If you are in a wheelchair, there’s not much of a choice. But for the rest of us, I’d urge you to choose the manual side, because:

1. You will get some additional exercise that would not otherwise be part of your life.

2. You will save the energy that it would take to open the doors.

3. You will save the store the cost of the electricity it would take to open the doors.

If you make this choice enough times, you will make a difference. If everyone you know makes this choice, we’ll all make a significant difference.

AAA now has trucks devoted to charging stranded electric cars in six different US cities. At the moment, that would only be two vehicles — the Nissan Leaf and the Mistubishi i. And there are maybe 25 actual cars floating around the US. So it’s a near-future-oriented program.

Anyhow, I was amused at the thought of a relatively low fuel economy truck being driven across town to charge up an “ultra-green” car. It kind of defeats the purpose.

Another strange thing is that the trucks charge up the cars to travel another 3–15 miles ... to “reach a charging station.” Good luck finding a charging station. You might know that most fully-electric cars take about 24 hours to charge from a regular household circuit. (A devoted 240– or 480-volt outlet drops the full charge time down to 3–6 hours.)

My constructive suggestion? Use a much cheaper tow truck and tow the car to the owner’s home. Or an office or store that has an electric extension cord.

Electric cars aren’t ready for prime time. Yet.

If I’m the only one with that question, no problem. My guess is that others might be confused too. Many cumulative staff hours must have been spent on explaining which kind of objects go into each bin. And many people probably were just confused and threw recyclables into the trash bin.

The very simple solution would be to have diagrams of types of objects that go into each bin.

In 2007, San Francisco was the first American city to ban the use of plastic bags. 775,000 gallons of oil were used to make the plastic bags San Francisco used the year before. (Info from SFGate.com.) Think of what a positive impact their legislation has had!

In many parts of Europe, that has been law for an even longer time. And in some European stores, you cannot get anything to put your shopping in. (That can catch an outsider by surprise.)

The only good thing to be said for plastic bags is that they keep plastic bag manufacturers in business. And provide jobs. However, that’s the same logic as saying it’s good to keep making high-alcohol sugary pop drinks that appeal to teenagers — because those companies employ many people.

Occasionally I do get a bag, when I forget to bring one with me. I’m not trying to be legalistic — but I am hoping that if you buy and use reusable bags, you will enjoy the positive impact you’ll be making.

I give my brother credit for the idea for this post. Thanks Bill!

In this case, the repair costs $100 to 200 less than buying a “new” refurbished oven. We loved preventing our oven from ending up in a landfill. And Heather got to keep the oven she loves. But ouch! That part cost a massive amount!

I might suggest — buy an insulated mug with a handle — and wash it. Landfill contribution? Zero. Wallet depreciation? Zero.

And on their home page, they have the boldness to say, “Help Preserve Nature, Learn More”. Admittedly they try to be environmentally aware in some of what they do — but selling such a completely unneeded product is not responsible. Shameful, even.

Apologies to those of you who wanted a light and fluffy post for your Friday.

Update: See the comments. I changed the title in Shane’s honor. He has a good point. (I had titled this post, “Evil and bad” — a bit excessive.)

As it gets hot outside (for those of you in the northern hemisphere), you need something cool to drink.

My enviro-suggestion is a water with essence drink. All you do is put a herbal tea bag in the bottom of your glass, throw some ice on top, pour on some tap water, wait 5 minutes, and stir. You can add sweetener if you like, though unsweetened works for me.

It has a more subtle flavor than iced tea. The tea bag will last for at least two fills.

I paid $2 for 25 peppermint tea bags at Big Lots a few days ago, so the total cost per 14-oz glass is maybe 10c, even if I factor in the cost of the electricity it took to make the ice. (If you really want to get technical, I rode my bike to the store, so there was no fuel cost either.)

Enjoy!

What can you do for Earth Day?

1. Walk somewhere instead of driving.
2. Pick up something along your walking path and recycle it.
3. Rinse, repeat. (In other words, do this on days other than just Earth Day.)

You might be surprised what your local recycler will accept today. These days, we have more in our recycing bins at the end of the week than in our trash bins, almost.

Besides saving energy through recycling, you will be increasing the enjoyment of those who walk on the path after you.

Here’s a way you can help the environment in a small way... say no to a cup insulator sleeve the next time you get coffee-to-go.

You will:
– save that much addition to the landfill
– save the coffee shop the cost of the insulator
– save the transport costs for that insulator sleeve to the shop and to the landfill
– prevent trees from having to be chopped down

You say, “I don’t want to burn my hands!” Well, take a moment at the shop to let the coffee cool. You can’t drink it that hot, anyhow! Use the extra time to pray, to enjoy looking at the people in the line or to read the newspaper.

If everyone would do this, thing of the cumulative difference it would make!

Ironically, this sleeve says, “Do as little as possible.” I would add, “...to the environment.”

Sometimes you just have to get there in a car. But buying a car is hugely expensive. Even if you get an ancient beast, the repair costs can break your bank.

There’s a way around this. It’s the Occasional Car Club. You pay an hourly rate and 24c a mile, which includes gas and insurance. It’s a great thing if you just need a car for a few hours and aren’t going far. This spreads car ownership across more people than just you. If this caught on, fewer cars would have to be made.

This concept is already working in Europe. My buddy Rob, who lives in Stuttgart, Germany, is part of such a plan.

It’s not for everybody (and obviously you have to live where something like this is offered) — but it would be a great thing for some people!

By the way, the cool car shown in the above pic — and on their website — is not available for rental.