Author Interview: Nancy Taylor
September 12th, 2008Recently, I reviewed Go Green by Nancy Taylor. It was enjoyable and educational. Luckily for us, Nancy agreed to answer a few of my questions. And Here. We. Go.
Generally recycling is an extra cost additional to garbage pick up. Why should I (or anyone) pay the extra money?
Some municipalities charge for recycling and others do not. If you live in a place where you are charged for your recycling it is worth the charge because:
- Recycling keeps a number of items out of the landfill. In most cities and counties, landfills are overflowing, refuse has to be shipped further and further away which uses energy and is expensive for your town or county.
- Recycling uses less of our natural materials, like aluminum for cans or trees for newspapers and magazines. When we conserve mining our natural materials and keep turning them into usable commodities again and again, we save energy and the initial cost of extracting those natural materials.
- It costs money to melt down a Coke can and turn it into a useable can again but it does not cost nearly as much as mining and making a new can.
If you could advise one “green” change to make for everybody, what would it be?
I think the most important “green” change right now is to switch from incandescent light bulbs to CFLs or LEDs. They both save energy, last longer and get one started thinking about the amount of energy we use in our homes, businesses and cities. The new lightbulbs are improving all of the time, and they are readily available at hardware stores and most grocery stores. Cities have saved thousands of dollars by switching from incandescent traffic lights to LEDs. Changing the lighbulbs can be the beginning of making other green changes such as an energy audit, using public transportation or remodeling green.
Does buying carbon credits really help? Honestly?
I think that it really does for two reasons.
- First of all, it connects us to the reality that our travel has an impact. Our cars produce carbon dioxide as a waste material and it goes into the atmosphere as we drive. Airplanes produce a great deal more emissions but are distributed throughout the number of passengers flying. Every time I offset a car trip or airplane travel, I am connecting the dots and taking responsibility for the impact of my travel. If we all did this, it would make a difference.
- Secondly, as we pay for carbon credits or “green tags” as they are sometimes called, we are supporting a renewable fuel industry that is just getting started. Our offset dollars help to fund a solar array at a school, or a wind farm that provides clean energy for the grid (as opposed to coal which is not clean).
Try to find a carbon credit company that has been in business for a while and that has 3rd party verification that your dollars really are going into renewable energy. Try www.terrapass.com the next time you want to buy carbon credits.
Sometimes it is very difficult to find a place to recycle appliances or CFL bulbs. Can you recommend a resource for those sorts of things?
For recycling appliances, see if there is a Habitat for Humanity ReStore nearby. They will even come pick up used appliances if they are in working order. Also salvage yards are a good place to donate your old appliances.
For computers, televisions and other electronic waste, it is very important that these things not go to the landfill, because they contain toxic heavy metals. Most recycling centers and municipalities have provisions for recycling E-waste. Some hold a special day just to collect e-waste, others require that you make an appointment first, and pay a fee to drop off your computer or printer.
For compact fluorescent bulbs, which contain about a ballpoint pen tip sized amount of mercury, you can take these to recycling centers or back to the store where you bought them. Home Depot and Ikea now have CFL recycling programs or you can go to earth911 and put in your zipcode to find out where to recycle your bulbs.
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September 12th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I really enjoyed Taylor’s book, Go Green. It had many useful tips in it. I’m finding myself using the earth911 site all the time now.
Great interview!
September 14th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Glad Nancy agreed to the interview. I also agree with her tip – changing light bulbs – it is simple, everyone can do it, and as she says, it gets us thinking about simple green things we can do everyday.