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Urban green
As an individual who lives in a city, three main issues define your green profile: transportation, waste and water. Today, green/not green looks at how San Franciscans handle the latter two.
Greening your trash means two things: Produce less of it, and dispose of it properly. These not-green neighbors fail on both counts.
Photo 1: Before trash collection
Photo 2: After trash collection. Notice that trash not in the cans does not miraculously disappear.
Here's how it's done:
Green: Use the cans provided.
As for water consumption, one simple rule applies: Use less. The City of San Francisco is seen here as a major violator of that rule, watering Potrero Del Sol park during peak sun hours and far beyond what the grass actually needs (notice the puddles).
Average citizens bring beauty to their city by turning otherwise trash- and dog poop-laden planters into water-sipping oases. Props to these Mission residents.
Have you greened your sidewalk planter? Send photos by clicking "email" below. (Include "planter" in the subject or text of the email so I can be sure you don't go to spam.)
| July 10 2009 at 09:04 AM
Waste disposal for the cool kids
The SF Dept. of the Environment has released an iPhone application called Ecofinder that allows you to learn where to dispose of troublesome waste items such as electronics via your iPhone.
SFGate editor Johanna Hoadley first received the press release and used the app to have an old mattress "picked up and recycled for free instead of paying Bed Busters" before she passed the news onto me.
But is the app itself a misuse of resources? No, actually. The city just drew on the talent and commitment of the many computer whizzes in town, developing the app pro bono in partnership with Haku Wale and Nextive.
According to SFE's Lawrence Grodeska:
SF Environment's contribution was the data set and promotion of the app. We recently opened our EcoFinder data by creating an XML feed which enabled the development of this app as well as Earth911 to pull data directly from the EcoFinder for their national recycling database...The value of the EcoFinder is the data itself and the XML feed is enabling us to make that data available in raw format for anyone that wants to use it.
As of June 20, the app had been downloaded 1,400 times. You can download it for yourself here. If you don't have an iPhone, you can get the same information on SFE's website. Just be sure to use it, instead of resorting to unnecessary "not green" actions like the ones pictured here.
| June 24 2009 at 03:19 PM
New feature: Green/not green
While most of us fall somewhere in the middle, there are very green ways of doing things and very, egregiously ungreen ways of doing them. This feature will draw some contrasts. Please email pictures of your own or suggestions!
Green: Power your cell phone and iPod with this solar backpack.
Not green (and not neighborly): Dump your old electronics on the street, instead of participating in free recycling (see link below).
Not green.
Got some electronics to get rid of? Do it the right way.
Want your own solar backpack? Here's one place to buy them.
| May 22 2009 at 10:59 AM
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