Today Dakin made a decision, a small decision, that he hopes will impact the world in a positive way. Today Dakin purchased a travel mug from his coffee shop of choice. For some time, Dakin has been refusing plastic bags at the grocery store, requesting paper, or, when he manages to be mindful and responsible, bringing his own reusable non plastic bags. However, Dakin realized that, however many bags that he declined, almost daily, he purchased a cup of coffee; a cup of coffee that was served to him in a plastic cup (iced -- Hawaii!!) that he then disposed of.
Dakin was faced with, while not a quandary, certainly something to think about. Discontinue the convenience of the to-go coffee habit, and thus excise the dreaded plastic waste, OR come up with an alternative method of delivery. Dakin, of course, chose the latter. He had long not quite admired, but certainly considered the shelf of reusable vessels displayed at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and, frankly, every time he threw away a cup he felt a little part of himself die. He wondered "am I really minimizing my environmental footprint? Am I really making a difference refusing all those bags, or am I just making a show about caring?" He decided this morning that he could make a bigger difference, that he could enact change by refusing to throw away plastic cups. He decided that, whether it be smoothies or coffee, he would be the person who says "Oh, I have my own cup..." He realized that, while being THAT person is obnoxious, by being that person he could make a real difference and reduce the amount of waste that he generates. He realized that this one simple thing does make a difference, and he wants to encourage all of our reader(s) to do the same...
He also took some time to think for a bit and put it all into perspective by listing some minor things that we can all do to make a difference. (In order of no particular importance, and just some suggestions; by no means an exhaustive list.)
1. Refuse Plastic Whenever Possible.
By bringing your own bags, requesting paper, or refusing plastic cups, you can make a tremendous difference in the amount of waste that you generate as an individual. Imagine: If you go to the store twice weekly, and use 3-4 bags for your groceries each time (excluding those pesky double bags) you reduce waste by 16 bags per month, 192 per year. If you follow Dakin's lead, and say no to plastic coffee cups (and you average 5 cups per week) you save 240 cups from the landfill. That is a LOT of plastic waste that can be easily avoided.
2. Coast.
I don't know what the figures are, but you can reduce gas consumption by coasting downhill -- Dakin drives down a small mountain (literally) twice daily, and he is always careful to put the 5 speed in neutral when the transmission is not needed to power the car. While most people don't have this sort of topography to contend with, there are times that you can reduce your gasoline consumption simply by letting gravity do its job. Don't even get us started on public transport or bicycle! If you don't need your car, don't use it! You will save money and have a priceless sense of superiority over your commuting brethren. Being better than everyone else? Great! Preserving natural resources while feeling said sense of superiority? Priceless.
3. Recycle.
Sounds stupid to say it in 2007, but really, are you going to throw away paper, bottles and cans when you know where they go? The answer is no, unless you are, well, an absolute idiot. If you lack the social conscience to question what happens to your waste, well, it's not that we don't want you, but we would really like you to keep reading. (Not just our site either, I mean, really, we just want to talk about music and pretty things; educate yourself and become a responsible global citizen!)
4. Compost.
Dakin is a horrible, lazy composter, BUT he manages to reduce his waste by a shocking amount with a combination of composting food scraps (no animal products except for egg shells!) and recycling. Want to hear some advice from someone who knows how to do it properly? Check out the compost guide.
5. Research Biodiesel Before Jumping On the Bandwagon.
Biodiesel is great for reducing dependence on oil and all that, but what does it do to the environment? Diesel pollutes, and biodiesel is no different. As a solution to carbon producing, gas consuming, combustion engine type things, it is short sighted. Save a few bucks here, but deplete the atmosphere even further than if you'd just shelled out the extra few cents or dollars per mile. (Mercedes finally makes a diesel that meets California emissions standards in 2007, but years prior were not so fortunate)* In any event, If you really want to save gas AND the planet, go hybrid.
6. Buy Used Whenever Possible.
Duck and Cover love pretty new things, BUT, really, you can have pretty things that aren't new. Shop thrift stores and garage sales to find the things that are not only bargains but one of a kind pieces that you won't find on the shelves of the local Target. (What's worse than having the same outfit as someone else at a party? Having the same living room set and tchotchkes! Worse still? Having everyone know that you shop big box retail -- eeew!)
7. Purchase Carbon Offset Credits.
Undo the evil done with all of your globe trotting (well, the pollution part at least; there's only so much that you can do to apologize for that night at Lux in Williamsburg, or that "incident" with the beer bottle and the Swede at Roskilde in 2003). Buy them for friends, buy them for family, give them as gifts to the people who traveled 2,000 miles to your barefoot mountaintop wedding! Here is one of many sites where you can buy credits.
8. Go Vegetarian.
The amount of resources used in the production of one pound of delicious, grass fed beef is horrifying. For instance, it takes 2500 GALLONS of water** to produce one POUND of beef. Let's not even get into the amount of grain needed to sustain said cattle, nor the evils of the factory farm. Let it also be said that Dakin, a vegetarian of 12+ years, fell to the sword of the medium rare fillet. He understands more than most that meat is delicious and tasty, but the cost is, realistically, far too high.
9. Eat Local, Eat Seasonal.
It makes sense to employ the 100 mile diet rule whenever possible. Eat only what may be procured within a 100 mile radius of where you live, thus reducing pollution from the transport of said foodstuffs. Sure, you can splurge with Nutella and Pelligrino water every now and then, but be conscious of where your food came from. Don't you want to know how many hands may have touched that apple you're about to eat? Also, strawberries in December? What about that is not right? The best thing about the changing of the seasons (aside from kicking leaves and the first day that you can wear shorts) is asparagus in spring, peaches in summer, or pumpkins in the fall.
10. Buy digital.
Purchase music and movies, whenever possible over the internet. No waste, no production issues, just pure digital content, direct to where you will most often use it. Feel like you have to physically handle the packaging to be complete? (Oh, we know, we know.) Go digital, and then source a used cd (or better yet) used vinyl copy. Hate paying for the same thing twice? Suck it up! You're stimulating the economy! (While that does sound flippant, after almost two years in Hawaii --two years away from a decent record store --, Dakin has come to appreciate, if not LOVE [and "heart", let's not forget "heart"] the iTunes music store. And you can too -- or something very close to iTunes, as we know that there are several sources for digital content. We're not just whores for Apple, we're whores for media!)
Duck & Cover encourages you to make a difference. Today, tomorrow, just do it. Really, you'll feel better, and we'll make you breakfast in the morning.
*(Editor's note: If this is incorrect, we will be happy to remove this notation, however, past research on the MBUSA website did indicate that the 2006 e-class diesel did NOT meet emissions standards in California.)
** source: http://www.vegsource.com/articles/pimentel_water.htm
Image courtesy of, and for further reference, http://www.cleangreenbags.com/The%20facts.htm
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