The Kentucky Eco-Geek

Bye Bye Becky

2009-10-28T08:44:00.002-05:00

I have to say goodbye to you.

I am leaving our lovely county for the big city of Columbus, Ohio. I like you and I will miss you.

I'm trying not to be maudlin but frankly, I'm a little blue even though my future adventures are calling.

I wrote everything out in my November eco-article below. You can even check out Recorder editor Nancy Daly's blog about it here.

In the meantime, you can always email me at rebeccahaltermon@gmail.com.

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Bye Bye Becky
November 2009

I am going to be honest: This month’s column has actually very little to do with the environment.

I apologize. I’m sure that in the coming months, readers will be regaled with more info on ecology than many can possibly fathom. However, I will not be around to peruse these columns because…

…Because I’m leaving.

Life is so funny. When I was hired to the illustrious Division of Solid Waste, I knew very little about the ways of Kentucky environmentalism. I was simply an English major armed with a little bit of public speaking experience and a whole lot of optimism. And now, after seven eventful years here, I am moving on to another great adventure. My last day serving Boone County is October 30.

And it seems that no matter how excited I am about beginning this new chapter in my memoir, I can’t help but feel a little blue because this job was awesome. Truly. So indulge me in taking a moment to thank those who have made my task of increasing environmental awareness incredibly rewarding.

Thanks to those who have supported me. This includes my family, my refuse mentor Ms. Mary Dickey, our enforcement czar Kelly Chapman, the captain of Public Works Greg Sketch and Judge-Executive Gary Moore. I have tried programs and failed. I have accidentally annoyed people. I have pushed various boundaries – intellectual, comfort, and good taste, to name a few – and no matter what kind of mess I find myself in, there have been a posse of people willing to pick me up. You do not know what this has meant to me.

Thanks to those who have opposed me. Curiously, this also includes my family as well as some unrepentant litterbugs, folks to steal garbage services, individuals who dis what I do, and any number of residents who question their government. I sincerely thank you for making me take responsibility, defend my actions, and push to improve my programs. Constructive criticism is nothing to take for granted.

Finally, thanks to you. Thank you, Boone County. I was lucky enough to be born and raised here and found myself especially blessed with the task of keeping our home beautiful. I hope that the work I’ve done has improved this land I love for everyone. It’s been an honor.

Bye bye, Boone County. Whatever state I live in, whatever employment I happen to land, I will always be at heart a Kentucky girl with a heart of green.

Talk Dirty (Emissions) to Me

2009-09-30T09:12:00.003-05:00

September's Eco Article tackles the topic of "clean coal." Note the quotes around that phrase... They indicate my dubious outlook on the issue.

Not to knock environmental innovation. Well, just check out my article and let me know what you think.

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Dirty Talk About Clean Coal
Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Education Coordinator
September 2009

It’s not often that we Northern Kentucky natives find ourselves on the forefront of an engineering movement. We’re usually not among the first to adopt a fad and if the Rabbit Hash General Store is any indication, we tend to prefer the traditional to the technological.

Now, at the risk of startling readers across Boone County, I must relate that we are on the cutting edge of environmental research. On Tuesday, September 1, Duke Energy hosted a carbon forum and offered to discuss their endeavor to experiment with cleaning up coal powered electricity. They’re planning of having a working model of the latest in greenhouse gas diminishment: Clean coal.

Sounds catchy, no? It’s certainly more mellifluous than “carbon capture, liquefaction, and sequestration,” which is how most would define clean coal. Duke has drilled a well near their East Bend Power Plant and will pump liquefied carbon dioxide into sandstone formations that are around 3,000 feet underground. There, the CO2 will hang out in salt water pockets instead of slipping into the atmosphere where it would contribute to global warming. Not since Daniel Boone watched buffalo at Big Bone Lick has such a pioneering effort been marshaled in our county.

Policy makers ranging from our current president to John McCain have touted clean coal as an antidote to our energy woes because it utilizes fuel that is abundant and local. It’s estimated that the U.S. has 200 years worth of coal reserves with about 85 billion tons of that resting here in our home state. (How we mine that coal is a topic for another day.) Because of this affordability and accessibility, coal fueled power plants are supplying about half of the electricity we in the U.S. use and in turn, they are among the top greenhouse gas spewers. Duke Energy itself, our nation’s third biggest electricity producer, emits 100 million tons of carbon dioxide every year.

So clean coal sounds like a perfect dream, right? Well, maybe. If we see carbon sequestration as the ultimate goal then we will have to capture and contain all of the CO2 emissions currently being released. To borrow an image from 60 Minutes, building the infrastructure for such a global carbon sequestration system would be the equivalent of constructing a recreation of the entire oil delivery infrastructure that now exists because all of the oil and coal that is coming out of the ground generates carbon dioxide that would need to go back into the ground. And to have a real impact on climate change, it would have to occur within the next few decades. Oh, and it would cost in the trillions of dollars.

But perhaps for now, just plunging into the wild frontier of carbon mitigation is enough. I just hope that it can help before we go the way of those buffalo that Mr. Boone watched trample through Kentucky all those years ago.

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You can find the episode of 60 Minutes that I reference here.

After I submitted this article to the Recorder, I saw that Sen. John Schickel wrote an article for the paper outlining how important coal is for economic growth in our region. Quite a dialogue topic, no? His article is no longer available online so I copied the text below.

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Coal essential to economic growth
Sen. John Schickel
August 26, 2009

Here in Northern Kentucky, we don't spend much time thinking about coal - but we should constantly be thankful for the role it plays in our economy. I have learned about the coal industry from Jack Wells and Steve Weber, who own the Emerald International Coal Co., headquartered right here in Florence.

I met Jack and Steve at Shakey's Pub & Grub and had several good conversations about their industry over a "cold one."

While the bulk of the coal industry is concentrated in the eastern and western regions of our commonwealth, Emerald Coal is just one of the many coal-related businesses located in Northern Kentucky and the Bluegrass. In fact, Emerald is the largest shipper of coal down the Mississippi River!

Even if you don't work in the energy sector, though, coal plays a tremendous role in our everyday lives. More than 90 percent of all the electricity in Kentucky is produced through coal, giving us some of the cheapest rates in the nation. In fact, our home energy bills are about half that of people living in New York and New England.

Affordable energy is great for consumers, but it also creates jobs. Power costs are one of the biggest expenses for businesses small and large. When a manufacturer decides where to locate their new facility, you better believe energy bills rank right up there with an educated workforce and low taxes. Consider that industrial energy in Kentucky is 16 percent cheaper than in Indiana, and 31 percent cheaper than in Ohio, and you'll see why Northern Kentucky's economy has continued to grow.

And coal has had a major influence in that growth.

Last month, along with my colleagues on the Natural Resources and Environment Committee, I had a chance to visit two mining facilities in Western Kentucky. Coaltek, one of those businesses, is involved in clean coal technology as well as coal-to-gas and coal-to-liquid processes. With the research they are doing, we're discovering new ways to harness our state's natural resources.

Just as coal has led to cheaper electric rates, we may be able to reduce the costs of gasoline for your car, gas to heat your home, even make existing coal-fired plants more energy-efficient - all while becoming better stewards of our natural environment and making the United States more energy independent.

Our visit to Coaltek really showed us some great ideas for the future of the energy economy, not just in the Kentucky but across the nation. At a time when many jobs are being shipped overseas, we have the ability to develop jobs that would be based here at home without the threat of being outsourced.

There's an incredible future in clean coal technology, coal-to-liquid, coal-to-gas, and carbon sequestration, but only if we encourage that research and development. Instead of federal legislation focused on taxing these natural resource-based energy sources, Congress should follow Kentucky's lead and push newer ways to process coal in order to keep energy affordable and economic development sustainable. As a nation, the U.S. gets nearly half its energy from coal. We'd be foolish not to invest in its future.

Sen. John Schickel, R-Union, represents the 11th Senate District which includes Boone and Gallatin Counties and part of Kenton County. He welcomes your concerns or comments toll-free at 800-372-7181.

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Thrills! Chills! SPILLS!

2009-09-14T15:14:00.003-05:00

In our never-ending quest to raise awareness of the sinister hazardous materials lurking in your home, we ladies of Solid Waste have enlisted the help of a local superhero to help spread the word about the evils of ground water contamination.

Enter Haz Man!

A mild-mannered Deputy Director at Emergency Management by day, Bill Fletcher transforms into Haz Man whenever a hapless citizen decides to risk polluting our environment by improperly disposing of hazardous material.

Watch! Him battle motor oil polluters!
Marvel! At his intelligence and brawn!
Learn! Why never to pour anything down a storm drain!

Tomorrow! Tuesday, September 15 at 8:00 p.m. on Channel 9, witness Haz Man’s worldwide television premiere during the “Green Living” program!

Tune in early to watch the five o’clock news and catch a whole phone bank of hazardous waste avengers (featuring me)!

If you just can't wait to watch me on Channel 9, you can find my last absurd collaboration with WCPO here.

Hiking and Camping and Bears, Oh My!

2009-07-30T08:20:00.002-05:00

Okay, so maybe there aren't really any bears involved. But this post is all about celebrating time spent in the great outdoors so in the spirit of environmental adventure, I offer you some photos of my travels in natural settings. My secret hope is to inspire you to take a trip outside. I feel the need to visit a park now, anyway...

March 2006, hiking at Point Pelee National Park, Canada

September 2006, hiking around Put-In-Bay, Ohio

October 2006, hiking at Red River Gorge, Kentucky

September 2006, hiking in the desert outside Casa Grande, Arizona

March 2007, hiking somewhere in Utah

May 2007, camping in Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina

September 2007, hiking with my sister at Lake Cumberland ... Don't worry, she's wearing a bathing suit.

September 2008, hiking at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

October 2008, hiking in Middle Creek Park, Boone County, Kentucky

May 2009, hiking in Jean Lafitte State Park, Louisiana

June 2009, camping out by the river near Rabbit Hash, Kentucky

Share your own hiking and camping pictures and stories! Please!

Clue In, Camp Out

2009-07-30T07:28:00.002-05:00

August's Eco Article is all about the joys of the great out doors. Stay tuned for some incriminating photos of my various wilderness excursions!

Turn On, Tune In, Camp Out
Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Education Coordinator

I’m not the world’s best camper. I tend to wear impractical little dresses and refuse to commit to buying hideous hiking boots. I drop more (vegetarian) hot dogs in the fire than I actually get to ingest and have created more than my fair share of flaming marshmallow. When I attempt a tent set-up, I end up with a structure closer akin to a Christo artwork than a usable shelter. I get cold and complain. I harbor a deep and abiding fear of bears.

And yet, I love to camp. I love the sounds, the open skies, the rich, incense-like smells, the sweat, the sleeplessness, and the simplicity. I love that making dinner feels like an accomplishment. I love lying on the ground and getting filthy dirty. I love the simultaneous sense of isolation and camaraderie, the realization that we’re all tiny components in a much bigger and more beautiful system.

I could wax poetic on wilderness all day long but perhaps we should let one of the masters on the subject have his say. “Our village life would stagnate,” Henry David Thoreau wrote, “if not for the unexplored forests and meadows which surround it. We need the tonic of wilderness.” (Perhaps in addition to poetry, Thoreau provides fertile marketing language… “Kentucky Parks: One-Stop Stagnation Tonic!”)

Despite my serious lack of outdoor skills, I know the joys to be found while camping but for the dubious, there are myriad studies that show that time spent in the woods offers more benefits than charred food and dirt in your hair. Hanging out in natural settings improves mental focus and attention and aids in overcoming mental fatigue (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Kaplan, 1995). Camping helps ameliorate the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (Faber Taylor et al., 2001; Kuo and Faber Taylor, 2004). Individuals who opt to exercise surrounded by foliage don’t feel as anxious, angry, or depressed as those who jog indoors and they reported feeling better restored (Pretty et al., 2005), (Bodin and Hartig, 2003). Our natural environment can help folks heal faster and experience less pain (Ulrich, 1984), (Diette et al., 2003) and could be helpful in improving heart disease, dementia, psychological disorders, developmental and cognitive disabilities, cancer and other conditions (Wichrowski et al., 2005), (Gigliotti et al. 2004), (Eikenaes et al., 2006; Bettman, 2007), (Berger, 2006) (Epstein 2004), (Easley et al., 1990). Of course, any of these health benefits might be negated by an encounter with a bear.

The benefits to roughing it aren’t just confined to those with serious diseases, either. Exercise, sunshine, squirrels, fresh air, and the landscape of our great state – some of the prettiest scenery ever put down on the earth – can relieve you of stress and imbue you with a new perspective on your life. Trust me.

So let’s agree that the “staycation” is passé and the real prospect for summertime adventure and rejuvenation is to be found on the ground, next to a campfire, with something sugary roasting on a stick.

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Becky Haltermon is the Boone County Solid Waste Education and Litter Abatement Program Coordinator. Contact her at 859-334-3151 or bhaltermon@boonecountyky.org.

Keeping a Chin Up While the Butts are Down

2009-06-05T08:00:00.004-05:00

I need a reason to celebrate. No fear, here is one: June is Great Outdoors Month. Hop in a kayak, go camping, or tackle some rock climbing because, as President Obama says in his presidental proclamation about the event, natural areas "continue to raise the human spirit in those who experience them." And I don't know about you but my human spirit has been a little saggy as of late.

Today, before 9:00 a.m., I had two different unrepentant ciggarette litterers hang up the phone on me. Before I had a chance to explain why we take butts on the side of the road seriously, they preemptively cut off communication. I know that no one likes to be told that their habits are nasty and antisocial - not to mention illegal - but it is so discouraging that litterbugs are disinterested in learning why we care so much. One man hissed, "You guys have got to be kidding about cigarette butts. You guys get carried away with your little powers that be. Thanks." Click.

I'm not on a power trip and frankly, writing dozens of letters to litterbugs (158 so far this year) is not my idea of fun. I take the time to do it because littering is such a thoughtless action that can have a huge impact on the planet. Even something as little as a cigarette butt has major repurcussions down the line because about 4.5 trillion of them are tossed into the environment every year. What that means is our outdoors sees more than 840,000 tons of litter containing potent carcinogens like benzopyrene and formaldehyde; poisons like arsenic, lead, acetone, toluene, cadmium, and benzene; and hazardous chemicals like butane and ammonia. About one fifth of that will be washed into creeks, streams, rivers and the human water supply. (You can find out more in our cigarette litter brochure here.)

Once you learn all of this, it's hard not be get carried away because cigarette litter - and all litter is so easy to prevent. Sigh. Perhaps if we get enough people to go out and enjoy Great Outdoors Month, more will realize what an enormous problem litter can be.

Being Lucky in ... Well, You Know

2009-05-29T10:06:00.003-05:00

You can find May's eco-article online here. Or you could just read it below.

Ready your hankies ... It's a sappy one.

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Kentucky Love and Conservation
Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Education Coordinator
May 2009

I will freely admit that when I hear “My Old Kentucky Home,” it brings a little tear to my eye.

Driving on the back roads with sun gleaming through the green leaves, I recently had an epiphany: I truly love Kentucky.

This stunning scenery, the glowing skyline of rolling hills, our lush land flush with wildlife – These are the reasons to be a Kentucky conservationist. I’ve spent several summer nights laughing with the locals in Rabbit Hash and innumerable spring mornings exploring our several serene parks. I’ve spotted deer, turtles, snakes, turkeys, and rabbits from backyards in Union. I’ve jumped into chilly ponds on hot August nights. I’ve hiked, canoed, climbed rocks, and picnicked in the woods. I grew up here. I kissed a beau at Big Bone State Park. I celebrated my birthday at Giles-Conrad Park.

And I still find myself awed at the unbelievable diversity, history, and natural wonders found in Boone County and across our state.

I’m sure everyone reading these lines has similar stories to share. Anybody who has spent even a weekend outdoors here knows that clearly, our community is worth conserving. That’s why I recycle. It’s why I opt for the preservation of green space. It’s why I make sure to dispose of household wastes in the most ecological way possible and it’s why no one can convince me that littering is ever a decent idea.

We’re a lucky people who get to live in Kentucky. Join me as I show my pride and, like the trite signs say, help keep Kentucky beautiful.

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My Bosses Are Tough

2009-04-23T10:12:00.002-05:00

April's Eco Article tackles the true meaning of "Litter Abatement Coordinator."

Why I Do What I Do

2009-04-13T14:12:00.001-05:00

This is from a letter penned by a sixth grader. With a mandate like that, how could I not keep up the ecological work?

Propigate Planetary Proteges!

2009-04-01T09:26:00.002-05:00

March's Eco-Article is all about our awesome intern, Rosie.

Seriously, she rules.

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Be An Ecological Mentor
Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Education Coordinator
March 2009

We have an intern. It is awesome. It causes me to rewrite the lyrics to the song “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid” from the movie A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Any given afternoon, you can find me sitting in my sunny office, quietly humming, “Everybody ought to have an intern. Everybody ought to have a working teen, an enthusiast who’s laboring for absolutely free!”

It’s not just that our high school serf, Rosie, puts in time without taking a dime and it’s not just that she does all the work that no one else wants to do. What really rules is that Rosie has an excitement for the environment that can only be found in those new to the wonders of solid waste.

“What do you think is better for the planet, having a plastic reusable Christmas tree or a getting a live tree every year?” she’ll ask. “Is it better to take one long hot shower every couple of days or a short one every day?” “Is there such a thing as a ‘green’ funeral?”

There are a million studies noting the positive impact time spent in nature can have on kids. The outdoors can nurture self-discipline (A. Faber Taylor, F.E. Kuo, and W.C. Sullivan, “Views of Nature and Self-Discipline: Evidence from Inner City Children”), improve studies (Anne C. Bell and Janet E. Dyment, "Grounds for Action: Promoting Physical Activity through School Ground Greening in Canada"), and pretty much help the youngest among us grow healthier in almost every way (Stephen R. Kellert, "Nature and Childhood Development"). As far as I can tell, however, there’s very little evidence documenting the undeniable fact that kids can have a colossal positive impact on we naturalists. Rosie makes me rethink old suppositions about what can and can’t be accomplished and her inquires drive me to improve my own preconceptions about new subjects in the ecology field. Basically, her lively ideas are sustaining me until spring when I can ditch mandatory and demoralizing wintertime reports for warm weather litter removing programs and recycling presentations to little kids.

As you may have noticed, it’s sometimes a struggle to stay upbeat in the face of several impending environmental crises but hearing the hope espoused by my anti-pollution protégé helps to keep my optimism afloat.

So, here’s my advice: Grab a kid. Go outside. I promise, neither of you will regret it.

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Becky Haltermon is the Boone County Solid Waste Education and Litter Abatement Program Coordinator. Learn more at http://www.boonecountyky.org/BCSWM or contact her at 859-334-3151 or bhaltermon@boonecountyky.org.

Yours, Mine, and Hours

2009-03-17T12:26:00.003-05:00

You've surely heard about Earth Hour, right? On March 28, join millions of people across the globe as they turn off their lights to show their support of stoping global climate change. Just flip off the lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. and you'll be part of one of the biggest environmental movements ever to tackle planetary warming. It couldn't be easier.

If you do the Facebook, feel free to sign up for Cincinnati's Earth Hour, planned by Park and Vine.

Last year, I made a big pot of chili by candle light during Earth Hour. This year, I might just be in Columbus. Hm... Do you have any plans for your hour of abstaining from electrical power?

Fame and Saving Resources

2009-03-03T09:30:00.004-05:00

Check out my official byline!

I wrote an article for the American Public Works Association's national magazine, the APWA Reporter. I know, I know, I'll try not forget the little people as I ascend the heights of solid waste superstardom. Heh heh. Okay, I kid.

This article features the bulk of information that we're hoping to roll out as the Save Green Go Green program. More information on that will be coming shortly but in the meantime, here is the entirety of my APWA article. Enjoy!

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Making a positive impact in Boone County
Forging partnerships, encouraging creativity and choosing to make small changes

Becky Haltermon
Education and Litter Abatement Coordinator
Boone County Public Works
Division of Solid Waste Management
Burlington, Kentucky

You’ve probably noticed that we are currently riding a sinking economic recession. Conserving taxpayer dollars is a priority for every local entity and certainly Boone County, Kentucky is no exception. Wonderfully, we ladies of Boone County Solid Waste work closely with the Public Works Department, creating a reciprocated relationship that pools resources for maximum public service.

We have teamed up with road crews, the Sign Division, the County Engineer, and every hardworking hand at the Department for almost a decade. While we spend our time fine-tuning environmental programs like recycling, community cleanups, enforcement, and public education and outreach, Boone County Public Works has our backs every step of the way. We are given support, advice, and serious aid from the most hard-working folks in Kentucky.

So in the spirit of superior cooperation, we too share our expertise, giving a little something to the Department and County that has made our programs possible. The conservation of fiscal resources begins with environmental conservation which could save taxpayer dollars while spurring us towards a smaller ecological footprint. Many of these suggestions are easy and could be implemented with little or no cost while immediately improving the bottom line.

Fuel

Remarkably, it is simple to cut outrageous fuel costs: common-sense driving practices are the single most effective method of increasing fleet efficiency.

This means squashing aggressive driving. Stomping on the gas, slamming on the brakes, and revving up all lower gas mileage by five percent in city driving and thirty-three percent on the highway. We need merely increase the calm with which we approach driving government vehicles to save bucks. The same goes for speeding: Vehicles are built to run most efficiently at around fifty-five miles per hour so for every five miles above sixty miles per hour, the vehicle is wasting seven to twenty-three percent more fuel. Obviously, idling an engine will get you the worst gas mileage possible: zero miles per gallon. We ask that our coworkers keep an eye out the amount of time spent idling by being wary of running the engine when no one is in the vehicle and by avoiding long drive-thru lines.

Adding excess weight to a truck can also impacts its efficiency. For every one hundred pounds of extra junk on a vehicle, miles per gallon are reduced by two percent. While it is often the norm that County trucks haul heavy stuff, it couldn’t hurt to investigate each vehicle to see if its load can be reduced.

Operating the A/C can also affect fuel economy. For city driving, using the A/C can lower a vehicle’s efficiency by about a mile per gallon. At speeds of fifty-five mile per hour and higher, however, open windows create drag and can actually reduce fuel economy even more than the A/C. Therefore, we can maintain optimum fuel efficiency by using the A/C while highway driving and rolling down the windows when in stop and go traffic.

Other ideas to keep in mind include using the cruise control when covering level land because it keeps speeds constant, using the highest gears possible to lower the vehicle’s engine speed, carpooling when workable, and combining trips.

Sources: The US government’s website on fuel economy, www.fueleconomy.gov; www.cartalk.com; www.edmunds.com; www.npr.org; www.doe.gov; www.epa.gov

Offices

Office spaces are often rife with waste but minute changes can seriously cut costs. For example, by simply changing the margins of Word documents, agencies can cut the amount of paper consumed. The Penn State Green Destiny Council estimated that by changing paper margins to .75” on all sides, there is an estimated 4.75% reduction in paper use. Similarly, paper consumption can be reduced by using both sides of the sheet as some companies have seen a 10% reduction in paper use by setting their copier defaults to print on both sides instead of one. For serious print reduction, move files to a solely electronically-based format and increase employee access to computers. Everyone appreciates fewer printed memos. Also, posting instructions near copiers diminishes paper waste due to mistakes made when copying and reducing the size of a document when copying can turn two pages into one. For a final paper-saving tip, collect paper that has a blank side and then cut and staple it into note pads. In five minutes, employees can save paper from being wasted and save taxpayers a bit of money by not buying new notepads.

Other ideas for office efficiency include repairing, instead of replacing, office furniture and equipment, sharing old office supplies like plastic binders, file holders, clips, etc., keeping reusable kitchen supplies like silverware and ceramic mugs, buying bulk creamer and sugar, taking advantage of water coolers instead of buying bottled water, and cutting water waste by fixing leaky faucets and toilets as fast as possible.

Sources: http://www.changethemargins.com/; Cutting Costs and Preventing Waste in NYC Office Buildings and Institutions: Three Case Studies. http://www.p2pays.org/ref%5C03/02229.pdf; SFU Sustainable Campus Coalition’s Green Practices Guide: Green Practices for the Home and Office, http://www.sfu.ca/~sustain/pdf/green_practices_guide.pdf; Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Greening SEPA: Going Green, http://www.sepa.org.uk/green/guidance.htm

Energy

Reducing the energy bill is a key component of fiscal responsibility. Thirty percent of all energy use in the US goes towards heating and cooling buildings so that thermostat downstairs is a major player in increasing monetary supplies and decreasing pollution. In the winter, open blinds to let the sun inside and warm offices. In the summer, drawn blinds can help cool these rooms. This uses a free natural resource – the sun – as a replacement for an expensive resource – coal-fueled electricity. Keep doors and windows shut to keep in the warm/cool air and avoid heating or cooling to the extreme. Easy.

Lighting a building can suck up electricity so we offer natural light as the best option whenever it is possible. Also, task-specific lighting uses less energy because you end up brightening only the corners of a building that need it. Naturally, it is best to turn out the lights whenever they’re not needed.

Computers are another energy vulture. Allowing a computer to go into standby mode can use as much as 30% the machine’s normal energy expenditure so turning it off is smarter than letting it settle into standby. Just turning off a computer monitor when going to lunch saves electricity as monitors use 60% of the energy devoured by computers. For other energy savings, investigate purchasing Energy Star equipment. These are machines that have been certified by the EPA as preferable because of decreased energy consumption.

Here are some other facts to keep in mind: Laptops use up to 90% less energy than the standard desktop, ink-jet printers use up to 90% less energy than laser printers, Flat screen LCDs use approximately 1/3 the energy required for a CRT monitor, and taking the stairs uses no electricity and costs no money, making it a far better choice than taking the elevator.

Sources: SFU Sustainable Campus Coalition’s Green Practices Guide: Green Practices for the Home and Office, http://www.sfu.ca/~sustain/pdf/green_practices_guide.pdf; Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Greening SEPA: Going Green, http://www.sepa.org.uk/green/guidance.htm

So sure, lean times have come upon many of us in local government. But by forging partnerships, encouraging creativity, choosing to make small changes, and opting for conservation, we can all have a positive impact on our agency’s finances and the environment. I know that we here in Boone County will be banding together to do just that.

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A Potpurri of Eco Ideas

2009-02-24T15:36:00.005-05:00

I've been so busy getting our annual report together that I have been unable to update this, my faithful blog. Here are some of the most fun ideas that have flown by my desk in the past few weeks:

Sanitation District No. 1 has rolled out the rainbarrels. You can conserve the water runoff from your roof to water your flowers and at the same time, reduce your water bill, keep water away from your building foundation, and do your part to cut down on water pollution and flooding. It sounds all-around wonderful.
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Have you heard of Ecofont? Those crafty Dutch have developed a font that uses 20% less ink but looks almost identical to your standard Ariel. The secret? Little empty dots in the letters that are unnoticable at your standard typeface size. See if you can tell which of the quotes below were printed with Ecofont:

Give up? In the top quote, the second was typed with ecofont and in the bottom quote, the first was the environmental verbiage.

It's hard to tell a difference at all...

...Even up-close.

But when you look at it on the computer screen, especially in a large size, it is pretty obvious.
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Finally, on a (somewhat?) lighter note, a short film on the horrendous karma that can result from environmental indifference can be found here: It All Comes Back to You

I know I feel warm.

2009-02-10T15:30:00.004-05:00

I don't often write about global warming but I decided to give it a go after listening to this story on NPR. I was listening to it while getting ready for work and it scared the boogers out of me.

Below you'll find the my eco-article concerning climate change followed by the websites of the news stories I reference. Let's discuss!

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Ideas Driving Climate Change Salvation
Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Education Coordinator
February 2009

I just got back from Columbus.

It’s a solid two hour drive from the Columbus suburb my boyfriend now calls home to my desk here in Burlington and it is a drive I imagine I’ll making quite often in the coming months. Like I said, my boyfriend now officially resides in Columbus. Talk about an inconvenient truth.

Two hours is a lot of time and if you’ve ever piloted a vehicle up I-71, you know that there isn’t a whole lot of landscape to divert your mind while on the road. Perhaps that’s why, after wondering why I drive my loved ones to relocate to remote Ohio towns, I began to ponder the inexorable evil of global warming.

Climate change is not a topic I broach lightly. A Pew Research Center poll in January found that global warming ranks dead last in a list of priorities people want our new president to deal with. We want the leader of the free world to wrangle tax cuts and tackle the deficit before he tries to save the planet and I understand that. It’s hard to worry about the plight of polar bears when your mortgage lender is breathing down your neck.

At the same time, we’re facing a climactic catastrophe that could make the current recession pale by comparison. Under the upbeat headline, “Climate Change is Coming No Matter What We Do,” Steve Graham reports that according to Heinz Center senior scholar Dennis Ojima, Ph.D, “The latest data shows actual carbon emissions exceeding the most extreme scenarios envisioned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading world agency on global warming.”

Robert Correll, another Heinz Center bearer of unhappy news told NPR that even if the US and other leading greenhouse gas emitters meet their extremely ambitious goals for pollution reduction, it won’t solve our problems. “Absolutely not so,” Correll intones.

The report goes on to say that to stave off major planetary decimation, we’d need about a five percent reduction in carbon emissions from industrialized countries and a stabilization of the CO2 pollution rates for the rest of the world. Just in case you think that that sounds doable, Correll wants you to know that, “Five percent per year is huge!”

This reduction could cost tens of trillions of dollars over time and would require the cooperation of all of the industrialized world. “This is sort of a wake-up call,” Correll explains. No kidding.

Lest you suggest that I give in to a doom and gloom scenario, I confess that I’m not building an ark just yet. One reason is because our nation’s new energy secretary, Stephen Chu, is also a little upbeat. Last year, he told NPR that he is, “actually optimistic,” about reducing energy consumption in the US. “With new tech coming online,” he says, “and things that one hopes to develop, the goal is not to say: 'OK, everybody uses less energy, don't heat your homes, don't light your homes, don't use AC.'” Don’t drive to Columbus. “That is not the goal. The goal is to have a standard of living that is carbon neutral and works well with the world. And I think it's possible.”

Dan Sarewitz of the Consortium for Science Policy and Outcomes based at Arizona State University also refuses to throw in the towel. "The idea,” he told NPR, “is to take the political heat off of climate change and instead move this into the realm of policy wonkdom where many many small decisions made across many agencies, many types of policies, many domains, set the conditions for moving in the right direction without demanding that people accept that this is the most important problem in the world."

So the next time I hop in my small silver sedan on an extended trek to see my man, maybe I could try to see if those gray clouds crowding the sky above the interstate have a silver lining.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That quote from Secretary of Energy Stehpen Chu was culled from this NPR article.

Climate Change is Coming No Matter What We Do can be found here.

This is the article that features Robert Correll and Dan Sarewitz.

Here is that Pew Research Center poll.

You can learn more about the Heinz Center here.

Whew.

Overlapping Areas of Geekery

2009-01-28T08:57:00.004-05:00

You may have noticed that my latest eco-article mentions televisions switch to digital next month. Okay, on the face of it, this technological event is not very environmental at all. I understand that. But again and again I see people tossing their perfectly usable TV because they've upgraded to a fancy flat-screen out of the misguided notion that after February 17, their old sets will be obsolete.

THIS IS NOT TRUE.

If you're like my boyfriend, you may use this digital switchover as an excuse to sneak out to Best Buy and drool over plasma screens as big as a kitchen table. But if you're into ecology like me, you can keep your old TV. Snag a fancy little converter box and marvel at the wide array of public television stations now available to you.

Of course, if you have cable or a dish, all this is moot. All you need do is continue enjoying the 928,928 channels available to you.

At any rate, it looks like the digital switchover might just be postponed until June. Learn more in this NPR story. But that delay doesn't really matter to you, my dedicated reader, because you are now armed with the facts. Find our more of the official line on DTV here.

So, in addition to the nerdy interests I harbor for environmental awareness and public TV and radio, I am also an amateur radio operator. Oh, yes. I'm a ham. Hawaii has already switched to a digital signal and enlisted the help of local amateur radio operators to aid in the transition and below, I've transcribed a few of the lessons learned by John, K1ER, in Honolulu.

Having worked with the FCC during the FIRST conversion to DTV (Hawaii), here are a few background things you SHOULD KNOW since they'll help you answer questions from the other 49 states.
The conversion was mandated by CONGRESS to free up the present analog TV spectrum for OTHER USERS.
The conversion was DIRECTED by CONGRESS.
The $40 coupon program was run by the former Bureau of Standards now NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The FCC was ordered to deal with the public and broadcasters during the conversion.
For those who can receive it THE DIGITAL PICTURE IS BETTER.
There is NO IMPACT on people using Satellite TV or CABLE.
The $40 coupon is ONLY issued ONE TIME to any address (Becky: In our area, you can have two coupons per address) AND they EXPIRE shortly after issue. MANY!!!!! people ordered the coupon and did not CASH IT! Resulting in the FUNDS for COUPONs being tied up like "outstanding checks" so the NIST STOPPED issuing COUPONS. As the COUPONS expire unused, funds are being applied to NEW COUPONS but the DELAY is over 8 weeks!
The FCC is taking the heat from viewers for problems NOT under their control and NOT caused by the FCC.

I love the expressive way John writes.

If you find yourself intrigued by the idea of amateur radio, you can find our more here. (I know that using Wikipedia isn't the safest bet but I really liked the simple, one-line intro into the world of dorky radio.)

Let's get practical, practical ...

2009-01-27T11:40:00.003-05:00

January's eco-article is all about some practical techie questions...

Steinbeck Says

2009-01-12T14:28:00.000-05:00

I have been reading Travels With Charley byJohn Steinbeck and came across the following quote. Even though the novel was penned in 1962, this passage seemed perfectly prescient:: "American cities are like badger holes, ringed with trash - all of them - surrounded by piles of wrecked and rusting automobiles, and almost smothered with rubbish. Everything we use comes in boxes, cartons, bins, the so-called packaging we love so much. The mountains of things we throw away are much greater than the things we use. In this, if in no other way, we can see the wild and reckless exuberance of our production, and waste seems to be the index. Driving along I thought how in France or Italy every item of these thrown-out things would have been saved and used for something. This is not said in ciriticism of one system or the other but I do wonder whether there will come a time when we can no longer afford our wastefulness - chemical wastes buried deep in the earth or sunk in the sea. When an Indian village became too deep in its own filth, the inhabitants moved. And we have no place to which to move.

Rock on, John.

Happy day, Aldo L.!

2009-01-12T08:59:00.000-05:00

January 11 was the birthday of Aldo Leopold, a rock star among 20th century conservationists.

He said,"There can be no doubt that a society rooted in the soil is more stable than one rooted in pavements."

Just something to ponder this cold morning...

The Problem With Environmentalism

2009-01-06T15:50:00.000-05:00

Stephen Colbert speaks on the Achilles heel of environmentalism: There's no one right way to do something. This makes me laugh and I think you'll enjoy it, too.

If it raises any questions for you, let me know. I'll make up a somewhat humorous and lighthearted answer!

cells for service

2009-01-05T10:54:00.000-05:00

Camp Ernst Middle School is collecting cell phones. Get rid of your old cell, prevent hazardous materials from going to the land fill, and help out Camp Ernst Middle School Youth Service Center - This might just be the perfect rememdy for a post-holiday hangover.

Find out more here.

Holiday Thoughts

2009-01-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

December's eco-article channels the happiness of the holidays.

Newspaper: Boone County Recorder
Column Title: Community Enviro-Line
Column Article Title: Gratitude from an Eco-Geek
By: Becky Haltermon, Boone County Solid Waste Education Coordinator
Date: December 2008

Pledging allegiance to environmentalism is a funny thing.

You’re reading the beliefs of an eco-geek who can’t sing a Christmas carol without thinking, “Five golden rings? Are you nuts? Don’t you know that twenty tons of mine waste are generated for each simple gold band that gets manufactured?!”

I look at life through green-colored glasses and whatever meets my gaze is greeted with ecological evaluation. Unsurprisingly, when you ogle gloriously gift wrapped packages as just so much future garbage, you might come off as something of a Christmas spirit Scrooge. But this planetary perspective involves much more than criticism for the excesses of the holidays, it also offers a deep sense of understanding for the true meaning of the season.

So in the spirit of a cold month celebrating the best in humanity, I offer my list of Christmas greatest hits, all of the gifts that I am grateful for this year:

Kids – The most enjoyable activity you can get paid to perform is talking to little kids about the planet. I still can’t believe that teachers allow me to approach children and ask them what they really think about this environment we inhabit. Little ones get wide eyes when I read them The Lorax, middle school students inform me they have plans to solve global warming, and teenagers delineate schemes to expand classroom recycling programs. If I find myself feeling blue because some unrepentant litterbug keeps dumping bags of dirty diapers on Boone Aire Road, all I need do is look to our youth for a true sense of hope and excitement about a future improved environment.

Community – I find that the more people I know, the fewer possessions I must own. I joined a bicycle co-op and now have access to tools and experts that are not only motivating me to get my Schwinn together but providing me with a social circle that encourages reuse and recycling. Similarly, my posse of exquisitely dressed lady friends participate in clothes swap parties where we trade our unwanted garments in for those of our buddies. We pass on castoffs, prevent the waste of wearables, and have a ridiculously awesome time. I feel so lucky to connect with these communities and glean insight, encouragement, advice, and even a free dress or two.

Family – Followers of this column may recall that my favorite ecological debater, my little sister, left our lovely County for grad school. I couldn’t be more pleased that she is coming home for the holidays. As she and I dream up handmade crafts like origami ornaments made of sheets from recycled magazines (check ‘em out in my blog), and belittle each other’s ideas for parental presents, I realize that sometimes, what this eco-geek needs more than anything is dialogue and disagreement. “If Mom wants gold rings,” my sister hisses, “then we are going to freaking get her gold rings.” We agree to get them second-hand, satisfying this environmentalist.

I hope your holiday is full of good company, conscientious gifts, local food, and fewer wastes. But most of all, I hope it is bright and happy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Becky Haltermon is the Boone County Solid Waste Education and Litter Abatement Program Coordinator.

You can find the online version of this article here.

Resource Guide for '09!

2009-01-05T10:45:00.000-05:00

We have updated our guide on all things trash in northern Kentucky! You can find it here.

Great Moments in Theatric Envrionmentalism #1

2008-12-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well, okay, I'm not sure if this will really be a series (are there really so many plays pertaining to ecology?) but I liked the sound of this title so there.

A few weeks ago, I saw a production of Love Song by John Kolvenbach at Playhouse in the Park and it truly moved me. It's an upside-down love story about an isolated young guy who falls in love with a lady who robs him in his apartment. It is sweet but encompasses so much more than your average romantic comedy.

My favorite scene centers on our protagonist, Beane, as he has recently fallen for his burglar and succumbed to the sweet insanity of bliss. He goes on a rant about the ridiculousness of consumption. Since finding love and true fulfillment in his life, he has figured out that he simply doesn't need stuff.

Here goes:

BEANE. (Holding a carton of Chinese noodles.) Can I eat this? Is there a fork? (Then spying the bottle on the counter.) Wine! "I am a Fool for wine, my friends, a Foolish Nit!" Can I drink this? I was talking to somebody the other day about the Redundancy of Glassware, (Offering the bottle.) [Sorry, Does anybody want any? No?] About the Consipracy, really, of the redundancy of just about everything, you know, You buy a glass thing to pour something from a glass thing into, when, there you are with a glass thing, cheers. (Beane drinks from the wine bottle.) Raincoats, You buy a water-resistant thing when you are in fact already a water-resistant thing, like we're gonna make a purchase that's gonna improve on skin, my A--, I will walk naked down the street and I will show you something about Water Repellence! (He then eats noodles from the carton with his hands.) It's a Conspiracy, the G--d--- Oligarchy that insists we Buy things, Look at this: Eat a noodle from a carton, when you already are a noodle eating a noodle from a carton! "It is foolish food, my friends, when a noodle eats a noodle!"

Okay, I realize that some of this is nonsensical. That's okay with me. What really matters is that our young man in love here has started to look at his life through the prism of contendedness and what he sees in our consumptive culture is all its absurdity.

Private Desires, Public Televsion

2008-12-16T13:49:00.000-05:00

I had a public televion station on for noise while wrapping some holiday gifts the other day and I caught a most interesting show. Called Status Anxiety, it delved into the conundrums surrounding consumerism such as: Why doesn't affluence equal happiness?

The host, an interesting Brit named Alaine de Botton, discussed a few intriguing ideas, at one point, making this statement:

"Rousseau believed that there are only two ways to make people richer; give them more money or restrain their desires. Sadly... capitalism depends on creating new desires, so that people want what they have never wanted. The gap between what we want and what we can afford may be necessary to keep markets growing, but in psychological and emotional terms it is a gulf that daily threatens our fragile sense of who we are and what matters."

Since consumerism and conservation are so deeply intertwined, I hope this holiday finds you feeling richer ... Whatever that means for you.

My Mom, Environmental Model

2008-12-16T11:20:00.000-05:00

This is my mom. She is modelling a skein of yarn she bought at Wal-Mart that is comprised of recycled plastic bottles. She is awesome.

Wrapper's Delight

2008-12-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

These are (most of) the presents I'm giving away for Christmas. I didn't buy anything special with which to wrap them, I simply rounded up old magazines, books, construction paper, newspapers, bags, and applied these items with a smattering of Scotch tape and rubber cement. It was totally fun. I would humbly recommend this kind of creative reuse instead of the usual investment in reams of wasteful Christmas paper, especially if it's implemented with some good company and high-decibel holiday carols.

You will have fun doing it this way. I swear.

Just ask this lady. She's a gift for my aunt Alison.

Or these guys, who go to various loved ones.

It's arts and crafts hour for your local eco-geek! Get to it!

Recycle those Christmas lights!

2008-12-11T14:44:00.000-05:00

HolidayLEDs.com will actually recycle your useless Christmas lights!

Crazy, right?

Some Festive Recycling

2008-12-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

Look at what I made!

As you probably know, I'm a big fan of fun, weird recycling and these little origami ornaments count as both fun and recycling. I made them out of a page in a friend's Redbook magazine.

I found the instructions here. The plan calls for paper in an equilateral triangle shape, and there is an easy description of making equilateral triangles here.

defining lines of thought

2008-12-01T13:56:00.000-05:00

November's Eco-Article was about what it means to truly be green...

From hoaxed to happy...

2008-11-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

Several (okay, three) people have called me and told me that they were scammed into collecting bottle caps for a hoax fundraiser and then, quite plaintively, asked me what on earth they can do with all of the caps they've collected. I've had to apologetically inform them that, to my knowledge, they cannot be recycled.

Well, my knowledge have been expanded.

I read this article on cininnati.com and it tells of a Girl Scout Troop who was tricked into collecting caps but found a way to recycle them through the Aveda Corporation.

Well! Good to know!

Recycle Electronics STAT!

2008-11-12T11:28:00.000-05:00

Reminder: The TV/Mercury/Computer Collection event is Saturday 11/15 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sanitation District No. 1.

You can watch this frightening 60 Minutes story on e-waste to learn just how important proper electronics recycling is...

Building Interest

2008-11-03T13:45:00.000-05:00

October's Eco-Article covers a personal revelation: sustainable building is actually interesting. Who knew?

Plants are people, too

2008-10-29T13:31:00.000-05:00

While this fits into the ecology column, it has little impact on your life. It just makes me smile.

The Swiss government has ruled it illegal to humiliate plants. You can check out their entire report on "The Diginity of Living Beings With Regard to Plants" or just read my favorite part of it:: The Committee members unanimously consider an arbitrary harm caused to plants to be morally impermissible. This kind of treatment would include, e.g. decapitation of
wild flowers at the roadside without rational reason.

For the first time ever, I feel a little uneasy about being vegetarian. heh heh...

The Costs of Consumption

2008-09-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

September's eco-article is about buying into environmental ideas instead of simply buying more junk.

A computer query ...

2008-09-25T13:01:00.000-05:00

For those Apple users out there:
How does the formatting of this blog look? I use a PC for editing and arranging and it came to my attention that perhaps my musings might appear differently on a Mac.

Please sing out with editorial enlightenment!

Earthy Artwork, Part II

2008-09-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

So, you already know about our awesome Coloring Calendar Contest, right?

Well, if the youths in your life are still hungry for a pro-planetary artistic outlet, check out ORSANCO's River Sweep Poster Contest. It's pretty awesome. It's no calendar but it's pretty awesome.

Free for Fall!

2008-09-24T10:06:00.000-05:00

The Fall Cleanup is October 20-26. Bring Public Works your junk and we'll dispose of it for free! See the flyer for restrictions and let me know if you have any questions.

Oily Residue

2008-09-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

August's eco article featured more about oil. What can I say? I love the stuff ... Hah.

Attack of the Aging Televisions

2008-09-03T10:17:00.000-05:00

What with the digital switchover hovering on the horizon like a technological tumult, much attention has been paid to the growing problem of obselete TVs.

Of course, transitioning to digital does not mean you need a new TV. Let me repeat, YOU DON'T NEED A NEW TV. All you need is a little digital tuner. I have one. It is cute. It brings me more channels for free. Learn more about the digital tranisition from the FCC.

So, even though your TV will be just fine, many folks (like my boyfriend) are attempting to use this television switch as an excuse to upgrade to a fancy new tube. That's cool. Just be sure to do the right thing with your old console TV.

We at Boone County Solid Waste will be helping out with a TV/Computer/Mercuy recycling event November 15 at the Sanitation District! Stay tuned for more information on that. In the meantime, go to Earth911's website to find an exaustive list of TV recycling options.

Breakthrough Cure for the Old Shoe Blues

2008-09-03T10:01:00.000-05:00

As faithful readers will no doubt recall, I have a shoe purchasing problem. I know I can't be the only sufferer of this crippling disease so I offer the following resources to you, in an attempt to appease my failing footwear karma.

To Recycle Tennis Shoes -

The RC Durr YMCA will take your gently-used old tennis shoes and donate them to needy families home and abroad.

Nike's Recycling Center will accept your stinky sneakers and use them to make new basketball courts and such. The only problem is that you have to ship your misshapen shoes to them ... Consider the environmental footprint (hah!) of shipping, if you please.

Nontraditional Recycling: the Sports Edition

2008-09-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

Pitch In for Baseball is a non-profit that helps needy communities build baseball teams. What's the eco-angle, you ask? They want your old baseball stuff. Send those fielding gloves and batting helmets to them and consider your recycling done. The USPS will even help you do it.

So. Who likes recycling?

2008-07-30T13:48:00.000-05:00

Bavarian Waste Services is trying to decide whether or not to offer curbside recycling across Boone County.

What do you say?

Check out their survey and tell 'em how you feel about curbside recycling!

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetarians

2008-07-24T10:16:00.000-05:00

The Boone County Farmers Market offers locally grown produce. I don't have to tell about how perfectly preferable locally-raised food is, do I? Go!

Also, the title of this post comes from a rock n roll record name. If you can tell me the band, you win a prize!*

* A round of applause

Composting the Coffee of Cool Kids

2008-07-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

My buddy Stan sent me this note:
"Did you know ... That Starbuck's gives away free to a good home, used coffee grounds? The Starbuck's across the street from me does but I don't know if they all do. Spread the word for this free fertilizer/soil amendment!"

This is an article about the coffee behemoth's benevolent use of used coffee and here is Starbucks' website, just in case you have trouble locating a store.

Pro-Planetary Purchasing

2008-07-18T09:49:00.000-05:00

Say that three times fast!

July's eco-article covers buying new shoes and buying into consumerist points of view.

Some like it dry.

2008-07-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

On hot days, it's always fun to check out websites like this one and take a critical look at our water usage.

That's right, I think this kind of thing is fun.

Let's debate oil drilling.

2008-07-03T14:18:00.000-05:00

I have all kinds of friends and some of these friends enjoy disagreeing with me. That's cool with me. Dialogue is the only way we're going to get things done, so bring it on!

A few days ago, my buddy Gnu sent me this article from the the New American.

He attached this note: "Please read the attached and let me know what you think. Me personally, it’s pretty much what I have been preaching for a year. I do not generally like the New American; it’s even too conservative for me, but this article looks at the big picture not just the band wagon attacks the media is hyping to death."

Read the article and you can pretty much guess what I thought.

This is what I wrote back:: Thanks so much for sharing this article with me - Yay for debate!

In the first few paragraphs, the author notes that the declining dollar is one reason for the high cost of gas and as I understand it, that’s a pretty indisputable fact. However, Mr. Yates does a disservice by laying the entire blame for this devaluation on the Fed (who, of course, deserves a hefty chunk of it) by neglecting to note that the economic policies of our current president, most notably the war in Iraq, have also contributed to the weak dollar by sinking the US economy into debt and reliance on foreign lenders. Check out this quote from politico.com:

“And why do we have a weak dollar?

“You can start with the economic policies followed by the Bush administration. During Bush’s 7 years in office, we have maintained large trade deficits with the rest of the world and run up large domestic budget deficits to pay for our misadventure in Iraq and large tax cuts for the wealthy. Also, according to a monograph recently issued by the Center for American Progress, the Federal Reserve’s low-interest policy has caused a 14 percent decline in the value of the dollar since last September.”

Anyway. Moving on.

It’s pretty clear that supply and demand account for a huge percentage of the remaining increase in gas cost and relying on unstable foreign oil producers is no way to have a functioning economy. But say what you will about our megalomaniacal friend, Huge Chavez - I would resist fiscal imperialism, too. Venezuela doesn’t “share the American vision of a free society based on the ideals of constitutionally limited government” – and I must note that Yates must mean “US” when he writes “American” – because the US has a history of meddling in governments throughout Central America in a way that can only be described as disastrous.

On page 13, Yates begins to demonstrate that the US has substantial oil reserves by quoting statistics from API, the American Petroleum Institute. API is “is the main U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry, representing about 400 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the industry,” according to Wikipedia. Let me say that I know Wikipedia isn’t the most incredible, credible source of information but this is not a research paper and it is clear that API is a lobbying agency that promotes the goals of the private US oil companies. Check this out, found in the above article: “API both funds and conducts research related to many aspects of the petroleum industry. The association has drawn criticism for promoting research aimed at contradicting the scientific consensus that use of petroleum products is a major cause of climate change, as well as for supporting researchers who lack proper scientific credentials. In 2001, the head of AOI’s “Climate Team,” Philip A. Cooney, became chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where he repeatedly edited official reports on the link between petroleum emissions and climate change in ways that made their findings sound less credible. Mr. Cooney had received no scientific training.”

Anyway, it’s clear that API is not the most reliable of sources. (They’re less reliable than Wikipedia, anyway, heheh …)

Gnu, I have to confess that this sentence in the New American article made me lol: “Well-funded environmental groups have thus far successfully fought the development of ANWR.” Well-funded environmental groups? You mean, groups that have more money than the oil lobby? Pff. Not bloody likely. It’s totally careless on Yates’ part to try to imply that those working to protect the environment are only succeeding because they have more funds than those in the business of making gas.

I also have to point out that when Yates mentions Hurricane Rita’s impact on oil refinement, he was correct to note that the storm messed up supply and that increased cost in the US. However, he is again being a little careless when he implies that the temporary disruption is what caused gas to shoot to $3 in a day. Really, it was the speculation that caused that spike – Folks anticipated a decline in supply and that anxiety fueled (so to speak … hah) an increase in price.

It’s true that government regulations and taxes add to the cost of fuel but these regulations and taxes have remained relatively consistent through the past five years and so haven’t contributed in any real way to the climb in price. Yes, they contribute to the price but are not the reason for the current rise in price. Capice?

Coal liquefaction is an entertaining idea, if you don’t consider the environmental devastation caused by the most efficient and economical methods of coal mining.

I really dig what Yates has to say about oil profits and the financial beneficiaries of oil profits. That’s right, I dug it. This is something that I am really interested in, especially after having heard of record profits in the refining industry. In American Public Media’s show Marketplace, one industry analyst noted that, “The intermediaries (traders, speculators) might be getting a dollar or two, depending on their management of it. But most of the money is going back into the producer's pocket,” meaning that the Saudis appreciate the high cost of barrels of oil, not the US oil refiners. This is something I’d like to look into more.

I find it ironic that Yates has the audacity to write, “The more competition there is, not just among oil companies but among energy producers in general, the harder they will work to innovate, economize, and hold down prices to consumers,” and then follow that sentiment with a call to destroy the “roadblocks to the development of energy resources” as though he were toppling a statue of Saddam Hussein. Innovation and exploration of a myriad of alternative energies and non-fossil-fuel-based technologies has exploded as the price of gas has gone astronomical. For the first time since the 1970s, we’re seeing a reduction in the use of gasoline among the American populace and a real interest in viable alternatives. This means that it is the high cost of gas, the difficulty in refining it, and the other problems with the industry that are actually promoting innovation as entrepreneurs recognize that fuel alternatives offer more opportunity. It seems counterintuitive and almost idiotic for Yates to argue that what we really need is “more of the same” and by that I mean a further reliance on oil. He says, quite matter-of-factly, that our society will remain dependent on oil for the foreseeable future and so, dear friends, let’s keep repeating the same mistakes we’ve been making since 1973 and keep fouling environmental resources to dredge up fuel that we can then use to keep fouling the environment. Even if I didn’t give a fig about the state of world ecology, his argument is short-sighted, misinformed, and mired in the past.

I’m not even talking about the dozens of estimates that claim that tapping the currently off-limits oil supplies in the US will produce only miniscule relief from the cost of gas and won’t even do that for at least ten years. I’m not even talking about the ecological devastation incurred with drilling or mining. And I’m not even talking about burning fossil fuels and its impact on global climate change.

What I’m talking about is a refusal to believe in a real change in the way our society and economy works. Sure, I’m a hippy-dippy optimist but even the most rational among us knows that oil is history. It is bad news and sometime, there won’t be any of it left to be news. Quite frankly, what we as a society really need to do is come up with a way to help the poor cope with the climb in price and cushion the transition as the US adjusts to a different way of life.

Your Friend and Hippy,

Becky

Gnu wrote back, saying, "I agree with much of what you say," and made it clear that we have much to discuss.

I can't wait.

Oil Oy Vey

2008-07-01T15:40:00.000-05:00

My eco-article on the cost of oil got several interesting responses. Below are some insightful comments from Dan Ziegler that provide fuel for thought. Hah.
: I would like to draw attention to some of the more insidious problems lurking in the wings. As a society, we have a huge addiction to trucking in an indirect way. Even though most citizens would not have many positive things to say about trucking, we still buy the cheapest goods we can find, rather than locally grown or manufactured items, and we don’t press our legislature for an overhaul of the transportation industry. That means buying things made in China, Mexico or India, and shipping them vast distances over land and sea. Just the amount of travel that the freight incurs in once it reaches our borders is staggering, as it moves across country to the consumers. The amount of fuel used to move that freight is tremendous. According to the American Association of Railroads, in 2007 the rail industry moved a ton of cargo 438 miles per gallon of fuel consumed. That’s about 300 miles farther than the average for the trucking industry. If we displaced only 10% of the truck freight onto the railway system, we could save more than a billion gallons of fuel per year, and reduce our CO2 generation by 55 million tons.

"Another point to consider is that there is much liquid fuel used to generate electric power. Liquid fuel should be reserved for mobile consumption (i.e. planes, trains, ships and vehicles with tires. Central power stations should only use the more complex, or difficult to manage fuels like coal, nuclear fuel, solar, wind and biomass. It’s far easier to control emissions and environmental impact at the scale we see in most modern power plants than it is to control emissions on a truck or car. Plus, liquid fuel is the least costly to transport to the ultimate consumption point since it has the highest energy per pound transported… Of course, the politicians and environmentalists up East that rely so heavily on fuel-oil-generated power would not like to be forced into new coal plants, even though they would actually be cleaner than the old oil-fired plants they would replace…

"Lots of things to make a difference, but without central policies to guide and direct us toward them, the market always takes the least cost route, without considering the collateral costs and damage. Having been to China, and seen for myself, the giant awakening, I can tell you that we are in for a rude awakening as the impact of our addiction to low-cost “stuff” actually runs up the costs to society after we factor in the rising steel, coal, oil and other raw material costs as a result of the in-efficiency caused by globalization of our manufacturing and food production. After all, there was a time when people figured out that it was actually cheaper (all things considered) to build manufacturing plants across the US to avoid moving raw materials and finished goods back-n-forth across the US… now we are moving things back-n-forth around the globe."

Any response to Dan?

Biofuel Back and Forth

2008-07-01T15:05:00.000-05:00

As you may recall, there have been quite a bit of discussion about biofuels on this here blog and in the wider world of real life. Several weeks ago, I recieved these two responses, both from the gentlemen who were previously mentioned in prior posts.

Christopher Calder had this to say:: Becky,

Addressing the poster on your site who likes Brazilian ethanol, it is a fact that Brazilians are burning down the "lungs of the world", the Amazon Basin rainforests, at an alarming rate to grow more biofuels.

the cited article from news.mongabay.com

Brazilian ethanol is currently a money maker for that nation, but it is not ecologically sustainable long term. Brazilian politicians are thinking short term profits, as do most people. Think of all the human food that could be grown on that land.

My latest essay on the issue is pasted below, and published to the web on Op-Ed News.
the cited article from www.opednews.com

Even Bill Clinton has spoken out against ethanol, even though Hillary supports ethanol to get the farm vote. I would like to hear their private conversations on the subject. This issue is exploding so fast that by election day all the candidates will have to publicly address the world food crisis and the role biofuels have played in creating it. Right now they are all using ostrich like tactics of ignoring the facts and pretending their biofuel bandwagon is not rapidly flying off a cliff.

Bill Clinton news story

Americans should not have to pay sky high food prices forever, and the cost of food will never come down until we stop the mindless biofuel bandwagon in its tracks.

Regards, Christopher Calder

The Brazilian ethanol enthusiast that Calder references is Adhemar Altieri, and he has this to say:: The basic problem with the vast majority of the criticism we see in the media now is that it's incomplete - either because people only know about efforts that are near them, or because there is the intent to confuse public opinion, and I would certainly not put that possibility aside because there are lots of interested parties out there who would like to see biofuels condemned as problems, not solutions. What is incomplete is the lack of consideration for biofuels that do work. In the US, we tend to see criticism of ethanol in broad strokes, as if all ethanols were created equal... when really, critics are thinking of corn-based ethanol, the only kind they've heard of. Similarly, in Europe, you have ethanol made from wheat and sugarbeets, and that is often the basis for criticism and sweeping condemnations. In both Europe and the US, you have heavy government subsidies backing the production of feedstocks for ethanol, and I can't really blame those who don't like heavy subsidies - they mean that, at least in their current state, these "ethanols" that need big subsidies could not survive if only market rules applied. Both Europe and the US also protect their inefficient ethanols by taxing imported biofuels. What is being omitted in the frenzy of ill-informed criticism is that there is a type of ethanol that is cost-efficient, energy-efficient, environment-friendly, mass produced, widely available, with a 33-year history behind it: sugarcane ethanol, produced and widely used in Brazil. Trouble starts when people go on tirades against ethanol from corn, wheat or beets, and automatically include ethanol from sugarcane, which is obviously wrong. When people are simply determined to make their criticism stick against all types of ethanol (even when these people KNOW FULL WELL that their criticism DOES NOT APPLY to Brazil's brand of ethanol), they resort to low blows, like saying that ethanol production in Brazil is destroying the Amazon. The Amazon is always a hot button, so if you tell people something is helping to destroy the rainforest, you have their immediate support. The vast majority of what you've been reading these days makes all of these mistakes. So here are some numbers, all of which are supported by widely recognized studies from global organizations, including the UN:

-Brazil is currently the second-largest ethanol producer in the world (the US is #1). It has produced ethanol on a commercial scale since 1975, when the first national fossil fuel replacement program was launched because of the first oil crisis (which these days doesn't seem like a crisis at all - at that time the price of a barrel "jumped" to something above $20);

-Brazil has been a major producer of sugarcane ethanol ever since, but things really picked up in 2003 with the introduction of flex-fuel cars - these are cars that can run on pure ethanol, pure gasoline or any mixture of the two. The engine is equipped with a system that automatically detects what the fuel mixture is, and adjusts the way the engine functions;

-Because Brazil has been into ethanol for so long, every one of the country's 33 thousand fueling stations has at least one dedicated 100% ethanol pump;

-You cannot buy pure gasoline in Brazil - all gasoline sold here has 25% ethanol. That's the type of commitment a country has to make if it wants this thing to work... a commitment that doesn't exist clearly and evenly in the US. So there, a person buys a flex car and then can't find E85 to fuel it up...

-Flex cars are such a success that they now account for close to 90% of all new cars sales in Brazil. Ten major automakers now offer 63 flex-fuel models (GM, Ford, Fiat, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, Renault, Peugeot and Citroen);

-In February of this year, the volume of ethanol sold in Brazil surpassed that of gasoline, which means gasoline is now the "alternative fuel" in Brazil - trends indicate the volume of ethanol is going to continue growing, while gasoline should remain steady;

-In June, a major event is being planned to celebrate the 5 millionth flex-fuel vehicle sold in Brazil in five years, plus the fact that ethanol is now outselling gasoline;

-Brazil has done this by using exactly 1 (one) percent of its arable land to produce sugarcane for ethanol. Please remember this the next time you read someplace that sugarcane fields are helping to destroy the Amazon rainforest. All sugarcane fields in Brazil cover 2.3% of the country's total arable land - the sugarcane not used for ethanol is used to produce sugar (Brazil is the world's #1 sugar exporter);

-To put sugarcane in perspective: Twice as much land in Brazil is dedicated to corn fields, three times as much land is used for soybeans, and thirty (that's 30) times more land is used for cattle farming; Please remember these numbers the next time you read extremely simplistic conclusions that "the expansion of sugarcane is pushing cattle and soybean production into the Amazon";

BOTTOM LINE - these are facts: Brazil currently replaces half its gasoline needs with ethanol, and uses 1% of its arable land to accomplish this.
Brazil's ethanol beats all other types of ethanol significantly and on key comparison fronts. For example:

-For every unit of fossil fuels burned to make ethanol from sugarcane, you get 9 units of clean renewable energy back (corn ethanol gives you 1.3 units, while sugarbeet and wheat give you 3 or 4 units);

-Considering the entire process, including harvesting sugarcane and producing ethanol from it (what they call a well-to-wheel analysis), sugarcane ethanol reeduces emissions of greenhouse gases by 90% (that's 90, ninety, nine oh) compared to gasoline - other types of ethanol simply don't come close;

-Ethanol from sugarcane is competitive WITHOUT SUBSIDIES with oil at $40 a barrel, and not much more needs to be explained about that, considering oil is up above $110;

If you're wondering why you haven't been given all this info, you should ask some of the doomsayers who keep damning ethanol... many of them simply don't know any of this and think ethanol is corn ethanol (or in Europe's case, sugarbeet ethanol or wheat ethanol). But unfortunately, many of these so-called "specialists" and "analysts" know full well what they're saying and doing. Their intention is not to inform the public, but to confuse and discredit everything related to biofuels, even if they have to take down positive experiences in the process.

Keep that in mind please, and ask lots of questions... there's a lot more going on than most people realize, including many who are being extremely quick to jump on a misguided bandwagon to condemn everything in sight. All ethanols are not created equal.

Take care, and thanks for the interest.

AA

The Ohio River needs you.

2008-06-17T14:23:00.000-05:00

It's almost River Sweep! Come help out by picking up trash. It's way more fun and rewarding that it sounds, especially when it involves door prizes, free t-shirts, and a gratis lunch.

the Silver Linings of Black Smog Clouds

2008-06-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

June's Eco-Article is about looking on the bright side of high gas prices. A touchy subject, I know. Please sing out with your thoughts ...

Hm!

2008-05-13T12:38:00.000-05:00

This here is the original context in the Enquirer.

Justice Across the River

2008-05-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

Cincinnati isn't the most forward-thinking city in this great union of states but it does know a good idea when it sees one. The Cincinnati City Council is looking at passing environmental justice legislation that would help to relieve the disproportionate environmental degredation facing lower-income communities.

Attorney David Altman, the co-chair of Cincinnati Vice Mayor David Crowley's environmental justice working group, has mentioned that, "there's a direct correlation between illness in certain Cincinnati neighborhoods and the burden of pollutants these communities bear, unlike Hyde Park or parts of Mount Washington," according to this CityBeat article.

You can also check out this less biased, less in-depth article from the Kentucky Post.

Healing Your Earth Day Hangover

2008-05-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

Looking for a little pick-me-up, this post-Earthy Day season?

Check out May's eco article for a bit of environmental hope.

It's Earth Day!

2008-04-22T08:43:00.000-05:00

'Twas the morning of Earth Day, when all through the town
Each person awoke with an unhappy frown.

They smacked their alarms as they screeched without care
in hope that they'd stop its annoying blare.

They dragged themselves out of their snug little beds
and thoughts of a long day danced in their heads.

"Why bother?" they snarl, as they realize it's true -
"Today is just Earth Day ... What can I do?"

They schlump to the bathroom to brush teeth and gums
Never knowing they waste water while their faucet runs.

They shower and shower as their blood gets hotter
and once again they stand there, wasting precious water.

They open closets full of clothes they don't wear
Never considering what it took to get those garments there.

For breakfast they much on fruit flown from Ecuador
and highly-processed foods from the local chain store.

They jump in their Hummers and giant SUVs
While snarking, "Earth Day! How quaint! Puh-leeze!"

"Like my lifestyle needs changings! The nerve of some folks
to tell me that what I like is a 'don't'!"

They stomp on the gas as they screech out of sight -
"Happy Earth Day to all - Hah! Yeah, right!"

I didn't mean for this to be as dark as it ended up ...

More On the Biofuel Hubbub

2008-04-11T09:27:00.000-05:00

As you may recall, March's eco-article focused on the questionable merits of biofuels.

Interestingly, I got exactly two emails, one that agreed that biofuels are not as awesome as we were promised and one that maintained that there is an incredible future in biofuels. Here are a rundown of their responses:

Christopher Calder in Eugene, Oregon wrote in his email, "It is worse than you think," and supported this with a plethora of links:

This is a Grist Mill news article about the economic feasiblity of cellulose-based ethanol. Here is the full study cited in the article.

This this is Christopher's web page "The biofuel hoax is causing a world food crisis!" It's a very intense page full of information and opinion. He also maintains a food crisis news link page that's pretty expansive.

Adhemar Altieri in São Paulo, Brazil wrote to me and asked me to take a very critical look at the Searchinger study I sited in my eco-article, pointing out that the study might have omitted information that could have had a serious impact on the study's bleak anti-biofuel conclusion. He pointed out that "Ethanol works" in Brazail and, "has worked for decades." He went on to say that "it is large-scale, cost-efficient, sustainable and energy-efficient" producting "9 units of new energy produced for each unit of fossil fuel burned in its production."

Both of these points of view are exceptionally enlightening and cause for serious debate. I've been personally pondering this issue as food costs continue to increase, especially since I heard this story on NPR this morning.

There is a lot of potential in the field of biofuels ... If only we can get it right.

Human Rights and Environmental Wrongs

2008-04-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

April's eco-article says you've got to fight. For your right. To liiiiiiiive greeeeeen!

Or something along those lines.

Spring Programs A Go Go!

2008-04-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

Check out our upcoming spring programs! They will rock your world!

(Click on the fliers to make them bigger.)

Green Spaces and Green Thinking

2008-03-31T09:59:00.000-05:00

Through a partnership with the Boone County Parks, I've been able to spread the word about our upcoming cleanups (more on those soon!). Please check out this awesome Parks newsletter, featuring an ad made by me! Check it out and win a prize!*

*An exotic and exciting opportunity to participate in a litter cleanup ... Woo-hoo!

Recounting Our Hours

2008-03-31T08:35:00.000-05:00

So, who celebrated Earth Hour?

I did! I used a lantern to guide my chili cooking and then had an extremely enjoyable dinner with my beau by candlelight. We discussed why on earth I was asking him to turn off his computer for an arbitrary hour and then pondered the efficacy of these gestures of environmental solidarity. If nothing else, Earth Hour got me thinking about both the global nature of environmental problems as well as the extrememly personal aspect of eco-activism. Mission: Accomplished.

Please tell me about your Earth Hour experience! I will write about it in my monthly column for the Recorder! You could be famous!

See Me on TV!

2008-03-27T14:49:00.000-05:00

If you go here you will see me, Boone County Solid Waste's Enforcement Officer, Kelly, and our venerable Solid Waste Supervisor, Mary.

You will also get to learn a lot about litter and watch a sheriff's deputy say a pun. You can't lose!

(I'm trying to figure out how to stream the video from this very blog, so stay tuned!)

The awesomeness of biofuels is up for debate. Begin!

2008-03-10T10:24:00.000-05:00

March's eco-article describes some of the problems involved with using food crops as biofuels.

Much of it comes from a study in the Journal Science, an abstract of which can be found here. To read the whole study you must give them money.

Here are the NPR stories that inspired my article.

I'm already getting lots of great feedback on this and I'll be updating this with more info as it comes in!

Hour of Power!

2008-03-06T15:34:00.000-05:00

I became certified by the Kentucky Environmental Education Council yesterday. As rigorous and arduous as this process has been, it was also totally awesome and most awesome of all were the people I met during this course.

I bring all this up because, well, okay, I'm proud of myself and proud of my fantastically amazing classmates. But I also have a point: It was during this environmental educator escapade that someone brought up Earth Hour. This totally intruiguing idea centers around each and every one of us turning off all of the electric detritus that runs our lives for one hour. On March 29, people all across the planet will be shutting off at 8:00 p.m. local time.

"You should be able to see from space when each part of the Earth turns off their lights," Sonya says. She shrugs and giggles and says, "You know, hopefully."

So here's to making progress and making friends: Whether your learning how to be a better environmental educator with fifteen strangers from across Kentucky or telling your neighbors about Earth Hour. Cheers!

*Special thanks to Teri for giving me information about Earth Hour!

This answers many recycling questions!

2008-02-12T16:07:00.000-05:00

For the recycling curious, the video found on this page explains a bit about the process that Rumpke uses to recycle. Rumpke is the company that operates the drop-box recycling bins across Northern Kentucky.

I'm rather bummed that I can't just embed the video in my blog, but oh well.

You can find out where Boone's bins are by going here.

I (Candy) Heart the Planet

2008-02-12T15:42:00.000-05:00

The New England Confectionary Company is making candy hearts with a natural bent for this Valentine's Day. Focusing on the weather this year, a few of their new candy heart slogans are of a particularly compelling eco ideology. I like the "Do Good" one, myself.

This is WCPO's story about this year's heart-y proclamations.

Great Moments in Cinematic Littering 4

2008-02-11T13:58:00.000-05:00

How do you know that Jay and Silent Bob are total dorks?

Is it because they're uneducated? Because they are going nowhere in life? Because they say things like "You know, sometimes I wish I did a little more with my life instead of hanging out in front of places .... Like, maybe be an animal doctor. Why not me? I like seals ..."?

No. It's because they litter their cigarette butts.

Experts Agree: Reality is Better Than Virtual Reality.

2008-02-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

This Associated Press article covers some of the dire ideas described in February's Eco Article.

Apparently, people don't want to go outside anymore.

Forging a connection to the natural world is key to developing a sense of environmental justice, most eco-experts agree. This idea is a big deal in the environmental field, as evinced by the growing importance of books like Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv.

Oliver R. W. Pergams and Patricia A. Zaradic, authors of the recent study that is the inspiration of my eco-article, have a word to denote our culture's indifference to the outdoors: videophilia. Check out their website, videophilia.org, and let me know what you think.

Geeks Eke Out Eco Progress

2008-01-03T10:15:00.000-05:00

January's Eco Article delves into the hairy issues of New Year's resolutions. It features Ms. Mary Jane, who shared with us her resolution idea a few blog postings back!

It also features a newer, dorkier picture of me! (For the record, the colors in the my new article picture are messed up ... Sadly, I don't have orange hair.)

Great Moments in Cinematic Littering 3

2008-01-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

How can you tell that the bad guys are bad guys in the opening scene of High Noon?

They litter their cigarette butts.

Learn more about how annoying cigarette litter is by checking out this pdf brochure.

From Stuffing to Stuff

2008-01-03T09:30:00.000-05:00

I am curious to see what y'all think of the Story of Stuff (www.storyofstuff.com). It's a fun interactive look at consumerism and its development in the US. I found some of the statements problematic but overall, it's a compelling meditation to start off a new year.

Great Moments in Cinematic Littering 2

2007-12-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

The Simpsons Movie, if you haven't yet seen it, deals with many of the problems of our generation: playing dress-up with pet pigs, leading vs. reading, the importance of well-maintained scissor lifts, and of course, illegal garbage dumping.

Homer decides that the only recourse for disposal of his silo of pig poop is to dump it into the local lake.

I would just like to note that illegal dumping of waste is a class D felony.

As the silo sinks ...

... Pollutants start to react.

Hm. A bit forboding, no?

I'll be the first to admit that looking for a moral in the Simpsons movie is a fruitless endevor but I am gratified by the movie's nod to the negative impact illegal garbage dumps have on the environment, even if the EPA turns out to be the bad guy in the end.

Yes, Virginia, there is a way to recycle live Christmas trees.

2007-12-10T15:30:00.000-05:00

Don't throw away your Christmas tree after the holidays. Boone County Public Works will recycle it into mulch!

Peruse this flyer for all of the details.

I just really like the phrase "influx of stuff."

2007-12-10T11:05:00.000-05:00

December's eco-article discusses dealing with gross gifts this holiday season.

Resolution Revolution!

2007-12-05T16:43:00.000-05:00

I am collecting eco-centric New Year’s resolutions, from the solar-powered sublime to the recycling ridiculous. Setting your resolve to resource conservation? Vowing to donate devoutly to environmental causes? Whatever action you’re planning to take this new year, please let me know! You can post it here or call Boone County Solid Waste at 334-3151.

Our favorites will be posted on Boone County Solid Waste's webpage.

I am so lucky to have this job.

2007-12-04T14:01:00.000-05:00

Check out the winning artwork in our Quit the Littering Coloring Calendar Contest.

It's freaking cute.

Tougher Than Terminator?

2007-11-28T15:53:00.000-05:00

November's Eco-Article features our famous Enforcement Officer Kelly Chapman. She's tuff.

Great Moments in Cinematic Littering 1

2007-11-20T14:15:00.000-05:00

This is the first installment of GREAT MOMENTS IN CINEMATIC LITTERING, a fancy new reoccurring feature in this here blog.

You see, working in solid waste has made such an impact on me that I can't help but notice when people litter, even if said offenses happen to occur in a cinematic context.

For our very first installment, I'd like to direct your ecological intellects to a movie that, while perhaps lacking in profundity, has a very poignant message to deliver about littering.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy shows us that littering can cause us to lose what we love...

(Please note: Anchorman is rated PG-13 and the following short clip contains some mild language.)

Busting Dumpers

2007-11-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

Our fancy new Solid Waste Enforcement pages have lots and lots of information on illegal garbage dumping but even cooler, they have a totally rad Report an Illegal Garbage Dump form.

We have increased the ease of ratting on those who refuse to take care of their refuse!

Just another service that we offer ...

2007-11-05T15:30:00.000-05:00

Free mercury and computer disposal for all!

Click to enlarge the flier or check out the information on Boone County's website.

Filth on film!

2007-10-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

I realize that I must be about forty years lagging in my cultural knowledge.

For the first time ever, I just heard Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Kitchen in its entirety. It is, for a myriad of reasons, brilliant.

It also mentions something that we here at Boone County Solid Waste deal with quite a bit: Illegal garbage dumps. In fact, we just made a bunch of fancy new webpages to help explain what we do, as far as garbage enforcement.

Unfortunately, we don't have "aerial photography" like they did at Arlo's trash dump. We don't even have arrest or citation powers. What we do have is a duty to file a complaint in the County Attorney's office against anyone who feels the need to leave their debris where is doesn't belong.

And with Kelly Chapman, the best enforcement officer on the planet, that's all we need.

This is me and Kelly out in the County truck.

That's my boy!

2007-10-12T09:37:00.000-05:00

Al Gore, the best-known eco heartthrob out there, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in raising awareness about global warming.

Here are many NPR stories about it.

I think this officially cancells out his foray into scraggly facial hair.

Mercurial Messes

2007-10-10T14:50:00.000-05:00

Peter Bitto, an Australian who happened upon my article on Communitypress.com, brought to my attention this article in Science News Online.

The article brings into question my assertion that "Small amounts of mercury, like the 5 milligrams in a CFL, are absolutely safe in the landfill because of the myriad precautions modern landfills take to ensure contaminates never leak into the natural environment."

I'm going to look into this with our Enforcement Officer here at Boone County Solid Waste. She has been certified as a Landfill Manager by the Kentucky EPA and I have a lot of questions. If this report is true, why wasn't it something that is covered by her training? If this truly is a problem in our region, how can we create an ongoing program to help local agencies deal with it? Who can I contact to test our local landfill (Bavarian Waste Services) for this deadly junk?

What I do know is this: As long as I've been working here, I've been told that tiny amounts of mercury (thermostats, thermometers) are fine for the landfill. The KY EPA field office in Florence (859-525-4923) has told us that they will accept mercury from private residents but they asked that we not advertise it because they're afraid of the volume they'd receive. Residents are always welcome to take mercury to Environmental Enterprises but it's a pretty long drive from Boone County and they will charge you for what you bring.

There is good news. On November 17, 2007, there will be a totally FREE computer and mercury collection event. It will be at the Sanitation District #1 in Fort Wright and is sponsored by a mess of private companies and public entities. And I helped!

Bright Lights, Dim Responses

2007-10-05T08:24:00.000-05:00

October's eco article is about compact fluorescent light bulbs and frustration with the difficulty of doing the green thing. Oh, and I also have fun quotes from two friends.

CFL = Cold, Frustrating Light?

2007-10-05T08:20:00.000-05:00

My friend Kendall is not impressed with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). He doesn't like the light they emit and he's worried about the mercury in them.

I totally understand his concerns and would ask all with questions to check out this EnergyStar factsheet for some very specific information on the bulbs.

Let's discuss.

Large cars, gigantic ideas: Let's discuss.

2007-09-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

I recently came across a sassy quote from Mr. Michael Cunningham, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Hours and Specimen Days. He was asked how to save the world, and this was his reply:

Don't allow any purchases to be put into a plastic bag. Don't drive or fly unless it's absolutely necessary. When you see someone getting into or out of a large car or SUV, ask them firmly but politely why they think they need a vehicle just slightly smaller than a Sherman tank. Don't eat anything that's been shipped from more than 100 miles away. Don't be embarrassed about turning into a no-fun, earnest eco-nut. Don't balk at the fact that saving the environment will involve higher taxes. Our money won't do us much good in an exhuausted world.

I love the strong, unapologetic tone of this because it's downright energizing to hear someone state these ideas in such a forceful way. When the weather was so brutally hot a week or so ago, I went to the grocery store and found a gigantic black SUV behemoth in the parking lot that had been left with its motor running. There was no one inside. I realized that someone that left this massive machine idling while they went inside so that they could return to a perfectly air conditioned automobile environment. The utter irony of the whole situation - that this person decided to contribute to global warming in order to prepitously cool their own pollution mobile - hurt my brain. I should have, as Michael urges, stuck around and talked to the careless car driver. But I chickened out. I could be smacked on the grill of that SUV and no one would even notice.

Any thought on his ideas? I'm rather nonplussed about his conjecture that a greener planet equals less green in our wallets. I truly feel that large business are the major contributors to pollution and regulating them, while surely having an impact on the economy, might not necesarily mean higher taxes for the little guy.

Question the Authority of Mustaches

2007-09-06T14:03:00.000-05:00

September's eco-article may make it seem as though I am against ridiculous mustaches but actually, I'm definitely in favor of them.

Kids + Creativity + A Solid Message =

2007-08-31T08:33:00.000-05:00

The Quit the Littering Coloring Calendar Contest!

We at Boone County Solid Waste have got the most fun program going in litter these days!

We're asking all Boone County kids ages 5 to 11 to think about the mess that litter creates for our communities and draw a black and white line drawing based on that. Then, the thirteen clearest and most creative drawings will be chosen to be included in a 2008 calendar/coloring book that is distributed across the county. Runners-Up will have portions of their entries featured on posters that will advertise our fabulous calendars. Entrants may also compose a snappy anti-litter slogan and twelve of these slogan writers will be selected to be included in the calendar.

This is the official website where you can find all of the contest rules, an entry form and our current winners.

In the meantime, check out an interview with a few of our current winners!

Romance and Resources

2007-08-07T12:55:00.000-05:00

August's Eco-Article is about how complicated both recycling and relationships can be.

See the post below to learn all of the rules of recycling. As for relationships, well, there you're on you're own.

Reduce, Reuse, Remember ...

2007-08-01T14:37:00.000-05:00

For those of you who enjoy rigorous memorization exercises, this here outlines all of the rules regarding recycling.

Important note: In Boone County, the vast majority of recycling is provided by Rumpke. However, the City of Florence has a contract with CSI and that company maintains the recycling facilities in the city ... Which means that there are different rules for recycling in Florence. Learn more about that program here.

I am rather perturbed that recycling is so confusing. It's hard to get folks to stand behind a process if no one can remember the rules. I've been working in environmental public education for five years and it took about that long to learn everything.

It's difficult and quite frankly, I don't think that planetary caretaking should be a hassle.

Stay tuned for my article in the Boone County Recorder on this very same topic ...

Plastics Recyling Primer

2007-07-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

I found this story on NPR's Morning Edition to be fabulously informative about the state of plastics recycling.

Learn why it is so hard to get bottle bills like Michigan and Connecticut!

Find out what the market for recycled plastics looks like!

And, once you're convinced, go here to learn more about how to recycle in Boone County!

Topics of Great Import.

2007-07-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

July's eco article finds me acting all environmetally emotional.

Who Wouldn't Want a Live Earth?

2007-07-05T12:56:00.000-05:00

Live Earth is a big, fancy music show to raise awareness of climate change. It is "concerts for a climate in crisis".

So, tune in and join the other two billion people on the planet on 7/7/07. You'll be able to see Beastie Boys, John Mayer, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, and many more including Virtual March partners Bon Jovi, Damien Rice, and Taking Back Sunday. I'm not sure what a virtual march is, but I'm there.

Listen to our friend, Al Gore:
"Next Saturday, on all seven continents, the Live Earth concert will ask for the attention of humankind to begin a three-year campaign to make everyone on our planet aware of how we can solve the climate crisis in time to avoid catastrophe. Individuals must be a part of the solution."

Fine by me.

ComFest Conservation

2007-06-25T15:06:00.000-05:00

I went to Columbus' Community Festival yesterday. It is a downright fabulous neighborhood party and I found this year's ComFest slogan particularly inspiring. It's "No Planet, No Party".

Quite profound.

Check out ComFest's Statement of Principles:

The Community Festival is guided by its Principles. The Principles are statements of what the members believe is basically important. They are:

We think that people ought to work for the collective good of all people rather than for personal gain. We support cooperation and collective activity rather than competition and individual profit.

The basic necessities of life are a right and not a privilege. People have the collective right to control the conditions of their lives.

People should strive to conduct their lives in harmony with the environment.

We recognize that there are primary attitudes which divide and oppress people. These attitudes are usually shown by prejudice against people on the basis of age, class, ability, income, race, sex, and sexual preference/ orientation.We seek to eliminate these attitudes.

The Statement of Principles is more important than any other writings of the Community Festival.

Fun With Numbers

2007-06-21T08:11:00.000-05:00

Chris Jordan, a Seattle artist, has created a series of prints called Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait in which he graphically depicts statistics that we often hear but never quite conceptualize.

For example, take his rendition of two million plastic beverage bottles. That is the number used in the US every five minutes.

This is a close-up.

For more statistical fun with America's wasteful ways, visit the exhibit's website.

Thanks to my dad for sharing this with me.

Plastic bags are my bane.

2007-06-19T15:22:00.000-05:00

You can find out exactly how I feel about the plastic bag pandemic here.

But Laurie's not the only one getting crafty for the cause. The Arny Boutique features many fun fashion articles made entirely out of reincarnated plastic bags.

I love this. Please, people, feel free to share your interesting reusings!

A Note From A River Litter Getter:

2007-06-19T12:49:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday was River Sweep. I was up at the crack of dawn to go to Rabbit Hash, one of five Sweep sites in Boone County. I'd tell you all about the amazing work our record number of volunteers did or the priceless help from Boone County Public Works employees or the tireless aid that the Red Cross volunteers provided for everyone but honestly, I think the following letter written to the editor of the Boone County Recorder says it all.

This past Saturday, June 16, 2007 marked this year’s River Sweep, or as we like to call it down here, the “Dash for the Rabbit Hash Trash Bash.” It has become an annual event and holiday, much like Old Timer’s Day and National Carp and River Cat Appreciation Day (only you don’t want to eat what you catch!).

The event is conducted much like a highly prestigious professional fishing tournament….only in our contest, YOU are the winners. Because of the unmitigated concern and dedication of every one of the volunteers who come to Rabbit Hash two or three times a year to participate in the annual river clean-ups, Boone County residents benefit and prosper, and quality of life along our 35 miles of beautiful Ohio River shore goes up a notch or two.

Everyone gets to the starting point, bright and early, drinks some coffee, eats some donuts and listens to the official rules of the contest, so ably outlined by the inspired and energetic members of the Boone County Solid Waste Management team and the Boone County Public Works associates. The starting pistol fires and the contestants scatter to their favorite fishing location, dreaming of that ‘big catch’ of the day.

Four hours later, the alarm sounds and everyone returns to the starting point, where lunch and cold water is served. Tee shirts and prizes are distributed as the participants share strategies, adventures, and bemoan the big one that ‘got away’, while they wait for the final tally of weight and cubic volume of the day’s catch. It is estimated that this year’s River Sweep will break all previous records in our area.

“And the winner is….the citizens of Boone County.” Thanks to a dedicated few, we all come out the winners. Do you think, that on the final judgment day, when God conducts His exit interview from this earth with each of us, He will ask,” Did you leave my earth in better shape than you found it?”

Don Clare

Rabbit Hash, Kentucky

YouTubing on the Ohio River

2007-06-19T12:32:00.000-05:00

Anybody want to see the videographic me? I interview several people about a fun Ohio River educational program. It might have been more fun to make than it is to watch.

I am quite a famous goofball.

2007-06-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

June's eco-article in the Boone County Recorder proves that I have fans and my sister is not one of them.

I would love to have linked to May's eco-article but it just somehow never made it onto Communitypress.com. Hmmmm...

You best not mess with antilitter vigilantes.

2007-06-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

My beau, Greg, is a mild-mannered man but something – perhaps prolonged exposure to me – has made him the biggest anti-litter advocate on the planet. He’s not so much interested in sweet lectures on roadside blight as he is in what I’d call a more forceful approach.

So you can imagine that Greg’s temperament would make him an excellent road trip buddy. I had no worries when we hit the road for Asheville, NC a few weekends ago with nothing but blue skies and good vibes.

Somewhere south of Grant County on I-75, Greg startled me from my public radio-induced slumber with, “Hey! That guy just threw something out! Can we bust him?” The red Jetta in front of us had chucked a wrapper out the window and Greg was all about using his powers as a Litterbug Spotter to send the offending litterer a nasty letter. Unfortunately, Litterbug Spotters can only rat on jerks who choose to drop their trash in Boone County and we were many miles south of that by now.

I told Greg the news. Much grumbling ensued.

A few moments later, something else sprung from the hand of Jetta man. It was a small plastic bag. It blew up along the hood of our car. It wrapped itself around my antenna. It stayed there, flapping in the expressway wind, a trash flag in our antilitter faces.

“That’s it!” Greg announced.

He stomped on the accelerator and weaved through the obscene Memorial Day traffic, chasing the red Jetta, all the while our litter ornament waggled on the antenna in front of us. After some seriously crazy driving, we were able to pull up alongside the two time litterbug. Greg honked and the man in the Jetta looked up to find two irritated environmentalists, gesturing to the plastic bag on our car and making other, less polite, gestures. He turned the same cherry-red color of his car and then zoomed off.

Normally, I don’t condone this sort of behavior. I’m in the business of educating people and using wisdom as a way to change mindsets and I find that angry outbursts often only hurt the cause.

But. I have to be honest. Showing that man his behavior was offensive felt good.

Would you mess with this?

Litter Info to Amaze You!

2007-06-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

I have made a brand new antilitter brochure and, quite frankly, it is my favorite piece of ecological propaganda ever.

Click on it to make it bigger and then let me know what you think!