Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This ...

Do you know anyone who prints nearly every Email they receive? Do you print them? Have you ever thought about how wasteful that is? Do you cringe when paying $35 for an ink cartridge?

A few suggestions:

• Keep a "used" paper box under your desk for all those useless memos and messed up letters that only have print on one side. Take them home or use them again at the office if you must print Emails.
• Save or export your Email as a .txt file or Word doc so it's always there if you need it. Most Email programs allow this, but print to file works no matter what you have. Honestly, you don't need that much hard copy CYA (cover your a$$) material!
• If you're going to send a letter or report, scan the original and keep your copy electronically instead of on paper.
• Explore electronic signatures
• If you have trouble reading the small print: try adjusting your monitor's resolution, or hold the "Ctrl" button while rolling your mouse scroll wheel - it zooms.
• Add this statement to your Email signature: Please consider the environment before printing this email
• But, for heaven's sake, stop printing every Email!

$0.05 per bag @ IKEA

Beginning March 15th, customers at all US IKEA stores will have to pay 5 cents for each plastic bag. Finally a significant chain has adopted this policy! All the proceeds will go to American Forests, the nation's oldest non-profit citizens conservation organization, to plant trees to restore forests and offset CO2 emissions. Also, to help alter customer behavior and endorse environmentally responsible habits, IKEA will be selling its iconic reusable 'Big Blue Bag' for 59 cents, a cost that has been reduced from 99 cents.

IKEA gave away 70 million disposable plastic bags last year and they expect that to be cut in half during the first year of this new program. IKEA launched this program in the UK in the spring of 2006 and achieved an amazing 95% reduction in bags!

IKEA has been at the forefront in a number of environmental initiatives. IKEA specialists work diligently to promote healthy forestry practices. Wood used for IKEA products comes from well managed forests and not from intact, natural, or old-growth forests.

I've been planning on stopping at the Chicago store on one of my trips through, and now I have another reason to.

Kick plASStic

Now that's a granola phrase if I've ever written one. But seriously, we just simply use - most often waste - far too much plastic and other disposables. Reusable Bags, which is a great place to get shopping bags, mugs, and other reusable goodies, estimates that over 1,000,000 plastic shopping bags are consumed per minute.

The latest site to promote the BYO lifestyle is aptly called Bring Your Own. Check them out and learn something about the problem, the impacts, and some solutions. Thanks TreeHugger.

I'm having a hard time deciding how to take on three huge topics: our disposable lifestyle, energy (oil) security, and waste. My challenge is delving into each while highlighting how intertwined they are, and how political they are. Any suggestions or discussion starters are welcome.

Gigoit

Huh? Gigoit is an acronym for "garbage in, garbage out", followed by an "it". It's a new free garbage exchange (one man's is another's treasure, after all) site that simplifies the models used by Freecycle and Craig's List (which I mentioned here). You don't need a user ID or PW, or have to search through posts to see if the item you want is still available. It's in beta, and there aren't many items listed yet, but keep an eye on it.

Reuse is unquestionably our most efficient mode, at least until the rethink catches on, and you can bet that is a long way off. Thanks TreeHugger.

RE3 - Reduce Reuse Recycle

We've all heard that phrase a million times, but this group has taken a new twist on the old concept via YouTube (By the way, tonight being my very first visit to YouTube proves that one doesn't have to be a part of the geek squad to write a blog).

By the way, some of these videos are great!