Mountain Xpress Forums

INGLES MARKET/PLASTIC RECYCLING

2008-06-29T23:07:57-05:00

I visited the Ingles at the intersection of Patton Ave. and Leicester Highway this evening at approximately 10 pm. Upon leaving the store at 10:15 pm, I encountered two young men apparently in charge of taking out the trash. The had in a cart the contents of the trash bins and the plastic bag recycling bin. One young man, apparently in training, asked the other “what do we do with this” to which the other replied, “just throw it all out”. Now, I’m by no means a “hippie” but I am certainly environmentally conscious and I am aware that plastic bags take over 7,000 years to break down in our landfills. I know that if my friends and neighbors who went through the trouble of collecting their plastic bags for recycling and bringing them to Ingles for the purpose of recycling found out that Ingles simply took their bags and threw them away, they’d be outraged. When I got to my car, I called the store. I asked the young woman who answered if the store manager, listed at the top of the receipt, Mike Brow, was there. As it was Sunday night, Mike Brown was not available. I asked for the manager on duty. The girl told me to hold for “Tom”. When Tom came to the phone, I relayed my concern to him, and he was immediately sarcastic and rude. He said, “It is Ingles policy to recycle plastic bags”. I told Tom that I realized that this was the policy and I was very glad that it was, I was simply concerned that the two young men in charge of implementing it at his store this specific evening were implementing it incorrectly. To that, Tom was excessively flippant and sarcastically told me he’d “just go fire them then”. I told him that I thought that that was unnecessary and that he probably should just make sure that they understood the policy and why it was important. Tom made another snide remark “thanking [me] for telling him how to do his job. At this point, I asked Tom for his last name. Tom said, “You don’t need my last name”. I told him that I would like to have it so that I could contact his district manager. Tom hung up the phone.

Take it as you will!
Beware where you recycle your plastic bags!

Why do people get all worked up about kudzu?

2008-06-27T15:33:27-05:00

I just moved to a new neighborhood, and there is kudzu everywhere. People have backyards which are completely covered in the stuff (mine isn’t far from it, in fact). There’s a neighborhood group that spends a significant amount of their free time hacking away at the stuff. Since erosion is a problem in the area, I’m not particularly inclined to get behind the effort, but I’m wondering of there’s more to it than I realize.

I’m not a real flora kind of guy, so I’m not particularly familiar with the arguments. Will someone fill me in on the whole kudzu controversy?

Asheville summer environmental canvassing/job

2008-05-26T01:04:28-05:00

Hi, I’m a college student here for the summer and am looking for a worthwhile summer activity, hopefully one that will make a positive difference. Is any environmentally-related canvassing going on in Asheville this summer?

Otherwise, does anyone know about a worthy environmental nonprofit that could use an extra hand for a month or two? Pay would be nice but not essential.

I’m 22 and just graduated from Dickinson College (in Pennsylvania) with a degree in environmental studies, especially interested in advocacy or policy work (not tree planting or other biology-related fields).

Thank you!

Advise a visitor??

2008-04-10T17:23:54-05:00

I’m visiting Asheville for a waterharvesting workshop in late April. I have a free afternoon/evening and would be interested in visiting some permaculture/sustainability/community gardening activities in the area. The workshop I am attending is at Kleiwerks, and since I assume I’ll see their setup as part of the workshop, I’d like to focus my free day elsewhere. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Ray

Easy ways to save the local environment

2008-02-12T13:21:39-05:00

I’ll admit it, I’m lazy when it comes to “saving the planet.” What’s are some of the easiest, most idiot-proof and scientifically reliable methods of not making the planet too much worse than when I found it.

Some thoughts:

Walking. Burns calories rather than gas, which is good.

Insulating my house. I don’t own one, but if I did, I bet this would be a good idea.

Eating locally. Less transportation for the food means less carbon in the atmosphere, right?

Other thoughts and suggestions?

Looking for gutter-fed rain barrels

2007-12-23T22:21:52-05:00

I’m looking to alter my gutters to be able to water my garden next year. Anyone have either plans for gutter rain barrels that keep out mosquitoes or know where i can get those big 50 gallon plastic drums with a spigot at the bottom?

Woolly Adelgid

2008-03-08T01:09:53-05:00

This is the woolly adelgid in case you hadn’t recognized it on your hemlock trees. It’s an invasive and destructive pest to both our native Canadian and Carolina hemlock trees.

Spring is the best time to treat infested trees, and here is a good list, though i’ve had great luck with Appalachian Arborists who also treated the trees at the Botanical Gardens.

Earth Liberation Front: Revolutionaries, or misguided eco-terrorists?

2008-03-04T12:11:14-05:00

This story about the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is making the rounds on all the major networks today. I’ll let you read CNN’s take before going on with the questions ...

(CNN)—Fire engulfed five luxury homes Monday morning at a subdivision north of Seattle in what could be a case of ecoterrorism, officials said.
A sign with the letters “ELF” was found at the scene of the fires in the “Street of Dreams” development in Woodinville, Washington, said Chief Rick Eastman of Snohomish County Fire District No. 7.

Eastman did not say if the sign is believed to be from the Earth Liberation Front, which the FBI has called an ecoterrorist group.

“Built green? Nope black!” the sign reads, according to an image from CNN affiliate KING-TV in Seattle. The sign calls the homes “McMansions.”

John Heller, president of Seattle Street of Dreams model luxury home development, said he had spoken to the fire chief and was told that the fires were suspicious. Watch fires burn luxury homes »

“My understanding is that it was an act of terror,” Heller said.

The FBI said the fires are being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism.

Heller said he was out of town on business and was rushing back to see what was left of the development. He said it was a new subdivision that featured luxury homes priced at $2 million.

Eastman said there had been no injuries and there were no suspects. He told KING-TV that police and agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were investigating.

Seattle’s Street of Dreams is “the most popular and highest attended single site luxury home and garden tour in the U.S.,” according to the event’s Web site.

According to the FBI, the Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility for burning five townhomes under construction on November 20, 2005, in Hagerstown, Maryland. Fire officials investigating the scene determined that kerosene was used as the accelerant in the arson, the FBI said.

Last year, 10 people, including self-proclaimed members of the ELF and members of another organization called the Animal Liberation Front, were convicted for a string of arson fires that totaled more than $40 million in damage, according to an August statement by the U.S. Justice Department.

At that time, the court case was called the “largest ecoterrorism case in U.S. history,” according to the statement.

Three others charged in the case are at large and considered international fugitives by the Justice Department.

(The link to the above story is here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/03/seattle.fire/index.html)

What’s not mentioned here is that at least one of the homes destroyed in the blaze had recently won an award for being outstandingly green friendly, which hints that the ELF (should they indeed be the group behind this) is just sort of randomly burning things they don’t like.

The story is still developing, but I think it’s worth posing this question: How should we see the ELF? As an eco-terrorist group? As green-loving revolutionaries? As misguided, badly informed activists with an increasingly hostile and ill-informed agenda?

Meat/Dairy Industry and the Environment

2008-01-24T22:10:21-05:00

My understanding is that the farming of animals for food is a leading factor in environmental degradation. I don’t know a lot about this, but would like to know more…

Thoughts?

Just a reminder

2008-01-23T22:36:50-05:00

Ronald Reagan’s first official acts of office included removing Jimmy Carter’s solar panels from the roof of the White House, and reversing most of Jimmy Carter’s conservation and alternative energy policies.