Comments on: 8 Ways to Not Get Tricked While Going Green

By: MW

MW — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:46:58 +0000

I think that a little scientific perspective is always needed in proofing the copy. The earth is a system. If you are talking about global warming – okay the forest away from the belt holds heat, but does it really do harm?

Think about it, it happens for a reason that the overall effect begins to trend the other way as you move away from the “belt”. Trees are important to plant – we cannot plant enough. We just can’t. True forests take so much time to develop and run their course that we can’t possibly know what does harm and what doesn’t.

It is not bad or good it just has an inverse effect, in so much as can be discerned. The open-minded (enlightened) view is that this warming is the effect – an appropriate response may be to ask, “Why?”

Also, what about planting trees in the appropriate place to reduce runoff pollution. Wait a minute, this is just a web article. In and out.

Now I may not be a “good” writer, don’t get paid, but I am a great reader. And these points have a tendency not to assist the reader in effective analysis, but more like a+b = a&b, not a+b=a+b, scientifically there is a big difference.

Not a pontification, just a thought.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:10:10 +0000

I’d like to point out that pesticides are not the only reason you should choose organic. I try to support sustainable farming practices whenever I can. Not just to avoid pesticides. Also, certified organic produce does not contain GMOs and I try to avoid them whenever possible. I’ve read that corn and soy should always be organic because there is so much geneticly modified corn and soy. So I think corn should be on the organic list. The trick I have found to buying organic produce is to go to a health food store for produce instead of trying to buy organic from my local chain grocery store. They have a faster turnover of their merchandise. My experience has been that organic has the most flavor and tastes the best.

By: Korbi

Korbi — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:29:25 +0000

Great tips. Going green is more confusing than ever these days. I really appreciate the list of foods to pass on buying organic, I didn’t know that not all organic is better. But I always support my local farmers at their markets!

By: Stop. Think. And, Go Green. « BWCNews

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By: Dena Calivas

Dena Calivas — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:17:30 +0000

Great article and great comments. Thanks for sharing. We need information like this to share so we can help make a difference. Kudos!
Ralph – the numbers you provided were scarey. Where do people think all this stuff goes? Most can’t think outside of their own home, let alone city, country or nation wide.
We have to inspire the changes.

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Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:04:42 +0000

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By: brendan

brendan — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:39:41 +0000

whoops, that phrase was supposed to be “nitrogen-poor” not ‘poo’ although it makes interesting reading as is.
freudian slip of some kind, i guess.

By: brendan

brendan — Wed, 27 May 2009 01:36:42 +0000

Great piece.
if i may quibble a bit: that pizza box is almost certainly recyclable unless it was thrown into the bin with some pizza slices–not just grease staining–still in it. yes, oils and greases are a contaminant, but they are also a regularly encountered accompaniment of even commercial paper,and almost any recycler can handle small amounts in their process–and do, daily, whether they wanted to or not.
of course we don’t want garbage masquerading as recyclable paper, but a common sense test is usually enough to discern which consumer trash goes in which bin. believe me, the not-quite-perfectly-clean pizza box (remember, i said with no actual pizza hiding inside) is certainly recyclable..

second, this issue of whether or not stuff, especially paper, breaks down in the landfill is confusing but again all that’s needed is some common sense. as one post says above, if the stuff didn’t break down, where does all the methane come from? and landfill methane is a meaningful contributor to greenhouse gases. (and it stinks) as most know, methane is more than 20 times as powerful a greenhouse gas as is CO2. so, this issue is much studied, and believe me, organic matter breaks down in landfills.

the common sense comes in as follows: not all stuff breaks down as quickly or as completely (many papers are slow to decompose, for example), not all landfills allow in or retain as much water (the single major determinant of rate of decomposition) as others, not all sections of the same landfill are as wet as others, not all organic matter is the same–soft, wet, proteinaceous stuff rots rally fast (fish, anyone?), and nitrogen-poo, dry paper less so. hot dogs have preservatives in them. and so on. common sense says when we dig into a landfill that is hugely composed of rotting, stinking yuck, and find a few identifiable objects it is clear why those would make the headlines, but it is also clear that most of the stuff is rotting like crazy (hence the stink). and in fact, for those who’ve done this work, yes we find some surprising and some amusing survivors, but by and large, landfills function as huge, poorly-designed but still active compost heaps. and the stuff does melt away with time. and methane is produced in huge quantities .
[and, by the way, it should be captured and used to make fuel or electiricty, because it is essentially the same as natural gas.] and i assure you that methane would not be there if the material was not decomposing.

By: Ornery Hornet

Ornery Hornet — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 23:45:01 +0000

Recycle now!… or cry later

By: Ralph

Ralph — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:45:14 +0000

Raquel,

Good point on curbside recycling and MSW. I’d suggest a future posting discussing how the average homeowner can recycle through the local scrape yard. In addition to recycling it pays. Last year I made six trips and was paid $466 for scrape metals that most homeowners throw in the trash.