Filtered tap water wins (just) in D.C. taste test
Tuesday, 22 November 2011From the University of the District of Columbia:
“UDC Releases Bottled vs Tap Water Taste Test Results” (Green Living DC)
Water, before the hurricane
Friday, 26 August 2011This photo, of any empty bottle water aisle in Washington, D.C. is a bit disappointing, if completely predictable.
My solution, based on more than a few times through a hurricane, is to keep a covered dutch oven full of water on the stove, the electric kettle full and a pitcher in the fridge. And I’ll doubt I’ll have to depend on those.
I also make sure all the outstanding dishes and clothes are washed. (Clean clothes are no substitute for a shower should there be a real shutdown, but it does make making-do happier.)
Be safe.
Good swag at D.C. Google office
Wednesday, 16 March 2011And by good swag I mean promotional goods not made of plastic, and are actually well-designed and useful things that I will actually use.
One is a cotton tote bag with a cute graphic. The other is a glass water bottle. The glass water bottle has what appears to be a silicone thread and was packed in a box with — headslap! — bubblewrap. But I’ll ignore the one and reuse the other. It makes tap water cute, and that’ll be an appeal that saves plastic bottles. So not perfect, but good quality and not prone to be pitched.
Got these at a launch of new Google tools for nonprofits, so a link is only fair. (Overseas nonprofits, too.)
Lesson to learn about plastic bag laws
Thursday, 11 November 2010Worth reading.
“How D.C. Beat the Plastic Bag Lobby” by Lauren Markoe. (OneEarth.org, November 11, 2010)
Mi ne bezonas plastajn botelojn!
Tuesday, 12 October 2010Those who know me personally know I’m trying to learn Esperanto. Here’s a good reason!
Ne trinku botelakvon!
That is, “I don’t need plastic bottles” and “Don’t drink bottled water!”
D.C. water — tastes good (as bottled)
Monday, 20 September 2010Good news today for D.C water. It’s often reviled for having poor quality and worse taste; indeed, I get kidded for bypassing the office filter for the tap. But in a blind taste test, the local tap just beat bottled water and many people have no opinion. (My thought, cold water will beat tepid water, whatever the source.)
Beth Terry speaking at BlogHer
Friday, 6 August 2010Beth Terry — she of Fake Plastic Fish — is speaking at BlogHer this weekend. Congratulations!
But what drew my attention to this was a thread of basic advice for reducing convention plastic waste through her Twitter feed. I was already primping for “bring your own badge holder” but her “Water bottles are great, but mugs are more versatile!” tweet is that amazing mix of plainly obvious and really useful.
So be sure to follow both her blog and Twitter feed.
Look, Mom, no bottles!
Wednesday, 16 June 2010Good D.C. news: MOM’s Organic, a small D.C.-based grocery chain is giving up on bottled water.
Details from the Washington Post, via Tapit.
“The Story of Bottled Water”
Tuesday, 13 April 2010A great video; a follow up to The Story of Stuff. The video is more than eight minutes long, so I suspect it’s use is best for those who are already convinced to make a case, rather than sugesting your indifferent friends to watch it.
The matching site also has other resources, including an annotated script.
Bag bill seems to be doing its job
Monday, 29 March 2010Three months on and the District of Columbia food bag fee is reducing demand for disposable plastic and paper food bags, per DCist today.
January receipts for the fee are in — $149,432.27. That means about three million bags were used rather than the 22.5 million thought to be used in the District any given month.
It will be nice to see how this will shape up in six months. I’ll see if I can find original reports from D.C. government sources and will post them here.