Climate Culture
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Umbra on post-consumer content
Dear Umbra, So I was sitting there at lunch, eating my crackers, when I spied a recycling symbol and was confused. What is “pre-consumer” content? I mean, if the label is true (“carton made from 100 percent recycled paperboard — minimum 35 percent post-consumer content”), what is the other 65 percent? And what is paperboard? […]
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Umbra on the market for recycled material
Dear Umbra, In reference to your polystyrene response: The polystyrene I have seen recently appears with a No. 6 recycling triangle on the bottom. But I’ve heard there is no market for this stuff, even though our local recycling company claims to want us to collect all Nos. 1 through 7. How can this be? […]
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Not all “eco-labels” are created equal
“What’s in a name?” asks Shakespeare. Conscientious food consumers are beginning to realize that the answer too often is, “Not much.” Eggsellent. Shoppers increasingly are willing to pay more for food produced in a way that protects human health, water, wildlife, rural communities, and farm workers. And this is not lost on marketers. Many grocery […]
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Water Relief!
New Report Delivers Good News on Water Usage Americans used 408 billion gallons of water a day in 2000, a number virtually unchanged since 1985 and lower (down 25 percent per capita) than in 1975, says a report released yesterday by the U.S. Geological Survey. “Conservation,” the report says, “is working.” Though the public tends […]
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Umbra on exporting our recycling
Dear Umbra, While we were cleaning out a family member’s house, a neighbor stopped by to see what we were up to. I mentioned that we were tossing “real trash” into the large dumpster and compiling recyclable materials for a trip to the recycling center or metal scrap yard. We don’t know this person well, […]
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Umbra on the benefits of recycling
Dear Umbra, Some time ago, the public radio program This American Life, hosted by Ira Glass, was about recycling. Glass reported, “Experts agree that we have plenty of landfill space for the foreseeable future.” He proposed that recycling therefore did little more than make us feel good. The hapless person he interviewed came up with […]
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Umbra on recycling profitability
Dear Umbra, My friend has the notion that recycling programs lose money. Where does this come from? I can imagine situations where that could be the case, but in most cities there seems to be plenty of material being recycled to justify the collection infrastructure, etc. And surely there are markets for more recycled content […]
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An eco-film booster answers questions
What organization are you affiliated with? What does it do? I work with the Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network. I have been on the board for three years now. Every year this organization puts on a film festival in Leavenworth, Wash. This year it is March 18-21. We are showing more than 50 films from […]
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Hy Jinx
Hybrids Gaining Ground Among Celebs, But Still Pricey for the Rest of Us Thanks to lobbying by intrepid enviro group Global Green USA, several high-profile celebrities arrived at the Academy Awards this year not in stretch limos, but in diminutive hybrid Toyota Priuses. Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, Charlize Theron, Robin Williams, and Sting all […]
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Home Green Home
Green Home-Building Rising in Popularity Eco-minded builders and environmental groups in the U.S. are pushing to simplify and popularize the notion of “green building,” which encompasses practices and materials that reduce waste and make homes more efficient. Green building — ranging from landscaping with native plants to using carpet made of recycled soda bottles to […]
