e-waste

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What We Know Now

By [node:field_contributor] / On June 19th, 2008
Unintended consequences. Do we wish we knew then what we know now? I encounter the phrases often while investigating environmental and health impacts of the materials that go into consumer products. News this week reminded me why it’s time to retire these crutches, take a close look at history and consider the big picture as we try to solve our biggest environmental problems.
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More or Less?

By [node:field_contributor] / On June 16th, 2008
With gas above $4.00 a gallon, increased fuel costs pushing up prices of almost everything else, and a host of other factors conspiring to challenge household budgets, nearly everyone is figuring out how to do with less of something. Leaving aside those other factors and the great distress of coping with incomes that don’t keep pace with rising costs, high prices are pushing us to make changes that we probably should be making anyway.
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“In my front yard”

By [node:field_contributor] / On June 9th, 2008
It’s trash pick-up day on my block and when I went to put some last minute items in the yellow bins at the curb I discovered that someone had cleaned up after their dog in the rain and tossed the soggy stinky mess into my front yard. That they used napkins from the deli at our neighborhood upscale market that features organic and locally sourced food only compounded my outrage, never mind that a garbage can was within easy reach. As I hosed down and bagged the offense, the phrases “Not in my backyard,” “Not in my front yard,” ran through my head.
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The Primary Politics of E-Waste

By [node:field_contributor] / On May 28th, 2008
Here in Oregon where I live, our May 20th primary season is in full swing. Back on Super Tuesday many of us assumed that by now, the candidates would have long been chosen. But for the first time in forty years, at least on the left side of the aisle, Oregon’s presidential primary actually matters. Adding to the hubbub of attention from the Clinton and Obama campaigns for Portland residents like me are the twelve other races we have to vote on – among them, hotly contested races for U.S.