I lifted these off of flickr. Sorry not to give credit to appropriate people.
Libertad's Journal
My Podcast Link
05/27/2010 22:16 #51740
We need to stop calling it a spillThis is not a spill. A spill is when you knock over a glass of milk. I wish this was just a spill but it is not. A spill has limits and as we can clearly see this oil well DISASTER does not.
I lifted these off of flickr. Sorry not to give credit to appropriate people.
I lifted these off of flickr. Sorry not to give credit to appropriate people.
05/22/2010 22:17 #51712
Biking for lifeI liked this article about making biking a part of your life. Hopefully I can keep biking until the very end. I hope that I can continue to live and work in the same area. It sucks to have to drive to go to work.
Published on Saturday, May 22, 2010 by CommonDreams.org
Biking for Life
by Susan Van Haitsma
It's National Bike Month, and I'm thinking about my dad. He's 82 and still riding. In fact, he's still riding the same 3-speed Schwinn bicycle that he purchased, used, from a student soon after he began his teaching career at a small college in Wisconsin about 50 years ago. We lived just 6 blocks from his office on campus, so he walked to work if there was snow or rain, but otherwise, he preferred to bike because it was faster and easier to carry his satchel of books and files in his big wire baskets. In the years since he retired, he's continued to bike all around town to do his local business, becoming a loved and familiar figure on that classic Schwinn.
I realized with some surprise that my dad has never locked his bike. Parked almost daily along a busy road near his office for 35 years, his faithful steed remained untethered and unstolen. The frame is rusty, perhaps acting as a theft deterrent, but he's kept the gears oiled and the tires filled. Over the years, he's replaced the tires a few times, the brake pads and the pedals, but most other parts are original. When it comes to carbon footprint, I figure that the resources used to manufacture, maintain and operate his bike have been amortized over 50 years to zero. Meanwhile, the benefits to the planet have accumulated to produce a rather elegant history of one man taking seriously the promise of a sturdy, green machine to last a lifetime.
My dad hasn't thought of himself as a bicycle activist. He owns and drives a car and is not keen on the idea of giving that up someday. He has considered his bike use mainly a practical measure to save money, move relatively quickly around a compact downtown and work out the kinks from grading papers. But, as the years have gone by and the earth has suffered its oil wounds, I've come to see my dad's example as a green beacon of possibility.
When we are urged by local and national governments to take whatever steps we can in our daily lives to reduce our use of fossil fuels, I picture my dad cruising down the driveway on his 3-speed, headed to a Kiwanis meeting. If he can do this at age 82, the possibilities for most people to make at least some of their local trips by bicycle are endless. Bike to Work Day could be, as it was for my father, an ordinary day.
While my dad has ridden a single bike through five decades of bicycle design transformation, the evolution from cruiser to racer to mountain to hybrid to cruiser turned a perfect revolution as his 1950s-style model came back into fashion. Without meaning to, my dad became cool.
Actually, he was cool all along. Teaching is best done by example, and his quiet daily practice was an environmental lesson on the leading edge of green living. Chugging up and down hills helped preserve his health and the health of those hills. I'm proud of my cool dad. Happy Bike Half-Century to everyone who has rolled along with him!
Susan Van Haitsma lives, bikes and blogs in Austin, Texas at www.makingpeace-in-austin.blogspot.com
metalpeter - 05/26/10 17:29
I My Self don't ride, but it is nice to know that there is kinda a rental place for them.
I My Self don't ride, but it is nice to know that there is kinda a rental place for them.
libertad - 05/26/10 13:55
Buffalo Blue Bikes rents them. It is a $25 membership and it is more like a sharing system then rental. You should check it out (e:metalpeter). I might see if my Mom wants to do it when she comes for a visit soon.
Buffalo Blue Bikes rents them. It is a $25 membership and it is more like a sharing system then rental. You should check it out (e:metalpeter). I might see if my Mom wants to do it when she comes for a visit soon.
metalpeter - 05/23/10 08:56
I forgot to mention My other point. Would Bike Rentals like car share work. Say you catch a train to like some place and you don't to travel underground then get on the bike there. Or maybe (not that it will ever happen cause you have to live over there to see it) If this country ever gets on the high speed train (better then planes) they could have a place to put your bike, I have heard they make bikes that kinda fold down not that I would trust to ride one.
I forgot to mention My other point. Would Bike Rentals like car share work. Say you catch a train to like some place and you don't to travel underground then get on the bike there. Or maybe (not that it will ever happen cause you have to live over there to see it) If this country ever gets on the high speed train (better then planes) they could have a place to put your bike, I have heard they make bikes that kinda fold down not that I would trust to ride one.
metalpeter - 05/23/10 08:43
You hear all these green activists and even Barrack talk about the energy problems and getting off foreign oil. They talk about lets go green and get green Jobs here! But they all ways act like cars are the answer. Yes for many people they have to use them, hey when you are going to buy food for the family or Taking the kids to Their Lacrosse game, yeah you kinda still need the car. But why not bike when ever you can. I have never been to NYC or LA but look at all the congestion of cars. What if you could make all those single car loads Bikes they take up a lot less room. Maybe there should be a push towards bikes, not sure the right way to do it, it happened in China (again never been just seen the pictures) on its own (lets not sell them cars anymore they had the right idea in bikes). I know there are a bunch of bike companies, maybe encourage buying American Made bikes or some kind of small incentive for use somehow..........
You hear all these green activists and even Barrack talk about the energy problems and getting off foreign oil. They talk about lets go green and get green Jobs here! But they all ways act like cars are the answer. Yes for many people they have to use them, hey when you are going to buy food for the family or Taking the kids to Their Lacrosse game, yeah you kinda still need the car. But why not bike when ever you can. I have never been to NYC or LA but look at all the congestion of cars. What if you could make all those single car loads Bikes they take up a lot less room. Maybe there should be a push towards bikes, not sure the right way to do it, it happened in China (again never been just seen the pictures) on its own (lets not sell them cars anymore they had the right idea in bikes). I know there are a bunch of bike companies, maybe encourage buying American Made bikes or some kind of small incentive for use somehow..........
05/17/2010 21:28 #51672
I don't want the friggin bagI can't take it anymore. Why do I have to be forced to take a plastic bag when I go to a store? Time after time, regardless of the store, I have these bags shoved down my throat. I try as hard as I can to yell out that I have a bag before they grab my items and toss it in the fresh plastic but often I am too slow and they are too fast. Very nicely I apologize and tell them I have a bag and I ask them to please use it for the next customer but most times I see them crumple it up and throw it out. I see this almost everywhere with the exception of most people who work at the Co-Op. I have been told that by law I must take a single beer out of the store in a plastic bag despite just putting it in the cloth bag that I have with me. Sometimes I have resorted to begging them to not give me a bag and even that doesn't work. I think if I ever snap it is going to be because of this issue.
How did this culture get started? It just makes no sense at all. It costs the company money to make these bags. I'm not saying that I don't think bags should be offered. I really am not an extremist, I actually am quite reasonable. Sometimes I like to have bags available because we all find ourselves needing them for unexpected purchases one time or another. I just don't get what is wrong with these cashiers that just toss a bag in the trash after I ask them to use it for another customer. Do they hate the earth and want to see it destroyed? is their bagging speed so greatly increased by throwing away the bag I rejected instead of taking the extra second it might take to use that same bag for someone else? I don't think that there really is any reasonable answer for why we do things the way we do.
Since logic and reason does not motivate us, then I believe the answer is to tax the bags. I'm not sure exactly how the logistics of it would work out but I'm thinking .10 to .25 a bag (paper included). The tax would put the burden on the customer not the business. The funds from the tax should be used for cleaning trash from our waterways. Maybe some of the money could be returned to the customer if they bring the bags back for recycling (again logistics)?
This tax I think is different from other taxes including the cigarette tax because the customer really has a choice and can very easily change their ways to avoid the tax. My proposed tax would also benefit us all without being a huge financial burden for our government or even the people who choose to pay the bag tax by opting not to use re-usable bags. If there was a bag tax everyone would win except the plastic bag workers. I know some people want to live in anarchy and don't want the government taxing things but I really think that this would be a good move on the federal level. I think, as evidenced by the oil spill in the gulf, that what we are doing is not working and we are all going to suffer for it. One person's right to throw away a plastic bag is infringing on another person's right to live in a clean and healthy environment.
How did this culture get started? It just makes no sense at all. It costs the company money to make these bags. I'm not saying that I don't think bags should be offered. I really am not an extremist, I actually am quite reasonable. Sometimes I like to have bags available because we all find ourselves needing them for unexpected purchases one time or another. I just don't get what is wrong with these cashiers that just toss a bag in the trash after I ask them to use it for another customer. Do they hate the earth and want to see it destroyed? is their bagging speed so greatly increased by throwing away the bag I rejected instead of taking the extra second it might take to use that same bag for someone else? I don't think that there really is any reasonable answer for why we do things the way we do.
Since logic and reason does not motivate us, then I believe the answer is to tax the bags. I'm not sure exactly how the logistics of it would work out but I'm thinking .10 to .25 a bag (paper included). The tax would put the burden on the customer not the business. The funds from the tax should be used for cleaning trash from our waterways. Maybe some of the money could be returned to the customer if they bring the bags back for recycling (again logistics)?
This tax I think is different from other taxes including the cigarette tax because the customer really has a choice and can very easily change their ways to avoid the tax. My proposed tax would also benefit us all without being a huge financial burden for our government or even the people who choose to pay the bag tax by opting not to use re-usable bags. If there was a bag tax everyone would win except the plastic bag workers. I know some people want to live in anarchy and don't want the government taxing things but I really think that this would be a good move on the federal level. I think, as evidenced by the oil spill in the gulf, that what we are doing is not working and we are all going to suffer for it. One person's right to throw away a plastic bag is infringing on another person's right to live in a clean and healthy environment.
libertad - 05/18/10 21:53
Thank you so much (e:uncut) for the info. The absurd thing about giving a bag to someone who is buying a single beer is that it is probably the most likely to become litter. How many of these bags enter the waterways causing extensive damage?
I am absolutely certain that even the poorest of the poor would not be burdened by this bag tax. They simply will not take a bag. Poor people know how to live without spending a dime. A re-usable bag costs .99 and often is given away. If you want to help the most poor the best way is to give them an incentive to pick up plastic bags they find carelessly tossed into the wind. Paying them per bag or per pound of plastic they retrieve will motivate them to return to be recycled.
Banning plastic bags all together has some disadvantages. First, people would not be able to consume as much being bad for the economy. I will use a disposable bag when I do not anticipate that I will be shopping. If I had no way of carrying home any of my impulse buys I would not be able to make the purchase. Much of our economy is based on such impulse purchases. Second, we would have the inconvenience of not being able to bring home our impulse buys. Some of my best purchases are of these kind. Third, you would have an immediate lay off of the entire bag industry. They need to be found jobs elsewhere first.
The other reason this tax will help the poor is that they will find that many of the re-usable bags available to us make it much easier to carry what we are consuming. Poor people walk, bike and use public transport. There biggest benefit of the tax is surely being enticed to find out how much easier it is for you to carry your items in a re-usable bag. With a reusable bag you utilize your shoulders, where as the plastic and paper force you to use many more muscles to carry the same items.
Mike carries re-usable bags in his car. I almost always have a back pack and sometimes I keep a cloth bag inside of it.
(e:jenks), you would have helped the environment more if you didn't obtain your re-usable bags and then not use them. Most of those bags are often made of plastics and synthetics anyways. By not using them you are doing twice the damage.
Thank you so much (e:uncut) for the info. The absurd thing about giving a bag to someone who is buying a single beer is that it is probably the most likely to become litter. How many of these bags enter the waterways causing extensive damage?
I am absolutely certain that even the poorest of the poor would not be burdened by this bag tax. They simply will not take a bag. Poor people know how to live without spending a dime. A re-usable bag costs .99 and often is given away. If you want to help the most poor the best way is to give them an incentive to pick up plastic bags they find carelessly tossed into the wind. Paying them per bag or per pound of plastic they retrieve will motivate them to return to be recycled.
Banning plastic bags all together has some disadvantages. First, people would not be able to consume as much being bad for the economy. I will use a disposable bag when I do not anticipate that I will be shopping. If I had no way of carrying home any of my impulse buys I would not be able to make the purchase. Much of our economy is based on such impulse purchases. Second, we would have the inconvenience of not being able to bring home our impulse buys. Some of my best purchases are of these kind. Third, you would have an immediate lay off of the entire bag industry. They need to be found jobs elsewhere first.
The other reason this tax will help the poor is that they will find that many of the re-usable bags available to us make it much easier to carry what we are consuming. Poor people walk, bike and use public transport. There biggest benefit of the tax is surely being enticed to find out how much easier it is for you to carry your items in a re-usable bag. With a reusable bag you utilize your shoulders, where as the plastic and paper force you to use many more muscles to carry the same items.
Mike carries re-usable bags in his car. I almost always have a back pack and sometimes I keep a cloth bag inside of it.
(e:jenks), you would have helped the environment more if you didn't obtain your re-usable bags and then not use them. Most of those bags are often made of plastics and synthetics anyways. By not using them you are doing twice the damage.
heidi - 05/18/10 21:35
I have about four reusable bags in my truck. I use them pretty consistently and only occasionally end up with a plastic bag, which I use to line the bathroom trash can. As soon as I'm done emptying them, I put them all on the door knob so I remember to take them out next time I leave. I love how much stuff you can stuff in one - instead of 8-10 plastic bags to deal with, I have four reusables. The handles are also much more comfortable to haul heavy loads up the stairs than plastic bag handles. (I posted pix of my community org's reusable bag project back in '08 :::link::: )
I have about four reusable bags in my truck. I use them pretty consistently and only occasionally end up with a plastic bag, which I use to line the bathroom trash can. As soon as I'm done emptying them, I put them all on the door knob so I remember to take them out next time I leave. I love how much stuff you can stuff in one - instead of 8-10 plastic bags to deal with, I have four reusables. The handles are also much more comfortable to haul heavy loads up the stairs than plastic bag handles. (I posted pix of my community org's reusable bag project back in '08 :::link::: )
metalpeter - 05/18/10 19:22
I can remember that at one time all you could get where Paper bags, and then many places moved into Plastic. Then place had both and the combo (paper inside the plastic bag). If what I remember is correct during the early days and maybe even now if you wanted the non perfered bag of the place you had to ask for it and often wouldn't get it. I'm not saying it is ok, but from what I understand Cashiers (not all of them) are trained to bag a certain way and to go for quickness. I'm guessing that other kind of bag throws them off. I also wonder if it as an automatic thing, you do something over and over again and someone hands you a differnt option and you just do it your way. I don't know if they still do this or not. But when I was a kid they had bagging contests. You bagged stuff and then they ripped the papper bag and everything was supposed to stay in place and nothing would be crushed. The Point I'm aiming at is if you went into a store where everyone used canvas and you where the one person who wanted Plastic cause you recylce it or use it as a poper scoper or what ever I think the same reaction would happen a lot.
In Terms of taxing bags, I think that is a bad idea. I think that it is up to the consumer to pick what kind of bag they want. Often times taxs just wind up being a tax on the poor. Let take the sterotypical poor family or single mother with multiple kids. Is she really going to go buy a bunch of nice bags (so her kids can destory them and mess them up at home) that she doesn't have the extra cash for. So that tax gets put on her and the people with more money buy the nice bags. My other problem with the tax is would it be on both plastic and paper, if you have heavy stuff would you then have to ask for double bags and get taxed more. Also what about places like price rite where you pay for the bags how much would those go up.
I'm not sure what the best way to do it is. I think plasstic and Paper bags should have incentives to recycle them. I have heard that you can do it at tops and Wegman's but not sure how many people know about it. Maybe all stores should do that. Or maybe they should just have a cart system where you push a button and it says put Items back into cart then you take it out to your car (if you drive) and put it in that way. Or maybe there is some law that says all check out isles have a button you push and it tells the cashier who in most places is the bagger now, those used to be 2 different jobs, what way you want it bagged.
I can remember that at one time all you could get where Paper bags, and then many places moved into Plastic. Then place had both and the combo (paper inside the plastic bag). If what I remember is correct during the early days and maybe even now if you wanted the non perfered bag of the place you had to ask for it and often wouldn't get it. I'm not saying it is ok, but from what I understand Cashiers (not all of them) are trained to bag a certain way and to go for quickness. I'm guessing that other kind of bag throws them off. I also wonder if it as an automatic thing, you do something over and over again and someone hands you a differnt option and you just do it your way. I don't know if they still do this or not. But when I was a kid they had bagging contests. You bagged stuff and then they ripped the papper bag and everything was supposed to stay in place and nothing would be crushed. The Point I'm aiming at is if you went into a store where everyone used canvas and you where the one person who wanted Plastic cause you recylce it or use it as a poper scoper or what ever I think the same reaction would happen a lot.
In Terms of taxing bags, I think that is a bad idea. I think that it is up to the consumer to pick what kind of bag they want. Often times taxs just wind up being a tax on the poor. Let take the sterotypical poor family or single mother with multiple kids. Is she really going to go buy a bunch of nice bags (so her kids can destory them and mess them up at home) that she doesn't have the extra cash for. So that tax gets put on her and the people with more money buy the nice bags. My other problem with the tax is would it be on both plastic and paper, if you have heavy stuff would you then have to ask for double bags and get taxed more. Also what about places like price rite where you pay for the bags how much would those go up.
I'm not sure what the best way to do it is. I think plasstic and Paper bags should have incentives to recycle them. I have heard that you can do it at tops and Wegman's but not sure how many people know about it. Maybe all stores should do that. Or maybe they should just have a cart system where you push a button and it says put Items back into cart then you take it out to your car (if you drive) and put it in that way. Or maybe there is some law that says all check out isles have a button you push and it tells the cashier who in most places is the bagger now, those used to be 2 different jobs, what way you want it bagged.
uncutsaniflush - 05/18/10 18:12
In case anyone cares, there is no law in New York State that forces a store to put your beer, wine or booze in a bag according to Leslie W. Trebby, an associate attorney in the SLA’s Office of Counsel who said "I have reviewed the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and the Rules of the New York State Liquor Authority and have found no provision that requires a grocery store licensed to sell beer (or a retail package liquor store) to place a purchased alcoholic beverage item into a bag
In the absence of a provision in the ABC Law or in the Authority’s rules specifically addressing this issue, I am of the view that the seller is under no legal obligation to place the purchased item into a bag." :::link:::
(e:jason) - to answer your question (e:leetee) and I keep reusable bags in our cars. I start out with 4 or 5 Wegmans bags and end up with zero. Since I rarely remember to put them back in the car until they are all gone.
In case anyone cares, there is no law in New York State that forces a store to put your beer, wine or booze in a bag according to Leslie W. Trebby, an associate attorney in the SLA’s Office of Counsel who said "I have reviewed the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law and the Rules of the New York State Liquor Authority and have found no provision that requires a grocery store licensed to sell beer (or a retail package liquor store) to place a purchased alcoholic beverage item into a bag
In the absence of a provision in the ABC Law or in the Authority’s rules specifically addressing this issue, I am of the view that the seller is under no legal obligation to place the purchased item into a bag." :::link:::
(e:jason) - to answer your question (e:leetee) and I keep reusable bags in our cars. I start out with 4 or 5 Wegmans bags and end up with zero. Since I rarely remember to put them back in the car until they are all gone.
jenks - 05/18/10 17:02
I keep my bags (4) in my car, but often forget to take them inside. :(
I am one of the evil monsters that uses plastic bags. Sorry everyone.
(but I don't throw them away... they get stashed in the kitchen cabinet and reused as lunch bags, etc.)
And along the 'bag tax' lines- some places offer refunds for every bag of your own you bring in- but it's only 5c. So if I brought in 20 bags, I'd only save a dollar? I'm sorry, but that kind of money is not going to motivate anyone.
At first I thought "25c per bag?! that's a ton!" But then I realized that even on a 'big' grocery shop, say 8-10 bags, it's still only a couple bucks... Not unreasonable.
I keep my bags (4) in my car, but often forget to take them inside. :(
I am one of the evil monsters that uses plastic bags. Sorry everyone.
(but I don't throw them away... they get stashed in the kitchen cabinet and reused as lunch bags, etc.)
And along the 'bag tax' lines- some places offer refunds for every bag of your own you bring in- but it's only 5c. So if I brought in 20 bags, I'd only save a dollar? I'm sorry, but that kind of money is not going to motivate anyone.
At first I thought "25c per bag?! that's a ton!" But then I realized that even on a 'big' grocery shop, say 8-10 bags, it's still only a couple bucks... Not unreasonable.
jason - 05/18/10 16:28
How many of you keep reusable bags in your car, etc? If so, how many bags?
How many of you keep reusable bags in your car, etc? If so, how many bags?
james - 05/18/10 10:02
It isn't so much that people are unwilling to spend 25 cents a bag, it is that a reusable bag would cost a dollar. That sort of math makes sense to people.
It isn't so much that people are unwilling to spend 25 cents a bag, it is that a reusable bag would cost a dollar. That sort of math makes sense to people.
ladycroft - 05/18/10 09:05
i hear ya. looking at the way they waste bags here would make your skin crawl. i only hope that by pushing education on the subject will slowly start to change things.
i hear ya. looking at the way they waste bags here would make your skin crawl. i only hope that by pushing education on the subject will slowly start to change things.
jason - 05/18/10 09:02
I would rather Wegman's have the money than the government, who inevitably squanders every penny. Although it's not as aggravating as a gas tax or a cigarette tax, it would still be regressive and the poorer among us would still be punished for not making the green choice.
I'm not sure if it's legit, or for that matter a federal bag tax, but the gov't could compel stores to charge for the bags. Maybe the government could take a piece. Honestly I don't think 0.25 per bag is really going to change the behavior of most people anyway, regardless of who gets the money. You would have to make it really punitive, like a buck a piece or more.
If someone put a gun to my head and told me to make a choice, I would prefer an all out ban on plastic bags to a tax. It's more honest, and it doesn't cause government to become dependent in some way on that tax. If the government is making free money on plastic bags will they want those bags to go away? I'm not so sure about that.
Good, constructive thought Libertad. In the end I would rather see the plastic bags go away as well but I don't have any good ideas.
I would rather Wegman's have the money than the government, who inevitably squanders every penny. Although it's not as aggravating as a gas tax or a cigarette tax, it would still be regressive and the poorer among us would still be punished for not making the green choice.
I'm not sure if it's legit, or for that matter a federal bag tax, but the gov't could compel stores to charge for the bags. Maybe the government could take a piece. Honestly I don't think 0.25 per bag is really going to change the behavior of most people anyway, regardless of who gets the money. You would have to make it really punitive, like a buck a piece or more.
If someone put a gun to my head and told me to make a choice, I would prefer an all out ban on plastic bags to a tax. It's more honest, and it doesn't cause government to become dependent in some way on that tax. If the government is making free money on plastic bags will they want those bags to go away? I'm not so sure about that.
Good, constructive thought Libertad. In the end I would rather see the plastic bags go away as well but I don't have any good ideas.
uncutsaniflush - 05/18/10 08:02
Yes, (e:libertad), I got that meant you meant single beers which is why I specifically talked of six-packs.
I share your frustration on the amount of plastic we get when shopping. Even though, we recycle the bags, it would be better not to have them to recycle in the first place.
The reason that I mentioned complaining to the Wegmans management food chain is because I have learned talking to cashiers at Wegmans over the years that they are trained to put certain items into plastic before placing the item in another bag. If a cashier is still under probation, the cashier could get into trouble for not doing it. The newer the cashier the more likely he or she is to follow the rules.
I'll end by quoting Neil Young, "Take my advice, don't listen to me." <g>
Yes, (e:libertad), I got that meant you meant single beers which is why I specifically talked of six-packs.
I share your frustration on the amount of plastic we get when shopping. Even though, we recycle the bags, it would be better not to have them to recycle in the first place.
The reason that I mentioned complaining to the Wegmans management food chain is because I have learned talking to cashiers at Wegmans over the years that they are trained to put certain items into plastic before placing the item in another bag. If a cashier is still under probation, the cashier could get into trouble for not doing it. The newer the cashier the more likely he or she is to follow the rules.
I'll end by quoting Neil Young, "Take my advice, don't listen to me." <g>
libertad - 05/18/10 00:23
sorry i didn't finish what I was saying. I am not looking for advice on how to avoid getting a bag. I do the things you both have recommended. The problem is much deeper than just my desire to reduce my bag usage. (e:uncut), what I was said about Wegmans cashiers is that they often will wrap my items in plastic before they put it in my cloth bag. I also said my trouble with beer was with a single beer and that was at another store not Wegmans.
sorry i didn't finish what I was saying. I am not looking for advice on how to avoid getting a bag. I do the things you both have recommended. The problem is much deeper than just my desire to reduce my bag usage. (e:uncut), what I was said about Wegmans cashiers is that they often will wrap my items in plastic before they put it in my cloth bag. I also said my trouble with beer was with a single beer and that was at another store not Wegmans.
libertad - 05/18/10 00:15
Ok, I'm tonot looking for advice on how
Ok, I'm tonot looking for advice on how
uncutsaniflush - 05/17/10 23:22
(e:libertad) - I've had no problems buying a 6 pack and having it packed in my reusable "wegmans" bag at Wegmans and Rite-aid.
To avoid problems, I place my reusable bags at on top of my first item or at the beginning of my stuff depending on how much I am buying. Sometimes the cashiers have a hissy fit but my stuff always ends up in the bags I brought.
If you have problems with cashiers at Wegmans ask to speak to the front end manager. If that doesn't work ask to speak to the Manager on Duty. If that doesn't work, call Wegman's corporate. Keep your receipt. Try to remember or write down who you spoke with. They will eventually listen if you have documentation.
(e:libertad) - I've had no problems buying a 6 pack and having it packed in my reusable "wegmans" bag at Wegmans and Rite-aid.
To avoid problems, I place my reusable bags at on top of my first item or at the beginning of my stuff depending on how much I am buying. Sometimes the cashiers have a hissy fit but my stuff always ends up in the bags I brought.
If you have problems with cashiers at Wegmans ask to speak to the front end manager. If that doesn't work ask to speak to the Manager on Duty. If that doesn't work, call Wegman's corporate. Keep your receipt. Try to remember or write down who you spoke with. They will eventually listen if you have documentation.
libertad - 05/17/10 22:58
That is exactly my point (e:tinypliny). We shouldn't have to have strategies in order to avoid being given a bag. I can't believe I forgot to mention how great Guercio's is when it comes to plastic bag avoidance. The funny thing is that I always secretly want their plastic bags because they are the best around. They are smooth and don't make noise and are thicker than usual. I will try the P-BAR the next time I am out while I'm waiting for the bag tax. I do try to be really nice when I go to a cashier, next time I will kill them with my kindness and make eye contact asap.
(e:james) that is awesome that you are doing what you can. Good to know about the county. Maybe we can convince our "government should be run like a business" Executive, Chris Collins, that this would be good for business and the county? Thanks for the link to the article about the sucess of Ireland's bag tax.
Sometimes at Wegman's I give them my cloth bags right away but they still wrap my items in plastic before they put it in the bag. This includes non toxic cleaners, stuff as harmless as baking soda.
That is exactly my point (e:tinypliny). We shouldn't have to have strategies in order to avoid being given a bag. I can't believe I forgot to mention how great Guercio's is when it comes to plastic bag avoidance. The funny thing is that I always secretly want their plastic bags because they are the best around. They are smooth and don't make noise and are thicker than usual. I will try the P-BAR the next time I am out while I'm waiting for the bag tax. I do try to be really nice when I go to a cashier, next time I will kill them with my kindness and make eye contact asap.
(e:james) that is awesome that you are doing what you can. Good to know about the county. Maybe we can convince our "government should be run like a business" Executive, Chris Collins, that this would be good for business and the county? Thanks for the link to the article about the sucess of Ireland's bag tax.
Sometimes at Wegman's I give them my cloth bags right away but they still wrap my items in plastic before they put it in the bag. This includes non toxic cleaners, stuff as harmless as baking soda.
paul - 05/17/10 22:47
In germany we had to pay like 5 or 10 cents per plastic bag. It usually made us bring our cloth ones.
In germany we had to pay like 5 or 10 cents per plastic bag. It usually made us bring our cloth ones.
tinypliny - 05/17/10 22:05
Aren't they illegal in San Francisco? (There's a legal precedent.)
Aren't they illegal in San Francisco? (There's a legal precedent.)
james - 05/17/10 22:03
Ireland has a small tax on plastic bags that has been dramatic in reducing consumption, by a whopping 90%! :::link:::
This is something I have been trying to implement in the city, but it seems we don't quite have the authority to do it without the county on board.
Ireland has a small tax on plastic bags that has been dramatic in reducing consumption, by a whopping 90%! :::link:::
This is something I have been trying to implement in the city, but it seems we don't quite have the authority to do it without the county on board.
tinypliny - 05/17/10 21:48
Hmm... I have managed to not get a single unrequested bag from grocery stores for the past two years. However, I will admit that I do make mistakes. Sometimes, I forget to take my own bag or buy more things than I can fit in the bag I have (always an ominous sign anyway).
I shop a lot in Pricerite and at Guercios. Pricerite doesn't give anyone any bags unless they request it and at Guercios, they listen to me, smile and then help load stuff in my bag! :-)
I think there is a trick to getting your request across in other stores (eg. walgreens, weggers etc.). You need to make eye contact with the checkout clerk way before your turn comes. That way, the clerk looks at your before automatically tossing the first thing into the waiting plastic bag.
I don't wait for them to start the "how's it going" checkout small talk. I start it while the customer before me is swiping their credit card or in the process of paying. It works every time without fail. You smile a great big smile and they have to look at you and smile back (I expect it will be really easy for you, since you are a natural headturner. ;^)) And then you say something pleasant - anything, so they can place your voice when you give them another huge smile and say "Please, no bags for me!" next.
Seriously, try it! I call it the P-BAR (Plastic-Bag-Avoidance-Routine).
Hmm... I have managed to not get a single unrequested bag from grocery stores for the past two years. However, I will admit that I do make mistakes. Sometimes, I forget to take my own bag or buy more things than I can fit in the bag I have (always an ominous sign anyway).
I shop a lot in Pricerite and at Guercios. Pricerite doesn't give anyone any bags unless they request it and at Guercios, they listen to me, smile and then help load stuff in my bag! :-)
I think there is a trick to getting your request across in other stores (eg. walgreens, weggers etc.). You need to make eye contact with the checkout clerk way before your turn comes. That way, the clerk looks at your before automatically tossing the first thing into the waiting plastic bag.
I don't wait for them to start the "how's it going" checkout small talk. I start it while the customer before me is swiping their credit card or in the process of paying. It works every time without fail. You smile a great big smile and they have to look at you and smile back (I expect it will be really easy for you, since you are a natural headturner. ;^)) And then you say something pleasant - anything, so they can place your voice when you give them another huge smile and say "Please, no bags for me!" next.
Seriously, try it! I call it the P-BAR (Plastic-Bag-Avoidance-Routine).
05/22/2010 17:57 #51708
Train wreckYesterday I was riding my bike down by the river and I saw the rescue trucks who responded to the woman who was hit by the Amtrak train. I didn't know what it was at the time but I saw the police combing through the area she was hit. I called Mike and told him to check the news because I thought it was a murder. The news articles aren't saying much but there seems to be some suspicion that she was already dead when the train hit her.
This appeared in the Buffalo News-
I'm surprised the Buffalo News didn't find this themselves. Don't they do any investigating at all? This woman had a warrant out for her arrest for stealing purses in a church.
I wonder what happened between her leaving the drug treatment facility and yesterday afternoon. Poor thing is now literally a train wreck. I feel bad for her family.
UPDATE 5/23--Here is the follow up to the story. I'm surprised that they are now thinking it was an accident. It really makes you wonder if rehab places should force people to quit smoking cigarettes at the same time as other drugs. They kicked her out for smoking a freaking cigarette?!
This appeared in the Buffalo News-
Police identify victim of train-pedestrian accident
Updated: May 22, 2010, 4:31 pm / 1 comment
Published: May 22, 2010, 4:31 pm
The woman killed Friday afternoon in train-pedestrian accident in Buffalo has been identified as Sandra M. Abrams, 37, who had addresses in both Buffalo and Salamanca, Buffalo police said today.
Homicide detectives continue to investigate the accident, which occurred just before 4 p.m. Friday, on tracks near Niagara and Albany streets, where an outbound Amtrak train struck Abrams. She was declared dead at the scene.
I'm surprised the Buffalo News didn't find this themselves. Don't they do any investigating at all? This woman had a warrant out for her arrest for stealing purses in a church.
Warrant issued for woman who stole purses in church
Updated: March 27, 2010, 6:36 am /
Published: March 27, 2010, 12:30 am
An arrest warrant was issued Friday for Sandra M. Abrams, who became notorious for stealing purses during Buffalo church services last fall, after she walked away from an inpatient drug treatment program Monday, authorities said.
Abrams, 36, of North Street, had pleaded guilty Feb. 1 to grand larceny and was sent to the state's Madonna House treatment facility in Lockport. Abrams' lawyer, Andrew C. LoTempio, told State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns that he has "no knowledge of her whereabouts."
Abrams is scheduled to be sentenced Monday on her guilty plea to felony grand larceny for stealing purses, containing a total of about $22 in cash and credit cards from four Buffalo churches in November. She had been in custody until entering the drug program March 1.
I wonder what happened between her leaving the drug treatment facility and yesterday afternoon. Poor thing is now literally a train wreck. I feel bad for her family.
UPDATE 5/23--Here is the follow up to the story. I'm surprised that they are now thinking it was an accident. It really makes you wonder if rehab places should force people to quit smoking cigarettes at the same time as other drugs. They kicked her out for smoking a freaking cigarette?!
Train accident ends life of troubled woman
By Robert J. McCarthy
NEWS STAFF REPORTER
Updated: May 22, 2010, 10:42 pm / 18 comments
Published: May 22, 2010, 4:31 pm
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Sandra M. Abrams' life of drug abuse and petty crime ended just as sadly Friday afternoon on railroad tracks along Niagara Street after she was struck by an Amtrak train bound for Toronto.
Police today identified Abrams as the same woman they arrested last November for stealing purses and credit cards from worshippers at several Buffalo churches.
Abrams was 37 and had addresses on North Street and the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation.
Buffalo Police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said that police still do not know how she was hit by the passenger train but added that they consider her death accidental.
And in a bizarre twist, the same train that killed Abrams near Niagara and Albany streets about 4 p.m. was later involved in another fatal accident in Toronto. CTV in Toronto reported that a 30-year-old man was struck about 12:40 a.m. Saturday, as the train was backing into a cleaning facility shortly after dropping off passengers at Union Station in downtown Toronto.
Toronto Police Sgt. Tim Burrows told CTV the unidentified man may have been wearing headphones at the time.
Abrams' attorney, Andrew C. LoTempio, said her problems stemmed from a lifetime of drug addiction.
"She started in her mid-teens," he said Saturday. "Her mother struggled for years trying to help her. But she just started getting into petty crimes to support her drug habit."
After she was arrested Nov. 24 for a series of purse thefts Nov. 15 in the Buffalo churches, she was charged with three counts of grand larceny and one count of petit larceny and jailed. On Feb. 1, she pleaded guilty to felony grand larceny for stealing the purses with credit cards and cash.
State Supreme Court Justice Christopher J. Burns had granted LoTempio's request for treatment instead of jail during a March court appearance.
But LoTempio said Saturday that Abrams lasted only about two weeks at Madonna House in Lockport before she was kicked out for smoking ... a violation of the rules. Her whereabouts were unknown until she was hit by the train Friday, though her attorney suspects she had spent time on the Cattaraugus Reservation.
citydesk@buffnews.com
metalpeter - 05/23/10 13:28
Not sure about how the new york state law is with no smoking in rehab places. There used to be 2 schools of thought.
1. You only gave up the addictions You have, that is tough enough
2. The Problem as I understand it is what that does is doesn't stop addiction it just transfers it to something else like maybe smoking. So the other Theory is that instead of just getting over the addiction to that one thing you need to get rid of all addictions.
I Don't have a degree in this and am no expert so I might be saying this wrong.
Not sure about how the new york state law is with no smoking in rehab places. There used to be 2 schools of thought.
1. You only gave up the addictions You have, that is tough enough
2. The Problem as I understand it is what that does is doesn't stop addiction it just transfers it to something else like maybe smoking. So the other Theory is that instead of just getting over the addiction to that one thing you need to get rid of all addictions.
I Don't have a degree in this and am no expert so I might be saying this wrong.
libertad - 05/23/10 10:57
I just updated this entry with the latest from Buffalo News. Strangely, this train went on to kill someone else in Toronto later on in the day.
I just updated this entry with the latest from Buffalo News. Strangely, this train went on to kill someone else in Toronto later on in the day.
metalpeter - 05/23/10 08:52
Tough To Know Really. Maybe what ever she did to get money got her killed (could have whored it up for money then black mailed someone, could have stolen something and got caught, maybe she OD on the tracks). I wonder if they figure it out if they will let (the media). Let anyone know.
Tough To Know Really. Maybe what ever she did to get money got her killed (could have whored it up for money then black mailed someone, could have stolen something and got caught, maybe she OD on the tracks). I wonder if they figure it out if they will let (the media). Let anyone know.
05/20/2010 13:48 #51688
Fishy burps
I made the mistake of buying fish oil that doesn't have the protective coating to prevent fishy burps. Nothing is nastier than having a fishy burp. I got the ones at the Co-Op because they were molecularly distilled to remove heavy metals. It seems I can either have fishy burps or no fishy burps ,but if I want the no fishy burps I have to take the mercury that comes with the fish oil?
paul - 05/22/10 20:38
I am not a big fan of either fish oil or flax oil. I feel both tend to go rancid so easily and the aftertaste of rancid or old oil makes me want to throw up so bad.
I am not a big fan of either fish oil or flax oil. I feel both tend to go rancid so easily and the aftertaste of rancid or old oil makes me want to throw up so bad.
libertad - 05/22/10 18:02
I have tried flax oil before and I felt more of a difference in my skin with the fish oil. Maybe it is all in my head.
I have tried flax oil before and I felt more of a difference in my skin with the fish oil. Maybe it is all in my head.
tinypliny - 05/20/10 19:38
The main question here is why do you need fish oil? For the vitamin A and Omega-3s? There are other completely non-fishy sources around.
The main question here is why do you need fish oil? For the vitamin A and Omega-3s? There are other completely non-fishy sources around.
libertad - 05/20/10 15:09
Thanks! I'll try it.
Thanks! I'll try it.
matthew - 05/20/10 14:22
Try taking them frozen. I dunno why but it works for me.
Try taking them frozen. I dunno why but it works for me.
these need to go as many places as possible. I think the "authors" would appreciate the free distro as much as the view should appreciate the informative unfiltered truth they provide.