Last P2 week message from VA

[Natalie Roy <NatalieRoy@compuserve.com>]

The final e-mail message from VA. I have received such good feedback about
these postings.  Thank you Tom very much for brightening our week with such
 upbeat messages. 
Natalie Roy
NPPR


You are receiving these emails from the Virginia DEQ's Office of Pollution
Prevention as part of the celebration of
National Pollution Prevention Week, September 16-22, 2002.  
Please pass them along to your co-workers, friends, and family to help
promote P2!!
For more information, see http://www.deq.state.va.us/p2/p2week.html


Friday Email:   P2 Week Wrap-Up
Wow, we waited in anticipation for weeks and months, and as soon it got
here, now it's over...sigh.  Time to pack the P2 Week ornaments and
decorations and clean up all of the P2 wrappings....wait a minute - it was
P2 week - there is nothing to clean up!  ...and "over"?!  nothing's over
'til we say it's over!  Was it over when the germans dumped a bunch of
heavy metals in Pearl Harbor?  No!  And it aint over now - P2 Week from now
on is every week!  Are you with me?  No, I won't be writing any more daily
emails...because it's exhausting, I tell you....But I know that the P2 fire
will be burning fiercely in each of you, every week!  Right?  

So, let's finish up P2 Week strongly with another round of ranting and
raving about various inane topics and finish with some more wacked out P2
tips and factoids.  And then, my P2 pals, we will conclude P2 week by
awarding the first annual P2 Week Weirdo Award to the most innovative P2
tip of the week.  Are you ready?  

+It'S Not Always Easy Being P2...+* 
Does P2 ever get old?  Of course not - we love P2, every minute, every
day...right?  Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it -- whether you are a
P2 program person or an industry practitioner....we've got one thing in
common.  Sometimes, once in a blue moon, no matter how great the P2 message
and how committed we might be -- giving or receiving the P2 message can get
old.  That's right, I said it - for my P2 colleagues out there, you know
that sometimes we get tired of having to convince people over and over that
P2 is a good thing.  And the folks that we're preaching to...well I know
that sometimes you get tired of hearing it again and again too.  

But guess what?  It is the nature of P2 - it might take a little time -
because P2 is a voluntary approach for continued, long-term improvements. 
Therefore P2 is not going to provide for an immediate fix for all of your
waste management problems.   Low-hanging fruit is going to give some quick
payback, but for additional reductions, we will need to wait for the timing
to be right.   You can't do everything immediately - but when it is time to
replace equipment, buy the most efficient; new technology becomes
available, wait for the price to come down so that there is pay-back;
recycling markets aren't there, do what we can until affordable.  

The point is this - we can't expect you to and you are unable to do
everything possible overnite.  But as long as we are thinking P2 and doing
what we can do and continuing to ask the P2 question, "how can I do this
with the least environmental impact possible?", then we are making
progress.  So, there it is - it's all out in the open.  It's the P2
program's role to keep P2 on every one's mind so that when the time is
nigh, we will be ready to P2!  So, P2ers and P2 practitioners, don't get
frustrated with each other - agreed?!  Keep the Faith!  Do I hear an
"amen"?  I'll finish with a little Tom Petty, P2-ooo, It's a Long, Long
Road!  + That guy rocks!

Success At Last!  We are in the process of posting a bunch of new Virginia
Success Stories and Fact Sheets on the P2 Week website.  Check out some of
the new ones through the P2 Week website at
http://www.deq.state.va.us/p2/p2week.html.  These don't have all the
graphics yet, so we have attached a couple of success stories as Word
documents in the new format at the end of this email.  Send me your
successes and we'll post them on the web!!  
Ahh, the Good P2 Life - Living in the City!  
Okay, I've always got to take a quick jab at suburbanites...remember, I
once was one too - until I became enlightened.  Now, my commute is 5
minutes, I walk to shops and restaurants, my "lawn" doesn't exist, and if
we were watering, it would take me all of 5 minutes instead of the hour it
took in the 'burbs.  

We could go on and on about all kinds of large and small issues - air
pollution, sprawl, mass transit, social justice....but I'm just gonna hit
one little difference...renovating versus building....and even one very
little aspect there - the difference in contractors.

Renovating Contractors are great P2ers - they reuse everything.  They knock
down a wall and they use the old (real) 2X4 beams as headers.  They save
every piece of trim, they reuse every wood cut they can, and they redesign
on the fly...cuz half these old homes don't have a straight line anywhere. 
On the other hand, Building Contractors show up on site, build their
plastic house as quickly as possible, cut corners, and dump everything in
the dumpster...or bury it in the yard...wood, plastics, paints, solvents. 
They are moving to a new site, but they never take anything with them.  So,
what's with that?  I'm sure it has something to do with the way the service
is contracted...got any light to shed?

BTW, in my free time, we would like to start a voluntary program with
contractors to collect mercury thermostats and switches.  Anyone out there
want to take that on?  All volunteers take one step forward!

Let's Run Naturally, Like the Morning Dew!  
The 3rd Annual Virginia Naturally 5K will take place at 9AM on Saturday,
September 28, 2002 in Richmond at the Pony Pasture Rapids section of the
City's James River Park System. The race is sponsored by the Virginia
Environmental Business Council (VEBC) and raises money in support of the
environmental education programs of the Virginia Junior Academy of Science.
Our Director Bob Burnley and the Secretary of Natural Resources Tayloe
Murphy are running in the race! To sign up for the race, you can contact
the VEBC at 804-672-7570 or register on-line at
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=987117.  Fyi, even if you
are running, you can bring your kids and have them participate in a quick
volunteer trail clean-up  during and immediately after the race. If you
would like to volunteer, please contact DEQ's Heather Sewell at
hksewell@deq.state.va.us or 698-4362.  The VEBC http://www.vebc.org/  is a
consortium of Virginia companies that epitomize P2 and promote it every
day!  


Wacky Tips & "Statistoids" (I've been informed that a "factoid" is actually
a non-truth, so now we coined "statistoid", and I know, that's just not
working) 
*       Don't Wash Dishes Twice!  Old Dishwashes did use a lot of
water....and definitely washing half-full loads is inefficient - so, folks
out there who are using a dishpan and only a couple of gallons of water -
hat off to ya!  However, for years, I've seen my mom "rinse" dishes and
then put them in the dishwasher.  Heck, her rinsing is more thorough than
my washing.  However, today's high efficiency dishwashers use about 6-10
gallons of water per load of dishes (some use as little as 3.7 gallons!).
Compare that to 9-12 gallons per load for average dishwashers and 20
gallons for hand washing.  Many newer models require little or no
pre-rinsing of dishes - that's more water and time saved.
http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/water/html/lctoilet.htm ;
http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid285.php
*       Stock Market Got You Down?  Well WorldCom, Enron, AOL stock
certificates make lovely placemats or birdcage liners!  
*       $14 for 2 light-bulbs?  Forget about it!  That's what I thought,
but after learning about they're efficiency and how much longer they
lasted, I finally replaced my 2 most used incandescent lights with compact
flourescent lightbulbs.  The report I saw touted lighting bills as much as
60 or 70%.  The result - my electric bill is about $10 per month less! 
That's no where near 60 or 70% of my entire bill, but for an original
investment of $14 for 2 bulbs, it's not a bad deal!  woohoo!  :)  Here's an
article on compact fluorescents... 
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_fmhymn/m1080/7_49/55052166/p1/article.jhtml
*       Bigger than a Bread Bag...well that's trouble.  You can also use
old bread bags as gloves . . . for picking up all the dead things the cats
bring home.  Once the "thing" is picked up simply turn the bag inside out
over your hand and knot to secure.  For you city dwellers/dog owners,
they're also great poopy bags - and newspaper bags are great too (Paul, my
supply is dwindling).
*       Harper's Bizzarre, March 1992.  After you've read a magazine, pass
it on to a friend or give it to a nursing home, hospital, doctor's office,
laundermat, or library.
*       Rent to Own....Borrow or rent things you use infrequently
*       Your Junk Today, My Junk Tomorrow!  Buy, sell, or donate used goods
such as clothes, furniture, and appliances.
*       Don't live in a dream world.  Nothing lasts forever.  What's gonna
happen when this relationship is over?  Purchase products that can be
recycled and be sure to recycle them.  
*       Don't Waste Your Whole Day!  Consolidate your errands so you end up
driving less.
*       A Use for Old Winter Coats?  Insulate your water heater
*       Who Will Know the Difference?  Turn off lights in unoccupied
rooms...and does a falling tree make a sound if no one hears it?
*       Tighten Up!  Especially in an industrial setting, keep lids on all
containers and equipment like parts washing tanks to reduce evaporative
losses...up to 50% of the solvent can be lost through evaporation !
*       I'll kill everyone in this room for just a drop..."  Keg Beer is
P2.  No bottles or cans to recycle....just beer.
*       NZMood... Install dimmers and motion sensors whenever practical.   


And now, what you've all been waiting for...
the announcement of the
First Annual Best Wacky P2 Tip or Statistoids (formerly known as "factoid")

Judging was based on originality, P2 value, and whether or not I will get
in trouble for putting this in print.  And the winner is....drum roll....

*       Drink Like Viking!  To avoid disposal cups and the waste of water
from cleaning the mugs, just pass the coffee pot around and drink from it
like Vikings!  Or better yet, to save water, you should just give each
meeting attendee a handfall of coffee grounds that they can tuck between
their cheek and gum!!


Thanks to Everyone for Helping to Promote P2 Week!  

Now Go Do...That P2-VooDoo...That You Do...So Well!!



Tom Griffin, Outreach Manager
VA DEQ Office of Pollution Prevention
804-698-4545




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