Archive for July 16, 2009
Spotlight: Dilbert’s Take on Paper Cups
I like the Dilbert comic strip. It reminds me a little of my office, which reminds me of when I first found out I’d be working in an office (as opposed to teaching in a shitty classroom). I felt all sophisticated. Ha. Oh, how we grow. And oh, how our cynicism grows. Hmm. Nah, I don’t hate it that much really.
Anyway, I actually subscribe to the daily Dilbert comic strip, but for a while there I wasn’t checking my reader, so I missed them. One of my colleagues gets the daily strip emailed to her every morning by her sister (who in turn gets them from someone else), and when I expressed my liking for Dilbert, she started sending them on to me. I’ve since begun accessing my feed reader again, but haven’t had the heart to tell her to stop, so I get my daily dose of Dilbert twice. I like how sometimes the strips build on each other. The following two came through this week, and I they got me thinking.
The first strip makes me think of the way a lot of people commonly view eco-friendly items that replace the things they’re used to. The prevailing opinion seems to be that they’re not as good as the original version (squirrel, anyone?). Is this true? In my opinion, not usually. I think that often the producers of eco-friendly goods go to considerable lengths to ensure the newer version at least meets and often outperforms the original. Sometimes it’s something else (original) that is the problem. For example, until we got new printers at work a couple of weeks ago, we weren’t able to use recycled printer paper as it caused paper jams up the wazoo. The new printers are fine with it… which I think means it was really the old, out-of-date printers that were not so good. No-one has complained about the paper coffee cups though, but I guess I hardly ever see anyone using them.
Which brings me to the second strip. Just like Dilbert, we actually did introduce paper cups in our offices Australia-wide this year, to replace styrofoam and plastic cups. They’re recyclable and made from recycled paper. But, just as Dilbert says, it’s not so clear how that helps the planet. See, no-one really used the disposable cups in my office anyway (not sure about other offices around Australia though). Everyone already used reusable mugs, which is really awesome cos I’m reading this book called true green @ work that I got from the library and it says that over the life of a mug (about 3000 uses), you make 30 times less solid waste than if you use a cardboard cup. (Whoa, talk about a run-on sentence. Yes, I edit for a living.) You also create 60 times less air pollution. Considering that as of the time of publishing (2007), Australians were using around 400 million disposable cups per year, think of all the eco-savings. And of course, paper cups are better than plastic and styrofoam, so if you thought those stats were bad, just imagine…
Of course, you could always make like No Impact Man and use a jar instead. I do wonder how that would go down in the corporate culture though. I think my boss might think I’m insane. Then again, I get the impression that my new boss may have tree-hugger hippy potential (in an affluent boss-y way), so you never know. (I’m already reusing glass juice bottles as my water bottles, but I think it’s more socially acceptable to drink from a bottle).
Regardless, I think the introducing-recycled-and-recyclable-paper-cups-initiative is a good idea, even if it is just a drop in the bucket and not as effective as getting rid of disposable cups entirely. It does raise visibility… but how much is it really helping the planet?
Reduce: Winter Heating
Ok, onward to this getting-back-in-the-swing-of-things thing.
Today I want to talk about staying warm in winter… because it’s winter here and I’m bloody cold! Apparently it’s going to get down to 3°C (37.5°F) in the next few days, there is sleet falling already – this is unheard of in Brisbane! What’s an eco-lesbo to do?
We don’t have central heating here in Queensland, and I really don’t like using the reverse cycle air conditioner to heat the house. It’s inefficient. I purposely didn’t tell Mr Teeny-bop how to use it when we first moved in here, because it’s not good for the environment and also because we were dead broke a couple of years ago and couldn’t afford the electricity bill spike that would have ensued, had we used it. These days we’re just broke to the point of being severely injured (as opposed to dead broke… that was a pun, get it? no?), so I still don’t really want to use it, plus, you know the eco thing. Unfortunately Mr Teeny-bop is old enough to figure out things for himself these days, so we’ve had to have a chat recently about not using the air conditioner to heat (or cool) unless we REALLY need to (which in my opinion is never, in our climate).
Beanie, favourite ugly cardigan, blanket and Diva Princess the kitty hot water bottle. I'm toasty warm!
So anyway, here’s a list of the top ten things the Elv family do instead (and what I recommend you all try) to keep warm.
1. Wear more clothing. Layers are my friend. I especially like my old woolen cardigan that Grandma gave me. It used to be hers from years and years ago and it’s my favourite jumper ever even if it is a weird beige/camel/sand/mustard colour. (Some uncharitable people call it baby-poo brown, but they’re just jealous.) It fits perfectly and I’m very sad it’s now getting thin at the left elbow. Note to self: figure out how to make one just like it. If anyone can help with that, it would be much appreciated.
2. Wear beanies. Keeping your head warm is important. Home-made beanies are especially good because they fit your head just right, which keeps the heat in even better. Plus, they’re fair trade and you know where they came from. Yankee Elv makes some awesome ones with tassles in the corners. They looks better than they sound – I’ll add a picture when I can find one.
3. Keep your feet warm. I’m a big fan of keeping your extremities warm, and for me this definitely means feet. Even in summer I can have cold feet. No, there’s nothing wrong with my circulation. I wear thongs or shoes around the place so my feet don’t get cold on the tiles or polished floor. My favourite thing to put on my feet is my heatie wheatie feeties (they’re heat wheat pack slippers – I seriously don’t know how I lived without them). I wear them watching tv, on the computer, when working from home, in bed…
4. Invest in heat wheat packs. It’s amazing how much a little pack, warmed up in the microwave once or twice an hour for two minutes, can keep you toasty. You can get all different sizes and shapes. They are also great to take to bed, to get you warm when you first get in. There’s nothing worse than getting into a cold bed with cold sheets in winter.
5. Put flannelette sheets on your bed. Add lots of blankets too. I really like to be warm when I’m sleeping. I will actually wake up and be unable to get back to sleep if I’m too cold when sleeping, so adding an extra blanket can really make a difference.
6. Have a lounge room blanket. We have a couple of older quilts that live on the backs of our lounge chairs when they’re not in use, and they make sitting down together of an evening much more comfortable.
7. Combine body heat. Don’t sit on separate couches. Sit together and share the warmth. Let the dog cuddle up with you. Cats have a higher body temperature than humans, and they do love to snuggle. Why not have a mutually beneficial cuddle? I worked from home today and spent the last hour with the cat on my lap while I typed. Very cosy.
8. Use the heat of the sun. In the morning, I get up and open all the windows on the eastern(ish) side of the house, to get the sun in. I leave the insulating blinds on the other side of the house closed up. Then as the sun starts to move to the west, I open other windows to get the warmth in, and remember to shut everything up just as it starts to cool off, so I don’t lose that heat. I also love to sit in the hammock-swing on the sunny back verandah around midday on the weekend.
9. Warm up from the inside. Have a hot milo or a cup of tea. Some people like hot cereal in the morning (I don’t, but you know). Eat hot food. Bake more too (you’ve got to eat anyway, right?) – the oven will help warm up the house.
10. Shut doors to rooms you’re not using, to keep the heat in the main areas of the house. I’m not very good at this last one, but when I do remember, it definitely makes a difference.
What else can you do to stay warm in winter? I’m going to need all the advice I can get to make it through this cold snap…
For those of you in the northern hemisphere looking for ways to keep cool, check out my Reduce: Summer Cooling Costs post from the last southern summer.
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