Potpourri ...
A Touch of Glass
More than 12 million tons of glass containers are collected annually and
remelted with raw materials to create new glass bottles and jars or fiberglass.
Glass is the easiest material to recycle. Clean bottles are separated by
color and then crushed and remelted. The liquid glass is poured into molds
to make new bottles. Glass is 100% recyclable. One old glass container equals
one new one and no other materials need to be added. The primary components
of glass (sand, soda ash, and limestone) are in abundant domestic supply.
However, the use of cullet (crushed glass) in the manufacturing process
has economic advantages over raw materials, allowing manufacturers to reduce
energy usage and reduce the amount of emission put into the atmosphere.
(Garbage Times)
Chicken s**t standards - for the birds
The USDA announced two new standards for poultry carcasses. No poultry feces
will be allowed on carcasses, which will be rinsed in a bacteria-reducing
rinse before chilling. The steps are being taken to reduce the amount of
Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination in poultry. Poultry related Salmonella
sickens from 400,000 to 4 million people annually and kills about 500. At
least 500,000 are infected by Campylobacter from poultry each year. (Contra
Costa Times)
And for the people ....
HADD, Hikers Against Doo Doo, is an international clearinghouse for information
on the proper procedures for depositing human and domestic animal excrement
in the Big Outside. Dr. A. Bern Hoff, a parasitologist, started HADD after
sidestepping one stack of stool too many while hiking the Grand Canyon's
Kaibob trail. His subsequent investigation into the health impacts of Homo
sapiens' scat revealed that even in the most remote stretches of wilderness,
backpackers cannot drink from seemingly crystal-clear streams without risk
of contracting giardia, a disease spread through human and animal fecal
deposits in or near running water. Left untreated, human scat degrades slowly.
Spring snowmelt in Nepal's Sagarmatha Park on the way to Mt. Everest, unveils
the remains of last summer's deposits, tufted with toilet paper. Fearing
that hordes of hikers would render feces-free trails extinct, Dr. Hoff launched
HADD in 1990 with the aim of collecting "vital information" on
the "environmentally safe destruction" of human feces. At HADD's
1993 International Congress convened in Moscow, hundreds of attendees swapped
ideas on how to keep the world's hiking trails devoid of human dingleberries.
HADD is supporting informational programs and researching pooper-scooper
ordinances to help other groups develop their own regulations. Contact HADD
PO Box 271, Hampden ME 04444. The motto for the 1994 conference: "Your
movement is our movement." (Garbage Magazine)
What is Smog?
Hydrocarbons + Oxides of Nitrogen + Sun = SMOG. Clinical studies show that
chronic exposure to smog irreversibly reduces lung capacity, lowers stamina
and leaves people more vulnerable to long-term respiratory problems. 60%
of San Diego's regional smog comes from motor vehicles. (APCD, County of
San Diego)
Consider the Sources
Two British environmental researchers released a study of 1000 European
point sources of sulfur dioxide. Of the top 100 sources, which release 43%
of Europe's SO2 all but five are power stations. The largest sources are
in the former Eastern Bloc. (New Scientist)
Final Reward
R.J. Reynolds III, grandson of the founder of the tobacco company, died
of "smoking related ailments" in June, reportedly the fifth of
his family to do so.
(Wall Street Journal)
Informed Consent
Britain's Enlightened Tobacco Co. PLC sells two brands, Death and Death
Lights, both of which feature skull and crossbones prominently on their
packs. In advertisements, the company chides its competition for slick packaging
that manages "to conjure up the image of something expensive, stylish,
sophisticated, or exotic. Not so Death. The outside of the pack doesn't
disguise what's on the inside. Both the name and the pack should leave no
doubt as to the risks you face. You may miss health warnings on some cigarettes,
but, like death itself, ours is unavoidable. "Surely, though, we're
being a little hypocritical? If we really want you to buy our cigarettes,
why do we seem to go out of our way to warn you against smoking them? We
believe it's the only honest thing to do." The ad copy goes on to outline
the various ailments and fatal diseases attributed to tobacco smoking. The
company also says it contributes "10 percent of pretax profits to non-vivisection
cancer charities."
(Globe and Mail, Toronto/ World Press Review)
Missing the Target
Even if chemical pesticides were the greatest thing to ever hit the planet,
there's the not-so-small problem of waste. Often less than 0.1% of pesticides
applied to crops actually reaches the target pests. Thus, over 99% goes
into the ecosystem. (David Pimental, BioScience, Cornell University)
