READING GREEN

Ever since iPads and Kindles broke into the marketplace, people have been more and more concerned with saving paper and ink. So for those still attached to the physical book format, greenies suggest the following: buy used books from places like Wax Paper or Crossroad Books; borrow books from friends, the library, or services like BookSwim; and/or recycle your own books by donating them to libraries, friends, or the garage sale pile. Or else you can support publishers that use recycled paper and soy-based inks, and write angry letters to those that don’t.

DOT YOUR I’S AND CROSS YOUR T’S
using less ink with green fonts

This spring UW-Green Bay announced that it would save thousands of dollars each year by simply switching fonts. Though it sounds minor, the university’s change from Arial to Century Gothic uses 30 percent less ink, and a gallon of printer ink runs about $10,000. An even more aggressive option is the Spranq Eco Sans font, which actually has small holes within each letter where ink isn’t used and eyes barely register them. The company that developed it says it uses 25 percent less ink than “traditional” fonts. I wonder how much we’d save by learning the Wingdings language … (Click the font image for a closer look.)

RIGHT OUT OF THE BAG
why you should always have reusable bags

• The EPA has estimated between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year
• Less than 1 percent are recycled, and it actually costs more to recycle one than produce one (Christian Science Monitor)
• One ton of bags costs $4,000 to process and recycle, which can be then sold for $32 (San Francisco Dept. of the Enviro.)
• Plastic bags account for more than 10 percent of garbage washed up on the U.S. coastline (Natl Marine Debris Monitoring Program)
• They eventually break down and contaminate soils and waterways (CNN)
• Nearly 200 species of sea life die from bags (World Wildlife Fund)
• Somewhere in the central pacific, between California and Japan, floats an island of trash (mostly plastic bags) larger than Texas. (The Independent)
• By using cloth bags, we save six plastic ones a week. That’s 288 bags a year. Or 22,176 in a lifetime. If one in five people in the U.S. did this, that’s 1.33 quadrillion bags in a lifetime.
• Many countries charge shoppers extra for plastic bags (China, France). Some have banned them entirely (Bangladesh, Rwanda). Ireland placed a tax on bags in 2002, reducing consumption by 90 percent in a year. California is in the process of banning them.
• Many area grocers reward you by knocking some money off your groceries (about a nickel per bag) if you bring in reusable bags (Festival, Gordy’s, Mega).

TAKING GREEN TO THE GRAVE
options on the new trend of green burial

• Promession is essentially a kind of composting developed by a Swedish biologist. Bodies are first supercooled in liquid nitrogen, then shattered into small pieces on a vibration table. Then a vacuum removes moisture and a metal separator grabs fillings and so forth. The pieces are then dropped in a container of corn or potato starch, and family members bury the box in shallow topsoil and plant a tree or shrub on top.
• Great Britain has more than 250 green or natural cemeteries, and the U.S. is just starting to catch on. The appeal here is, once again, everything biodegrades into the earth without nature-harming chemicals, but this time it has a more sentimental traditional funeral feel (and costs half as much). Embalming is not allowed, and burial vaults are prohibited. Instead, they use biodegradable caskets made of wood or cardboard, or burial shrouds with natural fibers. Gravesites are placed in what looks like a woodland or meadow, and are marked by natural landmarks like trees or indigenous stones. Locations are also mapped via GIS (geographic information system) for future generations to find ancestors’ final resting places.
• Green burials are becoming so big that the internet is populated with loads of do-it-yourself coffins. Looking to save money as well as the planet, these guides encourage using cheap, biodegradable materials like cardboard and wood, and those who are creeped out by the idea of building a coffin can likely hire a professional to do it and still save money. Plus, these custom-made coffins offer opportunities for personalization that no pre-fab ones can.

LET IT RAIN
local Coca Cola plant recycles syrup drums into rain barrels

    The Coca-Cola company prides itself on corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS), from energy conservation and water stewardship to recycling and promoting active lifestyles. But perhaps nothing exhibits their commitment better than its rain barrel program.

      What the beverage company does is take its 55-gallon plastic drums for soda syrup and, for no charge, transforms them into rain barrels that community members can use to gather water for their gardens. With plants reportedly going through as many as 80 barrels a week, they’ve also been known to recycle them for floating devices and boat docks.
Some Coke sites have done this promotion for a limited time, but ever since a successful rain barrel clinic this past spring, Eau Claire’s branch has continued the program and thus far given away 400 barrels.

They do the conversions on site (drilling holes and adding spigots), provided you request it ahead of time and pick them up. Do so through Jullie Fuller at the 2020 Truax Blvd location via JFuller@cokecce.com or 835-3147 ext. 5120.

Any donations you make for the barrels and kits will go to support the North High School Adaptive Sciences Class or Starting Points program.