Incinerators

The article "Incinerators" says why incinerators are not a good idea. They produce ash that is toxic, then it ends up living in our landfills, which will end up poisoning us. Many of its toxic goes into our water, air, and ground. If the water and ground are poisoned that means our food will be poisoned as well, because we eat food that grows from the ground and we water them with poisoned water. In the end it is only affecting us. They are also causing global climate change in the world. Incinerators not only are for our health and planet, it is also bad for our economy, because it does not create jobs.

Chapter 11

I found this chapter interesting, because Portland, Oregon is known to be the most green city in the United States. Despite it being green, its residents waste more than an average American. I wonder how such a green city can be more wasteful. They waste 7.14 pounds per person, however they recycle/compost 59 percent of their trash. What disappointed me is that other countries are way ahead of our country. Denmark for example, is the "organic food capital of the world." Almost half of their food is organic "45 percent of the purchased food is chemical free and organic" (Humes). Not only Denmark is a healthy city but it is also less polluted, because they recycle twice as much as we do and only 3-4 percent ends up in landfills (Humes). They are able to keep trash out of the landfills, because they convert trash into energy; which is a magnificent idea!

Chapter 10

I have respect toward Andy Keller, because that one visit to the landfill made him do so much to change our habit of using too much plastic. He quickly realized the problem and thought about solutions. What I really liked him about was that he figured a way that people will stop using plastic bags and begin to use reusable bags, but not ugly reusable bags we all have at home. He wanted to make something that people will want to wear. I really like how he educated kids in school, because the younger generation is the future. I thought it is sad that the EPA reported that only one percent of plastic gets recycled in 2005.

Chapter 9

I was so interested to read about San Francisco, because that is where I spend my summer vacations ever since I was a baby. I am proud that my second home, San Francisco is on its way to becoming the least trashy city in the country. San Francisco also has the largest waste industry that owns the most employees. In my opinion it is a good thing because people have jobs. It was quite dazzling to know that people are able to make beautiful art pieces and start a business with our trash. If we all do that then maybe we wouldn't have so much trash in the oceans. Even though I was amazed by the art pieces clever people made with trash, I was also a little disappointed to know that we waste so much.

The Incinerator as Eye Candy

The article "The Incinerator as Eye Candy" by Elisabeth Rosenthal was very interesting to me, because I never knew such a thing existed in the world.  Reading the article I realized that Europe is more advanced than the U.S. I was amazed to find out that the plants were not only helpful but beautiful as well. I would love to have those wonderful plants in my neighborhood after all it is for a great cause. Those plants remove pollution and offers heat and electricity, what more can we ask for?

Annie Leonard

This short video taught me so much about the things I cherish so much... electronics. Due to making electronics workers put their health at risk and pregnant women are more likely to have miscarriages. Leonard says that electronics are purposely designed to break within 18 months or so. Companies/Corporations do this to make us people continue spending money. She gave an example of her DVD player that broke and repairing costs more than buying a new one, this always happens to me. I have a habit of dropping my cell phones in the toilet, so when I go to repair it, it costs more than the cell phone itself.

chapter 7

Chapter 7 was a little different from all the other chapters, because it talked about tracking trash. I was impressed to hear that, that sort of technology exists. I never even cared where my trash was going but some people care, such as the people working for the Waste Management Inc. As a result of them tracking our trash we are learning more about the effect our garbage is having on planet Earth. They track the garbage by an electronic device that was put in trash to locate them, so researchers can see where our trash ends up. It is sad to see where our trash especially the expensive items we purchase end up.