconds, I've got my quick fix. But what toll do all these indulgences take on our environment?

I don't mean to sound depressing. We can't put the genie back in the bottle but we can make the changes that are easy and permanent. Use reusable bags when you go to the grocery store. Store food in plastic or glass containers instead of plastic bags. Clean mirrors using a rag instead of paper towels. I know the list of "easy ways to go green" is endless, but it's worth a listen. I don't think all these authors and experts are blabbing on the radio and doing interviews for nothing.

Sometimes it's OK to buy stuff

I need a new toaster oven. I usually feel guilty when I want to replace items that still work, just because I'm tired of them or they're out of date. The first R -- reduce -- is in the lead spot for a reason. I thought about replacing my toaster more than a year ago when I moved into my apartment. Moving brings out that "spring cleaning" feeling of wanting to throw everything away and buy stuff that's as clean and new as your new place feels. But I held off because it worked just fine and after I gave it a good cleaning, looked pretty good too (except for some rust on the top).

Fast forward to now. A few months ago a piece of the knob chipped off, making it harder to rotate to broil, my most-used setting. But I still resisted. Then the other day I accidentally left the bag my tortillas came in on top of the toaster. It made a disgusting mess of melted plastic that then hardened. I had no idea how I would get it off. But I didn't spend any time thinking about it (and by that I mean Googling it) because I decided I'd had enough. I wanted, and was going to buy, a new toaster.

My bubble was briefly popped when I was driving to Macy's. I caught the end of an interview Patt Morrison was doing with Annie Leonard, the author of "The Story of Stuff." She was talking about our desire for stuff and the toll our disposable culture takes on the environment. "Our stuff is trashing the planet ..." Talk about a sign. But when I thought about it, I realized that I think this was the toaster my best friend bought me when I moved to Florida in 2000 for my first real job after college. I was poor and possession-less and it was a sweet gesture. It was also practical, since that Black & Decker toaster lasted 10 years and four moves. So I decided that Patt and Annie weren't talking about me. I wasn't being wasteful, just the opposite. I mean, does anyone keep a toaster that long?

Turns out that Macy's was sold out of the toaster I wanted. I didn't take that as a sign either. As soon as I got home I ordered the same toaster from Amazon. It'll be delivered any day now. And when it does, I'm not going to feel guilty. Only problem is that with the hardened plastic adorning the top of my old toaster, I'm not sure I can donate it to Goodwill. And that brings up a whole other issue. What do I do with a toaster that no one wants?

I listened to the whole interview while writing this post. Annie had some good suggestions, many which I follow.

-- Use rechargeable batteries. And if you do have regular batteries, don't throw them in the trash. Take them to an electronics store or a hazardous waste disposal site for recycling.

-- Stop using single-use disposable items like coffee cups and plastic bags.

-- Resist the urge to upgrade your electronics, which are loaded with lead, cadmium, mercury and other toxins. E-waste is the most hazardous part of our garbage. When you do get rid of something, make sure you recycle it with an e-Stewards certified recycler so it doesn't get shipped to a third-world country, where electronics are smashed open for the gold and copper, and all those toxins gets spilled out.

So for now, I'll continue using my cell phone even if I get made fun of for not having a new fancy one. It works just fine. With that one, Annie's got my back. But I'm going to enjoy the hell out of my new toaster too.

Cities should charge for bags

I love this story. In January, Washington, D.C. started charging a five-cent tax on bags and it has made a huge difference. The number of bags used by shoppers dropped dramatically -- from 22.5 million to 3 million.
 
I've always felt that cities should do what D.C. is doing because I think they're going to have to in order to get people to make the switch. We'd like to think that everyone is going to be environmentally conscious but the reality is that old habits die hard, that is until money is involved. All the folks at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods carry their reusable bags into the store with pride but the regular ol' grocery store is a different matter. Some people bring their own bags but it still seems to be a minority, even in California where the major chains are required to sell reusable bags.

I hear people saying they always forget their bags but if they were suddenly charged, I can guarantee they wouldn't leave home without them. It is an easy habit to get into. I hardly ever forget my bags because I have a half dozen at home, plus three in the car that roll up and fit in my glove compartment. All right, to be honest I did forget a bag today when I went to Home Depot. I almost was going to run to my car to get my bag before I got in line but I decided not to because I was being lazy. But I bet if I'd been charged for that bag, I would have gone back to my car. Not because five cents is a lot of money but because of the principal of it -- why pay for something you already have.

The tax is one of the first of it's kind in the nation, according to the Washington Post article. Even better, the money raised from the tax is paying for a river cleanup. I hope that other cities follow in D.C.'s lead, and soon.