No detectable recycling at the "John Wayne" Airport in Orange County CA

I had a weird epiphany of sorts in the John Wayne airport in California this morning.


After purchasing orange juice in a plastic bottle at the McDonalds I looked in vain for a recycling container.  I wandered from Gate 14 to the food court (gate 7?).  No recycling containers... None obvious at McDonalds, None obvious at Starbucks.  (the places putting the plastic bottles into the waste stream.)


I finally stopped and asked a janitor who smiled a gentle apologetic smile and motioned to the trash bin.  I gave up and tossed them in.


Ironically I walked past several large advertisements for the "Nature Conservancy", the "Toyota Prius" boasting 50 mpg and another environmentally focussed advertisement.  Makes me wonder if the environmental awareness or ethos of California is highly geographical, or if it as skin deep as much of the marketing and entertainment from CA.  Maybe some of the professed "Californian progressive environmental message is greenwash. Sorry California (and John Wayne in particular) I'm sure you're doing better in other areas, but not being able to recycle paper or plastic/glass bottles at an airport in 2010 seems like a rather obvious "oversight".


In the words of John Wayne, “Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday.”
So John Wayne Airport, I dare ya to fix it and post a photo!  If you are sorting all the waste from those big garbage cans for recycling, I'm happy to update this post to reflect that, but highly recommend you also update your trash can labeling.


[UPDATE: Thanks for the update "John Wayne Airport"! (see their comment below) it seems that John Wayne IS in fact recycling, but is doing it offsite by sorting their waste!  In many ways this "hidden" approach is even BETTER than visible because it catches items that folks at the airport would mistakenly discard in the trash.  Now this seems to fit better with John Wayne's  Environmental policy and practice statement on their website.  As promised here is my update.  Thanks for the quick response. (I'm impressed)]


Cheers,
Greg.

More Un-Recyclable Waste

The other day I purchased some clothes at Walmart and didn't notice them send the plastic hanger home with the clothes in my shopping bag (yes i had enough that I needed a bag).  I got home and was about to recycle the hanger when I realized there was not resin code...  So either its going back to Walmart or its going in the trash.  (Yet one more item to put by the front door in the hopes I remember to take it with me when I leave the house).

I think I'm going to keep beating this drum because it just makes sense.  All plastic products need to be marked to facilitate recycling with their resin codes.  (even if it is a 7 meaning "other, probably not recyclable").  I called "The accessory store" to urge them to get these hangers labelled as I suspect thousands a month leave the Walmart ecosystem.

Cheers,
Greg.

Is Walmart Helping Customers Ask Manufacturers to be More Socially Responsible?

On Walmart.ca I read this today;
http://walmart.ca/wms/microsite/GreenerGood/en/product_form.jsp
One of our Sustainability goals is to create zero waste. To that end, Walmart Canada has committed to reducing, reusing or recycling materials that would otherwise be sent to landfill.
Our company has challenged our vendor-partners to make more eco-friendly decisions when packaging their products. We have asked them to eliminate wasteful over-packaging, to include more recycled materials and to ensure more of their packaging can be recycled.
If you believe that a product you purchased at Walmart is packaged in a wasteful or inappropriate manner, please provide us your feedback and we will forward to the manufacturer.

So I reported the eggs I had purchased that were packaged in styrofoam and shipped 3450 KM from the packer to my local Walmart Store.  We'll see if there is any response.  I know our local costco offers eggs packaged in a cardboard/paper-fiber container that CAN be recycled.  I am hoping at a minimum Walmart will offer me the choice of better packaging for my eggs.  At the most, I hope they replace the styrofoam packaging and source their eggs closer to their final destination.  I'll update this post with any good news from Walmart on the "reducing wasteful packaging" front.

Sometimes its hard to tell the difference between "greenwash" and a genuine committment to make the world a better place.  I'm hoping it is genuine for Walmart, because it sounds like they have some really good ideas for making their business more sustainable from top to bottom. Check back to see if this particular instance makes a positive change.

UPDATE:  I haven't heard a thing back from Walmart.  I suppose this was greenwash / good intentions, or something they let slip through the cracks.  Sad....  Hey corporations.  Be good.  If you're good we'll enjoy doing business with you.  If you work hard to look good without actually being good, we'll find out and see through your insincerity.  So when you say "we want to hear from you". Answer the darn email. (and not with marketing BS).  Now I'll be the first to point out that incremental improvements are good.  If a company transitions from 20% good to 40% good, that progress is positive and to be encouraged.  However, pretending that a 20% company is as good as a 40% good company is insincere.  Action not words people.

Cheers,
Greg.

Tips for Successful Video Conferencing

Video conferences are a convenient way to save money, and time and environmental impact, while still getting work done. They are hi-tech and still relatively new which may make them intimidating. Nobody wants to look foolish, much less in a business setting and even less on video that might even be recorded. If you put in the time and planning, your video conferences can be smooth and effective.

Video tips that will help you improve what your video conference attendees SEE.

Look at the camera

It may feel strange, but you shouldn't spend all your time looking at the people on your screen, especially when you are speaking. The best place to look while speaking is directly at the camera. Your participants will get the impression that you are looking right at them. This creates a better connection between them and you.  To help with this, you can position the camera as close as possible to the screen so your eyes don't have far to travel.  This results in near eye contact when you are looking at the screen.  Eye contact is important for interpersonal communication. If the camera cannot be place close to the screen, then consider practicing facing and talking into the camera, not looking at the other party's image. You want to avoid the situation where you have two people watching each other watching their computer screens.

The Lighting

Hollywood movies have lighting designers for a reason.  Light is important for video.  Have plenty of light on your face. If you don't, you may appear as a silhouette. Also try to eliminate shadows. A shadow of your hand, for example, looks like another hand to the camera, so the motion of that shadow results in twice as much motion handling as it would normally do, with a subsequent reduction in perceived video quality.

The Setting

The location that you chose to do your conference from will say something about you. Other than the obvious point that what you have on your desk and behind you will make impressions on your participants, what is in that background can be detrimental to your video quality. Try to have a clean or bare background with a neutral color. Keep all camera-visible areas neat and decluttered. You will look better on screen, so as much as you have control in your work environment, be mindful of the background for your video conference. 

The Clothes

What you wear can alter the hue of your skin, and possibly distract your video conference attendees.

• Avoid wearing clothing that has bright colours and busy patterns. 
• Wear plain or fabrics of muted colours like pastels.
• Avoid bold colors, especially red and black
• Avoid jewelry that may brush against microphones or tabletops and cause feedback
• Solid shades of blue or gray generally bring out healthy skin tones and do not create a visual distraction. 
• On a television monitor, black and white clothing colors can also enhance the skin tones, 
• Avoid too sharp or too little contrast between your clothing and your skin and hair tone.
• Avoid wearing bold red, green and orange, as these colors can cause an unfriendly hue for your skin

Be in the picture

Frame yourself in the picture by practicing with your camera prior to the meeting.  You want to avoid disappearing off of the screen.  Knowing how far you can lean will help you stay on-screen during the conference.

You might consider using your mouse as your anchor point. Holding on to the mouse naturally while setting up your camera may help you maintain a good sense of where you are. 

As you move back and forth be aware that the camera may exaggerate your motion. 

Because movement is compressed and decompressed in videoconferencing, it is important that motion be minimized.

Audio tips that will help you improve what your video conference attendees HEAR.

 

OK, assuming that we all know how to use a phone, or talk in a normal meeting, videoconferencing is a little different because of audio delays, a general unfamiliarity of how to behave around a live microphone, and the loss of queues a face to face meeting would otherwise provide.


Mute is your friend. use it.
An issue specific to virtual meetings is the mute button. Mute buttons are essential to having a well-ordered and quiet meeting, and their use should be encouraged. This minimizes interruption such as coughing, sneezing, and paper shuffling.  Being aware of muted attendees allows you to give attendees a few extra seconds to respond to questions. By allowing them time to unmute themselves.  Limit verbal interruptions by providing non-verbal feedback through, nodding or shaking your head.  Some video conference systems drop the other party's audio when the microphone is active, so mute avoids unnecessarily dropping the other's audio.


Speak Clearly
Clearly enunciate and speak more slowly than the normal rate of speech. Auditory dynamics such as pitch, tone, volume, pausing, and pacing are crucial during a video conference.  Audio compression may remove parts of the audio so careful speech improves the chance that your message will be received clearly


Verbal acknowledgement and identification

• Address people by name especially for questions
• Acknowledge individual comments and ideas
• Identify yourself (and your site if appropriate) before speaking if there are more than three participants
• Ask participants to raise their hand if they wish to speak
• Allow a couple seconds for transmission delay when speaking; 
• Pause after the end of your comments to allow time for remote sites to respond to a question or comment

Etiquette tips that will help you improve the flow of your video conference.

Etiquette

• Direct questions or comments to a particular person or site (especially important in multipoint conferences)
• If participating in a large multi-point meeting, it is advised that you say your name and location each time you speak
• Avoid side conversations
• Announce actions to the others when possible  (e.g. John from HR has just joined us here)
• If your video conference session is primarily a presentation/lecture, it is recommended that the "audience" mute their microphones. 

Bonus Video
Here is a great, funny video from the University of Washington which highlights some good video conference practices. (worth a watch).
http://www.digitalwell.washington.edu/rcuwtvdownload/uwtv_vidcon_ipodv.m4v  (7:40)


Source credits:
http://ezinearticles.com/?10-of-Our-Favorite-Video-Conferencing-Tips&id=1382277
http://www.tss.uoguelph.ca/cts/vidcontip.html
http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/distancelearning/videoconferencing/tips.html
http://www.video-conferencing.com/presentation.html
http://www.packetizer.com/ipmc/vctips.html




Cheers, I hope you find these video conferencing tips helpful.
Greg.

Facebook plans to burn COAL to power their new data center.

You like facebook.  Do you like that facebook is planning to burn coal to power their new data center in Portland?  Change.org has a petition you can sign.

Coal is the dirtiest option available for generating electricity (apart from burning old tires).  Facebook couldn't have picked a worse source for powering their new data center.  While competitors like google are switching to sustainable power generation.  Facebook is effectively kicking sand in the faces of all the kids with asthma in the Portland area.  You might want to encourage Facebook to act a little more responsibly. You might not want to ruin air quality around Portland just to update your friends on your "status".

Its not all about money Facebook.  Its about people. Listen to the people.

Protest Facebook's decision to power their new data center by burning COAL. http://www.change.org/actions/view/stop_facebook_from_switching_to_dirty_coal

[Edit] One of my friends asked why I was singling out Facebook, and wanted to know if I was suggesting giving up Google, Microsoft etc.
I'm an incrementalist, I'm not normally an all or nothing kind of guy.  The way I see it life is a series of incremental choices, with no magic bullets that solve everything.  The point was that Facebook is at a pivotal point where they are doing something new and facing an opportunity to make a really good OR bad choice here.  Personally I don't want my "status updates" inflicting a health cost on the good people of Oregon.

Cheers,

Greg.