Change the World Wednesday 31st Aug

Last week was furnaces, I don’t have a furnace, and neither do many people so Small Footprints found out. As we are heading into Spring (yesterday was 34⁰C – around 90⁰F) I cleaned my fan. Damn, now the font’s changed ( I can’t fully figure out this WordPress yet, it’s primitive and not at all user friendly.

There, got it back. Where was I? Ah, yes, I need more coffee… brb.

Slowly I am getting back into my blogging routine, but WordPress doubles the time necessary to write a post. I honestly can’t say a good thing about it. But at least it’s not Google.

Back to fans, having cleaned my room fan, I wondered about the fan in my cooler. Does it look like this? Not yet, but I wonder how much extra power a dirty cooler fan makes you use… Does yours look like this?

This week’s Change the World Wednesday challenge on Reduce  Footprints:

This week, head over to Zero Waste Week 2011 and commit to at least one activity which will reduce waste away from home. Be sure to come back here and share your commitment. The same rules will apply as always … if you write about it and/or tweet about, you’ll be honored next week. After committing to an activity, keep track of your progress because we’ll be talking about our successes next week.

Damn, I can’t even do colours here!

So off I went to see what Zero Waste was all about.

Here in Brazil it’s difficult to be ‘zero waste.’ The whole country seems primed against it and any attempt.

No. 1 on Zero Waste’s list. I don’t eat out at places like Starbucks, heaven forbid, I hate the very thought, as I hate all franchise outlets. The places I frequent don’t have disposable cups, plates, or utensils.

No. 6 But they do have plastic ketchup and mustard sachets, paper sachets for salt and toothpicks (that is the law in Rio de Janeiro). Eating places of all types are not permitted salt shakers and sauce bottles.

But I do use my plastic cup at work to avoid disposable cups in the water coolers; and I refuse to use the condiments at restaurants and they know why. It is a subject that I have argued the toss with them many times, but they are bound by the council law. I confess that I use paper serviettes provided in the restaurants. However, I don’t use their paper towels in the bathroom, I am a boy (albeit an old one) and wipe my hands on my jeans.

Strictly speaking, I am not ‘zero waste’, but I do make inroads in the attempt.

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