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15 Comments
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Re: Branch bundling products for yard waste collection program.
2014-09-09 12:32:45 UTC
Sounds like you need to get more specifics from your vendor about what the actual problem is they are encountering with twine. You say it is obvious, but it is not and the CBSM response must be based on the real problem you trying to solve. As Karen says above there are natural fiber twines including cotton, sisal and hemp. If you look as some of the tensile strength ratings of sisal or hemp, you will be surprised that they can exceed polypropylene rope strength depending their thickness.
Rod Miller -
Re: Food Miles: Another Wrench in the Spokes of Environmental Educators
2009-08-10 15:51:01 UTC
I read the article and I feel free to say reducing meat is better than trying to trade-off grass vs. grain. I live in cow country too, but I am not a local official there. The real point of my post for you is that using comparative life-cycle impact studies is alway a slippery basis for making policy. It is better to focus the individual on reducing their quantifiable impacts. For example, in my area smog is a problem so I bought a prius and try to use public transport. I buy from local growers because they can tell me and I can see what their impacts are. Other agriculture it is more difficult to quantify even if they are grown in the central valley of California. I can reduce the impacts of my property by limiting what I put on my landscape that will ultimately leach out.
It is a very useful point to understand that it will always be subjective to say the some transportation impact is worse than some local habitat impact. This is why it is better to tie the process to one of personal resonsiblity and decision regarding the individual controlable impacts.
Hope this helps.
Rod Miller
Rod Miller -
Re: Food Miles: Another Wrench in the Spokes of Environmental Educators
2009-08-10 14:04:17 UTC
Remi:
I don't think there is data to support your assertion about lower impact of grass feeding. Comparative assessment is always difficult because the significance of envirnomental impacts is in the eyes of the beholder. Overgraving strips the land of habitat even if there is no grain involved. Arid areas are more prone to overgrazing. Grazing affects plant ecosystems. With climate change California artic/alpine are already under pressure and grazing is another impact. I would say skip the meat if you can, otherwise eat it infrequently.
Rod Miller -
Re: Fats, Oil & Grease (FOG) Campaign
2009-06-05 12:27:09 UTC
We collect FOG with our door to door household hazardous waste program. You can see the program at www.folsomhazmat.com. This type of service uses convenience to induce compliance. It is hard to judge what % of the FOG we collect. All commercial restuarants are required to have FOG bins so residents probably use those too. Most of the oil is used by employees making home generated biodiesel.
Rod Miller -
Looking for Links to the Best Green Lifestyle Checklist
2009-03-20 11:23:27 UTC
I am looking for a checklist that quantifies the benefits greening a person's life style. What is saved if I use cloth bags? What is saved if I join a car pool or take mass transit instead of my car to work? What is saved if I buy food at local farmers markets and then buy organic foods only?
Thanks
Rod Miller
Senior Environmental Specialist
City of Folsom
50 Natoma St.
Folsom, CA 95630
Office 916-355-8361
Cell 916-439-0445
Fax 916-355-8351
www.folsomhazmat.com
rmilleratfolsom.ca.us
Rod Miller -
Re: Sustainability 2.0 Podcasts
2008-12-22 17:55:13 UTC
Hey All:
Is there a way to download those podcasts? I prefer the mobility of an mp3. If you are interested in electric cars http://www.evcast.com/ is a fun daily podcast about EVs. They have lots of interviews with many of the key players in the emerging EV field. The moderators started the podcast to showcase their podcast community software, but now they are hooked on EVs. It is very interesting to hear from the community that is determined to make EVs a success this time around.
Rod Miller
Senior Environmental Specialist
City of Folsom - Hazardous Materials Division
50 Natoma St. Folsom, CA 95630
Office 916-355-8361
Cell 916-439-0445
Fax 916-355-8351
www.folsomhazmat.com
[email protected]
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Store Prompts for Reusable Bags
2008-12-02 23:27:44 UTC
I got several good emails about store prompts to remind folks about bringing their bags into stores. Here are some ideas for prompts: floor decals, cart and basket flags (signs), light pole flags, store signs, car decals, sandwich signs and banners.
Rod Miller
Senior Environmental Specialist
City of Folsom - Hazardous Materials Division
50 Natoma St. Folsom, CA 95630
Office 916-355-8361
Cell 916-439-0445
Fax 916-355-8351
www.folsomhazmat.com
[email protected] -
remembering bags also
2008-12-01 17:14:28 UTC
I have this problem. They are in my car, but I am not going out to get them when standing in line to pay, sorry. So this is a problem that requires a prompt. If the store had a sign on their front door I would go back to the car before shopping. Eventually, I will have the habit down and I will remember as I walk from my car. The bags are easier to use than conventional paper or plastic bags because they hold more and break less.
Rod Miller
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CFL Related Video Clip that May Amuse you in a Sad Way
2008-06-27 12:24:03 UTC
FSB Folks please comment (through You Tube) on this speech let the fine congressman know what you think of his speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LOtKIIKcg&feature=bzb302
Rod Miller
Senior Environmental Specialist
City of Folsom - Hazardous Materials Division
50 Natoma St. Folsom, CA 95630
Office 916-355-8361
Cell 916-439-0445
Fax 916-355-8351
www.folsomhazmat.com
[email protected]
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Re: Cutlery: Plastic vs. biodegradable vs. flatware
2008-06-20 12:12:39 UTC
Lydia:
I know you are looking for an easy answer. There are no easy answers to this kind of question, because the significance of environmental impacts is in the eyes of the beholder and because the impact information is company specific. There is no good complete world of information about the products and manufacturers that you are considering. Google is the closest thing we have. The answer is what you have to provide for yourself. When you answer the question tell us how you did it and what was important to you and we will learn too. We often see this kind of "what is best ... question." I have participated in many discussions about standards for using so called life cycle analysis and have argued the relevance or lack of relevance of them for many years. The problem is that most non-objective analyzes and many objective analyzes don't evaluate all environmental media, energy, air, water, waste, product toxicity (localized environments) or habitat. Plus, how do we value impacts. Is an air impact that occurs in Hawaii the same as an impact that occurs in the LA basin? What were the impacts of the particular companies that are producing the products? How many tons of air pollutants equates to an acre of habitat loss. In most LCA I have seen they skip media like habitat. So when determining what is best, it is somewhat of an individual decision based on the relative sustainability of an individual company's production and distribution processes.
Hope this helps, really!!
Rod Miller
Senior Environmental Specialist
City of Folsom
Hazardous Materials Division
50 Natoma St. Folsom, CA 95630
Office 916-355-8361
Cell 916-439-0445
Fax 916-355-8351
www.folsomhazmat.com
[email protected]
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