TheMadGrad

“My job is not to represent Washington to you, but to represent You to Washington”- Barack Obama

No matter who your candidate of choice is for the 2008 election, this quote by Obama should make you think about what you want from any candidate. Whether it’s your Senator, Governor or Mayor it is so important to vote for someone that will have your voice heard. When we vote for candidates we have to think not who will deliver the State of the Union Speech best, and let us know every now and then how the economy is doing. We want someone who is going to listen to what we have to say and fight for changes that we as everyday Americans believe in. This is important to remember for all of you recent grads that may for the first time be voting in an election that you really care about. (Myself included) Look for a candidate that not only is smart and keeps you informed, but really listens to what you have to say.

Okay, so you got a cute new bulletin board for your home or desk and you can’t wait to put up pictures of your loved ones and friends. Here’s the problem: You don’t want to put holes in your prized pictures or postcards! 

Thankfully, OXO, realized this problem and invented MagTacks. Now you can put up all the photos you want and not have to worry about turning them into a pair of Ambercrombie and Fitch pants. And they’re not too expensive-7 dollars a pack (well worth persevering your memories)

We are “generation green” if you will and recycling seems to be the one word off the tip of everyones tongue these days. Could it be easier? Well I guess if there was a machine that automatically recycled your items in your house and reproduced them for you! (you never know we are getting closer each day). For now, we actually have to take the time to learn and separate our items out into the famous blue bins. Many posts and articles I have seen about recycling are threatening and telling us all the negative effects of failing to recycle. Well I am aiming to do the opposite, so below you will find all of the wonderful things you are doing for the planet when you take the time to toss those cans & bottles in the proper bin!

Here’s a few of the many positives of recycling (from http://www.recycling-revolution.com/recycling-benefits.html) 

• In the U.S., processing minerals contributes almost half of all reported toxic emissions from industry, sending 1.5 million tons of pollution into the air and water each year. Recycling can significantly reduce these emissions
• Manufacturing with recycled materials, with very few exceptions, saves energy and water and produces less air and water pollution than manufacturing with virgin materials.
• Every bit of recycling makes a difference. For example, one year of recycling on just one college campus, Stanford University, saved the equivalent of 33,913 trees and the need for 636 tons of iron ore, coal, and limestone.
• Recycling and composting diverted nearly 70 million tons of material away from landfills and incinerators in 2000, up from 34 million tons in 1990-doubling in just 10 years.

Here are some helpful resources to boost those recycling skills:

• Don’t know what can & can’t be recycled? http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html 
• My friend Emma’s blog about being environmentally conscience: http://trashedsf.wordpress.com/ 
• Your city doesn’t recycle for you? No problem! Find a recycling location near you:  http://earth911.org/ 
• Learn about compost too! http://www.recyclenow.com/home_composting/ 

Recycling doesn’t have to be complicated!  As Denis Hayes put it, ” Listen up you couch potatoes: each recycled beer can save enough electricity to run a television for three hours.”