If you can’t use ‘em with food, try recycling them into something a bit more interesting!

Photo from ichizen

According to an article in the UK-based magazine The Independent, “The Chinese use 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks every year, which adds up to 1.7 million cubic meter of timber or 25 million full-grown trees, which means badly depleted forests.” And that’s only in China! Just think about how many Asian restaurants exist around the world (and around the corner from your home), and how many people they service every day. Now that’s a whole lot of wooden chopsticks that get thrown into the trash.

I’ve been to a few Asian restaurants that offer reusable stainless steel or wooden chopsticks, but for the most part (because it’s cheaper to mass produce), these places give you disposable wooden chopsticks. You use them (or try to use them) once and then throw them away, or you put them in a kitchen drawer and they sit there for eternity. Now that’s no way to get creative with your eating utensils!

I wanted to see if I could find some clever and funky ways that people are recycling these chopsticks. Here are 10 recycled chopstick designs that caught my eye:

1. Recycled Chopstick Folding Basket

Featured on kk.org

This may be the perfect basket for holding fruit. It’s completely collapsible and can be used for on-the-go travel.

2. Chopstick Lamps

Featured on buygreen

Need a light? Try one of these recycled chopstick lamps that come with a 4.5 foot cord and standard light bulbs.

3. Chopstick Dress

Featured on gargles

Students from Suining County, East China created this recycled chopstick dress for a “Waste Chopsticks Utilization Contest.”

4. “Soap Lo Mein” Recycled Chopsticks Soap Dish

Featured on uncommongoods

This folding soap dish features chopsticks that were soaked in black tea to give it a darker color.

5. Chopstick Canoe

Featured on pinktentacle

This amazing canoe was made from thousands of disposable chopsticks that were recovered from a Koriyama, Japan city hall cafeteria.

6. Chopstick “Koo” Handbag

Featured on eco-handbags

This purse is lined on the inside with a removable hemp bag!

7. Chopstick Marine Life at the Arts Aquarium in Hong Kong

Featured on bp2

I kid you not! There’s actually an entire gallery of recycled chopstick marine animals featured in the Hong Kong City mall. The marine animals were all handcrafted by Koike Masataka.

8. Reclaimed Chopstick Wine Bottle Holder Featured on ecofriend

Featured on ecoemporia

This cute necklace with a lobster claw clasp is made from disposable bamboo chopsticks.

10. Chopstick Pencil Holder

Featured on buygreen

A pretty cool way to hold your pencils and pens.

I admit it, I’ve used a LOT of disposable chopsticks in my time (I blame it on being half-Korean), so I’m super happy to know that there are creative ways to recycle them. Now I can take all the disposable chopsticks that my mom is hoarding at her house and try to turn them into a swanky bag!

This post is provided by our partner, NativeEnergy. It was originally published on their website on February 26, 2010.

Been thinking about starting your own greenhouse or starting to grow your plants indoors? It is getting close to that time of year where gardeners and the like are yearning for the feel of dirt beneath their fingertips and begin feverishly planning and mapping out this year’s plantings.

Growing your own garden is not only an activity that you can do with your entire family, but it is an easy way to promote sustainability. Eating what you grow and what is grown in your local area avoids the pollution that would have been generated by shipping the food to your town. If you grow your own, not only do you get healthy food, but you have the comfort of knowing exactly what was put in your soil and on your crops.

If you are just learning about how to grow your food indoors, Gardener’s Supply has a great "How To" section on their website that helps spell out some of the questions/problems associated with starting seeds inside.

If you have tips or suggestions that may help our readers out, let us know by commenting here!

Sending an e-card for Mother’s Day will reduce paper waste and lower your carbon footprint!

Many of us live very busy lives, so we may not always have the time to visit, make a phone call or write a letter to our loved ones. But there’s no excuse for missing Mother’s Day, which is on Sunday! You don’t have to spend a ton of money on flowers, spa treatments or jewelry to show your mom that you love her. One way that you can express your gratitude to the woman who gave you life is to send her a quick, FREE e-card.

According to an article in Associated Content, “42% of global wood harvest goes towards paper production.” This includes paper for special occasion cards. These cards are then snail-mailed, which means that the delivery trucks and planes will be producing a lot of carbon emissions. So, if you could save a tree and make your mom smile with an e-card (for free), wouldn’t you do it? I would!

Here are 8 funny and inspiring Mother’s Day e-cards that you can send with the click of a button:

1. To a Genuinely Cool Mom

Featured on cardboiled.com

2. Two Things Every Mom Wants

Featured on care2

3. Thanks for the Good Looks, Mom!

Featured on petfinder.com

4. You Deserve a Mother’s Day Dip

Featured on americangreetings

5. Monkey on a Mission for Mom

Featured on egreetings

6. Shout Out Loud

Featured on cardboiled

7. Laundry-Free on Mother’s Day

Featured on care2

8. Say it with Hamster Love

Featured on americangreetings

My mother knows that I don’t have a money tree in my back yard, so even if I send her a simple e-card like one of these she will still feel appreciated on Sunday. They say it’s the “thought that counts,” and these tree-free cards will definitely make your mom think about how awesome she is!

If Mother’s Day caught you off guard this year, have no fear...last minute ideas are here!

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that my mom doesn’t really care how much I spend or how much planning is involved in celebrating Mother’s Day. All she really wants is to feel appreciated.

So even if you’re not as prepared as you’d like to be this Mother’s Day, you can still show mom that you’re grateful for all she does. There’s no need to rush out and over-spend on over-priced and environmentally precarious last minute gifts like grocery store flowers and chocolates. Instead, give the gift mom really wants -- you -- with some suggestions that make the most of what you already have on hand.

Lend A Hand
Maybe your mom needs a little help around the house. Now is a great time to offer your services, just in time for Mother’s Day. Fix mom a tall, cool glass of iced tea and let her sit back while some else does the heavy lifting for a change. You could fix dinner for her, reorganize her sewing room or clean her gutters. Or fix that squeaky garage door or repaint her powder room. Refurbish her toaster oven, or help her start a compost bin. No matter what you choose to do, she’ll appreciate your hard work and help, and you’re gift will likely be remembered for a long time.

Get Out There
Maybe what your mom really wants is to get out and do something. It’s easy to make a reservation at a local eatery, but why not do something different. Get out and appreciate nature with a visit to a local botanical garden or savor your emotions with a visit to a museum. Take in a movie, or go green with a bike ride through the park. Pick up a few of mom’s favorite organic fruits, and have a snack in the shade before continuing. Mom will love it.

Say It In A Letter
Take this once a year opportunity to tell mom just how special she really is. Write it down! She’ll appreciate hearing how you feel, and you’ll feel good knowing she understands how much you love her. Take a page out of your childhood by making a homemade card, or even homemade coupons, to go with your letter.

Make A Memory
If your family gathers together for a meal like brunch or lunch, remember to have a camera on hand and take an impromptu snapshot. Catch mom laughing at your sister’s joke, or catch a funny mishap for posterity. Or go more formal and stand in front of mom’s prize winning roses, or gather on the porch in your Sunday best. Photos are a wonderful keepsake. After Mother’s day, frame your pic and give it to her, to remember the fun day you had together.

Cozy Up With Afternoon Coffee
If you really feel you can’t show up empty handed, and knowing that what you’re mom always wants most is time with you -- why not have coffee together? Treat her to a delicious cup of home brewed organic coffee and a nice long visit? Try Starbucks Organic Yukon Blend and pair it with some of Starbucks delicious Petite Vanilla Bean Scones. A perfect treat to indulge in while you have a good old fashioned chat. And when mom asks about your love life, job prospects or finances, just smile -- and remember -- it isn’t polite to talk with your mouth full.

Time spent together doing simple things is always the greatest pleasure. So go out and make memories that will last long past today.

Rocking children to sleep must date back many centuries. Coupled with a friendly book, there is just about no other place a little one would rather be than in Mom’s arms in the rocking chair.

Well now you can help your little darlings drift off while you “experience production and consumption of electricity in a gentle and rewarding way” with the Murakami Chair. Designed by Rochus Jacob, it uses the kinetic energy produced by a rocking motion to power an attached OLED lamp.

Winner of the designboom’s Green Life competition, this sleek, modern rocking chair uses nano-dynamo technology - built into the skids of the chair - and gently back and forth movement to create and store energy. The electricity is stored in an on-board battery pack during the day. In the evening, that stored power is used to light the attached lamp. The lampshade itself acts as a light source, so no bulb is required.

Why waste all that kinetic energy when you could make good use of it? So I say, keep it rocking!

Need even more pointers on making your life a little greener? Here are 30 more daily green tips!

This post is provided by our partner, NativeEnergy. It was originally published on their website on May 12, 2010.

Weddings are a wonderful and happy occasion. Friends and family from all corners of the earth come to see the two of you and celebrate with you. There are months, if not years, spent planning these special days. And while you may want the memory of that day to last forever, your wedding's effect on the environment need not endure. Here are some of the choices you can make for a sustainable day.

When you start your planning, it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the things you have to deal with. No one planning a wedding needs yet another thing to figure out. These three simple steps should, however, help you stay on track, stay green, and possibly even save you money: REDUCE, REUSE, OFFSET.

The average wedding in the United States costs $20,500! REDUCE this number. This is supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but that doesn’t mean you need to get those expensive linens or invite everyone you ever knew. Your wedding day is exactly that - yours. An entire wedding industry has grown up to tell you that you need to do this and you need to do that, but those are suggestions - not rules.

REUSE - if any food is left over from your reception, donate it to a local food shelf, or have a friend or family member take the best stuff home and freeze it, so you can enjoy it when you return from your honeymoon. Use decorations that you already have. Christmas lights are a perfect example. One friend of ours, who was big into the DIY aspect of her wedding, said: “I enjoyed making the place cards, using my own photography, and giving away wildflower seeds as gifts. I added my own touch where I could to make it more personal and, in most cases, I cut down on the cost.”

Jillian took a creative approach to that classic problem of wearing a beautiful gown only once and never again - she made her sister-in-law’s dress her own. Borrowing or buying a pre-owned gown, or selling your dress to another bride after the wedding, can save you lots of cash and reduce the demand for brand new garments. Not to mention the carbon emissions generated when transporting enough dresses here to outfit 2.4 million American brides each year.

And finally, OFFSET. Offer an alternative to the generic registry. If that sweet great-aunt of yours wants to contribute to your wedding, why not suggest she offset it for you. You can also offer an inexpensive wedding favor to all of your out-of-town guests by offsetting their travel and hotel stays. When staff members get married, NativeEnergy gives the couples gift certificates from their registries, and, you guessed it, enough carbon offsets to counter-balance the footprint of both weddings. If you know of a couple who is getting married soon and would like to give them a unique gift, visit NativeEnergy’s travel calculator to offset the travel emissions from their wedding!

You can earn 100 Recyclebank Points with NativeEnergy by CLICKING HERE.

Two designers create affordable and sustainable lighting to help countries thrive.

Due to poor economic conditions, many countries in Africa and South America can’t afford to light their streets, coastlines or neighborhoods. This makes it hard for businesses to thrive and for people to feel safe. Well, it looks like the team at Ingendesign (which consists of Daniel Lorincz and Alberto Vasquez) has come up with a solution. It’s called the “Flow,” and it’s a wind-powered lighting system made from sustainable bamboo.

According to Ingendesign, bamboo is one of the cheapest and most abundant resources in the world, and that’s why it made sense for the team to use it as the light’s main material. It’s also locally harvested in countries like Colombia (a place where the team is testing the lights), so there’s no need make a huge carbon footprint by shipping in materials.



Here’s some more information about the Flow:

• It’s made from bamboo blades that have been cut in half and angled at the end (to increase wind speed).
• It’s also made with electronic components like LEDs, wires and dynamo, which can all be recycled.
• Depending on the force of the wind, the lighting will either be continuous, or waver like a dancing light show!

Here are a few more pictures of the design:






Photos from ingendesign

Sadly, these lights are not for sale yet, but the Ingendesign duo plans to start the manufacturing of them this summer. So, what do you think? Good green idea, or not?

Henry Ford once said "If I listen to my customers, they will all have faster horses". Like Henry Ford almost a century ago, products like the Walkman, IPod and minivan would not exist if companies large and small did not take risks and establish new products and services that 'the customer' did not ask for. Although not a new class of vehicle or new way of purchasing or listening to music, the staple free stapler is one of those products that is ripe for the taking.

Check it out at Green Cricket - the staple free stapler! I purchased mine the other day and spent the first few minutes 'stapling' holes in pieces of paper - what a cool device. This device costs less than $10 and does not need staples, which means not having to worry about putting staples in the recycling bin or trying to find staples when it runs out.

Cool features aside, this product is a perfect example of creativity and (pardon the overused cliché), thinking 'outside of the box' (yes, I am sick of that term too, but what the heck, seems appropriate here).

It is this kind of thinking that will take us towards products and services that we will all embrace because they do good for the planet, and guess what, we don't even know they exist yet!

Now if only we can cut down on the amount of paper we use so we don't need the staple free stapler?

Maybe it’s … (Not What You Think)

Do you ever envy those people with naturally awesome skin? You know, the ones with no zits, no excess oil, no discoloration, etc?

I do.

Why? Because I’m not one of them. I constantly am working to maintain my skin and whenever a (God forbid) blemish pops up, I freak out and cover it with copious amounts of makeup. Granted, this really doesn’t help the situation, but it makes me feel remotely better. At least until I get home and then discover that the above stated blemish has now tripled in size… oy.

Anywho. If there’s one thing I’ve discovered in my fight against skin nonsense, it’s that the best defense is a good offense. (Yes, that’s right, I just used a sports analogy in referring to zits. Boo. Ya.) And one of the best skin “offensive moves” (at least in my humble opinion) is regular exfoliation.

You don’t have to buy fancy brand scrubs and masks. In fact, you really don’t have to spend any money at all. I suggest making your own with a do it yourself face mask. The good folks at About.com have you covered with all sorts of recipes.

Let’s pick one suitable for all skin types. Ready? Great. Here’s what you’ll need.

1 tablespoon of finely ground oatmeal 1 tablespoon of live, organic yogurt (stick with plain) A few drops of honey.

That’s it. (Really. It is that simple. There are of course more elaborate kinds, but you don’t have to go all out.)

Next, mix the oatmeal and yogurt together and stir in a few drops of honey that has been warmed. Apply to face. Leave it on for about 10 minutes. Rinse off.

Anyone can do this! Best of all, your face will thank you and your skin will be ready for its summer debut.

Not into the whole DIY thing? No problem! Visit the outstandingly swanky and eco-friendly online store White Apricot. They’ve got a GREAT line up of summer skin care products. Check them out here.

by Joe Laur
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Came across a very cool story on Ecoscraps today. Turns out that in the 1960’s (remember the 1960’s? If you can, you weren’t really there), the head of Heineken Brewery, Alfred Heineken was vacationing in the Caribbean. He saw beaches littered with beer bottles (including some of his) and a lack of affordable housing. His solution? Make beer bottles in the shape of interlocking bricks.

Now people that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw bricks, but apparently people that drink beer can live in glass houses. After a bunch of experiments they came up with a useable brick/bottle design. Only a few houses were built, some of them still standing on the Heineken estate.

And then there’s this very cool Buddhist temple in Thailand built entirely from one million recycled beer bottles. Buddhist monks built the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple in the Sisaket province of Thailand from Heineken and Chang Beer bottles.

Must have taken a lot of beer to even come up with the concept, and then well, being good holy monks, they must have all pitched to do their part and drank enough to finish the project. Which probably took 367 years to build in the process. Probably a few pretzel bags and hangover remedy bottles mortared in there somewhere too.

Thanks to Jennifer Lance and Wikipedia for the source materials. Oh, and thanks to Greenopolis Partner Molson Coors for the beer required to round out my research. And my belly. Please drink and build responsibly.

My mother lived through The Great Depression, and to this day she still buys, saves and reuses as if it were the 1930’s. Although the name Depression is far from uplifting, this by-gone era where living on less, using less and wasting less was the status quo, offers us so many positive lessons everyone can implement in our lives today.

Lesson #1 - Living on less is a good thing!

Supplies were limited during the Depression and rationing was required. No need to go to extremes, but limit the excess. Consider the aisles of a typical mega store. There’s just so much! Don’t be swayed by the sheer volume and variety of items that surround you—you just might convince yourself to buy products you don’t need.

Sure, those sunglasses are mega-cute, but if they’re a 2nd or a 3rd pair, they’ll just get lost in the shuffle. Appreciate all the great things you already have and you’ll save a little money in the process. Choose classic, durable items so you aren’t always buying the latest versions and disposing of old ones. Landfills are full of obsolete, unwanted stuff. By living on less we can cut down on so much unnecessary waste.

Lesson #2 – Reuse, Repurpose

During the Depression, it was critical to get the most use and value out of every item. From rinsing aluminum foil and plastic bags, darning old socks, resurrecting old bath towels as garage rags, my mother always found ways to give new life to things some people might just toss.

Reusing and repurposing was a necessity in the Depression era, but today it’s a reality of living greener and protecting our earth. Let’s get creative! Don’t just throw out that shirt with a small stain you can’t get out, use the fabric for patches in a quilt or cover for a pillow!

Lesson #3 – Little Waste Means Big Savings

Throwing leftovers in the trash or leaving a light on when you left a room would be unimaginable to many who lived during the Depression. Not only is it a waste of money, it’s also a waste of resources! Live smarter. Don’t buy more than you need for the week and reinvent your leftovers into another exciting meal. Make sure you unplug items that aren’t in use and turn off lights when you aren’t using them. You’ll be surprised at how these small changes can show up as big savings on your utility bills and grocery tabs.

While The Great Depression isn’t a time anyone would want to relive, the wisdom, learned from necessity, is worth following today. Consuming less, reusing and repurposing, and limiting our waste is a smarter way to live financially and an eco-friendlier way to treat the Earth.

Need even more pointers on making your life a little greener? Here are 30 more daily green tips!

That’s Right, Dollhouses are Back in a Whole New Way

Dollhouses…I love dollhouses…In fact, I love my dollhouse so much, that I still have it. Well, I sort of have it. Actually, it’s at my parent’s house, which means they have it. Technically. But I’ll take it back when I have kids….Err...Anway…

For those of you who don’t have a dollhouse - either new or a hand-me-down - I highly suggest you check out the awesome, 100% recyclable, biodegradable creations by Green Lullaby. (They’re also made from over 60% recycled pulp. GENIOUS.)

According to its website, “Green Lullaby creates innovated furniture, storage and play items, made entirely of cardboard. We provide warm and trendy solutions surroundings that are safe, soft and environmentally friendly. Our products are designed to meet the ever changing needs of a growing child's environment, in a sustainable fashion. They are smart, light, easy to assemble and use, and provide hours of fun for both parents and children.”

Did you read that, folks? HOURS of FUN. I love fun in large increments! Not to mention, dollhouses are great for both single and multiple-child families. As far as I was always concerned, the more, the merrier. Imagination grows, and grows, and grows!

Even better, “The dollhouses are also easy to assemble and carry (since they become flat when taken apart - like all Green Lullaby products), and the rooms in the house come decorated with great items like globes, lamps, and funky furniture. Retro and forward looking at the same time!” (Green Prophet)

Buying a recycled dollhouse not quite your style? Feeling a little more ambitious? How about making your own? If you need a little guidance, check out the cool ideas found here.

Now, who wants to play?

Yep, I knew you did.

When I moved from Texas to Boston in 1996 to be with my husband, I went from a world where recycling was a far off and farfetched idea, to being a requirement. When I put the trash out, I separated the recyclables. It wasn’t hard. It didn’t take much effort.

Then my husband and I bought a home with an acre of land. Now I needed to deal with the recycling and yard waste. Yipes! My trash service wasn’t going to take the endless bags of leaves and grass my yard was producing. So I began a composting area in a corner of my yard. Problem solved! Now I enjoy rich earth for use in my garden when I need it. That worked out well!



Then I started tossing my veggie & fruit scraps into the big yard compost pile and oh, that was a mistake. The skunks & raccoons would frequently fight over it and we, with our wide open windows would be the losers in that fight. Phew! I wanted to do something better than just toss it all into the garbage, but then I had a baby.  Life became a challenge of trying to get sleep, trying to keep up. I stopped worrying about composting. I stopped thinking about much except raising my baby.



Back then my mother in law, always ahead of the game, warned us about the dangers of plastics, of heating & storing food in plastic containers. We pooh-poohed her at the time. Little did we know.

Fast forward a few years and another baby later. When the fog of being a sleep deprived mom lifted, I started to look around and see the world around me with a new clarity. It didn’t happen all at once.



What did I see? A sea of disposable diapers. Disposable wipes. Disposable everything.

So in 2007 I decided to make the change. I got a compost bin and began composting my kitchen scraps in earnest. I began collecting batteries from friends, family, and my children’s daycare to recycle. I switched over to rechargeable batteries. I thought ‘That’s good for now; no one can say I’m not trying.”



Then I began to really dig in on the internet. I discovered green websites. I found green mom blogs. I read.  And read. And read.

Good grief, there was so much to take in here! Turned out my mother in law was right about plastics. My home, with two small children, was a world of endless plastic. Like millions of other homes. Chemicals everywhere, in my cleaning products, my furniture & carpets. In the paints I used all over my house. All of the foods we were eating.



I was starting to get overwhelmed. I can’t do it all. I can’t change it all. It’s just too much.

It’s at these moments when we have a tendency to throw up our hands in defeat and give up.“ If I can’t do it all, I won’t do any of it”!

That would be an easy way out, wouldn’t it? Then I remembered that nobody is expecting me to do it all at once. That’s just pressure I put on myself. As my father in law loves to say before tackling a huge task, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I can do this, one bite at a time.

So I’ve made the changes I can make. Bringing reusable bags with me everywhere. Slowly getting rid of plastics. Switching over to organic foods where I can. Changing our soaps & toothpastes. Cleaning with vinegar, baking soda, and Borax. I’m nowhere near as green as I would like to be, but, you know…one bite at a time.

You can do this too. It doesn’t have to be all at once, it doesn’t have to break the bank. My motto is “small changes add up”, because they really do. Not only will you be making a difference in your daily life, your children will absorb and adjust to these changes more easily if done gradually over time. Big changes over a short period of time can overwhelm and backfire, leaving you discouraged. Slow & steady is the better way to go at your green goals.



Remember, we aren’t racing against each other to see “who’s the “greenest”. Start with you and your family, work your way outward, find the green path that fits, and walk it. One step, one “bite”, at a time.

In tough economic times, we're all trying to make the most of what we have. We've all gotta use it up, wear it out and stretch those "eagles" 'til they scream.

Finding new and creative uses for everyday stuff is not only good for your wallet, it helps save earth's precious resources too.

That's the goal of Altuse.com, a website dedicated to the idea of repurpose and reuse. Their motto - “Don't lose it, Altuse it” - speaks to their dedication in discovering new reuse strategies. Save money, save the environment, feel good about doing it.

Check out these AltUses for 8 common household items.

1 Tablespoon Of Vodka
Use on a soft cloth to clean and sterilize your eyeglasses. Apply to a bandage and let sit for a few minutes to remove the adhesive glue and the bandage will come off painlessly. Mix with a teaspoon of sugar and a cup of water to keep flowers looking fresh.

5 Aspirin Tablets
Crush and mix with a teaspoon or two of water and use to relieve the itch of a mosquito bite. Add a few teaspoons of plain yogurt to the mixture and you can use it as a mask to treat acne.

1 Lemon Wedge
Not only does it add flavor to your iced tea or water, but rub that wedge over your teeth and tongue after your meal to freshen your breath. Juice that lemon wedge into a container, add an equal amount of water and rinse your hair to stop dandruff. Grind a lemon wedge in your kitchen garbage disposal to eliminate orders.

A Small Ball Of Aluminum Foil
Hang it outside to scare birds away from your garden. Toss it into the dryer to eliminate static cling (no more dryer sheets, ever!). Cut it up with your scissors and it will sharpen them as good as any professional knife sharpener.

1 Tablespoon Of Olive Oil
Massage into wet hair and rinse with warm water to condition your dry mane. Rub into dry cuticles to soften, or use as a shaving lotion. Also use to fix a squeaky door or lubricate a bike chain.

1 Old Used Dryer Sheet
Will dust a mini-blind or remove static cling from winter clothes. Tuck it in a dresser drawer to freshen things up a bit.

5 Plastic Grocery Bags
Use them to pick up after your dog. Use them to cover your plants during harsh weather or to wrap fragile items when shipping.

1 Old iMac Computer
Makes one really neat aquarium. The CRT and other components are removed and replaced with a 3.5 gallon fish tank with a built-in filter, light and heater.

Make sure to check out Altuse.com for more great tips.

By now everyone (well, almost everyone) knows something about recycling at home. Whether it's simply collecting newspapers or separating everything from wine bottles to garden clippings, I don't know very many people who don't do some type of recycling - at home. I applaud them all. But still, I'm going to ask, "What have you done for me lately?"

What I mean is this, do you recycle at work, too? It seems to me that many people who are fanatical about their carbon footprint at home, forget about it once they leave for the office. And yes, many companies sponsor recycling programs for things like paper but what else can we do?

Here are some tips to help green your workspace.

Trade In Your Staples For Paper Clips
Staples are easy. Staples are convenient. Staples clog up the recycling stream. You know how you have separate different kinds of recyclables? Well, staples have to be removed from each piece of paper for either to be recycled. Instead, think way, way back to the days of paper clips. Yes, it's true Virginia, paper clips hold papers together as effectively as any staple. How to? Well, you write a note on a scrap of paper and attach to another piece of paper with a paper clip. Seems so simple. And they are completely reusable and last a lifetime. You can even link them together and make a chic necklace. BTW, an old mug makes a neat clip holder. Now you're ready for the front office.

Make Your Own Tiny Memo Notes
To complement your newly recycled coffee mug/ paper clip holder, pair it with some tiny memo notes you make yourself. Just take some used paper or outdated letterhead and trot on over to the paper cutter. (If you don't have an office paper cutter, scissors will do fine.) And trim that old paper into 3 x 3 squares. Or any other shape or size you like. Be creative, let your personality show. Cut ovals, rectangles or even kitty cats. Doesn't matter. Pair with your new paper clips and it's business as usual…without all the waste.

Create A Place For Recycling Office Supplies
Set aside a place in a common area with a box for office supplies. Think staplers, paper clips, pens, etc., and ask everyone to add to the box when they've finished using something, and to check there first if they need something. Think of all the rubber bands that won't be leaving the supply closet. The planet thanks you.

Reuse envelopes for internal correspondence
After all, does anyone really care that they aren't getting a new envelope for that memo about the weekly staff meeting? I'd guess, no. Scratch out the name of the prior recipient then write in the new name, and off it goes.

Repurpose file folders, boxes, and packing materials
Instead of getting a new folder for each new job, why not reuse folders from completed jobs. If you turn old folders inside-out, they even look new. Likewise, use old boxes to store supplies. Reuse packing material to send another package. Or better yet, (with your boss's permission) donate used packaging to your local school, retirement community or church and let them reuse it. You can even return it to any packaging store so they can reuse it.

Respect, recycle and reuse your office supplies, and they will last longer, save your company money and help save the planet.

The Uhuru furniture company states plainly on their website that the idea behind their company was to use reclaimed materials in a striking new way.

I think they have succeeded.

Behold! Uhuru’s Bilge Lounge. (Ooohhhh, Aaahhhh) It’s a chair made from the staves of used Kentucky bourbon barrels and old truck springs (No, really!) I flipped for these chairs the very moment I saw them.

The Bilge Lounge is part of the Küpe line of furniture which repurposes the beautiful, but seldom-until-now reused barrels that are used to age bourbon in Bardstown, Kentucky, the bourbon capital of the world.

The barrels are originally constructed from new white oak and charred on the inside to produce the unique flavor and color of the bourbon. But they’re only used once. Some are then sold and shipped to Scotland to make scotch, the remaining barrels are discarded by the distillery. Some of those barrels end up as planters or as firewood, but many are just thrown away.

So Uhuru is now turning these unique wood pieces into something even more beautiful and lasting. They work to retain the individual characteristics and colors of each barrel and shape it into a new form that is fun, esthetically pleasing and functional.

But that’s not all Uhuru makes. The Slab Dining Table is the definition of unique and gorgeous. It’s made from a one of a kind hardwood slab sitting on a customizable steel or wood base, The wood slabs are locally milled and dried, and come from sustainably harvested trees that are naturally felled by storms, cut down because of disease, or destined for removal by property owners. No two are alike. (Just looking at the tables would have told you this!)

Or how about the Kong Coffee Table, or the St. Pierre Bed, or the Stoolen Oval table, which is made from collected wood scraps and found bicycle rims...the list goes on and on.

They make such a variety of (I can’t say it enough) beautiful and unique furniture, that it makes me want to redecorate.

My husband, sadly, will never agree to such a scheme. But maybe I can find a place for just one of those whiskey barrel chairs... and a slab table... and maybe a bed. What can I say, I have a big heart, and they really do need a good home, you know.

Video from GorgeousNewYork

Need a few pointers on making your life a little greener? Then take a look at these 30 daily green tips!

Everyone wants to be cool. This doesn’t have to involve hiring Lady Gaga or sweeping everyone away to a surprise tropical get-away (if you’re planning a party like that, I’d really love to be invited).



Whether you have plans for a casual BBQ or nice dinner party—indoors or out—you can make it an eco-cool extravaganza without the extravagance!

1. Use sustainable tableware!

The best choice: Use dishes, glasses and silverware that you already own. But if a party without paper plates and throw-away utensils terrorizes you, there’s an alternative you don’t have to feel eco-guilty about. Verterra dinnerware made from fallen palm leaves and Aspenware cutlery made from made from hardwoods that are ordinarily burnt or left to rot during regular industrial logging. If you don’t use them for juicy steak or raw meats, you could easily wash re-use them. Otherwise, toss them in the compost (be sure not to toss the meat in there!)—they’re 100% biodegradable!



2. Serve slow food.

An organic vegetarian main course made from locally grown produce is the best eco-option, but you can also feature sustainable fish, free-range chicken or grass-fed beef accompanied by locally grown, in season fruits and vegetables. To make it easy, find a community supported agriculture (CSA) near you. CSAs provide a direct link between local farmers and consumers. Why’s that cool? It’s all about presentation: guests will be fascinated to know the origin of the food they’re eating.  PS. Make your own dressing from organic olive or flaxseed oil.


3. Offer sustainable drinks.

Consider biodynamic and/or organic wines, fresh marguaritas (6 parts blue agave tequila, 5 parts triple sec, 3 parts fresh organic lime juice with sea salt rim), or other drinks that contain organic fruits. Don’t want to play bartender? Check out the new 1800 tequila drink mix line, packed in light, recyclable cartons and sweetened with Blue Agave nector. Have filtered tap water on hand in a glass pitcher for the non-drinkers.











4. Glass and more glass.



It’s not an eco-cool party if you serve drinks in plastic. Instead, use your own glassware or—if you’re in need—purchase these cool Fair Trade goblets and drinking glasses made from recycled glass. For an added touch of coolness, go with glass straws.



GlassDharma straws are hand-blown from glass and even have a life-time guarantee against breakage (Note: that does NOT mean you can throw them against the wall).


5. Screen —or just bring up as a convo starter—an environmental-related movie

Like Oceans (now in theatres), No Impact Man, Toxic Soup, or Fuel. Serve organic popcorn (I recommend popping it first).



About Lynn
The founder of myEARTH360.com and I Count for myEARTH, Lynn is also a contributing editor to Just Cause Magazine and other online publications. You can find her on twitter & facebook. Guaranteed. Most days between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. She practices breathing when she thinks of it, runs, intends to do more yoga and loves to eat ice cream and 70% or higher dark chocolate. She lives in the Chicago surburbs with her husband, son and two feisty cats. She lives on the computer.

It’s time to open your windows, smell the flowers and crank up these 8 eco-friendly tunes for Earth Day!

I’m a huge fan of good music. Music that has a message, as well as a beautiful guitar riff or drum solo. Music is something that everyone around the world has in common, so it’s especially gratifying to see artists make good music with a powerful environmental message. Sometimes it takes an entire song, or single chorus line, to get people thinking about lyrics, but these artists have definitely done their part to be eco-advocates and musical geniuses in my book.

Here are 8 environmental songs from the last few decades that make statement about the plight of the planet (and they’re also pretty fun to groove to):

1. Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi

Joni wrote this song when she was in Hawaii in the 70’s. In Wikipedia she quotes, “I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart... this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song.”

Favorite lyrics – “Hey farmer farmer/ Put away the D.D.T. now/ Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees.”

2. Jack Johnson – Gone

Jack is one the most eco-minded musicians around, and this song addresses the effect of human consumption on the environment.

Favorite lyrics – “Look at you out to make a deal/ You try to be appealing but you lose your appeal/ And what about those shoes you’re in today/ They’ll do no good/ On the bridges you burnt along the way.”

3. Marvin Gaye – Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)

This sad but soulful song is from Marvin’s 1971 LP What’s Going On. He sings about the deterioration of the Earth and how “things ain’t what they used to be.”

Favorite lyrics – “What about this overcrowded land/ How much more abuse from man can she stand?”

4. Johnny Cash – Don’t Go Near the Water

Need I say more? It’s Johnny Cash!

Favorite lyrics – “When it gets down to the cities then the water turns into a dirty grey/ It's poisoned and polluted by the people as it goes along its way/ Don't go near the water children see the fish all dead upon the shore/ Don't go near the water cause the water isn't water anymore.”

5. The Talking Heads – Nothing But Flowers

This single from the Talking Heads’ 1988 Naked album talks about a world without technology and fast food restaurants…nothing but beautiful flowers!

Favorite lyrics –“Once there were parking lots/ Now it's a peaceful oasis/ You got it, you got it/ This was a Pizza Hut/ Now it's all covered with daisies.”

6. The Pixies – Monkey Gone to Heaven

Released on The Pixies’ 1989 album Doolittle, this song’s main theme is all about the environment. Pixie frontman and song writer Black Francis says, “The song mainly deals with man's destruction of the ocean and ‘confusion of man's place in the universe. On one hand, it's [the ocean] this big organic toilet. Things get flushed and repurified or decomposed and it's this big, dark, mysterious place."

Favorite lyrics – “There was a guy/ An under water guy who controlled the sea/ Got killed by ten million pounds of sludge/ From New York and New Jersey.”

7. James Taylor – Traffic Jam

This song is featured on the James Taylor 1977 album JT, and it’s all about the personal and environmental outcomes of being stuck in a “dam traffic jam.”

Favorite lyrics – “Now I used to think that I was cool/ Running around on fossil fuel/ Until I saw what I was doing/ Was driving down the road to ruin.”

8. Michael Jackson – Earth Song

This song was written and produced by Michael Jackson for his 1997 album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It touches on topics like war, the environment and animal welfare.

Favorite lyrics – “Did you ever stop to notice/ All the blood we've shed before/ Did you ever stop to notice/ The crying Earth the weeping shores?”

Pretty good list, isn’t it? If you have any other songs to add to the list, please let me know. We need to keep combining good music with a green message.

Earth Day is Every Day; or "The Planet will be Fine, It’s Our Own Butts We‘re Saving, Stupid!”

For forty years now, we’ve been celebrating Earth Day, and a lot has improved. Our cars and factories, our power stations and homes- at least in the US- are cleaner, our air is less polluted with sulphur dioxide and nitrous dioxide, diesel emissions are cleaner, waterways better off, and the Bald Eagle and Grey wolf are recovering. The problems we face, however, have shifted, from local  large points of pollution to global issues of climate change, ozone depletion, water scarcity, species and habitat loss, deforestation,  and so on that seem to come not from one source, but billions. There has never been a greater need for the kind of collaborative, cross sector, community action across the globe than there is today.

Besides, it’s not about saving the Earth- can we get that clear? Earth Day should be called People Day, or All God’s Creatures Great and Small Day, or something that drives home the real goals here. The planet will do fine with or without us, until the sun turns supernova in a few billion years and it all becomes cosmic toast anyway. But in the meantime, we can enjoy billions of years of pretty sweet life here on the third rock from the Sun, so long as we get our act in order, and live within the laws of Nature.

We point out in our book, The Necessary Revolution that the economy depends on society to work, and our societies local and global, depend on a healthy ecosystem to work. Weaken the ecosystem, and it’s like cutting the threads of a hammock one by one until our posterior hits the ground. The bad news is that’s what we are doing right now- billions of individual actors across the globe contributing a little bit to weakening the fabric of life that supports us all.

But the good news is, individual action multiplied can also turn it around- the true meaning of revolution. Which is why on this Earth Day, we could consider the power of people to preserve the planet. If our environmental problems are the proverbial “death by 1000 cuts”, then the solution is billions of points of healing. Each of us can make a difference by simply taking small actions in the right direction. If you recycle a single can, it saved enough energy to power 100 watt bulb for 20 hours- If everyone did it would save enough to power millions of homes. Every scrap of material that is recaptured and reused is one more ounce, one more pound that doesn’t have to be made for virgin ore or oil, fresh trees or water.  And pretty soon the pounds add up to tons and tons.

There are more ants on the planet in total tonnage than humans. But ants aren’t creating an environmental problem- in fact; they make the system healthier in most cases. Can we be as smart as ants, as useful? This Earth Day, let’s foment a People’s Revolution- one person, one day, one act at a time.

Begin the network effect & share this with your friends:

Don't miss a chance to help the planet and get rewards!

Check out these creatively designed birdhouses that use nothing but recycled and found items!

I love this time of year because the grass starts growing, flowers start blooming, and most importantly, birds start chirping.  I love waking up to the sound of birds singing in full chorus, and I don’t even mind when birds loudly and annoyingly bicker over the latest earthworm to cross their path.  I’d rather hear the sound of nature over the sound of car alarms and police sirens any time.

One way that I like to show my appreciation for the birds is by putting up a birdhouse for them to gather and use as shelter.  Just as humans like to sit at coffee shops, drink their lattes and complain about life, I think that birds also like to perch themselves on a birdhouse, gorge their bodies with free birdseed and complain about how humans have almost completely obliterated their natural habitat.  Providing them a birdhouse is the least we can do after cutting down all of the surrounding trees.

Instead of going the traditional route with a brand new birdhouse, you can go green by putting up an eco-friendly birdhouse!  Here are 10 creative and unique birdhouses that are made from a variety of recycled products:

1. 14"H Ladybug and Copper Leaf Recycled Wooden Birdhouse

Featured on yardenvy.com, this birdhouse is made from recycled wood.

2. Gourd Birdhouse

Get creative with your kids by working together to build this cool birdhouse!  All that you need is a gourd and some wire.  Find out how to make this on familyfun.go.com.

3. Recycled Wine Cork Birdhouse

This birdhouse was hand-made by Arlene Wright-Corell and is featured on searchwrap.com.  Some of the recycled materials include: over 112 wine corks, old Styrofoam, a wooden picture frame, hot dog roasting sticks and the bottoms of beer and wine bottles.

4. Billbirdhouse

These cute houses are made from recycled billboard signs and found hardware.  They’re from the minds of Atelier Bom Design.

5. Spring Has Sprung Salvage Sign Birdhouse

Although this has already sold on Etsy, it’s still cool to look at!  This birdhouse was created by Old Crow Farm, and it’s made from 100% salvaged materials, including an old metal sign.

6. Glow-in-the-Dark Paint Can Birdhouse

This may be a bit too spooky for most bird enthusiasts, but it’s perfect if you love Halloween.  This birdhouse is made from an unused gallon paint can and is featured on Starling Ink’s Etsy shop.

7. Hand-Painted Schnapps Bottle Birdhouse

This artsy birdhouse is made from an old Schnapps bottle.  It was hand-painted and designed by artist Eileen Switzer.

8. Hardworking Man’s Boot Birdhouse

DinnerTimeChimes sells this amazing birdhouse on Etsy.  The birdhouse is made from an old boot, recycled lumber and scrap metal.

9. Recycled Fabric Birdhouse

Made from recycled fabric by the ultra hip Parisian designers from Serendipity.

10. Computer Tower Birdhouse

Featured on Interbent.com, this birdhouse is actually made from an old computer tower!

So, what do you think of these birdhouses?  Are you ready to make one of your own?  I am!

Our partners at Greenopolis TV have created a series of Earth Month tips designed to help you make this the most impactful Earth Day ever. This is one of our favorites, showing how turning off the water while brushing your teeth can save gallons of water!

10. Spend a few minutes outside to decompress by taking three breaths. Be present to the sounds and sights the world has to offer be it your own backyard or nearby park.

9. Spend time in your garden truly appreciating the efforts you have put forth or visit your local farmer’s market to pick out your own fruits and vegetables. In either case, farm to table is kinder to the environment, as well as to your body and soul.

8. Take a walk in a different park or take a walk with a neighbor around your block. If you see any litter, pick it up to make the scenery even more enjoyable and then send good energy back out to the one so that they may think twice about their actions next time.

7. As the days get longer, turn off the lights and enjoy the natural lighting in your home. And of course, turn off when you leave.

6. Think precycling as well as recycling. Is there another option with less packaging? Can the item or packaging materials then be recycled? Make sure you know all the acceptable items your City will take.

5. Celebrate freedom from plastic bags with a reusable tote. In fact celebrate freedom from any disposable item when you can bring or use a reusable instead like water bottles, coffee mugs, utensils, cloth napkins and dishtowels.

4. Be thankful for the abundance of clean water available at your fingertips compared with so many across the world. Conserve your usage by taking shorter showers and turning off while doing the dishes or brushing your teeth.

3. Grab a blanket and or lawn chair and watch the clouds go by on sunny day. Do this with a child for added imagination and fun. Take in the warmth and be witness to the power of the sun.

2. Plant a tree in someone’s honor or memory.

And the Number One way to celebrate Earth Day 2012…

Engage and attend a local Earth Day event in your community to connect with your neighbors, learn new ways or share your knowledge to help all of us be kinder to our environment through renewed and resourceful living!

Last week I did something sinfully delightful. Yes, I’ll admit it; my fingers were fully naked as well. See I allowed them to play in the dirt. Not just a little dirt mind you; but a garden full of worm-infested dark brown stuff – the kind that grows gargantuan tomatoes and crisp snap peas. And you know what, when I was done, I gave my digits a good scrubbing and low and behold, I didn’t get sick.

I’m all for sanitation and keeping clean and all that, but sometimes I can’t help but feel as a society we are going overboard. I rest my case with all the new-fangled devices developed for public restrooms lately.

Now some of these inventions are indeed revolutionary in regards to germ warfare. I’m personally all for the auto-flush toilets. Genius. I’m even a fan of the auto-sink contraptions that go the distance from wetting your hands to rinsing off the pre-applied soap. The blow-dry machines save paper towels and thus trees in the process. But are we letting germ fears drive us up the hill of hysteria, only to plummet down a slippery sloop of I-can’t-touch-anything-anymore?

The newest addition to the bathroom saga is doors that don’t require any hands.
I personally experienced one the other day without knowing it. I had finished my “business” and was walking over to the door, my fingers tingly clean from their brisk jet dry, when I noticed what looked like a cow-catcher attached to the base. I pondered the contraption’s reason for a moment or two, before the light bulb flickered above my head. Ah-ah. Slipping my foot into the metal harness I yanked it back and voila – the door was open, hand and germ free. And yet, would I have really gotten deathly ill if I had opened that door with my hand? I’ve been opening doors for over 50 years and I’m still alive.
Another company stepped this idea up a bit by providing fine mist sprays that when positioned atop or to the side of door handles sweep across them every 30-60 seconds giving the user a sanitized surface for which to grab.
None of these items are bad. In fact they are quite functional and serve a purpose, but are they really necessary? We live in a world of germs, many are beneficial. Mother Earth is full of tiny creatures, creepy crawlies and microscopic bugaboos.

They also exist on our skin, in our mouths and under our nails. Gross? Perhaps, but that’s a fact of life. Trying to avoid everything that might touch us, or that we touch is ludicrous, because we can’t. And we weren’t supposed to. Exposure jumpstarts our antibodies, provides us with protection from many germs we are trying so desperately to avoid.
And you hear on a daily basis how the overuse of antibiotics is proving to be our downfall health-wise.
Environmentally, we need to re-think our stance on avoidance. The return of common sense and moderation might be the ticket. For instance, using less paper towels is great, but are we essentially using more electricity to run the touch-free machines? The same goes for the auto-doors and the pleasant-smelling sani-mists. Over time we will remove ourselves from anything and everything that could possibly harm us in some way. Honestly, is that what we truly want? My doctor shakes my hand in greeting every time she enters the room – then scrubs up of course before the exam.

Clinics and hospitals are germ havens but I can’t imagine living in a world where we are afraid to touch. Personally, I’m going to continue to indulge in sinful activities like gardening, picking up trash when I walk, petting dogs and shaking hands. Life is messy. But I’m also going to wash my hands often to avoid spreading germs to others, that’s common courtesy.

Basically it all comes down to this: we can’t let our germophobic behaviors remove us from the very earth that we are so desperately trying to protect.

As Socrates said, “Everything in moderation.”

Check out these 5 great ways to reuse and recycle those eyeglasses you’ve kept for way too long!



Photo from hypebeast.com

I don’t know about you, but I’m one of the millions of people in the world that has worn eyeglasses since youth. I think it was genetic for me since everyone in my family has horrible eyesight, but I’m also guessing that those many mornings watching cartoons in front of the TV didn’t help my sight either.

I’ve owned at least 10 different pairs of eyeglasses in my lifetime, ranging from my first gigantor big pink plastic pair, to my current wanna-be hipster big brown plastic pair. Sadly, since I’m a packrat, I still have my last 4 pair of glasses. I know that many eyeglass locations recycle your old glasses, but I always seem to forget to bring my old pair when the new ones come in.  So I wanted to see what other eyeglass recycling options were out there for the absent-minded folks like me.

Here are 5 ways that you can finally get rid of those outdated eyeglasses!

1. Search online for a recycling center


Photo from earth911.com

Earth911.com has a great search engine for recyclables on its website. Click on the above image and type in the type of item you’d like to recycle, as well as your zip code. A list of recycling facilities will come up, and you can find a location that’s convenient for you.

2. Lions Club International


Photo from lionsclub.org

Ever heard of the Lions Club International?  If not, here’s a brief and musically enhanced intro to the charitable worldwide service organization.



In 2009 the Lions Club collected almost 700,000 pairs of glasses to donate to developing nations with its program Lions Recycle for Sight.

3. New Eyes for the Needy

Founded in 1932, New Eyes for the Needy is a non-profit organization whose sole mission is to provide good eyesight to the less fortunate.

Here’s a very cool video that uses Robin Hood as an endorsement for the organization.

4. Third World Eye Care Society Canada

Here’s the mission of the Canada-based charity organization TWECS: “To collect old unused eyeglasses and distribute these eyeglasses in conjunction with eye exams given by properly trained individuals. The distribution of eyeglasses shall be in developing countries where, because of poverty or lack of availability of eye care services, individuals are unable to obtain eyeglasses and primary eye care.”

Here’s a beautiful video of the organization delivering eyeglasses to families in Cambodia.

5. Make ART!


Photo from trendhunter.com

If you just can’t get rid of your old eyeglasses for some weird sentimental reason, then you can always convert them into a creative piece of art. Take for example the recycled eyeglass Spectacle chandelier of London designer Stuart Haygarth. It was made from over 1000 old eyeglasses that were linked together!

Now that you know what to do with your old eyeglasses, take a deep breath, grab them from your drawer or from that box in your closet, and recycle them for a good cause!

Chronic or prolonged illness sucks - whether it's lupus, MS, Alzheimer's, cancer, or a bad car accident. It doesn't matter if it's your personal illness or the illness of someone you love, it just plain changes everything. It's hard to think about "being green" when you're faced with difficult decisions, painful medical procedures and the caustic side effects of medication.  But, still, life goes on.  Even if your situation is temporary and you expect to eventually get better, you must learn to live within a new reality. So how do you keep plugging along, doing your part for our planet, when you don't feel well, have new restrictions on your lifestyle or decreased mobility?  Take heart.  You can take care of yourself and save the planet.  So sit back, take your meds, read these tips, and feel good about being green - even if you're sick.

Fluorescent Lights Make Me Sick
It's true that compact fluorescent light bulbs can be a problem for many who suffer from chronic autoimmune disorders like lupus or MS.  The fear of a disease flare may keep those with autoimmune disorders from changing to CFLs.  Likewise, CFLs offer less (or different) light for those who have low vision or vision problems. But just because you can't change ALL the lights in your house to be more energy efficient doesn't mean you shouldn't change any.  Change the bulbs that make sense for you.  For example, If you have lupus, don't change the lights in your bathroom, where you may stand naked for a extended period while you dress each day.  But do change the ones in areas that you don't use frequently, like by your entry way or guest room.  Likewise, if you have low vision, don't change the bulbs in your reading lamp, where you need extra light, but do change the bulbs in your dining room or laundry room, where you don't need as much light, and might be able to supplement with task lighting.

Chemo Is Making Me Sweat
If chemotherapy is causing the dreaded hot-flash meltdown, you don't necessarily have to crank the air conditioning or stick your head in the freezer.  Buy yourself (or someone you love) a personal cooling system.  Try: 

• The Chillow-plus, a soft device that slips into your pillow case to disperse heat. $39.95, at BeyondBeds


• The Misty Mate Cool Wave Personal Cooling System, which sends a cooling breeze underneath your shirt. $79.90 at Survivalstore.

PS, this tip works for those going through menopause, too.

I'm Sun Sensitive, I Can't Go Outside
If you're taking medications that make you sun sensitive, never fear, protection is here. There are many types of SPF protective clothing available these days.  And not just long sleeve, floor-length MooMoos either.  Cute and wearable shirts, pants, hats and even shorts.  No one will know you're protecting your skin.  Try Coolibar, Solartex or Solumbra.  Even Lands End now offers clothing with SPF.

I Can't Recycle, Because I Don't Get Around So Good
Okay, so lack of mobility can be an issue.  But many local trash collection services pick up recyclables with regular trash.  Or maybe the problem isn't collecting your recyclables, but getting them to the curb or the recycle center.  Don't despair.  Ask a neighbor or friend to help. Or call your local high school and ask if they have a "Green Club."  These clubs are made up of enthusiastic young people who want to help the environment and the community.  Let them.

It takes effort to live with and fight a chronic disease.  And helping the environment probably seems low on the list.  But with a little planning, you can do it. Researchers say feeling good about doing something good is good for you. And having a healthy planet is another reason to keep fighting for another day. 

Get in on the discussion.  Have a chronic disease?  Post your tips in the comments below for coping and keeping it green.

Older fruits and vegetables are perfect for this fresh treat.

Growing up, waste was verboten in our household. So whenever my mom had fruits or veggies that were a little past their prime, she made “Trash.” It was a mixture of just about anything fresh, with a little lemon or lime juice, vinegar, oil, and seasonings. Yea, it’s basically salsa.

Salsa has become one of the most popular condiments in the U.S. today. But you don’t have to wait for summer to make a delicious salsa. Winter fruits and vegetables that have seen better days are perfect for this fresh treat.  

Mom’s recipe is yummy and goes great with meat or fish. My favorite way to serve it is mixed in with rice or couscous.  But I love it on top of a pile of fresh lettuce, too. (We called this a trash salad.) Or you can also simply set out a bowl of “Trash” with chips or pita bread. 

Original Trash

3 tomatoes, chopped
1 small jalapeno, chopped (or to taste)
1 small can chopped black olives, drained
1 to 2 green onions, chopped
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1-2 shakes of hot sauce (or to taste)
1 tbls. fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons vinegar ( Red Wine or Balsamic taste great, but any vinegar will work)

Combine all ingredients together.  Chill and serve with grilled meat or as a dip for chips.
Variation:  Reduce tomato to 1 cup and substitute 2 cups of whatever fresh, seasonal veggies you have on hand.  Finely chopped red or green peppers, celery, even spinach works well.  Just add to the original mixture and continue as above. 


Original Fruit Trash

3 cups chopped fruit (cantaloupe, strawberry, apple, pear, etc.  )
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar

Mix and chill before serving.  Great with fish.




Winter Fruit Trash

1/4 cup hot pepper jelly
1 tbls. fresh lemon juice
2 cups small-diced winter fruits, such as apples, pears, oranges, kumquats,
Asian pears, raisins, currants, or dried cranberries)
2 tbls. finely diced red onion
2 tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
Stir together the jelly and lemon juice, then fold in the fruit, onion and cilantro.


Citrus Trash

1 large red grapefruit, peeled, membrane removed, sectioned, chopped (save the juice)
1 large orange, peeled, membrane removed, sectioned and chopped(save the juice)
2 tbls. lime juice
1 tbls. olive oil  1 tsp. minced jalapeno  2 tbls. minced red onion  1/4 tsp. ground cardamom  2 tbls. chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Reserved fruit juice from grapefruit and orange  Toss all together.  Serve chilled

We all want our kids to grow up to be responsible adults, and recycling is a big part of that.  But how do you get your kids to take recycling seriously?

It’s important to teach our kids to do their part to protect the environment. But trying to convince kids to see the bigger picture can sometimes be an uphill battle.  So when you discuss recycling with your kids, remember that children are open minded and eager to learn, and take advantage it.

If you want to reach your kids with a good environmental message, first you do have to speak their language.  Charles Taft, of Develop-Good-Parenting-Skills.com has lots of good advice on how to get your kids to recycle

Don’t baby your kids

Kids need to understand that what they do impacts the Earth.  So Taft encourages parents to speak frankly about recycling to their kids.  Be honest about why recycling is important.  But keep the emotional needs of your child in mind when talking about serious subjects.  Instead of stressing the doom and gloom we grown-ups sometimes ponder, engage your children with fun and amazing facts about recycling.  You can find some interesting curbside recycling facts at Earth911.com and 10 fun facts about recycling at Humanityy.com.  You might also check out Fun & Funny Facts About Recycling at eHow.com.

Lead by example

Your kids will do what they see you do.  So if you don’t already do so, start recycling at home.  Get your kids involved in the process, too.  Give your kids a sense of responsibility and accomplishment by letting them collect recyclables or take out the recycling bins each week.  Kids will generally live up to your expectations when they feel they are being given responsibility and being treated like like a grown-up.

Make it fun

Turn recycling chores into a fun game to help ease the “I don’t wanna’s” that kids can sometimes get into.  You can sing songs, make a contest out of who can collect the most of a certain item, or simply use collected material like magazines and newspapers to make art projects like paper mache or collages.  By making a boring chore fun, you also teach your kids the importance of getting through a difficult task with good humor.

Use the cha-ching factor

Another good option might be to let your kids take the recycling to the recycling center and pocket the proceeds.  This worked great with my neighbor’s 11 year old son.  Once he was allowed to use the money he earned from collecting and recycling cans to save up for a video game, he became more interested in participating in recycling.  Or you might also establish an allowance for recycling chores, just as you would for other household chores.  My 5 year old nephew, James, gets a quarter each time he takes recyclables out to the collection bin.  Of course he also has a habit of trying to make 10 trips a day, so you’ll probably have to do what my sister-in-law did and set limits on the number of trips that can be made in a day.

Good habits start early, so it’s important to help your kids understand the long term good they can do by protecting the environment.  Learning about -- and participating in -- a recycling program will not only teach your kids about environmentalism, it will start them on the road toward good stewardship, and that will last a lifetime.

Make paying bills a bit more tolerable with these recycled checkbook covers!

I don’t know of anyone who actually likes writing out checks, mainly because it feels like you’re signing away all of your hard earned money! Although many people pay their bills online, there are still a few of us who like to send in checks so we don’t have to put all of our account information out into cyber space.

Unless you get cute Disney characters or puppies customized on your checks, let’s face the facts: checks are boring. But if you have a cool checkbook cover you can at least feel happy for a few seconds before you open it up and start paying your bills.

For those of us who support recycling efforts, I actually found some recycled checkbook covers that are both eco-friendly and artistic. “Check” these out and see which one catches your eye!

1. Recycled Denim Jeans with Machine Embroidery Checkbook Cover

If you’re a fan of green, or of the red, white and blue, this is the checkbook cover for you. It’s made from recycled denim jeans and even says “Made in the USA” on it! Offered on Etsy.

2. Pop Tarts Recycled Wrapper Checkbook Cover

This checkbook cover offered on Natural Emporium is handmade from recycled Kellogg’s Pop Tart wrappers. The site also offers a Reece’s cups checkbook cover!

3. Basic Strips Recycled Checkbook Cover

This checkbook cover is a part of the Going Green Series on Etsy. It’s made from 70% recycled paper and an array of colorful card stock.

4. Recycled Capri Sun Pouch Checkbook Cover

You can learn how to make this recycled checkbook cover on ThriftyFun.

5. Under the Sea Recycled Checkbook Cover

This checkbook cover is offered on iCraft.ca. The outside is made from thick vinyl and wool, while the inside lining is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.

6. Recycled Babar Children’s Book Checkbook Cover

Everyone loves Babar. In fact, they love him so much that this checkbook cover made from recycled pages of a Babar book is sold out on Etsy! It’s still a very creative idea.

7. Recycled Kismet Indian Silk Checkbook Cover

NubiusOrganics offers these beautiful checkbook covers made from recycled Indian silk.
Writing checks may mean signing away all of your “green money, but you can at least stay green-minded with these recycled checkbook covers!

Changing a few small habits could make a big environmental impact.

Most of us want to do our part to help with environmental issues. But we all lead busy lives. We feel tired, get lazy and maybe let things slide a little. Well, if you’ve become lax about your environmental commitment, or if you’re one of the millions out there who just don’t think what you do makes a difference, take stock of your eco-habits and get back on track toward living a greener lifestyle. Read the tips below and rethink what can be accomplished with very little extra effort.

Break These 13 Bad Eco-Habits

You Don’t Recycle.

Recycling is one of the most important things you can do to lessen your environmental impact. So just do it! Many cities now make recycling as easy as taking out the trash with curb side recycling pick up. It takes very little effort to sort and collect recyclables, especially when you’d normally be throwing the item away anyway. Instead, throw it into a bin or can set aside specifically for recycling. If you don’t have a recycling service available in your area, recycling is a little harder, but so worth the effort. Find a recycling center near you and drop off your recyclables. Then just throw the boxes in your trunk (along with a box containing any charitable donations you might want to make) and drop them off on errand day.

You Always Buy New.

Skip the mall and buy used first. Instead of buying a new gizmo, gadget, jacket or pair of jeans in a retail store, see if you can find a used one instead. By buying used, you’re not only lengthening a product’s usefulness, but you’re also reducing the need for new items to be made, which lessens the environmental impact of product production. This one is a no-brainer... Ask around, chances are someone you know will have a gently used whatchamacallit you can purchase at a reduced price -- or they might even give it to you. Check out thrift stores, resale shops and yard sales, too. One great side effect, yard sale shopping is fun and since you get in a good walk around your neighborhood, it’s good for you, too.

You’re A Litter Bug.

“Who, me?” you say. Well, maybe you’d never throw a bag of trash out of your car window (although I see this happen almost everyday) but you might still be a litter bug. Do you smoke? If you drop ashes or a ciggy butt on the ground and stomp it out when you’ve finished your smoke, you’re a litter bug. Or do you chew gum and toss it out the window when your through chewing? Well, your a litter bug, too. These seem like small things, but they’re not. Cigarette butts and gum can harm wildlife if eaten. And think about how gross it is to have someone’s discarded gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. If you can’t give up cigs and gum completely, at least dispose of them properly.

You Constantly Push The Thermostat Up Or Down.

Don’t make the same mistake any people make by cranking the A/C or heat when you’re too hot or cold. This is a common practice, and most people don’t realizing that a more moderate temperature or usage time would keep them completely comfortable. First, it takes a while for the temp in your house to change, so pushing the temperature gauge up or down doesn’t have an immediate effect, anyway. In fact, pushing the thermostat up or down makes your unit work harder and less efficiently. This hurts your wallet and the environment. No one’s asking you to forgo comfort, but set the temp at a reasonable level and leave it alone. If you’re hot, sit down with a cool drink, or turn on a ceiling fan. If you’re too cold, put on a sweater -- that’s what they’re for, after all. If you really want to make a difference, you can even try reducing the temperature by one degree each winter or increasing it by one degree each summer. Example, if you set your A/C on 74 in the summer, take it up to 75; in winter, go from 72 to 71 degrees. Chances are your body won’t know the difference, but your pocketbook will. And so will Mother Nature.

You Forget To Change Your A/C filters.

Think about it. When your A/C is running inefficiently, you use more electricity. Changing the filters every three months will keep your system running smoothly. It will also improve the air quality in your home.

You Over-Water Your Yard.

Plants need water. The key is watering in the right amount. Over-watering is one of the most wasteful uses of a dwindling resource. Over-watering risks run-off. Run-off isnot only wasteful, but expensive if you pay a city water bill. And while run-off water may eventually return to the water table through storm drains, it may also take with it any chemicals you use to fertilize or control pests. And that’s not something you want going down the drain. So if you can’t seem to settle on the right amount of water for your yard, install a sprinkler with the hygrometer which will measure the amounts of humidity and rainfall. Then you can adjust your system with confidence.

You Run Your Appliances At Peak Hours.

We’ve all heard that it’s best to run appliance like dishwashers and washing machines at off peak times, but think about the impact this one small change could have. If even half of the residents in your neighborhood started using less energy at peaks time (like at night instead of during the day) not only would you saving on your own energy bill, you could actually impact the amount of energy used in your entire community. Now that would make a difference.

You Don’t Check Your Tire Pressure Regularly.

If your vehicle's tires are under inflated by only 6 psi, it could lead to tire failure and a reduction in fuel economy of up to 5%. While 6 psi doesn't seem all that low, remember, it usually represents about 20% of the tire's recommended pressure. That translates to increased fuel use, which means more environmental impact and less money in your pocket.

You Put Batteries In The Trash.

What do you do with your old batteries? Unlike glass, paper, and plastic, batteries are filled with reactive chemicals, so it’s important to dispose of them properly. Take a minute to learn more about how you can properly dispose of batteries at Earth911.com, and help keep hazardous, toxic chemicals out of landfills. And the next time you need new batteries, why not get a rechargeable one. Two AA NiCd rechargeable batteries can replace up to 600 single-use batteries.

You Don’t Unplug Appliances When Not In Use.

You’re wrong if you think this is a trivial thing. If a device is plugged in, the wall outlet still pumps current to it whether it's on or not. Think of how much energy is wasted over the course of a year, just from cell phone chargers, TVs, game systems, and other appliances always being plugged. Yes, it probably costs you a lot of money, but all that wasted energy can really damage the environment, too. So unplug it!

You Still Use Plastic Shopping Bags.

Plastic bags rip and break all the time, spilling your groceries and taking up your valuable time. They’re a pain to store, and a problem to dispose of. So why not buy a durable, reusable cloth shopping bag? You can get them almost anywhere these days, and they’re so much more eco-friendly. Plus you’ll look tres chic carrying them around.

You Drive When You Could Walk.

If you can walk or bike around your city to do errands or shop, you should. A good rule to go by is the “2 minute rule”. If you can get there in about 2 minutes by car, you could probably bike or possibly even walk that distance in about 15 minutes. Walking or biking to nearby destinations make sense on a number of levels. You’re saving fuel and lowering emissions, and you’ll benefit from the added exercise. Plus you’ll get to say hello to your neighbors, and breathe some fresh air in the process.

This is only a partial list of the many bad habits that our society needs to address. The point is to start today to change your lifestyle in small and simple ways, and over time, you’ll be making a big difference.

Next time you are in the pew or on the prayer rug, as you look up toward heaven think of all the energy that spacious building is consuming and likely wasting.



When we walk into a house of worship: our local mosque, temple, synagogue or church, we’re usually focused on connecting with the Divine. Or wondering what time services get out so we can catch the Big Game. But the next time you are in the pew or on the prayer rug, as you look up toward heaven think of all the energy that spacious building is consuming and likely wasting.



Those high cathedral ceilings let all that warm air rise to the rafters while the furnace in the basement roars like the fires of hell.  The lights that illuminate the building are making the electric bill rise faster than an angel on  Jacob’s ladder.  And the building likely radiates not only devout prayer, but leaks heat through every window, door and crack in the building. Can we save energy and costs while we save our souls?

The STEM or “Savings Through Energy Management” program was originally designed for students to empower them to save big bucks while reducing energy costs at school. It challenged the students to apply math and science skills to cutting energy use at schools. Merrimack and Steven High Schools in New Hampshire, for example, saved $39,149 and $76,000 respectively in just the first year. IN an era of shrinking budgets, that’s real money. Turns out The House of The Lord could stand to save a little coin of the earthy realm as well.

STEM for this Old House of Worship is an energy management program specifically for faith communities. Skilled instructors assist communities in finding ways to save energy and money. This program is intergenerational and ecumenical. I went through the program with a number of Christians of different stripes, a few Jews, a Muslim, and a Buddhist. We all shared the same 2 goals: getting to God, and doing it with as little energy costs as possible.

Participants in the This Old House of Worship program can be any age and do not need a technical background. The 15 hour program can be scheduled in three five-hour sessions on weekends or five three-hour sessions on weeknights. Program participants examine all aspects of energy use: heating, lighting, air conditioning, water heating, ventilation, controls and the building envelope itself. Each session focuses on a different energy system. When the program includes more than one faith community, each session is held in a different house of worship.

Each faith community’s team completes a detailed study of their building, calculates the potential savings and prepares a report to its congregation. The reports include Information on rebates and funding sources to implement recommendations. This is a wonderful opportunity for people of faith to be in fellowship together as they seek to be good stewards of the earth.

The fee for the program is around $3000. If 10 faith communities participate, that boils down to $300 per church, synagogue, mosque or temple. With many thousands of dollars in savings waiting on the other side of the pearly gates, this is almost as good an investment as daily prayer. Save your soul, save the planet. Now there’s a stairway to heaven.

The great debate between cork and screw top wine closures is raging within the environmental and oenophile communities.

But when it comes to wine, snobbery may play a bigger role than you’d expect in the determination of which method is greener. 



The Caymus Conundrum

Conundrum is easily one of my favorite wines. But, until recently, I had not purchased a bottle in quite some time. Eager to get home to Mr. Lite Green and a delicious glass full, I didn’t bother to examine the bottle carefully. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the usual cork had been replaced with a screw top. I was non-plussed. (I have always wanted to use that word in a sentence. Thankfully, it really fits here.) I’ve never considered myself a snob, but this incident shook me. I may just be a snob after all. A wine snob, that is.

Conumdrum can be pricey (a bottle of 2005 Napa Valley Caymus Conundrum checks in at about $60.00) But it doesn’t have to be (a respectable bottle of Caymus Conundrum 2007 will only set you back about $18.) But any bottle of wine seems cheap when you have to snap the top off.  When that wonderful “pop” of the wine cork is replaced with a sound something like opening a bottle of Coke, it’s disappointing. You feel like you’re drinking a bottle of Annie Green Springs. 

In spite of the off-putting screw cap, the Conundrum was as delicious as I remembered and completely gone by the time dinner was finished.

But the incident did make me stop to consider both the elitist notion that wine in a screw top bottle is cheap and easy, and whether or not the screw top made sense from an environmental perspective. 

Would you drink wine from a bottle with a screw cap? If you’ve bought a bottle of wine lately, you may have noticed that more than a few wineries have replaced natural cork with a screw top. The idea has met with mixed reviews from consumers. But within the wine producing community, screw tops are gaining popularity. 

Screwing Around

Screw caps on wine bottles are not a new idea. Screw caps were originally developed in the 1970s for use with cheap wines, but failed to take off. The seal has been successfully updated for today’s market. 

Screw top sales have doubled in the past two years, predominantly in New Zealand and Australia, but French wine growers in areas of Bordeaux, Alsace and Bourgogne, are taking a look at screw top wine closures. 

Why Give Up The Cork

The major reason for the shift from cork to metal screw tops is the high amount of wine that is being contaminated by cork taint or TCA, in recent years. Cork taint leaves an unpleasant odor and a musty taste behind. Cork is the chief, but not not the only cause of tainted wine. TCA can flourish in several areas of a bottling facility, including drains and barrels, too. 

According to Wine.com, this unpleasant phenomenon spoils an estimated 1 in 10 bottles produced. And the cork industry has been very slow to respond to winemakers' demands for quality. As a result, screw tops have gained popularity. Switzerland already bottles more than 15 million wines with screw tops annually, along with New Zealand and Australia where the screw top is almost exclusively used. This year, the United States will bottle an estimated ten million wines with screw tops.



But there is another consideration, according to VintageCellars.com. Winemakers themselves may be the most favorable to the change over to the screw cap method. Screw caps are, in fact, a money saving device for wineries, considering the $4 billion per year spent on capping wines.

Aluminum screw tops are also recyclable. And while cork is recyclable for other uses, (check out recork.org for some ideas) it is not generally reused for bottling purposes.  

Put A Cork In It

Cork is a natural, renewable, resource, and is viewed as the preferred method — both from an environmental and traditional perspective. But cork is also a scarce commodity. There are only about 300,000 cork oak trees in the world, and all cork comes from these trees. And although cork has been harvested in about the same way, by roughly the same families for the last 3,000 years, increased wine production has put a strain on a once sufficient resource. Suppliers are finding it difficult to find adequate supplies of good quality cork. This has lead to the increase of cork taint, and put a further strain on an already dwindling supply.

Aging Gracefully

I’ve heard arguments against giving up the cork on grounds of the environmental impact that it would have in regions where cork is harvested. Preservation of wildlife habitat, local industry, etc, have all been pointed to as reasons to keep using cork. But the main argument in the cork vs screw top debate is over the issue of aging. Cork allows the wine breathe, aluminum screw tops do not. And because no one is certain how screw caps will react after long periods of time, screw caps could be a costly mistake for collectors. There have been a few incubation experiments, but the results were mixed. So, at least for now cork is still the preferred method for wine makers and wine lovers alike.

The Snob Factor

Screw caps may indeed be a more reliable way to seal wine, eliminating the chance of cork taint. But many argue that screw tops mess with tradition and atmosphere. And atmosphere is everything with wine.

Look, wine is an organic, breathing substance. It naturally changes over time. It’s influenced by its environment and the skill of those who handle it. So which method of wine capping is more environmentally friendly? That may well depend on your perspective. And your prejudices.

How to choose and use storm windows

Exterior storm windows

Did you know?

Interior storm windows

Put 'em up

Find it! Storm windows

Using storm windows helps you go green because…

• They provide a thermal gap which prevents heat loss, reducing the use of heating fuel.
• They keep cold air out, if properly sealed.

Glossary

• caulk (or caulking): A sealing compound used to fill seams and patch small air leaks.[6]
• R-value: A measure of the insulation effectiveness of the window. The higher the R-value, the better the insulating performance.[7]
• weatherstripping: A material applied to the gaps around windows and doors in order to seal them against air leakage.[6]

External links

• Lowe's - Choosing Storm and Utility Windows Learn about different types of storm windows, including options for sliders, picture windows, and utility sheds. Find out how to measure for storm windows.
• US Department of Energy - Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Energy & Money at Home Check out window tips for cold climates and hot climates, as well as shopping for windows.
• US National Park Service - Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings Find out how early builders and architects built homes for energy efficiency. Learn how to retrofit your historic home with storm windows, doors, and insulation.
• House in Progress - Storm Windows: Analysis Paralysis Not sure what to do about storm windows, or lack thereof in your antique house? For a dose of humor and some good advice, read about one couple's dilemma: retrofit their old wooden storm windows or go with eco-unfriendly vinyl? Their website's motto: "We call it home improvement because it can't get any worse."

Footnotes

1. US Department of Energy - Energy Savers: Tips on Saving Energy & Money at Home
2. US National Park Service - Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings
3. Energy Boomer - Easy Add On Storm Windows From The Outside
4. ToolBase Services - Interior Storm Windows
5. National Park Service - Conserving Energy in Historic Buildings
6. US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Glossary of Energy-Related Terms
7. Accurate Window & Door, Inc.

Find it! Draft stoppers

• Feeling creative? You make your own…BostonMamas.com: Warm Worms

Buying a draft stopper helps you go green because…

• Draft stoppers prevent air leakage through the window assembly, saving energy and lowering the costs associated with heating and cooling.

Associated costs and benefits

Footnotes

1. Rocky Mountain Institute - Home Energy Briefs
2. California Energy Commission - Tightening Up Your Home
3. US Department of Energy - Energy Savers booklet, page 10
4. Powerhouse TV - Facts & Figures
5. EnergyHog.org - Insulation

Find it! Draft stoppers

• Feeling creative? You make your own…BostonMamas.com: Warm Worms

Buying a draft stopper helps you go green because…

• Draft stoppers prevent air leakage through the window assembly, saving energy and lowering the costs associated with heating and cooling.

Associated costs and benefits

Footnotes

1. Rocky Mountain Institute - Home Energy Briefs
2. California Energy Commission - Tightening Up Your Home
3. US Department of Energy - Energy Savers booklet, page 10
4. Powerhouse TV - Facts & Figures
5. EnergyHog.org - Insulation

What to look for in a non-vinyl shower curtain

There are several alternatives you could explore when looking into a vinyl-free shower curtain:

• Hemp: Likely one of the more popular shower curtain alternatives, hemp is a great choice because of its natural resistance to mold and bacteria and its ability to dry quickly. Shower curtain liners are not normally required with these options.
• PEVA: It's a PVC-free, phthalate-free, biodegradable, lightweight plastic that's made without chlorine and other toxins. It won't off-gas like vinyl, but still resists mildew.
• Recycled materials: Some shower curtains are now made from recycled post-consumer PET plastics (water bottles, for instance). These not only keep used plastics from being trashed, they require less energy to make, are easy to care for, and won't shrink or get moldy.
• Organic cotton: Made with no chemical pesticides, organic cotton is far superior to conventionally-grown cotton. It may, however, be more prone to mildew or mold, so if you live in an especially humid climate, a liner is recommended.

Now, if you've already got a vinyl shower curtain and have been using it for some time, it's likely off-gassed completely, so should be safe to use from here on in. If that's you're situation, try to keep your vinyl curtain in good shape (to avoid purchasing a new one) by washing it on a regular basis. Simply take it off its hooks and soak it in a bucket filled with warm water and a cup of vinegar. Then run it through the washing machine with 1 cup of baking soda (gentle cycle in cold or warm water).

But when it is time to retire that old vinyl thing, what do you do? Well, reuse it for other jobs around the house instead of trashing it, or course!

Find it! Vinyl curtain alternatives

Using a non-vinyl shower curtain helps you go green because…

• You cut down on waste by choosing an option that's either more durable or biodegradable.
• You help keep PVC-related toxins out of the earth.

Regular vinyl shower curtains are made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a soft plastic used commonly in consumer products that poses severe environmental risks throughout its life cycle. The manufacture of PVC creates toxic pollution, threatening the health of both factory workers and the communities surrounding factory sites. It also contains health-threatening phthalates. In fact, 90 percent of phthalates in production are used to make PVC.[1]

Because they easily become moldy and are difficult to clean, many consumers replace them frequently rather than cleaning them, adding to the more than 200 million tons of trash that end up in landfills every year.[2] If just a quarter of the nearly 116 million housing units in the United States threw away one standard-sized shower curtain per year, that would equal the equivalent of over 32,000 miles of PVC — enough to wrap around the earth more than once.[3]

Recycling is not an option with PVC plastic, and when discarded, PVC releases potentially dangerous chemicals like lead and other toxic additives that can leach into the ground and drinking water supplies from landfills. PVC waste has contributed to rising lead levels in the environment, which have increased by 1,000 times in the past few hundred years.[4] Incineration is no better since it produces dioxins and furans, which are among the most toxic environmental contaminants and are known carcinogens.

Related health concerns

A study conducted by the US-based Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) on five PVC shower curtains revealed that 108 different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were released by the curtain within the first 28 days of use. Although the levels drop off over time, many of these VOCs and several other chemicals (including ethylbenzene, methyl isobutyl ketone, and cyclohexanone) pose serious human health concerns.[5]

PVC contains lead, which can cause developmental and learning problems, lower intelligence, behavioral problems, cancer, strokes, high blood pressure, kidney problems, anemia, cavities, and delayed puberty. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that lead exposure may be linked to almost 300,000 cases of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. PVC also contains phthalates, which can cause reproductive problems, premature birth, early onset of puberty, impaired sperm in men, genital defects, and reduced testosterone production.

Glossary

• phthalates: A group of chemicals used as plasticisers in PVC plastics that are known to be testicular toxins and can disrupt hormones.

External links

• Update on the Environmental Health Impacts of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) as a Building Material: Evidence from 2000-2004, by Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D. Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Ithaca College

Footnotes

1. Center for Environmental Health - Target Agrees To Reduce Use of PVC, a "Poison Plastic"
2. Charity Guide - How To Make A Difference In 15 Minutes: Clean Up Your Trash
3. Bath Enclosures Manufacturing Association - Make Your Bathroom More Environmentally Friendly
4. The Center for Environmental Health - An Unnecessary Poison: Babies, Bibs, and Lead
5. Environmental Defense - Vinyl Shower Curtains Release Toxic Chemicals: New report shows as many as 100 chemicals released from PVC shower curtains

How to set your refrigerator temperature

1. Test the temperature by putting an appliance thermometer in a glass of water and setting it on the middle shelf of the refrigerator for 24 hours. In the freezer, place a thermometer among packs of frozen food.
2. If you need to adjust the temperature, look for the temperature control dials inside both the refrigerator and freezer. (Check your owner's manual if you can't find the controls.) Most refrigerator temperature dials have numbers (not degrees) and will indicate which way to turn the dial to warmer or colder. Move the dial just one number either way and wait 24 hours before you test again.
3. If you can't get the temperature set properly, check the frost level in the freezer. If it's more than one-quarter inch thick, it's time to defrost. Also, check the door seal to be sure cold air is not escaping.

Find it! Refrigerator/Freezer thermometers

Setting your refrigerator temperature between 37°F and 40°F helps you go green because…

• A refrigerator set at the proper temperature is operating efficiently and using only the amount of electricity necessary to store food safely.

Footnotes

1. Rocky Mountain Institute - Kitchen Appliances
2. US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Energy Savers: Appliances

How to print on both sides of the paper

1. Change the default setting on your printer or copier to double-sided printing.
2. Be sure that your computer print settings also default to double-sided printing.
3. If available, purchase a duplexing attachment for your printer, which will transform it into a double-sided printing machine.
4. When your printer cannot double-side automatically, do it manually. Print all odd pages, then put those sheets back into the paper tray to print the even pages on the clean side. When your current printer needs to be replaced, remember to purchase one with a duplexer.

Find it! Duplex printers

Printing on both sides of paper helps you go green because…

• It can cut your paper use nearly in half.
• Using less paper means healthier forests and decreased pollution.

External links

• Conservatree: Paper Waste Reduction Tips.
• US Department of Energy: Duplexing rates explained.

Footnotes

1. US Environmental Protection Agency - 2005 Municipal Solid Waste Report
2. Reduce.org - Become a Paper-Less Office

Find it! Alternative paper

Choosing alternative paper helps you go green because…

• Alternative paper is made from rapidly renewable plants or other sources, so no trees need to be cut down.
• The process of producing paper from these sources requires less energy and chemicals than conventional wood-based paper.

External links

• Fiber Futures
• TreeFree Paper - Tree Free 101
• E Magazine - The Paper Chase
• Conservatree - The World of Tree Free Paper
• The Green Guide - Silencing the Saws: The Case for Tree-Free Paper
• The Conservatree Guide to Tree Free Papers
• California Integrated Waste Management Board - Tree Free Paper

Footnotes

1. US Environmental Protection Agency - 2005 Municipal Solid Waste Report
2. US Energy Information Administration - Forest Products: Economic Profile and Trends
3. Natural Resources Defense Council - Reforming the Paper Industry
4. Worldwatch Institute - Good Stuff? - Paper

How to print on both sides of the paper

1. Change the default setting on your printer or copier to double-sided printing.
2. Be sure that your computer print settings also default to double-sided printing.
3. If available, purchase a duplexing attachment for your printer, which will transform it into a double-sided printing machine.
4. When your printer cannot double-side automatically, do it manually. Print all odd pages, then put those sheets back into the paper tray to print the even pages on the clean side. When your current printer needs to be replaced, remember to purchase one with a duplexer.

Find it! Duplex printers

Printing on both sides of paper helps you go green because…

• It can cut your paper use nearly in half.
• Using less paper means healthier forests and decreased pollution.

External links

• Conservatree: Paper Waste Reduction Tips.
• US Department of Energy: Duplexing rates explained.

Footnotes

1. US Environmental Protection Agency - 2005 Municipal Solid Waste Report
2. Reduce.org - Become a Paper-Less Office

How to buy an ENERGY STAR skylight

• Interior blinds: To cut back on potential heat gain through your skylight, you may wish to have blinds pre-installed between the panes of glass.
• Venting options: Some skylights are sealed while others open like windows that can be louvered manually with a chain or crank or automatically by remote control. Some even include rain sensors that close the window when moisture is sensed. Since hot air rises, skylights can provide much-needed ventilation on summer days. Like a chimney, your vented skylight lets hot air escape providing natural cooling.
• Plastic or glass?: If you're in the market for a dome-shaped model, you may have to opt for a plastic skylight. These have the benefit of keeping debris and snow from accumulating, but plastic is more prone to scratches, discoloration, and stains, so does not last as long as glass skylights.
• Glass tinting: Bronze, gray, or high-performance (spectrally selective) tinted glass can reduce solar gain, which is especially helpful during hot summer months. Because these tints have no effect on the U-factor, they aren't recommended for colder-climate areas.
• Gas fills: Take advantage of the two panes of glass on your new skylight by filling them with gas, which will further boost their energy efficiency. Argon and krypton are the two most common options, either of which can be used on their own or in combination. Argon is less expensive than krypton, but since krypton has better thermal performance, it is preferred in colder regions.
• Low-e films or coatings: If you're concerned about heat gain, be sure to look into low emissivity (low-e) options to further cut back on energy use. Low-e glass has a thin, invisible layer of metal or metal oxide deposited on the glass, which reflects warmth into a building during cold months and keeps heat from entering a building during warm months. To see how it works, check out The Efficient Windows Collaborative Low-E Coatings illustrations. But if you've got an existing skylight in need of a facelift, consider window films, which can be applied to existing windows to accomplish the same purpose.
• Seal it up!: New or old, you'll want to ensure that your skylight is properly sealed so that you're not allowing heat energy to freely pass through your skylight.

Proper positioning of your skylight

• Roof position: Those in warmer climes should choose to mount the skylight on the roof's north face where little passive heating will occur; south-facing is best for cooler climates where heat gain is desirable. An east-facing roof will provide lots of light and morning warmth, while a west-mounted skylight will bring afternoon sun as well as some passive solar heating.
• Slope: Generally, the less your roof slopes, the greater the heat gain during the summer and the lower in the winter (not exactly what you want). That's because the sun is higher on the horizon during the summer and lower during the winter. Your skylight should therefore be tilted to miss the high-noon sun during the summer but low enough to get the rays in the winter. A tried-and-true rule of thumb: tilt your skylight so that it equals your geographical latitude plus five to 15 degrees. So, if you're in San Francisco which is 37 degrees north, you'll want to position your skylight between 42 and 52 degrees. Many manufacturers produce pre-tilted skylights to help you achieve the perfect position.

Find it! ENERGY STAR skylights

Before you buy

Buying an ENERGY STAR skylight or solar tube helps you go green because…

• They provide natural, energy-free lighting.
• They can help warm a space in the winter and cool it in the summer, thus reducing both heating and cooling costs.

Lighting energy savings

Heating and cooling savings

Tax breaks and subsidies

• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy: Updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project: Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy: Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

Glossary

• convection: The process by which heat is transferred by moving air.
• double-hung windows: The two sashes on these windows both slide vertically. On single-hung windows, only the bottom sash slides upward. Both single- and double-hung windows tend to experience more air leakage compared to projecting or hinged windows.
• foot-candle: A gauge of light intensity measured in lumens per square foot, or the amount of light actually falling on a given surface.
• low-emissivity (low-e): A microscopically thin metal or metal oxide layer deposited directly on one or more panes of glass (window, skylight) to reduce heat transfer and subsequently the U-factor. This layer is transparent to the visible solar spectrum (short-wave infrared radiation) but reflects long-wave infrared radiation.
• radiation: Energy transfer that takes place through open space via electromagnetic waves, including light.
• solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC): Solar heat can be admitted through a door or window either by direct transmission or through absorption. SHGC measures the fraction of heat caused by sunlight on a scale between zero and one, smaller numbers indicating lower levels of heat transfer.
• U-factor: The inverse of the R-factor (a measure of a material's insulating ability; higher numbers indicate better performance), U-factor also measures the rate of heat gain and loss. However, the higher the U-factor number (values range from 0.20 and 1.20), the less the product is able to resist heat flow (i.e., the worse its insulating ability).
• ultraviolet light (UV): The invisible rays of the light spectrum found in sunlight that are not visible to humans. UV can cause fading of carpets, fabric, and paint finishes.

External links

• Consumer Energy Center - Windows of the Future
• Efficient Windows Collaborative - Window Technologies: Glazing Types
• ENERGY STAR - Anatomy of an Energy-Efficient Window
• Rocky Mountain Institute - Home Energy Briefs: Building Envelope
• US Department of Energy - Windows, Doors, & Skylights

Footnotes

1. Daylighting Cooperative - What is daylighting? Myth: Daylit buildings need clear glass windows
2. GreenBiz.com - Harnessing Daylight for Energy Savings
3. ENERGY STAR - Daylighting Web Conference: Energy Savings with Daylighting Page 9
4. Daylighting Cooperative - What is daylighting? Myth: Daylighting lets in too much heat
5. US Department of Energy Abstract: - Zero Energy Windows: Conclusion page 14
6. ENERGY STAR - High Performance Windows
7. Efficient Windows Collaborative - Window Technologies: Low-E Coatings
8. ENERGY STAR - More Than Just Dollar Savings: Safeguarding valuable interiors

How to choose a window film

• Select the film best suited to your needs; consider whether you will need a film designed to reflect sunlight or one that retains interior heat.
• Decide on an installation procedure: while many films can be self-installed by carefully applying them to interior glass surfaces, professional installation is recommended in most cases to ensure adequate sealing and aesthetics.
• When applying a film yourself, do so in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid problems associated with exposure to excessive heat during the initial application.[1]
• If using a removable film, make sure to take it off the window during colder seasons as needed to benefit from incoming solar radiation.

Find It! Window films

Choosing window films helps you go green because…

• Window films reduce solar heat gain, thereby decreasing a home's cooling energy consumption on hot days.
• They provide increased insulation against heat escape through windows in colder climates.
• They can reflect the ultraviolet radiation that often fades and damages carpets and furniture.
• Films can act as a protective reinforcing layer, preventing scratches to the surface glass and reducing the chances that a window will shatter if broken.
• They can reduce solar glare while increasing privacy.
• Many films boost window efficiency without obscuring exterior views.

How do window films work?

How effective are window films?

Tax breaks and subsidies

• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy Updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

What are the drawbacks?

• Manufacturers of some double-pane windows will void their warranties on windows that have been retrofitted with a film, due to the added heat expansion that sometimes occurs in the interior pane.[14] Reading the fine print on window warranties-in conjunction with any separate warranties associated with a window film itself-should offer protection to consumers against limiting conditions.[8]
• Tinting films have the potential to block out so much light that the added energy burden from electric lighting may diminish any savings the such films provide.[14]
• Some homeowner's associations may restrict windows that appear overly shiny and mirror-like from the outside, often a side-effect of highly reflective window films during the day, and one that may likewise be visible from the inside looking out once night falls.[14]
• Window films do have the potential to harm certain houseplants that require extensive sunshine in order to thrive indoors. Houseplants that hold up poorly when removed from direct sunlight for any considerable length of time may likewise suffer from the reduced sunlight that passes through a window film with low visible transmittance properties, and should be relocated accordingly.[15]

Glossary

• visual transmittance value (VT): A measurement indicating the percentage of the visible light spectrum that is transmitted through a given glazing or pane.[16]
• light-to-solar-gain ratio (LSG): A ratio comparing the light admitted vs. heat transmitted by a window glazing or film, measured in terms of the visual transmittance and solar heat gain coefficient.[17]

External links

• International Window Film Association
• Green Seal Standards and Certification for Window Films
• Window Film Tax Credits

Footnotes

1. Lowes.com - Choosing and Applying Window Film
2. Rocky Mountain Institute - Home Energy Briefs: Building Envelope
3. US Department of Energy Abstract: - Zero Energy Windows: Conclusion, pg 14
4. ENERGY STAR - High Performance Windows
5. US Department of Energy - Energy Savers booklet, page 10
6. Newsday.com - Protective Film for Windows
7. The Washington Post - A Window Film Review
8. Mother Earth News - High Performance Windows
9. Florida Solar Energy Center - Window Films
10. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - Solar Control Facades
11. International Window Film Association - Residential Film
12. Toolbase.org - Window Films
13. HealthGoods.com - Low-E and Solar Control Glazings, Films, and Coatings for Windows
14. Florida Solar Energy Center - About Window Films
15. International Window Film Association - FAQs & Answers
16. The Efficient Windows Collaborative: Glossary
17. The Efficient Windows Collaborative - Glossary

according to Wilson, Alex and Morrill, John (1998) Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. [1]

How to determine whether to replace your old heating system

If any of the following are true, you should consider replacing your old heating system:

• Your system needs frequent repairs and your energy bills keep rising.[1]
• Your furnace or boiler is over 15 years old.[2]
• Your heat pump is over 12 years old.[1]
• You have a gas furnace that doesn't feature an electronic or pilot-less ignition. If your furnace has a pilot light, it most likely was installed before 1992 and has an efficiency rating of about 65 percent. Even today's least efficient systems are 80 percent.[3]
• You have a gas furnace with no means of preventing heated air from going up the chimney when it's turned off (such as vent dampers or an induced draft fan).[3]
• You have an old coal burner that was switched over to oil or gas.[3]
• You score below five on ENERGY STAR's Home Energy Yardstick. Grab your last 12 months of utility bills and take this quick test. A score below five means you're likely using more home energy and paying more for it than most other Americans.

If you have an older furnace or boiler, and you either find your house is not heating comfortably or your utility bills are too high, consider hiring a qualified home heating contractor who can check out your existing heating system and help you decide whether to install a new one.[2]  It's a big investment: paying for a professional opinion will be money well spent.

How efficient is your heating system?

The efficiency of an oil- or gas-fired heating system is determined by how well it converts fuel into heat. One measure is combustion efficiency, which tells how your system performs while it's running. An even better measure is AFUE which stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. While combustion efficiency is equivalent to the miles per gallon your car gets zipping down the highway, the AFUE measures start-up, cool-down, and other operating losses as well — more like measuring your car's mileage for both city and highway driving

Is it cost-effective to replace your system?

To find out how much you'll save by installing a new system, check out charts compiled by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. Using these charts, you can take the AFUE of your old system and the AFUEs of new systems and calculate how many dollars you'll save for every hundred dollars spent on fuel if you buy a new furnace. You can even do a simple financial calculation and figure out the return on your investment (ROI).[2] If you don't know the AFUE of your old system, your heating system technician or an energy auditor might be able to help you figure it out. If he or she can tell you the combustion efficiency, multiply that number by .85 to get the approximate AFUE.[1]

Before you buy

Before you make the decision whether or not to buy a new heating system, consider having a professional energy audit done. A professional energy audit will not only find sources of heat loss — your first line of defense — but the auditor can also help you decide whether you need a new heating system and what the correct size for a new one would be. Often it's more cost-effective to improve house insulation, repair or insulate ductwork, or tune up your system than it is to get a new furnace. And tightening up your house means you may need a smaller heating system, so be sure to make these changes first before considering a new furnace or boiler.

Find it! Guides to replacing your heating system

Replacing your heating system helps you go green because…

• If the 40 million households in climates with large heating requirements boosted the efficiency of their furnace or boiler from 70 to 90 percent, about 45 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions would be saved every year..[1]
• Switching from electric to gas or oil heat would save 23 or 19 tons of CO₂ per year, respectively..[1]

Heating your home with fossil fuels not only results in a high cost to you, it also comes at a high cost to the environment. The Union of Concerned Scientists analyzed the ecological impact of the most common consumer actions and products and ranked "home heating, air conditioning, and water heating" fourth in its list of the "seven most harmful human activities" the environment.[3]

External links

• ENERGY STAR's Home Energy Yardstick Take this quick test and find out how your home energy costs stack up compared to other Americans.
• American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy - Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers Using these charts, calculate how much you'll save on fuel if you buy a new furnace, and figure out the return on your investment (ROI).

Footnotes

1. Wilson, Alex and Morrill, John (1998), Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. Washington, DC: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
2. ENERGY STAR - A Guide to Energy-Efficient Heating and Cooling
3. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers
4. San Francisco Chronicle - Group's Surprising Beef With Meat Industry

How to improve the performance of your heating system

There are two types of heating system maintenance operations: those that you can do yourself and those that should be done by a professional heating system technician.Wilson, Alex and Morrill, John (1998) Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. Washington, DC: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: 95

Easy maintenance you can do

There are some simple actions you (or your landlord) can take to improve heating system efficiency. One word of caution: Be careful working on hot water or steam heating systems or you could get burned. If you're unsure about performing a procedure, call your service technician or landlord to do it.Wilson, Alex and Morrill, John (1998) Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. Washington, DC: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: 95[1]

• Clean or replace air filters. If you have a forced hot-air furnace or heat pump, check the air filters once a month during the heating season. If they're blocked by dust, it strains the blower and ups your electric bill. Clean or replace the filter as needed. Filters are available at hardware stores for about a dollar. Buy a supply of filters in the fall, and have your service technician show you how to replace them.Morrison, James W. (1979) The New England Energy Saving Handbook for Homeowners. New York: Harper & Row: 150
• Keep baseboards, registers, and radiators clean and unblocked. Vacuum them and make sure they're not covered by furniture, rugs, or drapes. Don't cover the tops of radiators.
• Bleed trapped air from radiators. For steam heat systems, use a radiator key to let out air once or twice a year. There's usually a valve at the top of the radiator. Put a pan underneath the valve and open the valve with the key until all the air is gone, and only water comes out. Have your technician show you how to do it if you're not sure. Air gets into your hot water system, and ends up in the radiators at the top of your house. Where there's air, there isn't water, reducing the efficiency of your steam heat system. Be careful as the water is hot.Morrison, James W. (1979) The New England Energy Saving Handbook for Homeowners. New York: Harper & Row: 149
• Drain sediment from your steam boiler. If you have steam heat, remove sediment from your boiler every three weeks during the heating season by draining a bucket of water from your boiler. Ask your service person to show you how to do it. Sediment insulates your boiler from the burner's flame, causing the heat to escape up the chimney rather than heating your house. Be careful: steam boilers produce hot steam under pressure.Morrison, James W. (1979) The New England Energy Saving Handbook for Homeowners. New York: Harper & Row: 151

How often should I get a tune-up?

How often you should schedule maintenance on your heating system depends on the type of system you have: If you heat with oil, tune up and clean your heating system once a year; with a gas-fired system, every two years is sufficient; with a heat pump, schedule maintenance every two to three years.[1]

Why do regular tune-ups?

Having a qualified technician tune up your heating system can:

• lower your heating costs
• prolong the life of your heating system
• reduce breakdowns
• lower repair costs
• reduce the amount of carbon monoxide, smoke, and other harmful emissions produced by a fossil-fueled furnace or boiler

How do I find a qualified technician?

Just like maintaining your car, it's important to find a good heating and cooling specialist and sticking with them. A good service person will answer questions and show you steps you can take to maintain your system and troubleshoot heating problems. The company that supplies your home heating fuel can usually provide this service. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Heating Contractors," "Furnaces-Heating," "Electric Heating," or "Oil Burner-Equipment and Service."Morrison, James W. (1979) The New England Energy Saving Handbook for Homeowners. New York: Harper & Row: 140

Improving the performance of your heating system helps you go green because…

• Tuning up your heating system reduces the amount of carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions produced by fossil-fueled furnaces and boilers that pollute the atmosphere.

The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook reports on a Denver, Colorado study that found a $150 tune-up will save a homeowner an average of 12 percent in heating costs. The Handbook's calculations conclude that an average US family with a freestanding house of about 2,000 to 2,100 square feet can save $385 and prevent 3,000 pounds of CO₂ or 24,700 cubic feet of natural gas emissions over a period of five years.Stoyke, Godo (2007) The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers: pages 8 and 112

If you're a financial-minded type, the The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook calculates the internal rate of return (IRR) of "investing" in a heating system tune-up to be 42.6 percent and the payback period to be 1.9 years.Stoyke, Godo (2007) The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers: 112 Compare that to the return on your stocks or mutual funds—it's a great return on your investment.

The Handbook also calculates a carbon return on investment, or CROI. Measured in pounds per dollar, it indicates the effectiveness of each dollar spent on preventing additional carbon dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere. (The higher the number the better, for both IRR and CROI.) Using this metric, tuning up your home heating system saves an average of 19.9 pounds of CO₂ emissions per dollar spent.Stoyke, Godo (2007) The Carbon Buster's Home Energy Handbook. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers: 112 It's not only a great return for you, it's a great return for the planet as well!

External links

• American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers Check out tips for improving the performance of your furnace or boiler.
• US Environmental Protection Agency - A Guide to Energy-Efficient Heating and Cooling Learn about maintaining your heating and cooling systems and other energy-saving ideas.

Footnotes

1. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers

How to choose the right type of central heating

Is it a furnace or a boiler?

Is it hot air or hot water?

Which is better: A furnace or a boiler?

• They're quieter than forced hot air systems.
• They require less energy to distribute the heat.
• They're more adaptable to zone heating (so you can set the temperature separately in different parts of the house, which saves energy).

What about electric?

Should I switch distribution systems?

Picking the most efficient system

Find it! Energy-efficient heating products

Choosing the right type of central heating helps you go green because…

• Home heating accounts for about two-thirds of the energy used in most homes in cold climates.Wilson, Alex and Morrill, John (1998). Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings. Washington, D.C.: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy: 53
• Reducing the energy you use for home heating is the single-most effective action you can take to reduce your home's contribution to global warming.[2]

Glossary

• annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE): A measure of heating-appliance efficiency that includes heating system start-up and cooling time and any other losses associated with its normal operation during the entire year.Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 263
• baseboard radiator: Baseboard radiators have a copper tube inside that runs the length of the unit and is ringed with fins. They heat primarily by convection. The fins increase the surface area of the radiator and promote air movement.Trethewey, Richard, (1994) This Old House Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company: 124
• boiler: An enclosed heat source (usually located in a basement, but sometimes outdoors) in which water is heated and then circulated for heating a house. Boilers can burn a wide variety of fuels. Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 264
• electric resistance heating: Electric resistance heating turns household electricity directly into heat.[1] Electric resistance heat can be supplied by centralized forced-air electric furnaces or by heaters in each room.[4]
• furnace: An enclosed heat source (usually located in a basement) in which heat is produced to heat a house, usually via hot air. Furnaces can burn a wide variety of fuels. Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 267
• geothermal: In the context of heating systems, geothermal refers to systems that pump heat either from or into the ground or outside air in order to heat or cool your home.Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 267
• heat sink: A component — such as masonry, concrete, stone, or water — inside a structure that absorbs heat and then radiates heat slowly when the surrounding air falls below its temperature. Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 268
• heat pump: A unit that heats or cools by moving heat. During the winter, a heat pump draws heat from outdoor air and circulates it through your home's air ducts. In the summer, it reverses the process and removes heat from your house and releases it outdoors. [5]
• hydronic: A system of heating or cooling that involves the transfer of heat by a circulating fluid in a closed system of pipes.Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 268
• radiant heating: A heating system that works by heating surfaces (usually floors, panels, or ceilings), from which heat eventually radiates into the living space.Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 270
• radiator: Radiators may be baseboard radiators or older style, upright cast iron radiators. Most radiators use a combination of convection and radiation to heat a room.Trethewey, Richard, (1994) This Old House Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company: 123
• register: A grille often with shutters for admitting heated air or for ventilation.
• zoning: With zoning, a house is divided into two or three zones, each controlled by a separate thermostat. This means more comfort for a lot less money. Trethewey, Richard, (1994) This Old House Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. Boston: Little, Brown, & Company: 94

External links

• American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers Get the skinny on how to select a new furnace or boiler, including purchasing tips for each type of system, in this excerpt from the book Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings.
• US Department of Energy - Selecting and Replacing Heating and Cooling Systems Find out more about all types of heating system options, including electric resistance heating and heat pumps.
• ENERGY STAR - Heating & Cooling Find out how to choose an ENERGY STAR boiler, furnace, air-source heat pump, or geothermal heat pump, including tips on system sizing and finding a contractor.

Footnotes

1. Energy Information Administration - Electric Power Monthly (December 2007)
2. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - Heating Systems: Furnaces and Boilers
3. San Francisco Chronicle - Group's Surprising Beef With Meat Industry
4. US Department of Energy - Electric Resistance Heating
5. Lennox ‰ÛÒ Glossary

How to heat with biodiesel

What is biodiesel?

What is Bioheatåš?

Preparing for the switch

• Clean the furnace or boiler
• Replace the furnace oil filter
• If your oil tank is old, consider cleaning it
• Buy an extra oil filter to have on hand, especially with an older tank
• Consider starting with B5, then increasing the concentration after a few months or during the next heating season

Make your own biodiesel

Find it! Bioheat dealers, kits, and books

Heating with biodiesel helps you go green because…

• Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can be made from virtually any vegetable oil.Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 42-43
• It's less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as quickly as sugar.[12]
• A blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent regular petrodiesel can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 15 percent.[2]
• B20 contains 20 percent less sulfur than regular No. 2 heating oil.[5]
• Biodiesel produces lower particulate emissions.[5]
• While increased nitrogen oxide emissions have been cited as a concern when using biodiesel for automobile fuel, NOx emissions are actually reduced when using biodiesel for home heating, due to the differences in the combustion processes.[5]

The Big Apple backs Bioheat

Related health issues

Home brewing caveats

Controversies

Will we run out of food?

Will we run out of land?

Pass the mustard

Tax breaks and subsidies

Did you know?

Glossary

• biodiesel: A clean-burning diesel fuel made from natural, renewable sources such as new or used vegetable oil.Pahl, Greg,(2003) Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Options. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company: 264
• catalyst: An agent that speeds up a chemical reaction or allows it to occur under different conditions.[22]
• No. 2 diesel: Refineries produce heating oil as a part of the distillate fuel oil product family, which includes heating oils and diesel fuel. Fuel oil is classified into six classes according to its boiling temperature, composition, and purpose. In this classification, No. 2 fuel oil is diesel oil, therefore home heating oil is commonly referred to as "No. 2" oil.[23]
• low-sulfur heating oil: In the 1990s, the EPA mandated that diesel used for transportation have a sulfur content of no more than 500 parts per million (ppm). This mandate doesn't apply to heating oil, which averages between 2,000 and 2,500 ppm of sulfur. Low-sulfur fuel oil produces significantly lower levels of air pollutants including sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM).[24]
• particulate matter (PM): A mixture of dry solid fragments, solid cores with liquid coatings, and small droplets of liquid of varying shape, size, and chemical composition. PM of concern is 10 åµm or smaller, less than one-sixth the size of a human hair (or 60 åµm). Airborne particulate matter sources include burning fuels (gasoline, oil, diesel, wood) as well as fine powders such as carbon black toner. PM may cause health problems, particularly for the elderly, people with heart and lung disease, as well as children and infants.[25]
• transesterification: Transesterification is the chemical reaction between the esters of two different alcohols, resulting in ethyl acetate and methyl alcohol. In terms of biodiesel production, it is when glycerin (used in soap production) is removed from fat or oil, leaving behind methyl esters and glycerin.[26][12]

External links

• Wired - Fungi Make Biodiesel Efficiently at Room Temperature Making biodiesel requires heating the mixture for several hours to bond the methanol to the oils, which wastes energy. The enzyme lipase can make the bond without heating, but it's expensive. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology found a simple solution: a fungus that produces lots of the enzyme, which can then be made into pellets and used in a no-heat method for making biodiesel.
• The Motley Fool - Pretty Woman, Ugly Stock While filling your oil tank with Bioheat is virtually risk free, you may want to do your homework before adding a biodiesel stock to your green investment portfolio. Check out this hilarious — and informative — article on the pitfalls of investing in alternative energy stocks, in this case the biodiesel company Earth Biofuels, with celebrity backers that include Willie Nelson, Julia Roberts, Morgan Freeman, and race car driver Rusty Wallace.

Footnotes

1. National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) - Bioheatåš
2. Consumer Energy Council of America - Bio-Fuels Facts
3. University of New Hampshire Biodiesel Group - Widescale Biodiesel Production from Algae
4. US Department of Energy - Mustard Hybrids for Low-Cost Biodiesel and Organic Pesticides
5. Mass Energy Consumers Alliance - Use of Biodiesel as a Heating Oil in New England
6. SeQuential - Home Heating with Biodiesel
7. US Environmental Protection Agency - What You Should Know about Biodiesel in New England
8. National Biodiesel Board (NBB) - Cool Customers
9. Columbia Fuels
10. Mother Earth News - Heat Your Home with Biodiesel
11. Cyberlipid.org - Your www Site For Fats and Oils
12. The National Biodiesel Board - Biodiesel Basics
13. National Biodiesel Board - Bioheat Offers Cost-Competitive, Environmentally Friendly Alternative to Regular Home Heating Fuel
14. WIVB-TV Buffalo - Clean Air Advocates Commend Governor for Biofuel Tax Credit
15. The Christian Science Monitor - New Yorkers turning to biodiesel for heat
16. Journey to Forever - Biodiesel Processors
17. Journey to Forever - Mike Pelley's Biodiesel Method
18. RenewableEnergyAccess.com Biodiesel Edges Out Ethanol
19. US Department of Energy and US Department of Agriculture - Biomass as a Feedstock for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry: The Technical Feasibility of a Billion-Ton Annual Supply
20. Biodiesel Magazine - Bioheat dealer supplies biodiesel to New York market
21. WiseGEEK - What is Red Diesel?
22. Bio Energy - Wood Stoves
23. Edison Electric Institute - Energy from Fuel Oil
24. Consumer Energy Council of America (CECA) - Low Sulfur Heating Oil: Evaluating the Impacts on Consumers
25. California Environmental Protection Agency - Air Resources Board: Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) for Particulate Matter
26. BDPedia.com - How is Bio-diesel Produced from Plant Oils?

1. Know the code. If in doubt when you're at a supermarket, look at the sticker on the produce and note the code. Organic produce always begins with the number 9.
2. Buy local. Most farmers markets have a large selec

Find it! Organic restaurants and dining establishments serving local food

Choosing restaurants that serve local and organic food helps you go green because…

• Restaurants that serve local food and drinks cut down on fuel-intensive, pollution-ridden transport from farm to table.[1]
• The support to local farms helps preserve rural open space and reduces pollution.[1]
• Organic food and beverages keep dangerous pesticides, insecticides, and genetically modified organisms out of the environment.
• Organic farming combats global warming through carbon sequestration.

Local vs. meatless

Eat Local, Think Global: Transport

Factory farm pollution and open space preservation

Air and water pollution

Energy and land use

Antibiotics in livestock

Apple pie a la pesticides

Global warming

Did you know?

Related health issues

Glossary

• carbon sequestration: The process by which carbon is captured (in the form of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and incorporated into soil, ocean, and plant matter.

External Links

• Christian Science Monitor - More restaurants are going green by going local
• Environmental News Network - First 100% organic, 'green' restaurant opens in NYC
• Mindfully.org - Facts and Data on Antibiotics and Factory Farming
• Ode Magazine - Not the same old drive-thru
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Restaurants here serve up trend of buying — and eating — locally
• Slow Food USA - Books Slow Food offers guides to restaurants boasting both environmental sustainability and socially just practices in most major US cities.

Footnotes

1. Environmental Defense - An Eco-friendly Mother's Day
2. Discover News - Eating Green: Food Type Trumps Distance
3. Science News - It's the meat, not the miles
4. NewScientist Environment - Food miles don't feed climate change - meat does
5. US Environmental Protection Agency - Where does methane come from: Livestock enteric fermentation & Livestock manure management
6. US Environmental Protection Agency - Where does nitrous oxide come from: Livestock manure management
7. About.com - What does eating meat have to do with fossil fuels?
8. US Geological Survey - Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Production: Initial Results from the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Sites, Osage County, Oklahoma
9. EnviroTools - Environmental Impact of the Petroleum Industry
10. Fueleconomy.gov - How Can 6 Pounds of Gasoline Produce 20 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide?
11. Science News Online - Local Foods Could Make for Greener Grocers
12. Sustainable Table - The Issues: Fossil Fuel and Energy Use
13. Sierra Club - Clean Water and Factory Farms: Frequently Asked Questions
14. Grist - Ag Reflex: Factory farms let off the hook for water pollution, activists say
15. Sierra Club - Clean Water and Factory Farms Reports and Factsheets: Air Pollution and Factory Farms
16. Grist - A Big To-Doo-Doo: EPA offers air-pollution immunity to factory farms
17. US Environmental Protection Agency - Environmental Assessment: Proposed CAFO Rule
18. Nutrition Action Healthletter - Eating Green Page 1
19. Nutrition Action Healthletter - Eating Green: page 3
20. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Livestock a major threat to environment: Remedies urgently needed
21. International Food Policy Research Institute - Research Results: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
22. Environmental Defense - McDonald's Says No More Playing Chicken with Antibiotics
23. Common Dreams - Cheaper Meat Doesn't Equal Happier Meals
24. Mother Earth News - Breeding an Epidemic: Antibiotics and Meat
25. Food First - Policy Brief No.4: The Multiple Functions and Benefits of Small Farm Agriculture
26. Open Space Institute - The Two Farms Campaign: Working with Local Partners to Protect the Land
27. Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Are organic fruit, veggies worth the extra cost?
28. Modern Brewery Age - Hops in beer often laced with pesticides, writer says
29. Pesticides and Birds Campaign - The Problem
30. Food and Society Policy Fellows - Organic Farming Fights Global Warming
31. Straus Communications - Organic Farming Sequesters Atmospheric Carbon and Nutrients in Soils: The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trialåš Findings
32. The New Farm - Organic farming combats global warming … big time
33. Oxford University Press - Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore
34. EnviroTools - Environmental Impact of the Petroleum Industry: Environmental Hazards of Petroleum Refineries
35. Pesticide Action Network North America - "Nowhere to Hide" media release
36. Environmental Defense - Challenge: Ensuring Public Health by Protecting Food and Drinking Water Supplies

Find it! Organic restaurants and dining establishments serving local food

The following sites provide national and international databases so that you can search for and find environmentally friendly restaurants in your area that serve local and organic goods. Most restaurants offer a variety of organic and locally grown goods, including produce, meat, seafood, wine, coffee, and chocolate, among others. To search regional databases, check out: the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Local Food Guide or the Growing Small Farms Local Guide to Restaurants in North Carolina; the Heart of Washington restaurant list for restaurants in Washington state; Farm Fresh Rhode Island in New England;  Pennsylvania Buy Local Food Guide map; the New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection; the I Heart Farms California restaurant list; the Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture Restaurants Who Buy Local list in Western Massachusetts or Local Organic's Chicago-area restaurant list. Or, you can always call around to restaurants in your area and ask if they serve local and organic foods.

If you cannot get to a farm many cities have farmers' markets and that can help get the food from the farm to your table. In addition to beef, pork, and chicken, local farms may offer more variety and seasonal meats such as goat, rabbit, and buffalo. To reduce your meat-eating environmental impacts, you may also want to consider eating little or no meat at all.

Choosing restaurants that serve local and organic food helps you go green because…

• Restaurants that serve local food and drinks cut down on transport from farm to table. This means less fuel is used and less pollution is released into the atmosphere.[1]
• The support to local farms helps preserve rural open space and reduces pollution.[2]
• Organic food and beverages keep pesticides, insecticides, and genetically modified products out of the environment.
• Organic farming combats global warming through carbon sequestration.

Local vs. meatless

A study by Carnegie Mellon University scientists has concluded that eating less meat will reduce carbon emissions even more than purchasing food locally.[3] The study found that transporting food is responsible for only 4 percent of food-associated greenhouse gas emissions, while production contributes 83 percent.[4] Researchers say that means that buying all local food is like driving nearly 1,000 fewer miles in your car annually. Greater emissions savings can be achieved by simply cutting dairy and meat from your diet one day per week. Go totally veggie and you'll slash a whopping 8,000 miles in vehicle emissions.[5]

Why is meat-eating more problematic than driving a car or purchasing far-flung food? The production of meat and dairy products creates a high amount of nitrous oxide and methane emissions, from fertilizers, manure management, and animal digestion. Methane, which is much more potent than carbon dioxide, is produced both during digestion in cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels, as well as during the anaerobic decomposition of livestock manure.[6] Nitrous oxide results from the nitrification and denitrification of nitrogen in livestock (most commonly of cattle) manure and urine.[7] Stats like these have led to questions like: "Can going vegan do more to slow global climate change than shopping my local farmer's market?"[8]

Eat Local, Think Global: Transport

In addition to watching how much meat you eat, also pay attention to the distance it's traveled to get to your table. Gasoline —  a petroleum-based, non-sustainable resource whose extraction and production has caused major environmental damage to soil, surface and ground waters, and local ecosystems — fuel the trucks that transport food from source to table.[9] Petroleum refineries are major contributors to toxic air pollutants, like carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide.[10]

Twenty pounds of carbon dioxide (CO₂) — the leading contributor to global warming — are released for every gallon of gasoline burned, making the transportation sector responsible for about a quarter of overall US CO₂ emissions.[11]In fact, the US transportation sector alone emits more (CO₂) than all but three other countries' total combined emissions from all sources. [12]And because no combustion is perfectly clean, this trucking of goods is also a primary source of local smog- and soot-causing air pollution.

When you dine at a restaurant serving locally produced fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and wines, you are cutting the distance your meal had to travel to reach you up to 27 times, according to Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture researchers. The Leopold study found, for example, that an apple grown and sold in Iowa is transported an average of 61 miles to reach its buyer, compared to 1,726 miles for a conventionally grown and distributed apple.[13]Meats travel an average of 1,500 miles from production line to table.[14]

Factory farm pollution and open space preservation

Local-buying restaurants support small farms, which can decrease pollution, conserve resources, and preserve precious open space — especially where small-farm meat is concerned.

Air and Water Pollution

One large-scale, industrialized factory farm creates as much pollution each day as a town with a population of 25,000 people.[15]These facilities also release ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate air pollution.[16]The 291 billion tons of wet manure that is produced annually at CAFOs [17]releases 30 million tons of methane,[18] meaning that the pollution cost of producing one steak is equivalent to driving a car 25 miles.[19] In fact, a report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization found that the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions (in terms of (CO₂) than transport.[20]

Energy and Land Use

An immense amount of energy and resources are needed to raise the large quantities of livestock reared on large-scale farms in the US.[21]''The Food Revolution'' estimates the amount of water that goes into the production of a single pound of meat: 1 pound of chicken takes 815 gallons of water; 1 pound of pork takes 1,630 gallons of water; and 1 pound of beef takes 2,500 gallons of water.[22]

Livestock-rearing uses 30 percent of the earth's land surface, including 33 percent of arable land used to grow feed for livestock rather than food for human consumption. The search for new pastures is also a major contributor to deforestation. In Latin America, 70 percent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing. Once on the land, livestock herds cause major land degradation — about 20 percent of pastures are considered to be degraded due to overgrazing, compaction, and erosion.[23]This land degradation and overuse leaves less land on which to grow food, contributing to food shortages and hunger, especially in the third world. [24]

Antibiotics in Livestock

Large-scale farms both in the US and around the world also feed healthy animals antibiotics as growth promoters. In fact, nearly 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the US are fed to healthy pigs, poultry, and beef cattle. [25] By introducing a large amount of antibiotics into the food chain, this practice  transfers drug-resistant microbes from meat to humans, creating human resistance to the medicines that were developed to treat serious health problems. [26] Already, in the US, 25 percent of the salmonella infections in humans are resistant to drugs.[27] \

Small farms, on the other hand, make better use of natural resources, preserve biodiversity of seeds, animals, and land, and can even be more productive than large-scale farms. [28]And, when you consider that a land mass the size of half the United States is used for factory farm production worldwide, it becomes clear that, as Robert Anderberg, vice president of the Open Space Institute (OSI) ), said in an interview, "...when you protect (small) farms, you protect open space."[29]

Apple pie a la pesticides

Organic produce, wine, coffee, meat, and other food and drink keep dangerous pesticides and insecticides out of the environment, so supporting restaurants that buy from organic farms decreases the toxic chemicals released into the environment. To be certified organic by the USDA, food must be grown in soil free of toxic pesticides and fertilizers and cannot be genetically modified or irradiated.[30]

Chemical pesticides and fertilizers are not only believed to be harmful to animal health, but they also pollute ecosystems and waterways.[31] For example, it is estimated that approximately 670 million birds are exposed to pesticides used in farming annually. Ten percent of them die as a result.[32]

Global warming

Organic farming may also be key in fighting global climate change. A study of conventional versus organic farming methods by the Rodale Institute discovered that organic farming combats global warming through carbon sequestration.[33] In agricultural applications, the more organic matter that is retained in the soil, the more carbon is sequestered. While conventional farming depletes organic matter through the use of chemical fertilizers, organic farming uses animal manure and cover crops, which actually build soil organic matter.

Organic farming further reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) by using 37 percent fewer fossil fuels than conventional farming.[34]The Rodale Institute estimates that if all 160 million acres of corn and soybean farmland in the US were switched to organic farming methods, it would be equivalent to removing 58.7 million cars from the road, and would satisfy 73 percent of the proposed US Kyoto targets for CO₂ reduction.[35]

Did you Know?

The New Oxford American Dictionary recently chose locavore as its 2007 word of the year. A locavore is someone who seeks out locally-produced food whenever possible, preferring to eat that which is fresh and seasonal—qualities inherent in local food.[36]

Related health issues

Some of the chemicals released from petroleum refineries are known or suspected carcinogens, and cause developmental and reproductive problems. They are also believed to aggravate childhood asthma and other respiratory conditions.[37]

A report by Pesticide Action Network North America found that American consumers are exposed to toxic chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as many as 70 times a day due to pesticide use. POP exposure has been associated with immune system suppression, nervous and hormonal system disorders, reproductive system damage, and various cancers, including breast cancer. The two leading POPs found in food are dieldrin and DDE.[38]

Children are particularly susceptible to the health effects of pesticide ingestion due to their lower body weights and higher metabolisms.  Every day, more than 1 million children between the ages of 1 and 5 eat an estimated 15 pesticides on contaminated fruits and vegetables alone. Six hundred thousand of these children eat dosages of pesticides deemed unsafe by the government.[39]

Glossary

• carbon sequestration: The process by which carbon is captured (in the form of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and incorporated into soil, ocean, and plant matter.

External links

• Eat Low Carbon Use this fun interactive tool to find out how your diet's contributing to climate change.
• Environmental Health Perspectives - How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture
• Farm Sanctuary: Working to end cruelty to farm animals
• Grace Factory Farm Project Their aim: to eliminate factory farming in favor of sustainable food production
• Going to Market - The Cost of Industrialized Agriculture A special report by the Izaak Walton League of America
• Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture How to buy directly from farmers
• 100 Mile Diet The 'local eating' movement
• Sustainable Table The issues related to sustainable food production

Footnotes

1. Environmental Defense - An Eco-friendly Mother’s Day
2. Environmental Defense - An Eco-friendly Mother’s Day
3. Discover News - Eating Green: Food Type Trumps Distance
4. Science News - It's the meat, not the miles
5. NewScientist Environment - Food miles don't feed climate change - meat does
6. US Environmental Protection Agency - Where does methane come from: Livestock enteric fermentation & Livestock manure management
7. US Environmental Protection Agency - Where does nitrous oxide come from: Livestock manure management
8. About.com - What does eating meat have to do with fossil fuels?
9. US Geological Survey - Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Production: Initial Results from the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Sites, Osage County, Oklahoma
10. EnviroTools - Environmental Impact of the Petroleum Industry
11. How Can 6 Pounds of Gasoline Produce 20 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide?
12. Union of Concerned Scientists - Cars and Trucks and Global Warming
13. Science News Online - Local Foods Could Make for Greener Grocers
14. Sustainable Table - The Issues: Fossil Fuel and Energy Use
15. Sierra Club - Clean Water and Factory Farms Reports and Factsheets: Air Pollution and Factory Farms
16. Grist - A Big To-Doo-Doo: EPA offers air-pollution immunity to factory farms
17. US Environmental Protection Agency - Environmental Assessment: Proposed CAFO Rule
18. Nutrition Action Health letter - Eating Green:page 1
19. Nutrition Action Health letter - Eating Green: page 3
20. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Livestock a major threat to environment
21. Kneidel, S. and Kneidel, S.K.: "Veggie Revolution", page 40, Fulcrum Publishing, 2005
22. The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help You Save Your Life and World", page 236, Conari Press, 2001
23. International Food Policy Research Institute - Research Results: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
24. Environmental Defense - McDonald's Says No More Playing Chicken with Antibiotics
25. Common Dreams - Cheaper Meat Doesn't Equal Happier Meals
26. Mother Earth News - Breeding an Epidemic: Antibiotics and Meat
27. Food First - Policy Brief No.4: The Multiple Functions and Benefits of Small Farm Agriculture” Policy Brief No.4: The Multiple Functions and Benefits of Small Farm Agriculture
28. Open Space Institute - The Two Farms Campaign: Working with Local Partners to Protect the Land
29. Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Are organic fruit, veggies worth the extra cost?
30. Modern Brewery Age - Hops in beer often laced with pesticides, writer says
31. Pesticides and Birds Campaign - The Problem
32. Food and Society Policy Fellows - Organic Farming Fights Global Warming
33. Straus Communications - Organic Farming Sequesters Atmospheric Carbon and Nutrients in Soils: The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial Findings
34. The New Farm - Organic farming combats global warming
35. Oxford University Press - Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore
36. EnviroTools - Environmental Impact of the Petroleum Industry: Environmental Hazards of Petroleum Refineries
37. Pesticide Action Network North America Nowhere to Hide media release
38. Environmental Defense Challenge: Ensuring Public Health by Protecting Food and Drinking Water Supplies

Find it! Printers with duplexing trays

Purchasing a double-siding printer helps you go green because…

• It'll cut paper consumption, which protects forests.
• Double-sided copies require less energy, so fewer greenhouse gases will be emitted.

External links

• Environmental Energy Technologies Division - Cutting Paper Ideas: What are Duplexing Rates?

Footnotes

1. US Department of Energy - How to Buy an Energy-Efficient Printer: Cost-Effectiveness Example
2. GreenBiz.com - Taking the Wrinkles out of Paper Recycling: In One Bin, Out the Other
3. The Federal Network for Sustainability - Greening Federal Copier Paper: How much can we reduce the use of copier paper?
4. Illinois PIRG Education Fund's Green Communities Handbook - Purchase Energy Efficient Equipment and Appliances

How to program your thermostat for energy efficiency

1. Manually set your thermostat at a higher temperature. Rather than reducing your air conditioner's temperature setting to a chilling 72 degrees, try raising it one degree at a time to see how warm it can be before you become uncomfortable. Remember, the higher you set your thermostat (in summer months), the more energy you'll save.
2. Install a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats come with a variety of features. Look for:

• Number of day settings: Seven-day models allow you to program your thermostat differently seven days a week. This is especially good for families whose schedules change from day to day or for businesses that stay open all week long. 5-1-1 models permit a little less flexibility. They allow one program for 5 days of the week (usually Monday to Friday) and then unique schedules for two additional days (most often Saturday and Sunday). 5+2 day models, on the other hand, have the least amount of flexibility since they only allow two unique schedules — one for weekdays, another for weekends.
• Number of program periods per day: Depending on the complexity of the thermostat, it should allow you to program several blocks of time each day — often up to four periods in each 24-hour span.
• Hold/Vacation feature: This allows you to suspend your regular thermostat program while you're away.
• Special indicators: Some programmable thermostats have special features, such as the ability to notify you when the air filters need to be replaced or when your heating or cooling systems are malfunctioning.
• Look into an ENERGY STAR programmable thermostat: Check out ENERGY STAR's product list for recommended models.
• Occupancy- or light-sensing features: Some thermostats have the ability to sense whether or not you're in the room. Occupancy-sensors thermostats rely on you pushing a button to begin heating or cooling a room. These are relatively inflexible systems and not as energy-efficient. Light-sending thermostats, on the other hand, adjust a room's temperature based on the amount of light in a room. These units are more complex (and perhaps more suitable for commercial settings) and more expensive to boot.

Installation tips for programmable thermostats

1. Choose a non-drafty, interior wall: The ideal spot for your new programmable thermostat is on an interior wall where cool drafts and heat sources are at a minimum. Avoid putting them near vents, doorways, windows, skylights, or bright lamps.
2. Shut down your electricity: Thought they require a low voltage wiring installation, it's a good idea to shut off your electricity while you install the thermostat.
3. Follow package instructions: Every thermostat is a little different, so it's best to follow the package instructions carefully. The programmable thermostat shouldn't involve more than two to 10 wires that will be connected to previous attachment points.
4. Call a professional for more complex installations: If your heating or cooling system involves more than 10 wires, it's recommended that you contact a professional HVAC installer.
5. Practice eco-friendly disposal: If your old thermostat has a mercury switch, be sure not to break the tube during installation. Once you've removed it from your wall, contact your local hazardous materials center for information on how to properly dispose of the old unit.

Using a programmable thermostat

1. Set optimal, energy-reducing temperatures: To maximize energy savings, try to get your summer thermostat setting up to 78°F or higher while you occupy an area (at work during the day; at home during the evening). Likewise, during cooler months you should try to turn your thermostat down to 68°F. or lower. Then, when space isn't occupied — at home during the night or while away at work, or at the office during non-business hours — be sure to adjust temperatures down 5 degrees during cold weather and up 10 degrees during warm weather.
2. Avoid frequent use of hold feature: Using the hold feature on your thermostat to override the automatic temperature control allows you to temporarily make an area warmer or cooler, but this will use more energy. If you find yourself using this feature more than once or twice each week, you should think about adjusting your preset temperatures.

Before you buy

Find it! Programmable thermostats

Programming your thermostat for energy efficiency helps you go green because…

• It prevents excess energy from being wasted, reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
• A programmable thermostat reduces the effort it takes to adjust the temperature to optimal energy-saving levels, which reduces energy consumption.

External links

• ENERGY STAR - Programmable Thermostats: There are several programmable thermostats that are ENERGY STAR qualified. Use this site to find the most efficient models, and then follow their tips for setting it up.

Footnotes

1. EcoNnergy - Hot tips for cool summer energy bills
2. Consumer Reports - 20 free ways to save energy
3. The Green Guide - A Calculated Loss: How to Reduce Your Global Warming Emissions
4. ENERGY STAR - Heat & Cool Efficiently
5. Alliance to Save Energy - No-Cost Low-Cost Tips for Saving Money & Energy

How to practice energy-saving TV habits

• Power off. When you're done watching the show or the movie, or playing the video game, make sure you turn off the set. That goes for VCRs, DVRs, DVD players, and game consoles as well.[1] If you like having the television on for background noise, try a radio, singing to yourself, grab a guitar, or just enjoy the peace and quiet.
• Really power off. Even when turned off, many electronics and appliances, including TVs, VCRs, DVDs, and set top boxes, draw a standby flow of electricity called the phantom load. Americans spend $750 million annually on electricity use in televisions that are turned off.[2] Get around this by unplugging your TV and add-ons, or even easier, install a power strip and shut down a bunch of electronics with one switch.
• Adjust the settings. If you have an inkling of techie in you, attempt these easy adjustments to reduce the energy your TV uses.
  • Many TVs have a power-saver mode; if yours does, make sure it's turned on.
  • LCD televisions often give owners the option to control the backlight's intensity and turning it down will save power.
  • You may also reduce a TV's light output by playing with the "contrast" or "picture" controls.[3]
• Set the mood. Watching TV in a dim or dark room helps save energy due to the lower light and shows off the reduced brightness settings to their best potential.  You may also get a cool, home theater feel. Also, if you use some heavy duty blackout shades to shut out the light, you'll get the energy bonus of saving some heat when it's cold out and keeping the room cooler in the summer.[3]
• Don't go multiple. A growing trend is for Americans to have a main television accompanied by sets in the kitchen and/or bedrooms. If you're still a one-set household, fight any urge to grow your TV family. More TVs means more power used, which means more greenhouse gases generated. Plus, having one TV encourages household togetherness and healthy intra-family squabbling about control of the remote and who's watching what.
• Resist the lure of the huge screen TV. A new TV purchase can be an emotional decision but don't let all the eye candy in the electronics store cloud your green judgment. Power consumption rates vary by type of TV, with plasma televisions generally using the most electricity and traditional tube TVs using the least. But whatever type you choose, a smaller size screen will suck less power and probably cost you less money.
• Watch less television. Get off the couch and do something else — inside or out. Read, write, draw, run, bike, volunteer, knit, swim, play a game with your kids, or walk your dog. Also, consider trying TV turnoff week in April.

Practicing energy-saving habits helps you go green because…

• Your household will consume less electricity, which means its use will produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  

A lot of these new models are bigger and come with more bells and whistles than the ones they replaced, and those enhancements need electricity to fuel them.[4] A 28-inch boxy analog television, which was once the norm and is still used in about 21 million American households,[5] runs on about 100 watts of electricity. A common upgrade, a 42-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) flat panel, sucks up twice that amount. A 42-inch plasma flat panel set, the biggest power guzzler, uses 200 to 500 watts, which can exceed that of a full-size refrigerator, even though the TV's only turned on for a few hours a day.[6]

Looking at it another way, sitting in front of your plasma television for three hours a day will increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere by 250 kilograms annually, or less than half the amount for a LCD.[7] Practicing simple energy-saving moves will save you money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, whether you own the latest razor thin LCD flat screen or watch a tube TV with rabbit ear antennas.

Glossary

•  analog television: Traditional analog TVs introduced in the 1930s contain cathode ray tubes or CRTs, hence the nickname "the tube." They function by sending an electron beam through a vacuum tube toward a screen coated with phosphor. When the beam strikes the surface of the screen it produces images.[8]
•  liquid crystal display (LCD) television: LCD technology works by sending varying electrical currents through an ultra thin layer of tiny cells filled with a liquid crystal solution that crystallizes to form the image you see on the screen. These flat panel displays TVs can be placed on a stand or wall-mounted.[8] [9][10]
• plasma television: This technology is produced by a layer with millions of tiny glass bubbles that contain a gas-like substance, called plasma, that has a phosphor coating. Each bubble is like a pixel with one red, one green, and one blue subcell. When the TV is turned on, a digitally controlled electric current flows through the flat screen, causing the plasma inside certain bubbles to give off ultraviolet rays. This light causes the phosphor coatings to glow the appropriate color.[11]

External links

• Googol Learning - Take Back Your Brain! Go TV VG (video game) Free!
• CNET Reviews - TV power-saving tips
• National Wildlife Federation's Green Hour - Suggestions about how to give your kids an hour of unplugged, unstructured outside play each day.

Footnotes

1. Consumer Electronics Association - Industry Recommends Tips for Saving Energy With Electronics
2. US Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Energy-Efficient Appliances
3. CNET Reviews - TV power-saving tips
4. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) - Televisions Must Meet New Requirements to Earn Energy Star
5. New York Times - The Unavoidable Update
6. The Wall Street Journal Online - That Giant Sucking Sound May Be Your New TV
7. The New Yorker - Big Foot: In measuring carbon emissions, it's easy to confuse morality and science
8. Panasonic - Televisions: What are the different types of TVs?
9. Associated Content - Digital-HDTV Glossary
10. About.com - TV/Video: "Liquid Crystal Display"
11. Philips - Technology explained: Flat TV, plasma

Find it! Sealing products

Locating the air leaks in your home is essential before deciding how to effectively seal them, as suitable products and solutions vary widely depending on the size and location of each air leak.

How to seal air leaks

1. First, you must locate the leakage sites in your home. A professional contractor or certified Home Energy Rater can conduct a blower door test which will pinpoint problem areas in your building shell.
2. You can also identify leaks yourself using the following tips. See ENERGY STAR's Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Sealing for in-depth instructions.
   1. Start in the attic or basement, looking for plainly visible holes, dirty patches of insulation, or cracks and seams along kneewalls and around fixtures, hatches, and ductwork. The nonprofit Urban Options offers a convenient online weatherization checklist to help keep track of both problem areas and the materials needed to seal them.
   2. To locate the sources of minor leaks and drafts, hold a lit stick of incense or piece of string near windows, doors, skylights, baseboards, outlets, fireplaces, and other possible leakage sites throughout your home's interior; if the smoke blows horizontally, then there is an air leak nearby.[2] This testing method is most effective when a home has first been pressurized by using exhaust fans or window fans to suck air out of rooms, thereby increasing infiltration of outside air (be sure to first turn off all combustion appliances to protect against backdrafting).[3]
3. Seal all air leaks using caulk, weatherstripping, insulating spray foam, plastic sheeting, or other materials where appropriate.[1] Air sealing in attics with no ventilation system or around ducts and complex recessed lighting fixtures may require professional assistance to facilitate compliance with safety standards.[4]
4. Always ensure that adequate ventilation systems or strategies are in place to prevent moisture accumulation and mold growth.
5. Consider increasing attic — to further improve energy efficiency and home comfort.[5][6]

Sealing air leaks helps you go green because…

• It reduces both heat loss and heat gain through the building shell, conserving energy and cutting associated costs.[5]
• It improves physical comfort levels within the home by helping to maintain more consistent interior temperatures and eliminating drafts.[5]
• It may enhance air quality by helping to seal out unconditioned exterior air, which may contain dust, allergens, insects, and other impurities.[7]
• It helps maximize both the durability and the efficiency performance of other energy-saving systems like insulation and low-E windows, and can enable the purchase of smaller, more efficient HVAC cooling units.[1][8]

The US Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that air leakage adds approximately 10 percent to the average homeowner's energy bill,[9], accounting for 30 percent or more of the costs associated with heating and cooling.[1] Between 50 and 70 percent of the energy used in an average American home is consumed by heating and cooling systems.[10] Although there are numerous factors to consider when seeking to maximize a home's energy efficiency (see the DOE's whole-house approach), the DOE lists air sealing as a top priority because unsealed leaks can significantly undermine other energy-saving improvements to a building's shell or HVAC equipment.[11] Reducing infiltration means reducing the workload for heating and cooling units, in turn lowering pollution levels: the Rocky Mountain Institute estimates that sealing large air leaks in the typical American home will reduce that home's CO₂ emissions by 1,300 pounds per year.[8]

Where should I start?

Despite the urgency that many homeowners place upon eliminating drafts around doors and windows, the most significant air leaks are usually in a home's attic and basement.[4] Hot air tends to rise and escape through the attic, allowing cold air to rush in through leaky basements, walls, windows, skylights, and doors to take its place.[4] The Department of Energy recommends starting at these major leakage sites before moving on to caulking and weatherstripping around drafty doors, walls, and windows.[1] If your home employs ducts to distribute conditioned air, sealing them with duck mastic can substantially reduce the 20-30 percent of air typically lost through leaky ductwork.[12]

How much will it cost?

Often listed as the most cost-effective energy efficiency upgrade available, sealing air leaks generally range from $100-$600 per house, depending on whether homeowners choose to make the improvements themselves or hire a professional.[2]

Subsidies and incentives

In the US, sealing air leaks in your home may qualify you for tax incentives at the federal, state, or local levels. For detailed information, see these resources:

• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy Updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

Related health issues

Ensuring adequate ventilation and air flow is essential to preventing moisture buildup and mold growth when sealing a home against infiltration.[13] Providing for natural air flow is especially important in the attic to prevent ice-damming in the winter and allow proper circulation in the summer.[4]

Glossary

• blower door test: A test conducted by home energy auditors to pressurize a building and reveal air leaks.[14]
• caulk (or caulking): A sealing compound used to fill seams and patch small air leaks.[14]
• kneewall: A small wall connecting attic floor joists to a sloped roof; often covered with sheathing to enclose an attic space.[14]
• weatherstripping: A material applied to the gaps around windows and doors in order to seal them against air leakage.[14]

External links

• US Environmental Protection Agency - Indoor Air Quality
• EERE Consumer's Guide - Caulking
• EERE Consumer's Guide - Weatherstripping
• Lawrence Berkeley Labs - Home Energy Saver

Footnotes

1. US Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Air Sealing
2. Rocky Mountain Institute - Home Energy Brief #1: Building Envelope
3. Energybuilder.com - Home Weatherization
4. ENERGY STAR - A Do-It-Yourself Guide to ENERGY STAR Home Sealing
5. ENERGY STAR - Air Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR Home Sealing
6. Alliance to Save Energy - No-Cost Low-Cost Tips for Saving Money & Energy
7. ENERGY STAR - Increased Insulation: Building Envelope Improvements
8. Rocky Mountain Institute - Cool Citizens: Everyday Solutions to Climate Change
9. EERE Energy Savers - Sealing Air Leaks
10. US Department of Energy - Insulation Fact Sheet
11. Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Air Sealing
12. ENERGY STAR - Home Ready Checklist
13. US Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Ceilings and Attics
14. EERE Consumer's Guide - Glossary of Energy-Related Terms

Find it! Organic restaurants and dining establishments serving local food

Choosing restaurants that serve local and organic food helps you go green because…

• Restaurants that serve local food and drinks cut down on fuel-intensive, pollution-ridden transport from farm to table.[1]
• The support to local farms helps preserve rural open space and reduces pollution.[1]
• Organic food and beverages keep dangerous pesticides, insecticides, and genetically modified organisms out of the environment.
• Organic farming combats global warming through carbon sequestration.

Local vs. meatless

Eat Local, Think Global: Transport

Factory farm pollution and open space preservation

Air and water pollution

Energy and land use

Antibiotics in livestock

Apple pie a la pesticides

Global warming

Did you know?

Related health issues

Glossary

• carbon sequestration: The process by which carbon is captured (in the form of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and incorporated into soil, ocean, and plant matter.

External Links

• Christian Science Monitor - More restaurants are going green by going local
• Environmental News Network - First 100% organic, 'green' restaurant opens in NYC
• Mindfully.org - Facts and Data on Antibiotics and Factory Farming
• Ode Magazine - Not the same old drive-thru
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Restaurants here serve up trend of buying — and eating — locally
• Slow Food USA - Books Slow Food offers guides to restaurants boasting both environmental sustainability and socially just practices in most major US cities.

Footnotes

1. Environmental Defense - An Eco-friendly Mother's Day
2. Discover News - Eating Green: Food Type Trumps Distance
3. Science News - It's the meat, not the miles
4. NewScientist Environment - Food miles don't feed climate change - meat does
5. US Environmental Protection Agency - Where does methane come from: Livestock enteric fermentation & Livestock manure management
6. US Environmental Protection Agency - Where does nitrous oxide come from: Livestock manure management
7. About.com - What does eating meat have to do with fossil fuels?
8. US Geological Survey - Environmental Impacts of Petroleum Production: Initial Results from the Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Sites, Osage County, Oklahoma
9. EnviroTools - Environmental Impact of the Petroleum Industry
10. Fueleconomy.gov - How Can 6 Pounds of Gasoline Produce 20 Pounds of Carbon Dioxide?
11. Science News Online - Local Foods Could Make for Greener Grocers
12. Sustainable Table - The Issues: Fossil Fuel and Energy Use
13. Sierra Club - Clean Water and Factory Farms: Frequently Asked Questions
14. Grist - Ag Reflex: Factory farms let off the hook for water pollution, activists say
15. Sierra Club - Clean Water and Factory Farms Reports and Factsheets: Air Pollution and Factory Farms
16. Grist - A Big To-Doo-Doo: EPA offers air-pollution immunity to factory farms
17. US Environmental Protection Agency - Environmental Assessment: Proposed CAFO Rule
18. Nutrition Action Healthletter - Eating Green Page 1
19. Nutrition Action Healthletter - Eating Green: page 3
20. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Livestock a major threat to environment: Remedies urgently needed
21. International Food Policy Research Institute - Research Results: Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda
22. Environmental Defense - McDonald's Says No More Playing Chicken with Antibiotics
23. Common Dreams - Cheaper Meat Doesn't Equal Happier Meals
24. Mother Earth News - Breeding an Epidemic: Antibiotics and Meat
25. Food First - Policy Brief No.4: The Multiple Functions and Benefits of Small Farm Agriculture
26. Open Space Institute - The Two Farms Campaign: Working with Local Partners to Protect the Land
27. Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Are organic fruit, veggies worth the extra cost?
28. Modern Brewery Age - Hops in beer often laced with pesticides, writer says
29. Pesticides and Birds Campaign - The Problem
30. Food and Society Policy Fellows - Organic Farming Fights Global Warming
31. Straus Communications - Organic Farming Sequesters Atmospheric Carbon and Nutrients in Soils: The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trialåš Findings
32. The New Farm - Organic farming combats global warming … big time
33. Oxford University Press - Oxford Word Of The Year: Locavore
34. EnviroTools - Environmental Impact of the Petroleum Industry: Environmental Hazards of Petroleum Refineries
35. Pesticide Action Network North America - "Nowhere to Hide" media release
36. Environmental Defense - Challenge: Ensuring Public Health by Protecting Food and Drinking Water Supplies

What to look for in eco-friendly cookware

Your best bet is to choose long-lasting cookware based on the type of cooking you do the most, which means you may end up with a mix of pieces in your kitchen: cast iron for long slow cooking, copper for delicate sauces, and maybe a non-stick aluminum pan for low-fat cooking. Having the right pan for the job means you'll not only get a perfectly cooked meal, but you'll also use fewer resources and less energy to get the job done. Here are some money- and energy-saving tips to keep in mind while you shop:

• Look for cookware made of aluminum, cast iron, or copper. These metals have the highest heat conductivity and will use your stove's heat more efficiently.
• Shop for cookware made with recycled materials. Most metals are recyclable, and some manufacturers seek out these materials and say so on their packaging.
• Choose pieces that are "oven-safe". These pots can do double-duty and be used in the oven as well as on the stove. Some cookware may even do triple-duty: stove, oven, and microwave.
• Buy used cookware. Once you know what you want, visit thrift stores to find items that are still in good condition.
• Buy pieces that come with a lid. Cooking your meals with the lid on allows you to turn down the heat and reduce energy use.
• Buy pots and pans with flat bottoms. This is particularly important if you have flat-surface burners on your electric stove. The bottom of the pan needs to make solid contact with these heating elements or the pan will not conduct heat to the food efficiently. For example, boiling water uses 50 percent more energy in a well-used pan with a warped bottom compared to a pan with a flat bottom.[1]

Find it! Eco-friendly cookware

Before you buy

With so many products on the market you might feel overwhelmed by the marketing terminology. (What is "clad" anyway?) To help you navigate, the Cookware Manufacturers Association (CMA) offers a glossary of terms and a Guide to Cookware and Bakeware (for purchase). You can also take a look at Cookware reviews to help you determine what type of cookware is best for the type of cooking you do.

Buying eco-friendly cookware helps you go green because…

• It's made from materials with high heat conductivity so you can cook on a lower heat setting and use less energy.

All the common metals used to manufacture pots and pans are mined from the earth and are nonrenewable resources. Metal cookware is by no means the biggest culprit when it comes to mine-waste problems. However, taken together, the extraction and processing of all metals creates between 1 and 2 billion tons of mine waste annually, and has polluted more than 3,400 miles of streams and more than 440,000 acres of land.[2] In 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked the metal mining industry as the nation's worst toxic polluter.[3]

Energy-efficient metals

Cookware metals have different rates of heat conductivity, which refers to how fast heat is transferred from the pot to the food. A pot with a higher heat transfer will use less energy (whether gas or electric stove) to cook food. Copper has the fastest heat transfer, followed by aluminum, cast iron, stainless steel, ceramic, and glass.

Copper

On the plus side, copper heats and cools quickly. It also has a high recycling rate in the US. In fact, more than 75 percent of copper used to make new goods (excluding wire) comes from recycled scrap.[4] However, the mining of copper ore presents a few eco-problems. Because copper mining is a multi-step process that requires several hundred metric tons of ore to produce each metric ton of copper metal, it creates large quantities of waste.

Aluminum

This lightweight metal also heats quickly and is 100 percent recyclable. In the US, around 35 percent of aluminum products contain recycled aluminum.[5] On the downside, though, salty or acidic foods may cause aluminum to corrode. Therefore, most aluminum cookware is coated with nonstick finishes or treated using a process — anodization — that alters and hardens the metal. Also problematic is the energy-intensive process of converting bauxite (the source of aluminum that makes up 8 percent of the earth's crust) into aluminum. In addition, open-cast mining of bauxite leads to deforestation and destruction of ecosystems.

Cast iron

Though it heats more slowly than the previous two metals, cast iron holds heat longer so you can turn off the burner earlier. In addition, cast iron is long-lasting, plus a well-seasoned cast-iron pan makes a suitable nonstick alternative. Cooking with cast iron leaches some of the iron into food, but since iron is an important dietary nutrient, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers this a plus. On the con side, the iron industry is energy intensive, consuming close to 1.5 quads/year.[6] (A quad is a unit of energy equal to 1015 Btu.)

Stainless steel

A slow heat-conductor on its own, stainless steel is often used in combination with aluminum or copper. Stainless steel does not occur in nature and is made from iron, nickel, chromium, and molybdenum. The upside is that steel can be recycled repeatedly. In fact, essentially all steel products produced today contain some percentage of recycled steel. Every year, the steel recycling industry saves enough energy to power 18 million homes, and new natural resources are conserved, including 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,400 pounds of coal, and 120 pounds of limestone for every one ton of steel.[7]

Teflon dangers

Teflon is the registered trade name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a class of plastics known as fluoropolymers, and most nonstick cookware is made with this chemical. Fluoropolymers are created using perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which the EPA discovered is persistent in the environment and in the blood of the general US population. However, it's important to note that nonstick pans do not actually contain PFOA.

So how did PFOA get in the environment and in the blood of the US population? The culprit appears to be manufacturing plants that produce PFOA. In 1999, DuPont's facilities around the world emitted 142,600 pounds of PFOA into the air and water.[8] In 2005, the EPA determined that PFOA is a "likely carcinogen." Yet, because PFOA is not present in the finished cookware product beyond trace amounts, the EPA does not currently recommend that consumers stop using products containing it. Instead it has called on companies to reduce facility emissions and product content of PFOA and related chemicals by 95 percent by 2010, and to work toward eliminating emissions and product content by 2015.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) recommends that consumers replace their PFOA nonstick cookware with safer alternatives. If you're not sure if your nonstick brand is made with PFOA, you can review EWG's 2003 sampling of 208 cookware products that contained perfluorochemicals (PFC).

New nonstick cookware

Several cookware manufacturers have come up with nonstick options that don't use PTFE or PFOA. These include anodized aluminum, well-seasoned cast iron, and pans with an enamel coating.

External links

• MadeHow.com - Aluminum
• MadeHow.com - Stainless Steel
• eHow - How to Buy Used Cookware
• eHow - How to Know Cookware Heat Conductivity
• ConsumerReports.org - Buying Advice, Pots and Pans
• Eartheasy - Healthy Cookware: How to lessen potential risks
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Basic Information on PFOA
• Fine Cooking - Choosing Pots and Pans to Improve Your Cooking
• US Food and Drug Administration - Is Newfangled Cookware Safe?
• Associated Content - How to Recycle an Old Saucepan with Creative Reuse
• The New York Times - In Search of a Pan That Lets Cooks Forget About Teflon
• Environmental Working Group - How Green is DuPont's Replacement for Teflon Chemical?
• Environmental Health Perspectives - Genomic Profiling Reveals an Alternate Mechanism for Hepatic Tumor Promotion by Perfluorooctanoic Acid in Rainbow Trout: A study by researchers at Oregon State University found that PFOA caused increased estrogen levels and liver cancer in trout.

Footnotes

1. American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy - Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings: Cooking
2. US Environmental Protection Agency - Mine Waste Technology: Progress & Goals
3. Mother Jones - How Mining Companies Make a Mess
4. Copper.org - Environmental Facts
5. Grist - Ask Umbra: Brew Ado
6. Energy Solutions Center - Iron and Steel Overview: Energy Consumption
7. Steel Recycling Institute - Buy Recycled with Recyclable Steel
8. WashingtonPost.com - Keep Your Cool When Using Teflon
9. Friends of the Earth - Nanotechnology in Food & Agriculture Page 2

Find it! Copiers with duplexing trays

Purchasing a double-siding copier helps you go green because…

• It'll cut paper consumption by 30 to 35 percent.
• Double-sided copies require less energy, so fewer greenhouse gases will be emitted.

External links

• Environmental Energy Technologies Division - Cutting Paper Ideas: What are Duplexing Rates?

Footnotes

1. US Department of Energy - How to Buy an Energy-Efficient Copier: Cost-Effectiveness Example
2. GreenBiz.com - Taking the Wrinkles out of Paper Recycling: In One Bin, Out the Other
3. The Federal Network for Sustainability - Greening Federal Copier Paper: How much can we reduce the use of copier paper?

How to join an environmental group

Find it! Environmental advocacy groups

Joining an environmental advocacy group helps you go green because…

• You can more effectively advocate pro-environment policies when your voice joins a chorus calling for change.
• If you contribute financially, you'll be funding environmental groups that rely largely on individual contributions, so that they can keep operating, maintain a staff of lobbyists, and continue to influence environmental policy.

Sierra Club members across the US protect 58 million acres of national forests

State coalition wins clean cars standards for New Mexico

Small but powerful: Local network protects river

Power in numbers at the polls

Controversies

External Links

• Blog Spot - The Well-Trained Activist A blog to train successful public interest advocates and organizers for wilderness protection, sustainability and other issues.
• Ideal Bite - Trying to decide what to do with your tax rebate? List of Ideal Bite editors' top picks for environmental groups.
• PoliticsOL.com - Advocacy Directory: Environment A short list with links to a dozen environmental groups in the US.

Footnotes

1. Lighter Footstep - Join an Environmental Group
2. Adelogue - Top 5 motives to join a Non Profit Organzation
3. Grist - The Fruit of Your Coins: In film short, Mark Dowie plugs plan to boost funding for grassroots activism
4. Grist - Group Think: On joining your first environmental organization
5. Grist - Ask Umbra: Group Think: On joining your first environmental group
6. The Quotations Page - Quotation Details
7. Sierra Club - Sierra Club 101: Who is the Sierra Club?
8. Sierra Club - Sierra Club 101: Become a leader worth following
9. Sierra Club - Sierra Club 101: Chapters and Groups
10. Sierra Club - Judge Reinstates Original Roadless Rule Marking Huge Victory for Americans, Wild Forests
11. Environment America - Global Warming Solutions News: Victory for New Mexico's Environment: New Mexico 13th State to Adopt Clean Cars Program
12. Committee on Women, Population, and the Environment - Wisconsin Grassroots Alliance Close to Victory
13. Sierra Club - Sierra Club 101: Elect environmental champions

Find it! Helpful tools for cutting phantom loads from cell phones

Unplugging your charger helps you go green because …

External links

• BRDA Parasite Charger: Innovative, design-forward charger designed by Swedish design team BRDA is not currently available for purchase.
• ENERGY STAR
• Federal Electronics Challenge

Footnotes

1. ENERGY STAR - External Power Adapters
2. TreeHugger - Unplug Your Cell Phone Charger
3. Natural Resources Defense Council - Battery Chargers and Energy Efficiency: Summary of Findings and Recommendations
4. TreeHugger - Motorola 100 Percent ENERGY STAR Certified
5. Gadgetell - Motorola's Phone Chargers First to be Energy Star Certified

Find it! Renewable energy chargers

Buying a hand crank or solar charger for your mobile devices helps you go green because…

• Only 5 percent of the power consumed by standard wall chargers is actually used to charge a cell phone.[1]
• Each year, the earth receives 6,000 times the amount of energy from the sun that people actually consume.[2]

External links

• Konarka
• Nanosolar
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Solar America Initiative
• Solar Energy Industries Association

Footnotes

1. TreeHugger - Unplug Your Cellphone Charger
2. Wired - Reality Check: The Future of Solar Energy
3. Natural Resources Defense Council - Battery Chargers and Energy Efficiency: Summary of Findings and Recommendations
4. ENERGY STAR - External Power Adapters

How to donate your cell phone

keeps the potentially harmful chemicals used in the manufacturing of these devices from being used in the first place, which means less of it in landfills. It also allows others to benefit from an unused communications device.

• Ask a program representative how the program works, where your handset will go, and how it will be eventually disposed.
• Make sure the program will accept your model.
• Erase all your personal information from your device before you donate it.

Find it! Wireless donation programs

Most of these organizations double as recycling programs as well as donation programs. If the handsets can be reused, they will refurbish them and then resell them to distributors, and the profits are often directed to a charity. But keep in mind, if you can't find an organization to take your old device off your hands, consider posting it on Freecycle where you can offer it to someone else for free.

Donating your wireless device helps you go green because…

• Donating prolongs the life of electronic devices, keeping harmful toxins out of our waste stream longer, and allows schools, non-profits, low-income families, and people in developing countries to enjoy communications equipment they might not otherwise be able to afford.

By the end of 2007, the number of worldwide cell phone subscribers could reach three billion, up from the current 2.5 billion.[1] The average American upgrades his or her cell phone every 18 months, and since 2000, less than one percent of phones have been recycled or reused.[2] More than 500 million cell phones populate landfills now, and they pile up in landfills at a rate of 130 million devices per year, which creates approximately 67,000 tons of waste annually.[2][3]

The manufacturing of one cell phone requires about 4.5 pounds of raw materials to manufacture it, including petroleum-based plastics, liquid crystal display materials, brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and toxic heavy metals including cadmium, lead, nickel, mercury, manganese, lithium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, beryllium, and copper. If these toxins seep into the environment, they can make their way in the food chain and cause damage to plants, animals and humans.

Controversies

The majority of donated cell phones are redistributed in developing countries, which don't have adequate infrastructure to properly dispose of the phones when they finally burn out.

Related health issues

When cell phones are tossed into a landfill rather than recycled, they can release several toxic chemicals that have been known to cause harm to humans, animals, and the environment.

• cadmium: Found in chip resistors, infrared detectors, and semiconductors. Toxic and bio-accumulative, this chemical can harm kidney systems.
• lead: Used in the soldering of cell phone circuit boards, it can cause nervous system, kidney, and blood system damage. It is estimated that consumer electronics are responsible for 40 percent of the lead in landfills. From there, it can seep into our drinking water and then accumulate in the environment, affecting plants, animals, and humans.
• mercury: Found in cell phone batteries and circuit boards, can seep into waterways. This chemical travels through the food chain and can cause brain damage.
• brominated flame retardants (BFRs): Used on printed circuit boards and components like plastic covers and cables. Once released into the environment through leaching and incineration, cause increased rates of cancer in those who each mercury-contaminated food.

External links

• Electronic Industry Alliance
• INFORM - What Happens to Your Cell Phone When You Throw It In the Trash?

Footnotes

1. Electronic News Net - Global Mobile Phone Connections Hit 2.5 Billion
2. IdealBite - Saying 'Ciao' to your old cell phone?
3. US Environmental Protection Agency - The Lifecycle of a Cell Phone

Find it! Hybrid vehicles

Before you buy

Choosing a hybrid car helps you go green because…

• When accelerating, hybrid vehicles run off a battery-charged electric motor, not gasoline, curtailing global-warming-causing tailpipe emissions. Hybrids can reduce air pollution by as much as 90 percent.[2]
• While at a standstill, a hybrid's engine shuts itself off and the vehicle runs on electricity. Every two minutes of idling in a standard car consumes the same amount of gas required to drive approximately one mile — a waste of resources and a contributor to smog.[3]
• As concern over the cost and source of petroleum soars, hybrids have been proven to have excellent fuel economy due to advanced aerodynamic designs (which reduce wind resistance), weight-optimized design, and other fuel-efficient features.
• Unlike electric cars that travel at slower speeds and require plugging-in to recharge for hours at a time, a hybrid's battery is recharged naturally from energy recovered from braking.

The science of hybrid automobiles

The future of hybrids

Tax breaks and subsidies

Federal tax rebates

Other benefits and breaks

Controversies

Special incentives

Inaccurate EPA mileage readings

Battery concerns

Drawbacks

Economic issues

Safety issues

Glossary

• automotive fuel economy: Fuel economy in cars is important because carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. Miles per gallon, or mpg, is the way most Americans measure fuel economy. (Europe, for example, uses l/100 km or liters of fuel per 100 km traveled.) To measure your fuel economy, fill your tank and reset the odometer. At your next fill-up, divide the miles traveled by the amount of fuel needed to refill the tank.
• regenerative braking: Regenerative braking occurs when heat created by applying the brakes of a hybrid vehicle is recouped by the electric motor. Furthermore, each time a hybrid decreases its speed the motor becomes a generator and charges the battery. For more on the science of regenerative braking and how it differs from braking systems of standard automobiles see wiseGEEK.com.

External links

• AutoblogGreen
• Consumer Reports: Comprehensive listings of new cars, hybrid or not, on the market
• Fueleconomy.gov: Comparison of 2007 hybrid models
• Jalopnik.com
• HybridCars.com - Are Hybrid Batteries Toxic?
• Hybridcenter.org - Who's Got Hybrids? with Bill Nye the Science Guy
• Hybrid Car Blog
• Newsweek - Next Frontiers: The Hype About Hybrid Cars
• The New York Times - Buy a Hybrid, and Save a Guzzler
• NPR.org - Nearly Silent Hybrid Cars May Endanger the Blind
• OmniNerd - Is a Hybrid Worth It?: Dissects, in detail, the financial pros and cons of owning a gas-electric hybrid car
• Soultek.com - Lazy Media: The Hybrid Buyer Stereotype

Footnotes

1. Environmental Transportation Authority - Prius Named World's Greenest Car
2. Care2 - EcoInfo: Hybrid Cars
3. California Energy Commission - Consumer Energy Center
4. Green Car Congress - US Sales of Hybrids Set New High; Close to 3 Percent of New Vehicles in May 2007
5. HybridCars.com - Hybrid Market Dashboard
6. IndustryWeek - US Remains The Largest Hybrid Car Market
7. R.L. Polk & Co. - Hybrid Vehicle Registration Growth-Rate Slows in 2006
8. ConsumerAffairs.com - Hybrids Save 5.5 Million Barrels, Feds Figure
9. Washington Post - Hybrid Perks May Become Problems
10. Hybrid Cars and Trucks.net - 2007 Hybrid Cars: Batteries Loaded!
11. Physorg.com - Hybrid Cars: Pros and Cons

How to carpool instead of driving solo

One-off and short-term carpooling

Regular carpooling plans

Find it! Rideshare providers and ridematching systems

Carpooling instead of driving solo helps you go green because…

• By taking cars off the road, greenhouse gas emissions are lessened, congestion is cut, noise is decreased, and motor vehicle accidents are reduced.
• The land area required for automobile parking is decreased, which reduces water runoff and pollution.
• Wear and tear on your car is slowed which may extend your vehicle's life and means fewer vehicle replacements.

Fringe benefits of carpooling

Related health issues

External links

• Ideal Bite - Strangers With Lollipops
• US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration - Find an HOV Facility
• Victoria Transport Policy Institute - TDM Encyclopedia: Ridesharing

Footnotes

1. Environmental Defense - Cars: Pollution Solutions in Reach
2. Best Workplaces for Commuters - Basic Information
3. Best Workplaces for Commuters - Facts and Figures
4. Energy Information Administration - Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2005: Executive Summary - Carbon
5. US Census Bureau - Journey to Work: 2000
6. US Census Bureau - Percent of Workers 16 Years and Over Who Traveled to Work by Car, Truck or Van--Carpooled: 2006
7. Urban Transportation Caucus - Urban Transportation Report Card, August 2007
8. The Climate Trust - Internet-Based Carpool Matching
9. Mid-America Regional Council - RideShare Program Overview
10. US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration - Simple Steps for Drivers
11. Commuter Solutions - Driving Alone vs. Carpooling
12. Westcovina Environmental Management Department - Rideshare Facts

How to slow down on the road

It's simple. Unless you're the proud recipient of several drag racing trophies, look to your grandmother for driving inspiration. Going ''under'' the posted speed limit isn't the solution, but taming that lead-casted foot is. A fuel-sensitive freeway speed suggested by experts and conservationists is 55 mph. Here's how to slow it down:

• Ignore other drivers: Don't become beleaguered or succumb to feelings of auto-inadequacy if you sense the world is whizzing by you at 75 mph while you obey the posted 55. Disregard the sneerers, honkers, and tailgaters. Keep in mind, slow and steady wins the race — and saves at the filling station.
• Cruise away. If your car has a cruise control option, use it on highway or freeway trips that require driving at a higher, constant speed. Driving with cruise control benefits, in this situation, fuel economy.

Need some more proof of the effectiveness of slowing down? Check out Edmunds.com where tips on driving slower, less aggressively, and with cruise control are put to the test.

Slowing down on the road helps you go green because…

• Fuel consumption increases dramatically once you exceed 60 miles per hour. Obeying the speed limit or slowing down conserves fuel and emits fewer pollutants into the atmosphere. Driving conservatively is also a safer option for you and fellow motorists.
• Due to wind resistance, a driver's fuel economy can decrease by as much as 15 percent when moving at high speeds. Theoretically, for every 1,000 miles driven with 25 mpg fuel efficiency and gas at $2.50 a gallon, you could save $15 dollars at the pump by going 10 mph slower.[1]

Fifty-five mph is the recommended speed, and a limit that was enforced on the nation's freeways from the mid-1970s (due to the Arab oil embargo) until 1995. Current maximums vary by state. In some states, the urban interstate speed limit remains 55 mph while in other states it can be as high as 75 mph.

Americans use more than 100 billion gallons of gasoline each year.  If that fuel were stored in a tank the size of a football field, the walls would have to be nearly 50 miles high.[2]

Every gallon of gasoline burned releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide,  making the transportation sector responsible for about a quarter of overall US carbon dioxide emissions.[3] And because no combustion is perfectly clean, cars are also a primary source of local air pollution.

Related health issues

Aside from the global-warming gas carbon dioxide, three major pollutants emitted by automobiles — hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide — also pose dire risks to human health. Specifically, when hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide mix in sunlight and high temperatures, ground-level ozone is created. This leads to coughing, wheezing, and eye irritation, and can result in chronic lung problems. Carbon monoxide decreases levels of oxygen in the bloodstream and affects mental and visual functions.

Glossary

automotive fuel economy: Fuel economy in cars is important because carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. "Miles per gallon," or mpg, is the way most Americans measure fuel economy, while other countries may use liters of fuel per 100 km traveled. To measure your fuel economy, fill your tank and reset the odometer. At your next fill-up, divide the miles traveled by the amount of fuel needed to refill the tank. For the 2008 model year, the EPA has updated its fuel economy test to reflect today's higher speeds, increased use of air conditioning, and other factors.  In many cases, the published "window sticker" mpg values will be lower.

External links

• AutoblogGreen
• Clean Car Campaign
• Drive 55 Conservation Project
• Environmental Defense: Tips for Cutting Global Warming Pollution
• Fueleconomy.gov
• Green Car Congress
• National Safety Council - Auto Emissions Fact Sheet
• SFGate.com ‰ÛÒ "Drive 55, save gas ‰ÛÒ get flipped off"
• US Environmental Protection Agency: Transportation and Air Quality

Footnotes

1. Car Talk's Guide to Better Fuel Economy
2. Energy Information Administration - "Household Vehicles Energy Use: Latest Data & Trends"
3. Fueleconomy.gov

How to avoid car idling

• Fast foodies and drive-thru junkies: Park your car and go inside the restaurant to order. Whether you decide to gobble in the establishment itself or put away those fries back in the comfort of your car, you might find the queue inside the restaurant to be shorter than the one outside. Besides, getting in and out of your car to conduct business — grabbing a bite to eat, using an ATM, and whatnot — provides you with a bit of old-fashioned exercise.
• Shorten the warm-up: For those dealing with chilly temperatures: warming up a car for a lengthy amount of time before driving is superfluous. If your car is in healthy automotive shape, a 30-second warm-up session will do just fine — driving is the best way to get car-blood pumping.
• Put it into neutral: If you must idle, put your car into neutral. This will give your engine a well-deserved break, is quieter, and produces fewer emissions.

Avoiding car idling helps you go green because…

• Tailpipe emissions generated from idling cars contain toxic pollutants that adversely affect the environment and human health. In terms of fuel economy, idling results in zero miles per gallon.

Idling and long-haul trucking

Idling and school buses

Glossary

External links

• AutoblogGreen
• Clean Car Campaign
• Environmental Defense - Tips for Cutting Global Warming Pollution
• Fueleconomy.gov
• Green Car Congress
• TheRecord.com - Stop idling cars and save both gas and the environment
• National Idling Reduction Network News

Footnotes

1. California Energy Commission - Consumer Energy Center: Should I Shut Off the Motor When I'm Idling My Car
2. International Center for Technology Assessment - Global Warming and Air Pollution
3. Fueleconomy.gov - How can a gallon of gasoline produce 20 gallons of carbon dioxide
4. US Environmental Protection Agency - SmartWay Transport Partnership: Environmental Effects
5. US Environmental Protection Agency - SmartWay Transport Partnership: Idling Reduction: National Transportation Idle-Free Corridors
6. US Environmental Protection Agency - Clean School Bus USA
7. National Safety Council - Auto Emissions Fact Sheet

How to build and use a solar oven

Just as a closed car parked in direct sunlight becomes super-heated, solar ovens rely on the greenhouse effect to collect and trap the sun's energy and convert it to heat. But it can be tricky to time how long to cook food with a solar oven, so trial and error is often the name of the game. In general, solar cookers don't heat much beyond 300°F, so food tends to cook more slowly.

Sun ovens work best on cloudless days when the sun is highest in the sky (more than 45 degrees above the horizon) and ultraviolet (UV) rays are most able to penetrate the atmosphere. That means from April to October in the northern hemisphere, usually from 10 am to 2 pm In the early morning and late afternoon and during the winter months (November to March) the sun is usually too low to generate cooking-strength UV rays. As a general rule, use a solar oven when your shadow is shorter than your height or when the UV Index is seven or greater. To find out the current UV index in your area, visit the US Environmental Protection Agency's SunWise site.

If you're a DIYer, making your own solar oven is relatively simple. With just a few easy-to-find — including cardboard boxes to serve as the oven frame, aluminum foil to reflect sunlight into the oven, and a clear cover like plastic wrap to keep heat inside— you'll be able to concoct just about any culinary creation you'd bake in a conventional oven or grill. Get ideas and instructions on how to make your own solar cookers with one of these guides:

• ehow.com
• The Solar Cookery Book
• Knowledge Hound

Find it! Solar ovens

For the non-handy, there are many affordable solar ovens available on the market, ranging from $30 to $300 and beyond. Here are just a few.

Before you buy

Because solar ovens rely on the strength of UV rays to cook food, it can be difficult on cloudy or other low-UV days to ensure that meat, poultry, and certain other foods reach adequate temperatures to kill potentially dangerous bacteria. To prevent foodborne illness, beef should reach an internal temperature of at least 145°F and poultry should reach 165°F. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends using a thermometer when cooking with a solar oven to make sure food is thoroughly done. Food-grade thermometers are inexpensive and make a good addition to your solar cooker purchase.

Buying a flameless solar oven helps you go green because…

• It doesn't require charcoal, gas, or electricity to operate, eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions.
• Because no flame is used and temperatures remain relatively low, solar ovens also minimize the formation of cancer-causing compounds that are created when meats are flame-grilled or broiled or baked at high temperatures.

Whether you're cooking indoors or out, meal-making takes an environmental toll. Gas and electric kitchen stoves represent about 8 percent of home energy use and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.[1] Barbecue buffs face a similar eco-dilemma: No conventional grilling method (whether charcoal, gas, or electric) is free from eco-impacts.[2] One of the lowest-impact alternatives is a solar oven, which harnesses the sun's energy for smoke-free, no-pollution cooking.

Charcoal and wood burn "dirtiest," unleashing hydrocarbons as well as health-harming soot particles into the air. In addition, lump charcoal — made from pieces of charred wood — causes deforestation in many parts of the world and contributes greenhouse gases during production. Charcoal briquettes — molded from charred sawdust and wood scraps — are also greenhouse-gas contributors and often contain coal dust and other unhealthy additives. What's more, the 46,000 tons of lighter fluid used to fire up coals each year release about 14,500 tons of ground-level ozone-causing volatile organic compounds (VOCs).[3]

Gas and electric aren't without their eco-drawbacks either. Natural gas is a fossil fuel, and electricity is often generated via coal-fired plants and other emissions-producing methods.

Glossary

• volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Organic solvents that easily evaporate into the air. VOCs are emitted by thousands of products, including paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, and may cause immediate and long-term health problems. VOCs are also considered a possible carcinogen, and can create ground-level ozone, the main component of smog.

External links

• CBS News - Cooking With The Sun: Solar Cookers Get Put To The Test By "America's Test Kitchen"
• [http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3664&src=QHA018 emagazine.com - EARTHTALK: Week of 03/25/2007
• Journey to Forever - Solar Box Cookers
• SFGate.com - Hot off the grid: Solar ovens utilize nature's rays for energy-efficient, everyday cooking - even in foggy San Francisco
• Sierra Magazine - Hearth & Home: P's and Q's of BBQ - A guide to guilt-free grilling
• US Department of Agriculture - Safe Food Handling: Do New Consumer Products Enhance or Endanger Food?
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Personal Emissions Calculator Assumptions and References

Footnotes

1. ENERGY STAR - Where Does My Money Go?
2. ThriftyFun.com - Green Grilling
3. Pima County, AZ, Department of Environmental Quality - Healthier Ways to BBQ

What to look for when choosing natural shampoo

1. Avoid antibacterial agents: A recent study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that triclosan — the main antibacterial agent used in shampoo and other personal care products — can be linked to cancer in lab animals, may disrupt hormone function in humans, and is a non-biodegradable toxic agent that pollutes ecosystems and threatens wildlife when it is discharged into the water stream.
2. Look for plant-based, biodegradable ingredients: Conventional shampoos are made from petroleum-derived chemicals that persist in the environment, creating pollution and threatening human health. It's estimated that 93 percent of shampoos contain ingredients linked to cancer and other health issues.[1] Shampoos that use plant-based ingredients and essential oils for fragrance replace these dangerous ingredients with ones that are healthy for you and the earth. In particular, try to avoid ingredients like BHA and parabens, and seek out those labeled as biodegradable.
3. Go organic: Because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spends only a tiny portion of its budget investigating the chemical composition and toxins in personal care products, shampoos can tout their use of organic ingredients and still have up to 30 percent synthetic materials, even the ones labeled "organic" or "made with organic ingredients." The only way to be sure that the product you are purchasing is, in fact, organic is to look for the USDA Organic Seal on the label. This seal guarantees that every ingredient is organically produced as defined by the National Organics Standards Board, which bans the use of harmful pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and genetic engineering.
4. Look for shampoos that do not contain animal fats or employ animal testing: While you're contemplating green attributes, you may also wish to join the cruelty-free movement. Just keep in mind: a company may claim that they don't employ animal testing for their products, but without third-party verification, it's hard to know whether these statements are in fact completely true. So stick to those products certified as cruelty-free by looking for products with the Leaping Bunny Logo or the Certified Vegan Logo. You can rest assured that no bunnies (or monkeys or cats for that matter) were harmed in the making of these non-animal-tested products.

Find it! Natural shampoos

Before you buy

Choosing natural shampoo helps you go green because…

• They rely on ingredients found in nature, not in a chemist's lab. These ingredients have natural healing and cleaning properties and do not pose a risk to those with chemical sensitivities.
• Like other conventional hair, skincare, and cosmetic products, shampoos can contain petroleum-derived components. Petroleum is a non-sustainable resource with various eco-repercussions.
• Many makers of natural shampoos and hair care products also follow green business practices, such as using recycled packaging and harnessing renewable energy sources like wind power.

Fragrances

Controversies

Organic labeling

Glossary

• 1,4-dioxane: A petroleum-derived contaminant classified as a probable human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
• BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole): A chemical preservative used in cosmetics and certain foods to prevent fats and oils from becoming rancid.
• parabens: This family of synthetic preservatives (which includes methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butyl-parabens) can possibly disrupt the endocrine system.
• phthalates: Phthalates are additives that are widely used in plastics and other materials, mainly to make them soft and flexible.
• triclosan: An antibacterial agent that may form dioxin and chloroform in the right circumstances, both probable carcinogens.
• volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Organic solvents that easily evaporate into the air, where they may cause immediate and long-term health problems.

External links

• The Green Guide - Soap and Shampoo: Personal Best
• The New York Times - Is Organic Shampoo Chemistry or Botany?
• TreeHugger - TreeHugger Asks: What's a Good, Green, Cheap Shampoo?
• Organic Consumers Association - Up close & personal: "organic" shampoo defined
• Environmental Working Group - Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Before you lather up, check out where your favorite shampoo ranks on the hazard scale.

Footnotes

1. Green Guide - Safe, Not Sorry, Hair: The Case for Nontoxic Shampoos, Conditioners and Colors
2. Plum Organics - Toxin Free Home Guide
3. Arts & Opinion - Triclosan: The Ubiquitous Antibacterial Agent
4. Fragranced Products Information Network - Fragrances by Design

Find it! Natural yoga gear

Buying natural yoga gear help you go green because…

• You won't be supporting the production of eco-unfriendly PVC.
• They're made with sustainable ingredients that easily decompose.

External links

• The Green Yoga Association: is a consortium of yoga studios that are dedicated to fostering ecological consciousness in the yoga community, and provides a list of green yoga resources.

Footnotes

1. Idealbite - Tired of slip-sliding on your so-called sticky mat? Use a yoga rug or a naturally-made mat instead
2. Friends of the Earth - An Environmental Assessment of Alkylphenol Ethoxylates and Alkylphenols
3. American Chemical Society Publications - European Bans on Surfactant Trigger Transatlantic Debate
4. US Department of Agriculture - Atmospheric Processes of Agricultural Pollutants that Affect Air and Water Quality

Find it! Refillable water and beverage bottle

When buying refillable water bottles, choosing bottles made from stainless steel is probably your best choice. If you choose bottles with plastic liners, go for ones that don't contain bisphenol A (BPA).

Another possibility is to buy thermal stainless steel travel mugs with leak-proof lids — designed for commuting coffee drinkers — as all-purpose refillable drink containers for coffee, water, and other hot or cold beverages.

Using refillable bottles for water and beverages helps you go green because…

• Bottled water is packaged in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, which emits harmful toxins such as nickel, ethyl benzene, ethylene oxide, and benzene into our air and water during production.
• Eighty-six percent of plastic water bottles used in the US aren't recycled.
• Water bottles disposed of in landfills or tossed by the side of the road can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in the ground.[1]
• With the exception of a tiny amount of incinerated plastic, all 1 billion tons of plastic manufactured to date is still in the environment.[2]

Bottled water uses huge amounts of petroleum-based plastics in its bottles. The Pacific Institute found that manufacturing the plastic for bottled water consumed by Americans in 2006 took the equivalent of about 17 million barrels of oil — enough petroleum to fuel over 1 million cars and light trucks for a year. Most bottled water sold in the US is packaged in petroleum-based PET. PET is less toxic than other plastics, according to the Berkeley Ecology Center, but, manufacturing PET emits over 100 times the toxins — nickel, ethyl benzene, ethylene oxide, and benzene — than manufacturing an equivalent amount of glass.[3]

The Container Recycling Institute reports that an astounding 86 percent of plastic water bottles used in the US aren't recycled.[1] Not only do plastics end up in landfills, they also cover large areas of the ocean with floating refuse. An area of the Pacific Ocean — 10 million square miles, or about the size of Africa — has been dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Dump: it's filled with industrial flotsam, 90 percent of which is plastic. About 80 percent of this plastic is discarded on land: blown from garbage trucks and landfills, spilled from rail cars, and dumped down storm drains. Due to winds and ocean currents, these plastics end up in this giant floating garbage dump. There are six other known oceanic gyres, also collecting plastic waste.[2]

Polyethylene terephthalate and High density polyethylene 

One widely circulated story is that PET bottles used to package most bottled waters shouldn't be reused because they harbor harmful bacteria. According to the American Chemistry Council's Plastics Division, this myth resulted from a study by the University of Calgary, which found bacteria present in water samples taken from bottles that had been refilled by elementary school students without being cleaned. The study concluded that the bacteria were the result of "inadequate personal hygiene practices on the part of students reusing the bottles." The fact that the bottles were made from PET plastic had no bearing on the study.  Washing a water bottle after use, just as you would a drinking glass, should rid the bottle of harmful bacteria.

Aluminum

The use of aluminum in food containers and cookware was called into question after trace levels of aluminum were found in the autopsied brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients. Studies have since cast doubt whether there's any conclusive correlation. Sigg, a leading supplier of aluminum bottles, lines its bottles with a water-based lining intended to prevent leaching of chemicals from the aluminum and any residue buildup.

Stainless steel

Klean Kanteen, a supplier of stainless steel bottles, notes that aluminum bottles are generally lined with epoxy resins. Sigg's water-based lining mentioned above is proprietary, and the company has not described it as a resin lining. Stainless steel is widely accepted as a preferred inert material for medical and food-handling uses. Stainless steel is made with nickel, however, which elicits an allergic response in about 10 to 20 percent of the population.[4] 

 Keep your bottles clean to avoid health risks

Refillable bottles can develop bacteria and mold buildup if they're not cleaned properly between uses. If they're filled with acidic fruit juices, they're especially prone to developing mold during hot weather. The solution is to give your refillable bottle a proper cleaning, just as you would your other drinking glasses and dishware.

To clean refillable water bottles, do one of the following:

• Wash in the dishwasher in the top rack away from the heating element.
• Soak in hot, soapy water.
• Soak in hot water with baking soda.
• Soak in hot water with lemon.

If you see discoloration, especially black spots, it may be mold. Mold is most likely to form in the seals on the lids of refillable bottles (just as it forms in the seals on your refrigerator doors).

To prevent bacteria or mold buildup:

• Air dry bottles completely after washing, or
• Store bottles in the freezer immediately after washing to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold.

To remove mold from the lid of your refillable bottle:

• Sterilize a recycled toothbrush by running it through the dishwasher. Put a little baking soda on it and scrub the seals. The bristles will get into the crevasses of the rubber seals which often don't dry well. Afterward, rinse thoroughly and run the bottle, lid, and toothbrush through a hot dishwasher cycle.

Glossary

• polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE): A plastic polymer in the polyester family, mainly derived from petroleum and used to make beverage bottles, textiles, and industrial moldings. It has a resin code of #1 for plastics recycling.

External links

• Environmental Working Group (EWG) - Are stainless steel water bottles safe? Find out the Environmental Working Group's advice about choosing a refillable water bottle, as well as tips on how to avoid bisphenol A.
• The American Chemistry Council - Are the Myths About Polycarbonate Bottles True? Hear what the Plastics Division of the American Chemistry Council has to say about the latest research on bisphenol A and refillable water bottles.
• Orion magazine - "Polymers are Forever" by Alan Weisman Read this eye-opening article that discusses, among other things, the 10 million square miles of ocean that's become a floating garbage dump: you'll never think of plastics the same way again.

Footnotes

1. New American Dream - Bottled water: overflowing on the environment
2. Orion magazine - "Polymers are Forever" by Alan Weisman
3. E/The Environmental Magazine - Message in a Bottle: Despite the Hype, Bottled Water is Neither CLEANER nor GREENER Than Tap Water
4. US Department of Health & Human Services - Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry: How can nickel affect my health?

How to choose a natural nail polish

1. Choose water-based instead of chemical solvent-based nail polish: Conventional nail polish is usually made of about 70 percent chemical solvents, which, when applied, evaporate into the air and give off chemical fumes which the user then inhales. Water-based nail polish replaces most or all of these chemicals with water. Specifically, look for those that say "water-based" on the label and proclaim to be free of the following chemicals:
• acetone: A solvent used in nail polish, nail polish removers, and astringents that can cause nausea, ear, nose, and throat irritation, and dermatitis. Can contaminate waterways in production and pollutes indoor air: its presence tends to be higher inside homes than outside due to the use of chemical products.
• benzophenone-1: Can lead to hormone disruption.
• benzoyl peroxide: Inhalation of this plastics additive can irritate mucous membranes and has been shown to promote cancer in animal studies.
• dibutyl phthalate (DBP): A specific phthalate, common in nail polish to prevent chipping and add shine, that studies have shown can interfere with normal hormone balance, can cause severe birth defects, and is a suspected carcinogen. Phthalates have also been shown to cause liver, kidney, lung, and reproductive system damage, and the production of phthalates pollutes the air, water, and soil.
• ethyl lactate or ethyl alcohol: Can lead to neurological damage and irritate the eyes and mucous membranes.
• formaldehyde: Used as a preservative in some nail polishes, formaldehyde is one of the world's most hazardous compounds to both ecosystems and health, according to the Environmental Defense Scorecard, and is a known carcinogen.
• toluene: Used to give nail polish its fluid quality and improve drying time, this solvent is absorbed easily by the body through the skin or inhalation, affecting the nervous system and causing depression, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and eye, nose, and throat irritation. Toluene has also been found to be toxic to the kidneys and liver and possibly a reproductive disruptor. Toluene is petroleum-based, so its production supports the pollution and greenhouse gases associated with petroleum production.
• xylene: Like toluene, this chemical solvent is petroleum-derived, toxic, and may be linked to cancer.
2. Go organic: Because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spends only a tiny portion of its budget investigating the chemical composition and toxins in skin care products, nail polishes can tout their use of organic ingredients and still have up to 30 percent synthetic materials, even the ones labeled "organic" or "made with organic ingredients." The only way to be sure that the product you are purchasing is, in fact, organic is too look for the USDA Organic Seal on the label. This seal guarantees that every ingredient is organically produced as defined by the National Organics Standards Board, which bans the use of harmful pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and genetic engineering.
3. Look for nail polish that does not employ animal testing: While you're contemplating green attributes, you may also wish to join the cruelty-free movement. Just keep in mind: a company may claim that they don't employ animal testing for their products, but without third-party verification, it's hard to know whether these statements are in fact completely true. So stick to those products certified as cruelty-free by looking for products with the Leaping Bunny Logo or the Certified Vegan Logo. You can rest assured that no bunnies (or monkeys or cats for that matter) were harmed in the making of these non-animal-tested products.

Find it! Natural nail polishes

Choosing a natural nail polish helps you go green because…

• They rely on water-based ingredients in lieu of combinations of chemicals that are harmful to the environment and pose various health risks, such as cancer, hormone disruption, reproductive disorders, organ damage and more, when they evaporate into the air and are inhaled.
• Like other conventional skincare and cosmetic products, nail polishes contain petroleum-derived components. Petroleum is a non-sustainable resource, the extraction and production of which has caused major environmental damage to soil, surface and ground waters, and local ecosystems, and contributes to global warming. Petroleum-based products support the hazards of the petroleum industry, which include about 2.6 million gallons of oil spilled every month during transportation and about 71 million pounds of toxins released into the air and water during refinement.[1]
• Many makers of natural nail polishes also follow green business practices, such as using recycled packaging and harnessing renewable energy sources like wind power.

External links

• The Green Guide - Nail Care
• Campaign For Safe Cosmetics
• Ideal Bite - Who says it's bad to bite?
• The Nation - The High Price of Beauty
• Health Care Without Harm - Phthalates/DEHP
• All Lacquered Up: "A Polish Fanatic's Resource"
• Studies Highlight Hazards of Manicurists' Chemicals
• San Francisco Chronicle - Suit accuses cosmetic makers of organic ruse
• US Department of Agriculture - National Organic Program: Cosmetics, Body Care Products, and Personal Care Products
• Environmental Working Group - Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database: Check out where your favorite nail polish ranks on the hazard scale.

Footnotes

1. Plum Organics - Toxin Free Home Guide

How to recycle your used furniture

Refinishing your old furniture

Repair and repaint

• Repair: Put the spring back into a squeaky bed by tightening screws or replacing broken parts. Give your old chairs a leg to stand on by repairing uneven and wobbly components. In other words, do what you can to find the source of your funiture's ailments and attempt to fix them rather than just trashing what appears to be a useless piece of furniture. Get more furniture repair guidance with HowStuffWorks or DoItYourself.
• Refinish: Alternatively, with a little sanding, you may be able to apply a fresh coat of paint or stain to bring the old wood back to life. Or choose an entirely new color that'll suit your home's style and color scheme. Do the work yourself or hire a professional furniture refinisher or interior designer to give your historic pieces a high-quality refurbishment.

Reupholstering

• Out of the box solutions: Buy a pre-made slipcover to drape over your old couch or chair. There are usually several standard sizes that fit various shapes and sizes.
• Hire a pro: If you can't find a slipcover to meet your needs, pay an upholstery professional to create a customized re-design of your old comfy seating.
• DIYers delight: For those who are more budget-conscious, consider recovering the piece yourself. If you don't know how, find an upholstery book in your local library or try taking an upholstery class at your local community college or vocational center. If you are more adventurous, remove the old fabric yourself and use it as a pattern to cut and sew new fabric in place. Be sure to give away old fabric, rather than sending it to a landfill. You can buy replacement fabric through your local fabric store, online, or from a secondhand store.

Recycling your furniture materials

Retask

• After you remove the nails from the wood, reuse the scrap wood for projects around your house, including a new headboard, legs for your armchair, or a shim (wedge) under your wobbly table.
• Use upholstery fabric to patch jeans or shirts, or to make a new skirt (remember to take note of the fiber content, though, so that you know how to launder it in the future).
• Repurpose the fabric and foam for use in various crafts, including doll furniture, valences, window seat cushions, quilts, dog beds, etc.
• Reuse the foam and pillow stuffing for new cushions around your house.

Donations accepted

• Visit Smartwood for a directory of companies that use recycled wood to make new products. The Rainforest Alliance's SmartWood program provides certification (look for Smartwood's "Rediscovered Wood" logo) to identify wood products that use salvaged, reclaimed, or recycled sources.
• Search Earth 911 for a wood recycling center in your area.
• If the wood's in good condition, you can donate it to a Habitat for Humanity Home Improvement Outlet or other charities that need building materials.
• Although you're unlikely to find a textile recycling program in your community, you may be able to donate your discarded upholstery fabric to secondhand or thrift stores, who in turn either sell the fabric to customers, or pass it along for sale in foreign countries.

Find it! Furniture recyclers

Recycling your old furniture helps you go green because…

• It prevents wood, cotton, and foam waste from going to the landfill, where its decomposition produces greenhouse gases and may release other toxic chemicals.
• It eliminates the need to harvest virgin trees from the world's forests, protecting watersheds, as well as habitat for wildlife and understory plants.
• It prevents new land from being cultivated for textile fibers, such as cotton or wool.
• It saves energy because, generally, the steps required to supply recycled materials to industry (including collection, processing, and transportation) use less energy than the steps required to supply virgin materials to industry (including extraction, transportation and processing).
• It reduces pollution because no new items (which typically must be dyed and treated with chemicals) are required.

Textile recycling

Wood recycling

External links

• Europa Eurpean Commission - Furniture and other manufactured goods
• National Recycling Coalition
• Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection - Recycling Saves Energy
• Rainforest Alliance
• Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association
• Textiles On Line
• Waste Online - Textile recycling information sheet

Footnotes

1. BeSmart.org - Textile Recycling
2. Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association - Don't Overlook Textiles!
3. Dezingnare - Textile Recycling by Worldwise
4. US Environmental Protection Agency - Organic Materials: Basic Information about Wood Waste
5. US Environmental Protection Agency - Landfill Methane Outreach Program: Methane Emissions from Landfills
6. US Environmental Protection Agency - Methane: Greenhouse Gas Properties
7. American Forest and Paper Association - Benefits of Wood Use

How to install a solar thermal water heater

Active solar water heaters

Direct (open-loop) systems

Indirect (closed-loop) systems

Passive solar water heaters

• DIY Network
• Mother Earth News - How To Build An Integral Passive Solar Water Heater
• Guy Marsden's Blog - Installing My Solar Domestic Hot Water Heating System

Find it! Solar water heaters

Before you buy

Solar thermal water heaters help you go green because…

• Solar thermal water heaters use the sun, not fuel, to heat your water, lowering your greenhouse gas emissions — while cutting your energy bills.

Tax incentives

• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy: Updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project: Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy: Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

External links

• The Encyclopedia of Sustainable and Alternative Living
• Greenbuilder - Solar Hot Water, Heating and Cooling Systems
• New Resource Bank: Get financing (in San Francisco only at this time) with low monthly payments for your new solar project.
• Solar Depot - Solar Smart Water Heating Systems
• Solar Direct - Solar Water Heating Systems
• US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - Solar Water Heaters
• US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Building Codes, Covenants, and Regulations for Solar Water Heating Systems

Footnotes

1. Greenpeace International - Your energy savings
2. ENERGY STAR - High Efficiency Water Heaters
3. US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: The Economics of a Solar Water Heater

How to flush with less water

1. Put a few inches of gravel or pebbles in the bottom of an empty gallon jug. Fill the rest up with water and cap it. If you prefer slightly more water for flushing, use a smaller jug.
2. Remove the lid of the toilet tank and flush. Notice the location of the flushing mechanism.
3. Place the filled jug in the tank, making sure not to interfere with any part of the flushing mechanism.
4. Allow the toilet to fill back up.
5. If the jug floats a little, add more gravel to weigh it down.
6. Replace the toilet tank lid and use your toilet as normal.

Find it! Mechanisms to flush with less water

Flushing with less water helps you go green because…

• It conserves water.
• It conserves energy.

External links

• About My Planet - Tame Your Toilet
• Community Science Action Guidelines - Water Saving Toilets
• Eartheasy - 25 Ways to save water at home
• Mississippi State University Extension Service - Water Quality: Correct Use of Your Septic Tank: See 'Water Conservation' section.
• US Environmental Protection Agency - WaterSense: Efficiency Made Easy - Benefits of Water Efficiency

Footnotes

1. Flex Your Power - Commercial Product Guides: Toilets
2. Eartheasy - 25 Ways to Save Water at Home
3. US Environmental Protection Agency - WaterSense: Efficiency Made Easy - Benefits of Water Efficiency

Find it!

Buying eco-friendly towels helps you go green because…

• Towels made from organic or sustainably harvested natural fibers come from rapidly renewable resources grown using methods that do not pose environmental harm to ecosystems, wildlife, or humans.
• Organic farming uses few if any harmful chemicals and combats global warming through carbon sequestration.

Organically grown fibers

Other natural fibers

Bamboo

Hemp

Wood pulp

The manufacturing process

Making stiff fibers soft

Adding color to drab fibers

Certification

USDA Organic

Oeko-Tex

Skal Organic Certification

Controversies

Glossary

• carbon sequestration: The process by which carbon is captured (in the form of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and incorporated into soil, ocean, and plant matter.
• genetically modified organism: GMOs result from merging the genetic makeup of two organisms to create a desired byproduct that could otherwise not be found in nature. Using genetically modified seed is a common practice in conventional farming. Studies have shown that GMOs pose significant environmental risks and cause some insects which feed on GM crops to become resistant to pesticides.
• volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Organic solvents that easily evaporate into the air.VOCs are emitted by thousands of products including paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings and they may cause immediate and long-term health problems.

External links

• Environmental Bamboo Foundation - Why Bamboo? Here's Why
• The Green Guide - Bath Towels and Washcloths
• Grist - Advice on natural fabrics vs. polyester
• Organic Trade Association - Organic Cotton
• US Energy Information Administration - Petroleum (Oil): A Fossil Fuel

Footnotes

1. Cotton Inc. - Making the Eco Movement Matter
2. WWF - Cotton Farming
3. US Geological Survey - Water Facts
4. Straus Communications - Organic Farming Sequesters Atmospheric Carbon and Nutrients in Soils: The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trialåš Findings
5. The New Farm - Organic farming combats global warming … big time
6. Christian Science Monitor - Easy on the Eyes and the Environment
7. Environmental Bamboo Foundation - Why Bamboo? Here's Why
8. MetaEfficient - Efficient by Rare: Hemp Bath Towels
9. Industrial Hemp - For A Better Tomorrow: Environmental Benefits of Industrial Hemp
10. Fibre2fashion.com - Natural, "Green" Dyes for the Textile Industry

What to look for when choosing eco-friendly facial tissue

1. Post-consumer recycled content: Regardless of the brand you choose, make sure you verify what percentage of post-consumer fiber the product contains. PCW or Post-consumer waste (the reborn paper products made from your recycling bin contributions) is preferred to pre-consumer (often originating from manufacturing waste) because it means support for community recycling programs. Don't be fooled by labels touting the word "recycled" without a PCW percentage since the product is likely made with only a fraction of post-consumer waste — typically as little as 10 percent.[1] The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) provides a very useful Facial Tissue Guide, neatly charting data on different brands of facial tissue, covering three important points: the bleaching process, the percent recycled, and the percent of facial tissue made from post-consumer waste. You'll want to pay special attention to their recommendations for which brands to avoid altogether.
2. Chlorine usage: Also check to see how the product has been whitened, being careful to avoid products made with the help of chlorine bleach. Processed chlorine-free (PCF) is the designation to seek out since it means no toxic chemicals ending up in our water supplies. Though "elemental chlorine free (ECF)" might seem a good alternative, it's not, so dodge brands sporting that claim. Or avoid the hassle of checking for chlorine altogether by choosing "natural" colored paper products instead, since that's likely to indicate the fibers haven't been whitened at all!

Find it! Eco-friendly facial tissue

Before you buy

Choosing recycled facial tissue helps you go green because…

• About 163,000 trees would be spared by replacing one box of virgin fiber facial tissue with a 100 percent recycled one in every household in the US.[2]

Controversies

Glossary

• dioxin: Dioxins are extremely persistent chemical compounds that are created inadvertently by human activities like incineration and fuel combustion. Dioxins break down slowly so they persist in the environment for many years. Exposure to dioxins may cause adverse health effects, such as cancer, reproductive and developmental disorders, and skin disease.
• elemental chlorine-free (ECF): This designation indicates that virgin fibers were treated without elemental chlorine, but that a chlorine derivative such as chlorine dioxide was used instead. Although preferable to chlorine-bleached paper products, this is nowhere near as eco-friendly as PCF paper products.
• old growth forest: Also known as virgin forest, ancient forest, or primary forest, this is an area of forest which has attained great age, containing a variety of vertical layers of vegetation, including large live trees. These forests may also be home to many rare species that are dependent on these ecologically unique old growth features.
• post-consumer waste (PCW): Refers to recycled content that results from curb-side collection. For example, your recycled Sunday paper is considered PCW. Post-consumer waste is the most desirable content in a recycled product, since it creates a market for paper that has already been used and would otherwise end up in a landfill.
• pre-consumer waste: A type of waste recovered from the manufacturing process that has not met its intended use because of defect or as an acceptable leftover. Examples include paper trimmings from paper production, mill converting scraps, defective aluminum cans, and pulp substitutes.
• recycled paper: Refers to paper scraps and trimmings that result from paper companies' manufacturing process. This is easiest to recycle because the scraps don't require any collection, sorting, or de-inking. However, it doesn't promote any consumer-based initiative related to recycling.

External links

• The Conservatree Guide to Environmentally Sound Tissue Papers
• Greenpeace - Kleercut Campaign
• Environmental Paper Network - Paper related definitions
• Worldcentric - Post Consumer Waste, Chlorine Free Recycled Paper
• National Resources Defense Council - Paper Industry Laying Waste to North American Forests

Footnotes

1. Treecycle Recycled Paper - About Store-bought Recycled Tissue Products
2. National Resources Defense Council - A Shoppers' Guide
3. RISI - Tissue market continues to grow
4. Ecology - Paper Chase
5. Natural Resources Defense Council - Good Wood: How Forest Certification Helps the Environment

How to serve eco-friendly food

Enthusiastic home chefs with a green bent will relish these DIY food ideas, but those wishing a less labor-intensive menu may wish to seek out eco-friendly restaurants or green caterers. Regardless, when planning a green event, you'll want to consider your event's hardware (appetizers, main course, and dessert), as well as the software (beverages).

Eco-eats

• Veggie menus: Whether you're throwing together a dinner party for ten or a quiet meal for two, your guests will appreciate vegetable and main dishes made with local and organic ingredients. Meat-eaters can change things up by trying vegetarian. There are lots of creative, sumptuous menus out there!
• Sustainable protein: If you choose to serve meat, opt for grass-fed, small-scale farm options. Seafood lovers should look for sustainably-caught or responsibly-farmed fillets.

Sweet treats

• Fantastic fruits:  From fondue to fruit tart, apple pie to berry crumble, fruit desserts are a healthy, delicious way to end a meal. When shopping for ingredients, look for local and organic, Fair Trade Certified, and unwaxed varieties.
• Chocolaty goodness: For most of us, chocolate is the epitome of perfection. Make it eco-perfect, too, by opting for organic and fair trade.
• Let them eat cake! If you're baking up a classic wedding or birthday cake, consider making it an eco-friendly treat using organic, fair trade ingredients, like flour and vanilla.

Green drinks

• A cool drink of water: For hot summer weddings or raucous children's parties, you'll want a steady supply of water. Just be sure to serve it pitcher-style in non-disposable cups, or choose reusable bottles for each guest if you're without ready access to a tap.
• Fizzy fun: Soda's a good addition to all sorts of parties and celebrations. Choose natural or home-brewed concoctions to really spice things up.
• Liquid energy: Mid-afternoon get-togethers and late-night carousing may call for a jolt of energy. Choose coffees and teas that are organic, fair trade, and sustainably grown to provide a more natural sipping experience.
• Adult choices: In case you're worried your mature tastebuds will be out of luck, fear not! There are plenty of eco-friendly adult beverages, too. From organically grown wine and beer to home-brewed ales and Chiantis, there's an eco-alcohol for every taste.

The aftermath

• Reuse and recycle: Whenever possible choose reusable dishes and flatware. But if you've got garbage left over, be sure to recycle (bottles and cans, plastic cups, etc). These and many other food packaging items can be made into something new by sending them to the local recycler.
• Compost: Got too many leftovers? Compost to cut your greenhouse gas emissions while producing rich, organic matter for your garden. Paper plates and napkins can often be added to the mix, too.

Serving eco-friendly food helps you go green because…

• Fuel-intensive global food trade, whether by air, land, or sea, adds to mounting levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• Polluting chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are absent in organic food choices.
• Vegetarian menus reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, and other chemicals, as well as animal excrement, from polluting waterways, soil, and air.
• Choosing sustainably harvested fish and seafood ensures that the seafood on your plate is not contributing to the depletion of biodiversity or loss of ocean habitat.

Party planners and blushing brides alike will find that organic, local ingredients, which are fairly traded and sustainably produced, offer important solutions for eco-friendly celebrations.

Sustainable ingredients

Serving up local produce, home-brewed wine, beer, or soda, and locally caught fish or small-farm meat, lessens the environmental impact associated with food by cutting out polluting, fossil fuel-intensive transportation from farm to banquet table. Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture researchers found that conventionally grown US produce travels up to 27 times the distance of its locally grown counterparts.[1] The support to local, small farms also helps preserve rural open space and conserves water, energy, and other resources.

Organic food choices, like chocolate, produce, beverages, meat, and coffee are free of potentially dangerous pesticides, insecticides, and other chemicals. To be certified organic by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), food must be grown in soil free of toxic pesticides and fertilizers and cannot be genetically modified or irradiated. Chemical pesticides and fertilizers are not only believed to be harmful to human and animal health, but they also pollute ecosystems and waterways.

Vegetarian menus also offer significant environmental benefits. A recent Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report suggests that livestock generate greater quantities of greenhouse gases than do all cars on the road across the globe.[2] Methane is produced both during normal digestion in cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels, as well as during the anaerobic decomposition of livestock manure, especially when handled as liquid manure. Nitrous oxide results from the nitrification and de-nitrification of nitrogen in livestock waste (most commonly of cattle manure and urine). In fact, stats like these have led to questions like: Can going vegan do more to slow global climate change than buying a hybrid car?

With so much overfishing and many questionable fish farms, it's important to choose sustainable seafood, as well — that which has been harvested or grown in an eco-friendly manner — and fish low in environmental contaminants. Seventy-five percent of worldwide commercial fish stocks are already considered fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted from overfishing.[3] Fish-farming, also known as aquaculture, contributes to wild habitat and biodiversity loss, and algal bloom growth, among other problems.

Fair trade offerings

Party and event menus would be incomplete without coffee, fruit, and chocolate.  But for millions of small farmers around the world, growing these treats doesn't always provide an adequate living. Most typically see a disproportionately small portion of the profit.

Fair trade, on the other hand, fosters an economically stable relationship between consumers and farmers while promoting safe, humane labor conditions. A high percentage of Fair Trade Certified products are also environmentally friendly, although they are not required to be. Because fair trade producers are commonly small holders who are unable to invest in environmentally damaging practices (that also tend to be costly), such as synthetic pesticides and clear-cutting, many agree to grow Certified Organic products and direct premiums toward concerns such as health care, education, and housing. When a product is both Fair Trade Certified and Certified Organic, it will display two separate labels signifying this.

Related health issues

Local foods

Since local produce doesn't experience a protracted, in-transit lull between farmer and consumer, it's not as likely to spoil or come in contact with harmful bacteria as conventionally farmed foods are. Preservatives are often used to prevent spoilage in produce farmed for national and international distribution, and these additives can be harmful to human health. In the event that local produce becomes contaminated, the chance of it causing a widespread health crisis is nil given that its distribution area is restricted.  During the 2006 E. coli outbreak, the infected spinach was grown on a large-scale farm in a single region in California but consumers in 26 states fell ill.[4]

Organic foods

A recent study conducted by the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine concluded that organic produce showed higher than average levels of 21 important nutrients, including vitamin C, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.[5] Studies into the health benefits of organically produced foods are beginning to confirm the upsides of these eco-choices. The QualityLowInputFood Project recently found that antioxidant levels (key in reducing the risk of heart disease and many cancers) were 40 percent higher in organic fruits and vegetables and 90 percent greater in milk from organically fed herds.

Children are particularly susceptible to the health effects of pesticide ingestion due to their lower body weights and higher metabolisms. Every day, more than 1 million children between the ages of one and five eat an estimated 15 pesticides on contaminated fruits and vegetables. About 600,000 of these children eat dosages of pesticides deemed unsafe by the government.[8]

On the other hand, supporters of pesticide use in farming believe the chemical levels in conventional foods are appropriately regulated by the government and too minor to adversely affect human health.

Glossary

• aquaculture, mariculture, or fish farming: The practice of farming seafood for human consumption.
• DDE: A breakdown product of the once-common pesticide DDT, which was banned in the US in 1972 but still enters the environment through use in other countries where it isn't banned. Human exposure comes from eating contaminated leafy and root vegetables, fatty meat, poultry, and fish.
• dieldrin: An insecticide, widely used on crops from 1950 to 1970. It was used to control termites until 1987, when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned all uses. Exposure to dieldrin occurs through eating contaminated foods such as fish, root crops, and dairy products.
• genetically modified organism: A GMO results from merging the genetic makeup of two organisms to create a desired byproduct that could otherwise not be found in nature.
• food irradiation: The use of radioactive waste to eliminate bacteria and extend the shelf life of various food products.
• persistent organic pollutants: POPs are toxic chemicals that were, and in some instances still are, used in agriculture for pest and disease control and crop production, as well as in manufacturing. Although many POPs have been banned, they remain in the environment and global food chain, easily traveling via wind and water.

External links

• Ocean's Alive
• Food Routes
• Local Harvest
• 10 Reasons to Eat Locally
• Organic Trade Association
• Organic Consumers Association
• TransFair USA - Frequently Asked Questions
• Natural Resources Defense Council - Is Organic Food Worth It?
• About.com - What does eating meat have to do with fossil fuels?
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Are organic fruit, veggies worth the extra cost?
• Pollan, Michael (2007) The Omnivore's Dilemma, New York, New York: The Penguin Group: A great read on food production and the pros and cons of eating local and organic.

Footnotes

1. Sustainable Table - The Issues: Fossil Fuel and Energy Use
2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - Livestock a major threat to environment: Long shadow
3. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2006 report
4. Sustainable Table - The Issues: Buy Local
5. The South African Journal of Natural Medicine - What does organic really mean?
6. Weil Lifestyle - Organic Foods Have More Antioxidants, Minerals
7. Pesticide Action Network North America - "Nowhere to Hide" media release
8. Environmental Defense Fund - Challenge: Ensuring Public Health by Protecting Food and Drinking Water Supplies

How to buy and install a low-flow showerhead

You can determine whether your existing showerhead is low-flow or not by timing how many seconds it takes to fill a bucket marked in gallon increments. If the bucket is filled to the one-gallon mark in less than 20 seconds, it should be replaced. When shopping, you'll see that all new showerheads must now have flow rates of 2.5 gallons/minute or less, but don't be afraid to try even more efficient ones. Make it one gallon/minute and you'll really be saving.

There's a variety of types and price-points available for new showerheads. Depending on whether you want something simple or some extra bells and whistles, the price for your new showerhead will vary between $8 and $50, with some designer models costing upwards of $200. Typically, hand-held models are more expensive than fixed models. Another feature choice is the method of water restriction:

• Air-rating: Aerating showerheads mix air into the water stream, maintaining steady pressure so the spray is even and full.
• Pulsing: Non-aerating showerheads add a pulse to the water stream in order to keep the temperature even.

Regardless of showerhead type, look for a model that includes a shut-off valve, which will allow you to turn off the water while soaping up and then turn it back on without readjusting the water temperature.

Once you've chosen your new showerhead, it's easy to transform your shower into a water-saving unit in your bathroom. For some quick tips on installing a low-flow showerhead, we recommend checking out instructional videos as well as some online resource guides, like EcoHouse and Energyhawk.com.

Find it! Low-flow showerheads

Most home improvement stores carry many showerheads with a range of options. Just be sure to check the gallons per minute rating.

Before you buy

Be mindful of water conflicts in the bathroom. Low-flow showerheads, which deliver less water than regular showerheads, are more likely to spray you with a burst of hot water if the toilet ]] is flushed, which causes a sudden dip in cold water pressure in the system. Installing 3/4-inch piping with pressure-balancing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, or anti-scald valves should provide adequate measures against scalding.

Low-flow showerheads help you go green because…

• They reduce water usage in the home.
• They reduce energy consumption by conserving hot water, thereby lowering carbon dioxide emissions

Daily water usage in the typical single family home is 69.3 gallons, with showers accounting for 16.8 percent of total indoor water use. After washing machines and dishwashers, showers are the third-largest water guzzler in the home.[1] Although federal regulations now require that showerhead flow rates do not exceed more than 2.5 gallons per minute at a water pressure of 80 pounds per square inch, most showerhead fixtures installed before 1992 have flow rates of up to 5.5 gallons of water per minute.

Using a low-flow showerhead can slash home water consumption and water heating costs by as much as 50 percent.[2] The average household can save almost 8,000 gallons of water per year by installing low-flow showerheads, which also reduce the demand for hot water, saving up to 450 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.[3] Some 85 billion gallons of water per year could be saved if everyone in the United States used just one less gallon of water per shower each day.[4]

Controversies

Taking a shower does not necessarily use less water than a bath; it depends on how long you stay in the shower and how much water comes out of your showerhead. The average bath requires between 30 and 50 gallons of water. Most regular showerhead fixtures installed before 1992 have flow rates of up to 5.5 gallons of water per minute, which means that a shower greater than five minutes in length typically uses more water than a bath.

Turning off the water while you soap up in the shower can save an additional 15 to 20 gallons per shower.[5] To conserve water during baths, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests plugging the drain and filling up the tub only a third of the way full, using the hot water flow to warm up the initial cold water.

External links

• California Energy Commission - The Consumer Energy Center: Shower vs. Bath
• Don Vandervort's Home Tips - Anti-Scald Shower Valves
• US Department of Energy - EERE's Consumer's Guide: Reduce Hot Water Use for Energy Savings
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Watersense: Text-Based Quiz

Footnotes

1. DrinkTap.org - American Waterworks Association: Water Use Statistics
2. Flex Your Power - Residential Product Guides: Showerheads
3. LJWorld.com - Want to save the Earth? Here are 10 ways to start
4. County of Maui Dept of Water Supply - 55 Facts, Figures, & Follies of Water Conservation
5. University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Unit - Water Usage

Find it! Natural laundry detergent

Before you buy

The terms "non-toxic," "environmentally friendly," or any other green reference are not regulated by any agency, but used at the discretion of the manufacturer. Look for independent third-party certifications, such as Green Seal, or read the ingredients carefully. Choose products with:

• Grain alcohol, NOT toxic butyl cellosolve
• Coconut or other plant oils, NOT petroleum-based ingredients
• Plant-oil disinfectants, NOT triclosan

Choosing natural laundry detergent helps you go green because…

• You can reduce the amount of chlorine, phosphates, and petroleum-based chemicals that are released into the environment.

Traditional laundry detergents contain non-renewable petroleum-derived ingredients, the extraction and production of which have caused major environmental damage and contribute to global warming. Detergents also contain synthetic fragrances and chemical whiteners. These chemicals drain out of the washing machine and into groundwater, where they can react with other chemicals and contaminate drinking water supplies. For example, when chlorine bleach reacts with carbon molecules, it creates dioxin, a known carcinogen. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found high levels of dioxin in the San Francisco Bay in 2000, largely contributed by municipal gray water that included laundry water containing fabric-bleaching chemicals.

When the chemical ingredients in detergents enter water supplies, they also negatively impact aquatic life. Phosphates, which are used to soften water, for example, act as fertilizer for algae and encourage algae growth, which then depletes the water's oxygen supply and kills off fish and other aquatic life.

Packaging

The plastic bottles used to package laundry detergents contribute to the solid waste stream and are often made of PVC which is not often accepted for recycling; less than one percent of all PVC is recycled each year.

Related health issues

Laundry detergents may contain various ingredients and fragrances that can be skin or respiratory irritants, or allergens. Certain fragrances are a health risk because they contain phthalates, which have been linked to cancer and reproductive system risks. Some detergents may include chlorine bleach. Bleach can be dangerous when combined with other cleaning products, which can result in toxic gases. Additionally bleach itself is a highly caustic skin irritant. Many detergents with added fragrances can disguise this smell, making it more difficult for you to detect.

External links

• Co-op America - Going Green With Your Laundry
• Toxics Use Reduction Institute @ The University of Massachusetts Lowell - Clean and green: The science of killing household germs
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Design for the Environment Program: Laundry detergents recommended by the EPA

How to research airlines' green policies and practices

What to look for in green airlines

• Does the airline's policy include a target percentage for increasing fuel efficiency? For example, Air Canada's policy states: "…ambitious goal of improving fuel efficiency by an additional 25 percent between 2006 and 2020."
• Choose an airline with fewer delays. Planes burn excess fuel while waiting. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) tracks delay information by airline and airport.
• Does the airline offer a link to carbon offset plans or include the option in a ticket purchase?
• Does the airline have a newer, more fuel-efficient fleet? For example, easyJet is building its own fuel-efficient planes and Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner (2008 release), will cut fuel use by 20 percent. jetBlue Airways and Flybe use a regional jet model that is lighter and more fuel-efficient than older models.
• Does the airline's fleet have winglets? Winglets are wing tip extensions that reduce drag and provide extra lift, cutting fuel use. Eighty-five percent of all new Boeing 737s have them and more than 50 percent have been retrofitted.[3]
• Does the airline have a system to recapture glycol after it's sprayed on airplanes in de-icing operations?
• Does the airline have a recycling program for trash on-board and in the terminal?

Tips to minimize your environmental impact when flying

• Write to your airline of choice and tell them your desire to see them become more eco-friendly. Encourage them to establish recycling programs, fuel-efficient practices, and carbon offsetting programs.
• Travel light! Reduce the number of bags you check or carry with you. The heavier the plane, the more fuel it uses (and the more greenhouse gas emissions). Alaska Airlines found that it could save $10,000 per year in fuel costs by removing just five magazines per aircraft.
• Book a direct flight. Take-offs and landings are a major source of CO₂ emissions.
• Pack your own lunch or snacks in reusable containers to limit fast-food waste.
• When you get to your destination, use eco-friendly ground transportation, such as using your hotel's shuttle if provided. Or, use a green rental car service.
• If you're able to choose between one of two airports, choose one that promotes a recycling program. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) praises the programs initiated by these airports: Los Angeles International Airport, Fort Lauderdale International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, and Portland International Airport.

Flying on an airline with sustainable policies and practices helps you go green because…

• Your trip will have fewer environmental impacts than if you booked with an airline that does not support recycling, better fuel efficiency, and other green initiatives.
• You support resourceful companies working to reduce their environmental impacts.

Air travel and climate change

1. Emissions of greenhouse gases, including CO₂ and water vapor at high altitude, contribute to the greenhouse effect.
2. Emissions of nitrogen oxides in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere mix with ozone, methane, and other greenhouse gases, and has a larger impact than nitrogen oxides emitted at ground level. For example, at higher altitudes, nitrogen oxides can lead to decreases in the ozone layer, which is the layer that protects the earth from the sun's ultraviolet radiation.
3. The formation of contrails that may increase cirrus cloud cover, further compounding the greenhouse effect.

Other eco-impacts

Examples of airlines with sustainable policies and practices

• British Airways' stated policy says the airline will improve aircraft fuel efficiency 25 percent by 2025, reduce energy use on the ground 10 percent by 2009, and send no waste to the landfill by 2010. In addition, the company has saved 50,000 tons of CO₂ over two years by flying shorter, more direct international routes.
• Continental Airlines' policy has established programs to reduce emissions in the air and on the ground, and increase recycling. Continental's investment in a fuel-efficient fleet has reduced greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption by 35 percent per passenger mile flown.
• Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines initiated an on-board recycling program at a few hubs that will have expanded to all domestic flights by the end of 2008. Delta also offers carbon offsets during ticket purchasing.
• Virgin Atlantic is investing all profits for 10 years in programs to develop renewable energy technologies. The airline recently conducted a test flight using, in part, biofuels. The airline's goal is to improve fuel efficiency by 30 percent by 2020.

Glossary

• contrails: Line-shaped clouds or condensation trails produced by aircraft engine exhaust. These clouds would not have formed in the sky without the passage of an aircraft.
• greenhouse effect: A naturally occurring process that warms the earth's atmosphere and surface. This rise in temperature is a result of atmospheric gases trapping energy from the sun.

External links

• enviro.aero - Clearer Vision Cleaner Skies
• BBC News - Will biofuels power tomorrow's planes?
• Green Living Ideas - Eco Friendly Air Travel of the Future

Footnotes

1. The Globalist - Airplanes and Globalization
2. Natural Resources Defense Council - Trash Landings: How Airlines and Airports can Clean Up Their Recycling Programs
3. The Boeing 737 Technical Site - Advanced Blended Winglets
4. Tufts University Climate Initiative - Flying Green: How To Protect the Climate and Travel Responsibly
5. United Nations Atlas of the Oceans - Air travel pollution
6. US Federal Aviation Administration - Office of Environment and Energy: Aviation & Emissions, A Primer Page 10
7. CNN.com - Green wing: can technology make flying more environmentally friendly?
8. Environmental Health Perspectives - Plane Pollution
9. Natural Resources Defense Council - Stormwater Strategies: Street, Sidewalk, and Airport De-icing
10. Natural Resources Defense Council - Trash Landings: How Airlines and Airports Can Clean Up Their Recycling Programs Page 7

Find it! Passenger trains and intercity buses

But won't the train take longer?

Traveling by train or bus helps you go green because…

• Train and bus transportation require less energy to operate per passenger mile than air travel.
• Less energy use results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.

External links

• Sierra Club - High Speed Rail as a Solution to Airport Congestion
• SlowPlanet - What is Slow Travel?
• UK Rail Safety and Standards Board - The Case for Rail 2007
• Transportation and Land Use Coalition - California High Speed Rail & Greenhouse Gas Reductions

Footnotes

1. Tufts Climate Initiative - Voluntary Carbon Offset Information Portal: Flying Green
2. US Federal Aviation Administration - Office of Environment and Energy: Aviation & Emissions, A Primer Page 10
3. US Federal Aviation Administration - Office of Environment and Energy: Aviation & Emissions, A Primer Page 11
4. Amtrak - Amtrak Recognizes Environment with Whistle Stop Events
5. American Bus Association - Motorcoaches are Tops in Fuel Efficiency Per Passenger Mile, New Study Confirms
6. Climate Action Network Europe - Transport: Comparison of different transport modes and their emissions

Find it! Green limo, car, and shuttle services

This isn't your parents' white stretch limo. Green car, limo, and shuttle services offer hybrid and biodiesel vehicles to those who need a lift — from the airport, to a meeting, or just around town — but would rather have someone else put the pedal to the metal. Some companies will even chauffeur your wedding, corporate event, funeral, or winery tour.

Hiring a green limo or car service helps you go green because…

• When accelerating, a hybrid rental car will run off a battery-charged electric motor, not gasoline, curtailing global-warming-causing tailpipe emissions. With significantly better fuel economy, hybrids can reduce air pollution by as much as 90 percent.[1]
• While at a standstill (a common taxi habit), a hybrid's engine shuts itself off and the vehicle runs on electricity. Every two minutes of idling in a standard car consumes the same amount of gas required to drive approximately one mile — a waste of resources and a contributor to smog.[2]

The livery and limo car service industry is one traditionally populated with gas-guzzling luxury vehicles such as the Lincoln Town Car. Compared to the fuel economy of hybrids that hover around 50 mpg, the fuel economy of a standard limo dwindles in the low teens. Aside from decreased fuel costs, a hybrid such as a Toyota Prius costs less to purchase and maintain than a Lincoln Town Car, making hybrid fleets a more viable economic and environmental choice to livery car operators.


Motor transportation is responsible for about one-third of CO₂ emissions in the US, with cars and light trucks accounting for a majority.[3] Together, cars, SUVs, and minivans emit more than 300 million tons of carbon each year in the US. These emissions are equivalent to those generated by a 50,000-mile-long coal train — would reach between Washington, DC and Los Angeles 17 times.[4] For every gallon of gas a car burns, it emits nearly 20 pounds of CO₂.[5] Thus, a 3,000-mile drive in a vehicle that gets 20 miles per gallon produces 3,000 pounds of CO₂. AltAlthough hiring a car service that has a hybrid or other biodiesel-fueled fleet may be a short-lived experience, those miles traveled will help curb these carbon emissions.

Glossary

• automotive fuel economy: Fuel economy in cars is important because carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. "Miles per gallon," or mpg, is the way most Americans measure fuel economy, while other countries may use liters of fuel per 100 km traveled.

External links

• Boston.com - Hybrid limo stretches mileage
• Examiner.com - Airport limo services go green
• Frommer's - Go Green with Hybrid Cabs and Rental Cars
• Greenbiz.com - Greenfleet Car Service Partners with Carbonfund.org to go CarbonFree

Footnotes

1. Care2 - EcoInfo: Hybrid Cars
2. California Energy Commission - Consumer Energy Center
3. Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting - Related DOT Programs: Transportation and Air Quality
4. Environmental Defense - Global Warming on the Road
5. Ecobridge.org - Causes of Global Warming

Find it! Green rental car agencies

Whether traveling for business or for pleasure, why not take a vacation from your regular ride and opt to drive something a little (little being the operative word) more sensible? Reflective of the automotive buying trend towards more petite and fuel-efficient vehicles, the major domestic car rental agencies have performed green enhancements and added hybrids — and in some cases, flex-fuel cars — to their fleets.

Before you book

Check availability before attempting to book a green rental car. Don't expect to immediately find and rent a Prius. Avis, for instance, only offers hybrids in its California, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, markets. Additionally, expect to pay more to rent a hybrid in lieu of another economy car at some agencies. These companies believe that savings in gasoline will offset the increased rate.

Driving a green rental car helps you go green because…

• Green vehicles use less fuel and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions, making your vacation more sustainable.
  
  

Eco-friendly vehicles, including smaller models, hybrids, flex-fuel capable, and biodiesel compatible, are increasing in popularity all across the country and around the world. And with good reason! These alternatives to conventional cars have significant environmental benefits:

• When accelerating, a hybrid rental car will run off a battery-charged electric motor, not gasoline, curtailing global-warming-causing tailpipe emissions. Hybrids can reduce air pollution by as much as 90 percent..[1]
• As concern over the cost and source of petroleum soars, hybrids have been proven to have excellent fuel economy due to advanced aerodynamic designs (which reduce wind resistance), light-weight engines, and other fuel-efficient features. This is a distinct advantage for renters who plan on driving extended distances.
• While at a standstill, a hybrid rental's engine shuts itself off and the vehicle runs on electricity. Every two minutes of idling in a standard car consumes the same amount of gas required to drive approximately one mile — a waste of resources and a contributor to smog.[2]
• Flex-fuel cars produce around 20 percent less carbon dioxide emissions than standard gasoline-powered vehicles.[3]

Representative of the shift away from vehicles like SUVs and towards smaller, more fuel-efficient cars like gas-electric hybrids, the car rental industry has seen a swift increase of such cars on its North American lots. In 2006, green rental cars numbered only a few hundred; as of the summer of 2007, there were over 6,000 nationwide.[4]

In June 2007, major rental agency Hertz revealed plans to spend $68 million on the addition of 3,400 Toyota Prius hybrids to its domestic fleet by 2008. Replacing 1,000 standard rental cars with the Prius will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 3,000 tons per year, according to Hertz. Additionally, Hertz offers a "Green Collection" Smartway-certified vehicles on offer.

Enterprise — the largest rental car operation in North America — claims to have an "unparalleled fleet of fuel-efficient vehicles" and added 3,000 hybrids to its fleet in 2007. Additionally, Enterprise rents 41,000 flex-fuel vehicles capable of running on ethanol to its customers.

Avis offers both Nissan Altima and Toyota Prius hybrids at select locations, adding 500 of the former to California locations in the summer of the 2007. Domestic rental agencies offering vehicles that run on alternative fuels like biodiesel and electricity have not yet risen above novelty status.

Glossary

• automotive fuel economy: Fuel economy in cars is important because carbon dioxide emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. "Miles per gallon," or mpg, is the way most Americans measure fuel economy, while other countries may use liters of fuel per 100 km traveled. To measure your fuel economy, fill your tank and reset the odometer. At your next fill-up, divide the miles traveled by the amount of fuel needed to refill the tank.

External links

• AutoblogGreen
• Frommer's - Go Green with Hybrid Cabs and Rental Cars
• Green Car Congress - Avis Adding 500 Altima Hybrids to US Rental Fleet
• The New York Times - Renting a Green Car: French Fries, Anyone?
• Physorg.com - Hybrid Cars: Pros and Cons
• Hybridcenter.org
• sustainable style foundation - Hertz Introduces ‰Û÷Green Collection' Rental Cars
• US Department of Energy - Alternative Fuels Data Center
• US Environmental Protection Agency - Green Car Guide

Footnotes

1. Care2 - EcoInfo: Hybrid Cars
2. California Energy Commission - Consumer Energy Center
3. The Boston Globe - Car rental outfits head in a green direction
4. The Boston Globe - Car rental outfits head in a green direction

How to buy ENERGY STAR products

1. Consult the ENERGY STAR website for specific products.
2. The ENERGY STAR logo is usually fairly prominent on the packaging or the product itself, so pick up the box and take a look. When selecting appliances, the logo may appear on the appliance itself, the packaging, or on the EnergyGuide label.
3. If you don't see the ENERGY STAR logo, ask for help from a salesperson on identifying ENERGY STAR products.

• Air conditioner
• Air-source heat pumps
• Battery chargers
• Boiler
• Ceiling fan
• Cell phone chargers
• Computer
• Copier, fax machine, printer, scanner, all-in-one
• Cordless phone
• Dishwasher
• Dehumidifier
• Doors
• DVD, VCR, TV, home audio, combo units
• Exit signs
• Freezer
• Insulation
• Light bulb and light fixtures
• Programmable thermostat
• Refrigerator
• Roof products
• Skylights
• Washer
• Water cooler
• Window

Choosing ENERGY STAR products helps you go green because…

• They adhere to a higher standard of energy efficiency, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Where applicable, they use water and paper, as well as other resources, more sparingly.

Tax breaks and subsidies

External links

• US Federal Trade Commission - How to Buy an Energy Efficient Appliance

Footnotes

1. ENERGY STAR - About ENERGY STAR
2. ENERGY STAR - Appliances

How to set your refrigerator temperature

1. Test the temperature by putting an appliance thermometer in a glass of water and setting it on the middle shelf of the refrigerator for 24 hours. In the freezer, place a thermometer among packs of frozen food.
2. If you need to adjust the temperature, look for the temperature control dials inside both the refrigerator and freezer. (Check your owner's manual if you can't find the controls.) Most refrigerator temperature dials have numbers (not degrees) and will indicate which way to turn the dial to warmer or colder. Move the dial just one number either way and wait 24 hours before you test again.
3. If you can't get the temperature set properly, check the frost level in the freezer. If it's more than one-quarter inch thick, it's time to defrost. Also, check the door seal to be sure cold air is not escaping.

Find it! Refrigerator/Freezer thermometers

Setting your refrigerator temperature between 37°F and 40°F helps you go green because…

• A refrigerator set at the proper temperature is operating efficiently and using only the amount of electricity necessary to store food safely.

Footnotes

1. Rocky Mountain Institute - Kitchen Appliances
2. US Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy: Energy Savers: Appliances

Find it! Cold-water laundry detergent

Washing laundry in cold water helps you go green because…

• It significantly reduces the amount of energy required to run your washing machine.

Footnotes

1. Sierra Club - The Hidden Life Of…Laundry
2. Michael Bluejay - Saving Electricity

Find it! Cloth diapers made from eco-friendly materials

From fitted to all-in-ones, options in the realm of cloth diapers have greatly expanded since their early days, with new styles geared toward increasing convenience and comfortability. (For a guide through the somewhat confusing world of cloth diaper varieties, see this  Cloth Diaper Information Guide.) ].) Our picks offer cloth diapers made of eco-friendly materials, as well as more traditional cloth diapers, diaper covers, fasteners, and other diapering products.

Before you buy

Cloth diapers are available in a variety of styles (pre-fold, fitted, all-in-one) and materials (conventional cotton, organic cotton, wool, hemp and more). Before you buy, look into what style and material will work best for your lifestyle and will be most comfortable for your baby. Choosing organic and eco-friendly diapers is the best way to lower the environmental impact of diapering, but be prepared for higher price tags.

Choosing eco-friendly cloth diapers helps you go green because…

• Fewer non-biodegradable, disposable diapers end up in landfills each year. Cloth diapers also keep human waste out of landfills, protecting human health from a potentially dangerous ground water contaminant.
• The manufacture of cloth diapers requires one-third the amount of energy, one-tenth the raw materials, and half as much water as disposables, even when cotton growing and diaper laundering are factored in..[1]
• Cloth diapers are not treated with the same chemicals and bleaches that disposable manufacturers use, keeping potentially harmful toxins out of the environment and away from your baby.
• Cloth diapers made from eco-friendly materials keep dangerous pesticides and chemicals out of the environment during the growing process. They are also usually undyed and unbleached, avoiding more potential environmental contaminants.

Although many debate the benefits of choosing reusable over disposable, when all the eco-factors are weighed, cloth still comes out on top.

To reuse or single-use?

By 1991, 30 years after disposable diapers were introduced, 90 percent of American babies were wearing single-use, disposable diapers.[2] Today, more than 18 billion disposable diapers end up in landfills each year in the US, and they take as many as 500 years to decompose. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), disposable diapers are the third largest source of solid landfill waste.[2] TThe manufacturing of disposable diapers for babies in the US uses 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp (250,000 trees) each year. [3] If disposable diapers were replaced with cloth reusable diapers for one baby, more than 300 pounds of wood and 50 pounds of petroleum could be saved in just one year.[4]

According to the Landbank Consultancy for the Women's Environmental Network, manufacturing disposable diapers requires 3.5 times as much energy as manufacturing cloth diapers, and 20 percent more raw materials like crude oil.[2][4] And, throughout their life cycle, from manufacture to disposal, single-use diapers waste 2.3 times more water than cloth.[4]

Disposable diapers can also contain chemicals that may leach into the environment when they are disposed of in landfills. Disposable diapers can contain dioxins, Tributyl-tin (TBT) and sodium polyacrylate.

Human waste contamination is another environmental concern associated with disposable diapers. Nearly 5 million tons of untreated human waste end up in landfills every year.[5] Discarded human waste can contain bacteria and viruses that cause intestinal and other illnesses that are excreted through the digestive tract, such as polio and hepatitis.

Conventional cotton's dirty secrets

Conventional cotton is treated with insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, which can find their way into groundwater and the oceans. Cotton accounts for one-quarter of the insecticides used in the world.[6]  Production of conventional cotton results in about $2 billion worth of harmful pesticides and fertilizers being sprayed on the global cotton supply each year.[7]

It is considered to be the world's most pesticide-intensive crop. The various chemicals used to treat conventional cotton can harm beneficial insects and soil micro-organisms and adversely affect the health of humans and wildlife. Additionally, up to 70 percent |genetically modified organism (GMO) seed is used in conventional cotton farming in the US.[8]

Controversies

The controversy over whether it is more environmentally sound and safer for a baby to use cloth or disposable diapers has been alive and well since the late 1980s. Disposable diaper advocates have claimed that the process of laundering cloth diapers wastes water. But current research finds that washing cloth diapers at home uses less than 70 gallons of water every three days — the same amount of water used by flushing a toilet five to six times a day.[3]

Related health issues

There are several important health risks to consider related to the use of conventional diapers. Between plastic, bleach, absorbency gels, glues, dyes, and fragrances, disposable diapers contain a wide range of chemicals that can be absorbed through baby's skin or breathed in.

• Disposable diapers also contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) — a toxic chemical known to cause hormonal problems — and sodium polyacrylate, which is used in disposable diapers to make them more absorbent. TBT was found to cause toxic shock syndrome when used in tampons in the 1980s.
• Disposable diapers may also cause or aggravate diaper rash. From 1955 to 1991, when disposable diaper usage was on the rise, the occurrence of diaper rash increased from 7 percent to 78 percent.[1]

Glossary

• genetically modified organism (GMO): A GMO is created by merging the genetic make-up of two organisms, resulting in a desired byproduct that could otherwise not be found in nature. Engineering GMOs is a common practice in conventional farming, and studies have shown that GMOs pose significant environmental risks such as killing off living, natural organisms and becoming immune to pesticides.
• Tributyl-tin (TBT): A fungicide that is moderately toxic to mammals.

External links

• Cloth Diaper
• Diaper Pin
• Cotton Babies
• Green Mountain Diapers
• National Association of Diaper Services
• Nurtured Family
• Peace and Environment Resource Centre - The Ecological Debate: Cloth vs Disposable
• Pesticide Action Network North America - Problems with conventional cotton production
• Soft Cloth Bunz
• Greenpeace - Achieving Zero Dioxin

Footnotes

1. Ideal Bite - Would you wear chemically treated paper underwear?
2. National Association of Diaper Services - Why Use Cloth?
3. Mothering - The Joy of Cloth Diapers
4. Real Diaper Association - Diaper Facts
5. The New Parents Guide - Diapers, Diapers & More Diapers
6. The Green Guide - Toys
7. Earth Justice Foundation - The Deadly Chemicals in Cotton
8. Organic Exchange - About Organic Cotton brochure

Find it! Natural baby blankets

Below is just a sampling of the many natural baby blankets available — everything from bamboo to organic cotton and wool. For more products, check out Nature's Baby Blankets and Sage Baby.

Choosing natural baby blankets helps you go green because…

• Organic farming methods protect the air, water, and wildlife from chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and help combat global warming.
• Bamboo is an environmentally friendly fiber that grows abundantly — and quickly — with few pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers.
• Undyed or naturally dyed textiles avoid conventional petroleum-based dyes, opting instead for eco-friendly colorings that use less water and energy in the finishing process and do not create toxic runoff for waterways.
• Blankets that have not been treated with chemical finishes do not create toxic runoff, and the end product does not contain harmful chemicals that can irritate the skin and off-gas into the air we breathe.

The eco-impacts of baby blankets are associated with the procurement of materials to make the blanket, the manufacturing of the blanket itself, and chemical treatments applied to the finished product.

Baby blankets can be made from natural fibers (like cotton, wool, and bamboo) and synthetic materials (like polyester, acrylic, and nylon). Synthetic fibers are made from petrochemicals, which are non-renewable resources [1]and contribute to the environmental hazards associated with petroleum procurement and processing, including disruption of land and ocean habitats and pollution of air and water supplies.[2]

Conventionally grown natural fibers have their own environmental impacts, most notably chemical pollution from pesticides and fertilizers, and other treatments. Untreated and organic fibers minimize some of these environmental costs because they are grown with sustainable agricultural processes.

Organic cotton and wool are grown chemical free, avoiding the contamination associated with conventional agriculture. However, its production still requires significant amounts of irrigated water.[3] Bamboo is a sustainable crop: bamboo grass is one of the fastest growing plants in the world, with some species growing 30 inches every day.[4] Bamboo traditionally does not require pesticide and fertilizers.

Bedding textiles, including baby blankets, endure multiple processing steps, including spinning, dyeing, weaving, scouring and sizing. If they are made conventionally, harmful chemicals are used to remove all color before the fabric is dyed with traditional dyes.[5]  Throughout the manufacturing process, the fabric is flushed with water, which creates a potential for wastewater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and bleach, which produces dioxin — a human carcinogen.[6] Baby blankets that boast no dyes or bleaches, as well as plant- or water-derived dyes, are not subject to this chemical-intensive processing.

Related health issues

Contact with the chemicals used in textile dyeing can lead to dermatological and respiratory allergies.[7] Although fiber-reactive dyes are believed to be gentler on the environment they contain sodium carbonate, a source of asthma and other lung ailments.[7]

Formaldehyde, when present in the air, can trigger watery eyes, and other ailments.[8] The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) notes that formaldehyde can cause nasopharyngeal cancer (cancer of the nose and throat).[9] Formaldehyde does not completely wash out in the laundry but the emissions can be reduced by about 60 percent.[10]

Glossary

• formaldehyde: A flammable reactive gas belonging to the VOC (volatile organic compound) family of chemicals. It is widely used in personal care products, building materials, insulation, and home furnishings. Ingestion of the chemical can cause severe physical reactions, including coma, internal bleeding, and death. The US Department of Health and Human Services considers it a probable human carcinogen.
• volatile organic compounds (VOCs): Organic solvents that easily evaporate into the air. VOCs are emitted by thousands of products including paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings and they may cause immediate and long-term health problems.

Footnotes

1. Fibersource - Acrylic Fiber
2. Energy Information Administration - Energy Kids Page: Petroleum (Oil) - A Fossil Fuel
3. Green Living Tips - Organic cotton: Cotton and the environment
4. Christian Science Monitor - Easy on the Eyes and the Environment
5. Madehow.com - Bed Sheet
6. Grist - Ask Umbra: The Environmentalists' New Clothes - Advice on natural fabrics vs. polyester
7. The Green Guide - Color By Nature
8. National Safety Council - Formaldehyde
9. International Agency for Research on Cancer - Press Release: IARC Classifies Formaldehyde as Carcinogenic to Humans
10. California Environmental Protection Agency - Air Resources Board Research Notes: Indoor Emissions of Formaldehyde and Toluene Diisocyanate

Find it! Battery-free and non-electronic toys

Need a little help deciphering which battery-free toys are the most fun and age-appropriate? Check out this general Best Child Toys guide. Those looking to entertain teenage boys will find help in this Top Ten Non-Electronic Toys For Preteen Boys which gives loads of great non-electronic, battery-free toy ideas for even the toughest crowd.

Once you've expanded your definition of battery-free toys, check out these great eco-friendly toy vendors:

Choosing battery-free and non-electronic toys helps you go green because…

• Electronic toy production requires a large quantities of resources.
• The production of microchips used in electronic toys creates hazardous waste.
• When electronic toys are thrown into landfills, toxic chemicals from their circuit boards leach into the soil, contaminating water and soil.
• Batteries leach lead, mercury, and other toxic chemicals when disposed of in landfills, and release toxics into the air when incinerated.

According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, electronic toys can be made from more than 1,000 toxic chemicals and metals.[1] The production of microchips used in electronic games requires an enormous amount of resources. To make about 240 microchips, it takes 3,200 cubic feet of bulk gases, 22 cubic feet of hazardous gases, 2,275 gallons of deionized water, 20 pounds of chemicals, and 285 kilowatt hours of electrical power. Producing these microchips also creates a substantial amount of hazardous waste, including 25 pounds of sodium hydroxide, 2,840 gallons of waste water, and seven pounds of other hazardous waste.[2] 

Disposing of electronic games can also be an environmental hazard. Chemicals from circuit boards, like lead and brominated fire retardants, leach into the soil at garbage sites, and substances like mercury and arsenic are released into the environment when electronic toys are burned in smelters.[2][3] Lead, mercury, cadmium, and fire retardants do not break down in the environment and are bio-accumulative toxins (PBTs), which means that they accumulate in the fatty tissues in humans and other animals.[3]

More than 3 billion pounds of batteries are purchased each year in the United States, and the average person throws out eight batteries per year.[4] When these batteries end up in landfills, mercury, cadmium, lead, and other chemicals can leach from them, contaminating the soil.[2] Eighty-eight percent of the mercury and about half of the cadmium in the municipal solid waste stream comes from dry cell batteries.[4] When incinerated, the heavy metals in batteries vaporize into the air, and rain down to pollute lakes and streams.[4]

Related health issues

Lead damages the human nervous systems, blood systems, kidneys, and reproductive systems, and has been shown to have serious negative effects on brain development. Cadmium is a toxin that has irreversible effects on human kidneys. Mercury causes damage to the organs, including the brain and kidneys, and is especially dangerous to fetuses and newborn children. PBTs have been linked to cancer, nerve damage, and reproductive problems[3]  

Glossary

• sodium hydroxide: A manufactured substance, in crystalline solid form, designed to absorb moisture from the air. It can cause burns and severe irritation of the respiratory system when inhaled, and is suspected to cause cancer.[5]
• brominated fire retardants: Halogenated organic fire retardants. The most common type of fire retardant, the toxicity of which is still under investigation, though several types are no longer used due to documented poisonings.[6]
• bio-accumulative toxins (PBTs): PBTs are toxic chemicals that persist in the environment over time and accumulate up the food chain. They transfer easily among air, water and land, making them a dangerous contaminant. They pose serious risks to both human health and ecosystems.[7]

External links

• Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition - Homepage

Footnotes

1. Children's Health Environmental Coalition - Toxic Toys? Electronics
2. The Green Guide - Toys
3. BBC - Hazards of e-waste in Ghana
4. Environment, Health and Safety Online - Battery Recycling and Disposal Guide for Households: Environmental Hazards of Batteries
5. Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry - ToxFAQs䋢 for Sodium Hydroxide
6. Environmental Health Perspectives - Brominated Flame Retardants: Cause for Concern?
7. US Environmental Protection Agency - About PBTs

How to maintain your air conditioner

• Clean or replace the air filters at least once every three months during the cooling season. (Whether the air filter needs to be cleaned or replaced depends on the type of air filter your air conditioner uses.) Some sources recommend cleaning or replacing air filters more often, either once or twice a month.[1][2] Keeping air filters clean can increase air conditioner efficiency by 5 to 15 percent.[3]
• Periodically check the inside evaporator coil for dust and debris, and clean when needed. A coating of dust can act as insulation around the coil, making it difficult for it to absorb heat.
• Minimize the amount of debris around the condenser coil outside. Keep foliage trimmed to at least 2 feet away from the unit to maximize efficient air flow. If debris and dust have collected around the condenser coil, clear it away as soon as possible.
• Hire a technician to perform yearly assessments of your central air system. Technicians can check the level of refrigerant, measure the air flow over the coils, and clean and inspect all other parts of the air conditioner.[4]

Maintaining your air conditioner helps you go green because…

• Correcting air flow problems and keeping your air conditioner clean can increase its energy efficiency by up to 15 percent.[5] By using less energy, your air conditioner will contribute fewer climate-changing greenhouse gases.

Related health issues

External links

• Consumer Reports - Air Conditioner Maintenance Tips
• Popular Mechanics - Room Air Conditioner Maintenance

Footnotes

1. Applianceaid.com - Filter Cleaning
2. ENERGY STAR - Heat & Cool Efficiently
3. EERE Consumer's Guide - Maintaining your Air Conditioner
4. Iowa Energy Center - Keep AC Costs and Energy Use Down with Easy Maintenance
5. ENERGY STAR - Maintenance Checklist
6. Solar Energy International - Energy Facts
7. Power Scorecard - Reduce Your Energy Consumption

How to lower your shades effectively

In warm weather, cooling-intensive climates

1. Lower your shades each day to provide more insulation against heat gain from outdoors, especially in south and west-facing windows.
2. Keep shades down at night when attempting to preserve cooler interior temperatures.
3. Choose light-colored shades to most effectively reflect sunlight during the day.

In colder, heating-intensive climates

1. Keep shades open to admit heat from direct sunlight during the day, particularly in east-facing windows during the early morning hours.
2. Leave drapes closed to retain interior warmth on cold nights or sunless days.
3. Lower your shades to prevent unwanted heat loss through windows that receive no direct sunlight.

In all climates

1. Lower your shades to provide additional privacy and noise reduction.
2. Keep blinds, shades, and drapes open to take advantage of daylighting.
3. Consider purchasing insulating shades to significantly improve resistance to heat transfer.

Find it! Natural window treatments

Lowering the shades helps you go green because…

• It reduces the demand on your heating and cooling systems during peak usage periods.
• It requires no additional materials, expenditures, or construction.
• It can be employed as part of passive solar design solutions in many homes.

What if I want to upgrade my current window shades?

Related health issues

Glossary

• insulating shades: Heavy cloth or insulated panels used to cover an interior window opening and seal against heat loss.[6]
• solar heat gain coefficient: Measures the fraction of solar radiation transmitted through a window. A SHGC rating between 0 and 1 — the lower the rating, the less solar energy admitted — is assigned to either the glass alone or the window assembly as a whole.[6]

Footnotes

1. Lawrence Berkeley Labs - Using Windows Wisely
2. Weather.com - Troubleshooting & Energy Efficiency
3. US Department of Energy - Keep Your Cool and Save Money Too: Summer Energy-Saving Tips from the Department of Energy
4. Alliance to Save Energy - Window Treatments for Energy Savings (pgs 7-8)
5. Nelson-Young Lumber Co. - Guide to Understanding Condensation
6. The Efficient Windows Collaborative - Glossary

How to find an eco-friendly air conditioner

Choosing an ENERGY STAR model will of course save you money and reduce your electricity bill. For help finding an ENERGY STAR air conditioner:

• Visit ENERGY STAR's Find Room Air Conditioners website for lists of models.
• Ask a salesperson to help you identify ENERGY STAR products.
• Look for the ENERGY STAR logo, which may appear on the appliance itself, the packaging, or the EnergyGuide Label.

You'll also want to look for an air conditioner that uses refrigerants that won't harm the ozone layer. Thankfully, all ENERGY STAR air conditioners meet this criteria, but knowing what to look for is a good idea:

• Opt out of R-22 refrigerant air conditioners. R-22, a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), has been the most common refrigerant used in air conditioners since chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were phased out in 1995. Although it's less damaging to the ozone layer than the old CFCs, it still creates holes in the ozone layer when it leaks from A/C units. New air conditioners must be R-22-free by 2010 (although R-22 can be produced after that time to service old machines) and production of R-22 will be phased out completely in the US by 2020.

1. Look for R-410A air conditioners (residential and commercial). R-410A is a hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is sold under several trade names, including GENETRON AZ-20åš, SUVA 410Aåš, and Puronåš. Although CO₂ is still produced during the manufacture of this substance, it does not produce ozone-depleting gas if allowed to enter the atmosphere. To get even more green points, choose an R-410A model that's ENERGY STAR qualified.
2. Look for R-134a or R-407C air conditioners (commercial only at this time). The EPA has also approved the use of R-134a and R-407C in commercial cooling systems, both of which are non-depleting refrigerants and are being used in some commercial applications.

Find it! ENERGY STAR air conditioners

Most major air conditioner manufacturers offer ENERGY STAR models, which are sold in appliance centers, home improvement stores, and online.

Before you buy

 A black and yellow EnergyGuide Label is required to be attached to many appliances, including air conditioners. Check the EnergyGuide label for information about how much energy a particular air conditioner is likely to use compared to similar models, and how much it will cost to operate per year. These labels can be compared like price tags to find the most energy-efficient models.[2]

Also keep in mind that the price listed on the price tag is not the total price you'll pay. Costs of installation, maintenance, repairs, and operation apply after the initial purchase. Buying a more expensive but energy-efficient model will save you money on energy costs throughout the air conditioner's life span.

Choosing an ENERGY STAR air conditioner helps you go green because…

• It uses at least 10 percent less energy than conventional models, which reduces the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the air conditioner.
• It often includes a timer and/or thermostat for better temperature control, so that you can choose to use the minimum amount of energy necessary to cool your home.
• They don't harm the earth's ozone, a protective, UV-filtering atmospheric layer.

Through the ENERGY STAR initiative, Americans saved enough energy in 2006 to avoid the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of 25 million cars, while at the same time saving $14 billion on utility bills.[3] If only one-tenth of American households switched to ENERGY STAR appliances, the CO₂ savings would be equivalent to the carbon sequestration of 1.7 million acres of trees.[1]

ENERGY STAR room air conditioners are required to be at least 10 percent more efficient than the federal standard.[4] In 1992, the federal Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER)standard for room air conditioners was set at 8.9, but starting in January 2010, the standard is expected to increase to 11.2.[5] Room air conditioners with higher EER scores are more energy efficient than those with lower scores.

ENERGY STAR central air conditioning systems are required to be at least 14 percent more efficient that standard models. As of January 23, 2006, all central air conditioners manufactured in or imported into the United States must achieve a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) rating of 13 or higher (as opposed to the previous 1987 standard of 10). This regulation is expected to save US consumers 4.2 quadrillion Btus over the next 25 years, equivalent to the amount of energy annually consumed by 26 million American households. That represents a savings of over $1 billion.

Ozone and refrigerants

The ozone layer protects Earth's inhabitants from harmful UV radiation — a common contributor to skin cancer. In the US, skin cancer is the fastest growing form of cancer. Every hour in the US one person dies from this deadly disease.[6]

Old air conditioners were traditionally made with ozone-depleting CFCs, but were phased out of production in all developed nations in 1996, and replaced with HCFCs, which are 95 percent less potent in terms of ozone depletion. However, since HCFCs still contain chlorine, the main element involved in ozone depletion, they too are being phased out of production in developing countries.

R-22 refrigerant cannot simply be replaced with R-410A refrigerant. New R-410A systems require unique compressors and components specifically designed for use with this new refrigerant. It is recommended that R-410A systems be installed and serviced by companies familiar with these newer units.

Buying a new R-410A air conditioner may cost you more than an R-22 unit. However, this cost may become less significant over the lifetime of your new cooling system. As R-22 refrigerant becomes less available, its price tag will increase, making the servicing of old R-22 units quite expensive.

Tax breaks and subsidies

In the US, installing an ENERGY STAR air conditioner may qualify you for tax breaks at the federal, state, or local levels. For detailed information, see these resources:

• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy: Provides updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project: Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy: Offers an index of energy-efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

Glossary

• Btu (British thermal unit): A unit of energy used universally in the heating and cooling industries.  It is defined as the unit of heat required to raise 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit.
• chlorofluorocarbon (CFC): A haloalkane compound containing chlorine, primarily used as a refrigerant.  When this gaseous compound reaches the stratosphere, UV light liberates the chlorine from the molecule and it is then capable of breaking down up to 100,000 ozone molecules (O3) into O + O2.  Freon is a trademarked term referring to CFCs used in refrigeration and cooling systems.
• Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER): Efficiency rating regulated by the DOE for room air conditioning units. It is a measure of the cooling units produced (measured in Btus) divided by the energy consumption of the unit (measured in Watt-hours) over a single period of time.  The higher the number, the more efficient the system.  This rating must now be visibly attached to any new unit for sale. 
• hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC): A similar haloalkane compound where not all the hydrogen atoms are replaced by a halogen atom.  These are typically used to substitute for CFCs, as the ozone-depleting capacity of these compounds is 10 percent less than that of CFCs.
• hydrofluorocarbon (HFC): A refrigerant used in refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners. It does not deplete the ozone layer but still requires careful disposal. It can cause skin and eye irritations, tremors, and other health problems.
• ozone layer: Part of the Earth's atmosphere, the ozone layer contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O₃). Ozone acts like a blanket that protects the earth from damaging UV radiation, which has been linked to cancer.
• Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER): Efficiency rating regulated by the US Department of Energy for central air conditioners.  It is a measure of the cooling units produced (measured in Btus) divided by the energy consumption of the unit (measured in Watt-hours) over a single period of time.  The higher the number, the more efficient the system is.  This rating must now be visibly attached to any new unit for sale.

External links

• Energy Information Administration - Glossary
• Environmental and Energy Study Institute - Air Conditioner Efficiency Standards
• Fluorocarbons - Toxicological profile HFC-43-10mee
• Federal Trade Commission - How to Buy an Energy Efficient Appliance
• Natural Resources Canada - General info about central air conditioners
• ScienceDaily - Ozone layer

Footnotes

1. ENERGY STAR - Appliances
2. Federal Trade Commission - How to Buy an Energy-Efficient Home Appliance
3. ENERGY STAR - About ENERGY STAR
4. ENERGY STAR - Room Air Conditioner Product Criteria
5. American National Standards Institute - Setting the Standards for Cool Times and Energy Savings
6. US Environmental Protection Agency - What You Should Know about Refrigerants When Purchasing or Repairing a Residential A/C System or Heat Pump (see bottom of page)

How to choose a central air conditioner that is properly sized

• How many windows there are in your house
• How much shade cover your home receives and where
• How well your home is insulated
• How much heat is generated by your appliances and the occupants of your house

How to choose a room air conditioner that is properly sized

Choosing an air conditioner that is properly sized helps you go green because…

• It increases the efficiency of your cooling system, thereby saving energy and preventing greenhouse gas emissions.

Glossary

• Btu (British Thermal Unit) A unit of energy used universally in the heating and cooling industries. It is defined as the unit of heat required to raise 1 pound of water by 1° F.

External links

• Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - Sizing Heating and Cooling Systems

Footnotes

1. City of Stockton - Energy Efficiency: Residential Air Conditioning
2. Solar Energy International - Energy Facts
3. ENERGY STAR - Heat & Cool Efficiently
4. Missouri Department of Natural Resources - Residential Energy Efficiency

How to shade your air conditioner

Shading your air conditioner helps you go green because…

• A shaded unit requires up to 10 percent less energy to operate than an unshaded unit.[1] Shaded air can be up to six degrees cooler than air in direct sun.

Controversies

External links

• Using the Sun - Using Windows Wisely
• MSN - 25 cheap ways to keep your house cool: Includes useful tips about landscaping for a cooler house.

Footnotes

1. EERE Energy Savers - Air Conditioners

How to raise your air conditioner's temperature settings

Raising your air conditioner's temperature settings helps you go green because…

• It prevents excess energy from being wasted, reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

External links

• ENERGY STAR
• US Department of Energy

Footnotes

1. EcoNnergy - Hot tips for cool summer energy bills
2. Consumer Reports - 20 free ways to save energy
3. The Green Guide - A Calculated Loss: How to Reduce Your Global Warming Emissions

Find it! Sealing products

How to seal air leaks

1. First, you must locate the leakage sites in your home. A professional contractor or certified Home Energy Rater can conduct a blower door test which will pinpoint problem areas in your building shell.
2. You can also identify leaks yourself using the following tips. See ENERGY STAR's Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Sealing for in-depth instructions.
1. Start in the attic or basement, looking for plainly visible holes, dirty patches of insulation, or cracks and seams along kneewalls and around fixtures, hatches, and ductwork. The nonprofit Urban Options offers a convenient online weatherization checklist to help keep track of both problem areas and the materials needed to seal them.
2. To locate the sources of minor leaks and drafts, hold a lit stick of incense or piece of string near windows, doors, skylights, baseboards, outlets, fireplaces, and other possible leakage sites throughout your home's interior; if the smoke blows horizontally, then there is an air leak nearby.[2] This testing method is most effective when a home has first been pressurized by using exhaust fans or window fans to suck air out of rooms, thereby increasing infiltration of outside air (be sure to first turn off all combustion appliances to protect against backdrafting).[3]
3. Seal all air leaks using caulk, weatherstripping, insulating spray foam, plastic sheeting, or other materials where appropriate.[1] Air sealing in attics with no ventilation system or around ducts and complex recessed lighting fixtures may require professional assistance to facilitate compliance with safety standards.[4]
4. Always ensure that adequate ventilation systems or strategies are in place to prevent moisture accumulation and mold growth.
5. Consider increasing attic — to further improve energy efficiency and home comfort.[5][6]

Sealing air leaks helps you go green because…

• It reduces both heat loss and heat gain through the building shell, conserving energy and cutting associated costs.[5]
• It improves physical comfort levels within the home by helping to maintain more consistent interior temperatures and eliminating drafts.[5]
• It may enhance air quality by helping to seal out unconditioned exterior air, which may contain dust, allergens, insects, and other impurities.[7]
• It helps maximize both the durability and the efficiency performance of other energy-saving systems like insulation and low-E windows, and can enable the purchase of smaller, more efficient HVAC cooling units.[1][8]

Where should I start?

How much will it cost?

Subsidies and incentives

• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy Updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

Related health issues

Glossary

• blower door test: A test conducted by home energy auditors to pressurize a building and reveal air leaks.[14]
• caulk (or caulking): A sealing compound used to fill seams and patch small air leaks.[14]
• kneewall: A small wall connecting attic floor joists to a sloped roof; often covered with sheathing to enclose an attic space.[14]
• weatherstripping: A material applied to the gaps around windows and doors in order to seal them against air leakage.[14]

External links

• US Environmental Protection Agency - Indoor Air Quality
• EERE Consumer's Guide - Caulking
• EERE Consumer's Guide - Weatherstripping
• Lawrence Berkeley Labs - Home Energy Saver

Footnotes

1. US Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Air Sealing
2. Rocky Mountain Institute - Home Energy Brief #1: Building Envelope
3. Energybuilder.com - Home Weatherization
4. ENERGY STAR - A Do-It-Yourself Guide to ENERGY STAR Home Sealing
5. ENERGY STAR - Air Seal and Insulate with ENERGY STAR Home Sealing
6. Alliance to Save Energy - No-Cost Low-Cost Tips for Saving Money & Energy
7. ENERGY STAR - Increased Insulation: Building Envelope Improvements
8. Rocky Mountain Institute - Cool Citizens: Everyday Solutions to Climate Change
9. EERE Energy Savers - Sealing Air Leaks
10. US Department of Energy - Insulation Fact Sheet
11. Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Air Sealing
12. ENERGY STAR - Home Ready Checklist
13. US Department of Energy - Technology Fact Sheet: Ceilings and Attics
14. EERE Consumer's Guide - Glossary of Energy-Related Terms

How to install a ceiling fan

1. Choose a room: If you're installing only one ceiling fan, you'll want to be strategic about where you put it. Choose a room in which you can install it at least 12 inches from the ceiling and 7 feet from the floor, placed in the middle of the room. If your ceiling does not allow these minimum clearance requirements, you may need to look for a low-profile or hugger ceiling fan.
2. Select a fan: When choosing which fan is right for you, consider:
• You'll want one that's both energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Whether you want an ultra-modern design or something more classic, look for an ENERGY STAR model. These wind-generators move at least 20 percent more air while consuming 50 percent less energy than typical fans.[1]
• Check ENERGY STAR's guide to choosing the right-sized fan and the appropriate mounting system.
• Look for quality components. In particular, choose die-cast (rather than stamped) motor housings, motors with sealed bearings (rather than oil baths, which require more maintenance), precision engineering bearings, blades that are weighed and balanced prior to shipment, shock-absorbent internal components, and heavy-duty windings.
• If your room has sufficient light, choose a fan without a light fixture; otherwise, look for one that will provide illumination as well as air movement. If you need one with a light, be sure to choose a model that accepts CFL light bulbs to save additional energy and money. Even better, choose an ENERGY STAR-qualified lighted-ceiling fan.
• Watch for other convenience features that might be useful to you. For instance, you may want a fan with remote or wall controls. Just make sure the wall control will operate all components of the fan (light, speed, direction, etc.) separately. Programmable controls are another good option, allowing you to set the fan to automatically adjust speed as the temperature drops or rises.
• The pitch of the blade will contribute to how much air your fan moves. The higher the pitch, the more cubic feet per minute of air it will move. However, it's more important to choose a quality motor than higher-pitched blades.
• If you choose to mount a ceiling fan in the bathroom, you'll have to find one that has been listed with a "damp" rating; if it's going outside, it'll need a "wet" rating.
3. Find how-to help online: For extensive instructions on installing a ceiling fan, check out one of these handy how-to guides online: Do It Yourself.com's Installing a Ceiling Fan, eHow's How to Install a Ceiling Fan, or Lowe's Installing a Ceiling Fan.

Find it! Ceiling fans

Installing a ceiling fan helps you go green because…

• They require less energy than air conditioners.
• Harmful ozone-depleting chemicals like CFCs and HCFCs are not required to run a ceiling fan.

Glossary

• chlorofluorocarbon (CFC): A haloalkane compound containing chlorine, primarily used as a refrigerant. When this gaseous compound reaches the stratosphere, UV light liberates the chlorine from the molecule and it is then capable of breaking down up to 100,000 ozone molecules (O3) into O + O2. Freon is a trademarked term referring to CFCs used in refrigeration and cooling systems.
• hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC): A similar haloalkane compound where not all the hydrogen atoms are replaced by a halogen atom. These are typically used to substitute for CFCs, as the ozone-depleting capacity of these compounds is 10 percent less than that of CFCs.[5]
• ozone layer: Part of the earth's atmosphere, the ozone layer contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O₃).[6] Ozone acts like a blanket that protects the earth from damaging UV radiation, which has been linked to cancer.[7]

External links

• ENERGY STAR - Heat and Cool Efficiently
• US Department of Energy - Space Heating and Cooling

Footnotes

1. ENERGY STAR - Ceiling Fans
2. About.com - Saving Energy
3. US Department of Energy - Ceiling Fans and Other Circulating Fans
4. Alliance to Save Energy - No-Cost Low-Cost Tips for Saving Money & Energy
5. US Environmental Protection Agency - Ozone Depleting Substances
6. ScienceDaily - Ozone layer
7. US Environmental Protection Agency - What You Should Know about Refrigerants When Purchasing or Repairing a Residential A/C System or Heat Pump (see bottom of page)

How to install a whole house fan

How to install a ceiling fan

1. Choose a room: If you're installing only one ceiling fan, you'll want to be strategic about where you put it. Choose a room in which you can install it at least 12 inches from the ceiling and 7 feet from the floor, placed in the middle of the room. If your ceiling does not allow these minimum clearance requirements, you may need to look for a low-profile or hugger ceiling fan.
2. Select a fan: When choosing which fan is right for you, consider:
• You'll want one that's both energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing. Whether you want an ultra-modern design or something more classic, look for an ENERGY STAR model. These wind-generators move at least 20 percent more air while consuming 50 percent less energy than typical fans.[1]
• Check ENERGY STAR's guide to choosing the right-sized fan and the appropriate mounting system.
• Look for quality components. In particular, choose die-cast (rather than stamped) motor housings, motors with sealed bearings (rather than oil baths, which require more maintenance), precision engineering bearings, blades that are weighed and balanced prior to shipment, shock-absorbent internal components, and heavy-duty windings.
• If your room has sufficient light, choose a fan without a light fixture; otherwise, look for one that will provide illumination as well as air movement. If you need one with a light, be sure to choose a model that accepts CFL light bulbs to save additional energy and money. Even better, choose an ENERGY STAR-qualified lighted-ceiling fan.
• Watch for other convenience features that might be useful to you. For instance, you may want a fan with remote or wall controls. Just make sure the wall control will operate all components of the fan (light, speed, direction, etc.) separately. Programmable controls are another good option, allowing you to set the fan to automatically adjust speed as the temperature drops or rises.
• The pitch of the blade will contribute to how much air your fan moves. The higher the pitch, the more cubic feet per minute of air it will move. However, it's more important to choose a quality motor than higher-pitched blades.
• If you choose to mount a ceiling fan in the bathroom, you'll have to find one that has been listed with a "damp" rating; if it's going outside, it'll need a "wet" rating.
3. Find how-to help online: For extensive instructions on installing a ceiling fan, check out one of these handy how-to guides online: Do It Yourself.com's Installing a Ceiling Fan, eHow's How to Install a Ceiling Fan, or Lowe's Installing a Ceiling Fan.

Find it! Whole house and ceiling fans

Before you buy

• The most effective time to use a whole house fan is when the temperature outside your house is cooler than it is inside, typically during the evening or early morning.
• Whole house fans work best in low humidity and when outdoor temperatures are below 70 degrees.
• Whole house fans do not dehumidify the air.
• Whole house fans can bring dust and pollen into the house.
• Whole house fans can sometimes be noisy.

Installing a whole house or ceiling fan helps you go green because…

• They require less energy than air conditioners.
• Fans do not require refrigerants, keeping ozone-depleting chemicals out of the environment.

Related health issues

Glossary

• chlorofluorocarbon (CFC): A haloalkane compound containing chlorine, primarily used as a refrigerant.
• hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC): A similar haloalkane compound where not all the hydrogen atoms are replaced by a halogen atom, typically used to substitute for CFCs.
• ozone layer: Part of the earth's atmosphere, the ozone layer contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O₃). Ozone acts like a blanket that protects the earth from damaging UV radiation, which has been linked to cancer.

External links

• ENERGY STAR - Heat and Cool Efficiently
• San Diego Gas and Electric - Facts about Whole House Fans
• US Department of Energy - Space Heating and Cooling
• US Department of Energy - Installing and Using a Whole House Fan

Footnotes

1. ENERGY STAR - Ceiling Fans
2. ENERGY STAR - Heat & Cool Efficiently
3. About.com - Saving Energy
4. The Global Directory for Environmental Technology - Let's Talk Energy Conservation
5. US Environmental Protection Agency - Mold Resources

How to install an evaporative cooler

• Location: Because swamp coolers must draw outside air in, they have to be installed outside of a home. They come as portable units and can be mounted in windows for room-specific cooling, or installed on roofs, in attics, or at ground-level using dedicated ducts in a whole-building system. Evaporative coolers also require water, so you'll need to choose a location close to a water source.
• Types of coolers: Direct coolers come in two varieties: fiber pad and rigid pad coolers. Fiber pad coolers are the most common. They employ 1- to 2-inch thick plastic-netted wood- or synthetic-fiber pads. Rigid-sheet pad coolers, on the other hand, require stacked corrugated sheet material that is 8 to 12 inches thick and can handle higher velocities than fiber pad coolers. Indirect evaporative coolers are also called two-stage coolers because they use the basic direct cooler method as well as a secondary heat exchange, which prevents humidity from being added to the air stream. These chillers are pricier but will cool a room as effectively as an air conditioner.[1]
• Water exchange: In order to prevent water from becoming brackish, some recommend installing a bleed-off system to infuse the cooler with fresh water. This will reduce the maintenance required to keep your cooler running, but will require about 5 additional gallons of water per hour.[2]
• Size: Swamp coolers are rated by the cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air they can circulate. You can figure out how large your system needs to be by using this formula: Room square footage x height of ceilings, divided by two). For example, if you're room is 1,100 square feet with 9 foot ceilings, the formula will look like this: 1,100 x 9 = 9,900. Then 9,900/2 = 4,950. You'll therefore need a machine that has a minimum of 4,950 CFM capacity. Sizes range from 3,000 to 25,000 CFM.
• Features: Look for a unit with multiple fan speeds and a vent-only option so that you can vary the operation based on the weather. You may also want to find one with an air filter system to keep dust and pollen out.

Find it! Evaporative coolers

Before you buy

• Drain and clean the cooler: If sediment and minerals build up in your cooler, its efficiency will drop dramatically. To prevent this, be sure to adopt a monthly cleaning/draining schedule. Inspect the pads, filters, reservoir, and pump and give them a good scrubbing when needed.
• Replace pads: Follow the manufacturer's recommendations about replacing the pads to ensure your machine is at its best.

Installing an evaporative cooler helps you go green because…

• They use much less energy to cool your space than an air conditioner.
• They're chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)- and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-free, which means they won't damage the earth's ozone layer.
• Air quality in your home is improved with infusions of fresh air.

Tax breaks and subsidies

• PNM (New Mexico) offers rebates up to $400 for residential electricity customers who install evaporative cooling systems.
• Southern California Edison gives rebates between $300-600 per unit for ducted evaporative cooling system installations.
• xcel Energy (Colorado) provides rebates for residential electricity customers installing energy-efficient evaporative cooling equipment.

• Alliance to Save Energy: Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: Provides information on state and federal incentives.

Related health issues

Glossary

• chloroflourocarbon (CFC): A haloalkane compound containing chlorine, primarily used as a refrigerant. When this gaseous compound reaches the stratosphere, UV light liberates the chlorine from the molecule and it is then capable of breaking down up to 100,000 ozone molecules (O3) into O + O2. Freon is a trademarked term referring to CFCs used in refrigeration and cooling systems.
• hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC): A similar haloalkane compound where not all the hydrogen atoms are replaced by a halogen atom. These are typically used to substitute for CFCs, as the ozone-depleting capacity of these compounds is 10 percent less than that of CFCs.[9]
• ozone layer: Part of the earth's atmosphere, the ozone layer contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O₃).[10] Ozone acts like a blanket that protects the earth from damaging UV radiation, which has been linked to cancer.[11]

External links

• Consumer Energy Center - Evaporative Cooling
• Home Energy - Installing and Maintaining Evaporative Coolers
• Oikos Green Building Source - Evaporative Coolers: An energy-saving way to beat the heat

Footnotes

1. The Green Guide - The Cutting Edge of Cool: Evaporative Coolers
2. ToolBase Services - Evaporative Coolers: Summary
3. ToolBase Services - Evaporative Coolers: Operational Cost
4. US Department of Energy - Evaporative Coolers
5. The Green Guide - Keep Your Cool with Less AC: Pump Up the Cool
6. Consumer Energy Center - Evaporative Cooling: How an Evaporative Cooler Works
7. Home Energy online - Installing and Maintaining Evaporative Coolers: Cooler Performance
8. Do It Yourself.com - A Guide to Evaporative Coolers
9. US Environmental Protection Agency - Ozone Depleting Substances
10. ScienceDaily - Ozone layer
11. US Environmental Protection Agency - What You Should Know about Refrigerants When Purchasing or Repairing a Residential A/C System or Heat Pump (see bottom of page)

How to install a heat pump

1. Air-source: Good for warmer climates (and not suitable for the extreme cold), the air-source heat pump exchanges outdoor air for indoor air using a compressor and two copper coils (one inside and one outside). Although they do consume electricity to operate, they can provide one and one half to three times more heat energy to a building than the electrical energy they use.
2. Ductless, mini splits: Built much like air-source heat pumps, ductless, mini-split heat pumps are useful in buildings that lack comprehensive duct systems. They're ideal for retrofits, additions, and for buildings that use hot water heat, radiant heat, or space heaters.
3. Absorption: Using the same mechanisms found in air-source devices, absorption heat pumps (also known as gas-fired heat pumps) use solar- or geothermal-heated water, propane, or natural gas rather than electricity. Ammonia is absorbed into water, then pumped to a high pressure, and then boiled to separate water from ammonia. These systems are only appropriate for larger buildings at least 4,000 square feet in size.
4. Geothermal: Relatively stable underground temperatures range from 45°F to 75°F. Air above ground is generally hotter during the summer and colder during the winter compared to these constant deep-earth temperatures. Geothermal heat pumps (alternately known as GeoExchange, ground-source, water-source, or earth-coupled heat pumps) rely on these constant temperatures rather than unstable outdoor temperatures. By installing liquid-filled pipes underground, cool air is brought into a building during warm months, and heated air is exchanged for cool air during winter months. Check out Consumer Energy Center's animated illustration to get a general idea of how these systems work. There are four main types of geothermal heat pumps:
• Horizontal closed-loop: Two pipes are buried between 4 and 6 feet deep. This is the most cost-effective and especially suitable for new construction where sufficient land exists.
• Vertical closed-loop: Pipes are inserted into 100-400 feet deep holes, connected by U-bends at the bottom and horizontal pipes at the top. This system is useful for land-limited buildings and where shallow trenches are not possible.
• Pond/lake closed-loop: Coiled pipes are placed at least 8 feet under the surface of existing bodies of water, such as lakes or ponds. This is a very cost-effective option.
• Open-loop: Using well- or surface-water as the fluid for heat exchange, these systems circulate water within an open body of water. Open-loop heat pumps can only be installed where local groundwater discharge regulations permit.

Find it! Heat pump service providers

• ServiceMagic Listing of heat contractors who specialize in heat pumps.
• Air Conditioning Contractors of America Look for the "Ask About ENERGY STAR" logo on the search results to find those who specialize in selling and installing the more energy efficient models.

Installing a heat pump helps you go green because…

• It requires less energy to heat and cool a building compared to conventional methods.
• Carbon dioxide emissions are significantly reduced for heating and cooling.
• It avoids toxic air pollutants associated with the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

Drawbacks

• High initial cost: Many of these heat pump systems are relatively expensive ($2,500 per ton of capacity) to have installed, though the costs are generally returned to the owner in energy savings. In the case of geothermal heat pumps, return on investment generally ocurrs within five to 10 years.[4] Operating costs for heat pumps can save the average owner between 20 and 70 percent in energy costs.[1]
• Difficult maintenance: For systems with underground piping, repairs can be quite difficult. However, since most systems come with a 25 to 50 year guarantee and rarely break-down, they are relatively worry-free.[1][3]

Tax breaks and subsidies

• GeoExchange - State by State Incentives for Geoexchange Systems (see right-hand panel)
• American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy Updates on potential energy legislation.
• Tax Incentives Assistance Project Explains federal tax credits for energy efficiency.
• Alliance to Save Energy Offers an index of energy efficiency programs by state.
• Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency Provides information on state and federal incentives.
• Contact your utility provider for information on local offers.

External links

• Consumer Energy Center - Geothermal Heat Pumps
• GeoExchange - Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium
• Geothermal Heat Pump.com - How it works!
• US Department of Energy - Heat Pump Systems

Footnotes

1. Consumer Energy Center - Geothermal Heat Pumps
2. GeoExchange - What are the environmental benefits
3. GeoExchange - Heating and Cooling Systems: Fascinating Facts
4. US Department of Energy - Geothermal Heat Pumps