Can We Sustain Ourselves?

In my home I make sure that recycling is a daily part of our routine. Everything from empty milk containers to yesterday's newspapers that can and should be recycled goes into bins in our designated recycle area. Not only is this an Earth-friendly practice, but also is a good teaching practice for my children to observe.

My office has a designated spot to place empty toner cartridges. I check the spot to see what has accumulated and what can be shipped back to the manufacturer for reuse. To me, that extra effort I make, whether at home or at work, goes a long way in reducing what goes into our wastestream. Although the results of my own efforts are immediately apparent, what is important is my own commitment to do what I can to help the environment, yours and mine, and to set a good example for others.

When the suggestion to feature Katy Ansardi in the October issue of the Journal, I knew she would be another great role model and a kindred spirit as well.  As president of Sustainable North Carolina, Ansardi clearly sees the big picture. Sustainability goes well beyond recycling empty toner cartridges at the individual level. The sustainable practices and programs SNC works to plan for and implement on a variety of initiatives will help determine the direction of our future socioeconomic and environmental needs down the proverbial road. Be sure to look over Useful Links on the SNC site. In addition, you might be interested in learning more about sustainability practices our state government. For other links of interest go to www.ncgov.com and in the search box at the top, type in "sustainability". You will find specific measures outlined in state agencies that address this topic with objectives to be met in order to promote this concept and practice of sustainability.

http://www.sustainablenc.org/DENR/

http://www.energync.net/

http://www.p2pays.org/ref/03/02221.pdf

Until next time, make it a great month! And remember, Reduce, Recycle and ReUse!