Well, well, well... Look who came crawling back. I knew this day was going to come where you'd realize what you've done and try to make things right. Well you can give up the act! There's no way I'm going to forgive you for the way you left me out to dry.
Oh, wait. That whole paragraph was actually what you were supposed to say to me. So, let's pretend that you said it and we'll move on. I think you've waited long enough for the end of this match up.
Wildlife Conservation
Positive News Stories (10 out of 30)
There are some pretty good news stories that relate to Wildlife Conservation. For example, Myanmar recently tripled the size of their tiger preserve. I know they've done some questionable things in that country, but it's good to see that they're committed to saving a species that has been on the brink of extinction for quite some time.
The reason why I didn't give this idea more points is that there really weren't a whole lot of news stories that were very notable. I think the reason for this is that people honestly don't really care about saving some bird they've never heard of before. They're interested if something like a whale conservation program is started, but that doesn't happen very often. Other than those darn Japanese, not too many people are still whaling today.
Negative News Stories (-1 out of -30)
Sorry, I can't say that I have any more stories of placentas (thankfully). Now, you'd think that I'd have a hard time finding stories that showed that Wildlife Conservation was a negative thing, but somehow I did. That's why I have a blog and you don't.
Great job, Wildlife Conservation experts... Here's the conversation that I imagine they had.
Expert 1 (Bob): "Hey, I've got a good idea. Let's STOP draining the Everglades. We need to do that to save some rare fish that only lives in the region (and 14 other places in the state)."
Expert 2 (Franccesca): "But Bob, won't some 18 year old have his hand bitten off by an alligator at some point in the future?"
Bob: "Come on, Fran, you know I don't believe in your psychic abilities. Come on, let's go feed some alligators so they become accustomed to human presence and gradually become more invasive into our cities."
Fran: "I wish someone would bite off your hand, Bob..."
That's not a direct quote, I'm just paraphrasing.
User Comments (0 out of 20)
Yup, we're still doing this. Get your comments in.
Results
Recycling: -1
Wildlife Conservation: 9
Well, the longest match up in history is now over! And Wildlife Conservation, the underdog, has pulled off the upset! I personally blame the placenta story...
I really hope that I can get back on schedule with this, and I'll do my best to not let you down. But don't hate me if I do skip a day or two... Come back Friday to see how Bikes and Hybrid Vehicles compare. And get your comments in!
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recycling. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tournament Round 3, Match 1 - (1) Recycling vs. (6) Wildlife Conservation
Round three is just about to begin, and it should be a little bit more fun than previous rounds. I have a lot more flexibility in terms of coming up with silly news stories to share with everyone. I'm going to stretch this one out a bit longer so I can have a more thorough discussion of the topics. I'll only talk about Recycling today and talk about Wildlife Conservation Tomorrow. Enough of this chit chat, let's see how Recycling does!
Recycling
Positive News Stories (5 out of 30)
I'm not going to even pretend that I looked through all of the Recycling based news stories over the past year. I skimmed through a lot of headlines and I was pretty disappointed in what I found about Recycling. Most stories were from regional newspapers talking about the city or the county collecting some new item such as different numbered plastic or bottle caps or something. A lot of stories talked about raising costs to collect recyclables. But really, there hasn't been any remarkably exciting news stories when it comes to Recycling. It's become a pretty well developed concept that isn't going to change much each year.
Negative News Stories (-12 out of -30)
Negative new stories were somewhat easier to find. One in particular, which was posted 3 minutes before I started looking for news stories is the following:
(WARNING: Don't read this story while eating. Or if you plan on eating any time in your life.)
Bleaaaach! NO! Never! I originally didn't want to include this under Recycling because usually you think of plastic, not placentas when you think of Recycling, but I decided to leave it in here. Recycling, by its very definition, is taking something that you would throw away and turning it into something useful (such as a teddy bear or a lasagna).
If you really want something more normal, I did find an article that discussed how a Recycling program in California took in $1.2 Billion dollars but they wasted so much money that it actually cost the state around $1 Billion. No wonder California is having so many budgetary issues!
User Comments (4 out of 20)
To answer your concern, Chris, I update the Tournament picture on the right hand side of the page so you can see the current match up.
Okay, now that the suspense has been built, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how Wildlife Conservation does and who the winner is.
Recycling
Positive News Stories (5 out of 30)
I'm not going to even pretend that I looked through all of the Recycling based news stories over the past year. I skimmed through a lot of headlines and I was pretty disappointed in what I found about Recycling. Most stories were from regional newspapers talking about the city or the county collecting some new item such as different numbered plastic or bottle caps or something. A lot of stories talked about raising costs to collect recyclables. But really, there hasn't been any remarkably exciting news stories when it comes to Recycling. It's become a pretty well developed concept that isn't going to change much each year.
Negative News Stories (-12 out of -30)
Negative new stories were somewhat easier to find. One in particular, which was posted 3 minutes before I started looking for news stories is the following:
(WARNING: Don't read this story while eating. Or if you plan on eating any time in your life.)
Bleaaaach! NO! Never! I originally didn't want to include this under Recycling because usually you think of plastic, not placentas when you think of Recycling, but I decided to leave it in here. Recycling, by its very definition, is taking something that you would throw away and turning it into something useful (such as a teddy bear or a lasagna).
If you really want something more normal, I did find an article that discussed how a Recycling program in California took in $1.2 Billion dollars but they wasted so much money that it actually cost the state around $1 Billion. No wonder California is having so many budgetary issues!
User Comments (4 out of 20)
To answer your concern, Chris, I update the Tournament picture on the right hand side of the page so you can see the current match up.
Okay, now that the suspense has been built, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how Wildlife Conservation does and who the winner is.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tournament Round 2, Match 1 - (1) Recycling vs. (4) Wetland Conservation
Hooray! The beginning of Round 2 of the Tournament! Things are getting pretty serious now! To kick things off, Recycling and Wetland Conservation are going head-to-head in a winner-take-all death match!
Recycling
Well, Recycling, it's great to see you again! Welcome back! Now that we have a little more time, let's learn some more about you. Recycling really started taking off during the 1980's in the US as people started looking for cheaper ways to keep up with the increasing global demand for plastic and aluminum and paper. One of the greatest challenges to Recycling is getting all of the things gathered up and shipped to the processing plant. But as landfill space is becoming harder to come by and Recycling supply chains become more efficient, Recycling is becoming ever more popular.
Green Pride (10/20)
I'm only going to say this once: these ratings are based on the average person's feelings about environmental issues, not my feelings. If I were rating them by my views, all the ideas would have 20 points from Pride and 20 for Guilt and we'd be at a stalemate unless someone (Chris) commented. So yeah, these are what I feel the average person feels.
Recycling, while a big deal 20 or so years ago, has become sort of commonplace these days. Most people see Recycling as some sort of a chore or task, similar to taking out the garbage. Yes, it's probably true that people feel some pride when they hear about how much material they or their city or country or business recycles. But their Recycling practices have become more or less something that people do. This probably also depends on whether the person has curbside Recycling or drop off points, but I don't see it varying too much.
Green Guilt (17/20)
I can't tell you how many times I've called someone out on not Recycling. And when I do that, 9 times out of 10, the person apologizes and feels pretty bad about it. 1 out of 10 people are jerks about it and tell me to mind my own business at which point we usually get into an argument about how he or she is destroying the Earth and how I want my children to not have to wear breathing masks when they go outside to play and how I want my grandchildren not to be born with 5 legs or some crazy mutation like that.
Basically what I'm saying is that almost everyone knows that they should Recycle, but some people don't know how to or are lazy about it.
Reader Comments (2/10)
First 2 pointer!
Wetland Conservation
Wetland Conservation (WC) is back again after taking out LEED Certification in the first round. So let's learn a little bit more about WC. WC is something that's been practiced around the world for centuries but should probably be practiced much more than it is. For example, Lake Superior hit its lowest recorded levels ever in 2007 and the Nile River has been notoriously over developed and diverted in recent years. This isn't just having a harmful effect on wildlife (which I'll mention tomorrow), but people will soon run out of fresh water and that will lead to wars and other horrible things that we all agree we want to avoid.
Green Pride (17/20)
Everyone loves a good story that talks about how some frog or bird or type of grass was saved by some group's conservation efforts. Yay for saving water! These stories make everyone feel proud that their society is on the right track and is doing the right thing for once. And we can all sleep well at night!
Green Guilt (5/20)
Well, we can't really sleep all that well. We're living with our parents and we've got a curfew even though we're almost 30 years old and our girlfriend is pressuring us to get married and move out and build a new home that we can't afford. And land for sale is limited in Florida, so let's just drain off a little bit of the Everglades. Nobody will miss one little house-sized bit of the Everglades, right?
Wrong! Birds and alligators and fish that live in that house-sized bit care. Nobody thinks twice about draining wetlands when it benefits them. And that's how we have gotten into the situation we're in now where we need to be more aggressive with our WC.
Reader Comments (0/10)
They're worth double now, so make sure you comment!
Time to tally the scores!
Recycling: 29
Wetland Conservation: 22
Well, there you have it. Recycling will continue on to the Regional Semi-Finals. Make sure you come back tomorrow to see how (2) Reducing/Reusing fares against (6) Wildlife Conservation.
Recycling
Well, Recycling, it's great to see you again! Welcome back! Now that we have a little more time, let's learn some more about you. Recycling really started taking off during the 1980's in the US as people started looking for cheaper ways to keep up with the increasing global demand for plastic and aluminum and paper. One of the greatest challenges to Recycling is getting all of the things gathered up and shipped to the processing plant. But as landfill space is becoming harder to come by and Recycling supply chains become more efficient, Recycling is becoming ever more popular.
Green Pride (10/20)
I'm only going to say this once: these ratings are based on the average person's feelings about environmental issues, not my feelings. If I were rating them by my views, all the ideas would have 20 points from Pride and 20 for Guilt and we'd be at a stalemate unless someone (Chris) commented. So yeah, these are what I feel the average person feels.
Recycling, while a big deal 20 or so years ago, has become sort of commonplace these days. Most people see Recycling as some sort of a chore or task, similar to taking out the garbage. Yes, it's probably true that people feel some pride when they hear about how much material they or their city or country or business recycles. But their Recycling practices have become more or less something that people do. This probably also depends on whether the person has curbside Recycling or drop off points, but I don't see it varying too much.
Green Guilt (17/20)
I can't tell you how many times I've called someone out on not Recycling. And when I do that, 9 times out of 10, the person apologizes and feels pretty bad about it. 1 out of 10 people are jerks about it and tell me to mind my own business at which point we usually get into an argument about how he or she is destroying the Earth and how I want my children to not have to wear breathing masks when they go outside to play and how I want my grandchildren not to be born with 5 legs or some crazy mutation like that.
Basically what I'm saying is that almost everyone knows that they should Recycle, but some people don't know how to or are lazy about it.
Reader Comments (2/10)
First 2 pointer!
Wetland Conservation
Wetland Conservation (WC) is back again after taking out LEED Certification in the first round. So let's learn a little bit more about WC. WC is something that's been practiced around the world for centuries but should probably be practiced much more than it is. For example, Lake Superior hit its lowest recorded levels ever in 2007 and the Nile River has been notoriously over developed and diverted in recent years. This isn't just having a harmful effect on wildlife (which I'll mention tomorrow), but people will soon run out of fresh water and that will lead to wars and other horrible things that we all agree we want to avoid.
Green Pride (17/20)
Everyone loves a good story that talks about how some frog or bird or type of grass was saved by some group's conservation efforts. Yay for saving water! These stories make everyone feel proud that their society is on the right track and is doing the right thing for once. And we can all sleep well at night!
Green Guilt (5/20)
Well, we can't really sleep all that well. We're living with our parents and we've got a curfew even though we're almost 30 years old and our girlfriend is pressuring us to get married and move out and build a new home that we can't afford. And land for sale is limited in Florida, so let's just drain off a little bit of the Everglades. Nobody will miss one little house-sized bit of the Everglades, right?
Wrong! Birds and alligators and fish that live in that house-sized bit care. Nobody thinks twice about draining wetlands when it benefits them. And that's how we have gotten into the situation we're in now where we need to be more aggressive with our WC.
Reader Comments (0/10)
They're worth double now, so make sure you comment!
Time to tally the scores!
Recycling: 29
Wetland Conservation: 22
Well, there you have it. Recycling will continue on to the Regional Semi-Finals. Make sure you come back tomorrow to see how (2) Reducing/Reusing fares against (6) Wildlife Conservation.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tournament Round 1, Match 1 - (1) Recycling vs. (8) Political Activism
The moment everyone has been waiting for is finally here!! The first round match up between (1) Recycling and (8) Political Activism!! Without any further ado, let's get it started!
Recycling
First let's talk about Recycling. Recycling, as defined by my brain, is taking a post-consumer product and grinding it up or melting it down so it can be turned into something else that is usable. This is not to be confused with Reusing or Reducing, which will be coming up in a few days.
Impact on the Environment (13/15):
The two biggest advantages in terms of environmental impact are reduced landfill space needed and less use of raw materials. Overall, Recycling has saved countless millions of pounds of trash from ending up in landfills and (even worse) the oceans. I'd give it 12, but sticking it to the GPGP bumps the score up to 13.
Practicality (4/10):
Hmm... I have to say, when you think of all the hurdles it faces in terms of collection and sorting, Recycling doesn't seem as promising. First off, you have to get people to recycle, which is hard enough. Then you have to collect it, truck it to a sorting facility, sort it (a lot of times by hand), bale it, then ship it (usually to Asia) where it is then turned to goods or raw materials then shipped back to the other countries. Ugh, when you look at it that way, Recycling seems kind of like when you were a kid and you get a really cool toy for Christmas (or other religious holidays that celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ), but the packaging is so hard to open that it completely spoils all the fun you should be having.
Sustainability (9/10):
Once the system is in place, it's really not that bad. I mean, the trucks were going to pick up garbage anyway, why not pick up recycling instead? Ultimately, there probably will be better ways to manage waste, but over the past 20-30 years, we've come up with a pretty solid system that will be easy to sustain.
Awesomeness (9/10):
Any concept that could inspire me to own at least four t-shirts related to it has to be pretty darn awesome. While the process itself is nothing flashy like wind turbines are, Recycling as a concept has become the symbol of the Green Movement. No other concept is so iconic except for maybe the spiral light bulbs, but we'll get to that later.
User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!
Political Activism
Next we'll talk about Political Activism or PA for short to save keystrokes and therefore energy. PA can take on many forms, from calling or writing to your Congresspeople to mailing letters filled with anthrax to the Pentagon with a note claiming that Global Warming made you do it. (Please don't do that!)
Impact on the Environment (2/15):
There really isn't much to say about this one. Yes, sure public awareness is very important to getting measures passed that will increase funding for environmental programs, the amount of time and effort and energy that you will spend trying to get politicians to listen to your views will hardly make up for any bills and laws that can be created. And think of all the paper that's wasted on protest signs!
Practicality (-1/10):
Who do you think politicians will listen to? You or Big Oil Companies who are funneling millions of dollars into their re-election campaigns? Unless you have some scandal that you can blackmail them with (What?? Nancy Pelosi was behind the Balloon Boy incident all along?), you probably don't stand much of a chance.
Sustainability (0/10):
I don't think this category even applies... My bad...
Awesomeness (Either 0/10 or 10/10):
There are two ways of going about PA. You can be informed of the issues and make sure you vote with the environment in mind in order to shape the political landscape in a way that is beneficial to the environment. Or you can dress up in a seal costume, cover yourself in oil and bust into a fund raising dinner for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. I'll let you decide which will get you 10 awesome points and which will get you 0.
User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!
Alright, let's tally those scores!
Recycling: 35
Political Activism: 1 or 11
Well, there you have it, it looks like Recycling crushed Political Activism in this first round match. PA was kind of a joke entry. I did it to start off with something fun. I can promise that later matches will be closer. Like Saturday's match up between (4) Wetland Conservation and (5) LEED Certification. Get those comments in, it may be a close one!!
Recycling
First let's talk about Recycling. Recycling, as defined by my brain, is taking a post-consumer product and grinding it up or melting it down so it can be turned into something else that is usable. This is not to be confused with Reusing or Reducing, which will be coming up in a few days.
Impact on the Environment (13/15):
The two biggest advantages in terms of environmental impact are reduced landfill space needed and less use of raw materials. Overall, Recycling has saved countless millions of pounds of trash from ending up in landfills and (even worse) the oceans. I'd give it 12, but sticking it to the GPGP bumps the score up to 13.
Practicality (4/10):
Hmm... I have to say, when you think of all the hurdles it faces in terms of collection and sorting, Recycling doesn't seem as promising. First off, you have to get people to recycle, which is hard enough. Then you have to collect it, truck it to a sorting facility, sort it (a lot of times by hand), bale it, then ship it (usually to Asia) where it is then turned to goods or raw materials then shipped back to the other countries. Ugh, when you look at it that way, Recycling seems kind of like when you were a kid and you get a really cool toy for Christmas (or other religious holidays that celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ), but the packaging is so hard to open that it completely spoils all the fun you should be having.
Sustainability (9/10):
Once the system is in place, it's really not that bad. I mean, the trucks were going to pick up garbage anyway, why not pick up recycling instead? Ultimately, there probably will be better ways to manage waste, but over the past 20-30 years, we've come up with a pretty solid system that will be easy to sustain.
Awesomeness (9/10):
Any concept that could inspire me to own at least four t-shirts related to it has to be pretty darn awesome. While the process itself is nothing flashy like wind turbines are, Recycling as a concept has become the symbol of the Green Movement. No other concept is so iconic except for maybe the spiral light bulbs, but we'll get to that later.
User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!
Political Activism
Next we'll talk about Political Activism or PA for short to save keystrokes and therefore energy. PA can take on many forms, from calling or writing to your Congresspeople to mailing letters filled with anthrax to the Pentagon with a note claiming that Global Warming made you do it. (Please don't do that!)
Impact on the Environment (2/15):
There really isn't much to say about this one. Yes, sure public awareness is very important to getting measures passed that will increase funding for environmental programs, the amount of time and effort and energy that you will spend trying to get politicians to listen to your views will hardly make up for any bills and laws that can be created. And think of all the paper that's wasted on protest signs!
Practicality (-1/10):
Who do you think politicians will listen to? You or Big Oil Companies who are funneling millions of dollars into their re-election campaigns? Unless you have some scandal that you can blackmail them with (What?? Nancy Pelosi was behind the Balloon Boy incident all along?), you probably don't stand much of a chance.
Sustainability (0/10):
I don't think this category even applies... My bad...
Awesomeness (Either 0/10 or 10/10):
There are two ways of going about PA. You can be informed of the issues and make sure you vote with the environment in mind in order to shape the political landscape in a way that is beneficial to the environment. Or you can dress up in a seal costume, cover yourself in oil and bust into a fund raising dinner for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. I'll let you decide which will get you 10 awesome points and which will get you 0.
User Input (0/5):
Get those comments in, everyone!
Alright, let's tally those scores!
Recycling: 35
Political Activism: 1 or 11
Well, there you have it, it looks like Recycling crushed Political Activism in this first round match. PA was kind of a joke entry. I did it to start off with something fun. I can promise that later matches will be closer. Like Saturday's match up between (4) Wetland Conservation and (5) LEED Certification. Get those comments in, it may be a close one!!
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