What if everyone started mailing the UNrecyclable plastic jewel boxes from CDs and the plastic DVD covers back to the record labels and film studios COD, with a note “Please recycle”? Do you think they might start moving to more eco-friendly cardboard version?
Category: The Next Good Idea
Innovation, inspiration, and common sense for all
You’d think people would recognize that when there is a swarm of people coming up the subway stairs, it means that a train has recently arrived. Which also usually means that same train has left the station, so there is no reason for them to go down the stairs until everyone else has exited. But the people don’t seem to realize this and it just isn’t going to happen.
I have a few ideas on this subject (being the subway problem not the realization one), but a simple (and inexpensive) solution would probably be to just paint a yellow line down the center of the stairs. People would presumably get it that one side is for up and one side is for down. If they need some help, an arrow could be painted on each side to indicate up or down. If they need further help, arrows could be painted on the corresponding wall.
I recognize that this is not the most efficient use of the stairs as all the space is not being used for the most pressing need (i.e. for going up on exiting, or down when a train is arriving), and I have a few good ideas on how that could be better done too.
There’s got to be an MTA suggestion space somewhere…
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a great piece in the May Vanity Fair. Check it out via the link, or if you want a hard copy, your neighbors should be putting the issue in their recycling bins now.
A carbon cap-and-trade system designed to put downward pressure on carbon emissions is quite simply a no-brainer. Already endorsed by Senators McCain, Clinton, and Obama, such a system would measure national carbon emissions and create a market to auction emissions credits. The supply of credits is then reduced each year to meet pre-determined carbon-reduction targets. As supply tightens, credit value increases, providing rich monetary rewards for innovators who reduce carbon. Since it is precisely targeted, cap-and-trade is more effective than a carbon tax. It is also more palatable to politicians, who despise taxes and love markets. Industry likes the system’s clear goals. This market-based approach has a proven track record.
Categories
NYC Park Litter Collection
It’s a beautiful day in New York. We like everyone else, seemed to be out walking. We went through quite a few bottles of water. And then just threw them in the trash.
How come NYC subway stations and parks don’t have trash containers that separate paper, bottles, and general garbage? Would it be that hard to do? Are there good examples of how other cities do it?
It was also just pointed out to me that the MTA has started a campaign to discourage people from leaving their paper on the train — a practice that I was always appreciative of (unless I found the bubblegum surprise stuck in the middle). The absurdity of this campaign however is that instead of providing recycling bins, the MTA tells you throw the papers in the trash (along with your bottles and bubblegum).
An excerpt: “When contemplating the world’s environmental problems, it’s sometimes hard not to feel like humanity is screwed. But then you attend an event like Future Cities, a panel of sustainability experts held last night at the World Science Festival, and it seems like we might just figure out how to thrive on this planet after all.”
(thanks to Rick Lopez)
Categories
Room To Move
Eventually you will be able to find out everything about anything, and someday you won’t even have to work hard to find it. Not that I want any life other than Even More Knowledge, but part of me already feels like we are in The Days Of Too Much Information. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me and a little more ignorance wasn’t bliss, but studies have shown that those that don’t accept basic facts (that we are destroying the planet, our freedoms are being reduced, opportunities are being diminished — that kind of thing) are far happier than those of us that do.
I think THIS site is a really good idea nonetheless. Presumably Tripkick is designed to keep you out of that hotel room by the service elevator and the one that overlooks trash alley. The miserablist in me relishes it for when you can only get a specific room and you want to know just how bad the trip is going to be. Of course though, like most things, it’s only catering to the high end of life, so unless your life is consistently in high six figures you are stuck still with the luck of the draw.
Categories
Organizing CDs & DVDs
I can’t quite get used to a world where everything is digital. I still live in the physical world. I even still buy CDs! And I like to watch DVDs — they are on my TV, the picture is sharp, the access is immediate. Why settle for less? We don’t yet live in the perfect world of downloads, so we are burdened with physical excess.
But I also live in NYC — which means one thing I don’t have is space. And I have over 4000 CDs and probably half as many DVDs. So what can I do so I don’t have to look at all those ugly jewelboxes and the like? My GOOD IDEA here is far from perfect.
Nonetheless, it was a happy day when I threw all that plastic away and cleared out the shelves. I have filed all of my discs into three ring binders with removable pages, sorting them by genre and then alphabetical within that. It was a long time-consuming project and requires considerable updating to this day. The binders remain too cumbersome. But it’s an improvement from the clutter and eye-sore. I can’t understand why discs continue to come in those plastic cases.
I do have most of my music digitized now and on various hard drives, but if there was a fire, I think I would take the binders over the drives. Go figure.
The binders I use are available here. Let me know if there is anything better out there.
