Trying To Be Greener

Safer eco-living, one day at a time

Toxic Disney? October 29, 2008

A few days ago, I was sent an email from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. The CHEJ is a national environmental organization that works at establishing national policies to protect community health. They’re the group that was formed by Lois Gibbs after she won the nation’s first community relocation of 900 families from Love Canal, New York due to a leaking toxic waste dump.

For the past two years, the CHEJ has been working on the “Disney Go Green Campaign”. During this time, Disney has been asked to phase in safer certified green cleaners within all of their Disney World parks, hotels and restaurants within a year. The only Disney park using non-toxic cleaning products at this time is their Animal Kingdom. It’s nice to see that they care about the health of their animals but how about the children and families who visit and employees who work for them too?

This past May, The Walt Disney Company received the Florida Green Lodging Program’s seal of approval for all of its hotels and resorts in Florida. The state run program was initiated as a way to help save Florida’s natural resources. The program does not require that non-toxic cleaners be used, though. The CHEJ recently found that Disney uses 12 certified green products, and over 80 very toxic cleaners.

What can you do to help change this? The CHEJ gives these suggestions:

Jerry Montgomery
Senior Vice President
Conservation & Environmental Sustainability
The Walt Disney Company
PO Box 10000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000

Show Disney that you care about this issue and spread the word – blog about it yourself, talk about it on Twitter. You know what to do. Bloggers can make a difference.

If you want to hear about a ton other ways where Disney needs to “green up”, go visit Green Girl, my fellow Eco Woman. She was just there and found ALL SORTS of issues that need changing.

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Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.
 

Companies “going green” need to walk the walk October 16, 2008

Filed under: What's wrong with this picture?! — Kirstin @ 9:32 am
Tags: , ,

I love Apple products. I work on a MacBook everyday and I’ve had the same iPod for 4 years that’s still going strong. This week, Apple presented its new MacBook as their “greenest” yet. Here are some features:

  • Mercury-free LCD display
  • Arsenic-free display glass
  • Brominated flame retardant-free
  • Total greenhouse gas emissions: 460 kg CO2e
  • PVC-free internal cables
  • Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
  • Meets Energy Star requirements
  • Packaging consumes 41% less volume than the previous generation MacBook
  • Participates in various product take-back and recycling programs

Then they go and do something like this:

Do you see this?! Apple has sent us a replacement plug, a little larger than a quarter, in a box this large, surrounded by one inch foam. When companies tout how “green” they’re becoming, they need to walk the walk when the grand presentation is over and the cameras aren’t filming.

I guess it’s safe to say that Apple won’t be asking me to test drive any of their products.

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