NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

Back to Article Index
NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION
by JANE BOGNER
SUNDAY, December 28, 2003

As you scurry around your house trying to figure out how to recycle the old stuff that was replaced by the new stuff you received for Christmas, maybe it’s time to think about your New Years Resolution.

Vallejo Garbage’s Recycling Manager Sara Gallegos-Ascencio recently e-mailed to a “Consumption Manifesto.” Grab a cup of mint tea (made from the mint that grows in your yard), put your feet up and contemplate changes in your lifestyle for 2004.

A Consumption Manifesto by Umbra Fisk Grist Magazine Research Associate:

Article One. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This brilliant triad says it all. Reduce: Avoid buying what you don't need and when you do get that dishwasher or lawnmower or toilet, spend the money up front for an efficient model. Reuse: Buy used stuff and wring the last drop of usefulness out of most everything you own. Recycle: Do it, but know that it's the last and least effective leg of the triad. Ultimately, recycling simply results in the manufacture of more things.

Article Two. Stay close to home. Work close to home to shorten your commute; eat food grown nearby; patronize local businesses; join local organizations. All of these will improve the look, shape, smell, and feel of your community.

Article Three. Internal combustion engines are polluting and their use should be minimized. Period.

Article Four. Watch what you eat. Whenever possible, avoid food grown with pesticides, in feedlots, or by agribusiness. It's an easy way to use your dollars to vote against the spread of toxins in our bodies, land, and water.

Article Five. Private industries have very little incentive to improve their environmental practices. Our consumption choices must encourage and support good behavior; our political choices must support government regulation.

Article Six. Support thoughtful innovations in manufacturing and production. Hint: Drilling for oil is no longer an innovation.

Article Seven. Prioritize. Think hardest when buying large objects; don't drive yourself mad fretting over the small ones. It's easy to be distracted by the paper or plastic bag puzzle, but an energy-sucking refrigerator is much more worthy of your attention.

Article Eight. Vote. Political engagement enables the spread of environmentally conscious policies. Without public action, thoughtful individuals are swimming upstream.

Article Nine. Don't feel guilty. It only makes you sad.

Article Ten. Enjoy what you have -- the things that are yours alone, and the things that belong to none of us. Both are nice, but the latter are precious. Those things that we cannot manufacture and should never own - water, air, birds, trees - are the foundation of life's pleasures. Without them, we're nothing. With us, there may be nothing left. It's our choice.

Disclaimer: Neither the Grist Magazine nor the author guarantees that any advice contained in this column is wise. Please use this column at your own risk. For environmental news from Grist Magazine, go to www.gristmagazine.com.

AFTER CHRISTMAS RECYCLING.

Recycle your Christmas Trees at VALCORE Recycling or Vallejo Garbage or call one of the nonprofits picking up trees in your neighborhood. Flyers are printed in this paper and are available at City Hall, VALCORE and on
our website.

When recycling boxes and wrapping paper please do not include the following: ribbons, bows, tissue paper (it’s for the worms), plastic boxes, Styrofoam, bubble wrap, etc.

All used greeting cards can be sent to The Card Project, St. Judes Ranch for Children, 100 St. Judes Street, Boulder City, NV 89005. (1-800-492-3562 www.stjudesranch.org).

VALCORE Recycling Vice President Jane Bogner's "A Sorted Affair" is published every other week in the Times-Herald, Community Outlook Section. For recycling information call Genie Kaggerud, VALCORE Recycling manager at 645-8258 or visit www.VALCORErecycling.org.