Are you going to participate in a family move or work at a business that is relocating? There can be a lot of trash generated as part of a move. The key is to separate the usable “material” from the “true trash”.

This can include recycle worthy or reusable paper products, office supplies, books/magazines, furniture, plastic containers, etc.

A friend of mine recently went through a corporate move. A friend of mine stepped into action after noticing the company was creating trash piles in an empty office that included the above examples.

What did they do? They called a few local schools and non-profit organizations to see if they wanted any of the spare office supplies that one would have wasted.  It sounds like the organizations were absolutely tickled to have the opportunity to reuse “material” that folks were just going to throw away.

Kudos to you my friend! That is a great example of taking a proactive choice to help people and the environment.

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Yes, I am all for the Waxman-Markey Climate Change bill, now called the American Clean Energy and Security Act. This is another example of a step in the right direction for Mother Nature and Humankind. It’s also a step that helps open another door to a clean energy economy. But, is this step big enough?

The goal is to reduce our impact on carbon emissions/global warming. It involves fostering more U.S. energy independence with the bonus of assembling clean energy jobs by the millions while saving Americans several hundred billion dollars in energy costs. Woohoo! There are four areas of focus:

1. Creating a clean energy economy that helps protecting American consumers and industry by creating more green jobs
2. Promoting clean electric vehicles, carbon capture and sequestration technologies, renewable sources of energy, and the smart grid and electricity transmission.
3. Increase energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy (i.e., industrial, transportation, construction, equipment/appliances, etc.)
4. Limiting Greenhouse emissions by cutting the U.S. contribution to global warming pollution by 17% compared to 2005 levels in 2020, by 42% in 2030, and by 83% in 2050.

What really gets me is how tame the goals are for the emissions targets. I mean, this is America people…the land of “Go Big or Go Home”. I feel it needs a revision to achieve a higher standard. For example, Sweden’s goal is to free itself from oil by 2020. I know that is not an apples to apples comparison…I just liked how short their timeline is for a significant change.

If you are in the area and want to express your support or concerns…RePower Illinois has organized a panel discussion. Located at the Congregation Beth at 2075 Deerfield Road, Deerfield, IL 60015 on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 7:30pm.

Illinois resident? Feel free to contact Congressman Kirk with your support!

P.S. I also want to be sure that President Obama continues to be a visible player in any activity that acts like this one promote. Another great opportunity for leadership and individuals to do the right thing for the planet.

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Back on April 5th 2009 a “New York City” sized “chunk” of the Wilkins Ice Shelf (in Antarctica) broke off and floated away. That amounts to nearly 270 square miles of ice that dispersed.

However, don’t panic…this ice came from ice shelves that were already floating in the ocean (sea ice). That means the ice was already displacing the water. You should NOT expect the volume of water that this large amount of sea ice contains to make any substantial impact in rising sea levels.

Discover more: a few ice cubes and place them in an empty glass. Fill it to a desired level and mark the water level with tape or a marker. Wait for the ice to melt. And, bingo…that is a crude example of what generally takes place in the above event.

So, what are the greatest influences of rising ocean water levels? I am so glad you asked.

1. The retreat (melting) of land ice (glaciers) and
2. Thermal Expansion (water takes up more space as it gets warmer).

P.S. the impact this has on changing the ocean’s salinity is a good topic for another time.

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I walked to my local convenience store the other day because I had a “sweet tooth”. This time, it was chocolate.

When I approached the checkout counter I noticed that a person (or people) had recently checked their lottery numbers and had discarded the tickets in the trash. There were at least 40 ticket stubs in the trash!

Is this a recycling opportunity? Yes. I have confirmed this a few times in the past for my own benefit and for other folks too. Thought you would like to know.

Lottery tickets printed on paper can be recycled (the ones printed on thermal paper or laminated film cannot).

I normally wouldn’t recommend digging through trash bins. I reached in and grabbed the ones resting on top of a piece of “clean” trash, walked them home, and placed them in my recycling bin.

This message more, or less, gets at the process of opening our minds to recycling opportunities – from sugar sachets/packets, to lottery tickets and everywhere in between.

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No matter what season you are in around this glorious planet, there are always opportunities to give something back to Mother Nature. We often dedicate month’s to focus on specific celebrations or important themes. No reason they can’t carry over into our daily lives…right!

A fiend of mine recently said to her children “…there are enough of your diapers in landfills that it’s time to balance things out a bit!” Way to go!

So, pick up that litter, reuse that paper, plant a tree, adopt a pet. Certainly feel good about the tremendous choice you have to do so. Thanks in advance for helping the planet out folks. You rock!

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