This week’s Metro Times cover story by Curt Guyette, “The Big Burn: America’s largest garbage incinerator and the movement to shut it down,” is both a must read and a call-to-arms for all Detroiters, both metro and suburban.

It is both absolutely ridiculous and sadly typical that Detroit has the country’s largest incinerator, and even more ridiculous and typical that the city officials who have the power to move the city in a new, more environmentally sustainable direction are leaning toward keeping this monstrosity (I’m looking right at you, Deputy Mayor Anthony Adams!). Detroit needs a challenge, and reducing our waste by making recycling the law (that’s right, the law) in Detroit is a great start. With a vigorous recycling program and more education regarding environmental and health issues, the choice won’t need to be between an incinerator and landfills. The answer will be a better life for Detroit and the surrounding area–environmentally and economically.

We could utilize the sage advice and experience from the good folks at Recy-clean in this challenge. In fact, you can start by going to see them regularly at 1331 Holden with these items at the following times:

Wednesday 10am-2am
Saturday 9am-3pm

Oh, and that $600-$1200 you’ll be getting from old mother Bush this May, it wouldn’t hurt to make a donation to this and other great Detroit non-profit organizations who do a bunch of great things for you for free.

The Southwest Michigan Group (SEMG) of the Sierra Club will hold its monthly General Membership Meeting this Thursday at the Northwest Unitarian-Universalist Church at 6:30pm.

My New Year’s Resolution is to be more active in the Environmental Movement, to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, and to help cut carbon emissions in Michigan (and boy do we need to!). Thing is, there won’t be a January meeting, so if you share my New Year’s Resolution, you and I will have to make this Thursday’s meeting. You can never start a resolution too soon, I suppose.

For more info, contact Carol Izant, Chair of the SEMG Sierra Club chapter, at cogknot@yahoo.com, or 248-352-6137.

See you there.

I stumbled upon an op-ed piece in the Waco Tribune-Herald by Motor City Madman Ted Nugent that calls out to all–hunters and non-hunters alike–to “tough it out” this winter and conserve energy as much as possible.

With his usual machismo, Nugent scolds his local Texans (he recently moved to the Waco area) for being environmentally un-conscious, for keeping their truck and car engines running while sitting idle for long periods of time, and for irresponsible waste that exceeds any amount of pollution he had experienced even in Michigan.

“I know Texans are a little tender when it comes to “cold” December mornings. But we Yankee MotorCity Michiganiacs do not consider 30 degrees to be that cold.

“And it surely doesn’t qualify as cold enough to waste all that fuel just so the big, tough hunters can be warm and cozy for the tortuous 20-minute ride to our cold deerblinds.”

Although I don’t agree with all of his ideas, I’m pumping my fist in the air for Uncle Nugey on this one. We should all begin turning off our engines anytime we’re parked and idling for longer than thirty seconds. Doing so saves gas and decreases your daily output of greenhouse gas emissions.

Check out this fact sheet from the city of Lexington, Massachusetts, to learn more about the effects of idling and join The Atrocious Theodocious by putting a stranglehold on engine idling and carbon emissions this winter.