Green-News: Wednesday 5.6.09
- Bad news for plastic army men, the United States military is switching compostable bio-plastic. In Iraq, the 135,000 U.S. troops leave behind 446 million pounds of plastic waste each year. Bio-plastic decomposes and can be made from weeds, sugar and even cow poop, and can be used for MRE’s and other food packaging; via CleanTechnica.
- Colleges are ditching plastic too. Many universities are taking plastic food trays out of cafeterias and officials claim it helps reduce waste, saving schools 10% on food spending and with no trays to wash, cutting water bills too. And some colleges have started using biodegradable containers and planting community gardens; The New York Times reports.
- Disney is also going green, in a big way! The house that Mickey built pledged to plant one tree for every ticket sold for its eco-documentary “Earth” during the first week of release. Last week, the movie took in $16.1 million, with 2.7 million viewers, meaning 2.7 new trees are headed to the Brazilian rainforest; from Green Inc.
- FedEx has announced its aiming to run on 30% biofuel by 2030, calling it the 30 by 30 plan. The delivery company wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and cutback air-transportation costs, focusing on biodiesel made from shrubs and ethanol and moving away from existing petroleum-based fuels; SustainableBusiness.com News explains.
- Speaking of alternative fuel, New York City is getting 40 brand new Nissan Altima Hybrid patrol cars, to further Manhattan’s bid to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2017. Currently there are 3,300 hybrid vehicles in service throughout New York, but most are designated for sanitation, buildings, parks and transportation; from Red Green and Blue.
- Now, despite New York’s seedy reputation, it’s actually quite clean. According to the American Lung Association, New York City is not among the worst air-polluters in the country, with Los Angeles, California, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and Bakersfield, California having the worst air quality. New York didn’t even make the top ten; via The Daily Green.
Image credit: John J Page
Ah, seeing those brown MRE bags sure takes me back. As you can see, they do have vegetarian style MRE's, but let me assure you, none of these are Fuhrman-friendly meals. Here are just a few items which I can remember are contained in MRE's, including the vegetarian types: M&M's, Jolly Ranchers, Combos, potato chips, cookies, poundcake, peanut butter, cheez whiz, granola bars, and lots more that I can't remember off the top of my head.
I think all the military is concerned about is getting enough calories in soldiers to keep them going. Plus, most soldiers would probably be angry to open an MRE and find a bean stew, some almonds and fruit. It would make sense to have learning to eat healthier as part of military training.