Under the Dome

I just finished reading ‘Under the Dome’ by Stephen King.  I decided to read this book because I had heard one of the major themes of the book is the ecology.  While the book does touch on ideas of: warming; pollution; limited food/water resources and oxygen depletion; the ecology theme is buried amongst the high body count.  I enjoyed the book, but it did contain more gore than I expected.

I had my own ‘dome day’ while reading this book.  On TV was the Simpsons movie, in which a dome was placed around the town.  And, I was also reading the book ‘Zeitoun’ by Dave Eggers.  ‘Zeitoun’ is set in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and they mention the conditions of the emergency shelter setup in the Louisiana Superdome.  Frankly, the behavior of the people in the Superdome paralleled the behavior of the characters in Stephen King’s dome.

Update 7/18/2011:  Just watched the final Harry Potter movie.  I had forgotten that Professor McGonagall cast a spell that placed a dome of protection over Hogwarts.  Domes are everywhere!

$10 Litter Tax on Cigarettes

Did you know the most commonly littered item is the cigarette butt?

Here are some alarming facts…
- Over 4 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year.
- It takes about 15 years for a cigarette butt to break down in the environment.
- Cigarette butts are the most common debris found in streams, rivers, and coastal environments and makeup roughly 38% of debris.
- Cigarette butts account for more than 1/3 of all forest fires in the U.S.
- More than 2 billion lbs. of cigarette butts are littered or disposed of in landfills each year.

These facts are overwhelming and prove the need for a better system to ensure proper disposal of this toxic trash. One solution that came to mind is charging a Litter Tax. This tax would be similar to the recycling fee that is charged when you buy sodas or beer. You pay a little extra upon purchase and then are refunded the money if you comply with the rules. For the Litter Tax, cigarette packs would be manufactured to include pre-paid return address labels printed right on the pack. The smoker must place 18 cigarette butts into the pack and ship it back to the manufacturer to receive a $10 check in the mail. What are your thoughts? Do you think this would help?

Originally posted by Kris Rudeegraap  http://www.rudeegraap.com/

R5 - Recycle, Replenish, Restore, Reduce, Reuse

I recently started a business, R5, in which I prepare Commercial Waste Assessments.  Companies hire me to inspect and analyze their garbage. Based on my findings, I provide recommendations on ways to reduce waste.

Are you interested in learning how you can be more 'green'?

Welcome

You've landed at ECOrena.  My name is Corena and I'm currently a university student studying Environmental Sciences.  I created this blog to share my thoughts on the ecology.