Archive for August, 2008

E+Co pencils not so eco, actually.

I’ve become an honorary member of the Green Moms monthly blog carnival, which was great last month when the topic was global warming and I had to learn all about how waste is related to climate change. This month, however, the topic is “Back To School,” and I almost decided to bow out. I don’t [...]

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Farewell to Del Martin, SF activist for whom the personal and political were no different.

This post has nothing to do with plastic but everything to do with personal activism and the power of each individual to make change in the world, if she or he simply tries. When I first moved to San Francisco in 1989, I struggled to get by financially and relied on the services of the [...]

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Compostable Containers: Just because we can doesn’t mean we should.

This is a photo of a few things I brought home from the Outside Lands Music Festival Friday night: Two compostable cups made from corn and two compostable potato or cornstarch spoons. (Mine and my friend’s.) As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I forgot to bring my cute reusable bamboo utensils with me. And I [...]

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Searching for plastic-free water at Outside Lands wears me out.

I love music more than ice cream. Even more than fudge sauce. And to me, the band Radiohead is like magic. I don’t understand how they make the exquisite and sometimes excruciating sounds that they do. I just know that as long as there are humans on this planet whose organized noise can move me [...]

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Year 2, Week 10 Results: 19.6 oz of plastic waste!

What does it mean when your cat’s poop suddenly turns red? Could be some terrible disease. Or could just mean your cat’s been eating her red blanket and explains why she’s not hungry anymore. I’ve been so worried about poor little albatross chicks consuming pieces of plastic out in the North Pacific Gyre, while here [...]

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Dear Financial West Group,

August 22, 2008 Financial West Group4510 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd.Westlake Village, CA 91362 Re: Account #[omitted] Dear FWG: In January of this year, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to move my retirement savings into socially and environmentally responsible investments. To that end, I signed up with The Social Equity Group in Berkeley, CA [...]

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Product tames frizzies without synthetic chems or much plastic

So, you know I switched to the no ‘poo method of hair cleansing a couple of months ago, and it’s been working fine. But I do have the ocassional frizzy hair day. I still have over half a (plastic) container of TRESemme styling putty that I purchased long before I stopped buying new plastic, but [...]

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Tara’s Organic Ice Cream: their trash can is empty!

Michael was terribly excited last week to tell me that a new shop had opened in our neighborhood combining two of our biggest passions: ice cream and zero waste. “You have to come see and bring your camera so you can write about it!” He’s not often so emphatic about what I post on my [...]

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Year 2, Week 9 Results: 2.5 oz of plastic waste.

Soots has taken over many of Arya’s old duties while she is out of commission, the thorough examination of my weekly plastic waste being one of them. As I write this, Arya is lying on the floor at my feet, wishing I’d take the elegant collar off her neck and let her pull out her [...]

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Oh goody! BPA in my mailbox!

I received the following gem in my home mailbox last week: The American Chemistry Council is bringing out the big guns and trying to frighten Californians into opposing the state’s proposed ban on Bisphenol-A (an additive in polycarbonate plastic and in the plastic lining of most food cans) in containers and canned foods meant for [...]

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