Hi all, Master Recycler John Fischer here with KLCC's Living Less Unsustainably. I really enjoy passing on information I've learned in my sustainability education, and hope it can help you make informed responsible choices. But as with most zealots, I can be so focused on the solution to a problem that I have forgotten to listen to the whole story.
Take my opinion of bottled water as an example. YES -TAKE THOSE MARGINALLY RECYCLABLE PETROLEUM BASED BOTTLES OFF THE STORE SHELVES SO NO ONE CAN EVER BUY THEM AGAIN!! And tell the bad people like yourself and your parents not to use bottled water again!! Oh - that's right, as a teenager in Texas, the brown murky sulfur-laden water was safe to drink but made food taste bad, and coffee and iced tea undrinkable. Our solution - bottled water - in big, reusable glass bottles that were delivered to our house.
Many parts of the country - even parts of Oregon- have water that is safe, but stinky, or mineral-laden. Filters, or bulk bottled water can be a solution. But small container-bottled water is the least sustainable, and most costly way to fix the problem.
Let me remind you - tap water in our area is consistently ranked as the cleanest, best tasting water in the world. Most bottled water is just municipal water put in a bottle and shipped to you - read the label. Getting us to drag water from an island halfway around the world (rhymes with ouji) is just a triumph of marketing and or paranoia. Fill your own bottle at home. Label it - "Super Deluxe Really Special Water". Ummm.
Again, different circumstances may require different solutions, and all of us should try to understand that our way might not be the only - or the best- way.
Ooops, looks like you spilled some of your bottled water. ARE YOU REACHING FOR A PAPER TOWEL!?! A WASHCLOTH IS FAR MORE ABSORBENT. IT'S REUSABLE, AND BIODEGRADABLE. PAPER TOWELS ARE NOTHING BUT METHANE-GENERATING LANDFILL MATERIAL! Ooops, Sorry.
I'm John Fischer with Living Less Unsustainably.
