Green By Example

Happy Earth Day!

This past Saturday, I attended an Earth Week event, the Go Green Expo.  It married my two favorite activities: saving the environment and shopping.

The booths ranged from fake lawns to healthy cookware, biodegradable trash bags to recycled sailcloth shower curtains and handbags (of which I bought one of each). I know the motto is to reduce, so I thought carefully about each purchase I made. (OK, so I don’t need another bag but sometimes I can’t help myself!)

This event also had speakers throughout the day. We attended a talk by Mariel Hemingway, who has written a new book, Healthy Living From the Inside Out. And after the talk, I had a new green hero.

First of all, she is completely gorgeous and you can tell that she really takes care of herself. I’ve seen her on some "green" shows so I was familiar with her philosophies.

She talked about eating as a privilege and thinking about what you’re putting in your body as well as the products you put ON your body.  She spoke about how to be still with yourself, yoga and being respectful of the planet and ourselves.

But the one point that stuck with me was when she talked about people wanting to know how to convince others to live healthier. She said that you have to lead by example. You can’t force feed anyone this information…they won’t take it.

I thought about that...and my blog, accosting my co-workers about paper cups, huffing at the person in front of me when they take the plastic bag, and telling my husband not to eat fish. Maybe I wasn't leading, but preaching.

Then last night, I was at my play reading group. Every week the group leader brings bottled water and it drives me insane. This week, she happened to mention how horrible it is to buy plastic bottles, but that convenience wins. This sparked a discussion.

Someone said that the plastic is supposedly bad for the water. Another yelled out that her water sometimes tasted funny after a long time in the bottle. Another whined about how the security at the airport took her plastic Poland Spring bottle that she’d been using for two weeks and how pissed she was. (Believe me girl, he did you a favor!)

And then the one girl yelled, “Who cares about the bottles in the trash?  It's easier!” I wanted to leap across the table and smack her. But then Mariel popped into my head and I calmly reached into my bag, pulled out my Sigg and took a sip.

Someone said, “I need to get one of those!” Another complained that she loses everything. My response was, “If you spend the money on it, then maybe you won’t lose it. And it’s better for your health.” That was all I said. Hopefully I led by example and maybe inspired one person to switch her water bottle.

This Earth Day, I commit to doing the following:

I will not take any cabs…only walk or take public transportation.
I will make sure that the lights are out in any room I’m not in.
I will choose things that have little or no packaging.
I will take a shorter shower.
and…
I will lead by example!

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

It's Raining Plastic

It feels so good to be settled into my new digs. And now that I’m unpacked, I get to do the fun stuff...decorate!

Saturday afternoon I decided to head over to Crate and Barrel to check out their TV stands. One of the things I like most about Crate and Barrel is their use of sustainable materials. It was raining pretty hard, so I was excited to get into the store – not only to see what they had but also to dry off.

I was greeted by a rather severe woman who thrust a plastic umbrella bag at me. If you’ve been reading my blogs, you know that wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But I remained polite.

“No, thank you,” I said and walked inside.

She chased after me. “You must take one!” I must? She obviously didn’t know me. “I’m sorry, I don’t use . . . plastic bags.” The words slithered off me like the rain off my coat.

She followed me. “Miss! MISS!” I kept walking, pretending not to hear. “You MUST take one!” she said again, but much firmer. I repeated that I did not use plastic bags, again, much firmer. She stopped following me.

But I was miffed. Why didn’t they have an umbrella stand? Or even just rugs! Plastic umbrella bags are almost as big of a waste as those little plastic plugs that Starbucks uses to keep your coffee from spilling.

I was in a rare condition for me – too pissed to shop. I left and headed off to Bed, Bath and Beyond. They, too, offered me a plastic umbrella bag which I, again, refused. They didn’t follow me around the store. But I felt like I had committed a crime. Everywhere I turned there was an angry employee, glaring at me and my wet umbrella.

I thought about this all weekend. The number of plastic bags that are used for what, 20 minutes? Wasted. Ending up in landfills or that floating plastic island in the Pacific.

The next night I was flicking channels, thinking about my wet umbrella, when Andy Rooney came on.

His rant was about the ice bridge that was holding up an iceberg the size of Connecticut and was about to break off. He said it’s got to go somewhere, and asked if any of us want something the size of Connecticut to hit us.

He said that while some who call themselves conservationists are, well, conserving and finding new resources, others are doing nothing, sure that things will just “work out.”

But it was his closing line that got me. “I’m a conservationist who uses a lot of trees and oil. I’m the problem.” (60 Minutes clock ticking sound.)

It got me because just that afternoon I had gone to the corner store without one of my bags, and took a plastic one (which I hated). Despite being high and mighty about my plastic bag non-usage, I was also the problem.

So I am now that much more aware and more committed than ever to searching for new ways to solve the problem . . . that I’ve become. (Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick)

Movin' On Up...To The Green Side

You may have noticed that I have been MIA for the past several weeks. This was not because I didn’t have green altercations to report on, but rather, we moved!

I’ve moved at least a dozen times in my life but back then, I never considered the impact a move has on the environment. My aunt, on the other hand, considered the impact moving would have on me before I did. She sent me an email which said “I was thinking about your move and decided I had better warn you to take a couple of Xanax or Valium -- they're going to use a lot of paper and cardboard to pack your stuff. Be prepared!!!!!”

She was right.

I packed all of the boxes myself. I picked up most of them from Uhaul. They have a “leave a box, take a box” program. We took many boxes and will definitely replenish their supply. I also like how they encourage you to reuse and recycle the boxes. Because we were moving to a 6th floor walk-up, I had to use smaller boxes that would weigh less. I wound up with 115 boxes!

As I summed up the damage I thought to myself, all those trees died so that I could move. This did not sit well with me. And it was about to get worse.

We had to hire movers, which in terms of getting the stuff down the 3 flights and up the 6 flights was a life-saver for us, but not the planet. While I had packed mostly everything, the movers took care of electronics and furniture. As they started to wrap the furniture, I almost hyperventilated. They had a giant roll of plastic wrap which they wove around the items again, and again, and again. The furniture was wrapped in their blankets. Phew. Until they began to secure the blanket with rolls of tape.

I had to turn away when it came time to package our precious TV and computer. The man opened up a giant ream of paper and began crumbling it up and throwing it into the boxes. They lay the equipment down and crumpled up some more paper to cover them up. I used towels to wrap my delicates…couldn’t they find old towels?

Imagine this times the hundreds, if not thousands, of people that move everyday! Were they bringing their boxes back to Uhaul?

I gingerly unwrapped the electronics and salvaged most of the paper. I plan on giving this as an added bonus to those who take my boxes.

This whole move made me re-think the amount of stuff I own as well. I definitely need to consume less. We're all told to think outside the box. I need to learn how to think outside 115 of them.

Green Team

Like the Mother Earth ship calling me home, I am now on my employer’s Green Team! I had no idea this existed, although I had dreamed about greening up the hospital on a large scale. And now I’m working with co-workers who share my passion for saving our planet…and our office!

The Team’s first mission is to plan a green table display for Education Day. We decided on three sections: 1) What the hospital is already doing; 2) How employees can green their office; and 3) What they can do on your own. I volunteered to head up the second area since I had already implemented a green program for my department.

As I walked back to my office, I bumped into one of my co-workers. She was carrying a paper cup. My eyes got wide. She looked away and said, “I know, I know.”

Then I walked into the kitchen and looked in the trash. Paper! I quickly dove into the trashcan and pulled out what I could. I was caught in the act by another co-worker who flashed a look as if to say “she’s lost it.” Then I stood up and hit my head on the cabinet. This was not looking good.

How could I head up the “green your office” sub-committee if my own efforts were failing? I had already bragged to The Team. I told them how I rewarded those doing green deeds with reusable shopping bags. The Team loved it! And now I was crashing and burning.

I had a vision of The Team making a surprise site visit…a tour of my so-called green office while, in slow motion, my co-workers rolled up clean sheets of paper and threw them away. “Noooo!” I heard myself shouting in a creepy slo-mo voice as I got pelted with paper.

How could this happen?

Just then, I noticed that our box for can recycling was full. Not a complete disaster. And my friend came into the pantry and filled up a ceramic mug with water. She even pointed to her mug and said, “This is because of you, you know.”

I looked around and made sure there was nothing to hit my head on. “Thanks,” I said. “I know, I know.”

Paper Bowl XLIII

"All that paper!" I blurted out as twenty tons of confetti showered the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans as they celebrated their non-green victory at the Super Bowl.

This wasn't the first time I've said this.  At Cirque de Soleil's latest production, Wintuk, I watched in dismay as the Canadian circus created winter by blanketing the audience with tissue paper snowflakes.

"I'm pretty sure they recycle this," my friend told me.  I was pretty sure they didn't.  I watched through the faux blizzard as kids and adults grabbed paper flakes as a souvenir.  (Were no two really alike?)  What was this?  Couldn't they buy a t-shirt like everybody else?  

I came home that night, took off my jacket and about 20 "souvenirs" poured out of me.  That's not counting the ones I found on the steps of my apartment building the next day.  At least those got recycled.

Spamalot was another offender.  Somehow you expect better from Monty Python.  But instead of a killer rabbit or a giant foot coming into the audience at the end, there were more paper souvenirs.  Bad enough that they celebrate lumberjacks in The Lumberjack Song.  But this?  

Come on, people!  Do we still not get that we need to start saving trees?  Is falling tissue paper really the symbol we need for celebration?  Can we just scream a lot?  We've done away with ticker tape at parades and rice at weddings.  Why not confetti?

I admit I was rooting for the Cardinals, but I still offer congratulations to the Steelers.  I can only hope that when you return home with your sixth Vince Lombardi trophy, Pittsburgh has the good sense to shower you with something biodegradable.

   

A Green Cup of Coffee

Recently I was in Starbucks getting coffee. OK, a Peppermint Mocha. With whip. But made with soy milk. (I know, I’m really reaching now.) Anyway, the girl in front of me ordered a latte but requested two cups. Two cups? First, they have those cardboard sleeves to protect your hands and second, a latte isn’t even that hot!

I ordered my drink, not proud that I would be using one paper cup, let alone two. I noticed as I was waiting that there was a basket filled with these little green plastic things that looked like toothpicks. Then, little miss two-cupper picked one up and put it in the opening of the plastic lid. It turned out it was a stopper so her coffee wouldn’t spill.

What?! Who came up with this? Do we really need more plastic gizmos? Can’t we make do with lids that have the little flap? Or better yet, we should invest in travel mugs.

So I looked on the shelf and found one. Not only was it really cute, but Starbucks will take 10 cents off my drink if I bring my own mug. Perfect.

The next day, I ordered my drink and proudly handed the barista my new mug. I turned to pay the cashier and went back to the counter to pick up my beverage. I watched as she filled someone else’s drink in the nasty paper cup. Then I couldn’t believe my eyes…that drink was mine!

She made the drink in the wasteful paper and poured it into my nice, green mug!!

“What are you doing?” I screeched. She looked at me like a deer in headlights. “Huh?” she replied. “The whole purpose of handing you my own mug is to avoid the paper cup!” She stared back at me and gave out an uncaring “Oh.”

Feeling defeated, I took my drink and left the store. But my experience wasn’t over. As I took a sip, the coffee leaked all over and down my new winter coat. She didn’t screw the top on right. Now I was pissed.

I went back the next day to try again. This time, I made sure the barista knew to make the drink directly in the travel mug. When she handed me back my drink, I made sure that the top was screwed on tightly. I took a sip of my delicious drink and again, the mug dripped all over me.

I asked around and it turns out there are many other travel mug victims. The green alternative is good for the environment, but tends to leak. Great. Did I have to go back to the paper cup? Or should I do the smarter thing and limit my trips to Starbucks?

Since then, I’ve been on a manhunt for a better travel mug. Now when I get coffee on the go, I ask for it minus the lid and I reuse a cardboard sleeve. I’ve seen people roll their eyes but I don’t care. One less thing in the landfill. And one less stain on my coat.

New Year’s Green Resolutions

Statistically, New Year’s Resolutions are broken within the first week of the new year. This year was no different for me. I popped a Frango Mint about 16 minutes into 2009. So much for no chocolate or sugar.

I decided I needed to change “resolution” to “goal.” This way, I have something more solid and concrete to shoot for. Also, I have a whole year to mess up and correct a goal.

Among the usual career/eating/life goals that I always set for myself, I’ve added a new category…green goals.

On the top of my list is our trash situation. For two people, we generate A LOT of trash. One of our big things is that we drink a lot of seltzer water, so, much of that trash comes in the form of plastic bottles.

The good news is they can be recycled. The bad news is that when a recycling day is cancelled due to a holiday (like on the past two Thursdays), we are swimming in a sea of empty bottles in our tiny apartment.

But the problem isn’t really the cancelled recycling days, it’s our consumption.

Why do we need to be drinking all that seltzer in plastic bottles? Why do we need to buy processed food wrapped in 12 layers of plastic and cardboard? We should be drinking more water from our earth-friendly Brita pitcher or eating locally grown fruits and veggies from the farmers market. It’s not only a smart choice for our health, but will also cut down on the plastic island we’ve created.

And that marks my number one goal…less consumption. Do we really need this? Can we go without it? Can we substitute it for something healthier, less packaged, made locally?

My second goal is my mode of transportation. Thankfully, we live in New York City …the mecca of public transportation. I live on the 1st and 2nd Avenue bus lines but occasionally, I’ve been known to jump in a cab for no better reason than I’m really tired (or cold, hot, or just don’t feel like waiting for the bus).

It’s not only terrible for the environment, it’s also taxing on my purse. The average cab ride home is $12! Try that a couple times a week. I could be using that money to help plant trees or something! What I should be doing is walking my butt to work. Not only would it be friendly to the environment, it would be super friendly to, well, my butt.

My last goal is to do a beach clean-up. I joked earlier about swimming in the sea of plastic bottles and our plastic island, well, there really is a 70 million pound plastic garbage island floating in the Pacific between LA and Hawaii the size of Texas. My own plastic bottle contribution is only adding to it. I’m a huge ocean fanatic, so this is super important to me.

We’re now five days into the new year and I’m doing pretty well. No cabs, two plastic bottles, and I replaced the Frango mints with almonds. If only they weren’t in individually wrapped, plastic bags...well, I have a year to reach this goal.