Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are - Softcover

Lilienfeld, Robert M.; Rathje, William L.

 
9780449001684: Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0449001687 ISBN 13: 9780449001684
Verlag: Fawcett Books, 1998

Inhaltsangabe

Two environmentalists offer simple money- and energy-saving solutions to Earth's twenty-first-century garbage crisis, offering a wide range of suggestions for conserving fuel, reducing waste, and reusing materials, supplies, and equipment. Original.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Robert Lilienfeld is editor of The ULS (Use Less Stuff) Report, a highly respected and widely read newsletter aimed at spreading the benefits of conservation and waste prevention.  He is also president of the Cygnus Group, an Ann Arbor-based consulting firm working with progressive businesses in the area of sustainable development, and serves as an Advisory Board member for the University of Michigan's Corporate Environmental Management Program (CEMP).  He is interviewed regularly on environmental issues by a wide variety of national, regional, and local media outlets, and has his own monthly commentary on public radio.<br><br><br><br>As a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona and the founder/director of the Garbage Project, Dr. William Rathje is known as the nation's "garbo

Aus dem Klappentext

ll of the previous civilizations that practiced recycling have in common?<br>A: They're extinct.<br><br>Let's face it. Recycling has its limits. But so does our Earth. As environmentalists Robert Lilienfeld and William Rathje explain, the answer to our twenty-first century garbage crisis is both simple and practical--use less stuff. This groundbreaking consumer guide suggests helpful money- and energy-saving tips for everyone who cares about how we live today and tomorrow. Learn to reduce and reuse with creative suggestions for all areas of your life, including:<br><br><br>At home: Turn down the heat before guests arrive for a party--the extra body heat will warm up the room<br>During the holidays: Save gift boxes to use the following year<br>At the store: Buy products that come in concentrated formats--like juice and detergent<br>At the office: Donate or sell old office equipment <br>At school: Post announcements on a school Web site <br>In the great outdoors: Bring m

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Excerpt title: THE HOLIDAYS

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away
to where
no fat handshaking stranger
in a red flannel suit
and
a fake white beard
went around...
bearing sacks of Humble Gifts
from Saks Fifth Avenue...

--Lawrence Ferlinghetti, "Christ Climbed Down"

Every year, between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the amount of trash we
create increases by roughly 25 percent beyond what we normally discard
during the rest of the year. This translates to an extra 5 million tons,
or 10 billion pounds, of waste caused by our holiday eating, drinking, and
gift giving habits. Don't get us wrong--we're very much in favor of warm
and wonderful holidays. But we're also in favor of finding a few little
things to do that will really reduce the environmental impact of Turkey
Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Day--and, of course, the
SUPERBOWL.

It's not hard to keep the holidays from going to your waste. And it's
profitable, too. Looking down our list, pick a few of the things that make
the most sense for you and your family. Once you get in the swing of
things, you can try a few more ideas. Next thing you know, you'll be
whistling "Green Christmas" as you enjoy the yearly festivities.


Portion Control

You've just finished your Thanksgiving dinner and left about a tablespoon
of cranberry sauce on your plate and one little bite of turkey. Not much
waste, right? Maybe not on your plate. But assuming we're alike, on our
collective national plate it's an enormous waste--around 25 million pounds!

This example illustrates one of our biggest themes: a little bit of effort
from each of us can make an enormous difference. We can't rely on a few
stalwarts to do all the work. If each of us pitches in just a little, the
results can be amazing.

Besides taking only as much food as you can eat, it's also a good idea for
hosts and hostesses both to serve a little less, and maybe prepare a little
less as well. Here are some portion guidelines to help you plan for meals
and parties:

Portion Control, Holiday Style:
(amount served per person)

        Eggnog 1/2 cup
        Cheese 2 oz.
        Crackers 1-10
        Celery 1 stalk
        Turkey 1/2 lb. raw
        Ham, roast beef 1/3 lb.
        Squash, sweet potatoes 1/2 lb.
        Broccoli, potatoes 1/3 lb.
        Pie 1/8 pie

OTHER FOOD-RELATED TIPS

If buying a lot of soda, cut down on packaging by purchasing large-size
bottles. If you insist on buying cans, forgo the cardboard boxes: they
create over 90 percent more waste than the plastic rings.

Bread and cereal bags can be reused to store food and other items.

Send guests home with leftovers. Use paper and plastic bags and plastic
containers. (This is a great way to get rid of all your excess bags and
containers, as well as excess food.)

Buy potatoes and onions in plastic mesh bags. When tied in a big knot, the
bags make terrific, long-lasting scouring pads.

Shopping and Gift Giving

Prepare a list of items ahead of time, so that you do less impulse
shopping.

Plan trips in advance and consolidate so that you make fewer of them.
Spending fewer hours driving to malls, shopping centers, and the post
office means less wasted gas, time, and far less stress. If we each saved
one gallon of gas, the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would
be prevented would total about 1 million tons.

Shop early, while you have time to make careful choices. Last-minute
spending often leads to panic buying, which leads to unwanted gifts. In
fact, it's estimated that about $4 billion worth of unwanted and unused
gifts are purchased each year.

Keep it simple--less can be more. One thoughtful gift may be more
appreciated than six random items.

Shop at antique stores, holiday bazaars, and thrift shops. Someone's trash
may very well be someone else's treasure.

Try shopping from home electronically. Use the phone, Internet, or TV to
select, order, and send gifts.

Consolidate purchases into one bag. Better yet, bring along a few bags
from home and reuse them.

Give gifts of yourself. Offer to baby-sit, wash the car, do the dishes,
and other useful things.

Make your own gifts. For example, you can make wreaths out of natural
materials such as branches, dried herbs, and red and green chilies. Wreath
making is a great craft project for both children and adults.

Old items can make new gifts. How about using your creativity and your
time to create a gift that will never be forgotten--or thrown out! A worn
ironing board cover can be turned into new potholders and oven mitts.
Empty lipstick cases make pretty, easy-to-find pillboxes. Used-up roll-on
deodorant bottles can be refilled with poster paints for budding Picassos.
And old clothes, drapes, and tablecloths can be used to make new doll
clothes. Just use your imagination! In fact, create something full of
yourself, such as a drawing or song, a poem, or a written remembrance of a
special time. These are treasures for the recipient and for you--forever.

Since lots of toys need batteries, why not give rechargeable ones as a gift
as well?

Donate unwanted gifts to charities, shelters, and the like.

Gift Wrap

Because it's coated, laminated, and embossed, gift wrap is not recyclable.
Rather than buy it, why not use colorful, easily recycled paper you already
have around the house, like the Sunday comics or an old subway map? Also,
kids can use crayons or water-based paints to decorate paper bags for use
as gift wrap--the kind parents and grandparents will cherish and want to
keep, and maybe even frame.

Save fancier bags you received while shopping. Use them as gift bags or
cut them up to make gift wrap.

Break down gift boxes and store them for next year. Those tins you've been
saving in the pantry would make good boxes, too.

Reuse ribbon. If every family reused 2 feet of holiday ribbon, 38,000
miles' worth would be saved each year. That's enough to wrap a bow around
the entire planet! (Don't forget that reusing ribbon also reduces the
number of empty spools that have to be thrown away, too.)

Give gifts that don't need to be wrapped: tickets to concerts, museums, or
sporting events; gift certificates; savings bonds; or donations to a
favorite charity.

Rather than wrap oversize gifts, put a bow on them and hide them instead.
Give the recipient clues to where the gift is hidden, turning the
experience into a treasure hunt.

Make the wrap a useful part of the gift. Put cookies in a flowerpot or
wrap a kitchen item in a colorful holiday-theme dish towel.

Shipping

Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials. Old newspaper also makes
for excellent packing. Bring home shredded paper from work and use that,
too.

Drop off extra packaging materials such as peanuts and bubble wrap at local
private mailing centers (e.g., Mail Boxes Etc.). Call the Plastic
Loosefill Council (800-828-2214) for the names of local businesses that
reuse them.

Paper grocery bags can be used to wrap and address small- to medium-size...

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Verlag
Fawcett Books
Erscheinungsdatum
1998
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0449001687
ISBN 13 
9780449001684
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
192
Kontakt zum Hersteller
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Verantwortliche Person
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