Fresh AIRE

Re-thinking “Stuff”

How much “stuff” surrounds you?  Useful or useless?  If we consider the word we find synonyms like material, matter, things.  I can tell you…I have plenty of “stuff” surrounding me.  I have a basement full of “stuff” that rarely sees the light of day.  It’s the special holidays when much of it makes it out of the large Tupperware bins; the rest of it I hang on to ‘just in case.’  In my younger days, I made wonderfully creative labels for my boxes of stuff…Sarah’s Stuff (of course, writing in a way so as to use just one letter S).

But seriously, have you ever really thought about how all that “stuff” around you has  made it to your hands, how long it remains in your possession, and what happens to it after you are done with it?  Few of us have probably really thought about those aspects…especially at the time of purchase.  I’ll be the first to admit, I hadn’t thought about it much until now.  That is…until finding out about The Story of Stuff. 

The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute video by Annie Leonard that dissects the extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of goods (aka stuff) in our lives.  It’s a bold statement and call to action.  The Web site if full of useful resources and guides too…dive in and see how you can take steps to be just a little more sustainable.  I already have! 

Our new hybrid - Update #3 (1 year) [cross-post]

Please see my post on the Commuter Page blog about the reason you should buy a hybrid car if you live in Arlington (and even if you don't).

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Steve Offutt, Arlington

Compact Flourescent Bulbs - NOT kryptonite; a bright idea!

Thank you to all who visited us at the Home Show and Expo this past Saturday April 12.  The expo brought hordes of people out to receive one of the free compact fluorescent light bulbs we were offering to Arlington Residents. 

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are one simple nonsensical way you can lower your utility bill and reduce your emissions.  These bulbs use approximately 75% less power than a traditional incandescent and last up to 10 times longer.

What’s that you say?  But they are toxic and full of mercury – hardly?!  The media has stirred up quite a frenzy on the topic.  Here is the real story on compact fluorescent light bulbs.

They do indeed contain a small amount of mercury. On average they contain about 5mg of the stuff.   5 mg of mercury is equivalent to the size of the period at the end of this sentence.  That is a fraction of the amount of mercury they use in amalgam fillings for your teeth that reside IN YOUR MOUTH! 

CFL bulbs are far more rugged than a traditional bulb and the reality is there are many toxic substances in our homes.  From bleach and cleaning chemicals, mercury tilt switches in thermostats, paint, antifreeze, gasoline, etc.  CFL bulbs should be disposed of just as any other household hazardous waste AND NOW ARLINGTON IS MAKING IT EASIER TO DO SO!

Starting today (4/28/08) Arlington County has implemented a program for you to drop your old CFL bulbs off at the locations below.  SImply put any unbroken bulb in a zip lock bag and bring it to any of the locations below:

• Arlington’s semi-annual E-CARE recycling events in April and October
• The circulation desk at one of three Arlington libraries: the Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street), Aurora Hills Library (735 S. 18th Street), or Government Reference Library (2100 Clarendon Blvd, 1st floor lobby).

• HHM recycling station at the Water Pollution Control Plant on Saturdays and by appointment Monday-Friday.
• Solid Waste Bureau at 4300 South 29th Street 8 am-5 pm Monday-Friday.

Lastly, please take a look at our CFL fact sheet.  There are significant benefits to both the environment in reduced mercury expelled from coal fired power plants and to your utility bills by using these compact fluorescent bulbs.  Arlington County encourages all residents to use these bulbs and dispose of them properly.  If you have questions please contact us at->  climate@Arlingtonva.us

134 tons of fun

I saw the traffic jam Saturday morning of folks trying to get to T.J. for the County's environmental recycling event, E-CARE. More than 1,800 people delivered a staggering 80-plus tons of electronics, enough to fill five tractor trailer trucks; 47 tons of household hazardous materials and more than seven tons of small metal items such as pots, pans, lawn mowers and vacuum cleaners.

If my math is right, each person brought, on average, almost 150 pounds of stuff to recycle! OMG, that is awesome!

Saturday's haul is nearly 20 tons more than has been collected in any previous recycling event. If you missed E-CARE and you have stuff you need to get rid of, no worries! You can visit the County's Household Hazardous Materials disposal facility or Electronic Collection and Recycling Center.

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Diana Sun is Director of Communications for Arlington County, a walking commuter, a new bicylist, and a happy resident of the urban village of Clarendon.

Arlington Youth Makes the Green Grade!

Getting savvy on the environment is at all levels in Arlington.  On April 17^th, President Bush awarded 10 sixth graders from the HB Woodlawn School in Arlington with the Presidential Environmental Youth Award for their work to help the environment.  These students organized a community e-cycling event that resulted in the collection of more than 450 electronic products such as cell phones and computer equipment.  Recycling electronics is becoming an increasing issue with the rapid advancement in technology and science we are experiencing these days.  Products get phased out so quickly as newer, more sophisticated products hit the shelves every day.  These students tackled this issue front and center by raising awareness to this issue and encouraging the community to properly dispose of older products by recycling them.  The parts of many electronic products can often be reclaimed and reused.  Check out the full press release here.  And if you’re looking for more information on e-cycling in Arlington, whether you’re a business or a resident, check out this link. 

Earth Day is April 22nd!

Get your green ready...Earth Day is coming up next week!  April 22nd marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970 and has ever since been declared Earth Day.

We encourage the entire Arlington community to think about things they can do, big and small, to be more environmentally conscious and aware this Earth Day - and every day. There are loads of events taking place on Earth Day and the days leading up Earth Day - come out and network with fellow Arlingtonians.  One such event is taking place tomorrow, April 19th, at Ballston Common Mall.  The mall is celebrating Earth Day with give-aways and information to help educate, promote, and encourage all of us to be better stewards of the environment. 

And for your reading pleasure, check out these sites for more about the fabulous holiday:

• Earth Day Network
• EarthDay.gov
• ENERGY STAR & ENERGY STAR Giving Tree campaign
• Earth Day background from Wikipedia

Happy celebrating!

Spring Cleaning & A Safe Home

Thanks the joys of homeownership and my HGTV habit; I am the proud owner of many nearly empty cans of paint and jars of wood stain - the remnants of various home improvement projects.  If you are like me and have old paint, household cleaners, or automotive fluids lining the shelves or cabinets in your garage, Arlington County can help you safely dispose or recycle them at the semi-annual E-CARE event on April 19^th.

Getting these items out of your house and over to the household hazardous materials facility help make your home safer and prevent a number of problems that can occur when household hazardous materials are stored incorrectly. By bringing these items to E-CARE, you also ensure that they don't end up accidentally harming trash collectors or the environment.

If you happen to have an old computer sitting in the closet collecting dust (who me?), E-CARE also accepts electronics, computers and TVs for recycling. And they will be waiving the usual drop-off fee at the upcoming event.

For more details about E-CARE and the materials and equipment you can drop off to be properly disposed visit www.arlingtonva.us/des.

The Footprint Chronicles

Here's something cool...Patagonia has just launched an interactive Web site that allows you to track the environmental footprint of five of their products from the design phase all the way through delivery.  This site, called the Footprint Chronicles, lays out the good and the bad elements of the product.  While you may be surprised to learn just how much work goes into creating an article of clothing, you may also be impressed with the effort that Patagonia is putting forth to reduce the environmental impacts of the process.  Or, as they like to say, "lighten our footprint and do less harm."  Just another cool way to learn more about this intricate web of carbon footprinting.

Happy footprinting!

-Sarah O'Connell, Energy Outreach Coordinator

Getting the Word Out

I wrote in this blog recently about a group called the Alliance for Climate Protection and a video ad they created on pollution prevention. 

I’m back again to tell you that not only does this group have a great collection of videos and resources, but they just launched the We Campaign.  For a quick overview,  check out the We Campaign TV ad, fact sheet, and FAQ.  And check out this artistic take on it all!

And while I’m talking about great messaging and resources on climate change, have you heard about PG&E and San Francisco’s Let Green This City partnership?  Wow!  Here is another site simply chock-full of new and fun ways to get the word out.  I particularly like the CFL Bulbs video and the list of great publications, like this one. 

Happy Reading and Watching!

Sarah O’Connell

Energy Outreach Coordinator, Fresh AIRE