How Can You Use, and Reuse, Paper?

We can live consciously and thoughtfully about how we use paper.  When you write a note, could you also reuse it again, and use the other side?  When you receive a card, is there a portion of it that’s not written on, that could be used for a casual note to a roommate, spouse or friend?  Or perhaps you could even use it for a to-do list.  When you receive a box of a recent book or item of clothing, you can save it for holiday gifts.  Let’s think creatively about our trees…

A World Without Salt Packets

There are so many things that are packaged within paper, and the waste can be enormous.  I think about the time, manufacturing costs, the transport, the packaging, when we look at individual salt packets.  My guess is, forty granules of salt are contained within a tiny salt packet.  And we’ve got to enclose it with paper, and then put it in another big package to transport it.  There are so many ways that we use paper that are not allowing us to be effective stewards of our environment.

There was an interesting write-up of editorial letters in the San Francisco Chronicle the other day.  In it, one might think people were against plastic bags, and they were.  But they were also against paper bags.  All of the letters pointed towards using canvas.  And many of them even stated that we should feel guilty for using trees to transport our lunches, groceries, or other sundries.  We’re facing quite a revolution here in being thoughtful about how and when we use our natural resources.

The New Luxury – Water

In many emerging nations, children are starving and dying due to lack of clean water.  As a “developed” nation, it certainly doesn’t seem that advanced for us to be getting water for free.   Meanwhile, two million people in the developing world are dying every year because they can’t access clean water.

Maybe we won’t have water fountains in the future.

It doesn’t make sense.   If there is a limited, precious resource, why should it flow freely to those who have the most access to it? And at the same time, be so costly to others who need it most?

I think we should have to buy our water, bottled or fountain.  It’s a cherished, expensive and rare commodity. Quite soon, and even by certain nations, water already is the new diamond.

The diamonds which are jewels are high end commodities, which are optional.  Yet water is not a “high-end commodity” that we can go without.

Our society is now realizing that the most prized and honored possessions in our world are things that we actually cannot possess…  Water is used, captured again, recycled in nature, and used again.  Unlike diamonds, it can’t fit in our jewelry box, where we take it out whenever we so desire.  Its beauty rests in its necessary part of our day to day.

Its beauty rests in the continuation of life.

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Let’s do all we can today to conserve water or donate to make water available for someone else.

How Utility Companies Are Working with Supermarkets to Get You a Better Deal

What a great way to partner. Utility companies are now working with supermarkets; we can soon buy an electricity plan along with our organic lettuce, sustainably farmed fish, and fair trade coffee.

As we progress in life, it’s important to see fresh ways we can take advantage of services or partner. Deregulation brings opportunity.

The essential takeaway is that buying behavior of all kinds will be combined and strengthened. It affords us more opportunities to save time and money. Yet we also should be aware that it gives reams of information to retailers. Our lives become more efficient and intertwined, yet less private.

Check out this excerpt from the article, “Selling Electricity Over the Counter” in the Wall Street Journal. It’s interesting to see this innovation taking place in Australia, the U.K. and the United States. Tell me what you think: Would you buy a plan and gain discounts, while losing privacy?

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Wall Street Journal article:

Utilities around the globe are teaming up with retailers such as Marks & Spencer Group PLC in Britain, Coles Supermarkets in Australia and Best Buy Co. in the U.S. to sell energy and related products directly to consumers.

Retailers see a growing market in energy-conscious consumers who now shop for everything from power suppliers and energy-efficient appliances to solar panels, insulation and home-energy-management systems.

As more utilities have been forced to compete in deregulated markets, establishing alliances with retailers has helped them build customer loyalty and reduce customer churn.

Reliant has teamed up in Texas with electronics and appliance retailer Best Buy, in whose stores the utility now markets electricity plans and free home-energy monitors that help customers figure out how they can reduce their electricity consumption and save money. Similarly, Constellation, owned by Chicago-based power generator Exelon Corp., is experimenting with selling electricity plans through Best Buy stores in Illinois.

In Britain, Marks & Spencer, whose department stores feature staples from socks to scones, is selling natural gas and electricity from SSE PLC, one of the U.K.’s big six energy suppliers. Marks & Spencer also offers insulation and solar panels and provides advice on energy-efficient appliances.

In Australia, utility AGL Energy Ltd. in April linked up with Coles Supermarkets, a unit of Wesfarmers Ltd., via the Coles customer-loyalty program Flybuys. The program gives AGL residential customers rewards points for discounts on Coles purchases…Points can be used for purchases at Coles.

The Pamela Positive: “Make of Your Life an Affirmation”

“Make of your life an affirmation, defined by your ideals, not the negation of others. Dare to the level of your capability then go beyond to a higher level.” –Alexander Haig

Alexander Haig was a four-star general in the United States Army, as well as Chief of Staff under President Nixon and President Ford, and Secretary of State under President Reagan.  A veteran of Korea and Vietnam, Haig received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, and the Purple Heart.