Good Economic/Ecological Practices for Consumers

Most know this, especially in California, but it bears repeating as many worldwide still smoke and/or tolerate it: Smoking is a huge waste -- addictive, expensive, smelly, dirty, bad for the environment, bad for everyone's health. It's amazing yet tragic that tobacco companies have made huge profits from killing others. And yet so many still giving them money to kill themselves. Save money, save lives, stop smoking. Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20081015/hl_hsn/smokingmakesyouoldbeforeyourtime

The article 'Which hybrids save you money?" in the October 2008 Consumer Reports compared hybrids with similar all-gas models to see how the each car's 5 year total owner cost compared. The Toyota Prius was a clear winner with the lowest total 5 year owner cost ($28,250) whereas the Lexus G5 450h Hybrid had the highest (70,250). So just picking a hybrid does not necessarily save money or the environment, but taking the total vehicle into account, can do both. The Prius is a very nice family sedan with lots of features so it was great to confirm my earlier post that it is very economical as well (just as we would expect) -- useful features at a low total cost.

Here is a quick and inexpensive moving and reuse tip: if you cannot find free moving boxes on your local freecycling list (like those listed at http://overcycle.org ), look for local businesses that will sell you sturdy boxes and buy them back from you when you are done. The buy back price may not be much but it is something and it puts the boxes in a place where they will be used again. A good moving box can be reused dozens of times. Plus, standard sized moving boxes will hold your stuff better, are easier to move, and stack compactly in a truck whether you do it yourself or hire someone else. The locally owned and run JDM Packing Supplies store (408-739-2500) at 1328 South Mary, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 is one such business ( http://www.jdmpackingsupplies.com/ ). JDM is also a great place to recycle styrofoam packing peanuts (you can drop them off in a box or a plastic bag). Finally, it is very well stocked with everything you are ever likely to need when boxing and/or shipping somethin...

Digital picture frames are an excellent way to see all of your digital photos without needing to get them printed on paper. Printing consumes paper and and chemicals. It's great to keep everything digital and more reusable (as long as the digital frame lasts for a long time). Here are some I've tried. The number of different frames with skimpy specifications makes picking a frame confusing. And I'm leery of frames with TOO many features as well as ones with external dependencies that may require additional labor and expense. -------------- The Smartparts SPX8 8-Inch Digital Picture Frame is a very good digital picture frame. Pros: - built in motion sensor turns off frame to save power when no one is around - automatically copies and resizes photos into its own 256MB of memory (can hold about 3000 photos) - crisp, reasonably large display size - 800x600 pixels (4x3 ratio matches that of most digital cameras) - mounts on wall or sits on desk in either portrait or landscape - ...

Numbers are powerful. Unfortunately too much data often obscures meaning and people routinely misuse statistics and numbers in their decision making. For those who wish to bring clarity and light to numbers, I highly recommend the book “ Turning Numbers into Knowledge ” by Jonathan Koomey . His book is a useful, practical, and easy-to-read tool to help regular mortals analyze numbers and reach well reasoned conclusions. The ability to deal with numbers, statistics, and data is a skill important to all citizens in a democracy. Please give it a read. (Disclosure: Jonathan is a friend and college schoolmate). Be seeing you!

Here is the best (prettiest, lowest traffic, fewest stoplights, most trees & shade) bicycling route I know from Southern Sunnyvale to Adobe Systems headquarters at 345 Park Avenue in downtown San Jose and back again: Sunnyvale to San Jose Bike Route using Google Maps San Jose to Sunnyvale Bike Route using Google Maps Sunnyvale to San Jose using Bikely (click on title of map below for bigger version): Sunnyvale to Adobe HQ (San Jose) Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com It's about 11 miles and passes many parks and schools. Credit to Roberto Perelman for showing me the bulk of this most excellent biking route. I've been using it periodically since 2001 or so and Roberto rides it daily.

Based on my research, the best way to handle dog poop is to use a reusable pooper scooper and flush the poop down a toilet . Pros: - Sewer systems are designed to handle poop (yours and your pet's) safely and effectively (this was verified by calling the local sewage treatment plant in Sunnyvale, California) - The poop is treated and recycled fairly quickly and safely back into the environment Cons: - Need to carry the poop to a toilet - Need to purchase or make a reusable pooper scooper Here are other alternatives generally listed from healthiest for environment to least healthy. Use a flushable poop bag and flush down a toilet. Pros: - Sewer systems are designed to handle poop - The poop is treated and recycled - Easy to carry bag around to pick up poop Cons: - Flushable bags can "melt" in rain or other very wet conditions - Flushable bags should be kept sealed in another plastic bag before use - Flushable bags are a bit expensive and hard to find - Flushable bags smell...