Being Sly, Being Green

[Stevo]

I kinda brought up this subject in another thread, but I'm gonna spin it off here.  In this day and age, it's smart to find ways to use less and waste less.  The catchphrase is "Going Green", but I still like calling it the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  There are many things that even non-sly people can do, like going to CFL bulbs or riding a bike, but there are also things that we, as SBG's, can do to help keep this world pretty.

We're already using less stuff overall, since we don't need any of those hair products, but we could always do more.  Try using replaceable razor cartridges instead of disposables.  They might cost a little more, but you'll cut down on the amount of plastic we send to the landfills.

We may not use shampoo, but a lot of us still use body soap, and that soap often comes in plastic bottles.  If you're a HeadBlader like me, then you have those pretty yellow bottles of HeadSlick too.  In many cities, all those bottles can be recycled.

This last one is another one for my fellow HB'ers.  Instead of buying a whole new Blade every few months, order a 3-pack of the replacement adapters directly from HB.  It's like getting 3 new HB's for half the price of one, and yu also get a bunch of cool stuff thrown in the box for free.

That's all I could come up with for now, any other ideas out there?

[Larry]

Gee, that's a tough one.  I keep running things through my mind over and over.  My thoughts are putting up a windmill in my back yard for electricity but would cost more than I'd ever make up for in savings.  I don't think the water powered hydrogen car will never hit the market although there are hydrogen powered vehicles on the road, they have to by the bottled hydrogen.  I much prefer the idea of putting the garden hose up to my tank and filling it up. 

[Baldboss]

...like going to CFL bulbs...

After replacing all the bulbs in my house with CFL's, I read that they are actually worse for the environment than incandescent (because of heavy metals in them.)  Unless you live in a constant wind area (the Great Plains) home windmill generators are likewise worse for the environment (carbon impact of manufacturing them is greater than the return.)  Solar hot water heaters offer the greatest return - but only in the Southern half of the US or the desert SW.

I really am starting to question the whole "recycle" philosophy.  Does the oil saved by me recycling plastics outweigh the fuel costs involved with collecting and recycling it?

[aarrggh]

   My job requires me too be at two of Minnesotas biggest landfills about 3 times a week...And i know the people there well......Upon request i can take pictures of one SEMI after another unloading plastics and glass and so on too be buried forever.........
  Thats what happens too a huge portion of your recyclables !     

[hammerdrill376]

We practice recycling cans, plastics, etc. Honestly I think though alot of the "green" bandwagon is a bunch of political BS. There is alot we should do that is just being plain responsible to take care of the earth and environment however there is a far , far overboard way of thinking in the "save the earth" mentality that is more politically motivated and I have no doubt someones pockets somewhere is getting lined heavily in that regard.

That being said, everytime I see some idiot throw a cigarette butt out of their car window I really, really have to keep myself from having a way bad case of road rage.  I guess littering the highways is more important to them than using the provided ashtray.

[jamesh75]

That being said, everytime I see some idiot throw a cigarette butt out of their car window I really, really have to keep myself from having a way bad case of road rage.  I guess littering the highways is more important to them than using the provided ashtray.

I'm not trying to change the subject, but I agree about the litter.  I run along the country roads a lot outside of town.  I'm amazed at the amount of fast food bags, beer and soda cans, cigarette packages, etc. that line the ditches along the road.  Why do people do this?  Can't they wait to get to their destination where they can throw it away? 

And as far as where the recyclable materials go, I've often wondered if they go to a recycling plant or find their way to the landfill with the rest of the trash.

[Stevo]

And as far as where the recyclable materials go, I've often wondered if they go to a recycling plant or find their way to the landfill with the rest of the trash.

Well, as with most public services and utilities, it all depends on how upfront the municipality and/or their contractor is with you.  Here in central Iowa, we recently switched to a single-stream recycling program, where you throw all your recyclables into one big bin.  Up until this summer we had the kind of system where you had to keep everything separated in the bin, and the guy picking them up had to toss everything into separate parts of the truck.  Right now the recyclables have to be sorted by hand, but the contractors are building up a facility that will be able to automate.  Now, since our fine cities aren't known to have real bad corruption and such, I take their word on this.

[Baldboss]

since our fine cities aren't known to have real bad corruption and such, I take their word on this.

Don't be too sure of that - I used to think the same of mine.  Before our nice gentile (gen-teel, not gen-tile) southern town began curbside recycling, we could drop off recyclables at collection bins at the fire stations.  Quite an uproar was caused when the local TV station had a hidden camera at the landfill showing those bins being dumped there.  Lots of "crawfishing" done by the gentile (gen-tile not gen-teel) public officials.

[PeripheralxMvmnt]

That being said, everytime I see some idiot throw a cigarette butt out of their car window I really, really have to keep myself from having a way bad case of road rage.  I guess littering the highways is more important to them than using the provided ashtray.

I'm not trying to change the subject, but I agree about the litter.  I run along the country roads a lot outside of town.  I'm amazed at the amount of fast food bags, beer and soda cans, cigarette packages, etc. that line the ditches along the road.  Why do people do this?  Can't they wait to get to their destination where they can throw it away? 

And as far as where the recyclable materials go, I've often wondered if they go to a recycling plant or find their way to the landfill with the rest of the trash.

the best part is seeing a cigarette butt get tossed out of a prius or a hybrid. it makes my head want to explode because of the irony. (or anger. might be that....)

[D.A.L.U.I.]

everytime I see some idiot throw a cigarette butt out of their car window I really, really have to keep myself from having a way bad case of road rage.  I guess littering the highways is more important to them than using the provided ashtray.

That's does tend to p_$$ one off, the only consolation is that they're one cig closer to the diagnosis of cancer.  In many areas however, not only is it litter, but also brush and forest fires--how dumb can you get, working to kill yourself, cluttering up the roadside, burning brush, trees, possibly people's homes, animals, the residents, and then for good measure the brave men and women who have to fight the fire.  All that because they're to f'ing lazy to put it in the ashtray, then it's only them and their passengers at risk. 

[RyanJP]

We practice recycling cans, plastics, etc. Honestly I think though alot of the "green" bandwagon is a bunch of political BS. There is alot we should do that is just being plain responsible to take care of the earth and environment however there is a far , far overboard way of thinking in the "save the earth" mentality that is more politically motivated and I have no doubt someones pockets somewhere is getting lined heavily in that regard.

That being said, everytime I see some idiot throw a cigarette butt out of their car window I really, really have to keep myself from having a way bad case of road rage.  I guess littering the highways is more important to them than using the provided ashtray.

When I hear "going green" I quote from the movie Fight Club: "I wanted to open the dump valves on oil tankers and smother all the French beaches I'd never see."  

It's BS to the nth degree, and I can say this because I live in the most going to green place, the California bay area peninsula. It's beyond overkill here and its just as absurd as the prius owners who think that there car is doing wonders for the environment, but what happens when the car battery dies hmmm......Do your best, dont litter, sort those plastics and drive what you want to drive if you feel like it because they way I look at it If I want to make a raft out of used headslick bottles, I just might do it.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155193

[Stevo]

Do your best, dont litter, sort those plastics and drive what you want to drive if you feel like it because they way I look at it If I want to make a raft out of used headslick bottles, I just might do it.

Thenks for pretty much summing up what I was trying to say.  I'm not asking everyone to trade in their Hummer for an EV1, but we can all try a little bit.  If that means turning your HeadSlick bottles into a nifty flotation device, be sure to take photos so you can share with the whole class.

[PeripheralxMvmnt]

We practice recycling cans, plastics, etc. Honestly I think though alot of the "green" bandwagon is a bunch of political BS. There is alot we should do that is just being plain responsible to take care of the earth and environment however there is a far , far overboard way of thinking in the "save the earth" mentality that is more politically motivated and I have no doubt someones pockets somewhere is getting lined heavily in that regard.

That being said, everytime I see some idiot throw a cigarette butt out of their car window I really, really have to keep myself from having a way bad case of road rage.  I guess littering the highways is more important to them than using the provided ashtray.

When I hear "going green" I quote from the movie Fight Club: "I wanted to open the dump valves on oil tankers and smother all the French beaches I'd never see."  

It's BS to the nth degree, and I can say this because I live in the most going to green place, the California bay area peninsula. It's beyond overkill here and its just as absurd as the prius owners who think that there car is doing wonders for the environment, but what happens when the car battery dies hmmm......Do your best, dont litter, sort those plastics and drive what you want to drive if you feel like it because they way I look at it If I want to make a raft out of used headslick bottles, I just might do it.

http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155193

I hear theres a lot of "smug" out that way. is there anything being done to fix that?   

[Tyler]

There isn't much smog here in the SF Bay Area because we get the winds off of the ocean.  Though, it could be a bit more than where most people live due to us having the mountains to trap it in.

[Stu]

I read this column a long time ago and don't know how accurate it is, but I would think it has some degree of accuracy based on the details.  If you read it, pay attention to the section about how Prius batteries are manufactured and the associated environmental damage.  If someone can refute it, please share.  I'm all for the truth.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1904448/posts