Green Living: Italy bans plastic bags

From the TreeHuger: "Sustainability is made of little changes to our lifestyle that don't cost us anything and can save the planet," said Stefania Prestigiacomo, Italian Environmental Minister, as she confirmed that a ban on non-biodegradable, single-use plastic bags will take effect on 1 January 2011, for all of Italy.

The plastics industry protests that the rules are not clear, that the abrupt transition will have negative repercussions on consumers, and that Italy has no reason to take the initiative as there is no ban at the European level. But their arguments seem weak in light of the fact that the ban, originally announced for January 2010, has already been delayed a year to give the industry time for transition.

Further arguments include the cost of biodegradable bags (4-5 times more), and the fact that biodegradable plastics cannot yet meet the technical specifications that the non-biodegradable plastics meet; read: the biodegradable bags rip even as consumers pack their purchases at the cash register. Perhaps any inadequacy of the single-use biodegradable bags will convince more Italians to reach for multi-use bags. In a survey last November, 73% of Italians reported that they would use alternatives to single-use, non-biodegradable plastic bags when shopping.

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Off-topic: Are fake Christmas trees better on the environment?

From the New York Times: In these eco-conscious times, many people want to shrink their environmental footprint while still enjoying the trappings of the holiday season. In some cases, the earth-friendly alternative – pass the tofurky – is a pretty obvious choice.

But in others, the answer is not so clear. When it comes to Christmas trees, for instance, which is better for the planet: the long-lasting artificial kind, or the freshly cut, pine-scent-and-sap variety?

As I report in Saturday’s Times, at least one major study found that the real tree is probably the better choice. But as I found during my reporting, many consumers still believe that a faux fir is less harmful to the environment than the real thing.

That’s because an artificial tree can be used again and again, unlike a real tree, which is tossed out at the end of the season. Yet as it turns out, that’s not enough to tilt the scales in the faux fir’s favor. The resources used to make artificial trees — plastic and metal — have a high extraction cost, and most trees are made in China, meaning they need to be shipped thousands of miles before they reach American shores. Read more...

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Swedish region becomes independent from oil for heating

Green heating? It is possible, tell the swedes and the New York Times: Over the course of the last decade, Kristianstad’s government has orchestrated a conversion from mostly oil heating to various “green” fuels like biomass, food processing waste and wood pellets.

It’s quite interesting because it is so easy to think, “Impossible!” when some environmental policy experts suggest that countries should cut emissions by, say, 20 or 30 percent by 2020. As many of the articles in our “Beyond Fossil Fuels” series point out, some methods for drastically reducing emissions exist. But they come with economic costs (at least in the short term) and require a political commitment.

Having cut out fossil fuel for heating, Kristianstad’s per-capita carbon dioxide emissions are now only about 4.1 tons per person. Compare that to 19.18 in the United States and 4.91 in China, a far less developed country than Sweden.

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Old elevated railway in Manhattan becomes a park

Awesome solution to paint cities green. From SustainableCities.dk:

June 2009 saw the opening of New York’s High Line, a coherent stretch of green parkland on an old elevated railway on Manhattan. The new park immediately became a major attraction. A second section is expected to open in 2010 to give New Yorkers a 2.3 kilometer- (1.5 mile-) long green corridor. The High Line railway, which was in operation until 1980, now fulfils in its new function as a much sought after green area in the Big Apple. (Read more)

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