Ah, the American Human, Latin name Americanus Horribilus et Wastefullus. I've gotten to the point where I can barely stand to walk into a coffee shop in this country anymore. We're a society on the go and nothing will stop us for a moment, not even getting our hot, mass-produced coffee. Evidently, millions of Americans have made it part of their daily routine to stop by Starbucks or one of the other coffee shops trying to compete with the monolithic purveyor of burn brewed beans and have their java served up in a paper cup.

Every day.

Think about it.

In the glorious coffee-culture city of Portland, that means dumpster loads of cups hauled off to a landfill 7 days a week. Do these people bother to think that those cups came from trees? That once in a landfill, they will be sealed up and interred as useless material for thousands of years? Not to mention the plastic sippy lids reminiscent of the sippy cups we had as toddlers that are destined to landfill hell.

No, paper cups are not recyclable. They are lined with plastic to keep them from falling apart well filled with hot liquid (duh). But we don't care about that, as long as when we are done with them, they go away. Away, that magical place... where what we don't want anymore goes.

The solution is obvious - use a travel mug! Duh! They are convenient, they are earth-friendly. And it really isn't that hard to clean them. They are even dishwasher safe! Buy your coworkers one for Christmas or a birthday or Beltaine or Eid. Encourage your local coffee shop to promote their use (they can sell them and make profit, then also reduce their garbage bills to save more money!)

Just say "NO" to single-use!