BuboBlog's Claims Now Supported by Science!

Remember when I posited that San Francisco was a greener city than New York?

I was responding to a claim by New Yorker writer David Owen, who named New York as the most eco-friendly city in America. (He in turn was responding to a report calling Vermont the greenest state.)

His argument hinged on the fact that New York is so densely populated, letting people get by with less electricity (small apartments) and less gasoline (good public transit).

Well, San Francisco is second to New York in population density, and its transit isn't as reliable. But its residents use even less electricity, thanks in part to mild winters and mild summers. And it's more aggressive about recycling. That's why I suggested that San Francisco may be greener.

It turns out my hunch was right, at least based on a study of different cities' carbon emissions. Look who's No. 1.

Selected cities, ranked by carbon emissions per capita:
1. San Francisco: 10.1
2. New York: 10.5
3. Philadelphia: 11.1
4. San Diego: 11.4
5. Miami: 11.9
6. Chicago: 12.0
7. Portland, Ore.: 12.41
8. Los Angeles: 13.0
9. Boston: 13.3
10. Seattle: 13.68
11. Houston: 14.1
12. Juneau, Alaska: 14.37
13. Baltimore: 14.4
14. Dallas: 15.2
15. Austin, Texas: 15.57
16. Menlo Park: 16.37
17. Minneapolis: 18.34
18. Washington, D.C.: 19.70
19. Denver: 21.5

The main thrust of the report is that cities are greener than suburbs. So I guess I personally lost my eco bragging rights the moment we crossed the Bay and moved to Berkeley. It doesn't seem like anyone living in a detached single-family house can claim to be an environmentalist.

But I would hope to get some extra credit for our month of being homeless.

Please Recycle...LOL, Not Really

Speaking of recycling, I'm not sure how to interpret this message on a bottle of Vitamin Water.

There's a winking smiley-face emoticon after the note to "Please recycle."

It's the winking part that gives me pause (a smiley face by itself would seem more innocuous), like they don't actually expect you to do it.

I guess it's better than saying, "Please 'recycle'."

UPDATE: Maybe they're just tipping their hat to what the city of Berkeley already knows: Plastic recycling isn't really recycling. ;)

If so, way to be subversive, Vitamin Water!

Is Berkeley's Recycling Service a Leader or Laggard?

I've made a surprising discovery: The city of Berkeley thinks "Manchild in the Promised Land" is trash.

But before I get ahead of myself, let me discuss a broader topic. If Berkeley is so renowned for its environmental stewardship, why is its recycling program so frustrating?

Back in San Francisco, you could recycle nearly everything — including most every kind of plastic — and you never had to sort. Cardboard, glass, plastic and paper all went into the same container. The convenience encouraged more people to recycle, helping the city reclaim more than three-quarters of the waste it generates. (The goal is to reach 100 percent by 2020.)

Now that we've moved to Berkeley, we have to sort again. The whole thing feels so 1990s. Worse, Berkeley doesn't accept certain kind of plastics, like yogurt containers, even though San Francisco did so happily.

Now, you may just think it's because Berkeley lacks the resources of San Francisco. Maybe that's part of the problem, but it mostly appears to be born out of environmental asceticism. Berkeley thinks most plastic recycling is bogus and would prefer to abstain entirely.

Berkeley's split carts require sorting.

You see, plastic can't be recycled the same way aluminum or glass can. Plastic bottles aren't typically turned into new bottles. At best, they're reused in construction materials and other products. Because of the plastic prejudice, it was a big deal when Berkeley even began accepting plastic soda bottles in 2000 (something that seems like a baseline offering for any recycling program).

If you visit the website of Berkeley's Ecology Center (the organization that handles recycling), the message is clear: Don't buy plastic. But in real life, it's pretty hard to avoid it in certain products, such as yogurt. And if San Francisco has figured out a solution for these plastics, why can't Berkeley?

I was having these thoughts one morning while sorting items in our recycling bin. That's when I made my discovery. One of the items they recommend pulping is Claude Brown's "Manchild in the Promised Land."

Egg cartons, literary classics

Odd. Wouldn't it be better to use a trashy novel as an example of something to recycle. Any used-book shop in Berkeley would gladly buy back a copy of "Manchild" — especially the 1960s vintage paperback pictured on the bin. We should reuse before recycling, no?

It's also one of the most frequently banned books, because of its offensive language and frank descriptions of Harlem life in the 1940s and '50s. So of all the books for Berkeley to trash, this was a poor choice.

Question Here

Is it a concern when your son lines up all his stuffed animals face-down, as if they've just been the victims of a Colombian blood feud?

Just wondering.

'Kosher Style Dishes'

I love that the Holy Land Restaurant on College Avenue in Berkeley says it serves "Kosher Style Dishes."

As someone who has no dietary scruples, I'd also like to see restaurants offer "Vegan Style Dishes" or "Gluten-Free Style Dishes."

You get the same great taste...without all those restrictions! How about some "vegetarian" veal or foie gras?

Let's do this.

Yaya Etiquette: a Cautionary Tale Continues

I've mentioned how we purchased multiple copies of Elliot's security blanket (a duck-headed object that he oddly refers to as his "Yaya"). The idea was to have a backup if he loses one, and also to make it easier to clean them.

We currently have three Yayas (we would have four, but one was lost on the sidewalks of San Francisco — I can only hope it's providing comfort to a homeless man somewhere). From the start, I've been concerned about the unintended consequences. How will Elliot learn to take care of his stuff if his most cherished possession seems to multiply on its own?

But I didn't anticipate this: Perhaps inspired by his daytime/nighttime diapers, Elliot has designated certain Yayas as Nighttime Yayas and others as Daytime Yayas. (Because of the varying ages and conditions of the Yayas, it's fairly easy for him to tell them apart.)

God forbid you try to send him to bed with a Daytime Yaya. You'll definitely hear an earful about that gaffe.

The question is: Where does it end? Will they be categorized into outdoor and indoor Yayas? Town and country Yayas?

I have a vision of Elliot lashing out at me someday: "You fool, I can't bring that to a military funeral! Where are my dress Yayas??"

Resistance Is Futile

Never has the "submit" button been more appropriate than on the California DMV website.

Do not attempt to fight it — just submit.

While I'm on the topic, what's up with this photo they use to promote their videos?

Are those kids watching "Red Asphalt"? If so, they're WAY too into it.