Bay Area Awesomeness

Today we went to the Alameda County Computer Resource Center to drop off a box of jewel cases. I am proud to say I now have no more commercial jewel cases in my room (by that I mean cases that came with CDs I purchased; I have a few of the slim ones for CDs I'm going to use to back up my computer before we take its half-dead self into the Geek Squad)! Next is to donate our now-superfluous CD storage.

I've had the site for the jewel case recycling place up here on my "resources list" since the first day, but we hadn't made the trek out there till today. Turns out they take much more than jewel cases; just check out the site. I'm very pleased in general that it's so easy to find sustainable solutions around the Bay Area. Maybe it's because I haven't lived in New York long enough to understand all their environmental workings, but it seems like a less progressive place than the Bay. I constantly see people in New York toting their plastic bags, often throwing them out, and the littering is a huge problem, even though it's improved a lot over the past decade (I hear). San Francisco, on the other hand, made the decision last year to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags, which I appreciate. When I'm home, I love the fact that I see so many people whip out their canvas or other eco-friendly bags, not only at the grocery store, but many other places too.

This past year, after my suitemates and I quickly amassed a collection of plastic bags by the end of the first month of school, I grew to hate the plastic bag. But I found a way to take advantage of it: Tip: Keep one plastic bag in each of your purses or bags (yes men you can do it, too), so that when you're out and buy crap on an impulse, you don't have to consume more plastic bags and realize later you have no idea what to do with them. Another nice option for around the home is the Cole Hardware Biobag (an SF-based company :D), which my mom told me about.

Thanks to Art.com for today's image. You can buy the print, by artist Daniel Menchaca, at that link. P.S. for the non-natives, that's the Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate. :)