I try to think about the environment in the choices I make on a day to day basis.  Reducing waste, recycling, conserving energy, etc.  But sometimes America is thinking solely about the bottom dollar and could care less about our home, Earth.

On a road trip last summer I needed a pick me up because I was on my motorcycle (conserving gas) and was getting drowsy.  I stopped at a rest stop and ordered a medium coffee and requested a paper cup to reduce my use of Styrofoam. Reasonable request right?  Not so fast!

The employee proceded to pour my coffee into a styrofoam cup, prepare it, then dump the contents into a paper cup.  And finished off this enviromental slap in the face by tossing the foam cup.

Why can this be?

Come to find out the paper cups are larger than the foam ones and she couldent accidently give me extra coffee, oh no, it had to be just the right amount.

Another example of this crazyness is at the grocery store.

I requested paper bags one day thinking they breakdown faster in landfills, and better yet, are recyclable anywhere that accepts paper.  Come to find out the plastic bags are not only easily recyclable, but plastic is the only thing my store will recycle for bags, happily telling me I can toss the paper bags.

I can’t win.