Doc Hollywood

Meet The Family That Doesn’t Take Out Its Trash

Published 2012-05-20T19:50:33+00:000000003331201205 | By Doc Hollywood

By Donna Beckwith For Positive News (http://positivenewsus NULL.org/)

Once Chris and Cindy Burger of Whitney Point, NY, fill a brown paper trash bag, they will take it to the landfill. They have been filling the same bag for twenty years — and there is still room. Chris figures their family of four produces about 12 ounces of garbage per person per year. No joke.

More From Positive News:
Kids Pedal Their Own Bikes To School (http://positivenewsus NULL.org/editions/spr12/spr1201 NULL.html)
German Grandmother Lives Without Money For 16 Years (http://positivenewsus NULL.org/editions/spr12/spr1203 NULL.html)
Russian Babushkas Sing The Beatles (http://positivenewsus NULL.org/editions/spr12/spr1208 NULL.html)

Chris’s personal philosophy, “If you take something into your life, you are responsible for it. If you don’t want the responsibility, don’t buy the item.” he adds, “And responsibility does not end when the trash is taken to the curb.”

But Chris is quick to point out that this reduction in garbage production did not happen overnight. He and his wife, Cindy, were affected by the first Earth Day celebration in 1970. As people around them commented on the government’s or business’s responsibilities, the Burgers thought about individual actions. They decided to look at two things — personal energy consumption and their waste production — and address both.

When they began recycling, there was no county recycling program. They took their cans to the scrap yard and their jars to a glass factory. Subsequently, they helped create and establish a recycling program in Broome County.

Chris’s tips include shopping with care. If you don’t compost, start now. Be aware of all packaging. And, pretend you don’t have garbage service. “Your choices will begin to change.” he assures. And if your county does not have an adequate recycling program, advocate for one, and volunteer to help out. Become part of the solution. Eventually you will be ready to pull the plug!

Inside the Burger’s trash bag, one would mostly find composite packaging, such as foil lined plastic tubes. When Chris accidentally buys anything with fused materials, he calls the 800 number invariably listed on the package and asks how he should dispose of their packaging, since he does not have trash service.

The partially filled paper bag is a testament to the Burger’s Earth Day commitment. Chris says, “Unlike most American homes, my children never had to take out the trash when they were growing up. Instead, they will probably inherit it!”

More Information:
Chris Burger
Tel: 607.692.3442
cwburger@frontiernet.net (http://cwburger null@null frontiernet NULL.net)

Tom Weis: Rocket Trike Diaries: Week 7

Published 2012-05-20T18:50:05+00:000000000531201205 | By Doc Hollywood

Welcome to Rocket Trike Diaries — a 10 week video tour of the 2011 “Ride for Renewables: No Tar Sands Oil On American Soil!” Join Renewable Rider Tom Weis as he pedals his rocket trike 2,150 miles through America’s heartland in support of landowners fighting TransCanada’s toxic Keystone XL tar sands pipeline scheme. Here are the video entries from Week 7:

Renewable Rider Tom Weis has a no holds barred conversation with Karl Connell, a rancher from Newport, NE, who has much to say about TransCanada and Nebraska’s Legislature. Karl explains the threats posed to his land, livestock and family from contaminated runoff, oil spills, blowouts and explosions. He shares a Material Safety Data Sheet listing the dangerous chemical composition of tar sands crude oil. He also shares a photo documenting TransCanada’s pre-construction of a nearby pumping station, despite not having been granted permission to build. He says he has been treated “like shit” by the company, which is threatening to steal his private property through eminent domain. Calling the behavior of Nebraska Senators “disgusting,” he suggests some have been “bought and sold by TransCanada.”

Renewable Rider Tom Weis hears third generation rancher Susan Luebbe draw a line in the sand against Keystone XL, which would come within 200 yards of her home. Susan describes TransCanada’s land agents as “not friendly at all,” saying they lied to her right off the bat. She says she will not allow Canada to take away their land and will defend it “no matter what.”

Renewable Rider Tom Weis hears rancher Ernie Fellows from Mills, NE describe how Keystone XL, which would come within 300 yards of his home, violates amendments to the U.S. Constitution. He charges the company obtained illegal easements, saying land agents lied to him and are taking advantage of the elderly. Saying he never considered himself an “environmentalist” until now, Ernie recounts how Nebraska senators have disrespected citizens and how “this whole thing speaks of money, graft, corruption, under the table payments…”

Renewable Rider Tom Weis and Ron Seifert team up with Occupy Lincoln in Nebraska. After forming a human “line in the sand” against Keystone XL on the steps of the capitol, about 100 marchers and bikers snaked their way through downtown Lincoln. Recognizing that TransCanada is a poster child for how greedy, corrupt corporations are dominating the other 99%, the group made an exception to their general rule of no issue-specific politics by explicitly opposing the tar sands pipeline.

Renewable Rider Tom Weis listens to Alex Pourbaix, President of Energy and Oil Pipelines for TransCanada, talk about the company’s planned reroute around Nebraska’s Sandhills at a November press conference in Lincoln, NE. Contrary to numerous media accounts, Mr. Pourbaix clearly states the company’s proposed Keystone XL reroute is NOT designed to avoid the Ogallala Aquifer — the drinking water supply of millions of Americans and source of one-third of our nation’s farmland irrigation water — leaving this critical U.S. resource exposed to toxic tar sands pipeline leaks.

Renewable Rider Tom Weis talks with Ron Seifert after he races, and beats, a coal train. The two are biking the Jamaica North bike trail together, heading south out of Lincoln, NE, shortly after President Obama’s cynical decision to punt on Keystone XL. For more on that, check out: “Now Is the Time to Fight the Keystone Pipeline.” (http://www NULL.huffingtonpost NULL.com/tom-weis/obama-keystone-pipeline-decision_b_1124424 NULL.html)

Renewable Rider Tom Weis gets a tour of the green industrial revolution in action courtesy of Ruth Douglas Miller, Director of KSU’s Wind Application Center. “Resourceful Kansas” is a joint renewable energy efficiency project of KSU, Riley County and GBA Architects & Engineers, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Designed to save the taxpayers money, the project is a microcosm of the nascent green industrial revolution. Wind turbines, solar systems, geothermal heating, skylights, and high efficiency lighting and insulation are all display at the Riley County Public Works property on the outskirts of Manhattan, KS.

Health Plaza

Spiritual Empowerment and Healing

Meet The Family That Doesn’t Take Out Its Trash

Related Reading:

Tom Weis: Rocket Trike Diaries: Week 7

Related Reading:

Your Shopping Cart

Blog Categories

Find it here