Eco-Consumers
1. I'm currently reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, (book) by Michael Pollan.
2. SOFT IS ROUGH ON FORESTS
America has an obsession with ultra-soft toilet paper, but as a recent New York Times article pointed out, that fluffiness comes at a high environmental price -- the destruction of millions of trees in North America, including rare old-growth forests in Canada.
But it's more than just the loss of forests: "Turning a tree to paper requires more water than turning paper back into fiber, and many brands that use tree pulp use polluting chlorine-based bleach for greater whiteness. In addition, tissue made from recycled paper produces less waste tonnage - almost equaling its weight - that would otherwise go to a landfill."
No forest should be used to make toilet paper. There is another choice -- post consumer recycled tissue products. Greenpeace and the NRDC provide guides to the environmental soundness of tissue brands. Check them out.
FACT: Americans could save more than 400,000 trees if each family bought a roll of recycled toilet paper - just once.
StopGlobalWarming.org, 3/10/09
3. THE INFLECTION IS NEAR |
By Thomas L. Friedman | March 08, 2009
What if the crisis of 2008 represents something more fundamental than a recession, and 2008 was when we hit the wall - when Mother Nature and the market both said: "No more."
nytimes.com, 3/8/09
