Who Knew?

So I've learned more than most normal people ever need know about polystyrene in the past two days.

1.) Styrofoam is a registered trademark of Dow Chemicals
2.) Styrofoam = Polystyrene  = foam AND polystyrene (styrofoam) is a type of plastic
3.) Foam is 95% air
4.) Foam actually contains approximately an equal amount of plastic as "paper" cups
5.) More energy is required to produce paper products such as cups and paper bags than foam
6,) Foam can in fact be recycled to produce useful materials like molding and picture frames
7.) The same plastic (polystyrene) used to make foam is used in most plastic cutlery, take out boxes, CD cases, and lids
8,) No matter how "green" your cup supposedly is, the lid is still made out of polystyrene
9.) Foam uses much less plastic than clear plastic containers
10.) Something compostable does not just disappear if thrown on the side of the road or in the dirt or in you trash
11.) In fact most compostable and biodegradable products will only compost or biodegrade in professional facilities that are far and few between in this country.
12.) Landfills are designed to prevent materials from breaking down. Many of these paper products end up in these landfills
13.) Using alternatives to foam can cost a business upwards of $1,000 extra a month in expenses
14.) A plastic grocery bag costs about 1 cent while a paper bag costs 6 cents
15.) Over 90% of Americans reuse their plastic bags
16.) Grocery stores are considered extremely successful is they have a 2% profit margin
17.)While many companies and people are using plastic alternatives made out of food sources such as corn so they can feel better about themselves, tens of thousands of people around the world are dying each day due to starvation. (According to a 2003 BBC report approximately 25,000 people died each day because of starvation.)

That's a lot to think about huh?

It really calls into question people's preconceived notions about what is in fact environmentally friendly.

Of course there are pros and cons to both sides. But after the past two days I truly believe with the resources that we have now, cost of materials, and recycling programs we're doing the best we can.

The next time you have the urge to start shouting about how horrible styrofoam is make sure you know why because in my experience most people have no idea.

Try reading this. And the environmental impact section of this.

AND
ON
A
COMPLETELY
UNRELATED
NOTE...

My soon to be 4-year-old nephew was playing with my camera over Christmas break. He took this picture of himself:

A future photographer perhaps? Even though he last told me he wanted to fix cars. Either way, this is definitely an awesome photograph.