Garbage In...Lights On
We need more thinking like this. From a Daniela Chen CNN story:

The trash you toss in the garbage could end up powering your lights, computer and washing machine, because in the world of alternative energy, one man's trash is another man's treasure trove of fuel.

With the growing concern for U.S. dependence on foreign oil and recognition of shrinking fossil fuel reserves, new attention is being focused on renewable sources of energy.

One such source that already is being converted to electricity is landfill gas.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, every person in America produces an average of 4.5 pounds of garbage per day. Much of that trash goes into landfills, which are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States.

In 1994, the EPA formed the Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. LMOP Team Leader Brian Guzzone said since methane is both a pollutant greenhouse gas and a source of energy, it offers a good opportunity to reduce greenhouse emissions and provide energy.

About 50 percent of all of the waste that we generate as a society today is put into municipal solid waste landfills, Guzzone said. The EPA encourages the capture of the resulting landfill gas and the energy produced from it.

One thing I've learned from spending time in France is to be more conservative with resources whenever possible. This doesn't mean we all have to stop living, but maybe take one napkin, not four (or more), don't take that cardboard carrying tray for your coffee if you don't really need it, and bring your own bag to the supermarket. I use reusablebags.com providing I remember to put them back after the last time, but you can bring any kind, even old plastic ones. Maybe people will look at you a little funny (not that that's an issue for me!) or maybe they'll look at you a little funny the first time, and then, the next time around, look at you like maybe they should follow your lead.