• Reusable bags: more popular than ever! [Albany Times-Union]
• Eva Longoria-Parker and H-E-B promote reusable bags for Earth Day! [Houston Chronicle]
• Reusable bag sales raise money and awareness for students in Lakeside, MN. [Chisago County Press]
• Plastic bag pollution in Tanzania referred to as “alarming.” [IPP Media]
• Reusable bags an appealing choice in the Silicon Valley. [KLIV]
• Meanwhile, legislative hearings for a California bag tax are going well. [WBIR]
• Earth Day is already underway ahead of schedule in Rhode Island! [Providence Journal]
• New York state law aims to make recycling plastic bags easier. [9-WSYR]
• Find more ways to get active for Earth Day! [My Ozarks Outdoors]

Photo via Flickr!

With a lack of any major news (which we have to admit is better than bad news), it seems like articles relating to recycling and conservation right now are getting more and more regionally specific. Last week we visited Olympia, WA, and Janesville, WI. Today, we continue on our Eastbound journey and end up in Ithaca, where the Ithaca Journal has some ideas of how to get environmentally conscious around the city.

At a coffee shop

Many of us stop at a coffee shop on the way into work to get a jumpstart to the day. But what happens to that Styrofoam or waxed paper cup that housed the coffee you just purchased? Bring an insulated cup or thermos with a lid next time, and ask your barista to fill it up instead of a disposable cup. Even if the cup is recyclable, it’s still a resource that has to be produced and then recycled. So bring your own cup and drink up!

All right, the coffee shop reusable cup is a no-brainer these days, but this one actually surprised me:

At a winery

Wineries are a big part of the culture in the Finger Lakes, and bring tourists and locals, alike. There are little things that you can do on your next trip to help limit the amount of waste being produced and still enjoy yourself. Some wineries provide samples of their wine in small plastic containers with labeled lids, and if you’re at one of them, ask if you can be served the wines in a wine glass instead.

Who thinks of conservation and thinks of wineries? Well, why not? Besides, drinking wine from a wine glass always feels a little more elegant than a plastic lidded container, doesn’t it? Tell the sommelier that you don’t want the plastic molecules to unfavorably add to the flavor of your drink. While the original article is geared toward Ithaca residents, this particular spot of forethought could no doubt be applied to any of our wineries here along the West Coast as well, no?

Photo via Flickr!