Do you really need that stuff?
We are clearly a society that consumes! Our acquisitiveness is at all time highs. Yet, when we recognize that our rate of consumption (with the production that goes to support it) is causing such a large toll environmentally, we need to rethink this cultural norm. Do we really need so much stuff? Before we worry about things like waste, recycling, and post-consumer material percentages, let's think about whether or not we need to buy that next new thing in the first place. If you don't get it, then you also don't need to worry about how to throw it out later! Need more inspiration to help you put our country's level of consumption into perspective? Take a (close) look at the work of artist Chris Jordan.

Need something? —or— Don't want something anymore?
Okay, we do need things from time to time. We even need to get rid of things from time to time. Before racing off to the store, or tossing something in the garbage pail, consider your options. Can you borrow that thing from a friend? Can you trade something for it with a neighbor or another kid at school? Can you find it used online, through Craig's List, eBay, or freecycle? Alternatively, might someone be able to use what you can't? Perhaps there is a great consignment store near you, which has exactly the thing you want. There's a place that will accept the things you can't use anymore. If you go through these venues, chances are you'll find what you need, keep something out of the landfill and save money all at the same time. Here are more options in this area:

• GoodWill, with a store at 711 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park
• St. Vincent de Paul, at 2406 El Camino Readl
• Lucile Packard Hospital Auxiliaries, with seven different auxiliary groups operating to support the hospital's uncompensated care
• Junior League's The Shop, at 785 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park

Check the brain-washing!
There is nothing that shows just how susceptible American consumers are to the oh-so-clever and psychologically-charged messages that are sent by marketers than the BOTTLED WATER industry. In about 90% of water bottle sales, you drag home a case of plastic bottles filled with water that is far less pure, has had far less mandatory testing and is not any healthier by any measure than the water you could get from your tap. Still, because of the phenomenal job done by marketers, we are willing to pay prices that range from 500 to more than 1000 times the price of our perfectly great tap water. We pay the price in more ominous ways, as, in supporting the artificially-created water bottle industry, we cause an untold amount of petroleum to be spent in the production of these bottles, packaging up for shipment, their transport and distribution far and wide. Then, there are inventory costs and our time and effort lugging them, only to have them nearly always get wasted, spilled, or only half-way drunk. But the insult and injury does not end there! After we are done with them, they still create one of the hugest environmental messes that the world has ever seen! More than 50% of these water bottles are never recycled. (The others are but this process also creates a lot of unnecessary waste as well.) Then they end up filling up our landfills (where they will last for an estimated million years without biodegrading). They also get tossed everywhere and show up invading every habitat there is in the world, posing hazards to hundreds of land and marine species. The bottom line: unless you've done real research on the quality of the bottled water you choose from independent testing along with the leaching capabilities of the container it comes in (for example, Poland Springs serves you water in polycarbonate bottles!), you've been brain-washed by marketers. We're sorry to have to be the messenger on this one! (For self-aware bottled-water drinkers, check out this humorous approach in this slightly off-color blog entry #76 Bottles of Water.

Don't take either plastic or paper bags!
The bottom line: these disposable bags are bad, bad, bad for the environment. San Francisco and other cities are beginning to ban plastic bags or tax them. In this new era, we all need to break our bad habit of running out to the store . . . without our own backpack or reusable bags. We alll need to work on this! Recommendation: get lots of reusable bags (about $1.00 each) and keep them in your car. When you've used some, make a habit of returning them to your car, so you don't forget them. (Put a sticky in your car to remind you to bring them into the store—it helps!) See these (and more) facts from Reusablebags.com:

• 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year, according to the EPA.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually, with an estimated cost to retailers of $4 billion.
• Hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales and other marine mammals die every year from eating plastic bags mistaken for food.
• Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade—breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest.
  

Select the Earth-friendly option
Buying new? Some choices are more environmentally sound than others. Can you get it with recycled content? More and more consumer products (like home tissue products) are available with post-consumer content (the more the better) and cleaner manufacturing processes. Click here to see the NRDC Shop Smart Guide. There are also several standards that rate products on their energy usage. Look for the EnergyStar label on large consumer products. Consider buying a smaller, more compact unit, that uses less electricity. Make sure that the components or composition of what you purchase and non-toxic and will be recyclable. Even better, does the manufacturer take it back at the end of its lifecycle? More manufacturers are beginning to take responsibility for their products' lifecycle. Check what the electricity requirements are of that product before your purchase, as some products draw power even when "off." When printing, you are generally not offered the environmentally-sound option—you have to request it! Don't go with the standard option but select 100% recycled content or recyclable material whenever possible. Printing a large banner? Think XL Prints Green in Santa Clara. They can print on environmentally-friendly Bio-Cotton and their recycled Bio-Celtic instead!

ATTENTION: Be Media Aware!
The mass media, which includes such information and entertainment sources as newspapers, magazines and television, are largely supported by the revenue that they receive from advertisers. Even though they purport to provide unbiased news reports, information and entertainment, much of their content is driven by the goals of their advertising clients. Advertisers try to convince people that they are in need of the products that are being sold, in order to sell more stuff. A surprisingly large percentage of the corresponding articles make readers feel the need to buy—usually by making you feel bad about yourself in one way or another (bad hair, breathe, body odor, etc.) Recognize that we are being targeted with each ad and often the articles as well and resist the messages that tell you that you need this or a that new thing! For an authoritative treatment of this topic, see Jeanne Kilbourne's eye-opening book "Can't Buy My Love." A must-read for the parents of girls!