Originally Posted by Leslie

When we were bored we'd just have sex. Don't kids have sex anymore?

Originally Posted by Steerpike

I get paper with handles when I can, but when I'm stuck at a Safeway and without my 'reusables', I gladly take the crappy plastic ones and reuse them too. If I cut up a watermelon, I deposit the 'waste' in a couple of the plastics and 'seal' them, and immediately drop it in the outside garbage (too stinky to leave inside, and I don't want leakage outside either). Same for stinky food leftovers - straight out to the garbage in a plastic bag. This enables me to really cram my kitchen garbage bin as full as possible before taking it out every few weeks.

Sometimes I shop at Trader Joes or Whole Foods just to get their paper bags (!), which have decent handles. I use those to death for my bottle recycling (I'm in an apt. in AZ so have to take my bottles/etc to a communal collection point). I reuse those until they tear or the handles fall off!

But my favorites are the Trader Joe reusable bags (see attachment)! I think they are so good looking, I have a trunk full now and gave some to my family to take back to UK ! I'm conscious of Fatbrit's warning - I don't put anything likely to contaminate the insides in them.



I hate the current fluorescents, I have to say. When I moved into my new apt. in AZ, I bought a ton of them for table lamps, and a ton of dimmers from Ikea, only to find you can't dim them ... So I replaced them all with incandescents again! I'm looking at the LEDs now and will buy them when they become more mainstream.

Consumer product packaging does seem to be getting better. I bought a few items recently and instead of the ubiquitous expanded polystyrene, you now have what looks like good old-fashioned 'egg carton' material.

To Robin and the comments on e-Readers, I just bought one for two reasons - 1) I fly a lot and carrying books is a hassle (I was struggling to finish Bill Bryson's 'A short history of nearly everything' but could never devote the bag space to it - I go back-pack only), and 2) I can scale the font so I no longer have to struggle with reading glasses (that's the BIG advantage for me). Eventually, not printing so many books on paper should have a positive impact on the environment, but I can imagine it may never offset the waste associated with ever-upgraded e-Readers!

I'm very happy to see the trend in the US towards hybrid cars. I think the principle is very sound (use braking /rolling power to recharge the battery), and the more experience we get with batteries, the sooner all-battery cars will become a reality. Pouring a highly flammable/explosive liquid into a car to drive a personal power plant will eventually become a thing of the past. I have to believe, as an electrical engineer, that it is more efficient to generate electricity at the 'grid' level than to do so under the hood of every car ...

I think pushing 'mother earth' and 'care for the environment' in the US is the wrong marketing strategy, and 'global warming' is becoming a much overused concept. The US should push raw economics - it's cheaper to be efficient - and 'energy independence' - stop giving money to the middle east, the people who hate us. "Screw a Terrorist - ride the bus" will probably play better in middle America than "prevent global warming - ride a bus".

Originally Posted by Steerpike

<snip>
I think pushing 'mother earth' and 'care for the environment' in the US is the wrong marketing strategy, and 'global warming' is becoming a much overused concept. The US should push raw economics - it's cheaper to be efficient - and 'energy independence' - stop giving money to the middle east, the people who hate us. "Screw a Terrorist - ride the bus" will probably play better in middle America than "prevent global warming - ride a bus".

Originally Posted by Herpes Simplex

Kind of related....

I'm told by some that in a handful of cities you can order your groceries online and have them delivered - al a Tesco Direct or whatever it is.

Surely that would work wonders in most towns/cities in the US? So why hasn't it been done?

Originally Posted by Herpes Simplex

Kind of related....

I'm told by some that in a handful of cities you can order your groceries online and have them delivered - al a Tesco Direct or whatever it is.

Surely that would work wonders in most towns/cities in the US? So why hasn't it been done?

Originally Posted by Steerpike

The poster's comment above about "avoiding a 100 mile drive unless it is absolutely necessary" (due to CO2 emissions) really hits a nerve with me; I think it is a bad way to look at the situation, and is really missing the point when it comes to trying to make the most of a limited time in the country.

Originally Posted by meauxna

It didn't pay. Several markets tried it here about 15 years ago (when gas was really cheap and wages less than today) and could never make a go. And my city really is the perfect combination of economics, desire & geography.
The natural foods store still does it, and I just saw an organic produce van making a CSA-type delivery to the new neighbors.

(I had snipped out some of your text to save on pixels, but it didn't make sense, so I've added it back. You're worth it.)

Originally Posted by another bloody yank

In today's paper...

Sales of full-size pickups, an economic indicator and a profits driver for Detroit's Big Three automakers, have stalled this spring.


http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...7/1003/rsslink

Originally Posted by S Folinsky

On the bags: Trader Joe's uses only paper but give you raffle tickets if you bring in totes.

Originally Posted by meauxna

...
The natural foods store still does it, and I just saw an organic produce van making a CSA-type delivery to the new neighbors.

(I had snipped out some of your text to save on pixels, but it didn't make sense, so I've added it back. You're worth it.)