26th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
KUT had this article about a small group of protesters who last Friday had a press conference about UT’s decision to start selling UT-branded water. The article states:
The plastic water bottles, which were unveiled last week, are projected to bring in a million dollars each year, with 40 percent of the revenue going toward student scholarships.
Protesters told reporters that instead of selling plastic water bottles, the university should sell aluminum bottles and give 40 percent of that revenue to student scholarships.
“We don’t want to add thousands of pounds of plastic into our waste stream,” Stacy Guidry, Texas Campaign for the Environment Program Assistant, said. “We can do a lot better than that.”
In response, the company formed to sell the plastic bottle, H2Orange, issued an open letter. According to Austin Business Journal:
The document said the water bottles are made from 100 recyclable PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material. H2Orange is buying carbon credits to offset the impact of manufacturing the bottled.
Also in the letter, the company said in its second year it plans to sell refillable, stainless steal bottles. The company is looking into creating a collapsible, BPA-free, dish washer-safe versions, as well as a biodegradable plastic bottle.
photo credit
26th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Check out this local non-profit called the Green Corn Project, which I heard about on KUT today. Green Corn’s website explains that it is:
a grassroots, volunteer-run organization dedicated to helping Central Texans in need grow their own organic vegetables. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit, GCP installs organic food gardens for elderly, low-income, and disabled community members as well as for elementary schools, community centers, and shelters in underserved areas of Austin. We turn unused land into garden beds that provide food, education, and a sense of accomplishment and pride for all involved in their creation and maintenance.Since 1998 GCP has helped more than 160 gardeners and their families claim—or reclaim—their gardening dreams. Our goal is to create lifelong gardeners, so we actively support our gardeners for two years through four growing seasons. Because we return to refurbish those beds for a total of four seasons, we have actually planted more than 640 seasonal gardens.
GCP has several fall volunteer opportunities that we will update you on once registration opens up – sounds like a very great organization!