January 2007 | Green Lines
What Ya Gonna Do With All That Junk…?
City
Wait, is that you? Drowning beneath that snowdrift of junk mail? When you can’t find Fido under all those mailers with big-eyed kids desperate for your donation, or you’ve lost Fluffy chasing SASEs amidst the credit card “exclusive invites,” you know it’s time to get off the junk.
As SCC has oft-reported, there are ways to stop junk mail insanity—which consumes 100 million trees, 28 billion (that’s 28 with 9 zeros) gallons of water, and adds to a third of the 235 million waste tons in landfills each year. You can contact the Direct Marketing Association (dmaconsumers.org) and add your name to the “Do Not Mail” list; or you can call the companies directly. (Visit http://ecocycle.org/junkmail for more free tactics.)
But if that sounds too tough, too time consuming or too irritating for words, let greendimes.com do it for you. For a wee fee, the company will police the evil junk dealers to stop burying you and Fluffy in daily landslides of wasted paper. Even better, a portion of the fee goes toward helping GreenDimes plant trees—24,375 trees and 12,000 pounds of junk mail saved so far, just four months after they’ve launched.
—Lucinda Michele Knap
Transportation
Honk when you see an HEV!
HEV stands for Hybrid Electric Vehicle, and describes some of the new maintenance trucks on their way to Seattle.
King County is going to be among the first in the nation to add Hybrid Electric trucks to its fleet of vehicles. The county has already expanded into hybrid buses and cars, and will now receive a $250,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and $150,000 from the Puget Sound Regional Council. Last year, 14 fleet departments in the state formed the Northwest Hybrid Truck Consortium, which will open the market for hybrid-diesel-electric truck purchases.
“The hybrid truck is new and manufacturers need to know that if they build it there are customers who will buy it,” says Windell Mitchell, director of the county’s Fleet Division and a power-house behind the hybrid-truck project.
“It is a cool thing to be a part of accelerating the hybrid market.”
The trucks, which provide 60% fuel savings over their conventional counterparts, will be used to maintain traffic signals, electrical inspections and streetlamp repairs in King County and contract cities.
“The long-term outcome of this project is to improve air quality, create less dependence on fossil fuels and make hybrid trucks more affordable for both public and private use,” says Mitchell.
The Northwest Hybrid Truck Consortium will help accelerate the production of hybrid trucks not only for government use, but also, hopefully, for the mainstream market.
“We know that poor air doesn’t respect political boundaries and that there is strength in unity,” concludes Mitchell, who believes that the government has an important part to play in supporting new technology and setting a green example.
“We can make a bigger impact working together.”
www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/news/2006/nr061115_hybridtrucks.htm
— Sierra Smith
Fashion
I Do... Want My Wedding to Match My Values
The Holidays are all about red fuzzy sweaters; for funerals, think black; and at weddings the bride wears... green? Well sure—that is if Portovert, a brand new wedding magazine for green-leaning spouses-to-be has anything to do with it. At Portovert.com (the mag is online only, for energy-saving reasons, natch!) lovebirds looking to stage socially-responsible celebrations browse bridal gowns of organic silk or vintage couture, and bouquets of pesticide-free roses. Meghan Yudes Meyers, founder and editor-in-chief, designed the webzine to appeal to everyone from the die-hard tree-hugger to the tentatively eco-curious. “If The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings is your thing, great,” she says. “But take those ideas and make them greener by visiting Portovert.” Marriage, after all, is a period of change—a sensible time to closely consider the type of life you’ll build together.
A sneak peak into the first issue reveals articles about creating eco-smart registries (hint: choose energy efficient appliances) and the chemi-free advantages of wet cleaning services. The site includes a resource guide, a blog, and a “Vertique”—a boutique of unique collections from eco-friendly artisans. Because honeymoons go hand in hand with weddings, a percentage of Portovert proceeds are donated to eco-tourism. And for newlyweds looking to stay green after the big day has come and gone, the publication plans to expand to cover home décor, pregnancy and raising healthy tots.
— Jenny Rough
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