I was watching "Living with Ed" on HGTV--a very interesting show. One of the people on the show was a green consultant who would visit different homes and advise them on how to make their homes more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. One tip that the lady mentioned was that when recycling plastic, one should always remove the caps and separate them from the bottles. She noted that if the caps are still on the bottles, they will simply be tossed in the trash at the recycling facility. I usually remove the caps but figured that if I left one on, someone would remove it and recycle the bottle. I guess I was wrong. It seems I still have a lot to learn with recycling. One crime I am often guilty of (besides leaving caps on at times) is to put too many things in the recycling bin that are of questionable recycling potential--e.g. styrofoam, etc. I always felt better including the questionable items rather than throwing them away, yet now I am realizing I may have been doing more harm them good. It seems key with recycling that rules need to be pretty strictly followed, to avoid corrupting those items that are easily recycled, with those that are not. By putting too many items in a recycling bin that cannot be readily recycled, the possibility emerges that the integrity of the other items will be disrupted and them will have to be disposed of.

I read an article yesterday about how to reduce trash in landfills. One shocking item I read said that it takes 1 million years for a piece of styrofoam to decompose. 1 million years??!! It's bad enough that we have items in our landfills that are technically biodegradable to some degree--like newspaper--that are not biodegrading because of a lack of oxygen when buried underground. Is the 1 million years when styrofoam is out in the open? Does it take more than 1 million years to decompose when placed in a landfill? Are all of those styrofoam containers that McDonalds used to use still in pristine condition in landfills across the country? If we knew that back then, maybe we should have tried to at least make those containers into some other product--especially given its longevity. After reading this article, I wondered why we are using styrofoam in any capacity in this day and age. If we can't recycle it easily and it won't go away for 1 million years (at least) when disposed of, what business do we have in buying and using styrofoam plates, cups, etc.? We really need to focus on either reusable containers at various restaurants or at least, recyclable containers. Not only that, fast-food restaurants and other establishments should be offering places for these containers to go for recycling purposes. Many states and cities promote recycling efforts in terms of residences, but really do very little to provide businesses with incentives to promote customer recycling. In other words, even if people recycle when home, they may often dispose of all containers when out at restaurants or at stores because no recycling bins are available. This needs to change and styrofoam, in my opinion, needs to be phased out as a choice for storing and serving food and beverages.

I was very excited to hear that a bill mandating that utilities derive 15% of their energy from alternative energy has finally passed the U.S. House. As I recall, the original bill called for a 25% renewable energy requirement, but what was passed, was frankly, more than I expected. I believe the requirement kicks in by 2020 and will purportedly reduce carbon dioxide emissions substantially. I do not fully understand the legislative process, in terms of how the final law will look, and what final revisions may be made, but it is very encouraging news. It sounds like Nancy Pelosi has lived up to her commitment to addressing environmental and energy issues by promoting this legislation. It also sounds like now would be a great time to invest in some alternative energy companies, like solar and wind power generating businesses. With the latest coal mine tragedy in Utah, it really seems like now is the time to wean ourselves off of our coal reliance. Perhaps this law will also lessen our gas and oil demand as well. As one writer put it (whose name I unfortunately do not recall), one day the oil we rely upon so heavily today will be something we read about in history books--like whale oil.