Waste
Waste threatens to overwhelm natural ecosystems and the health of people and other life, primarily because our society produces so much waste in the form of short-lived or single-use materials and products that do not lend themselves to re-use or even recycling.
One obvious solution for household and small-business refuse is to make the fees proportional to the amount of waste, rather than a flat monthly or annual fee. This approach is often called ‘Pay As You Throw‘ or PAYT.
Some municipalities in Sweden & Canada treat waste as a resource, used to generate electricity, heat, and gas for the community, so we need to do much more.
Another important Waste issue is the waste from sewage treatment plants. Sewage sludge, euphemistically called ‘biosolids’ to conceal its origin, is often spread on farm fields as fertilizers, despite its load of heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals that the treatment plant does not remove.
Wurth’s 2-12-12 anti-WTE Letter
February 12, 2012 Allentown City Council Allentown Environmental Advisory Council Re: Delta Thermo Agreement Dear Allentown Official: As a representative of the Sierra Club (SC), I expressed grave concerns about the proposed waste incinerator project planned for Allentown when it … more
Sustainability for Events
Like most other areas of our lives, events are usually organized without a commitment to minimize their impact on our ecosystems, health, and sustainability. [Coming soon: Resources to help plan events that have minimal impact on global warming and sustainability, … more
Do campus food services contribute to sustainability and health?
Campus dining services, like other institutional food-service operations, prepare large volumes of food every day, most of it the product of the industrialized agriculture system, not grown sustainably. It is often served in ways that produce large volumes of waste, … more
Paying for the Waste You Generate
Even the free-market folks should like the idea of having those who generate the waste pay the costs of disposing of it. Not only does it allocate costs more fairly, it provides an automatic incentive to reduce the volume of … more
Sewage Sludge
One reliable & comprehensive source of information about sludge and the dangers associated with its use is the Sludge-Free Alliance, based in nearby Berks County. Here’s an introductory paragraph from their website: For just one moment, think of everything that gets flushed or rinsed … more
A Day in the Life
by Chrysan Cronin — It’s 6:30 in the morning. I am scrambling an egg white in a non-stick pan from an egg that, one minute earlier, had been nesting in a plastic egg carton, surrounded by 11 other eggs stamped … more
Signers: Precautionary Principle for Marcellus Shale
Experts working in environmental or health field Patricia T. Bradt, PhD Environmental Science, Muhlenberg College John A. Cigliano, PhD Biology; Cedar Crest College Joseph C. Colosi, PhD Natural Science & Plant Ecology Chrysan Cronin, PhD Biology & Public Health; Muhlenberg … more
Fifty Ways to Help Save the Planet
What you can do The problem is so vast and the urgency so great that advice which suggests you turn off the tap while brushing your teeth or switch off lights and standbys when they are not needed or go … more
If a CFL Breaks
Overall, using fluorescent lamps, including CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps), reduce power consumption and the amount of mercury released from power plants. [See 'Mercury & CFLs'.] Even so, each CFL contains a small amount of mercury, so if it breaks, you … more