I don't know how many of you have been to Whole Foods lately, but if you get anything from the salad bar or the hot bar, you'll notice that all the containers and cutlery are either recyclable or biodegradable. It's part of a burgeoning trend to produce "zero waste."

Zero waste used to be an ultra-liberal concept - I remember a few years ago when my aunt spoke admiringly of a couple she knew that sent only one bag of trash to the landfill per year. I couldn't even imagine it. 

Nowadays, however, the idea of zero waste is becoming more and more common as landfill permits become more difficult to procure, as places to dump become scarcer, and as we realize the detrimental methane-producing effects of throwing all our trash into the landfill.

Why are landfills going the way of the dinosaur? Simple. Do you want to live next to a landfill? Neither does anyone else. We are simply running out of space to dump our trash. Did you know that every American, on average, discards 4.6 pounds of waste per day? It's much better if we can recycle it, rather than leave it to take up space for thousands of years.

Read the NYTimes article here:

Nudging Recycling From Less Waste to None

There are two challenges to recycling:

1. Sorting is a hassle. People will sometimes inadvertently throw biodegradable items into the recycling bin, which then gets heated up at the recycling center, only to melt and gum up the machines. We either need to be better educated in how to properly dispose of our waste, or we need smart machines that can do the sorting for us.

2. Composting is a tough sell. People are worried that it's stinky, that it will attract pests, and that it's simply just more work than tossing that apple core into the trash and never thinking about it again. But it's a worthwhile effort, because that nutrition gets returned to the soil, rather than being smothered in the landfill, only to produce methane, a gas that contributes to global warming. The key to happy composting is, again, education.

So how about you? Are you close to achieving zero waste, or do you still have a long way to go? Hit me up in the comments section below!

Did any of you get a chance to read the cover story of Sunday's New York Times? It's horrifying, detailing the illness and paralysis of Stephanie Smith after she contracted E. coli after eating a tainted burger.

It was an unsympathetic indictment of the industrial meat processing and distribution system in the U.S., and I wholeheartedly agree that they deserve a good thrashing.

These industrial meatpackers are in the game for profit, and they routinely resist changes to the system that would make our meat safer, and the FDA routinely doesn't penalize them for it. The world is not all about money. Human life should be worth something to these folks.

With all of the things that industrialization has made possible in our modern world, I believe that food safety is one of its worst casualties. Yes, we are able to feed more people, but at what price?

While I don't agree with my fellow blogger squabattack that vegetarianism is the way to go, I do think that our consumption of meat can be reduced, and that the meat we do eat can be more carefully selected. There is a new and admirable movement to buy meat from local butchers who emphasize quality over cost. The little bit extra you are going to pay for this type of meat is going to be worth it, in terms of quality, safety, and taste. I think we are all willing to pay a bit more for safe quality meat.

Research your local scene for this type of meat. Do you have a farmer's market that sells locally butchered meat? What about a local food cooperative, where you can pay a flat rate and pick up a bounty of fresh, seasonal produce and meat every week? These are two huge ways to contribute to the restructuring of how we eat food.

How do you make a difference? I welcome suggestions in the comments section below.

Exciting environmental news from Charlottesville, VA: Dave Norris, our mayor, and Kristin Szakos, a city council candidate, just revealed their bike and pedestrian safety platform.

Translation: they are undertaking an effort to get more bikers and walkers safely on the road.

Irony: Szakos carpooled to the meeting, asserting that "There really is no safe way to get here on a bike" (as reported by Lisa Provence writing for The Hook).

How this affects me: My bike is in the shop getting a tune-up from a 4-year hiatus spent in the garage. Why haven't I ridden my bike, you might ask. Two reasons: 1. As a student I could walk everywhere and didn't need to bike, and 2. The Charlottesville roads are frickin' scary to bike on.

In other news...

Biggest enlargement of Charlottesville's carbon footprint: Thursday, October 1st's U2 concert, just one more installment in their 360 tour that includes The Claw, the biggest stage in the history of rock'n'roll, which takes 104 trucks to transport.

It's crazy, right? Especially given that Bono is all about saving the world. Granted, he's putting his fame and money behind the specific cause of alleviating childhood poverty, which is admirable.

However, I think his commitment to the abstract principle of doing good in the world requires him to make more of an effort in other aspects of his behavior, such as how much his behavior is contributing to global warming.

I realize that it's difficult to act in accord with all of our principles 100% of the time, but isn't this a gross act of negligence? Couldn't U2 still put on a good show despite a drastically smaller stage?

It's a question that's up for debate, and I'd love to hear your opinion. Do you think U2 should be held to a higher standard? Or do you think their current efforts are adequate and should be praised, inconsistent though they may be? Or do you just love Bono so much that obviously, he can do no wrong?

Hit me up on the comments section below!

My mom has been an avid gardener for years, but I never really thought about how much she was doing for the environment until I went away to college and learned more about eco-systems and got involved in some pro-green organizations.

How you garden can have a vast effect on your local eco-system. There are five steps to follow to the creation of a gorgeous, environmentally-friendly landscape.

1. Be picky about which types of flowers you plant

Most people plan their gardens solely by what they think will be prettiest. But if you put some thought into choosing plants that are native to your area and that serve a useful purpose, your yard can help sustain a local bird and butterfly population.

For example, my mom maintains butterfly bushes that attract tiger swallowtails (above), which happen to be the Virginia state insect. She also plants milkweed to attract monarch butterflies.

2. Plant vegetables and herbs that you can use in meals

Vegetable gardens aren't very glamorous, although they've been gaining ground (literally) with the green movement. They can take a lot of work, what with planting, fertilizing, tying up weight-bearing vines, pest control, and harvesting.

The important thing is to start small. Start with things you like to eat and that are easy to grow. Tomatoes, for instance, are super-easy. Basil is also a snap to grow and tastes great in store-bought spaghetti sauces. If you decide that you like this aspect of gardening, you can always expand your repertoire.

3. Try to avoid toxic pesticides and fertilizers

Is that green green chemically-treated lawn really that much prettier than a lawn with buttercups and creeping charlie interspersed? I argue that an untreated lawn has more character, and it's definitely kinder on the environment, especially your local water supply.

For your garden, try to research and use natural fertilizers and pest-controls instead of chemically-based toxic ones. For example, ladybugs will eat aphids, and covered tubs of beer will kill slugs. If you do use predator insects to nosh away the pests, be sure that they're native and non-invasive species.

As for feeding your beautiful garden, that brings us to section 4, compost.

4. Fertilize your garden with compost and reduce landfill waste

Compost is a surprisingly rewarding facet of gardening. You can stick so much junk in your compost bin: banana peels, apple cores, carrot peelings, coffee grounds, dead leaves, egg shells, and on and on. Just be sure not to put any meat or bones in there - it will stink to high heaven and meat in your bin will also attract rats and raccoons. You don't want to deal with that!

The best method is to leave a small container in the house in which to collect organic waste (small is best so that it doesn't have time to get smelly before it gets full and you have to take it out). The large barrel is kept outside. Over time, the compression and lack of oxygen will transform all the material at the bottom into beautiful, nutrient-rich dirt, and it's much more pleasant to deal with than manure! You can use that dirt to fertilize your plants that need a little TLC.

5. Enjoy your frickin' sweet garden

Whew, that was a long one. What do you guys think? Are you brave enough to get started with a couple flower pots and see how it goes? If you're still under your parents' roof, do you think you can get them on board? Hit me up on the comments section below!

So I'm going to try to be better about this blogging regularly thing. This morning I was listening to a radio show about litter, and because I live in a college party town, red Solo cups and beer bottles are ubiquitous. It's unsightly, sure, and broken glass is a hazard, but what really got me thinking was all the cigarette butts.

Most people just toss their butts on the ground. Maybe it's apathy - if you smoke you're clearly not totally concerned about your own health and wellbeing, so why care about that of the planet? But probably it's also ignorance and inconvenience.

Firstly, a lot of people think that cigarette filters are made of cotton and thus biodegradable. Not true. They're actually made of cellulose acetate tow, which sticks around for decades. Secondly, there are some nasty chemicals in that filter (the filter is what keeps some of the nasties from getting into your mouth and throat) which leach into the soil when it rains. That's why you would never want cigs in your vegetable garden!

Another huge problem is that people get lazy about making sure their cigs are totally out before they toss them. A lot of people who smoke in their cars don't want to rub out the butt on their ashtray, so they just toss the lighted butt out the window. If it hasn't rained lately that's a huge risk you're taking. A goodly percentage of forest fires start due to this little habit. And if you smoke in your car it already smells super nasty anyway, so what's a little ash on your ashtray.

At the university here, most people put out their butts during the daylight hours in the designated butt holders that are outside most of the buildings. I had to put out a smoldering fire in one of those babies at the end of last semester, and my Nalgene smelled like sicko smoke for days.

But when night falls and the kids go out to parties, they drink a few too many and lighting up seems like the sexiest thing ever. Who wants to bet they don't go to the trouble of finding the appropriate receptacle for their butts, if they can't be bothered to find a proper receptacle for their cups and bottles? Jerks.

What about you? Do you smoke? Are you lazy with your butts or do you always take care that you dispose of them properly? Hit me up on the comments section!