Reality check

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Dorothy

Should I bother mentioning China and their pollution problems there?

That's part of the "asians" I included. I didn't mean to leave out VietNam (a country I know a lot about) or St Lucia (an island I know a lot about) but I'm sure folks get the picture.

[shakkai]

I don't think I'm a purist, either... and we all make trade-offs. My family is in the US, so I fly back and forth probably more often than I should. But I have made conscious choices about the sustainability of our home and day to day living. I have chosen orchids - or tried to - that will grow in the natural conditions that I can provide. This mean no extra light, no heating (other than our central radiant heat for heating the house in winter), no cooling/fans to consume electricity, only using rainwater I collect. The orchid fertilizer I use is 1-0-1, so very dilute quantities, and none of it ever goes down the drain - it either stays inside the tanks, or the remainders get put out on the plants in pots outside. We live in a small house which is as energy efficient as we can make it.

For me, orchid growing is a way of caring for nature's beauty and the environment.

We try to use the same approach with all other things around the house and garden. Reducing consumption - in both small and large ways - is a great first step to trying to make things better.

Ross, I had to laugh when I read your description of your recycling store... I sometimes think to myself how many orchids I could fit into the space taken up by the glass, plastic, paper, etc...!!

[Royal]

Originally Posted by sucuz

What we have to realize is that there isn't ONE answer, but a whole bunch of little answers. Wind power isn't the answer. Hybrid cars are not the answer. Nucular is not the answer. Biofuels are not the answer. Nothing is the whole answer, but if each area can be developed they provide a piece to the puzzle. As each niche is filled, it takes pressure off on another area and contributes to the solution. When we have enough niche area solutions, perhaps that will become the whole solution.

Well said, no ONE answer. I don't have the answer either. I can't even tell you the answer to, "When is the right time to remove this keiki?"

[kiki-do]

People are slowly becoming aware of our waste. Most of us spent years walking around and never giving recycling a thought. The garbage man picks up and off it goes!
Now I make it a point to use more enviromentally safe products and recycle all that I can. The more we start to do, the more aware we become. I have also learned alot from working next to a "chronic" recycler. She use to annoy me, but then I realized this was important. Duh!
We have to make aware with kindness. Most people just don't understand yet.
Also, someone mentioned tires. I had carpeting put in my bedrooms that were made from recycled tires and plastic. And it is beautiful carpet!
Slowly but surely people are realizing the importance of saving this planet.....but we are all guilty of waste. Like the computers we are now using... they are outdated in no time. There are internal elements that can not be recycled. I'm sure somewhere there are people working hard to remedy that, but until then....we need computers because it is a necessity now, not just a luxury.
So many questions, so little answers. But try try try we must. That's all we can do.

[Ross]

Originally Posted by shakkai

Ross, I had to laugh when I read your description of your recycling store...

Sometimes it's hard to get to the freezer!

[Paul]

Not sure at what point the 'baggie' topic died off but I really didn't feel like reading through 7 pages of discussion ... don't have that much time on hand LOL.

But back to baggies only for a moment ... I'm usually a baggie washer. Only times I don't is when it has been used for something really greasy. At that point I use it for a small garbage bag -- especially for chicken bones and such that tend to get rather 'fragrant' rather quickly.

Now back to your wider sweeping discussions.....

Originally Posted by Ross

Also, even big box stores now have a recycling program for exhausted rechargeables. There really is, no longer, any reason for any type of battery to go into a landfill. Period.

I don't know, Ross. I've run into a number of stores that will not take batteries for recycling or take only very select types. Wish more of them would take them..........

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

We can't build a nuclear plant because it's not a good campaign slogan, and we're still afraid of another Chernobyl (even though there has been great strides in technology and safety, and not one incident like has occurred since).

I'm not a nuclear power fan, myself. Even with the improvements that have been made, I still think the risks are too high. Not to mention -- where can one truly SAFELY dispose of/store the spent uranium? That is as scary in its own right.

[Ross]

I just saw a great quote: "Earth First, we get to the other planets later!"

[Dorothy]

We don't have to save the Earth .. it will be here whether we are or not .. we have to save OURSELVES!