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24 Feb 04 - convenience; Heinz Kerry; ties; photos; purchasing ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.reuses.com/nwpcarchive --------------------- From Sondra Flite, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, NJ, responding to the 2/19/04 posting by Yen Chin about whether there is any value to doing cost comparisons of disposable and convenience products with non-convenience products: I agree with the observations of Yen Chin, but not with his conclusion. My complaint about PAYT ("pay as you throw") and other rational programs is that a 25-year-old mother with a job and two screaming children in her shopping cart is going to buy whatever seems to offer convenience, regardless of price. But when looking at the costs of each of these buying decisions, consumers can decide which conveniences are worth the money. The most respected books on personal finance are the ones that make people reconsider the take-out coffee every day, and the disposable wipes, since their cumulative costs are high. Consumers may be willing to make some changes, if not others. The government makes liquor manufacturers state the proof of the product, not because it will make us stop drinking, but because we should have the information we need to draw our own conclusions. As a rule, people's understanding of home economics is poor, and since many journalists are also poor at math and science, people have few sources of useful information. So I think it's still worthwhile to get the word out. E-mail: Sondra ( D O T ) Flite ( A T ) dep ( D O T ) state ( D O T ) nj ( D O T ) us --------------------- Excerpted from a February 2004 essay by Jan Lundberg in the Culture Change e-Letter, a project of the Sustainable Energy Institute (forwarded by Jeanette Hardison): TERESA HEINZ KERRY: A FIRST LADY OF SUSTAINABILITY? For the first time in U.S. history, the White House may soon be guided by principles of sustainability: the capability of the ecosystem to accommodate economic activity indefinitely. If John Kerry becomes president, his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry would push environmental policy domestically and globally in the direction of lessening threats ignored by the Bush administration: toxic pollution, global warming, and petroleum dependence. On February 6, 2004, at the University of Tennessee College of Law, Heinz Kerry spoke with me after her address on health and energy-related issues. This was just prior to the Tennessee primary election, which John Kerry won. As she spoke in favor of massive renewable-energy technology investment and the revision of disposal practices to redirect waste into reusable products, one could have wondered if this was a rerun of Clinton-Gore posturing for some "green votes." The answer is no, if we consider her long-time interest in toxicology and nonprofit work, as well as the depth of her understanding of the issues. She gave examples of the threat of indoor pollution and medical and dietary risks to public health, such as estrogenic carcinogens. She also displayed knowledge of how research is manipulated by industry. "There is no sustainability in the way we think," she said. How refreshing to hear such a realization from someone who could be at the pinnacle of policy formation, after decades of the U.S. frittering away nature's health and wealth. An example of reorienting economic priorities toward sustainability is Heinz Kerry's "cradle to cradle" approach to reducing consumer junk that has almost entirely gone directly to landfills: before counting on recycling and reusing, products must be manufactured with materials and processes that make it possible to avoid the usual "cradle to grave" syndrome. She displayed a nontoxic ball of fiber, colored with vegetable dye, made by a major chemical manufacturer, designed to become a basic material for an updated consumer product to replace what has already had its use as a rug. Heinz Kerry repeatedly mentioned that her husband had gone to four Kyoto Protocol conferences, more than any other candidate or past major U.S. politician. This in itself is not sufficient comfort for anyone concerned about climate change. However, she did not imply that we must give up on nature as we knew it and adapt to global warming. That approach is what most governments and their corporate backers advocate, but such a view is rapidly becoming discredited and untenable by the latest developments in climate science news: (a) one quarter of all species, approximately, will be extinct or going extinct by mid century, thanks to human-induced global warming, and (b) the imminent shut down of the Gulf Stream, due to global warming's icecap melt and greater rainfall on the ocean, is setting up the northern hemisphere for a sudden ice age within a few years. But Heinz Kerry has no naiveté about advocating a completely renewable-energy economy: She said, "We need to keep using fossil fuels and nuclear," but added, "No more nuclear plants should be built because we don't know how to deal with the radioactive waste very well." Heinz Kerry is in favor of so-called green cars and greater fuel-economy standards for internal combustion engines. People got the impression that her husband, even if president, would not be foolish enough to dismiss her well-reasoned positions. The audience also could tell she was speaking for the candidate, who of course was benefiting from her ability - as his alter ego? - to travel to a key campaign location and represent him. There is more than a career or political commitment at work: there at the Knoxville presentation was her son Andre Heinz. He works at The Natural Step in Stockholm. I asked him, "What is your interest in all this?" The presidential-looking young man answered: "Sustainability." Bravo, and amen. Note: The full essay is at: http://culturechange.org/e-letter-54.html ---------------------- Excerpted from the 2/10/04 "Dear Abby" syndicated newspaper column, written by Jeanne Phillips: IT'S KNOT HARD TO REUSE OLD NECKTIES Dear Abby: I read with interest the letter from the woman asking how to recycle her late husband's neckties. My 16-year-old daughter, who teaches Sunday school and volunteers at our children's hospital, wears them as belts. - Proud Mom, Corpus Christi, Texas Dear Proud Mom: Your daughter is an original thinker. I had no idea there were so many uses for old neckties. Hundreds of suggestions poured in! Read on for a sample: - From Joy in Irvine: I have a friend who made her prom dress completely out of men's ties she bought from Goodwill. They were sewn together vertically. It was really cool. - From Clarence B., Clemson, SC: She should cut the wide ends 18 inches to 20 inches long and sew them together at the long edges to make a colorful apron. The tapers will give it a nice flair, and the ends can be used for the waistband at the top and the strings at the back. - From O.H. Stelter Jr., Houston: Two women in our church, St. Christopher Episcopal in League City, Texas, gathered old ties from the parish and made them into beautiful altar cloths for use during Father's Day services. - From Jeanne S., Southern Shores, NC: Old ties can be woven into beautiful, one-of-a-kind area rugs or wall hangings. Incorporated into clothing, they can become wearable art. - From Debe, Willow Glen: My aunt owned a gorgeous mandarin-style jacket made entirely from old silk neckties. They were laid side by side, sewn together, then finished off with embroidery overstitching. - From Gini M., Oshkosh, WI: She should use them to make a quilted Christmas wreath. It will become a family heirloom. - From Sharon, Newberry Park: One of the most precious gifts I ever received was a Christmas stocking made for my 6-month-old daughter when her grandfather died. A cousin made it from some of his ties for her first Christmas. It's a family treasure. - From Dayna in Longview, TX: With that many ties, she's bound to have a picture of Grandpa wearing some of them. Why not mount a picture of Grandpa wearing the tie in a frame along with the tie? - From Carol P., Spartanburg, SC: How about using them to make Christmas tree skirts? Stitch them together in a circle with the points facing outward. - From Anna Maria S., Silver Spring, MD: I use my husband's cast-off ties to make cases for my jewelry. Working with the wide ends, I cut them in 3-inch, 4-inch and 5-inch lengths and stitch them to form pouches. Then I fold the triangle tip down like the flap on an envelope and put a snap on the other side. ---------------------- From Tom Watson, King County Solid Waste Division, Seattle, WA, and the National Waste Prevention Coalition: Kinley Deller here in my office sent me this link to the website of Seattle photographer Chris Jordan. Check out Jordan's recent photos; they are very relevant to waste reduction and reuse. http://www.chrisjordan.com Click on "Current Work." Scroll down. You can click on any of the individual small photos to see them larger. My guess is that many of you will appreciate these beautiful photos as much as I do. They "explore the fearsome industrial infrastructure behind the shiny façade of human consumption," as the photographer puts it. (Click on "Statement" for that and other comments by Jordan.) He has these photos up on the web for people to see, so I feel that it's okay for me to tell you all about this website, but please don't be tempted to use these photos, on a web page or anywhere else, without Chris Jordan's permission. If you'd like to contact him about using his photos, click on "contact information." Thanks! ---------------------- Excerpted from a message from Carl Hursh, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, waste reduction and recycling program, Harrisburg, PA: GREEN PROCUREMENT The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) is hosting an environmentally preferable purchasing videoconference on March 17, 2004, from 10 a.m. to noon, eastern time. The program will be broadcast via satellite to more than 20 sites in Pennsylvania and will also be available as a live web cast from the PROP website: http://www.proprecycles.org Additional details about the videoconference are also on that site. Click on "PROP Events." The videoconference will feature: Scot Case, director of the Center for the New American Dream's purchasing program; Karen Hamilton, an environmental purchasing manager for King County, WA; and Villanova University's Kevin O'Donnell. Topics will include: Setting up a green purchasing policy; the environmental impacts of green purchasing; consumer preferences; how to find green products; and influencing purchasing decisions, or rather, how you the customer can get what you need. E-mail: chursh [AT] state [DOT] pa [DOT] us - end - My guess is that many of you will appreciate these beautiful photos as much as I do. They "explore the fearsome industrial infrastructure behind the shiny façade of human consumption," as the photographer puts it. (Click on "Statement" for that and other comments by Jordan.) He has these photos up on the web for people to see, so I feel that it's okay for me to tell you all about this website, but please don't be tempted to use these photos, on a web page or anywhere else, without Chris Jordan's permission. If you'd like to contact him about using his photos, click on "contact information." Thanks! ---------------------- Excerpted from a message from Carl Hursh, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, waste reduction and recycling program, Harrisburg, PA: GREEN PROCUREMENT The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania (PROP) is hosting an environmentally preferable purchasing videoconference on March 17, 2004, from 10 a.m. to noon, eastern time. The program will be broadcast via satellite to more than 20 sites in Pennsylvania and will also be available as a live web cast from the PROP website: http://www.proprecycles.org Additional details about the videoconference are also on that site. Click on "PROP Events." The videoconference will feature: Scot Case, director of the Center for the New American Dream's purchasing program; Karen Hamilton, an environmental purchasing manager for King County, WA; and Villanova University's Kevin O'Donnell. Topics will include: Setting up a green purchasing policy; the environmental impacts of green purchasing; consumer preferences; how to find green products; and influencing purchasing decisions, or rather, how you the customer can get what you need. E-mail: chursh (AT) state (DOT) pa (DOT) us - end -