Do People Ever Think of the Cost?

We've all heard the chants: Global Warming, Climate Change, Pollution, Green Movement, etc. It's been going on for as long as I can remember (50+ years) and no doubt much longer than that. Still, I'm always astonished by how short sighted people can be.

We know we're all 'supposed' to drive 'green' cars. You know, the ones you plug into your local coal fired power plant (if you live where there's no hydroelectric power generation).

We're all supposed to use those CFL bulbs - the ones with mercury that are 'supposed' to be disposed of as hazardous waste - except the manufacturers don't bother putting that little tit bit on their packaging because it would ruin sales. If you want to read about that, here's an article for you:

Alliance for Natural Health website-CFL Bulbs

And, if one of those gets broken, here's how your supposed to clean it up:

EPA Instructions for Cleaning Up a Broken CFL Bulb

This is the text from that website - the Environmental Protection Agency:

Before Cleanup

• Have people and pets leave the room.
• Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment. 
• Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
• Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:
  • stiff paper or cardboard;
  • sticky tape;
  • damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
  • a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

During Cleanup

• DO NOT VACUUM.  Vacuuming is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken.  Vacuuming could spread mercury-containing powder or mercury vapor.
• Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.  Scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard.  Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.  See the detailed cleanup instructions for more information, and for differences in cleaning up hard surfaces versus carpeting or rugs.
• Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

After Cleanup

• Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of.  Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors. 
• Next, check with your local government about disposal requirements in your area, because some localities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center. If there is no such requirement in your area, you can dispose of the materials with your household trash.
• If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

If you have further questions, please call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.

 Oh, yeah baby! I want those in my house!

Then we have the latest gadget. They seem innocuous, harmless. After all, it's just a little tiny cup. What harm is there?

How about 9 billion - 9,000,000,000 of them going into our landfills each and every year? And that was last year alone. The market is still growing - Coca-Cola is about to leap on board - a machine on every counter, a drink for every occasion.

But they're small! Well, yes, they are, individually. But they add up. Imagine 9 billion of something that's only .035 inches in area. That's no big deal, right?

Uh, actually it is. When you multiply .035 x 9,000,000,000 you end up with 316,250,000 square inches.

So? Yeah, that's a lot but who cares? Okay, we'll convert that to square feet: 13,176,900 square feet.

Now, according to a variety of websites, the average American home is 2,600 square feet in size. That's all of the houses averaged.  So let's divide that square footage, because we can all envision the size of a house, into that square footage of those little innocuous cups.

5,068. That is 13,176,00 divided by 2,600. 5,068 homes - if they were all one-story and 2,600 square feet.

So let's see... According to the 2010 Census, there are 2.58 people per household. Divide 5,068 x 2.58 = 1,964.36 homes.

That's the equivalent of a good sized town - all covered over in those harmless, non-recyclable, non-biodegradable k-cups.

Yep, you know the ones - those little k-cup things you might have gotten your coffee from this morning.

And that is just one year's worth. What about next year, and the year after, and the year after that. The market is growing. Are we really going to pave over our planet for a tiny bit of convenience? Really?

Think about it. 

Best~
Philippa


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