(Plastic) Baggage

Two weeks ago I took a trip with the Commission (the Prince George's County Solid Waste Commission that is) to the county landfill and composting facility. The purpose of the trip was to give the Commission a better idea of how the county manages it's solids waste. Both facilities were pretty cool and the tours were very informative, but there was something(s) that just kept bothering me. THESE DAMN PLASTIC BAGS!!!! (in the mommy dearest wire hangers voice)

There were plastic bags everywhere! I can't say I was surprised to see them there but I was surprised to find out how much they cost the county. At the composting facility, the managers had to buy a special plastic bag shredder (about $500K worth of equipment) and use workers to collect the bags. At the landfill, the managers have a difficult time keeping the bags on the landfill because they are so lite they can just fly away, so they too have to take extra time (and money) to collect the bags around the landfill.

I understand some people think that outright banning plastic bags and making people pay for reusable bags is not the answer. But I would ask those people this: do you want to pay for the bag now in the store or pay for it later in taxes? You decide.

BROWN TIP
"I brought my own bags, thank you!"

Reusable bags are so cheap now, most companies give them away for free. Keep them in your car, at your desk, or even in your purse. Just use them! They really do make all the environmental and economic difference.

Encounters

This past Earth Day, I had the pleasure of participating in a clean-up at Anacostia Park. Now I know what your thinking, "How can THAT be pleasureful?!" but it really was. Outside of me getting to know Styrofoam plates and the tips of black and mild cigars way too well, I met some young people that take part in the Earth Conservation Corps (ECC).

ECC is a non-profit that works with at risk young adults (17-24) in Washington, DC. They teach the ECC participants about the environment while giving them life skills. The program lasts a year and, according to one of the program managers, there is a waiting list to get into the program. To teach the participants about the environment they do neighborhood clean-ups, discuss the importance of environmental protection, and hold workshops so the participants can get green job skills.

During the clean up I talked with a 21 year old girl named B (not her real name) and asked her how she felt about the program and why she joined. She told me the program saved her life! B had been in and out of jail (12 times) as a young adult. She said she had no motivation to do anything but get money illegally and hang out. But then she got tired. She said she never really thought about what she was going to do with her life until she got in ECC, and it has kept her off the streets. Once she finishes the program she going to get her GED (which ECC will help her with) and start running her own ice cream trucks. She said she wanted to be a better person for her sister, who is starting to go down the same path as her. DAYUM!!!!

Dude, programs like this really get to me. There is one thing to save the environment, but to do that while saving a life...... I could really really appreciate that. There are so many young people lost in this world, and if teaching them about the environment helps them find themselves then I would say that's a win win for all of us.

Brown Tip
Give Back!

If it's the environment, mentoring, helping old folks, whatever you are good at, do something! In these hard economic times people really need to see peoples goodness and showing it doesn't cost anything.

Earth Day Resolution!

Hey folks! It's been awhile since we've talked! I wanna take this time to make a resolution to you (and myself of course) to do better for the environment. For those of you who know me, you know I'm pretty serious about recycling and making sure I take the reusable bags to the grocery store. But I want to take things a little further.

I started this blog to inspire people to be more environmentally aware. I feel like I've lost a bit of that focus. So today, I'm resolving to be a better blogger and environmental advocate. Now, I'm not going to get out on the corner and try to sign you up like the folks at Greenpeace (shout out to Greenpeace!) but I will stay fully committed to this blog and it's purpose. So with that being said......

Earth Day is upon us!!!!!

For those of you who don't know, let me give you a quick history lesson. Earth Day, April 22nd, was started about 40 years ago by a peace activist (you know the hippies had something to do with this) named John McConnell to inspire awareness and appreciation for our environment. Over the years, Earth Day has evolved from a day of teach-ins to a day of service around the world.

I want to ask all of you, especially EPA employees (cause I know some of you read this blog), to get out and do something for the environment for Earth Day. It doesn't have to be a big thing like buying a hybrid or chaining yourself to a tree (but if that's your cause by all means...), but something that shows mother Earth that you appreciate her. And to help you out here's a link to a list of Earth Day activities:

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

Restoring Intergrity!

This message was sent to all EPA employees from our new Administrator, Lisa Jackson. It's a bit long, but I really feel like she sums up what we've all been thinking over the past 8 years.




DATE: January 23, 2009

TO: All EPA Employees

FROM: Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator-designate

I can think of no higher calling or privilege than rejoining EPA as your Administrator. I am grateful and humbled that President Obama has given me this honor. With his election and with my appointment, President Obama has dramatically changed the face of American environmentalism. With your help, we can now change the face of the environment as well.

During my 21 years in public service, I have witnessed firsthand the dedication and professionalism of EPA’s workforce. Thousands of committed, hard-working and talented employees for whom protecting the environment is a calling, not just a job, have made EPA a driving force in environmental protection since 1970.

EPA can meet the nation’s environmental challenges only if our employees are fully engaged partners in our shared mission. That’s why I will make respect for the EPA workforce a bedrock principle of my tenure. I will look to you every day for ideas, advice and expertise. EPA should once again be the workplace of choice for veteran public servants and also talented young people beginning careers in environmental protection – just as it was for me when I first joined EPA shortly after graduate school.

In outlining his agenda for the environment, President Obama has articulated three values that he expects EPA to uphold. These values will shape everything I do.

Science must be the backbone for EPA programs. The public health and environmental laws that Congress has enacted depend on rigorous adherence to the best available science. The President believes that when EPA addresses scientific issues, it should rely on the expert judgment of the Agency’s career scientists and independent advisors. When scientific judgments are suppressed, misrepresented or distorted by political agendas, Americans can lose faith in their government to provide strong public health and environmental protection.

The laws that Congress has written and directed EPA to implement leave room for policy judgments. However, policy decisions should not be disguised as scientific findings. I pledge that I will not compromise the integrity of EPA’s experts in order to advance a preference for a particular regulatory outcome.

EPA must follow the rule of law. The President recognizes that respect for Congressional mandates and judicial decisions is the hallmark of a principled regulatory agency. Under our environmental laws, EPA has room to exercise discretion, and Congress has often looked to EPA to fill in the details of general policies. However, EPA needs to exercise policy discretion in good faith and in keeping with the directives of Congress and the courts. When Congress has been explicit, EPA cannot misinterpret or ignore the language Congress has used. When a court has determined EPA’s responsibilities under our governing statutes, EPA cannot turn a blind eye to the court’s decision or procrastinate in complying.

EPA’s actions must be transparent. In 1983, EPA Administrator Ruckelshaus promised that EPA would operate "in a fishbowl" and “will attempt to communicate with everyone from the environmentalists to those we regulate, and we will do so as openly as possible."

I embrace this philosophy. Public trust in the Agency demands that we reach out to all stakeholders fairly and impartially, that we consider the views and data presented carefully and objectively, and that we fully disclose the information that forms the bases for our decisions. I pledge that we will carry out the work of the Agency in public view so that the door is open to all interested parties and that there is no doubt why we are acting and how we arrived at our decisions.

We must take special pains to connect with those who have been historically underrepresented in EPA decision making, including the disenfranchised in our cities and rural areas, communities of color, native Americans, people disproportionately impacted by pollution, and small businesses, cities and towns working to meet their environmental responsibilities. Like all Americans, they deserve an EPA with an open mind, a big heart and a willingness to listen.

As your Administrator, I will uphold the values of scientific integrity, rule of law and transparency every day. If ever you feel I am not meeting this commitment, I expect you to let me know.

Many vital tasks lie before us in every aspect of EPA’s programs. As I develop my agenda, I will be seeking your guidance on the tasks that are most urgent in protecting public health and the environment and on the strategies that EPA can adopt to maximize our effectiveness and the expertise of our talented employees. At the outset, I would like to highlight five priorities that will receive my personal attention:

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The President has pledged to make responding to the threat of climate change a high priority of his administration. He is confident that we can transition to a low-carbon economy while creating jobs and making the investment we need to emerge from the current recession and create a strong foundation for future growth. I share this vision. EPA will stand ready to help Congress craft strong, science-based climate legislation that fulfills the vision of the President. As Congress does its work, we will move ahead to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision recognizing EPA’s obligation to address climate change under the Clean Air Act.

Improving air quality. The nation continues to face serious air pollution challenges, with large areas of the country out of attainment with air-quality standards and many communities facing the threat of toxic air pollution. Science shows that people’s health is at stake. We will plug the gaps in our regulatory system as science and the law demand.

Managing chemical risks. More than 30 years after Congress enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act, it is clear that we are not doing an adequate job of assessing and managing the risks of chemicals in consumer products, the workplace and the environment. It is now time to revise and strengthen EPA’s chemicals management and risk assessment programs.

Cleaning up hazardous-waste sites. EPA will strive to accelerate the pace of cleanup at the hundreds of contaminated sites across the country. Turning these blighted properties into productive parcels and reducing threats to human health and the environment means jobs and an investment in our land, our communities and our people.

Protecting America’s water. EPA will intensify our work to restore and protect the quality of the nation’s streams, rivers, lakes, bays, oceans and aquifers. The Agency will make robust use of our authority to restore threatened treasures such as the Great Lakes and the Chesapeake Bay, to address our neglected urban rivers, to strengthen drinking-water safety programs, and to reduce pollution from non-point and industrial dischargers.

As we meet these challenges, we must be sensitive to the burdens pollution has placed on vulnerable subpopulations, including children, the elderly, the poor and all others who are at particular risk to threats to health and the environment. We must seek their full partnership in the greater aim of identifying and eliminating the sources of pollution in their neighborhoods, schools and homes.

EPA’s strength has always been our ability to adapt to the constantly changing face of environmental protection as our economy and society evolve and science teaches us more about how humans interact with and affect the natural world. Now, more than ever, EPA must be innovative and forward looking because the environmental challenges faced by Americans all across our country are unprecedented.

These challenges are indeed immense in scale and urgency. But, as President Obama said Tuesday, they will be met. I look forward to joining you at work on Monday to begin tackling these challenges together.

WHEW!! I feel GOOD!

Brown Tip
Wash Them Dirty Draws!

A good friend of mines is expecting her first baby and has decided to use cloth diapers. I am soooo happy about this. Regular diapers are not biodegradable so they stay in landfills FOREVER, take up lots of landfill space (for those of you who hate the thought of a landfill exspanding), and pose threats to clean water from runoff. Cloth diapers can be used forever and simply washed in the washing machine. I know what you're thinking, "I'm not putting crappy diapers in my washing machine!", well you don't have to. There are pleanty of wonderful diaper services that do nothing but wash poopy diapers for you.

Change Agents

The election of Barack Obama is truely one of the greatest moments in American history. As he prepares to embark on one of the toughest jobs in the world, Barack Obama has done something even greater with the people he has chosen to serve in his cabinet by nominating Lisa Jackson to serve as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. This is a very big deal because she, like Barack Obama is black and, if confirmed, would be the first black Adminstrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The fact that Lisa Jackson is black is one thing, but I truely believe the fact that she grew up in the lower ninth ward of New Orleans, is something even greater. No one can deny that what happened to the people of the lower ninth ward, and all of New Orleans for that matter, during hurricane Katrina was horrific. But what has happened to them after Katrina in terms of environmental injustice is a tragedy.

Since Katrina is no longer front page news, we have turned a blind eye to the environmental impacts on the people of New Orleans. Residents still have to ask themselves; is the soil clean enough to build my house on, can this happen again, are they going to redevelop my neighborhood for someone else? And politically the silence is almost deafening (when was the last time you saw a bill/law/legislation that even mentioned Katrina?).

I refuse to set myself up to think that Lisa Jackson will be the savor of all evironmental issues. I don't for a moment think that she will welcome all the Siera Clubs of the world into EPA for a "tell me whatever you want and I'll do it" meeting, or appoint Al Gore as her confidant, or reduce the size of the hole in the ozone layer. It's just not possible because she is a POLITICAL appointee. But I do hope that Lisa will galvanize us brown people and make us a little more green for the environment and for our fellow brown people.


BROWN TIP
Each one, teach one.

This is such a historical time, our children must know that they are a part of history. Please, teach the children well!

Gasoline Confusion

I was so excited on Friday, at around 10:00am, to see that the price of regular at the gas station around the corner from my house had dropped to $3.47 a gallon. I swore this was a wonderful sign of things to come and just knew it would go down to about $3.25 by the end of the month. So imagine my dismay when I came home later that night and saw that price had gone up to $3.57!!!!

Apparently, this is all due to the hurricanes. Hurricanes disrupt gasoline and electricity production because most of our gas refineries are located in or near the gulf of Mexico. This hurricane season has seen 2 major hurricanes strike the gulf region and cause the cost of gasoline to go up almost $1.00 in some places. And although disruption of gas production is very real, a lot of what drives the price of gas up is actually fear and price gouging.

The fear that the availability of gas will somehow disappear and we will be sitting in long lines at the gas station like in the 70s is a bunch of BS. Not only does the US have strategic oil reserves that we can tap into in emergency situations, but 58% of all our oil is imported. Hmm, doesn't that mean that more than half of the oil we use isn't even affected when there is a hurricane? Furthermore, there are a couple of the oil reserves located in areas that have not been affected by Gustav or Ike.

This all leads me to believe one thing, these gas stations are gouging the hell out of us!! What other reason would there be for gas to go up to $4.99 in Knoxville, TN or $5.50 in Tallahassee, FL over night!!!??!!

If you or someone you love have been price guoged, please report it to your State's Attorney General. It's illegal and unfair.

Brown Tip

Walk it out!

Sept. 22nd is World Car Free Day. So do the world a favor and walk, bike, skip, take metro, tumble to work on that Monday. It's good for you and the environment.

Politics of the Environment

Over the past 2 weeks we've had the American pleasure of witnessing the Democratic and Republican National conventions. Both conventions served as a platform for each party's nominee to explain what exactly are they going to do for the country.

On the environmental side of things, I found the Republican ideas on oil drilling very interesting. During her acceptance speech, Sara Palin said under the McCain administration they would promote drilling in Alaska and other parts of the country, opening up more oil reserves, and promote clean coal. However, she did not talk about conservation or the impact of these policy choices on the environment. I understand the need to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, but is drilling everywhere really the solution?

Furthermore, does it really matter how much more oil and energy we can produce if we (Americans) continue to use too damn much if it? After all, oil IS NOT A RENEWABLE RESOURCE! This all just makes me wonder if politicians, or their speech writers, think through environmental matters the same why they think through economic and homeland security matters. Just one to grow on.

So my summer vacation is over and I'll see you next week.

Brown Tip:

CFLs not NFL

During this NFL season, I'd like to challenge you to replace all of your old light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs. CFLs use less power and last longer than regular light bulbs thus allowing us to conserve more energy. Although CFLs are a bit more expensive you can usually find a coupon or rebate on them at your local home depot or Lowes.