1) Forums user Alex Szczech polls the TreeHugger Forums community about an increase in the national gasoline tax. Though the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission's current recommendation is for $0.40 per gallon over five years, Alex says, "Personally, I'd support an immediate additional $2 a gallon tax on gasoline, with the revenues going towards building a viable passenger train system for this country." Click on over to vote in the poll and make your voice heard.

2) User pdxuser is trying to avoid plastics, even though "It's hard to avoid plastic. But if I can avoid plastic, what materials should I prefer? Realistically, the alternatives are going to be things like glass, metals, wood, paper, plastic-coated paper (eg, for liquids), possibly bamboo. Most of the plastic I buy is from the grocery store, so it's not as though I can buy juice in a locally-harvested bamboo bottle, or a bioplastic bottle, either. So what are the best alternatives, what are the least-good alternatives, what alternatives are worse than plastic in the first place? Any?"

3) Lastly, Forums user engineeringirl says, "I am finally so frusterated with my neighbors who do not recycle. We recently got a new recycling company, and instead of having to pick up our own bins at city hall, the new company dropped off new bins on our doorsteps. In addition, the new company accepts almost everything. I originally thought people were not recycling becuase they did not want to go pick up their own bin, but when the new ones came, I thought people would start to recycle. No such luck!" Let's talk solutions, people.