Facing an e-waste mountain
I just ordered the Dell recycling service for one of my mom's old PC's and electronic equipment.

BBC NEWS | UK | Magazine | Facing an e-waste mountain: "Nearly every time a new electrical item is bought, an old one needs disposing of. But are we doing so properly?

Four million phones have been sold this Christmas, which means another four million are probably no longer used.

Most are destined for the rubbish bin, with the potato peelings and chocolate wrappers. And like all household waste, they end up in the ground.

Teenagers get a new phone every 11 months, adults every 18 months. A total of 15 million handsets are replaced each year.

It is estimated that 200 million electrical items per year end up in non-hazardous landfill sites, so there could be six billion items buried across the UK.

Electrical items are not dangerous while they're in one piece, but in the ground toxic substances like nickel, cadmium or lead can leak out"
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 9:24 PM (1) comments

 
Green gift ideas
Green gift ideas.

Environmentally minded and health conscious individuals have had a distinguished history of using their tremendous power as consumers to directly support ecologically sound products and services. For example, the purchase of organic foods supports a type of agriculture that is more sustainable and less damaging to the ecology than agriculture dependent upon chemical pesticides and fertilizers. CCE and CERI recommend applying the same principle of consumer choice to your holiday shopping and buying gifts that are ecologically sound and contribute to a sustainable existence.

Our list continues to grow every year, as more and more environmentally friendly products find places in the marketplace, on neighborhood shelves, and on the Internet. This year, CCE and CERI staff compiled a list of ideas which has been divided into categories to get you started on finding the perfect environmentally friendly gift for your loved one. Please share your ideas with us by sending an email to farmingdale@citizenscampaign.org.

Environmentally Friendly Gift Categories:

- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 1:29 PM (0) comments

 
TerraPass: Invoice
Just bought mine today.

Terra Pass:
"Ship To:
Bill To:

Name:
Charles Eesley
Name:
Chuck Eesley

Code
Product
Quantity
Price/Ea.
Total

TPAE
TerraPass - Efficiency - 1 yr / 12,000 mi
1
$39.95
$39.95

Shipping: First-Class US Mail:
$0.00

Sales Tax:
$0.00
 
Total:
$39.95

- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 8:05 PM (0) comments

 
TerraPass
Last week I heard from Adam Stein of TerraPass via email:

"The idea behind TerraPass is simple. TerraPass allows individual consumers to tap into the growing market for carbon emission credits traded by large companies such as DuPont and IBM. These markets are structured in the same way as as the markets for sulfur emissions that were so successful in reducing acid rain."

I promptly read through their entire site — the concept is fascinating. Their FAQ sums it up nicely:

Isn't buying a TerraPass essentially just a donation to preserve the environment?

Let's put that question in another context. Is cleaning up after your dog essentially just a donation? Is picking up your trash in the woods essentially just a donation? Cars make a mess; even if not as visibly as your dog. Clean up after your car.

Does TerraPass physically modify my car?

No. TerraPass is a market mechanism that tips the economic balance in favor of efficiency and renewable energy. This mechanism results in exactly counterbalancing the carbon emissions of your driving, without modifying your car physically.

- posted by Eric @ 1:14 PM (0) comments

 
Try dreaming of a Green Christmas
Try dreaming of a Green Christmas: "CHRISTMAS is traditionally a time for excess –and that doesn’t just mean too much food and drink.

The festive celebrations produce huge amounts of household waste that has to be disposed of when the decorations come down and Christmas dinner is just a distant memory.

But you can help to make it a Green Christmas by putting those discarded greetings cards, wrapping paper, cans and bottles to good use – and help the environment by cutting down on waste

Old Christmas cards can be put to good use as scribble pads – or cut up with pinking shears to make your own festive gift tags.

Cllr Lynne Liptrot, Cabinet Member for the Environment who promotes Christmas cards on recycled paper in her work with the Primary Care Trust, says: “It’s quite easy, and great fun, to make a personal design using snips from old cards and even wrapping paper. Done with love and care, handmade cards can look extremely professional.”

Alternatively, cards and empty cardboard packaging can be taken to the Kirkless waste recycling site in Higher Ince. Also stores such as Tesco and WH Smith operate card recycling banks which last year collected 40 million cards – the equivalent of almost 14,000 trees!

Of course, all those empty bottles and cans of festive cheer can be easily disposed of at one of the 80 or so convenient kerbside bottle banks and can banks in the borough.

And to complete your green Christmas why not take your real Christmas tree to a participating recycling station where the trees are pulped and turned into environmentally friendly wood chippings that are used as weed killing mulch for green projects in the borough’s parks and gardens.

For details see under Christmas Trees on the council’s on-line A-Z of services or contact the recycling officer on 01942 404380."
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 6:30 PM (0) comments

 
Green Gifts for Christmas :: The Environment Site Forum
Green Gifts for Christmas :: The Environment Site Forum: "This year you can help the less fortunate and the environment, as well, by giving 'green' gifts to those on your Christmas list.

You can purchase a milk goat or a grove of mango trees (prevents erosion and provides food) for a Haitian family, or a water buffalo for a village in Cambodia (to use as a draft animal).

To help, visit the American Friends Service Committee web site:

http://www.afsc.org/give/give.htm

You can purchase a gift of 25 fruit trees in a developing country. These trees protect the environment, provide wildlife habitat and food for hungry people.

The link:

http://www.treesforlife.org/gift/memorial/

You can preserve an old growth pine tree in an ancient forest in Sweden as a gift.

The link:

http://www.ettklickforskogen.se/engelska/ettKlickeng.asp
(click the Buy a Tree button at the bottom of the page).
"
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 6:27 PM (0) comments

 
I'm dreaming of a green Christmas
Wildwalk: I'm dreaming of a green Christmas

Christmas is a time for giving and a time for sharing – but all the Yuletide celebrations can create an enormous amount of extra waste. From Christmas trees to wrapping paper, empty wine bottles to left-over sprouts – there is a significant increase in the amount of rubbish that goes into our dustbins over the holiday season.

But do not despair! Help is at hand! It is easy to enjoy the festivities and do your bit for the environment this Christmas.


Simply click on our interactive picture for hints and tips about how you can spend a greener Christmas. Just like an advent calendar, there are 24 hidden windows to open – see if you can find them all!"
- posted by Chuck Eesley @ 6:19 PM (0) comments