“Reduce, reuse, recycle…”

There are worse tunes to have on repeat in your brain, way worse! I’m grateful the catchy number exists on the less than glamorous subject of waste disposal. Perhaps it’s the warm-up to my workday. Fitting.

The concept of the three R’s has been around for a long time and the three arrows are a recognizable icon, but there’s a new kid in town and they need to make some room.

How about accomplishing all three, while making something really cool? Two weeks ago I posed a challenge to encourage readers to submit photos and accounts of an upcycled product they created. As promised, it’s time to show off your goods! Congratulations to Dennis Mijares who submitted this photo on January 31, 2012 on Flickr of purses made from plastic bags.

Upcycling is like a landfill diet, why toss what we can use? Who knew that waste could look so good? I hope these photos inspire you to give it a try, do share photos of what you create! Professionally constructed to kids crafts alike are welcome. I must admit, I’m a little disappointed I didn’t see any cardboard mantelpieces…

Talk to a friend about it and ask them if they’ve heard of the concept. Be sure to share that it’s good for us by cutting down on waste, helps spread environmental awareness and action and can even support local artisans and communities.

It’s a great idea for a community or school fundraiser, start an upcycling project and let us know how it goes!

If you haven’t Picked the 5 actions you can do for our environment where you live, get on it! Join the 4,000 likes on Facebook and the 8,222 others around the world who have made the official pledge. Share your story and inspire others to do the same!

About the author: Jeanethe Falvey writes from EPA’s Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education, as the project-lead for Pick 5 and the State of the Environment, two projects geared towards learning, sharing and gaining a greater collective connection to our environment.

I thought I recycled everything possible. Papers here. Bottles there. Food waste in the yard. Yes, my trash was reduced to simply trash.
Then my town started a Pay-As-You-Throw program. Suddenly there was this system of measurement and it became like a game. Each Blue Bag counted.

And so I began peeling the plastic off window envelopes and separating wire from the plastic packaging around toys. I no longer tossed scrunched up paper in the trash because it didn’t lay flat. It’s really not the money though, since the bags cost only about $1.50 each. It’s the challenge.
National numbers are similar. Once a town starts PAYT programs, as they are known, people start recycling more.

For instance, Malden, Mass. saved $2.5 million annually and reduced solid waste by 50 percent, thanks to its pay-as-you-throw program. The town saves money in two ways – first it gets revenue from the bags. Second, less waste collection also means more money.

A program in Concord, N.H. is saving the city about $528,000 a year and increased recycling by 75 percent. Gloucester, Mass. reduced waste by 29 percent and is saving $300,000-500,000 a year.

More than 7,000 communities are cashing in on the PAYT perks, according to EPA. Some 300 communities helped by WasteZero, a company that helps municipalities implement PAYT, diverted on average 43 percent of their waste, with many communities coming close to 50 percent.
Of course this means we each pay only for how much waste we create. So in that way, if we pollute more, we pay more.

Mark Dancy at Zero Waste noted that if all residents shared the cost of electricity equally, the way we do waste hauling, many people would be much more wasteful with electricity.

A household that recycles typically only needs a 30-gallon bag and a half of garbage a week, according to Darcy.
If you want to know the hard fast facts of how much our trash pollutes, consider that materials, food, and packaging account for 42 percent of green house gas emissions. Just recycling your Sunday paper saves enough power to run your laptop for more than 3,000 hours. Recycling a milk jug every week saves enough power to run your TV for 189 hours.
The EPA has found food makes up the largest part of what goes to landfill – about a fifth. So we’ll talk more about composting another time.

About the author: Amy Miller is a writer who works in the public affairs office of EPA New England in Boston. She lives in Maine with her husband, two children, seven chickens, two parakeets, dog and a great community.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

I’ve seen a lot of mold in my life. Bluish-green spotty ones, cottony white ones, even bright orange ones. I’ve been seeing them more often when digging around in my fridge, which is now a thriving spore-iffic ecosystem. And with Thanksgiving is coming up, I’m sure there will be even more leftovers.

So maybe sometimes I forget that I’ve had a bag of tomatoes sitting in the fridge since August. An extra bag of tomatoes in the landfill isn’t going to make a difference, right?

Dr. William L. Rathje found decade-old hotdogs and guacamole in recognizable condition buried in a landfill. Without the proper sunlight, air, and water, my tomatoes could sit in an airtight landfill for who-knows-how-long without biodegrading. In 2010, 33.79 million tons of food waste ended up in landfills. That’s 67,580,000,000 pounds worth of food we’ve dumped in one year. Imagine how much more might end up in landfills this holiday season if we don’t cut down on food waste.

So what can we do? At the grocery store, only buy what you know you will finish eating. Keep a list of food items in the fridge so you always remember what you already have, even if it’s hidden in the back and you can’t find it right away. If you have extra food after your Thanksgiving feast, finish up the food in the upcoming days, or share them with your neighbor. Your local food bank and other food rescue programs are happy to take wholesome, uneaten food for those who need it. And finally, you can compost your leftovers to nurture your garden.

If I had to choose between wasting food or burying it in landfills in non-biodegradable limbo, versus saving money by not buying unneeded food,  donating wholesome food to those who need it, or having an awe-inspiring garden, I’d prefer the latter.  Just imagine the amount of food we could keep out of landfills if all school cafeterias, grocery stores, restaurants, and other major food producers could reduce, donate, and compost as much as possible.

So while I clean out my fridge (composting all the inedible “food”), and pledge to only buy what I can finish from now on, think what can you do this Thanksgiving to cut down on food waste?

About the author: Felicia Chou is a Program Analyst in the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery since 2008. One of her fondest Thanksgiving memories was chasing a wild turkey down the city streets of Taiwan. She has no idea where the turkey came from, and what it was doing loose on the streets, and what it was doing in Taiwan.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Jeanethe Falvey

There are of course some clear differences. After watching “Touching the Void” last night, I have zero inclination to find my way to the top of anything that steep, or that cold. While I thoroughly enjoy the outdoors, clinging to survival while climbing further UP doesn’t do it for me. A great deal of my respect goes to those that do though.

Watching from the couch, peeping through my hands that have long since covered my face in shock and fear is a much cozier place to be. Documentaries like that, and Planet Earth, remind us of the power and force that our environment has – when we more often experience milder elements such as rain, fog, sunshine or partly cloudy skies going to and from our homes and work.

Fragile, is probably the last word that comes to mind when you see snow capped mountains. I struggle to think what looks more sturdy and imposing. It is hard to imagine that our environment as it exists today is a fragile balance of elements. It’s vast, it’s big, it’s far away (right?). So then, where does it all begin and end? Where are those boundaries where it stops being our backyard and becomes the wild, and the untouched?

It is modern human nature to work with such concepts as lines and boundaries. It helps us manage things by separating and compartmentalizing. Unless we’re reminded by commercials for car insurance it’s rather impossible, and comedic, to envision ourselves as anything but the highly intelligent and evolved human beings we’ve become since we lived in caves and took down mammoths. We gained an improved posture, the ability to harness fire for energy, the wheel and sliced bread, but I think somewhere along the line something else seems to have gone quite far off course.

Back then, there was no separation between life, survival and our environment. It was a part of everything our ancient ancestors did and no choice they made could be without consideration of their surroundings. Somewhere our perception of that connection changed. Our environment is everything around us. There hasn’t been a single photo submitted to State of the Environment that isn’t part of that picture.

About the author: Jeanethe Falvey, State of the Environment project lead for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Boston, Massachusetts.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

This week, National Archives and EPA launched a contest that I wish I could enter myself. I could, if I change my name, age, birth date and occupation, but since that would be frowned upon I’ll stick to what I’m doing behind the scenes.

Unlike those of us excitedly working on this project, students ages 13 to 18 plus college or graduate school students CAN participate. If you know any, I encourage you to get their attention and pass along that now is the time for them to get inspired about their environment! Stand on a tree trunk if that’s what it takes (See Lorax).

Ordinarily and this is speaking from experience, when the younger generation becomes more in touch with their surroundings and the state of the planet, that heightened state of eco-awareness comes with a sense of “green-powerment.” You may find they come home from school rolling their eyes at you even more than usual if you toss away recyclable goods, or forget those re-usable shopping bags or leave the water running (they may have a point sometimes). They mean well. Regardless of the manner in which they communicate this newfound knowledge, in many cases they feel good doing so, especially when their friends are doing the same.

Right now, there is an opportunity for that energy and their creativity to be part of an international project, recognized by renowned judges and exhibited around the United States. On top of that, the grand prize for this contest will be $500, courtesy of the Foundation for the National Archives.

From now until January 6, 2011 “Document Your Environment” invites students to create any type of graphic art, a short video, or a poem using a Documerica photo as a prompt. Finalists and the grand prize winner will be announced in February 2012.

Contest judges include: former Documerica photographer and graphic artist Michael Philip Manheim; Cokie Roberts, author and news analyst for National Public Radio and ABC News; Sandra Alcosser, the first Poet Laureate of Montana and professor of poetry at San Diego State University. Of the nine finalists, one grand prize winner will be chosen by the Archivist of the United States, David S. Ferriero.

About the author: Jeanethe Falvey, State of the Environment project-lead at the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Boston, Massachusetts.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Aaron Ferster

Last week I shared a ride to Baltimore with EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, Dr. Paul Anastas. My colleague Joanne and I wanted to catch Dr. Anastas’ keynote address at the 21st Meeting of the International Society of Exposure Science, so when he accepted her offer for a ride to the meeting, I was able to tag along.

According to the official biography on EPA’s web site, Dr. Anastas is: Known widely as the “Father of Green Chemistry” for his groundbreaking research on the design, manufacture, and use of minimally-toxic, environmentally-friendly chemicals.

He’s also my boss’ boss, so it occurred to me as we strolled toward Joanne’s car that the standard travel protocol—calling out “shotgun!” and leaping into the front seat—was not in order.

Luckily, Dr. Anastas graciously suggested I sit upfront so I could navigate while he fielded calls, monitored his e-mail traffic, and put the final touches on his speech. (Just for the record: I’m pretty sure I would have won the passenger seat.)

Along the way, we chatted. Amongst the talk of congressional hearings, exposure models, and Disney princesses (we all have kids or grandkids), Dr. Anastas made a point that stuck with me: it took years of travel before anyone thought to put wheels on luggage.

That stayed with me throughout his talk about innovation, and how EPA research is striving to advance science and engineering for a sustainable future. Dr. Anastas shared how commitments made over the past 40 years have led to cleaner and healthier air, land, and water.

When I got back to the office I did a quick Google and some simple math to conclude that astronauts landed on the moon some 18 years before a handle and two wheels became standard fare for a big suitcase.

I actually found that kind of comforting. While a bevy of EPA scientists and engineers work to bring the required innovative, high-tech solutions that will surely be needed to meet the environmental challenges of the day, they are also working to share EPA data and challenge everyone interested to join the race for solutions.

Programs such as the Apps for the Environment Challenge and the upcoming Apps for the Environment Forum aim to inspire the environmental equivalent of wheels on luggage. This could be your chance to join the race for environmental solutions. Whose got shotgun?

About the author: Aaron Ferster is the senior science writer for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, the editor of Science Wednesday, and an excellent navigator.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Administrator Lisa P. Jackson

Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to reflect on the important role the environment plays in every community, and the important role every community should play in protecting our environment. The EPA has taken considerable steps to make sure all Americans have a voice in the conversation about the environmental and health issues facing them. Just this week we unveiled an environmental justice plan called EJ 2014, to outline our work in the years ahead. But our commitment to protecting the health of all Americans goes beyond the guidebook. The voices of Hispanic and other minority communities are part of every decision we make.

When we proposed the first-ever Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to cut harmful emissions from power plants, we were thinking about the nearly 2 million Hispanics across America who suffer from asthma. When we finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule to cut pollution that can drift across state lines, we were thinking about the almost 30 million Latinos who live in places that don’t meet clean air standards. These two health protections are expected to save 50,000 lives and prevent more than 500,000 cases of asthma nationwide.

We were thinking about Hispanic communities who live along Los Angeles’ Compton Creek and New York’s Harlem River – near where I used to work as an EPA scientist – when we formed the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. And we thought about them again when we awarded $6.2 million to organizations across the country that train local residents and place them into good, green jobs cleaning up their communities.

We want to give Hispanics, and all Americans, the opportunity to transform these often over-polluted areas into healthier, stronger places to raise a family and grow a business – creating opportunities for more jobs in places where they can have the most impact.

When it comes to our future, we are also working on behalf of Hispanic communities. I think about the many young Latino students I met at St. Phillips College in San Antonio and the many others like them throughout the nation getting green jobs training. These students will be the engineers, the factory workers and the welders making our power plants cleaner with new pollution control technology. They’ll be the workers revitalizing our urban waters and communities. And they’ll be the ones making the solar panels and wind farms and biomass to power our nation into the future.

It is critical that Hispanic Americans have a voice in our conversation about the environmental and health issues that affect their communities. That is why this is the first in a series of posts celebrating Hispanic Heritage month. In the weeks ahead, we will hear the real stories of people at EPA and members of Hispanic communities who are lending their voices to the conversation on environmentalism. I am proud I’m proud to join them in celebrating another Hispanic Heritage month here at EPA, and in working to protect the health and environment for all Americans.

Please observe a moment of silence on September 11 at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, and honor them through events and national service.

Here are some links to help you out.

Preparing
Ready.gov: this is the best place for most people to start. Especially check out their hurricane page (not a bad idea to review their earthquake page, too).

Remember that generator exhaust is TOXIC.  Always put generators outside well away from doors, windows, and vents. Never use a generator inside homes, garages, crawlspaces, sheds, or similar areas. Carbon monoxide (CO) is deadly, can build up quickly, and can linger for hours. Read more.

General info from EPA about reducing risks to health and the environment from a hurricane.

Social media accounts to follow for hurricane information
Facebook

• National Hurricane Center
• Department of Homeland Security
• FEMA

Twitter (hashtag #Irene)

• National Hurricane Center
• Department of Homeland Security
• FEMA
• FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate

One of the most beautiful yet sobering experiences was seeing the Athabasca Glacier in the Canadian Rockies. While driving from Banff to Jasper on the Icefields Parkway, we stopped to tour the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield. Riding a snow coach onto the glacier was an amazing, albeit slightly terrifying experience, as we were educated about the huge, unseen crevasses that have killed unwitting tourists.

That ride out onto the glacier didn’t leave the biggest mark on me, though. Rather, it was walking up a winding, steep trail to the base of the glacier, seeing the markers of the glacier’s recession at a frighteningly fast pace over the last 125 years.

The glacier’s recession plainly illustrates what is happening to our natural wonders around the world. These natural wonders are coming under siege and slowly disappearing. I want to be able to take my own family to the places I’ve been, so they can see what I saw and experience the same breathless awe. However, I am afraid that when I return, these places will be a shadow of what they once were.

As much as I want to go back to the Athabasca Glacier, I am almost dreading it. How much smaller will it be?  I’ve documented all of my nature trips so far, and will continue to do so. I just hope that the before and after photos aren’t too different; if the location has changed at all, I hope it’s for the better.

With the State of the Environment project, we are hoping to document our surroundings today for two reasons: one, to look back at Documerica and see how far we’ve come, and two, to look to our future and see what we need to do.

About the author: Katherine Stodola, Office of Web Communications Intern in Washington, D.C.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.