conservation « Idealist Cafe

Posts Tagged ‘conservation’

Clean water should be taken more seriously

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Photo credit: makelessnoise

The other day I saw an article about big city water ratings in the United States, and it really got me thinking how sad it is that clean, fresh water is so hard to find. The article was brought to my attention at a good time, as just the other day I watched a program on the History Channel (I think) that spoke of the deterioration of the public infrastructure here in this country. This show was more broad in its content than just public water, but in addition to describing how the public water infrastructure is badly in need of repair, it also described roads, bridges and highway systems that are also in need of repair and in some cases close to failing.

In the article, San Diego -my current city of residence- was ranked 91 out of [...]

How to Keep 10,000 Plastic Bags out of Landfills by doing Nothing

Monday, October 12th, 2009

I consider myself to be a pretty eco minded person, I wouldn’t go so far as too say I’m extreme when it comes to conservation and minimizing waste, but I do exert a fair amount of effort to try to minimize my impact, especially when it comes to over consumption and blatant waste. And I certainly would consider our (Americans) use of plastic a blatant waste.

For my part, I always bring my reusable bags when I go shopping, and I even go so far as to use an empty bread loaf bag to pick up dog poop rather than throw it out unused. These days when I make my lunch I reuse one ziplock bag for several weeks, rather than dispose of it daily, and I also use a tupperware to pack my sandwich and vegetables. Right there, assuming that I make lunch 3 days [...]

City of San Diego tells us to conservere water, then they waste it

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

I’m not sure how to feel about this whole water conservation effort here in San Diego. I’ve seen quite a few glaring contradictions lately that would seem to indicate to me that although they are telling us how to use our water, they aren’t doing the same at the public level. Of course San Diego is a big city, and I can’t expect them to know how every public water user is managing their water, but I would hope they would make their best effort to do so, being that they are running ads with the slogan “Waste no Water”.

A few weeks ago, the ball park at the Rec Center near my house was watering at 11:30 AM, which is prohibited under the new water usage restrictions which prohibit outdoor watering between 10AM and 6PM. Maybe it’s just me, but being that the rec centers are run [...]

San Diego River bike path being extended

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

Photo Credit: Sean Haffey, Union Trib

I don’t live in Ocean Beach anymore, but when I did I lived near Dog Beach and the San Diego River. Actually, many people don’t even know that there is a river in San Diego, but there is. So anyway, when I lived there, I always used to jog along the river on the bike path, (yes the linked map is the actual path of the river, only the first few miles were paved at the time I lived there) and once when I was trying to avoid getting in my car I tried to follow the path on my bike into Mission Valley to make a run to Borders to look for a guide book for my trip to Spain.

Of course during that attempted ride is when I realized that the [...]

San Diego drought tolerant landscaping

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Image credit: Letz Design

I figured I’d share interesting article about drought tolerant landscaping, known as Xeriscaping, that I found via my Ode Magazine Newsletter. It’s especially relevant since I live in San Diego at a house with a lawn that uses irrigation. It’s not very detailed about specific plants that can be used for making changes, but it is definitely food for thought.

View article here: Yanking out lawns saves water and money

Interesting side note: I started thinking about writing this post the other day while at work. Ironically, as I was pondering drought tolerant landscapes and the water shortages and new water rationing rules here in San Diego, I looked out the window into Petco Park to see them watering the dirt in preparation for the night’s baseball game. My office is located in such [...]

Water Conservation – A letter to the city

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

A few weeks ago, while driving into work in the rain, I noticed that the sprinklers on the side of the freeway were on. Not only is this ridiculous, but it is especially ridiculous being that San Diego is basically a desert with very little of its own water supplies, and the city has recently said that unless water usage is decreased soon we will have mandatory water rationing. So I decided to write a little letter to the mayor’s office. Here is is:

Hello Mayor Sanders,

I have read in the past months of your efforts at promoting water conservation in the city. Also, I had seen that you declared a water shortage emergency this past summer which called for residents to voluntarily cut back there usage or face mandatory cutbacks later on.

I am writing because I would like to see the city take further initiative [...]

Tags: conservation, environment, San Diego, water
Posted in environment | 1 Comment »

Apartment recycling

Saturday, July 8th, 2006

Here in San Diego, there is a problem with trash. I keep hearing that the landfills are filling up much to fast, and that they will be at capacity soon. Ok, so recycling is the quickest way to lessen the burden on the landfills.

The problem is that approximately 80-90% of people in San Diego rent. If you’re renting a house in a neighborhood, the chances are probably pretty good that you’ll have a recycle bin provided, however if you’re like me and you live in a complex, you’ll more than likely have a dumpster only.

So once again, the city misses the boat. Recycling isn’t mandatory, and apartment owners probably choose to have only a dumpster because it’s the cheapest solution. So yet again, a place where you could make a fairly big difference, where the population density is highest, they’re not doing it.

I myself keep [...]

Too much waste in businesses and restaurants

Friday, May 19th, 2006

I was sitting at lunch today, and once again I got frustrated by the amount of waste that most places generate. I am referring specifically to restaurants and businesses. Probably the two types of places that could make the biggest difference if they were environmentally responsible.

First of all, businesses blow my mind. Most places generate huge amounts of paper waste, both in the form of paper, and cardboard packaging. And unless I’m misinformed, I’m guessing it all goes to the landfill. My work is currently moving offices, and pretty much all new stuff is being bought, so all the old is getting tossed (most in the form of paper and brochures, along with smaller amounts of e-waste). And I have to say, I don’t really blame the businesses. It seems to be so much of a hassle to properly dispose of it that [...]

Posts Tagged ‘conservation’

Clean water should be taken more seriously

How to Keep 10,000 Plastic Bags out of Landfills by doing Nothing

City of San Diego tells us to conservere water, then they waste it

San Diego River bike path being extended

San Diego drought tolerant landscaping

Water Conservation – A letter to the city

Apartment recycling

Too much waste in businesses and restaurants

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