Comments on: A Cup for Joe http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/a-cup-for-joe/ Despite the precision, 'blog' is still a four-letter word. Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:23:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Kath http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/a-cup-for-joe/comment-page-1/#comment-78 Kath Thu, 26 Jun 2008 05:45:19 +0000 http://blog.michaelgruen.com/?p=56#comment-78 Dunkin :-) Dunkin :-)

]]> By: Michael Gruen http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/a-cup-for-joe/comment-page-1/#comment-79 Michael Gruen Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:20:16 +0000 http://blog.michaelgruen.com/?p=56#comment-79 Kroosh: I'm not concerned terribly about the implementation, though I imagine they'll be able to find cool ways to do it. Also, the water usage to paper cups used pales in comparison in both cost and greenness. Alan: RFID safety is an engineering problem and not my problem. Steam-cleaning your own cup for you is what I'd imagine most Starbucks customers would elect to do most of the time. Thanks for your comment! Robin: Firstly, of course it's hard to implement, but that's not the point. If you want a cup of coffee, and you don't have a cup, you put a deposit on a new one. And then, when you're done, you return it and get your deposit back. Secondly, in that people don't like carrying things with them, the point is to force Americans to change their behavior and priorities. If it's a movement lead by Starbucks or other caffeine purveyor, it adds a lot of social importance. Thirdy, wasting cups is waste. Yes, it really is that bad. Trees do not grow on trees. Do your homework, Robin. Kroosh: I’m not concerned terribly about the implementation, though I imagine they’ll be able to find cool ways to do it. Also, the water usage to paper cups used pales in comparison in both cost and greenness.

Alan: RFID safety is an engineering problem and not my problem. Steam-cleaning your own cup for you is what I’d imagine most Starbucks customers would elect to do most of the time. Thanks for your comment!

Robin: Firstly, of course it’s hard to implement, but that’s not the point. If you want a cup of coffee, and you don’t have a cup, you put a deposit on a new one. And then, when you’re done, you return it and get your deposit back.

Secondly, in that people don’t like carrying things with them, the point is to force Americans to change their behavior and priorities. If it’s a movement lead by Starbucks or other caffeine purveyor, it adds a lot of social importance.

Thirdy, wasting cups is waste. Yes, it really is that bad. Trees do not grow on trees. Do your homework, Robin.

]]> By: Robin http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/a-cup-for-joe/comment-page-1/#comment-80 Robin Tue, 24 Jun 2008 23:48:55 +0000 http://blog.michaelgruen.com/?p=56#comment-80 I don't think this would have a large impact and it would be pretty hard to implement. If you want a cup of coffee to go it might be hard for you to bring a cup with you, and it might be hard to take it whereever you are going. People don't like carrying shit around with them. People would complain a lot about having to pay 10.00 for a cup. And I don't think that "wasting" 16 billion paper cups is really that bad, presumably they are recyclable and biodegradable. It's pretty easy to grow trees (and you can get a lot of cups from one tree) to compensate for the "wasted" cups. Easier, at least then get 16 billion customers (ok, so most of them are repeat customers) to buy cups or bring their own every time. I don’t think this would have a large impact and it would be pretty hard to implement. If you want a cup of coffee to go it might be hard for you to bring a cup with you, and it might be hard to take it whereever you are going. People don’t like carrying shit around with them. People would complain a lot about having to pay 10.00 for a cup.

And I don’t think that “wasting” 16 billion paper cups is really that bad, presumably they are recyclable and biodegradable. It’s pretty easy to grow trees (and you can get a lot of cups from one tree) to compensate for the “wasted” cups. Easier, at least then get 16 billion customers (ok, so most of them are repeat customers) to buy cups or bring their own every time.

]]> By: alan jones http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/a-cup-for-joe/comment-page-1/#comment-82 alan jones Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:42:48 +0000 http://blog.michaelgruen.com/?p=56#comment-82 Excellent idea. Sadly, I suspect RFIDs wouldn't survive many sterilization cycles but they wouldn't be hard to track via barcode. People who use their own cups have to deal with the inconvenience of washing the cup afterwards and I think that's one of the major reasons why more people don't bring their own cup. Perhaps Starbucks could quickly steam-clean your cup for you when you bring it in? But yeah, 16B cups a year is horrifying. Who knows how many bits of trash McDonalds puts out there annually... ick... Excellent idea. Sadly, I suspect RFIDs wouldn’t survive many sterilization cycles but they wouldn’t be hard to track via barcode. People who use their own cups have to deal with the inconvenience of washing the cup afterwards and I think that’s one of the major reasons why more people don’t bring their own cup. Perhaps Starbucks could quickly steam-clean your cup for you when you bring it in?

But yeah, 16B cups a year is horrifying. Who knows how many bits of trash McDonalds puts out there annually… ick…

]]> By: kroosh http://blog.michaelgruen.com/2008/06/a-cup-for-joe/comment-page-1/#comment-81 kroosh Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:36:52 +0000 http://blog.michaelgruen.com/?p=56#comment-81 well, they could start with just serving in non-disposable for people who don't need coffee "to go" (they do for a few specialty drinks) but what does that do to water consumption for cleaning? well, they could start with just serving in non-disposable for people who don’t need coffee “to go” (they do for a few specialty drinks) but what does that do to water consumption for cleaning?

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