1 Keeping Our Heads Above Water… Bottles.. In the film “The Guilt Trip,” Joyce Brewster’s son is horrified when his mom (played by Barbra Streisand) refills a plastic bottle at the refrigerator water dispenser. He undoubtedly believes she should just buy another case of bottled water. But the eco-minded viewers may have given mom five sustainability stars for unknowingly preventing more plastic from flooding the ocean or overflowing throughout the house. Check out the link.
2. Proliferating Plastic Not! When friends are over, bottles multiply exponentially. They range from nearly empty, to half full, to (this is my personal favorite) opened and full, so no one else can possibly drink from them.
Sometimes, late at night when people are asleep, I roam from room to room picking up bottles in various stages of empty and pouring them into flower pots, the dog’s bowl, and — regrettably — down the drain.
I can’t imagine that on the third day, when God created water, his vision was to neatly divide it into 16-ounce plastic bottles for our drinking pleasure.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan built an entire routine around the stupidity of bottled water. “I know it’s free from the faucet,” he says, “but I want to pay for it.” Gaffigan’s theory behind this marketing phenomena is that some cigarette-smoking Frenchmen were debating the dumb decimal of American consumers and had voilà moment, “I bet we can sell them water.”
And not just any water. When my kids drink bottled water in public, Bashas’ brand just won’t do. It has to be the better bottled water, the exceptional, higher quality H2O, as opposed to the cheap, watered-down water.
So, I decided that abolishing water bottles would be my first official effort at turning green.
Testing the water solutions
Last month, I tried to banish water bottles after buying a filtered pitcher. But there were two problems. First, every time the pitcher was empty, it was left on the table waiting for a magic wand to refill it. And second, and of much greater concern, tiny, black specs started appearing in the water. So, back to the store I went for another case of bottles. Recently, my older son saw the (empty, half-empty, full) bottles scattered through the house, and it hit him. He realized we had a problem with plastic bottles. (Besides the garbage patch making waves in the Pacific.)
“But we need an alternative,” he said.
I soon learned that finding an alternative was like pursuing the perfect mate on Match.com. There’s lots of sorting and studying, and even then the choice can fall short. And it seemed that now that the search was on, everywhere I looked, possibilities popped out. Sparkletts trucks cut me off on the road, discounted water coupons arrived in the mail, and at Costco the water salespeople shouted out at me like beer vendors at a baseball game.
I discovered big jugs of delivered water that (in my petty opinion) are an option for the office but an eyesore for a home. There are countless varieties of filtered pitchers and faucets…and then there is reverse osmosis. Did you know that you can boil the evil out of water? Here are my top picks: prickly pear and dungeness crab shells (which trap dissolved metals in water). Those look like realistic options.
I can’t be the first to fish through fresh-water options. Can you help? Please send any suggestions from your search to dolores@greenlivingaz.com. The winner will get a year’s supply of Evian, the essence of purity.
Turning Green Commitment Card
- On (date) ________ I/we (circle one) decided to change… __________________.
- I/We believe this is an important because ____________________________.
- Green Living or ______________will help me/us stay accountable.
- These are action steps needed to make this happen:
- _____________________________
- _____________________________
- _____________________________
3. SMART HOME WATER GUIDES AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH Tucson Water and the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (AMWUA) offer Smart Home Water Guides to help residents take simple steps to fix small leaks that can add up to big losses in water and in dollars. During our current drought, maintaining a water-efficient home can help minimize water use, conserve energy, and reduce water and sewer costs. The guides include sections on outdoor and indoor visual leak inspections, how to read a water meter, and ways to check irrigation systems, pools, and spas. Smart Home Water Guides are available online in English and Spanish. For a free booklet, send an email to pico@tucsonaz.gov with your name and postal address. Specify English, Spanish, or both. Smart Home Water Guide (English): http://bit.ly/2nf6u14
4. Hearing Safety. If you were a part of “the scene” in the 60’s and 70’s your hearing could be impaired due to the loud music of the day. However, if you now work in an environment where there is loud noise, your hearing could be at risk.
Exposure to Noise is measured in units of sound pressure levels called decibels, named after Alexander Graham Bell, using an A-weighted sound levels (dBA).. There are several ways to control and reduce worker exposure to noise in a workplace where exposure has been shown to be excessive.
5. Stakeholder Meetings in Phoenix and Tucson | June 6 & 7
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (AZDEQ@public.govdelivery.com) To:you Details
Dear Interested Party,
This is a reminder that the meetings to gather stakeholder input about ADEQ assuming the Clean Water Act Section 404 permit program (CWA 404) will be held next week. The agenda, presentation and worksheets for participating in interactive exercises are now available online. The interactive meetings will be held in Phoenix and Tucson to identify pros and cons of program assumption and significant issues that ADEQ should consider in preparation for assumption. The agenda will be the same for each location. WebEx and phone conference options will be available; however, certain interactive activities may be unavailable to conference callers.
If you haven’t RSVP’d, please help us plan by letting us know which meeting you expect to attend:
June 6 | Phoenix | Meeting Info >
- I plan to attend the Phoenix meeting in person
- I plan to attend the Phoenix meeting by WebEx or conference call
June 7 | Tucson | Meeting Info >
- I plan to attend the Tucson meeting in person
- I plan to attend the Tucson meeting by WebEx or conference call
Feel free to forward this information to others who may be interested in hearing about ADEQ’s assumption of the CWA 404 program. Future communications regarding the CWA 404 program will be forwarded only to subscribers at: Join the CWA 404 Email List > We hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Andy Koester
Manager, AZPDES Individual Permits Unit Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Phone: 602-771-468
AND
WILL BE PRESENTING A
FREE
ASBESTOS REGULATORY SEMINAR
Breakfast and Lunch included.
Come meet, share a meal and learn the basics from EIA
Board Members, ADEQ Inspectors and instructors from The
Asbestos Institute.
Show Low, AZ June 14, 2018 8:00am – 3:30pm
Location: Show Low City Hall
Deuce of Clubs Meeting Room
180 N. 9th Street, Show Low., AZ 85901 (928) 532-4000
8:00 am Registration – Continental Breakfast / 8:30 am Seminar Start / 3:30 pm Seminar End
So that we can arrange for food, please register on-line at www.eia-az.org or call 602-864-6564
7. SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION! – AT ASU, IN YOUR BUSINESS AND LIFE! June 13 R
REGISTER NOW at azgreenchamber.org
Arizona State University’s updated and new sustainability goals provide the framework for how ASU approaches the practice of sustainability in everyday operations. Mick Dalrymple, Director of University Sustainability Practices at Arizona State University, will share these goals with the group and will give us some insight on how ASU is achieving them, along with ways to integrate the concepts into your business practices and personal life.
We’ll discuss Climate Positive, a Circular Resource System, Optimized Water, Personal Action, Collaborative Action, Social Equity, Food Reconnection and Resilience & Regeneration. You can find these goals at cfo.asu.edu/sustainability-goals-and-vision
We look forward to sharing this important and exciting information with you at the June 13th Arizona Green Chamber Lunch and Learn!
See Mick Dalrymple’s full bio https://sustainability.asu.edu/person/mick-dalrymple/
Location:
ASU SkySong Building 1, Scottsdale Innovation Center, Global Room 201 1475 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85251
8. The Temperature Is Rising. How Much Water Should You drink To stay Safely Hydrated. The US institute of Medicine suggests the following consumption of water
