Who’s polluting your ‘hood?
April 29, 2008
Do you want to know who the top polluters are in your state? Your city? Check out Planet Hazard. These floks did a lovely mashup of EPA reports and Google maps to track the top polluters nationwide and then break them down into easily search-able maps. You can zoom in on your neighborhood and get specific data about a polluter in your area, what they are dumping and quantities.
Worms, worms, worms
April 29, 2008
Worm composting can be quite rewarding. Give them a little kitchen waste and the little critters will slave away night and day until they’ve turned that waste into lovely rich fertilizer for your garden.
All they ask for is a cool semi dry spot, some soil and you leftovers.
You can build you worm condo, or you can buy one here for not much moolah.
Start with paper
April 27, 2008
You’d be surprised how much money you can save on paper with just a few tips. Why not start saving money, water and trees today? Here’s how.
First the facts
10,000 sheets of copy paper each year are used by EACH worker in the US.
The United States single-handedly consumes 30% of the world’s paper.
Over 40% of wood pulp goes toward the production of paper
The total costs of using paper in the office can run 13 to 31 times the cost of purchasing the paper in the first place!
What does that mean? For every sheet of paper used, calculating purchasing costs, storage, copying, printing, postage, disposal, and recycling—So, a ream of paper that you paid $5 for can cost up to $155!
Citigroup did a study that showed if each employee used double-sided copying to save just one sheet of paper a week, the firm would save $700,000 a year.
Environmental costs
It takes more than 12 ounces of water to make one sheet of paper.
Over 40% of wood pulp goes toward the production of paper.
What can you do?
- Set your printer defaults to print double-sided, and make double-sided copies when possible.
- Use paper printed on only one side in your fax machine, for draft copies or internal documents, or as scratch paper.
- When you’re done with single sided copies, cut them into 1/2 or 1/4 sheets and staple together to use for notepads
- Use the print preview to spot formatting errors and blank pages before you print. Proofread first, and use the spell/grammar tool to help avoid errors that can cause documents to be reprinted.
- Print only the pages you need. If only a few pages of the document are needed, print only those pages instead of the whole report.
- Promote a “think before you copy” attitude. Consider sharing some documents with co-workers, or using presentation software instead of printing for meetings
- Email memos and newsletters that employees should see, but do not need to keep.
- Use revision features in word processing software instead of printing out drafts and making hand-written comments.
- Store forms electronically so hey can be printed only when needed.
- Create electronic versions of letterhead, so when you move or the letterhead needs updating you don’t throw all the old stuff away!
- Buy recycled-content paper, preferably made from paper pulp recycled without chlorine.
- Fix the copiers and printers. A copier that works well is less likely to jam and this helps save paper
- Use shredded non-sensitive documents for packing material.
- Fill ‘er up. Make sure the dishwasher is full to capacity before you run it. Make the most of the water and energy you’re going to use. A fully loaded dishwasher can save as much as 35% less water than hand-washing
- Run the dishwasher at night or during off-peak hours
- Use phosphate free detergents that are natural and biodegradeable
- Buy smart. Look at the energy guide stickers and find Enery Star appliances whenever possible
- Air dry instead of using the drying cycle on the machine
- Does your dishwasher heat water as it needs it? Good. Then you can turn down tyour hot water heater
- Rinse and re-use your glasses and utensils instead of filling the diswasher with basically clean dishes
- Keep your distance. Having the exhaust from the dishwasher blowing on a refrigerator or water cooler will make that other appliance work harder
- Greywater rules. If you are using biodegradeable soap you may be able to use the washwater for watering plants (check local laws first)
- Replacing a 1994 dishwasher with a current model can save $25 in energy costs and 1,000 gallons of water annually.
- Don’t buy water in plastic bottles. Fill your own from a filter instead.
- Buy items in bulk or from loose bins when possible to reduce the packaging wasted.
- Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient. About 33 of what we throw away is packaging.
- Buy products that you can reuse.
- Maintain and repair durable products instead of buying new ones.
- Check reports for products that are easily repaired and have low breakdown rates.
- Reuse items like bags and containers when possible.
- Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
- Use reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones.
- Use reusable containers to store food instead of aluminum foil and cling wrap.
- Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags. If you have plastic bags re-sue them as long as you can.
- Buy rechargeable batteries for devices used frequently.
- Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials. Old newspapers make great packaging material.
- When you buy packing “noodles” buy the kind made from corn products. They are totally recyclable as animal feed or compost.
- Compost your vegetable scraps.
- Buy used furniture – there’s lots and it’s cheaper too!
Green your banking
April 27, 2008
Did you know that where your checking account is held can make a difference in how sustainable your community is?
The Social Investment Forum Foundation and Co-op America have launched a campaign to encourage people and institutions to put their banking and investment dollars to work in local communities.
The goal of the 1% or More in Community Campaign is to help grow the community investing industry to more than $25 billion in assets in 2007. This would build off of the success of the Campaign in helping almost quadruple the amount of money involved in community investing between 2000 and 2005, when the industry grew from $5.4 billion in 2000 to $20 billion in 2006. SIF members have made their mark in the community investing industry, they increased their investments in Community Investing Institutions by $1.2 billion (from $800 million in 2002 to $2 billion in 2006).
Visit the website and find a bank or investment group that suits your needs while it uplifts your community!
Solar doesn’t have to break the bank
April 26, 2008
How about heating all or part of your home with your own solar powered heat? It’s not that far away from reality. It can be a simple as this passive heat collector
Or a hot air collector (boy do we need one of those!
It’s not hard to find the materials and tools either. Check out BuildItSolar for all kinds of solar stuff, from toys to panels and full on DIY solar kits.
Or you can just get out, collect some aluminim cans, and get bizzy.
Any way you cut it, Solar does not have to be a full-on roof full of high tech to make an impact!
Green your dishwasher
April 25, 2008
Buying meat
April 25, 2008
Buy organic meats through CSA’s and whole animal sharing groups as opposed to buying factory produced and slaughtered packages of meat.
Moose methane
April 24, 2008
Researchers in Norway claim that a grown moose can produce 2,100 kilos of methane a year — equivalent to the CO2 output resulting from a 13,000 kilometer car journey.
Now, at last, we know the biggest contributors to global warming!
Norway is apparently concerned that its national animal, the moose, is harming the climate through its belching and farting…
Actually it’s not nearly as much as good ol’ bessie.
Cows emit signiifcant amounts of methane and there are a LOT more of them. North America has more than 100 million cattle, hundreds of millions of hogs and feeder pigs, and more than 2 billion chickens, together emitting billions of tons of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gasses every year.
The 2004 State of the World stated “Belching, flatulent livestock emit 16 percent of the world’s annual production of methane.”
The July 2005 issue of Physics World states: “The animals we eat emit 21 percent of all the CO2 that can be attributed to human activity.”
What to do?
A study in Canada found 20 different ways to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from livestock—each of them capable of cutting these emissions by one-third.
The Canadian authors, Karin Wittinberg and Dinah Boadi of the University of Manitoba, say that such methane reduction strategies should be a top priority in any greenhouse gas reduction effort.
Simply grinding and pelleting the feeds for confinement animals reduced methane by 20 to 40 percent, because it makes the feed more fully digestible.
Steers grazing on high-quality alfalfa-grass pastures emit 50 percent less methane than steers grazing on mature grass-only pastures. Rotational grazing—changing where the cows graze every few days—also cuts methane emissions. It would cost only a few dollars per acre to encourage farmers to rotatationally graze, replant their pastures more often, and use higher-quality forages because the better pastures also produce more meat and milk for the farmer’s profit.
Methane emissions in feedlot cattle were reduced by one-third when 4 percent canola oil was added to cattle feedlot rations. The canola oil costs only slightly more than comparable grain calories.
Genetically engineered bovine growth hormone reduces methane emissions by 10 percent in dairy cattle. The growth hormone hasn’t even been legalized in Canada, thanks largely to opposition from activist groups such as Greenpeace!
Keeping young pigs and poultry separated by age groups, and phasing their feeds by growth stages can cut greenhouse emissions by 50 percent and sharply reduce bad smells too. Again, farmers would need only modest encouragement to use the system because it also increases feed efficiency.
Or you could just stop eating meat….
Make less trash
April 24, 2008
There are a lot of ways you can easily reduce what you add to the landfill. Here’s a short list.
Natural cleaning products from New Zealand
April 20, 2008
Beauty Engineered forEver (BEE) products are created with keeping your home and your planet spiffy clean. B_E_E is the only range of cleaning products in New Zealand to have achieved Environmental Choice accreditation and are endorsed by New Zealand’s Ministry for the Environment.
Ingredients include essential oils and natural ingredients and their marketing’s not half bad either.
Composting in your kitchen
April 20, 2008
Composting your home waste takes dedication. Whether you’re worm composting or using a bin in the backyard, the compost needs constant attention to work properly. Often people start out with good intentions but just don’t keep it up. The compost doesn’t get turned, it rots or draws pests etc, etc.
This seems like a pretty good alternative to the usual compost bin. The compost is heated so it degrades faster and the bin turns itself so there is no handling necessary. when the compost is ready it drops into a receptacle in the bottom, ready to add to your garden.
The best part for me is that you can keep it right in the kitchen, where it’s easy to toss in the trimmings and dinner leftovers as they occur instead of trudging out to the compost bin and mixing it in.
Take a look at Nature Mill.
Shop locally
April 20, 2008
Buy produce within a 150 mile radius of your home to cut down on transportation costs and increase quality.
Greening Aviation
April 19, 2008
Greening some of our major transportation modes is a complex problem. Take a look at what the EU is doing to make airlines greener.
It IS easy bein green
April 19, 2008
Are you thinking about going green but you don’t know which products are available as alternatives to what you use now? Going Green has already done your homework for you!
Check out their store online of products from a wide range of purveyors, ranging from Fair Trade sporting goods to cleaning products that won’t trash your home’s internal environment.
Watch the packaging.
April 18, 2008
Packaging constitutes over 1/3 of the waste in urbn landfills. Re-use, recycle, use your purchase power to guide manufacturers towards minimal or green packaging.
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