Day 16 of Daily Footprint Project. Major overhaul of my bathroom closet. I spent a few more hours going through the Skin Deep database, and perusing Whole Foods Health and Beauty Section. The verdict: the two villains below will have to go, to make room for Aubrey Organics.
Next comes the question, of what to do with those two? Prad said he will finish up the Lubriderm. The Neutrogena Facial Cleanser is going to the trash. Not a big deal, it would have ended up there anyway. Only about three ounces of the cleanser will end up being ‘wasted’.
No, the bigger issue is, what happens when one decides to phase out big items such as energy inefficient appliances, or old cars and trucks, in favor of new greener alternatives? Prad’s answer is that all that stuff gets recycled, or ends up being reused by people in developing countries. I do not buy his argument.
First, what does recycle means? What is the energy cost of recycling? How much of the products is recyclable? What happens to the end waste? I touched on that last question in a series of articles inspired from ‘The Digital Dump‘ documentary.
Second, the whole point is to put an end to the use of these environmentally unfriendly goods, not to pass them on to somebody else.
I would like to suggest a third alternative. Taking the example of cars, most of the attention, currently, is on manufacturing new hybrid or electric cars. Much less sexy, but just as, if not more necessary, in my mind, is an approach that focuses on refurbishing existing cars to bring them to new acceptable energy standards. Autobloggreen just featured Pioneer Conversions, a small company that specializes in electrifying existing cars. Because of scale, the costs involved are high, and out of reach for most people. But the important thing is, the technology exists. There is also the biodiesel option.
Daily Footprint Project Daily Log Day #16 Water personal: flush toilet 2 wash face 2 brush teeth 2 wash hands 4 shower 1 mom: rinse dishes communal: Electricity/gas personal: electric toothbrush 2 microwave tea 2’ microwave oatmeal 4’ microwave soup 2’ microwave milk 2’ laptop on all day mom: toaster 2’ communal: lights cook salad in wok boil water for pasta Food personal: oatmeal with organic milk organic persimmons tea organic milk takeout bean soup from Whole Foods organic apple sauce organic chocolate mom: two toasts hot chocolate organic grapes communal: fresh organic mushroom whole wheat pasta with leftover chicken braised organic salad Waste personal: toilet paper half used tube of Neutrogena cleanser mom: one uneaten toast half of hot chocolate communal: 3 newspaper plastic wrappers two plastic bags plastic container from leftover takeout chicken Recycling personal: mom: communal: 2 papers milk carton Transportation personal: drive to orthodontist, stop at Whole Foods 5 miles mom: communal: Non food shopping personal: 365 body lotion, shampoo and conditioner Audrey Organics moisturizer and cleanser mom: communal:
