HHW visit

For anyone who has never visited a Household Hazard Waste site before, I recommend it highly as it is a worthwhile investment of time and energy.  Probably the most compelling reason is that a visual for anything always has the greatest impact.  Being engaged in discussions about hh-waste is important too, but nothing can match a visual.   And while I don’t really remember seeing a lot of hh-waste the day that we were there together as a class, I just know that the magnitude of the location told its own story; that location had to be ready for a huge amount of material that could be processed on any given day.

I have told friends and associates about this field trip, and about the class, but they are not open minded and I can see it clearly being deposited directly into the “brain” waste basket, in other words, in one ear, no stopping in the brain, and out the other ear.  So when the question was asked of us as students, what would we want to tell the world about this facility, I would answer, “stop, listen and be open minded—your health and the health of your children may depend on it”

Something else to consider, is the importance of reducing hh-waste by using better and safer alternatives in our homes.  This is easier today since there are a greater number of safer alternative products available on the market today.  Additionally one of my favorite websites contains a list of home remedies to medications and a list of safer cleaning solutions for the home.   There are many such websites, and I would encourage everyone to seek these types of alternatives, not only for their health and safety, but also for the health and safety of the environment.

For more information about Household Hazard Waste please visit the Orange County Website/OC Waste & Recycling at 

http://www.ocsd.org/ocgov/Info%20OC/Departments%20&%20Agencies/OC%20Waste%20&%20Recycling/Hazardous%20Waste

Green to Gold - "Why environmental initiatives fail"

In the segment entitled, “Why environmental initiatives fail”, it appears as though it is a multi-faceted problem; from the consumer all the way to the upper echelons of corporations.  Most notably mentioned; the River Rouge Ford facility.   While building a “Green Factory” is certainly a commendable achievement, it is simultaneously important to consider the whole picture when aspiring to be “Green”.   Ford failed to transition gas guzzling vehicles into the mix of “Green-Thinking”.   While the article did not state what the financial repercussions were to Ford, I can only imagine that it may have doubled or even as much as tripled their cost to redesign equipment to assemble new more environmentally sound vehicles.  Perhaps they should have invested in an environmental consultant at the very beginning.  

(A career for someone in the class maybe? J).

Green to Gold - 3M

In a very inspiring story in Green to Gold, 3M stuck to its commitment to emit no VOC’s into the environment.  While this may have ultimately cost as much as tens of millions of dollars to the company, 3M remained committed to the belief that the return in intangible benefits such as higher employee morale, reputation, brand image, less governmental red tape, and company “differentiation” contributed to a different “Payoff Matrix”; in essence another way to look at a company’s valuation.  In my mind, this story invariably proves the power of media in spreading information about irresponsible companies.  As a side note and while not discussed in the book, I feel that it is important for anyone reading the book, to remain ever vigilant in ensuring and fighting for the honest reporting of news and events.  Without the benefit of negative reporting on environmentally negligent companies, I am not so certain that some of the companies mentioned in the book would have been moving in this direction without this incentive.

Green to Gold Introduction

In Green to Gold, I found some very unexpected and encouraging information that I was unaware of before…. Companies such as Sony, Walmart, Kraft and others becoming actively interested and involved in the “Green-Movement” were both delightful and refreshing bits of information to have discovered.  Even though the reasoning behind it may be motivated by profit and/or image, it is still a positive movement in the right direction and lends credibility to the movement that will be a continuing and profound influence going forward for industries all across the globe.  It is especially important for emerging nations (and companies) as they will desire to emulate the success that they already see in companies invested in the “Green Wave”, not only with the benefit to their bottom line, but also the side benefits to the environment, and to the health of their citizens. 

How I utilized the techniques

Recently, I utilized this technique on my husband to complete a bathroom remodel that we have both been delaying on over the years.  I suspect that we have delayed because we have thought of the intense labor involved without focusing on the resulting benefit.  Instead of constantly reminding him of the need to work on the bathroom I instead focused on how the remodel would benefit him.  Currently the bathroom is a shell, meaning it’s a clean slate, no tub, no sink, etc.  I reminded him how convenient and more comfortable his life would be with the bathroom remodelled, a spa tub to sit in when he muscles ached, not having to wait in line to use the bathroom when we had guests, etc..  I helped to form the images in his mind of a modern functional bathroom and exactly just how that would benefit him – with the help of the techniques used in Dale Carnegie’s book, and subtle suggestions., I have been able to ignite a desire to begin the remodel this week—we are shopping for a spa tubJ

Further thoughts on Dale Carnegie's book

Also, on further examination, this book should come as no surprise to all who read it: from Wikipedia “The ethic of reciprocity was present in certain forms in the philosophies of ancient Babylon, Egypt, Persia, India, Greece, Judea, and China” in other words this is something that people discovered a long time ago, and Dale Carnegie helped to position it for our modern understanding.   It was true then as it is today, people want to be appreciated and treated fairly, therefore I feel that there exists, a correlation between these concepts: the Golden Rule and Dale Carnegie’s principles.

How to win friends and influence people

How to win friends and influence people, by Dale Carnegie, is still a very enlightening and popular read today because its lessons are still relevant.  People, technology and the pace of life will always change but human nature remains the same.  We all want to be recognized and acknowledged, some more than others, but in general, even for the least pretentious person, it is still a true statement.   

In a way, I feel as though this book really helps to expound on The “Golden Rule” Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself, and he explains exactly just how to do that in a comprehensible, clear and logical way.  In summary he does this through the formation of principles, such as “The six ways to make people like you” This helps make it easier for readers to apply the techniques in every day living.  Just as important, are his frequent reminders to refresh what one has learned in this book, by implementing repeated readings and utilizations of the techniques in our daily transactions with people.

I have greatly benefited from this book and hope to continue to utilize these techniques in my daily interactions with people at work, at home and in all other situations.