Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with environmental

Give the Gift of Green (Planet)

DetonatedManiac — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:31:22 -0800

I am looking for good/effective/interesting environmental charities to donate to as Christmas gifts to family and friends. Working on 2 tracks 1) Charities that do the most actual good 2) charities that would give unique swag or "works-in-their-name". ~$25-$50 per person. In my family we have made a stated effort to reduce our carbon footprint for X-mas and not give too much "stuff" that people don't really need. Since we are all environmentalists I thought donations to a Green Charity in other people's name would be a good gift.

Still, I'm used to giving something tangible to people, especially something unique. Some thoughts I had were:
-Share of stock (and certificate) in a green energy company
-Certificate that says you have saved 1 acre of rain forest, or saved a baby seal, or planted trees as carbon offsets, etc.
-Something else that is unique, or gives an interesting keepsake, or just doing really really good work.

ON THE OTHER HAND. I realize that many charities that indulge in this type of swag marketing are not as effective. Obviously they have to spend some overhead to design, print, distribute the certificate or whatever. And you run the risk that they may be selling the swag more than they are actually doing good work.

So Hive mind, give me some good recommendations that let me give the gift and save the planet at the same time. I am aiming for 5-7 gifts at $25-$50 a pop, but could maybe do one or two bigger gifts for the whole family.

A Burning Question

greekphilosophy — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:39:00 -0800

I need a good collection of readings identifying major issues associated with energy production using biomass. Topic: Biomass use in energy production.
Goal: The formulation of an official policy concerning biomass energy for an environmental group.

You're an environmentalist and you have strong feelings about biomass, you want us to read [fill in the blank]. You are a developer or a corn farmer or an urban planner, and you want us to read [fill in the blank]. You are an indigenous person, and if the military junta in charge of your country allowed you access to literacy education, you would want us to read [fill in the blank].

Introductory readings are not necessary - this is for a crowd that is highly educated in environmental issues and already understands the basics of biomass. What we need are readings representing a variety of stakeholder interests. All publications are fair game - blogs, podcasts, articles, books, chapters, trade journals, haiku, medieval manuscripts. Extra points for anything having to do with urban waste management.

Best Eco-Friendly Packaging for Soft Goods?

Muffy — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 09:04:49 -0800

I'm looking for good, sturdy, eco-friendly shipping options for soft goods - mostly clothing. Something that won't fall apart or soak through before the customer receives their item, but also something that won't sit in a landfill for 400+ years. We'll be shipping lots & lots of clothing (and other soft goods, which will probably ship in cardboard boxes) soon and I'm looking for some of the best eco-friendly shipping options. I hate to think of all the stuff we send out just getting thrown away & best case scenario being recycled, worst case scenario sitting in a landfill for generations.

I found this thread about "out of the box" creative packaging solutions, and EcoEndure eco friendly plastic packaging and my favorite the ship-n-tote (mailer turns into a tote bag) but don't think we can justify adding $4-5 per shipment for the cost of packaging.

This blog post compares packaging from various tee shirt companies - they all look like varying degrees of clever design on plastic to me.

What good eco-friendly packaging options exist, or have I found all of them? (and I'm not above "why not ship it in a UPS zipper sleeve?" type advice.)

(Ideas for how to "delight" the customer with packaging also welcome.)

Any survey data on recycling?

k8t — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:50:56 -0800

Surveys on attitudes toward and behaviors of recycling and environmental concern? I'm looking for some survey data on American attitudes toward recycling and/or the environment as well as data on American recycling behavior. It would be FANTASTIC to have some that deals with generational differences, specifically teens and young adults. Any links out there? Newer is better, but I'll take what I can get. TIA!

Classic works in social and environmental sciences?

jofuu — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:31:03 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations on some must-read/classic literature from the social and environmental fields of science. I am currently taking general ed classes in the hope of pursuing a degree in anthropology (I'll be applying at Uconn this semester) and need some good material to hold me over.

Thanks Metafilter

Where can I start looking for grants for "going green"?

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:51:41 -0800

GreeningGrantFilter: I'm a volunteer at a soup kitchen who recently got asked to look for sources of funding for a "green" initiative. I have lots of experience chopping vegetables and coming up with ideas in the past, but on this issue of financing....none at all. A large (physically, and in terms of client base) urban soup kitchen is looking for grant aid (other type of assistance welcome too, in terms of consulting, etc.) to "go green" in its operations....not just because it's the right thing to do, but also because they're spending nearly $2000 per month in paper goods and associated trash costs--overwhelming for a place that's virtually running on a month-to-month basis given the current need and economic crunch.

This is one of the largest soup kitchens in our region (and serves 6 nights a week) and unique in other ways as well (consistent efforts to use fresh produce, salads at every meal, meals cooked from scratch--not dumped from cans--whenever possible, etc., (even as they serve 150+ per night), meeting restaurant standards of serving and presentation and cleanliness, etc.), so it might make an attractive cause and serve as a nice test case for an environmental group.

We currently need to retrofit an existing dishwasher on site to be operational and to bring it up to code, as well as buy all associated supplies for the switch (trays, cups, plates, etc.) so there is a definite plan in place. Donors in past years have been local and regional (financial institutions, churches, fraternal organizations, etc.) and I'm wondering if there's a directory or short list of donors on a national level who are interested in environmental issues whom I could be researching and contacting regarding this.

I have access to some online databases through a university, obviously the internet, etc. What I don't have is any grant research experience, or much connection to environmental organizations/foundations at this point.

Throwaway address is greensoupkitchen@gmail.com

What can I do to legally stop exploratory natural gas drilling within 1000 feet of my neighborhood?

TauLepton — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:54:33 -0800

What can I do to legally stop exploratory natural gas drilling within 1000 feet of my neighborhood? There is a local activism group, FRERC. However, they seem to be focusing on slowing the drilling down and asking the company to adhere to EPA standards. Which scares me to death.

The drilling would occur in the National Forest in Colorado. Because of the location, Dyad Petroleum Corporation would be exempt to EPA rules - such as what affects will occur to the water aquifers in this area. Thousands of residents water supply will be effected.

The drilling permits allow up to 465 drilling wells within visibility of my neighborhood. The compressors alone would be LOUD. Property values? Right.

I want to step it up. I want to make noise. Heck, I want Ed Begley to come chain himself to a tree with me.

What can I do from here? How can I utilize the 'net to call attention to this problem?

fly me to the moon...

crazylegs — Sun, 04 May 2008 11:00:52 -0800

How many person-miles are flown every year by commercial airlines? I can't seem to find any statistics online that address this specific question. I want to know how many person miles are flown annually by all commercial airlines worldwide. Meaning: airlines x total miles flown x number of passengers on each flight. Can anyone help?

Wild game -etarians?

Kevin A — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:30:39 -0800

Is there a name for people who, for ethical or environmental reasons, will only eat meat if they have hunted it themselves? Do significant numbers of these people exist? Do they have web sites?

Oh, right... peak oil. What should we eat?

pseudostrabismus — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 13:45:03 -0800

Seeking ideas for healthy, balanced, kid-friendly meals that use local (ideally Ontarioan) ingredients, don't require the expenditure of electricity, and could be made by an 8-year old with minimal supervision? I'm doing some work for a youth organization, and we're trying to help kids understand the amount of energy that goes into getting food to their door. As a challenge, I want to suggest a few meals (breakfast, lunch, snacks, or dinner) that are healthy, kid-friendly, and extremely planet-friendly. The guidelines:

1. Local- Should use foods that are locally grown (Southern Canada). The foods don't have to be organic- I'm hoping to keep costs down so the recipies are accessible to all income brackets.

2. Accessible- The ingredients should be easy to find- say, even at a rural grocery store- and easy to prepare, not daunting and unfamiliar (no sprouted-spelt-germ type recipes), so that the meal is easily recreatable.

3. Human-powered- To show kids how reliant we are on electricity, I was hoping to find meals that required no electricity to prepare- so no oven, and bonus points if no food processor. But also no campfire- these must be indoor recipes.

4. Healthy- The meal must be balanced, with a good protein source.

5. Peanut-free- Because of the prevalance of peanut allergies, avoiding peanuts is probably best. Other kinds of nuts are probably ok.

6. Kid friendly- Ideally a second-grader (7-8 yrs) could make this meal, almost unsupervised. Using a knife is fine.

7. Tasty- Kids and parents should enjoy eating whatever-it-is.

It's okay if these meals turn out to be big, varied salads, or little tapas plate collections- I've been thinking about this for a few days and that's what I've mostly come up with.

If you feel there's some aspect of "planet-friendly" I could re-examine, I'll welcome your advice on those topics as well- I've done some research, but I don't pretend to be an expert.

Thanks in advance, and I look forward to your suggestions!

Advice before interviewing for small environmental law internship?

DetonatedManiac — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:17:02 -0800

LawFilter: I am applying for an internship at a small law practice that focuses on environmental law. What should I do to prep for this beyond the normal job interview routine? Also, how reasonable are the conditions of this internship (details below)? I have done all the normal job interviewy things: updated resume, lined up references, researched the employer (to the degree that I know what I am looking for) etc etc...

BUT this is my first experience with a job in the law... What else should I do to prep? What questions should I ask to gauge if this will be a good learning experience for me? What conditions or assurances about the position are reasonable for me to request (what is a reasonable wage to expect/negotiate for)? What other things should I consider before going on this interview?

The law practice is very small, only 2 lawyers, but it focuses in the area that I am interested in, Environmental law.

I talked to the main partner and he said that since I have already gotten my undergraduate degree (and I am not currently accepted or enrolled in any law schools) he would hire me as an unpaid intern for the first 3-4 months. If it feels like a good fit for both sides he would consider me for part time/full time work as my schedule allows.

It sounded like very basic office clerical/gofer/runner work to begin, but he said as I "grow into the position" I could eventually do paralegal work, interviewing, research etc.

Is this setup normal? How much experience is such an entry level position likely to give me in law... since I am taking this position partly as a way to gauge if I want to pursue law school? Would this job (assuming it goes well) be good on a law school application or is it too small of a firm?

And perhaps most importantly for me... Would it be presumptuous of me to only accept the unpaid internship on the condition that I am given the same health benefits/group rates as the paid staff (this is a sticking point for personal health reasons)?

Not another live earth.

tmcw — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:36:12 -0800

I'm a massive critic of boycott-protests, but I'd like to change some things around my college campus for the good of the environment and for the students. What are the most effective ways (no big-jam-concert-to-raise-"awareness") to do this? For instance, some things that I've noticed

- Lots of styrofoam used in all eating areas
- No recycling at dorms
- Dining services provided by Aramark and are awful
- Students massively underrepresented in the surrounding town

More abstractly, I'd like to know if there's any middle ground between total apathy and ineffective idealism in this sort of thing, because I'd like to take some action. So, any suggestions of methods that have shown results in the past?

Thanks for any help.

I want to call her...but I don't know how...to use a phone

parmanparman — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:03:42 -0800

About a month ago, I began producing a daily one-hour radio show on environmentalism, sustainable living, and the common good. Putting the show every day is a challenge for a variety of reasons, but one of the hardest parts has been trying to find news to report and the experts to make these reports possible. Please help me! I am looking to join mailing lists and also liaise with academics/advocates/activists/industry experts and so on about important environmental and sustainable living issues. If you know of groups I NEED to know about, or ways to access experts, I would appreciate your feedback.

Paint Rollers and the environment: Wash or waste?

ssmith — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:11:49 -0800

My wife has come to the conclusion that it's more environmentally friendly to use a paint roller once (and then let it dry out and throw it away) as opposed to wasting upteen gallons of water cleaning all the paint out in order to reuse the roller. This seems crazy and a waste of money to me. What say you AskMetafilterians?

Paper or Plastic?

penciltopper — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:15:19 -0800

Which is "greener"? Her metal & plastic mechanical pencils manufactured in Japan, or my Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils made in North America? She says my wood pencils kill trees. I say we can plant more, and the industrial byproducts of pencil maufacture are wood shavings and whatever toxins are in the yellow paint, which I can take or leave (I think...I do like the yellow).

I say she's adding to the world's supply of cheap plastic toxic junk. She counters that I chew/lose/use up lots of pencils, while mechanical pencils can last for years. (I call shenanigans on that, noting that she loses hers all the time). She compares my cutting down rare and precious trees instead of using nonrenewable materials to make pencils is like running a car on whale oil and saying I can always make more whales.

Okay, MeFites.
That should get y'all started. Please chip in on our fight.

Go green or save green?

electroboy — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 11:08:23 -0800

Should I switch to green power, wind power, or whatever is cheapest? So BGE has just hiked its generation rates to 11.4 cents per kilowatt. Through the magic of deregulation, I have several options if I switch my service provider:

1. 100% Wind Power at 13.9 cents/kW - the most expensive choice, but probably the most environmentally responsible. 1 year term, $75 early termination fee.

2. 100% Green (mix of solar, wind, biofuels, incinerating municipal waste) at 12.9 cents/kW. 1 year term, $75 early termination fee

3. Flat rate at new provider at 10.6 cents/kW - no information on the power source, since I'm in Maryland I assume it's some mix of coal and nuclear. No term.

Factoring in all the fees and tranmission costs, it looks like going with flat rate will save about $5 a month, the "green" option will cost an additional $5 and the wind will cost an additional $10 over my current bill.

So my questions are, what are the arguments for and against paying slightly more for green power? Or should I just go with the very cheapest? I'm aware that wind is probably the best choice in terms of emissions, but I'm wondering if I'm missing something. Is there an argument to be made for the loss in efficiency by paying a higher price for the same product?

Where are the green jobs going?

quadog — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:37:35 -0800

From what industries are the green/sustainable jobs emerging? Are there educational programs in place to meet the potential demand? I'm interested in a more meaningful angle to my line of work by pursuing something in the field of green/sustainable design. Given the relatively recent spike in environmental awareness, is it possible to predict now what industries will be looking for folks with an emphasis in this knowledge/experience? Furthermore, are specific universities ramping up programs to address the potential demand?

I might be casting too wide a net with this question so if it needs to be boiled down to something specific: where are the green jobs going?

They're too quiet about their good deeds

krisjohn — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:53:01 -0800

Help me promote an environmentally conscious, socially responsible small business. A small business that I'm a big fan of puts aside a proption of the profit from one of their products to be distributed to local (to them) environmental and educational causes. To me this is a huge deal, but they've not really pushed this aspect. In fact, I missed it for a year or so, despite having purchased the product in question.

Currently I'm involved in promoting this business and its products in general, but I'd like to do more with their environmental fund in particular. Are there places (online) where this business can be registered, promoted or generally discussed specifically because they give money to such causes?

They're environmentally and socially conscious in other ways too. A couple of examples: Currently they're hosting a discussion about paper recycling and they have previously rejected off-shoring their production to China even though it would be much cheaper.

Labour statistics for the EU

hazyjane — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 07:30:03 -0800

I'm trying to find some labour statistics to support a graduate school application that I am putting together, but my google-fu is failing me. I'd like to find out the approximate number of people employed in the environmental sector versus the information technology sector in 2000 and in 2006 in the European Union. The statistics for 2006 should take into account only those member states that were also members in 2000 so that the figures can be compared with each other. Alternatively, I would like to find statistics for the UK and France only. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Bad Well?

furiousxgeorge — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 11:47:02 -0800

A test by the Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed Coliform bacteria is present in well water. The sample does not contain E. coli, which would be indicative of fecal contamination. How does one go about determining the source of this contamination, and what remedial action should be taken?

Where to see interesting political/scientific/general interest talks in London

ingridm — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 02:50:03 -0800

Where to see interesting political/scientific/general interest talks in London I enjoy going to talks and learning about new things. I have already gone to quite a few talks in London, including the political/social talks organised by Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique (the website's seems to be down at the moment, but was working last week), scientific talks at the Science Museum's Dana Centre and travel talks at the Globetrotter's club. I see that the Royal Society in London also has occasional talks.

Is there anywhere else that runs regular talks? I don't mind paying to see things, although would prefer it to be free or only a few quid. I'm interested in going to talks about pretty much any topic - politics, social & environmental issues, travel, food etc. Not so keen on seeing authors/ businesses talk as I've found they tend to be focussed on the book they're publicising or selling their business.

Any ideas?

Environmetally friendly coal?

insomnus — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 12:22:34 -0800

Are there any environmentally friendly ways to use coal as an energy source? Bonus points if these methods are economically plausible. If none exist currently, is there any interesting research being done?

Where do you get your (online) ecological tips & tricks?

mailhans — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 06:07:33 -0800

Where do you get your (online) ecological tips & tricks? Looking for sites or magazines which offer information and discussions about what's the best thing to do with small household ecological & evironmental issues in the every day life...

Environmentally safe weed killer for use near municipal water source?

stbalbach — Mon, 24 May 2004 20:39:11 -0800

I need an environmentally safe weed killer. My house is overrun with weeds and I live 100 yards from a water source for 2 million people. I could RoundUp and not worry but my conscious is heavy, but the weeds are gaining ground daily.