white castle tries a different color on for size - green!
white castle, how can i explain how much i love you? we’ve been through so much together - sleepless nights in college when i found solace in your deliciously steamed slyders, a bad batch of clam strips that i eventually overcame and a fender bender caused by my fervor for your chicken rings (can you believe that the guy understood that i was in a rush to get to white castle and drove away with no questions asked?).
you’re america’s oldest burger chain, and you’ve stayed in the game because you know how to evolve. i’m proud of you for your recent switch to 100% recycled crave cases and sacks and encourage you to keep up the good work. don’t be discouraged by people who might call the move greenwashing. you were able to overcome the public’s hesitancy to eat ground beef in the 20s with your sparklingly immaculate towers of white, and kept them coming back for more with your juicy little burgers and unwaveringly crunchy onion rings.
in case anyone is interested, white castle also takes the following steps to conserve energy and reduce waste:
they have been committed to reusing and recycling the outer bun cartons since 1965.
the company has used duro-last white roofing for new restaurant construction since 1992. duro-last reflects over 86% of the sun’s energy, reducing energy costs. duro-last is a charter partner in the energy star roof products program, sponsored by the u.s. environmental protection agency.
white castle recycles thousands of pounds of metal each year and approximately 1200 pounds of recyclable plastics per year.
led lighting used in 55 white castle restaurant locations reduced co2 by 948 tons per year. each unit retrofit reduces co2 emissions by 17 tons per year.annual electricity savings is $2,550 per store from an investment of approximately $10,000 per store.
plans are underway for more environmentally responsible initiatives including storm water bioretention and use of more green building materials in the construction of restaurant buildings.
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the european union compares our current crisis to a flooded basement in letter to obama - clever…
what i’m going to say next may shock you, but i am putting it out there on the interwebs and will deal with the consequences at a later time. so here goes…
i like europeans. that’s right. you heard me. i like them and i don’t understand why it is considered unamerican to like them. is it because they don’t get fat? i guess that’s a valid reason, but they still pwn us when it comes to the environment.
that being said, i submit for your approval a letter written by european union environment commissioner stavros dimas this week to president obama, asking us to adopt regulations on climate change.
courtesy of green inc.
now that we have a new leader, the whole world is looking at us to either step up to the challenge or run away in denial like we have in the past.
the letter has several noteworthy excerpts. one of them is a rather on-point analogy that alludes to those who say that we need to put environmental concerns on the backburner and focus on nursing our sick, sick financial system back to health:
“If someone’s basement floods and they lose their job on the same day it is certainly an unlucky day. But they would not wait until they found a new job before pumping the basement and fixing the leak. If they did, then not only would they be unemployed, but they would also have a house that is starting to fall apart. Common sense says that the longer you leave a problem unsolved the harder it becomes to find a solution. I am quite sure that even Joe the Plumber would agree with this. Climate change is similar. We know there is a
problem and it would be short-sighted foolishness to not address it immediately.”
right on! mr. dimas - you are like my brother from another mother. and you threw in that little thing about joe the plumber. bravo.
check out the rest of the letter here. a lot of the points that mr. dimas makes may seem like no-brainers, but it’ll be very interesting to see how president obama will respond.
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how my new haircut made me realize that i am ready to be in a relationship
i know everyone is different, but this is what happened to me. by the way, this post really has nothing to do with the environment, so if you are a person who only cares about the environment, you should stop reading now. you should also start caring about other stuff!
it also has nothing to do with that youtube video of the guido saying “not now chief, i’m in da zone.”
being the cheapo that i am, i usually cut my own hair. and when i say cut, i don’t mean that twirly snip snip thing that hairstylists do. i mean i just grab a big chunk of it and chop it off with a pair of scissors.
so the other night, after several comments from my friends that my hair was looking suspect, i resorted to violence against it. people that know me know that i am often annoyingly self-righteous, and while i will ask for opinions, i am guilty of completely disregarding them. that night i was feeling quite satisfied with my hair, but decided to ask albert for his opinion since he was in close proximity.
“how does this look?” i swished my hair around wildly so that he couldn’t really see.
“ummm, not so good. may i?” he said.
well i never! i begrudgingly shoved the scissors at him in a shank-like motion.
after a couple of snips and some “umm hmms” he grunted his approval. i ran to the bathroom (what’s up with boys only having one mirror in their whole apartments - in the bathroom!) to check out my new do, shuddering with fear.
but then i saw it. it was good. it was better. it made me glad that i asked albert for his 2 cents.
in the past, i’d never wanted help. i’d never even wanted to be better. i just wanted to be me. but then albert came along and i realized that me with his input = a radically better me. who knew?!
does that mean that i will listen to albert all the time? i think not. but i will when it comes to my hair. it also means that albert should listen to me more because i saw him cutting up some tomatoes later on that night - with the same scissors he cut my hair with!
“shouldn’t you wash those?” i said.
“nah.”
we still have a lot to work on.
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new yorkers - did you know you can switch to wind energy?
i didn’t even know about this option until sam carroll of community energy inc. told me about it at the sustainable nyc store. don’t feel bad if you didn’t either, to quote the late notorious BIG, “if you don’t know, now you know, pigga.”
the fenner wind farm in madison county, ny
okay, i admit i changed up that last part a little bit. now for the question everyone is dying to know that answer to: how much is the switch going to cost? here’s the skinny:
not bad, right?
sam also explained to us that one wind turbine creates enough energy for about 500 families. 5 double OH! and when 500 new households sign up, they build another turbine. so in essence, by switching to wind, you’re also helping put up new turbines.
how fresh would it be if con ed ran a promo where if you could get 500 families in your area to sign up, you could see your turbine being built and customize it with your own patterns, family’s names and pics?
email sam to let him know you want to see that idea come to fruition at new.wind.energy.ny@gmail.com or enroll here.
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free gmail stickers courtesy of google!
true, these stickers are made out of paper (i’ve contacted google to see if they’re recycled), but email reduces SO much of our paper use that we can afford to pay a little homage to it.
i am such a sucker for unicorns…
send your self-addressed stamped envelope (along with a note if you’re so inclined) to:
Send me some Gmail stickers already
P.O. Box 391420
Mountain View, CA 94039-1420
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frugal friday
in an effort to curb my spending now that i am no longer employed full-time, i am putting myself on a strict $28 a week budget.
if i am able to pull this off, i’ll have made it through the year on $1,456*. i’ll also be able to prove to many of you that being eco (that’s what the japanese call it) can actually save you money rather than cost you money.
today’s lunch (mooched off my mom):
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this week’s summary
monday: $15 for sul lung tang at gahm mee ohk. paid for by albert (is it fair to say that he owes me money and is paying it back?) total for day: $0
tuesday: worked from home and ate a can of corn and piece of onion bread that i already had. attended the yelp inaugural ball and had to give a $10 donation that was also paid for by albert. he still owes me money! he also paid for my basil chicken at lannam. gosh, how can i make this look less gold-diggerish?!!! oh i know, i paid $6 for coatcheck for both of us. was that as pathetic as it sounded? total for day: $6
wednesday: worked from home and ate another piece of onion bread, some pretzels that i found lying around and rotting potato salad. made a dinner of cut-up hot dogs (i can always count on you, hot dogs), a quarter bag of frozen mustard greens, parmesan cheese and pasta. fried up a leftoever bag of okonomiyaki mix that was half-spilled in cabinet. total for day: $0
thursday: rode bus to office, $2.50. scored 7 saltines, a bag of salt & vinegar (my fave) chips and a banana at work. ate leftover udon with leftover curry and leftover tofu (all old) for dinner. total for day: $2.50
friday: the day is still young. so far, i ate a piece of toast with questionable mozarella melted on top. i’m meeting the lovely kelly (also jobless at the moment) for dinner, and am nervous about being penurious. i have $19.50 to spend…wish me luck!
* does not include housing or trips, which i am not sure what to do about yet since i have 2 big mandatory ones coming up.
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eco-women unite!
if you want to check out the top femmes forming the voltron of the eco-movement, i highly recommend this lecture. starre vartan, who is like the head of the voltron will be there, and so will carolyn gilles and sandria taliercio (arms?).
| Eco-Women: Leading the Green Living Revolution |  |
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Starre Vartan, Carolyn Gilles and Sandria A. Taliercio
We all know we need to radically change our society to prevent environmental catastrophe, and politicians, business leaders and experts are debating how best to make the enormous shifts that are required. But real, lasting change will only come if people change their ways of living and consuming at the grassroots, and women are playing a key role in today’s eco-revolution. They are most often the CEOs of their households and in charge of raising the next generation and as a result are on the frontlines of the eco-movement.
This evening several trend-sending women leaders in green lifestyles will share their tips and insights on how to help save the planet while actually improving our lives, highlighting the leading edges of green living, from food to clothing to housewares to design to cleaning products to energy consumption to child rearing. Come discover how living sustainably can also mean living more creatively, more passionately, and more joyously.
AN EVENING LECTURE
Monday, March 30, 7:45–9:45pm
09WEC57P
Members: $8 / Nonmembers: $10
[CLICK TO REGISTER]
Starre Vartan is a blogger, writer and editor who’s been covering green women’s/consumer issues for nine years. She founded http://www.eco-chick.com/, and is the editor for Greenopia.com, home to green business and products listings. She recently authored The Eco Chick Guide to Life: How to be Fabulously Green.
Carolyn Gilles is the founder and director of Green Edge NYC, which she began in October 2006 to get answers about issues that affect the economic, social and environmental sustainability of our local and global communities. Gilles lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where she has an urban community that inspires her every day
Sandria Taliercio is a green living expert. She is co-owner of Precision Window Tinting, for energy conservation, and owner of Very Green, a green consulting company catering to families and women, http://www.verygreendiva.com/. She is an advisor for cosmetics and beauty products for http://www.greenopia.com/ and lectures at various mothers groups
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how to recycle styrofoam
after doing some follow-up research on my last post about being jealous of japan’s styrofoam recycling, i found some important information that reinforces the idea that america still rules (sort of).
up until now, i thought that there was really no way to recycle styrofoam (a.k.a. polystyrene) waste in the u.s. but check it out: we currently recycle expanded polystyrene foam packaging at a rate of approximately 10-12% each year. so there must be a way, even if your city’s curbside program doesn’t do it.
here are 3 ways you can bypass the system:
1. you can always save your polystyrene for the next time you need to package something fragile, or use it to make something else - sculptures, crafts, organizational trays
2. mail it back to be recycled: the alliance of foam packaging recyclers shows you how.
3. carry it back: here is a pdf of places in your neighborhood that will take your styrofoam off of your hands.
4. sell it back: the recycled plastic markets database hooks you up with buyers who will pay you for your old styrofoam.
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my grandpa pwns me by recycling styrofoam
this is my grampa.
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he’s not my real grampa, which is probably why i didn’t inherit his tragically good looks, but look! we do share a love of plaid!
like most japanese grampas, ojiichan, which is what i call my grampa because i have no idea what his real name is, does not know much about planet green, eco-blogging, or even really what the internet is for that matter. so when i went to my grandma and grampa’s mansion (this means apartment building in japanese - so odd!), i was blown away by the magnitude of eco-innovation that exists in their little household. in japan, it is not unheard of for thick booklets of more than 20 pages to be distributed showing people how to sort their trash, and community crusaders have been known to dumpster dive to investigate the whereabouts of improperly sorted garbage so that they can return it to the non-compliant owners.
since i usually pride myself on being the annoying eco-cop in any group, i almost swallowed my muscat flavored gum when i confidently tossed away a thin, plastic wrapper from some noodles (you know, the kind that comes on cup-a-noodle), only to be pwned by ojiichan who showed me the six bags he set out to sort trash. six! he told me to throw the wrapper into one bag and a twist tie that i was trying to throw out into another. a twist tie!
but here is the clincher - japanese people recycle styrofoam!
jepsra’s mascot: his darn pants are part of his shell. he went as far as to recycle his shell! how can i possibly compete?
anyhow, i found this info on the japan expanded polystyrene recycling association or jepsra’s website, and thought it was both interesting and envy-inducing.
the collection method:
note: epsy plazas are recycling bases for styrofoam. the “eps” stands for expanded polystyrene and the “y” is to make it sound cuter.
how the eps gets recycled:
these are the most current charts i could find about eps recycling in japan. if anyone has any newer information, please share!
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turn your plastic bag into a sewing machine cover
despite the utter yuckiness i feel for apple, i can’t help but be drawn to the disgustingly pretty things they churn out, and this here sky blue bag is no exception.
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does anyone remember this one? i got it when i purchased my ibook way back when, and still remember feeling more in awe about the bag than i did about the computer! it’s been in my closet for years now and instead of trashing it, i wanted to honor it by making it into a cover for my sewing machine!
the steps are fairly simple:
1. cut off the bottom and top inch or so of the bag and turn it inside out.
2. trace the outline of the item you want to make a cover for, leaving about an inch and a half for the hem.
3. sew along the outline you traced and try it on for size. if it fits correctly, trim the edges off so that it looks like this:
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4. turn your completed cover right side out and voila!
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you can also cut a little side slit out for any plugs or wires that need to poke out.
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now your sewing machine, toaster oven, or mao zedong bust can stay dust-free and you have saved another bag from the dump! pat yourself on the back, mister!
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on wind energy: warning, this is going to be a sappy one
the fact that obama gave a shoutout to wind and solar energy in his inaugural speech yesterday was a major boost to all of us who have been using our voices (and fingers!) to get the word out on blogs, twitter and in our communities. it’s going to take a lot more work, and i applaud people like wind4me who keep the momentum going - just like the awesome force that we hope to harness.
cheers to everyone who is creating their own force!
“perhaps we cannot raise the winds. but each of us can put up the sail, so that when the wind comes we can catch it.” e. f. schumacher, small is beautiful
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sustainable nyc: the new one stop shop for the new york ecosumer
new york city econnoisseurs rejoice! sustainable nyc, the lower east side’s new eco-store is open for business. not only does the store boast a colorful array of some of the coolest and best-designed sustainable products, check out the features that make the storefront itself eco-friendly:
1. built from 300 year-old reclaimed lumber from NYC buildings.
2. the furniture fixtures are recycled and for sale.
3. the wallpaper and paint are eco-friendly.
4. the store is powered by alternative energy.
5. even the sign outside is solar powered!
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some of swyyne’s picks for what to buy at sustainable nyc:
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preserve razors made from plastics (like yogurt cups) that usually can’t be recycled in new york. you can even send these back to be recycled again in a pre-paid envelope that the company supplies once you’re done using them!
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natracare organic tampons that are made from cotton not treated with pesticides, because if there is any place that you don’t want pesticide residue, it’s there.
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ingenious g diapers flushable diaper refills address the environment and take care of that funky smell in your house.
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chicobags in all different colors are durable and easy to carry around with you everyday.
sustainable nyc is located on Avenue A between 9th and 10th streets:
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| From Screen Captures |
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happy inauguration day! send a paperless obama commemoration via facebook
what an awesome way to celebrate this momentous occassion paperlessly.
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get it here.
hurry!
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clean coal ad makes coal look shady
peabody energy, the world’s largest coal company, just launched an ad campaign advocating ‘clean coal‘. although some people argue that the term ‘clean coal’ is an oxymoron and marketing scheme because there is no way that coal can be clean, others insist that the group of technologies that lie under the clean coal umbrella are a desirable way to reduce harmful byproducts associated with burning coal.
regardless of all that, LOOK AT THIS AD! what is going on here?!
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while i certainly won’t purport to know whether or not clean coal is a complete sham as some environmentalists say it is, i can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that this ad is ridiculous. i mean, was the goal to portray yourselves as the marketing scammers that everyone is saying that you are? personifying the lump of coal is, possibly, the most out of touch with humanity strategy i have ever seen. was the focus group that tested this ad stonehenge? while thisisreality.org, where i first saw this ad, compares peabody’s coal lump person/dude/lump to joe camel, noting the propaganda behind both characters, at least joe camel was actually cool! he had a motorcycle, leather jacket and look here, he’s even wearing a tux. was he also riding a horse one time. wait, i don’t think camels ride horses, so scratch that.
just putting sunglasses on something does NOT make it cool. it just makes you look more suspicious!
wow. that really got me heated. am i alone here? does anyone else think that this is ridonkulous?
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cardboard box duvet set - is bum-chic the newest trend?
i think i can say with near certainty that no one has walked up to a bum and said “bum, i would like to live vicariously through you.” unless it was someone who was a more boring bum.
but now we have this:
a crystal clear commentary on life on the streets, i must admit that the “home” duvet by peggy van neer is dripping with verisimilitude. the price for just the single duvet cover, £33.95, is quite a bit more than what a hobo would be able to shell out, but people seem to be willing to pay for the cheeky “relevance to our times” factor.
i wonder if ms. van neer was influenced at all by the “i’m not a plastic bag” bag or the “i’m not a paper cup” cup which were both designed with the environment in mind. while i can’t say that the home duvet cover is doing the earth any favors because last i checked, bedspreads weren’t on the top landfill polluters list, i like the fact that it pays homage to what i consider recycling’s unsung heroes by donating 30% of the gross profits go to centrepoint, the uk charity for homeless young people aged 16-25 which provides support and housing for 800 vulnerable homeless young people every night.
pre-order yours here.
thanks for the heads up geekykhan!
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why is this a site?
swyyne has always been an experiment for me. with all of the other super eco sites out there, i've been feeling like i want to contribute something just a bit different. so for now, here are my random musings.
look for stuff
feed yourself