<p>Are hybrids really that green? I mean, a toyta yaris gets about the same MPG in real-world tests and doesn't have nearly as many toxic battery metals.</p>
<p>^more green than SUV or just a regular sedan. Thing was though when we bought it, the Hybrid was probably the greenest car for the public out there (2002).
My real Q is that is recycling really all that good?
I mean you have to open up a new processing plant. You have to get more trucks for the recyclig. New plastic tubs for people to put their recycled matreial in. I dunno. Maybe recycling at the end does conserve. I don't know since i don't have hard numbers. But i guess since the pracitce is alreayd in place, might as well recycle.</p>
<p>I remember reading somewhere that its cheaper to plant a tree than to recycle enough paper to reconstitute the paper made from that tree.</p>
<p>And yes, those blue bins are a huge waste. I know of several ways to make the environment better without sacrificing much. I'll just talk about one:</p>
<p>Paper vs. Plastic bags</p>
<p>Paper is more expensive than plastic bags to produce. Because of this, supermarkets encourage plastic bag use (to keep their profit margins high) and people don't think twice about buying plastic bags rather than paper bags.</p>
<p>Now, this indifference towards this choice largely comes about due to the disposal process of plastic and paper bags. Although your trash-by-the-curb is picked up by a private company, the government has lots of regulation and controls. Have you ever heard of somebody's curb trash getting charged differently based on what's in the trash? No. To this extent, garbage disposal does not account for the differences in disposing different types of trash.</p>
<p>Since paper and plastic bags cost the same amount of money for a person to throw away, you will begin to see an accumulation of plastic bags in landfills. As we all know, these plastic bags decompose to toxic materials. On the other hand, paper bags decompose to organic material reusable by organisms. If trash disposal had less government intrusion, you would see trash companies charging different rates based on the trash make-up. If you bought plastic bags, you would see that they would charge you more since it is harder to dispose of than paper bags. Now, it would be profitable for someone to go green (paper bags) than not (plastic bags).</p>
<p>Also, since you get charged the same amount no matter if your trash is a little or a lot, it would become profitable to go really green (not using disposable bags and containers for groceries) since these bags would create extra trash and make you pay more.</p>
<p>im the founder and president of my school's Roots and Shoots club, i organized a drawing competition with the theme of protecting environment to raise awareness. i also organized a fund raiser where people got to make their own candles (out of molten wax), to save energy.
im so environmentally hardcore</p>
<p>I don't drive, ever, and I don't own a car. (I'm 18)
I don't eat red meat, and I eat fish and poultry sparingly.
I don't use gas stoves unless my mom already has one running.
I don't draft my work on real paper unless I have to.
I don't leave most electrical/electronic appliances running when I'm not using them [I put my PC on standby regularly].</p>
<h2>I don't watch TV.</h2>
<p>I re-use old boxes for laundry baskets and stools etc.
I dress conservatively [I have a few good, all-purpose durable clothes and I only get something new about twice a year].
I give away my old clothes.
I carry a big umbrella everywhere. It comes in handy.</p>
<h2>I use old newspapers to clean my house.</h2>
<p>No, I don't do anything conscious for the environment.</p>
<p>For Paper vs. Plastic, neither is a good option. Your best option is just to bring in your own cloth bags, which can be used for like 10 years before they need to be replaced.</p>
<p>i carpool every day and recycle every day</p>
<p>@crs1909</p>
<p>Read my last paragraph in my last post.</p>
<p>my bad, i just skimmed it</p>
<p>I take the bus.</p>
<p>When I die, I (like every single person you know and love, besides those who choose cremation or die at sea/disintegrate) will decompose in the ground, my rotting, decrepit body providing nourishment for innumerable worms and bacteria. So I don't help the environment now, but when I kick the bucket, I'll be giving it all I have.</p>
<p>I regularly pump about 8 thousand gallons of jet fuel into jets that consume about 40 lbs of the stuff for every second they run the reheater.</p>
<p>Oh wait, what have I done to help? Damn, can't really say I've done a damned thing.</p>
<p>jack4640--false
most US cemeteries (I'm assuming you live in the US...I don't know the policies in other countries) require that your body be placed into a ginormous glossy casket and then sealed in a thousand trillion ton concrete vault which will prevent you from properly decomposing and feeding worms and wildflowers.</p>
<p>if you really want your body to decompose and return to earth's natural cycle, then you need to make that known explicity while you're still alive. otherwise your body will be sitting and decaying very,very,very slowly for who knows how long, laying on some unbiodegradable polyester lining entombed in a heavy concrete container that no worms and barely any bacteria and certainly no vegetation will be able to enjoy.</p>
<p>Not to air my personal issues or get too graphic, but I know this because after my boyfriend died suddenly earlier this month, his family, clueless and unconcerned about the wishes for his remains, did just that with him, though I knew for a fact he wanted to be put naked into a deep hole in the ground so he could biodegrade and so forth. I researched and found out that what they did with him was standard practice, as well as a horrible use (waste) of land.
Seriously, if you don't want to be stuck in some artificial chamber for all eternity...have some sort of Will.</p>
<p>And another thing--being lost at sea and disintegrating into the ocean is actually a pretty natural and environmentally productive place to decompose.</p>
<p>I drive a hybird.</p>
<p>i killed all the furry animals in my backyard so the trees could live in peace</p>
<p>i knew this would turn into a "haha i'm so funny because i do ironic things that are actually bad for the environment" thread.</p>
<p>grow up, guys.</p>
<p>it depends on the earth day celebrations - my school roasted hot dogs and tie-dyed shirts with chemicals. w.t.f.?? that's not helping the environment, that's HURTING it. lame-o.</p>
<p>for earth day, i printed out fliers about how veganism help the environment. i used 100% post-consumer recycled paper and soy ink. i tacked them around the school and local hang-outs. i thought that was pretty effective.</p>
<p>I don't drive while I'm at school.</p>