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24 Jan 07 - film; water; jobs; Home Depot; banks; shopping; zero waste ** WASTE PREVENTION FORUM ** -- A project of the National Waste Prevention Coalition -------- Forum archive: http://www.nwpcarchive.org --------------------- Excerpted from messages from Christian Patterson, Wolf and Moon Productions, public relations, Santa Cruz, CA: We have a new film coming out that deals with overconsumption and sustainability. It's called, "American Dream: A Search for Sanity in a World that Seems to Have Lost its Mind." We are trying to raise awareness, and also raise some finishing funds to get this film out to the nationwide public. Directed by Joel Christian McEwen, American Dream is a "documentary comedy." The website for the film is at: http://www.americandreamthemovie.com Traversing the country from the glitz of Las Vegas to the homes of everyday citizens, American Dream documents the journey of one man as he tries to make sense of a world that seems to have lost its mind. Including interviews with Danny Glover, Howard Zinn, Medea Benjamin, Ed Begley Jr., Vicki Robin, John DeGraff, Satish Kumar and others, "American Dream" helps shed light on our consumer culture, its causes and effects. We discover an America we never knew we were a part of. But by re-inventing consumerism, we could reclaim our fundamental freedom to choose the world in which we live. We are trying to do this film without corporate sponsorship. So far we have been completely funded by environmental/social change sponsors, and we would like to keep it that way. We are raising our last $90,000 to finish editing, and get it to market. The film will be released by the Visioneering group, who did "What the Bleep Do We Know," "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" and other theatrically-released films. Please spread the word about this film, link to our website, and consider making a donation. Several different sponsorship packages are available (http://www.americandreamthemovie.com/dontateb.html). Any help is greatly appreciated. E-mail: pr [ A T ] americandreamthemovie [ D O T ] com --------------------- From Michelle Portman, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Waterways Regulation Program, Boston, MA: I'm looking for advice on purchasing an "on-demand" water heater to replace the conventional type that heats up water in a boiler that is constantly running. Does anyone have experience with this type of energy-saving device? E-mail: Michelle [ D O T ] Portman [ A T ] state [ D O T ] ma [ D O T ] us --------------------- Link to a job announcement for a Senior Program Manager for School Programs (Recycling and Waste Prevention), for StopWaste.Org, San Leandro, CA: http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=34&recordid=37 The salary range for this position is $6,554 to $8,738 a month. The deadline for applications is March 5, 2007. StopWaste.Org is the name of the waste management authority for Alameda County. San Leandro is located just south of Oakland. --------------------- Link to a job announcement for a Programs Coordinator for the RecycleWorks Program for the San Mateo County Public Works Agency, Redwood City, CA: http://www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/hr/RecycleworksProgramsCoordinator020107.pd f The RecycleWorks program covers recycling, waste prevention, green building, composting, energy issues and sustainability. The salary range for this position is $4,496 to $6,183 a month. The deadline for applications is Feb. 1, 2007. Redwood City is located south of San Francisco. ---------------------- Excerpted from a message from Deborah Stuart, King County Master Recycler/Composter Program volunteer, Seattle area: I work for a Home Depot store, and here is another reason I'm happy to work for them: Their new Eco Options program (http://www.homedepot.com - click on Eco Options). Check it out. With 2,127 stores, we could become a national version of Seattle's Environmental Home Center! E-mail: ms (DOT) recycler (AT) comcast (DOT) net ---------------------- Excerpted from a 1/23/07 article by Ann Carrns in the Wall Street Journal: MAJOR BANKS ELIMINATE ENVELOPES FOR DEPOSITS AT ATMS Wells Fargo & Co., the fourth-largest U.S. bank, announced Jan. 23 that envelopes are no longer needed to make deposits at 400 of its automated-teller machines (ATMs) in California. The bank said an additional 825 cash machines would add this envelope-free technology by the end of this year, and that eventually most of its 6,750 ATMs in the Midwest and Western states will be converted to this format. Bank of America Corp., the second-largest U.S. bank, has converted about 835 of its nearly 17,000 ATMs to an envelope-free format in several markets, including Atlanta and Phoenix. It plans to eventually upgrade its entire network of deposit-taking ATMs to this technology. Older ATM models require customers to tally up their checks, seal them in an envelope and key in the total amount of the deposit before inserting the envelope into the machine. Envelope-free ATMs scan checks (some of the new machines even allow you to insert checks or cash in batches) to create an electronic image on the screen. The machines return a receipt that includes the digital image of the deposited check. ---------------------- Excerpted from a 1/9/07 Associated Press article by Lisa Leff (forwarded by Kinley Deller), following up on a 2/21/06 posting about this): RESULTS ARE IN FROM THE SHOPPING SABBATICAL It began, as grand ideas often do, over a dinner. What would it be like, 10 environmentally-conscious friends in San Francisco wondered as they discussed the state of the planet, to go a year without buying anything new? Twelve months later, the results from their experiment in anti-consumption for 2006 are in: Staying 100 percent true to the goal proved both harder and easier than those who signed on expected. And while broken vacuum cleaners and malfunctioning cell phones posed challenges, some of the group's original members say the self-imposed shopping sabbatical was so liberating that they've resolved to do it for another year. "It started in a lighthearted way, but it is very serious," said John Perry, 42, a father of two who works for a Silicon Valley technology company. "It is about being aware of the excesses of consumer culture and the fact we are drawing down our resources and making people miserable around the world." The pledge they half-jokingly named the Compact, after the Mayflower pilgrims, spread to other cities through the Internet and an appearance on the "Today" show. As it turned out, the Compact was modest as far as economic boycotts go. Several cities in the United States and Europe have communities of "freegans," people whose contempt for consumerism is so complete they eat food foraged from dumpsters whenever possible, train-hop and sleep in abandoned buildings on principle. The San Francisco group, by contrast, exempted from their pledge purchases such as food, essential toiletries like toothpaste and shampoo, underwear and other items that fell under the categories of health and safety. But perhaps because its members included middle-class professionals who could afford to shop recreationally, their cause caught on. Nearly 3,000 people have joined a user group Perry set up on Yahoo so participants could swap goods and tips. Besides thrift stores and garage sales, participants found a wealth of free or previously-owned merchandise in online classifieds and sites where people post stuff they want to get rid of, such as http://www.freecycle.org After going through an initial period of retail withdrawal, discovering just how easy it was to score pretty much anything with a little time and effort was an eye-opener, according to participants. Rachel Kesel, 26, who works as a dog walker, said she was astonished by how often the items she needed simply materialized - the friend who offered a bicycle seat when hers was stolen, the Apple store employees who fixed her laptop at no cost. Similarly fortuitous timing happened often enough that group members came up with a name for it - "Compact Karma." The pledge provided unexpected dividends as well, such as the joy of getting reacquainted with the local library and paying down credit cards. Gone, too, was the hangover of buyer's remorse. Perry got satisfaction out of finding he had a knack for fixing things and how often manufacturers were willing to send replacement parts and manuals for products that had long since outlived their warranties. Over the holidays, Compact members gave homemade gifts or charitable donations in a recipient's name instead of engaging in the usual Grinch-making shopping crush. Kate Boyd, 45, a set designer and high school drama teacher, visited a new downtown shopping mall and felt like she had just stepped off a flying saucer. "It was all stuff that had nothing to do with me, yet for so many people that's how they spend their weekends," she said. "It's entertainment and it is the opposite of where I've been for a year." Now that they know they can do it, Boyd, Kesel and Perry are ready to extend the pledge into 2007. But first, they plan to give themselves a one-day reprieve to stock up on essentials - windshield wipers, bicycle brakes and tongue studs. -------------------- Link to an article about zero waste by Andi McDaniel in the January 2007 Conscious Choice magazine (forwarded by Jeff Gaisford): http://consciouschoice.com/2007/01/zerowaste0701.html - end -