I voted today!
Didn’t want to leave it to chance. What if I get hit by a Prius between now and election day and can’t vote? So I turned in my absentee ballot at the Oakland courthouse on Fallon Street today.
Do you know who you’re voting for? If you’re an absentee voter, why not turn in your ballot now? And if not, you can still vote early in most states and avoid the lines on election day.
Fake Plastic Fish is not a partisan blog. And taking care of the environment is not a partisan issue. Still, I want to tell you that I voted for Barack Obama and got a real lump in my throat as I marked my ballot. This election year has been like no other since I’ve been alive, and I feel privileged to be part of it.
Agree with me or disagree. We all have our opinions. Regardless of who you’re voting for, why not join Ruchi’s Armchair Activists and send letters to both candidates asking them to make environmental protection one of their highest priorities, to participate in the U.N. Climate Meetings in December, and to regulate corporate polluters and hold them accountable.
You could throw in some comments about Extended Producer Responsibility, Green jobs, and how about mentioning the plastic soup in the North Pacific Gyre?
Write to Barack Obama here: https://www.ofa.us/contact-us/
Write to John McCain here: https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/home
Almost certainly, one of these guys will be our next president. Let’s make sure our issues are their issues.
“What is the difference between recycled and post-consumer?”
Hi Anonymous. That is a great question. “Post-consumer” means that the material has been used before in consumer goods. Could be paper that we’ve used and put into our recycling. Could be a plastic bottle that we’ve used and recycled. Could be a recycled newspaper. Could be recycled plastic grocery bags. The point is that it’s actually been used before and now is going to be used again.
“Recycled” could simply mean discards from manufacturing. Say a company produces reams of paper and they have paper scraps leftover from that process. The leftover scraps would be considered recycled if they are used in another product instead of being thrown away. Or a company that makes plastic grocery bags might have scrap plastic sheeting leftover. Trex lumber might use those scraps and call them recycled.
Post-consumer content is preferable to pre-consumer content because by re-using materials, we are actually reducing the need for new virgin materials. If a label simply says “recycled” content without specifying how much of it is “post-consumer,” we have no idea how much of it was previously used and how much is virgin scrap.
I hope I have explained this well. I should probably write a post about it.
Beth