Emily and I were watching tv the other minute and saw a Lose Your Excuse ad called “April”. It shows a young girl being interviewed by a young boy in an hard-hitting reporter style about the cell phone charger left plugged into the wall socket.
“That’s not my charger. I don’t even have a cell phone,” April protests before being betrayed by a ringing from her pocket.
“Unplug Phone Chargers” comes the admonition at the close of the ad.
“See,” offers Emily, “now that’s brilliant.”
“Compared to what?”
“Compared to, you know, ‘Don’t run your dishwasher during this hour’ or ‘Compost!’ You have to be kind of a greenie already to pay attention to that kind of stuff…”
“You mean the Earth Hour stuff?”
“Yeah. But this? This is what people need. Unplug your phone chargers. And what about if I just used some toilet paper to wipe my nose? Is it better to flush it or throw it away? A short spot that tells me the answer to that question will stick with me.”
“My cell phone charger is still plugged in.”
“Yeah, mine is too.”
…
…
“But, I’m unplugging it right now. And I’m not going to compost.”
I think the Environment gets to call this one a win.
11 comments:
Loved that conversation. The plugged chargers are a bone of contention in this household, but only because I'm cheap and anal and not necessarily so green.
We're lucky here, though Snot rags are compostable in our green bin. Lucky us :)
I'm rubbish at this but trying to get better. But I would like to compost although buying a big plastic bin to do so makes me scratch my head!
you dont't use washable cotton hankies? earth haters.
Thanks for revealing my wonderful idea for an ad campaign. I was planning it all out in the shower this morning: (1) research these easy ways to reduce waste, help the environment, etc.; (2) see if I could find a government grant to help me get the project off the ground; (3) see if I could convince the Jim Henson people to make Kermit the new spokesperson for my "It is Easy Being Green" campaign, and (4) BIG PROFITS. (I guess that would make the real step # 1 - collect underpants).
So now anyone who reads the blog can steal my idea - but I'm used to that. That self-cleaning cat box? totally my idea...
You really don't need to buy a plastic bin for compost - it would actually be smellier if you did. We have a wooden box in the backyard that is lined with chicken wire so rats and raccoons can't dig their way in. Slap a hinged lid on top and you're done. The wood lets oxygen in which is super important.
A 6x5x4ish box can be split into two compartments; one for brand new/slightly decomposed stuff and the other for older compost/dirt. Grass clippings & leaves help it along, and we shred all of our private mail and add that, our used kleenex & napkins too.
It's really not that much work, we just keep an old ice cream bucket under the sink and when it fills up we take it out. You'll be surprised once you start collecting your veg. waste separately just how much would be going in the trash.
-@nico1e
My lack of interest in taking 3 minutes to boot up my laptop in the morning as well as my simmering fear of home invasions on the evenings I'm here alone with the kids means there's power coursing through my house during all non-peak times. Until such time someone proves to me that I'll actually make more than $10 annually by turning everything off, then I guess I'll stay lazy, stay safe, and try not to laugh when Earth, sitting atop a majestic steed which is standing atop a cliff, turns to look at the camera and make me feel guilty when a single tear falls from somewhere near the North Pole, which is where I imagine Earth's eyes are.
Or something like that.
Also, I wouldn't laugh. I'm not that heartless. I am kind of lazy, though.
I'm curious about the answer to the toilet paper. Flush or throw away? Please research and advise.
I guess that ad is for me because I'm reading this and saying, "You're supposed to unplug your phone chargers?" However, I watch most everything on Tivo and not really exposed to commercials anymore.
I'm totally part of the problem, aren't I?
Great, just checked, and yep, my charger was plugged in.
Operative word: WAS.
Thanks to you, it isn't now.
T.
Well, apparently I'm a phantom energy waster... just unplugged two though - thanks :)
I am such a slacker at that. But then my phone charger falls out of the plug when someone looks at it wrong.
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