Archive for September, 2007

I finished a bottle of automatic dishwashing detergent (gel) a few days ago and forgot to buy a new bottle. But, there in the back of the cupboard is my big box of Seventh Generation detergent. I look at it, read the package again, and return it to the cupboard. I go out and leave some carbon feetprint by driving to the story to get some more cheap-ass gel detergent, seeing the other boxes of Seventh Generation looming large and self-important on the shelves. I look at the price and scoff, shaking my head.

The problem is I feel taken advantage of. A box of that “save the planet” stuff is like three dollars more than its similar weight in cheaper detergent. So in a weak moment, I paid twice as much for a product that would have less impact on the environment just to see if it worked as good, or better than its careless competitors. The answer was not “no,” but a resounding “are you frickin’ serious?” I had to wash the dishes again after using it, thereby not only negating the differential environmental impact, but compounding it.

So, I wrote on the box in the cupboard “Wait for the eighth generation,” and shoved it way in the back. Through my own careless need to “do my part,” I got screwed.  And I feel I am probably not alone.  It may be inadvertent, but I feel that that company was taking advantage of my compulsion to “do the right thing” by the environment by using an inferior product, all-the-while paying more for the opportunity to do so.  Double screwed!

This is one area that I feel Penn & Teller were right on. On one of their shows about recycling, this colorful duo exposed Greenpeace for what it was–a vehicle to push political agenda.  One of the experts on the show was one of the founders of Greenpeace that jumped ship and now campaigns against it.

Now Al Gore is out trying to use this same tactic to garner “Green” support for the Democratic Party, to steal back votes that would otherwise go to that pesky “other” party that rears its rebellious little head every four years. How else could you explain the motivations of someone whose house has a bigger carbon footprint than most grocery stores? If Al Gore can be lauded for anything, it is by raising awareness about the impropriety regarding environmental issues.  I am sure he didn’t mean to do so by looking like a hypocrite, but whatever works.  It is like everything else with a lobby: politically-charged and monetarily-motivated.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t believe that we cannot do stuff to minimize our environmental impact; however, I don’t take anything for face value, and I tend to wait to see all the evidence before making an informed decision. Some of these things make a significant difference, and enrich our lives at the same time. For instance, eliminating junk mail. I know that trees are planted to produce paper, therefore if you want more trees, use more paper. (I realize this is an short-sighted generalization.) But, there are other factors: the processing of paper, and the carbon dioxide produced by vehicles throughout the distribution of this junk mail. But, as an added incentive, I hate getting junk mail! I hate shredding credit card and mortgage applications to prevent identity theft. And with the little cellophane windows on a lot of these, you can’t just put them in the recycle bin (not that I recycle paper anymore, but I’ll get to that.) So, through NewDream.org, I found ways to eliminate junk mail. We now get very little, if any. Yeah!

Another idea that I support is Fair Trade, which I also found out about on New Dream’s site. This is a little off-topic, but what the hey? Some items, such as coffee, are passed through several middle men, all of whom take their cut of the profit, and the result is a high consumer price and a low producer price. For example, the coffee that you buy is bought for pennies per pound in places like Ethiopia or Columbia, and the end consumer pays somewhere between $10 – 20 a pound. So who gets the money? People who trade on Wall Street in such commodities, and the retailers (and their shareholders). The farmers live in squalor while everyone else gets rich. The Fair Trade approach is for companies to buy from collectives at a much better price and eliminating most of the middle men. I buy Ethiopian Yirgacheffe (some dynamite stuff) from Peace Coffee at $9.99/pound. So, it is cheaper than Starbucks, fresher than Starbucks, and costs 30-50% less. And since I order it online anyway, it is no extra hassle.

Today was a typical slow Sunday.  I was still recovering a bit from my bug the day before, so I woke up late and then was famished.

Guido was all excited that he got to work in Gynecology.  It was funny him getting all embarrassed about it when I made fun.   After Guido got off work, we went to try to find some formula for Sophia.  Finding baby formula in Italy is like trying to find proof of the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.   It may be possible, it just may take a while.

Finding an open pharmacy on a Sunday in Italy is not an easy task.  Most businesses are closed on Sunday, and pharmacies are no exception.  However, due to their importance, a handful will remain open.   The first pharmacy we came to in Avellino posted the locations of the open pharmacies on their door.   Guido remembered the first couple on the list, but neither of these had baby formula.  Guido then asked the pharmacist who might have it, and the pharmacist told him another place he hadn’t tried.  We drove all the way over there, and they didn’t have it either.  Finally, after 4 or 5 places, we struck gold.  The formula tin was about half the size of the ones we buy over here, and costed twice as much.  Ouch!

When we returned, Antonella’s friend Giofreddo was at the house visiting.  Once we got there, it was so noisy, Antonella asked to go to Guido’s to talk with her friend, who was also a psychiatrist.  When they returned about an hour later, Giofreddo was talking to everyone and I understood most of it.  Antonella later told me that he had changed quite a bit over last time.  Apparently, he had run for politics (Mayor or something) and had lost because his opponent had done underhanded stuff.  Of course Giofreddo had entered politics with pure intentions and just wanted to make a difference.  But after losing, he had just become a little bitter.  I can only imagine the frustration of trying to do some good and losing to politics-as-usual because his opponent bought gifts for votes.

After he left we had dinner.  Shortly thereafter, Antonella, Sophia, and I strolled down to a bar and got some gelato.  The person waiting on us was an old acquaintance of Antonella’s.  Her name was Pina (short for Giuseppina).  She was a forty-something that had lived in Germany for the past decade or so and had only recently moved back to Italy.  She wished to stay in Germany, but her husband wanted to move back to his hometown.  Anyway, we talked a bit and Antonella said how we wanted to go to Caserta and Capri.  Pina said she had not been to Capri for some time and would like to go with us.  So, we set a date for Tuesday (Pina’s day off) and went back to the house.