Could all that noise we’re constantly hearing be the ‘volume’ of the stuff we throw away?

April 21

I recently moved into the heart of the city, right at the Beverly Hills/West Hollywood divide. While it’s fun to live within walking distance of so many things, what has really come as a rather rude surprise is the impact of all the trash generated by our homes and businesses on the environment of urban neighborhoods.

What really gets to me (and, I’m sure, a lot of other city dwellers) are the decibel levels involved in refuse collection. Waste-hauling trucks are oversized, energy-intensive vehicle/machine combos that are so generally noisy, it is unbelievable. Their operations are enough to wake you up in the morning, drown out phone calls, totally disrupt concentration and amplify any headache.

As if that weren’t bad enough, the sounds come from all angles, and from multiple sources – L.A. City trash removal, recycling, restaurant and hotel waste-management contractors. And they invariably make a point of giving the bins a final “thump,” just to let us know that it’s clean and ready to be refilled.

The average American generates over 4 pounds of trash every day, only a tenth of which gets recycled.

This practically non-stop street-level thunder is enough to make us step back and consider just where it is that all this waste stream is coming from and how we can get it under better control. So much of it is merely superfluous packaging that’s destined to end up in landfills (so much for 100 percent recyclable materials).

But where do we start? After reading “Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things,” by German chemist Michael Braungart and architect William McDonough., I would say the key word there is “we,” as in “you and I”. And I, for one, am starting by eliminating as many items as I can from my shopping list that contain unnecessary packaging – along with composting a lot of what I would ordinarily throw away (providing a great natural fertilizer for a garden or flower bed).

Statistics tell us that the average American is responsible for generating 4.39 pounds of trash per day, only about a tenth of which gets recycled, that the country as a whole throws away enough stuff to fill 63,00 garbage trucks daily, and that about a third of this mess consists of packaging.

So if the continuous din of urban waste removal serves no other purpose, it should make us more aware of what a throwaway society we’ve become – and perhaps spur us on to find ways to have less things at our immediate disposal.

Perhaps when the volume of our trash is reduced, the volume of the noise in our daily lives will be also.

You are going to be hearing a lot more about "trash" from me -- I am going to "Do Something" about it!

Organic Center dinner donors pony up $700,000 to help fund new research efforts

April 6, 2008

It was a wonderful example of people being willing to stand up and put their cash where their convictions are.

That’s what happened March 14 at the Organic Center’s Annual VIP Fundraising Dinner during Expo West in Anaheim, Calif., where, stirred by rousing oratory and music, guests donated a whopping $700,000 for new research projects being sponsored by the center, ranging from $100 to a $5,000 contribution from Rick Rockhill of Petco to a munificent $30,000 check from Bill Nicholson of Ideasphere.

The donations will be leveraged into millions of dollars worth of research being undertaken at Cornell, Tufts University, the University of Washington and other venues to solve such problems as eczema in children, the diabetes epidemic and "colony collapse disorder" affecting honeybees that now threatens the viability of much of our food supply.

Dr. Andrew Weil

This dinner gave representatives of industries touched by organic agriculture the opportunity to hear holistic guru Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Alan Greene, the center’s current chairman and resident pediatrician, talk about some of the research done last year and its results, as well as to be entertained by a band comprised of green industry musical talent, led by Organic Center Managing Director Steve Hoffman and featuring the guest guitar of Walter Robb, COO of Whole Foods and vocals by Stephen Brooks.

Steve Hoffman, Managing Director of The Organic Center, rocks out.

Then James White of Safeway and Walter Robb got on stage and asked for people to donate, while Steve and I went down into the audience with our ‘collection plates’. One by one, guests stood up, DID SOMETHING and donated to help fund the research The Organic Center has on its "to-do list."

It was a magical moment to watch—all that energy and enthusiasm building as Steve and I roamed with our hand-held microphone. It also brought back to mind the way all this started, with individuals like Mark Retzloff, Gene Kahn and Michael Funk standing up and saying we had to provide scientific proof that organic agriculture is better, which led to the Organic Center becoming a reality.

Anthony Zolezzi, James White, from Safeway/O Brand Organics and Dr. Alan Greene, Chairman of The Organic Center

I will particularly never forget Michael standing up and donating the first $100,000 to launch the center. Then a year later, Steve Demos, who had started a tradition of a Friday night dinner for Silk, dedicated the dinner and the proceeds for fundraising to the Organic Center.

It all goes to further demonstrate how individuals who stand up and Do Something can make a tremendous difference in this world -- and I must say it’s been both a privilege and a source of pride to watch how this has grown into meaningful research results and consumer benefits. (For more details about the ongoing research, go to the Organic Center at: www.organic-center.org ).