The Grapevine

Welcome to The Grapevine, a place for comments, letters and Q&A

In response to A User's Guide to Purchasing Coffee

Why not leave the habit of drinking coffee altogether instead of finding ways to be earth friendly and still doing the damage. Too much of coffee is neither good for human health nor the environment.

I hope you will post something on how to overcome caffeine addiction and may be suggest some alternative drinks.

EW Response:
While I'm not sure I agree with you about the human health effects of coffee, (quite a few studies have found it is actually good for you) and I don't believe traditional coffee farms are any worse than other types of farming, it is quite clear that a diet made up of locally grown products is much better for the environment. Transporting those coffee beans 1/2 way around the world, in some cases, and then roasting and packaging them certainly uses a lot of resources. My family and I are eating at this point about 75% local. We have the luxury of a wonderful farmer's market nearby and I have the time to make my daughter's baby food at home. However, I have yet to give up a few luxuries like, coffee, sugar, chocolate and a few other packaged items. If you have done so, you have my utmost respect. As far as alternative beverages, I guess the most environmentally friendly obvious choice is plain tap water. Otherwise, locally grown fruit juices would be a better choice than coffee.


Better and Better

The other day I was in the drugstore and did not accept a bag. I had a lot of things to carry and a bag would have been more convenient. How bad is it to take a bag and then recycle it?

Daniel

I'm having trouble finding no VOC paint, are low VOC paints okay?

Lorraine

EW: I lumped these two questions together because they seem to be touching on the same idea. Is it okay? is a difficult question to answer. I don't think it's an issue of okay or not okay, it's simply an issue of better and better. Since you're reading this blog you must already have made some level of commitment to lowering your environmental footprint. I cannot tell you what is okay I can only tell you which is better.

While recycling is certainly a better option than throwing something away, it is even better not to use the item at all. Recycling uses a lot of resources, including water and energy. The items also need to be transported and plastic bags themselves contain petroleum and many potentially harmful chemicals.

In the case of the paints, two years ago we moved into a new apartment and I was looking to paint. At that time, no one around here was carrying low VOC(Volatile Organic Compound) paints and when I inquired no one even seemed to know what I was concerned about. I was told that all paints sold in NY State were water-based and therefore safer than oil based paints used elsewhere, so I had nothing to worry about, despite the fact that every paint can I examined had a warning on it that stated that this product contained chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer! Finally, I found a place in VT. that carried milk based paints. I would have to drive there and paint the place myself. I opted to have it painted the traditional way using the high VOC paints. Since that time, I am so happy to see that low and no VOC paints are now available at many of the large retailers. Now that it is more accessible I will certainly use them next time.

My point is, therefore, to do the best you can, none of us are perfect, but we can all make an effort to be better.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."

Theodore Roosevelt

I find that I re-use my plastic bags from the grocery store to throw away my garbage. If I stop accepting a bag, as you have suggested, how should I throw out my garbage? It doesn't make sense that I should then buy plastic garbage bags.

Jackie

EW Response:

This question has troubled me for quite some time since I don't have a simple solution for you. I can tell you what I do, though. First of all, each of us should be working toward decreasing the amount of garbage we produce in the first place. I save my food scraps in a re-usable plastic container and drop them off at the Battery Park City Parks Dept. where they get composted. I recycle everything I can and what I'm left with I dump in my small plastic garbage bin without a liner. Each evening I give it a quick rinse in the tub.

What do I do with the particularly messy stuff?

Even if you stop taking plastic bags at the grocery store, you will most probably end up with quite a few bags, i.e. the liner for your cereal box, the bag your coffee came in, and a plastic bag for your bread, assuming you purchase these items. These bags, I then use for any particularly messy items I may need to throw away.

I don't know if this is a practical solution for you. For one, I have a composting facility nearby and another, I live in an apartment building and dump my small container down a chute everyday. The best advice I can give is to make your best effort to reduce the amount of garbage you are producing therefore requiring fewer plastic bags .

Finally, if you don't think it's possible, there is a family of three living in New York City that doesn't produce any garbage at all! Check them out at noimpactman.com.