Destroying the Planet is Incredibly Economical!

I just booked a round-trip flight from Dulles to Boston on JetBlue for $185. That figure includes taxes & fees. 

I don't mean to complain about a cheap flight. But considering all of the negative societal costs of flying -- intensive reliance on imported fuel, massive climate pollution (not to mention asshole passengers driving flight attendants to leap from their planes) -- it's an incredibly low out of pocket cost.

The Green Miles offsets his carbon footprint through TerraPass, but how many air passengers do that? Maybe a few per plane? Why should I have to pay for my carbon pollution when others can pollute for free? And if JetBlue cared about being accountable for its pollution, wouldn't it work to offset its emissions on its own, or at least offer an offset option at checkout?

That's why we need a national price on carbon pollution -- either through cap & trade or a carbon tax. It's simple, it's fair, it cuts pollution.

Airport Security Gets a Shade Greener

At Baltimore Washington International Airport this weekend, I noticed there are now recycling bins outside the x-ray machines! After the Transportation Security Administration implemented a rule banning containers of liquid larger than three ounces, piles of plastic bottles in trash cans just outside the screening area were commonplace. Nice to see that's finally being addressed, at least at BWI.

I thought about trying to take a cell phone camera picture for posting here, but I didn't feel like getting pulled out of line for the full body cavity search. I hope you can understand.

Recycling in NH: Not So Much

The Green Miles traveled to New Hampshire for work last week as the National Wildlife Federation released a new poll asking NH hunters and anglers how they feel about global warming (short version - they think we have a moral duty to future generations to take strong action now).

While New Hampshirites have gotten the message on global warming, they seem to be a little behind on recycling. The Manchester Airport had only one type of waste bin, the kind that goes straight to a landfill. As I've blogged before, airports vary greatly when it comes to recycling programs, and the Manchester Airport definitely has some work to do.

It was even worse when I got to the hotel. I don't expect hotels to have recycling bins in their rooms (it would be nice, but we're just not there yet). However, usually the hotel front desk is happy to accept my old newspaper and soda bottle to be recycled. Not at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott in Concord. The front desk clerk told me they don't recycle at all. Fortunately BWI Airport has a wicked awesome recycling program, so I didn't have to drag the recyclables all the way home.

Since I've never had trouble before, I've never asked the hotel if they accept recycling before booking. Do I need to start? What are your experiences with recycling at hotels?

Why Resuables Make The Green Miles Feel Like Johnny Appleseed

Confusion reigned from the moment I handed my reusable grocery bag to the bagger at my local Harris Teeter recently. First she tried handing it to the customer who’d just checked out, thinking it was something they’d dropped. Then she just set it aside, clearly having no idea what it was, and started putting my groceries into standard plastic bags. Finally, the cashier turned to her and explained how the reusable bag worked.

Incidents like that make me feel like the Johnny Appleseed of reusables, spreading the word about reusables whereever I go. And sure, that's cool, but on the other hand, it would be nice to sport reusables without having it be a major production.

Granted, I’ve used my reusable bag many times at Harris Teeter with no problems, and it was obviously a new bagger, but the situation illustrates one of the sticking points as reusable items are introduced. Service employees have to be trained to use the new items, even if that training is only a quick explanation from the senior cashier. That training may come from the employer or the customer, but until employees more universally recognize reusables, it can make the process a pain in the neck for the customer.

Another example came just yesterday as I flew back from San Francisco on United Airlines. The Green Miles travels with his handy ACE/Daily Grind reusable coffee mug because:

- Conservationally, it saves me from having to use somewhere around five paper coffee cups and plastic water bottles per trip
- Conveniently, I don’t have to worry about tracking down a recycling bin for any plastic water bottles I would’ve used
- Socially, at events like the Society of Environmental Journalists conference it Nuke LaLoosh-style announces my presence with authority as a green mack daddy

I got it filled with coffee at a shop in the airport, then on the plane, asked the flight attendant to fill it with soda. It had worked fine on the flight out, but just like the grocery bagger, this flight attendant was definitely unclear on the concept. She saw my mug and said, “Oh here, I’ll give you the cup of ice and the can of soda and you can fill it yourself.” She thought she was being helpful. Not so much.

At that point, any hope of conserving a plastic cup had been lost, so I dumped the ice into my mug and gave the cup back to her, which she threw out. So instead of the usual two containers (plastic cup and soda can), we used three (cup, can, mug). This is progress? At least I was able to recycle the can in the terminal thanks to Dulles’ new recycling bins.

If a product is a pain to use, people will stop using it. (I know, I missed my true calling in marketing, didn’t I?) It’s something we well-meaning conservationists need to keep in mind as we push reusables like grocery bags, coffee mugs, and water bottles. The early adopters should be prepared for minor hassles like the ones described above. But really, they’re minor inconveniences when you know you’re breaking the resource-container-landfill cycle, don’t you think?

Airport Recycling: Flying from One Extreme to the Other

The Green Miles is in Palo Alto, CA this week for the Society of Environmental Journalists conference, where my employer, the National Wildlife Federation, is a sponsor. Ironically enough, the conference is on the campus of Stanford University, which rejected The Green Miles as a potential student (gulp) 12 years ago. Fortunately Syracuse University welcomed The Green Miles as an Orangeman and the rest is history.

I took Metro to West Falls Church this morning, then hopped on the Washington Flyer bus to Dulles Airport. I was reading the Washington Post on the bus, then looked to recycle part of it when I got to Dulles. Unfortunately, when I got there I learned the waste management at Dulles amounted to a trash can. That's the best they can do?

Considering I'd already brought my reusable coffee mug along for the cross-country trip, I was willing to carry my newspapers until I could find a recycling bin. Sure enough, at San Francisco Airport I found a recycling bin labeled "CONTENTS RECYCLED OFF SITE." That basically means instead of relying on us unreliable chuckleheads to drop recyclables in their correct containers, they pay their waste hauler to sort out the trash from the recyclable materials.

Oh, and I just realized I have a photo of a recycling breakthrough at Reagan National Airport. Until recently, National didn't have any recycling at all, but as I was flying out in August, I noticed these new cardboard bins.

In the DC area, the far-and-away leader in recycling is BWI Airport. Check out more details here.

Want to know how to set up a recycling program at the airport in your community? Check out the EPA's website!