Tuesday, May 20, 2008

ECOnomics - a Green Standard


Up until recently the demographics that made up the green market were white upper class individuals; people who were able to afford the premium being charged on green and organic products.

These markets are seeing a widening of the gap with potential, on all sides of the fence.
With public announcements, weather patterns, press reports and personal experiences – there is a rising change. This change is seen as encompassing a larger, wider group of ethnicity and age groups. An advantage that will continue to add steam and precedence.

From migrant workers to farmers, people are recognizing the dangers of poorly studied advancements, such as fertilizers, pesticides and more currently, genetically modified foods. The people mostly affected, but whose voices are usually not heard, are beginning to have representation in the form of media or through uprising in their own communities. Now, with the age of technology we are in, those gaps are closing in, and people are listening and banding together.


With green collar jobs, the space available for people of all backgrounds and disciplines is only growing. This makes it only natural that people will realize the endless advantages of being involved in such an expanding movement, with immediate personal opportunities, such as jobs, as well as long term health, environmental benefits, and most of all the personal empowerment.


Economically, most industries are stalled। In researching trends and advancements in comparison, on a larger scale, the green technology spectrum is rapidly picking up steam. It is estimated that this spike will continue to rise, enveloping more industries and skeptics, who may have once thought that this was going to be watered down, are thinking twice about where to invest. There are developments in Texas, at currently defunct oil fields, that are turning into wind farms. People are seeing the viable potential and the endless benefits.

© Copyright and Property of Astrid Design Studio 2008

Monday, May 12, 2008

Plastic in our Oceans


For about the past 60 years, since the invention of plastic, there has been a giant mass forming in an oceanic area known as the North Pacific Gyre. It is located about 1,000 miles west of San Francisco and 1,000 miles north of Hawaii, in the midst of the Pacific Ocean. About a one week boat ride from any land mass. Scientists have estimated that it weighs 3 million tons, covers an area twice the size of Texas, about 300 feet deep from sea level, and is comprised of fine plastic chips and other material.

It is due to a clockwise trade wind that circulates along the Pacific Rim creating a vortex that has resulted in this accumulation from all over the world. The debris is usually washed from beaches and city streets into storm drains and taken out to the ocean - only to later be carried miles into the ocean into this vortex. A size too large to be dismantled by any singular government.

Since the plastic is exposed to constant salt water and the sun's UV rays, it becomes brittle and disintegrates into small particles, even that resembling of plastic dust.

These images are actual samples of water taken from the gyre. An apparent amount of plastic and debris lingers in it.

Among other things they have been found have been drums of oil, fishing nets, tires, and other man-made industrial and personal items. It has been estimated that the ratio of plastic to plankton is 24 to 1!!!

This severely effects our ecology and in turn out food supply. Believe it or not, a lot of people are still unaware of this posing problem - get educated!


What you can do!

  • use Seafood Watch List to guide your seafood purchases http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/SeafoodWatch.asp
  • bring your own bags to the market - reduce plastic use
  • www.algalita.org
  • buy glass instead of plastic jar products
  • volunteer for beach clean-ups
  • use a reusable bottle
  • don't litter - if you see some, pick it up!
  • avoid plastic - find alternatives
  • educate others

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Keep our waterways clean - they are the source to life!


Few people know that the ocean provides us with Oxygen.


All city trash, litter, and pollution ends up in our seas, through storm drains, wind and gravity; only later to be consumed by us, as it is part of our food supply chain.

  • Don't toss cigarette butts or matches on the street - find a garbage can
  • Our storm drains do not get treated; anything poured down them goes to sea
  • Pick up after your pets - feces is toxic to marine life!
  • Don't litter - 100, 000 marine animals die from man-made items
  • Cut all your 6-pack rings
  • If you see litter - pick it up!
  • Educate others, together we can make a collective difference!

Monday, May 5, 2008

facts



• 2.5 million bottles of water are tossed each hour and 3 million are placed into landfills in California alone!
• Plastic outweighs plankton in Southern California waters 24:1
• A water drip can waste up to 20 gallons of water a day

• A running toilet can waste up 200

• The EPA estimates that 75% of Americans trash could be recycled
• Only 25% of Americans trash is recycled
• An aluminum can, can generate enough energy for 3 hours

• Every Sunday 500,000 trees could be saved if everyone recycled their newspapers



Buildings of the world consume:

• 40% of the world's energy & materials
• 25% of the wood harvested
• 17% of our water

The average American house uses:

• 13,127 board feet of lumber
• 6,212 square feet of sheathing
• 2,000 square feet of flooring

In the U.S., buildings account for:

• 36% of total electricity consumption
• 62% of electricity use
30% of greenhouse gas emissions
• 37% of ozone depletion potential

Waste Not, Want Not


first published in the Santa Monica Mirror - April 17 - 23, 2008


With recycling proving to be an annual steady increase over the past 40 years, since the inception of waste management programs, people seem to still be perplexed as to what they can and cannot recycle. Perhaps, this confusion could be linked to the fact that every city and municipality contains its own sets of rules and regulations as to what is accepted. In prevention, most people rather not place items in question.

In a recent tour through our facilities, here in Santa Monica, I was able to dispel many misconceptions that usually linger around the issue of recycling. The reality is we don’t realize all that we can recycle! The fact is, that the more we divert from our waste stream, the less is carted off to our local landfill, and the less energy and fossil fuels are used – ultimately, creating a positive chain of effects for everyone!

It is estimated that Americans generate 4.6 lbs. of garbage a day or more than 1600 lbs. a year – a number that can be drastically reduced implementing the right information to redirect our trash.

In 2006 we, as a nation, produced 251 million tons of municipal solid waste – of which most of it could have been diverted. Currently we are only recycling 32.5% of our trash. This leaves us with a grand opportunity to think twice about what we toss in the garbage, because, it can probably be recycled. Beyond the obvious reasons to recycle, it also generates income to local and national economies employing more than 1 million people nationwide.

So what did I find out in our 46,000 sq. ft facility tour? That you can walk in with trash, and walk out with cash! Many people don’t realize what a lucrative business recycling is – economically, environmentally and logistically. Imagine, recycling one aluminum can, saves enough energy to generate your computer or television for 3 hours!

Some of the many items accepted at this facility, that may raise confusion are: envelops with clear windows, junk mail, magazines/catalogs, aseptic packages (drink boxes or ‘bricks’), all types of plastics #1 - #7 (including food wrappers), empty lipstick tubes, HDPE, any kind of glass (including window panes), bottle caps (plastic and beer, plastic that houses pet food and litter, plastic enclosure that closes bread or muffins, empty nail polish bottles, paper and plastic bags, and metals (which are removed during the glass processing).

To prevent contamination and a reduction in recyclables, empty and rinse all containers removing any food or liquid. Contamination cannot exceed 2%, and moisture will affect the efficiency of this process - which is down to a science! Once we drop our recyclables, everything from our single stream blue bins gets taken to our facility (known as a transfer station). At which point all the contents on the truck get dumped in a pile and then placed on a hopper (a conveyer belt) where everything is separated mechanically and manually – taking out everything but paper. This paper, considered a super mix paper, is then carted to be shipped off to paper mills for reuse. All the items that were taken off the hopper then get separated accordingly, pressed, and shipped to various vendors for another lifecycle.

Some of the many uses that are being discovered for recycled plastic bottles are t-shirts and even carpeting! As you support products that are made from recycled content or post-consumer products you contribute significantly to a larger cause. These items usually use less packaging and fewer toxic materials.

Items prohibited at our recycling center are: e-waste, (which must be disposed of properly – information below), green waste, ceramics, Styrofoam, combination products (i.e. make-up cases w/mirrors), packing peanuts (various locations will accept it for re-use), non specific plastic, non-plastic materials, and dirt.

More over, the facility will accept drop offs of: used motor oil, cd’s, VHS tapes, scrap metal, copper, miscellaneous metals (ferrous and nonferrous metals including aluminum, iron, steel and other metals in goods like appliances).

This is aside from ‘toxic’ materials that are collected at the Hazardous Waste site around the corner from the recycling center. The site is dedicated to Santa Monica residents (proof is required) for materials that should be disposed of properly because of their dangerous make up that could leach to our waterways if combined with municipal waste.

Did you know that throwing away batteries is actually illegal? The good news is that disposable battery collection locations have expanded throughout the city – you will find them everywhere, just look for them!


Santa Monica Community Recycling Center
2411 Delaware Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.453.9677

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Saturday


Santa Monica Refuse Transfer Station
2401 Delaware Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404
310.829.7323

6:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Monday – Saturday


Santa Monica: Household Hazardous Waste
2500 Michigan Ave, Santa Monica
Santa Monica, Ca 90404
(310) 458-8255

7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday
Alternate Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* For after hours/weekends leave a message to set an appointment

© Copyright and Property of Astrid Design Studio 2008

the truth about trash




So where does trash go when it is magically picked up off of our curbs and whisked off to never been seen or smelled again. The truth is that, depending on where we live, waste is buried, burned, or shipped off to a third world country - depending on the type of waste it is.

Generally, landfills, also referred to as a dump or tip, have been the traditional way of waste removal. Call it what you want, landfills around the world, including low income neighborhoods world wide are reaching full capacity.

Initially these site were not designed to fill up at the rates that they have been, opening up new opportunities! Landfills, reaching capacity are being developed for re-use for parks, gold courses and even creating neighborhoods in major cities like San Francisco's Treasure Island.

Since these heaps of garbage are not decomposing, but rather staying intact, they are designed to keep all the toxins that could potentially leak out into the community, under wraps. There is still the risk of seeping leachate,
despite leachate management that captures and treats it. Leachate is a liquid that is formed inside landfills, containing dissolved organic and suspended matter, considered to be extremely toxic.

Landfills also create carbon dioxide and methane - two types of gases known for their destructive properties on our eco-systems, the atmosphere, and our health.

So, this leaves us an open opportunity to think twice about everything we purchase. Try to recycle and compost as much as you can, tread lightly, and consider all your decisions!