Gift boxes

Reuse: cereal boxes

A great 2nd life for a cereal box is as a shirt box. It is a little late for this holiday gift giving season, but next year just "pass" on the shirt boxes offered by store clerks and use your empty cereal boxes. The paperboard box is nearly the perfect size and shape for most clothing gifts. Any paperboard box will work equally well...smaller boxes (i.e. cracker and cookie boxes, etc.) work nicely for smaller gifts.

Our Decrepit Food Factories

From Michael Pollen's latest NYTimes article:

For years now, critics have been speaking of modern industrial agriculture as “unsustainable” in precisely these terms, though what form the “breakdown” might take or when it might happen has never been certain. Would the aquifers run dry? The pesticides stop working? The soil lose its fertility? All these breakdowns have been predicted and they may yet come to pass. But if a system is unsustainable — if its workings offend the rules of nature — the cracks and signs of breakdown may show up in the most unexpected times and places. Two stories in the news this year, stories that on their faces would seem to have nothing to do with each other let alone with agriculture, may point to an imminent breakdown in the way we’re growing food today.

Click here to read more.

The Story of Stuff

Check out:

The Story of Stuff

Extreme Marketing to Kids

See story and action on McDonald's marketing to kids in Florida on their own report cards.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/621/t/4886/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=21959

Recycling Service- Batteries, Bulbs, Phones, Packaging, Etc

Gift Wrap & Recycle Drop Shop
405 West Rosemary Street

Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27516
(next to the Skylight Exchange and Fuse nightclub)
Bring hard to recycle items such as batteries, fluorescent bulbs, old cell phones, and styrofoam packaging waste.

HOURS
Wed . Dec. 5 & 12 - 3-7pm
Thur. Dec. 6 & 13 - 3-7pm
Fri. Dec. 7 & 14 - 3-7pm
Sat. Dec. 8 & 15 - 2-6pm

Free Service - Repurposed Architectural Drafts as Wrapping Paper

Free gift wrapping using old posters and architectural drafts at the Gift Wrap and Recycle Drop Shop. See above post for details.

Complete the Streets!

Could we do this in NC? It is now official policy in the entire state of Illinois. How about starting with Carrboro...

http://www.completestreets.org/

Build Your Own Rain Barrel for $30

Build Your Own Rain Barrel Workshop - WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2007, 2:00-3:30 pm - OWASA Community Room, 400 Jones Ferry Road, Carrboro

Click for more info.

The Kids are Alright

From Kids tell town how to save, Chapel Hill News:

Thirteen-year-old Connor Bernstein told the Town Council that the Chapel Hill Police Station consumes 420,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year at a cost of $25,000.

“That’s a lot,” Connor said.

Wearing button-down shirts, dress pants, sweaters and sneakers — including one pair of Converse All-Stars — seven young men appeared before the council Monday to present the results of an energy audit they conducted at the police station on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Click here to read full article.

Don't throw those oyster shells away!

From Shelling For Sustainability, Chapel Hill News:

Every Thursday, Greg Overbeck pulls his silver Ford pickup to the back entrance and loads heavy boxes of empty oysters shells into the truck bed. He drives to Carrboro and delivers them to Tom Robinson at Tom Robinson's Carolina Seafood, in a tiny freestanding building in the parking lot behind Armadillo Grill.

Robinson in turn drives the shells to the beach on his weekly fresh fish run and turns them over to fishery workers, who dump them back into the ocean to help replenish diminishing oyster beds. Young oysters prefer to grow on the backs of bigger oyster shells.

Click here to read full article.

Help Preserve Carrboro Greenspace

From Carrboro Greenspace re property at 116 Old Pittsboro:

In the last few weeks a REAL chance to save one of the only green spaces left in downtown Carrboro has emerged; but we need your help to make it happen! As of November 19, we received news that there is a potential buyer willing to help purchase the property and support its preservation IF they can a) partner with the town, b) be assured of community investment in and support for purchasing and conserving the land.

We know for a fact the town is interested, but we need to convince them that a) residents really, really want this, and 2) that this is economically viable. The town was recently sent an official proposal and a request to partner… this means that if there was ever a time to save this magical property, it is probably now. Please help us make this effort a reality

Click here to help.

Chapel Hill Transit (Buses) Forum

The annual Chapel Hill Transit Public Forum will be held in two sessions from 5 to 6 p.m. and from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, at Chapel Hill Town Hall, 405 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Click here for more info.

Advisory Board Openings

Help Carrboro develop sustainably by becoming a member of an advisory board. Spots are currently open on the planning and environmental advisory boards.

Check the town's message board for current openings and to apply online.

3 Novel Things

There are many commonplace SCALE practices such as installing fluorescent light bulbs, bicycling, and recycling. What are three things that you do to SCALE that are not quite mainstream?

Going Solar Not Feasible?

Join NC GreenPower and offset your coal-burning, electricity emissions by donating $4 per 100 kwh. The program helps utility companies to buy back the electricity produced by green sources at the same rate at which they sell their dirty power.

Shave the Old-Fashioned Way

You can prevent a lot of waste by shaving with a double-edged razor, shaving soap, and brush. That's what I use and the only waste is a very, very thin piece of steel each month. It's an enjoyable experience that leaves me without razor burn. Even better would be a straight razor, but those are expensive and more difficult to use.

Here's a good beginners' guide.

And here's where you can buy the goods and get a whole lot of info as well.

Don't let Gillette fool you into thinking their five-blade razors are any better than what your dad or grandad used.

I assume these razors would work equally well on other parts of the body, but would be interested to hear feedback.

Unpackaged

There's a new store in town, Unpackaged,(if you live in London).

Here's their deal:

We believe that most packaging is unnecessary so we’re doing something about it.

The result is Unpackaged- the new way for you to shop safe in the knowledge that you’ve not created any waste that’s going to end up in a landfill.

We want you to bring your own containers for us to fill up with your favourite things and we’ll make it cheaper if you do. We know that it isn’t always easy to remember so we can also offer reusable containers that you can bring back next time.

Fix Your ipod (or other electronics), don't dump 'em

Apparently shimming the hard drive of the ipod with a piece of paper fixes them 70% of the time.

NY Times article with other resources for fixing electronics.

Cool Biz

Japan's government started a campaign two years ago to turn down thermostats in government and business offices. So far, it has prevented two million tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted.

Read the Morning Edition transcript.

Has anyone heard of similar programs in the U.S.? I would like to get town hall and local businesses to relax their ac/heat use and I think a campaign would encourage people to see their indoor comfort differently--as part of a cause rather than as a necessity.

Less Asphalt=More Walkable

Carrboro Transportation Advisory Board member Tom High argues for fewer lanes on Smith Level Road to increase pedestrian safety.

Read his article.

Sign his petition.

Reuse Yogurt Containers for Bulk Items

While making your own yogurt is better than buying the quart-sized containers, a good way to reuse them is to put bulk food in them instead of using paper or plastic bags at the grocery store. Another use is a form for concrete to make your own landscaping "stones".

Avoid Disposable Cups and Bottled Water

I carry my Vintage Tupperware Cup with me everywhere, either clipped on a bag or my key chain. It is a great alternative to bottled water and disposable cups.

Avoid Disposable Take-out Containers

Besides not eating-out or getting food to-go, you can avoid using disposable take-out containers by bringing a reusable container when dining out or ordering food to-go. I prefer my Tupperware Seal 'n Serve Bowl because it has a no-spill seal, is pretty narrow, comes in many colors, and has a retro appeal.

How To Post

To create a post, click the blogger icon in the left corner and sign in as carrboroscale with carrboro as the password. click on new post and write your post, choose an appropriate label, and publish post.

Reduce Water Consumption

Here's a recent thread from Orange Politics on how to conserve water:

http://orangepolitics.org/2007/11/saving-your-gallon/

Step It Up

An event hosted by the Carrboro Greenspace (in exile). Starting at 2 p.m. at the Carrboro Town Commons during the Really Really Free Market everyone including candidates for office are invited to share with one another what we are already doing and what we plan on doing to reduce Greenhouse gas emmissions to levels that are sustainable for all inhabitants of our planet. Having this event during a Really Really Free Market serves to highlight one of the many grassroots people-driven projects that Carrboro has that are contributing to the reduction of CO2 emmisions. The Really Really Free market is a living example for how to reduce the excesses of consumerism while at the same time creating a space for community. Carrboro has a few grassroots people-driven projects such as the Really Really free market, The Carrboro Greenspace, The Recyclery and the CCGC community garden that demonstrate the power that people can have independent of initiatives normally expected from official leaders. In Carrboro we are fortunate to have elected leaders that can recognize the value of these projects and support them in whichever way they can. carrborogreenspace.org

http://events.stepitup2007.org