And if you thought that was bad ...

Check these lovely items.

Because condiments don't already come in plastic squeeze bottles, you definitely need another plastic squeeze thing to put them in. Tell me how many times this gets used before it gets tossed or just flat-out breaks. Waste of plastic. Or, one kid one time aims it at a sibling. Gone. Tossed. Then it becomes one more piece of trash in the world and a waste of the resources used to create it. Clever? No. Stupid and wasteful.

*****

I can see the argument for this one. Because of course we all need our sugar-laden, high-fructose corns syrup chemical crap-fest of juice in the plastic gallon jugs. And no, kids don't need this. I can't fathom taking up room in the fridge with this thing> And how long before it breaks? Where would anyone store it when it's not in use? Yeah, this thing is beyond ridiculous and should never be purchased. It should not have been manufactured, actually. I see a future of animals getting caught in it and little else. 

******

I'm kind of speechless about this one. I'll just let it fester in your head. Then I'll thank you to smack me stupid so I don't have to think about it anymore. 

*****

And finally, this gem. Why??? Because there is some novelty to dipping toast in ... um ... what? Nutella? It's not even dishwasher safe, as I discovered by reading about it. Of course I had to stop because the glowing praises in the comment sections gave me pre-aneurysms. (Yes. That's a thing. I get them a lot.) 

Olive You Too

So I get a lot of eco-articles and posts in my life, naturally. Most of them I know, others surprise me a little. Just when I think I've thought about it, something comes up that makes me say, "Damn!" This was one of them.

Do you use olive oil? I use olive oil. It's my go-to for cooking. Except when the spice in question - like turmeric - calls for sauteing in a higher fat which means butter yum yum - it's always olive oil I reach for, grab, buy, have on hand. Imagine my surprise to learn that the manufacture of olive oil is not the most Earth-friendly thing out there.

From http://www.ecomena.org/olive-oil-wastes/: Currently, there are two processes that are used for the extraction of olive oil, the three-phase and the two-phase. Both systems generate large amounts of byproducts.  The two byproducts  produced by the three-phase system are a solid residue known as olive press cake (OPC) and large amounts of aqueous liquid known as olive-mill wastewater (OMW).  The three-phase process usually yields 20% olive oil, 30% OPC waste, and 50% OMW.  This equates to 80% more waste being produced than actual product.  

Who'd have thought? I didn't. By-product and waste from a natural product should be natural, right? Nope.

Regardless of system used, the effluents produced from olive oil production exhibit highly phytotoxic and antimicrobial properties, mainly due to phenols.  Phenols are a poisonous caustic crystalline compound.  These effluents unless disposed of properly can result in serious environmental damage.  Troublingly, there is no general policy for disposal of this waste in the olive oil producing nations around the world.  This results in inconsistent monitoring and non-uniform application of guidelines across these regions. 

I'm stymied.

I like olive oil because it's good ad yummy and generally found in glass bottles, not plastic. What's a witch to do? Stop using it? We can't stop using everything.

This is where I bring up a point that is so completely unpopular in pretty much all circles, even the environmental groups: population. There are just too many of us using too much stuff. I'm very eco-aware, yet things like this come up. Another one: Greek yogurt - yum - horrible for the environment. That I can avoid. I did anyway because of the stupid plastic cups it comes in. But olive oil? I don't use a lot. I won't stop. Sometimes, it's really just not me. It's all of us. The answer to problems like this isn't that we need to be better - which we do, we really really do - but that we need to STOP. We're cruising quickly and way too easily to 8 billion, and we just cannot handle that. We can't. Because of things like this. Because we use and use and we have nowhere to put the other stuff. This article talks about finding ways to deal with this waste-product. We keep looking for Band-aids and cures for the symptoms but we never address the disease.

Us. We are the disease. Let's address that.

Let's Think About It

Progress? Or just an excuse to create an industry we don't really need?

Let's really think about this and think about it hard. Please.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about so-called progress, and convenience, and making our lives easier, and solving problems, and solving problems that aren't really problems... and finding "stuff" for people to do - because maybe just maybe there are too many people doing the wrong job and we are going the wrong direction altogether?

Observe: The Milk Carton Dilemma. SUCH a horrible problem to have to mash open the mouth of the carton. Wow, that sucks. I just can't think of anything worse. What a problem. I mean, my whole day is ruined when that happens. That's just terrible. Cancer? Terrorism? Poverty? Mere child's play compared to when I can't open a milk carton. Those old enough to remember Sniglets might recognize the word "Lactomangulation." You may as well go back to bed when this happens.

But wait! Never fear! Progress and Technology are here to rescue YOUR morning! To make YOUR life better and easier and more convenient, we have PLASTIC to save you! And look! Jobs! We need people to make these very very necessary things!

Now look at what we have: we've gone from a carton that really doesn't recycle anyway, to a carton that now has a plastic piece on it that won't get recycled because it's attached to a carton that doesn't get recycled and it will not get separated from said carton. PLUS, a little round ring thingy-piece that gets thrown away after you hurt your finger trying to get it the hell out of there. PLUS, the lid. That won't get recycled. We went to the beach the other week, and I didn't get any shells, but I DID pick up a whole handful of plastic screw-top lids. Might not have gotten them all, but damn it I got those. So, you know, I'm thinking we have more than enough lids out there already. We didn't need an excuse to make more.

But, but, but.... JOBS! Jobs are good and people get jobs by making these things we don't really need! And THAT'S good, right? Justified!

See, I have a problem there. Jobs for the sake of... jobs? Why? Because we can't come up with a job that might move us forward ecologically instead? Because this was just easier and someone is making good money up at the top? Because the Plastics Coalition says, "Hey, here's a job!" and no one says anything about how we really don't need this and maybe there is something else to be done? We had to train people to work the machines that make these things; why not train them to, I don't know, grow industrial hemp instead, or make/install solar panels or wind turbines? Why not THAT job? Instead of making machines to make useless unnecessary plastic pieces of waste, why not make machines to make stuff out of hemp? Why not?

I know why, actually. It's because plastic is made out of petroleum, and the oil industry prefers that we don't actually think about the reality of this situation. And HERE IS the reality of this situation: Opening a milk carton was never a problem in our lives. It was at most a minor nuisance that really did not negatively affect anything in the big picture. And we are creating needless waste by solving a problem that didn't exist in the first place. And we are holding people to jobs that don't go anywhere and don't really advance anyone and just keep people locked into a certain position in life. And if you didn't realize or don't believe that, you ought to give it some thought.

Hey... how about we go back to glass bottles? And hey, why don't we go back to milk delivery? THAT was a job. It was a good one.

In the meantime, can we just start thinking a little more, and stop taking everything at face value? And realize what's REALLY going on out there?

That'd be nice for a change.

I Scream for Ice Cream...

I discovered the reason I stay off Pinterest. I'm sure there are a million wonderful things on there, but knowing me, they would be overshadowed by things that piss me off. Like this...

"what a great idea! such a time saver for birthday parties- scoop the ice cream into lined cupcake pans & put them in the freezer. then just pull them out when you cut the cake & serve!"

And someone's comment: "oh I LOVE this idea....no more expensive single servings needing to be bought!!"

Where to start. I almost do not know. I guess I'm wondering why it's OK to create more garbage for a little time saved. I'm wondering what lessons we teach children by these actions. I'm wondering why no one stops to think about the resources wasted by manufacturing these little paper liners in the first place, not to mention the resources to get them to stores, etc.

Most of all, I am wondering who the hell buys "expensive single servings" for a birthday party???

I consider this a Lazy Fail, and the wasteful use of resources for something that isn't really necessary. I know, I know, the hardship of actually scooping ice cream during a party is truly heartbreaking. But I think we can get over it.

You just KNOW these went straight onto paper plates, too. Better yet - Styrofoam. With Red Solo plastic cups and plastic forks. And spoons. And knives. You just know. You know you know. I know. I'm dead sure of it. Add the little plastic crap party favors Made in China and the scads of wrapping paper - OH! and probably bottled water, too, I am sure, because if you are too damn busy to SCOOP ice cream DURING the party, then you sure as hell are the kind of household that uses bottled water - add all that up and you have the PERFECT 21st Century Kids' Birthday Party.

You enjoy that. I'm sure they will when they are adults with their own kids, looking around at what we have left them. Enjoy.

Simply Potatoes. Oh, and Chemicals.

"Stop peeling, dicing, and boiling. Start enjoying."

"We here at Michael Foods know you are FAR too busy with every little thing to be bothered to actually COOK anything, you know, because it's so important for you to have a family and children and don't have the time or desire to actually do things the right and healthy way, so here: be convenient. We'll help. Don't pay attention to the additives and crap we have to put in it to make them stay white and fluffy and whatever, because we're really just potatoes. Simply Potatoes. In plastic. We say the little trays and the cardboard are recyclable, but they aren't, really. Because the cardboard has crap on it and the tray is a #7 that doesn't have an audience yet to call to be recycled. But it's OK. You're busy. Shh shh shh... don't think about the fact that our products have an expiration date, and that there is no way all of them will ever get sold all by that date, because we make enough so that no one ever runs out, and then all those packages of Simply Potatoes are now Simply Garbage. In plastic. It's OK. We know you don't have time to cook REAL potatoes. You know, those thing that really ARE simply potatoes? Potatoes? And potatoes that go bad can be tossed in the compost. Oh... that's right, we forgot, you don't have time to compost either. It's OK! Just buy another bag of our product! Because with all that time you are saving by not actually cooking real potatoes, you can... you can... well you won't be composting, ha ha ha! Oh, chuckle. You can spend more time in front of your computer ignoring your kids, who are in front of their computers! Or, oh hey, shopping for more stuff you don't need to try to make yourself happy because you are soooo empty inside! There ya go! Ain't progress grand? We love it. We love your microwave, and, shucks, we love YOU, because we know you are hooked on the ease of our products, and our shareholders are so happy. They love you, too. Keep on keepin' on, you!"

Do I blame Simply Potatoes, Crystal Farms, A Michael Foods Company? Of course not. I blame us. Someday, maybe we'll open our eyes.

Maybe.

Waste Not, Want Not

Feeling the need to continue on the theme of waste.

Is it because we have too much? If things were a little more scarce, would we care more and waste less? If things were as precious as they really should be? If things cost more? The fact that we CAN walk in to any store any day mostly any minute and have everything at our fingertips, is that making us somehow feel that it's OK to waste? (Cuz it's not.) Are things too easily accessible, that we have forgotten the value of all things? And things we break are so cheap and replaceable, we end up not taking care of them as much. Eh, so what, go get another.

Are we clear?

Having a massive surplus of *stuff* is a sign of prosperity. We're doin' OK. The economy is crap, people don't have jobs, but darn it the shelves are stocked so we feel safe. We aren't going to run out of stuff. Warm fuzzies. Comfort. Having just enough isn't good enough. Wanting and not being able to have... very bad. That would be a sign that we can't have everything we want when we want it, and being left wanting means we are not safe. We're not OK. Kids crying because all their immediate needs aren't being met. But we're adults. We can realize we are OK even if the sheer inconvenience of a store being out of my favorite dressing should happen to me. I'm OK. I move on. Is it ok for us to stop making SO much stuff? So we stop consuming and wasting so much stuff? Can't just enough, be enough?

How did we get here? Is it the commercialism from the television era telling us to want more more more? If we can't have it all, then our lives are empty? I'm reminded of the show Hoarders, which, for some reason, and no reason that I can explain to my husband, who just shakes his head, is my favorite guilty pleasure to watch. We know why people hoard: they are trying to fill something they cannot inside themselves, and usually avoiding FEELING something. It's like, "Oh no! I'm about to feel bad about this! Quick, buy something so I feel better! Safer! I don't want to have to feel bad!!!" Stuff makes us feel like everything will be OK, but it's not. It's not OK. And you know what? It's OK to NOT be OK. We get past it. Shit happens. Our worlds will not end.

Will gaps or a few empty shelves in stores make us uneasy? Pop our little bubble of the American idea of progress and prosperity? Make us think we're in Russia? That collapse of modern society as we know it is upon us? I don't have an answer. this is just something that has me thinking. Can we stop to think about it? We have, buy, consume, waste too much. How do we stop it? How do we get back to simple frugality that made sense and was so much better all around? Do we need to have some large-scale disaster fall upon us to make us change?

I hope that's not what it takes, but I just don't know what else has to give. I just don't.

All I know is we have to start treating things, all things, as much more precious than we currently do. Does that mean higher prices, so we don't dare waste as much? Do we waste because stuff is cheap and we can?

Can we stop?

Don't Drink Oil

It's a cute video in support of "plastic" made from corn... check it out in preparation to read, if you will. It's short!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FzYcW3Fdhs&feature=youtu.be

Red Solo Evil

I have a problem with this, though. Oh, don't get me STARTED on Red Solo Cups and the accompanying stupid song that was written in praise of drunkards and plastic... but let's talk about cups made from corn. Or sugar. Or potato starch. Forks and spoons and plates and even these clear cups for our beverages. These things are great, right?

Well....

Compostables are coming along, but it's not quite right yet. I feel like unless we can replace every single piece of plastic picnic-ware etc with compostables all at once, like, tomorrow, then we have problems. One, these things require high-heat composting. You can't just toss these things in your bin out back. Not all communities have that. YET. These thing will come. But as of now...

How many people do you know that pay attention to where they are throwing what out? Are you at a gathering where you can announce, hey, these cups have to go into a special bin! Hell, you can't even get people to recycle regularly most times! I can't count the times I go down to our trash bin which has the blue recycle bins (3 of them) RIGHT next to it and there is recycle stuff in the trash. With that, we expect people to know they need to put this here special cup in a special place? See, just one of these will ruin a regular batch of recycling. And don't think recycling centers have the manpower or ability to go through every single piece of trash that comes their way. (Americans don't want THAT kind of job. Ew. Yucky. We're above that kind of labor, dontcha know. We need jobs, but not THOSE jobs. Eww.) So, these things are actually dangerous to the system as we have it now. It's not good. I sure don't trust people's knowledge enough. Do you?

Also, making these things out of, say, corn, encourages mono-cropping and GMOs. This is not good. Is it worse than the oil it takes to make plastic?? I don't know. No? No. I don't know. It's a BIG topic. Yes, I think they are better, but no, I am not sure we are ready for them. We have to get there. We aren't there yet.  And I know mono-cropping and Monsanto are right up there with Big Oil. This is not simple. My brain is in a twist just typing this.

You know what I do know? The best way would be to not use any of these things at all anymore. just stop. We lived without them quite well and easily before. Did we not have parties and picnics before Red Solo? Did we suffer? Oh, but Good, glass breaks. Kids can't use glass. It's too dangerous. We HAVE to use plastic! You don't want our kids to get hurt, do you? What kind of person are you?? We can't live without plastic anymore!

Sigh.

Never mind. We're already lost. Forget I said anything.

Wasting Waste

Have you ever just paused to take notice of just how much STUFF is in stores? It's staggering. Staggering. I don't really wander into very many stores very often. I don't buy a lot of clothing right now, and when I do, it's usually in my favorite thrift stores. My husband handles a lot of the grocery shopping... So the rare time I get to a "big-box" or whatever you call them store, it's like culture-shock all over again, every time.

That stuff all has expiration dates. Think about it.

There is more stuff in most stores than can possibly be bought. What happens when it all expires? It gets thrown out. It's not like last year's out-of-fashion fashions; this stuff goes bad. It doesn't get sent to the needy, it doesn't go to feed some third-world country... it just gets tossed.

I would rather see grocery stores run out of things than throw so much away. I mean, sure, you see them run out of stuff in emergency situations, like major snow storms - oh, wait, we didn't have many of those this past winter, did we? There's no such thing as climate change - and the battle hymn of "Bread-and-milk-bread-and-milk" - because, yeah, when was the last time you were snowed in so long in most civilized areas that you were in danger of starving because you were out of bread and milk? That always ALWAYS made me crazy. Headline: "Family of 5 Runs Out of Bread and Milk, Found Starved to Death After Roads Were Cleared One Day After 6-Inch Snowfall." Yeah. That doesn't happen. (Wow, that was a bit of a brain barf just then... thanks for being there for it.)

Yet, what would shelves emptied of product say? That the store was poorly run? Bad stocking, and you won't go there again? If a store runs out of something you want, you leave and go somewhere else and never go back to that one again. So they better stock up, even if it means wasting stuff, because gods forbid we can't have absolutely everything we want at our fingertips at every second of every day. What has happened to us? What is it that we value? Would we value things more if we ran out of stuff once in awhile? Or is it the ruin of modern civilization to think a store would run out of anything?

I'm stymied. I got nuthin'. This one isn't going to go away any time soon. We need to overhaul our whole way of thinking. I feel another blog coming up for this one... it's too big.

And that's our problem. Too big. Everything. It's all too big, too much...

Hm.

Good Witch, Bad Witch, Plumbers and Diapers

John Smith, the Arizona Green Plumber, has a radio show. He asked me to be a guest, and I was happy to do so. He said we'd talk about my pet peeves in Green (THAT changes daily!) and whatever else came from that. It started out cordially enough. (You can listen to it anytime here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thearizonagreenplumber/2012/04/20/the-arizona-green-plumber-talks-with-the-good-green-witch) 

I like John a lot. He wrote a great book on his journey to being The Green Plumber. He sent it to me. I liked it a lot, too. I figured we would talk about wasting water. After all, that's something he runs into every day.

  

But somehow, the topic turned to one of my BIGGEST pet peeves: disposable diapers. His co-host, G.G. (Green Girl!), had a lot to say on that. She has kids, she used them on said kids. She thought my point of view and *tone* were perhaps a little much. Well, over the years, I've learned my tone is my tone, and I refuse to tone it down. What's at risk here is too important. So I am putting the show link out here for you, my readers my friends, to judge for yourselves... who won this one? Who comes away with it? It's OK, you can say I might have been a little wrong. I won't accept it, but you can say it!

My Plumber-Buddy John!

You know, I go to a lot of events, and I see the women who speak, and I want to do that, I really do! But my message isn't for the people who are already at those events. Those people already know what I'm talking about. I have to reach the people who don't know...

Apparently, I have a lot to say, and I'm pretty sure I'm always right. Hahahahahh.... ahhh Hubris. I hope you take a listen and let me know!

Because Water is So Un-Awesome On Its Own

In the world of unnecessary and silly products comes this gem: MiO Liquid Water Enhancer. (Opinion? Of course, But then it's my blog.) I felt it was harmless enough when I first saw it, but I finally looked it up and found it particularly useless on a number of fronts. Or just annoying. Or pointless. I haven't decided its strongest offense yet.

I think they got me right out of the gate by saying, "Water is superb. Except in your glass." Obviously, I am not their target audience, because this whole campaign loses me completely. We have to denigrate water to sell our product? Water? Now, we've been flavoring water for years and years. Kool-Aid? Powdered lemonade, powdered teas, etc. This stuff is a liquid in a tiny little container that is all super-trendy and so easy to carry in a purse, etc, and you squeeze as much as you want into your water.

I guess that's fine. It makes people drink more water, I suppose, and that is always a good thing. Unless they are adding it to plastic-bottled water. And really, it's just a tiny little container. Can you recycle the container? Sure. It's a #7. Except no one really recycles that yet. And oh goodie - there's no sugar in it either. No, it has artificial sweetener in it. Yay! Cuz darn that natural stuff sure is bad. Sure, great for people who have to watch their sugar intake, but do you see what it has in it? Here, let me pull it right out of their FAQ's:

"MiO is sweetened with acesulfame potassium and sucralose, a calorie-free, artificial sweetener that is 600 times sweeter than sugar.Sucralose? Acesulfame potassium? They sound frightening. Don't let the long names scare you. Sucralose is a calorie-free, artificial sweetener that is 600 times sweeter than sugar. Both sucralose and acesulfame potassium, the sweeteners in MiO, are recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the general population, including pregnant women and children."

Hmmm. I chuckle. Everything is fine, until we find out it's not. Who knew what BPA was for years and years? "It's fine!" No, it's not. I try to keep it a rule to not ingest things I cannot pronounce. Sucralose? Sure, I can pronounce it, but what the hell is it??? "Recognized as safe by the FDA"? Uh huh. Somehow, I am not entirely reassured on that count quite yet. Call me cynical.

Whatevs, you know? I just hope it doesn't catch on. Maybe we can all ridicule people who use it? Just PLEASE do not give it to kids. They have enough things happening to them already. We don't need to discover in 20 years that Acesulfame potassium causes the F1 generation to have 11 toes and no hair.

Dig?

Speaking of All Things Baby...

Stumbling around the Natural Products Expo in search of green baby things, mind reeling from information overload, I saw lots of cloth diaper booths. This is good. My favorite was Sweet Pea Diapers (http://www.sweetpeausa.com/pages/Why-Cloth%3F.html) , because they were cute and colorful and the lady there told me that I should try the financial aspect of getting people to switch. Oh, and the smelly aspect. And the health aspect. But mostly the money. I didn't buy any for the upcoming step-grandchild, because it is clear they will not be used. Because they are smelly and messy. Except that they are not. They are better and cheaper in the long run and easier and oh so much healthier. But that never seems to matter. Because parents are afraid it will be too smelly. Sigh. I've covered before how with ALL diapers, you are supposed to take the waste and actually FLUSH it, and you then do not have nearly as much a smell as you think you will. And not nearly as much extra laundry as you think you will. And disposable diapers are not meant to wrap up the smelly waste and then tossed in a "genie" then the landfill where you can forget it forever. No. But, no one cares to look into that. Even though they know that is a giant part of having a baby: diapers. Yeah, let's slap toxic chemicals and bleached products and rash-causing plastics on the most delicate of skin. Cuz, you know, there might be smelly consequences otherwise. It's hard. Can't have that. That delightful lady told me that, done properly, a bin of waiting-for-laundry diapers is a rose garden compared to a bin of disposables.

Cute Sweet Pea Diapers

I also found a little campaign called Change 3 Things (http://change3things.com/index.php) that asks parents to "commit to using 3 cloth diapers a day instead of disposables for 1 year." Hmm. Seems like that should be doable. It's for the child's future and well-being after all, right? Don't you want them to have health and a nice planet on which to live and raise their children? No? Because it's smelly? And hard? Here are the fun little factoids they toss out (direct quotes):

• One baby contributes at least 1 ton of waste in diapers alone to a local landfill.
• Disposable diapers are the third most common consumer product in landfills today.
• A disposable diaper may take up to 500 years to decompose.
• A family can spend $1500 to $2000 or more on disposable diapers by the time the baby has moved to potty training.

One baby = 1 ton of waste? How many babies are born each day, month, year? And we have no idea how long it will take to decompose because none of us will be here that long. And plastic doesn't decompose and go away, it just gets smaller and smaller and stays around pretty much forever. And I would say a family would spend a lot more if they changed the baby as often as it SHOULD be changed, but because Pampers keep babies falsely dry for so long, parents will often leave the same diaper on way too long, contributing to rashes that require even more money shelled out on doctors and creams. Not to mention the suffering of the poor kid and the crying and sleeplessness of all involved. 

You know, because cloth diapers are smelly. We can't be bothered. 

It's funny that having a baby seems to absolve parents from doing the right thing by not just the rest of us, but by their own baby, as well. Because it's hard. And, oh, yeah, here's that point again: I don't have any so I can't have a say.

Except for that little part that, yes, I can.

Wasting Water is Weird

Have you seen this ad campaign? Here's the gist: "Wasting water is weird. It really is when you think about it—and that’s the problem. We don’t. You see, there’s this moment when using water becomes wasting water. That’s when things start getting weird. But don’t take our word for it. Just watch Rip..."


http://www.wastingwaterisweird.com/


I couldn't have actually said it better myself. I love these ads. They are so true. We don't think about it. We don't think about it at all. Why is that?

Is it because water usage is so far removed from the water bill? If there were a little meter ringing up dollar signs on your faucet, would you pay closer attention? Should we start doing that? Is it too easy to turn on the faucet and zone out? Why do we take this precious resource for granted so badly?


I never complain about rain, because I know I use water, and, duh, it needs replenished. Rain means clean. Rain means life. Rain should be captured and returned to the Earth, not collected just to run off uselessly to the ocean, like it does here in Los Angeles. Flowers bloom, grasses bloom, dog-pee smells get washed away when it rains. Do you take a shower? Flush a toilet? Then trust me, you want it to rain sometimes. Next time someone complains about rain to you, tell them that they smell pretty good for someone who never showers. 


So I love this campaign and I love Rip the Drip and I hope more people see this. If just a few people think a little bit more about it, and make other people think just a little more about it... well, maybe then we won't be AS screwed as we probably will be anyway. Maybe not as soon. 


Eh. Maybe. Pass it around anyway. 

PeopleTowels: Small Act, Big Impact

The Natural Products Expo West was a few weeks ago, and I combed the aisles for 3 days looking for great products about which to tell you. I was not disappointed. 


The most exciting gem was SO great that I was impatient to write! Was it Mary Wallace, co-founder of PeopleTowels, that I just plain grooved with because she was so cool? Well, that was part of it. I mean, I already don't personally use very many paper towels at all. But of course, anything that helps and that I can get the word out on, I'm going to love. Here's what their site, http://www.peopletowels.com, has to say:

"The use of disposable paper towels has a huge impact on the environment by contributing to deforestation, water pollution and global warming. Some of the facts about paper towel consumption and the environmental impact are:

• To make one ton of paper towels, 17 trees are cut down and 20,000 gallons of water are consumed. 
• Every day, over 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced in the US alone. 
• Decomposing paper towels produce methane gas, a leading cause of global warming. 
• Paper was the largest contributor to municipal landfill waste in 2006. 
• The average person uses 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels at work, in a given year."

I love love love this product. How many times do I go into public restrooms and just shake my head at the overflowing trash bins, the mess of wet paper towels everywhere... the way they smell, the thought of the trees and processing and bleaching that has gone into them, and how this is just one restroom on one floor of one building in one town in one state... on and on. (Psst.. it's lots of times.) It's staggering. (Welcome to my brain.)  If we were carrying around PeopleTowels instead, this would not be plaguing my brain. Help my brain. 

From their information: If 1 in 4 adults used PeopleTowels for a year instead of paper towels, and we're just talking in public restrooms here, we would save enough trees to cover the state of Alaska. We would save enough water to FILL 22,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. And then, think about the landfill space saved and the resources not being used to make the paper towels. 

Now you see why I love love love this product? I bought a few. They are SO cute, too! Mine rolls up nice and small in my purse. You can clip them on you messenger bag or your backpack. This is an amazingly easy new eco-habit to adopt. In fact it is easier than remembering bags or carrying a water bottle, because they are so light and easy. 

So, thank you Linda, thank you Mary, I was so happy to meet you and to learn about your product. Thank you Expo, for having these PeopleTowels there. I think they cannot catch on soon enough. Order them online or find them at stores listed on their site. Give them as gifts. They are so cute and fun, and if you have a business, you can get your logo on them too. Good Green Witch PeopleTowels? Oh you bet your bippy those are coming. 

Let's get these things to catch on. It's such an easy habit-change to make. We can do this.

Waste of Resources - Waste of Life

Sooooo many questions on my mind this weekend. The following is harsh. Maybe it's where I live. But sometimes, I just look at someone and think, "Damn, why does that person have to be taking up MY resources?"

You ever feel like that? I'm surely not talking about someone sick, or infirm, or handicapped - no, no, no!! Nothing like that. I'm talking about those people who don't give a crap outside their own little circle and their own well-being. People who can't think beyond their own nose. The entitled. Those who don't think twice about the double-plastic-bag even though the rest of us are all screaming at the tops of our lungs about it. With their plastic bottles and nary a second thought. No, nary a first thought. Do those people ever get to you?

Imagine if we had listened then, where we would be now.

They get to me. What's the point to life if you are not working to make the world a better place? If you are not enjoying your time here? If you are not making a positive contribution to the race? WHY are you here?

I know, I know, I need to move to where people are less all about themselves... and their cars and hair and clothes and.... blah. What's the answer? Will people ever change? Can we change them? Do we try? Do we just hang around like-minded people instead? That can't be right, then we wouldn't have any impact on those around us. It has to be a balance. We need to be able to run to our groups, I guess, when the rest of them get to be too much. Balance.

I feel like we really really lack balance these days. It's like... it's like it's all or nothing. Full force. Full speed. Full time. I'm not sure what the point to that is. Again, if we aren't enjoying the ride, why are we on it?

Let's start asking random people that very question. When someone is whiny or complainy or just plain miserable to be around - I mean, constantly, not when someone is just having a bad day - let's ask that! Oh, hell, let's just ask it all the time! MAYBE - and I know this is quite a stretch here - maybe people will stop to think. Just a little bit.

It's a start. Even if it just makes ME a little less crazy. Ha.

Learning That Waste Begets Waste!

Ahh, the yearly office holiday cards. Sure, there are "eco-friendly" cards with envelopes made from recycled product... blah blah woof woof... and yeah it is a nice sentiment and people appreciate it... Sigh... and really what else do you do, it's expected, it's the "proper" thing to do, it's rude if you don't, and oh it makes people feel so nice for, what? three seconds? Maybe I'm not giving the whole thing enough credit.

Nah.

Some traditions can go away, slip away into the great night, never to be heard from again. If I can get myself past the thought of the cards themselves (which I can't anyway), then looking at the waste AROUND the waste is enough to send me over. Think about it: You got the cards. You got all the packaging the cards came in. You got the plastic that they wrap around the bundles of cards to keep them fresh. (???!) You got the boxes.

THEN... you print out the labels. Printer cartridge waste created. Then you have the empty pages of non-recyclable stuff the labels were peeled from. And then you have the strips of crap from the envelopes that cover the sticky part because, you know, who the heck wants to actually have to lick or moisten the envelope to seal it?

If we look and think just a little past, beyond... then the obvious waste is even more wasteful. Can't we re-think some of this stuff? Must we keep on in the same tracks and habits? Who is profiting? Who is gaining? Who is losing?

Where do YOU see more waste that goes below the surface of it all?

Good Witch Gone Bad

It's so hard being surrounded by Green people. You'll undoubtedly find people greener than yourself. This is good, of course. No one is perfect. I'll be the first to admit I have a long way to go. But wow, did I get taken to task for my little shameful habit...

Gum.

I know, I know!!!! It's so bad! The wrapping, the plastic, the packaging, the plastic, the fact that it never will really go away, the plastic. But it's so small! But it's so bad!!! What's a green witch to do??

Gum.

Should I chew peppermint leaves instead? Mints? Drops?

Have you ever heard of tetracycline stains on teeth? A certain age range of you out there will know what I am talking about. I had them. I obsessed over and hated my teeth for decades. I was finally able to fix them at great expense (it's considered cosmetic so no insurance would help.) ALL of my teeth are coated, topped, capped, crowned or veneered in porcelain. I love them. I smile big for camera. The downside of a lot of dental work is that no matter how much I brush or use some kind of mouthwash (I do not use mouthwash anymore; chemicals and/or plastic bottles) or use my Water Pik (MIRACLE machine), I frequently have a super-nasty taste in my mouth. Baking soda and water works nicely but it's not something I carry in my purse. Mints, I am tempted to chew them and that is bad for my dental work and besides it takes of lot of them to conquer what one piece of gum does. Sprays? Drops? Nah. I just don't know anything that helps like poppin' a piece of gum.

So, back to the place where I got chastised. I was going to be speaking on stage, so I needed to rid myself of my gum. It was one of those events where they put out bins for everything, and you disposed of whatever accordingly. Facing all these bins, I realized my little gum could only go in the one marked "Landfill". It was a sinking feeling. Someone standing nearby definitely felt it necessary to make sure I felt the proper amount of shame for my little piece of gum. (I'll not criticize them for the supposed "Compostable" bin where people were putting plates that had CHEESE on them that is probably not great in there... but that's deflecting. I digress.)

I try to buy gum that comes in the least amount of packaging and plastic. I split sticks in half so it lasts twice as long. I do what I can. But I have not been able to give up the gum. I don't chew it obnoxiously, I don't crack it, I don't pop it, I just let it make my mouth taste better and my breath not offend.

I swear I'll try something else that would be more eco-friendly. I just haven't fully investigated it. So, in the meantime...

Gum.

Less Plastic is Not Better Plastic

"But it's BPA-free!"

"But it uses LESS plastic than the other bottles!"

It's still plastic, people. I could stop there, but you know me, I must continue.

Plastic is plastic. It's not going away. Even though there is less of it, it's still IT. It's still gonna float around in the ocean. It still sits in the landfills. It still breaks and then becomes useless 'cuz ya can't fix plastic and you still gotta throw it away. How about NO plastic? Can we try that for at least a little bit? Maybe just in spurts at first? Maybe?

It can be done. Sure it's not as cheap or convenient, but what is at stake here? I am quite sure I don't have a normal household. I've been to other homes and - maybe I'm overly sensitive to this kind of thing, but - I am ALARMED at the number of plastic bottles of CRAP found there! DO we even think about it?? Or do we just go about our days with nary a thought?

What can we do? What do we say? Living by example clearly doesn't work well. Do we say something? Do we point it out? Do we just continue to write and hope some of it bleeds through?

I was given a bottle of "special" water. I was in a situation to be polite, and the water was very good, and the bottle was BPA-free and made largely from RPET (recycled plastic)... but it's still a plastic bottle and it still isn't going anywhere. Just stop the madness. We need to cut way back and just get it over with. I've said it before, I'll say it again, the only way to get rid of the 5 Gyres is to stop adding to them. People are taking stuff from the Gyres and making other stuff from it, and that is a good thing, but on our end, can't we just... stop?

Stop. And now I will.

Blame TV

Which came first: the problem or the commercial?

I watch a fair amount of TV. Always have. I love TV. I credit Hodge Podge Lodge with giving me my first awareness of Mother Nature. I watch it very closely. And it makes me wonder... is it influencing our decisions or mirroring our habits? I'm guessing a good part of both.

Take commercials... toothpaste ads glob on the stuff... no one needs that much toothpaste on the brush. We all know that. Or, um, do we? How ARE we supposed to know that, if every time we see a commercial or ad, they have that much stuff on it? Oh sure, it SAYS on the package to only use a pea-sized amount. But I know their game. They are counting on people not being a voracious label-reader like me. So what does the average consumer do? Why, they do what they see, of course. What they see over and over and over again. It's drummed into their heads, not even remotely subconsciously. Blatantly. So this is on purpose, for sure. You'll use more than you need and have to buy more product than if you used it the way it is supposed to be used. You know, according to the tiny print on the package no one reads. They ain't dumb. They're out for a buck. Your buck.

On commercials and TV show, they run the water while brushing teeth. Always. Why? I was watching a sitcom where, not only did they have one scene where the couple very obviously ran the water the whole time they conversed over their tooth-brushing, but in another scene, the same woman used a tissue to wipe a little makeup off her face and then flushed the tissue instead of throwing it away. It was made obvious because it was part of a joke set-up: the toilet clogged. I'm wondering what the writers of this show have against water. I'm not sure why they feel the need to run water like that. Is it because we do it, or do we do it because we keep seeing THAT? Why can't the writers be a tiny bit more aware and responsible? And does it affect the toothpaste commercial if they DON'T run the water the whole damn time? And might we subconsciously pick up the message to turn off our water?

I know. Here I go again with the little things. "Oh, GG. You're so... picky." Yeah. I am.

Then, there's that Glad Trash Bag commercial that just sets me off every farkin' time. Those two boys on their oh-ha-ha-cute-funny pretend news show where they talk about Mom and the slipping garbage bag as she throws away the meatloaf-oh-yuck that no one ate. ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? WHY is it OK to talk about/validate SO much waste of food??? In what world?? And it's supposed to be CUTE and funny?? Can we stop already?

So I ask... do they have commercials like that because they think they have us pegged and are reflecting OUR waste and stupidity, or do we think it is OK to waste and be stupid because of THEM? Hmmmm....

Yup. Just another thing that makes me crazy. Heck, I'll never run out of material. No worries there.

How Can Fruit be Bad?

I'll be frank. (Well, that's my dad, actually.) These things confuse me. I think they are delicious, and they're fresh good healthy fruit, right? There can't be anything wrong with that, can there?

I'm talking about Edible Arrangements. A great and novel alternative to sending boring old flowers. Nice! But then, I see all the silly plastic sticks we have to throw away. So, um, good healthy fresh fruit, dozens and dozens of plastic sticks. I'm so torn!!! What to think? Good, but bad. Can the company take the sticks back to re-use them? Is that illegal because of some health code? Would people largely not return them anyway? Why can't they use something else, like bamboo? It's not like the fruit is meant to stay on the skewers for very long. Is there a splinter issue? Is the plastic just plain cheaper? Have they tried other things? Is it a focus group thing?

It's kind of sad how a fun delicious little gift can cause such angst in my life. Pathetic, actually. It doesn't help that I know certain fruit juices can leech chemicals out of the plastic, not that they are on there very long, but still.

It seems like a good idea and a good company, if they would only ditch the plastic sticks. I mean, I could make a helluva green smoothie after receiving one of these, especially if they use kale for accent. And those chocolate-covered bananas? SOOO yummy. But then the guilt of all those sticks. Sure, I can find some good way to re-use them, but what about everyone else out there who doesn't?

I want to give this two brooms' up, but I think it has to get thrown in the cauldron as a fail. What say you? Too harsh? Simmer down? I'd feel better if there was some kind of exchange program. You know, return the sticks, get a discount on your next delivery...

No, I stand by the bad. Fruit good. Fruit on plastic sticks bad. Easy.

A New Coffee Low - Timing is Everything

My rant on coffee pods yesterday was apparently just a warm-up. I never imagined that another coffee horror was waiting for me today in Treehugger.

I can't even comment. I'll let you look for yourself: http://smartcup.wordpress.com/

No, no, no, no, NO!!!! WHAT are we doing???

Sigh. Last post, I said make loud comments around people. With this one, I think we should feel free to actually walk up to someone and knock the cup right out of their hands and yell, "WHATTSAMATTAFAYOU????" right in their face.

No. I kid.

But we do have to stop this one before it gets hold. Thoughts?