New Video Game “Pac”s a Punch for Southern Forests

scot@dogwoodalliance.org — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:39:36 -0500

Southern Environmental Organization Releases Packaging Man Video Game; New Environmental Twist on the Classic Video Game

Asheville, NC " This morning, Dogwood Alliance launched an environmentally themed video game, Packaging Man, to raise awareness about the destructive impact fast food paper packaging has on Southern forests. The game which is a new take on the classic video game, Pac-Man, follows the exploits of the hero Packaging Man as he works to save forest creatures by collecting excessive packaging and recycling it, all the while avoiding the “evil” fast food corporate executives.

“Our fast food lifestyle is burying us in an avalanche of excessive packaging and waste,” said Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director for Dogwood Alliance. “Rising from this giant pile of waste, our hero Packaging Man has emerged to take on the Packaging monsters.”

The production of fast food packaging drives the continued destruction of Southern forests, the largest paper producing region in the world. Paper companies like International Paper (NYSE: IP) are clear-cutting forests, including some of the most special forests like the endangered wetland forests of the mid-Atlantic coast in Virginia and North Carolina to make fast food packaging. Major customers of the big packaging mills of this region include packaging include McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Arby’s (NYSE: TRY), Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN), and YUM! Brands corporate parent of KFC and Taco Bell.

“Southern forests, the jewel of the American landscape, are being destroyed to bring you fried chicken, burgers and fries, and super-sized convenience in a glut of wrappers, boxes and cups,” continued Quaranda. “Join the fun and help our hero Packaging Man escape from the corporate evil-doers, recycle all of that excess packaging, and protect our Southern forests.”

Excessive fast food packaging waste is a serious problem in North America:
--Fast food packaging makes up 20% of all litter.
--15 percent of the landfill mass--as much as 30 million tons a year--is food packaging.
--83% of the packaging used for food and drink is made of some form of paper or other wood-fiber material.
--The average person in the U.S. produces 300 lbs of packaging waste each year

“We developed this game in order to reach out to a whole new audience and engage and educate them about an important range of environmental issues,” stated Quaranda. “We believe that everyone from Generation Y to armchair activists will love this game. We are proud of this achievement and hope slacktivists from across the world will join Packaging Man in the fight!”

To join the fun, play Packaging Man at: http://www.nofreerefills.org/files/packman/packman.html

Dogwood Alliance

Going 'green' a way of life: Acuna has always been connected to the environment

Kyle Macdonald — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 14:04:28 -0500

By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Launched on Vallejo Time Herald - 7/28/2008

Thinking "green" is nothing new to Vallejo resident Jasmin Acuna.
The Fairfield city planner and newlywed said she's been actively "green" since she was a teenager.

"I really got into the environment my senior year of high school, and now everything I do is connected to the environment in some way," the 1998 Vallejo High School graduate said.

Even her job in Fairfield, which includes geographic information systems mapping - like finding where the high crime areas are - involves being mindful of the environment, she said.

"I hope eventually to be part of a group that helps the community at large," the UC Davis graduate said. "I hope to one day be a planning commissioner for the city of Vallejo."

Acuna said she and her family moved to Vallejo when she was 5 from her native Hawaii. "When I was 11 or 12, I remember once reading a book called something like '50 Things You Can Do For The Planet,' or something, and I remember trying to do each and every one of them," Acuna said. "Recycling, and making my own paper, for instance, which didn't work too well. You couldn't write on it, it was a clump of mushy paper, but the thought was there."

She's still an avid recycler, though, and Acuna said she reuses wrapping paper, ribbon and other materials. "You see things change over time and you want to make things better for the future for society," she said. "I'm seeing more people 'going green,' driving more slowly to save gas, for instance."

But Acuna's impact has been greater than just reusing wrapping paper.
"I met her when she was still Jasmin Dayrit, right after I founded BAWT (Bay Area Wilderness Training,) at an environmental educational event in Marin," said Kyle Macdonald, 38. "She was a member of a youth panel, and when I called for people to help in my work, she stepped up and became involved."

The San Francisco-based BAWT trains volunteers to take inner-city youth on wilderness excursions and provides an equipment "lending library" for the purpose, Macdonald said.

"She became a founding board member, and that was 10 years ago," he said. "It's not a stretch to say she was a pivotal person in an organization that has so far served 6,000 youth."

Calling Acuna "a super star," Macdonald said he expects her to continue benefiting her community and the causes she holds dear.
"With her youthful energy and intelligence, she's really helped solve problems and get people involved," he said.

For her part, Acuna said she's enjoying her work with the city of Fairfield. "I work with projects that come straight from City Council, and not everyone gets to do that," she said. "In five years, I still see myself working for the city, and I hope to have a bigger presence in the city of Vallejo in environmental things."

Jasmin at a glance:
Jasmin Dayrit Acuna
Age: 28
Hometown: Vallejo, by way of Hawaii
Occupation: City planner and GIS mapper for Fairfield
Family: Husband of nearly one year, Jerome
Quote: "Everything I do is connected to the environment in some way."

Bay Area Wilderness Training