Treehugging Industrial Suburbanite

Organic Lawn Care

2007-03-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year - tune up your lawn mower and get out your fertilizers. Wait, before you get out your fertilizers, do a little research into natural or organic lawn care and make some educated decisions about your lawn. Or, just use this search that I already did for you.

There are some easy basics that everyone can use even if still using petro-based fertilizers and pesticides: mow to about 3", water thoroughly only once per week.

Looking for an organic lawn service to replace Chemlawn? I heard a radio ad for Child's Play Organic Lawns while driving through South Bend, IN. Unfortunately they're a little far from my place, and I like to do it myself anyway. The search I linked above and the Child's Play site are both good resources for you if you're interested in not only reducing harmful chemical exposure to your family, pets, and the environment, but if you simply want a healthier and less maintenance-extensive lawn.

Please Consider the Environment Before Printing This ...

2007-03-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Do you know anyone who prints nearly every Email they receive? Do you print them? Have you ever thought about how wasteful that is? Do you cringe when paying $35 for an ink cartridge?

A few suggestions:

Keep a "used" paper box under your desk for all those useless memos and messed up letters that only have print on one side. Take them home or use them again at the office if you must print Emails.
Save or export your Email as a .txt file or Word doc so it's always there if you need it. Most Email programs allow this, but print to file works no matter what you have. Honestly, you don't need that much hard copy CYA (cover your a$$) material!
If you're going to send a letter or report, scan the original and keep your copy electronically instead of on paper.
Explore electronic signatures
If you have trouble reading the small print: try adjusting your monitor's resolution, or hold the "Ctrl" button while rolling your mouse scroll wheel - it zooms.
Add this statement to your Email signature: Please consider the environment before printing this email
But, for heaven's sake, stop printing every Email!

Dryer Balls

2007-03-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

I always see adds for dryer balls in eco catalogues but never paid much attention. Then my wife got some from Gaiam (the manufacturer's site is more interesting) and we've been using them for probably a month now. Basically, the spiny oblong balls are supposed to do the job of fabric softener and decrease drying time. Believe it or not - it works! We haven't used fabric softener since using the balls and the laundry is comparably soft.

I have not gone to the extent of a side-by-side softness or drying time test, but there is no doubt that we're saving money and exposure to chemicals (not to mention all the upstream pollution avoided). One important thing we've learned since starting our kids in cloth diapers almost 3 years ago is that fabric softener seriously reduces cloth absorbency by literally gooing up the fabric. 'Stripping' them is a very water and energy intensive process. So another benefit to eliminating fabric softener is that our towels, and our workout clothes, are more absorbent.

I see that there are 3 or 4 other brands out there, and I read some mixed reviews on them. I did not find a review for the brand we have. I'll let you know what happens.

My Favorite CFL

2007-03-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

I wrote about lighting and compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs here and here before, as any treehugger should. The conflict comes when people (clear throat) actually use them. The complaints immediately spew forth as their delayed-on flickering blueish white light comes alive. I have a few of those crappy bulbs as I've made unconscious grabs at the 'energy savers' section at Lowe's or Home Depot. BUT, the very first CFL I ever bought, around 7 years ago, is still with me today and performs just as well as any incadescent - well except for the fact that I've had it 6 more years than any incadescent.

I finally, weeks ago, looked at it to see the brand and to finally be able to buy more CFLs that I can actually stand to have on in the living spaces of my home. The brand is Commercial Electric. So, since I didn't need any bulbs I completely forgot about it until a trip to Home Depot a few days ago where I picked up a round vanity light Commercial Electric bulb. It's now in the bathroom and it the brightest bulb in the row (the wasteful row of 6 bulbs when the room only needs 2; I have the rest unscrewed and just sitting there). It's instant on and the color is right.

I just did a quick search and found that a pile of Commercial Electric bulbs were recalled in 2004 because they can spark and burn up. I trust that problem has been solved by now.

So if you're like a lot of people and want to have CFLs in your home but are tired of the junk, go get some Commercial Electric bulbs.

$0.05 per bag @ IKEA

2007-02-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Beginning March 15th, customers at all US IKEA stores will have to pay 5 cents for each plastic bag. Finally a significant chain has adopted this policy! All the proceeds will go to American Forests, the nation's oldest non-profit citizens conservation organization, to plant trees to restore forests and offset CO2 emissions. Also, to help alter customer behavior and endorse environmentally responsible habits, IKEA will be selling its iconic reusable 'Big Blue Bag' for 59 cents, a cost that has been reduced from 99 cents.

IKEA gave away 70 million disposable plastic bags last year and they expect that to be cut in half during the first year of this new program. IKEA launched this program in the UK in the spring of 2006 and achieved an amazing 95% reduction in bags!

IKEA has been at the forefront in a number of environmental initiatives. IKEA specialists work diligently to promote healthy forestry practices. Wood used for IKEA products comes from well managed forests and not from intact, natural, or old-growth forests.

I've been planning on stopping at the Chicago store on one of my trips through, and now I have another reason to.

Bye Bye Incandescent

2007-02-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

A congressman in California recently discussed his intention to propose a bill to outlaw incandescent light bulbs, which received quite a lot of press. Well now, Australia is planning on outlawing incandescent bulbs by 2010. I think the population of southern Cali exceeds that of Australia, but it's still a huge step. They estimate a reduction of 4 million tonnes of greenhouse gases as a result. Thanks BBC.

I spent time in Australia and one quickly obvious differences is that nearly every toilet has the full and half flush buttons on top of the tank. These are just starting to show up in the US - why has it taken so long? It's a very simple, yet very effective, method of saving water.

Feng Shui Paint

2007-02-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Just look at this picture for a second.

Any guesses on what that turquoise greenish color is? Nope, not valuable turquoise stones.... it's paint. According to this article, this quarry in southwestern China was painted green for $60,000 at the request of the forestry department, if for nothing more than to increase the feng shui. I just don't know what to say.

On another, more believable note: the state of Florida has decided that the artificial tire-reefs they created 35 years ago are not working. I have to admit that I would have made the same mistake - dump a bunch of tires offshore and wait for the corals and fish to arrive. Well, it didn't happen. Now those tires look like they were dumped there last week. Worse, they've broken from their steel or rope bindings and are being smashed into real reefs by waves and currents. This same mistake has been made all over the world, and it seems that nobody has had any luck. Now we're spending millions to begin cleaning them up. The good news is that the ships they sink are usually successful as artificial reefs.

Reporting Season

2007-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

January through June every year is reporting season for environmental compliance people like myself. As annual reports go, the first is due on January 10th (a Michigan requirement), and the last is due July 1, with a bunch in between. So basically from January 2nd through the end of June most of industry's environmental peons are collecting, sorting, compiling, calculating, wading through, and sinking up to their chins in data. Different agencies and different states require pretty much the same data in different formats or for different purposes. I for example, report the amount of emissions generated from casting xx tons of iron in a given year. Some agencies want to know how many materials we have on site over 10,000 lbs, for emergency response purposes. Some agencies want to know how much air pollution was generated while we made xx tons of iron. Others want to know how much of all types of pollution was generated. Still others want to know only how much waste was generated. And others want to know how much water we sucked from the ground and how much we put back in. I also report that we're doing what our permits say we're supposed to be doing, or that we're not. I also have to create reports for nobody at all - files that sit in the file cabinets on the chance that an inspector will come by the facility and want to read them over, which does sometimes happen.

I generate a LOT of paper and I hate it. It is quite ironic that the environmental people at businesses create such incredible amounts of paper. Luckily, more and more agencies are converting to electronic or online report preparation and submission. In that case, the only paper actually required is usually just one signature page. That covers reports, but doesn't always cover your a$$. When an inspector shows up to view a report, we have to be able to show how we arrived at the numbers we've reported, and show backup documentation that supports them. Yep, more paper. Then, the electronic programs often don't let you copy last year's report and just change the production index, you actually have to enter all or most of the information again, which means you have to have a hard copy of last year's report. Yep, more paper.

Our environmental agencies, while getting better, are just as bureaucratic as any other government entity. They have an increasingly important job to do, so we should be fighting to streamline and improve the functioning of those agencies so more of the money can be channeled to the efforts that really matter.

BBC Climate Challenge

2007-02-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

The BBC is hosting a cool online climate challenge game. It is sort of like the Sim_ series of games, but you make policy decisions on every level to try to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions while maintaining enough money, food, water, and your popularity as president of Europe.

On each turn (a decade), you play 6 cards from your stack of options of National, Trade, Industry, Local, and Household policies. Each card shows the cost/income and the effects on the other parameters, along with the popularity of the choice. Supposedly you can get kicked out of office if you make enough unpopular decisions. Also, 3 times during the game, you meet with the presidents of the other continents of the world and try to get them to agree to reduce their CO2 emissions, often requiring you to subsidize them.

The goal is the reduce your CO2 emissions to zero over 100 years while maintaining food, water, and money for Europe, and keeping the people happy enough. I have no idea how realistic the effects of the choices are, but they seem pretty good to a political ignoramus like me.

I think this game is a good exercise for some of the high and mighty out there who believe that going green is a matter of simple choices, and also for those who simply want to try to understand the cause and effect, or unintended consequences, of going green. For example, small scale organic farming is obviously more green than medium or large scale factory farming, but then your people will go hungry and you may have to import food, which produces a lot of CO2 and other pollution in the transportation.

On my first try, I got good grades for meeting my CO2 reduction goals, but I left Europe in ruins as nobody had any money or food to eat.

Kick plASStic

2007-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Now that's a granola phrase if I've ever written one. But seriously, we just simply use - most often waste - far too much plastic and other disposables. Reusable Bags, which is a great place to get shopping bags, mugs, and other reusable goodies, estimates that over 1,000,000 plastic shopping bags are consumed per minute.

The latest site to promote the BYO lifestyle is aptly called Bring Your Own. Check them out and learn something about the problem, the impacts, and some solutions. Thanks TreeHugger.

I'm having a hard time deciding how to take on three huge topics: our disposable lifestyle, energy (oil) security, and waste. My challenge is delving into each while highlighting how intertwined they are, and how political they are. Any suggestions or discussion starters are welcome.

Gigoit

2007-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

Huh? Gigoit is an acronym for "garbage in, garbage out", followed by an "it". It's a new free garbage exchange (one man's is another's treasure, after all) site that simplifies the models used by Freecycle and Craig's List (which I mentioned here). You don't need a user ID or PW, or have to search through posts to see if the item you want is still available. It's in beta, and there aren't many items listed yet, but keep an eye on it.

Reuse is unquestionably our most efficient mode, at least until the rethink catches on, and you can bet that is a long way off. Thanks TreeHugger.

Stumptown Coffee

2007-01-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

A guest post from me pops:

"I don't know if you want to pay $12 per pound of coffee, but I recommend that you review Stumptown's great coffee. I have read in several places over the last few years that Stumptown - in Portland - makes the best coffee of all the "gourmet blenders". They are not big like Starbucks, and only have a few stores in that area, but they are consistently rated the best. I also found them rated tops in Consumer Reports, as I recall. I read somewhere that Portland folks will line up at length each morning just to drink Stumptown's coffee. I think they are a green company, also, and that much of their beans are free trade. If you visit their site www.stumptowncoffee.com you can read all about them. You can find their organic blends at between $12 and $13 per pound, which is high but may be worth the cost, at least for a treat." --Pappa Java

I checked out the site and found this bit: "Believing in the social, environmental, and economic benefits of sustainable business leads us to not only support coffee farms that are committed to the well being of their workers, land and water, it compels us to be a sustainable business in our own community. Providing health insurance for our employees and donating freshly roasted coffee to the Oregon Food Bank are some of the ways that we act on our belief in sustainability."

That's a lot of money for coffee, and most of us will need it shipped, but I'd gladly support these guys because of what they do.

Top Green Power Users

2007-01-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

For the first time, a corporation leads EPA's national Top 25 list of green power purchasers. Wells Fargo & Company claimed the top spot, purchasing 550 million kilowatt hours annually. Organizations that purchase electricity generated from clean, renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro make up the quarterly list. After Wells Fargo & Company, Whole Foods Market ranks second and the U.S. Air Force ranks third. The U.S. EPA ranks fourth, with Johnson & Johnson rounding out the top five. Newcomers to the list include Cisco Systems Inc., New York University, Carbonfund.org, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Kohl's Department Stores.

EPA's Top 25 green power purchasers are buying more than 4 billion kilowatt-hours of green power on an annual basis. This is equivalent to the energy needed to power more than 350,000 average American homes each year. The EPA Green Power Partnership encourages organizations to purchase green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with the use of electricity from fossil fuels and to diversify America's fuel supply. The partnership is comprised of a diverse set of organizations including Fortune 500 companies, small and medium businesses, government institutions as well as colleges and universities. EPA's Top 25 Green Power Partners is as follows, listed in order of purchase size:

1. Wells Fargo & Company

2. Whole Foods Market

3. U.S. Air Force

4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

5. Johnson & Johnson

6. Starbucks

7. DuPont Company

8. U.S. Department of Energy

9. Vail Resorts Inc.

10. HSBC North America

11. Cisco Systems Inc.

12. Staples

13. New York University

14. The World Bank Group

15. University of Pennsylvania

16. IBM Corporation

17. Carbonfund.org

18. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

19. NatureWorks LLC

20. Sprint Nextel

21. Safeway Inc.

22. Pennsylvania State University

23. Kohl's Department Stores

24. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

25. The Tower Companies

So what? Well, if you're interested in putting your money where it may do some good (or at least less bad), buy some groceries from Whole Foods, take a loan from Wells Fargo, or buy some staples at Staples.

Green Super Bowl

2007-01-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

The Super Bowl has gone Green. The NFL is offsetting the carbon created by producing electricity consumed during the super bowl by planting native trees and purchasing renewable energy certificates. They even think that all of their efforts will make the event carbon negative. They are also pushing recycling at the event and will be donating any uneaten food.

The NFL isn't the first big player to host a green event. The Turin Olympics and the last World Cup were carbon neutral or negative, and the IRL is converting to ethanol from methanol (way more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas). Thanks Forbes.

DIY

2007-01-27T08:12:00.000-05:00

One mainstay of treehugging is doing it yourself, or DIY. There are a few reasons for doing it yourself, such as saving money. You also have a much better chance of being able to buy locally made materials than buying a locally made complete product. Other environmental advantages depend on what the finished product is, but sometimes it's more efficient to ship the raw materials than to ship the finished product. If nothing else, it is rewarding to know that you made something yourself.

There are lots of sites out there that guide you through everything from knitting a toy to building your own wind turbine. Knitting toys, animals, scarfs, etc. is a great way to be green because you can often find organic yarn, especially if you live near Amish areas. Knitty.com is a good site for finding patterns and instructions. Howtopedia is a newer cousin of Wikipedia, but is made up of articles on how to make to do things. That's where you can find instructions for your own wind turbine, or even a biomass digester. Instructables is a favorite, where among others things, you can learn how to wire your own LED lights. There is a DIY network, where they've combined guides from TV and online about most things under the sun. eHow and HowStuffWorks have been around a long time too.

One last resource that I'm sure no one has thought of is the good 'ol library. Try it - libraries are the ultimate communal efficient way to share entertainment and information.

WaterSense

2007-01-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

You've likely heard of the EnergyStar program under which products and buildings that meet certain energy efficiency criteria may display the EnergyStar logo. It's a convenient way for you and I to pick out appliances that are more efficient.

The EPA has a similar program for water efficiency called WaterSense. And now you can get your own throne with the WaterSense logo. Yep, efficient toilets are getting the nod. The news release says that by reducing from a standard 1.6 gallon flush toilet to a 1.3 flusher, it can save you 10% of your water bill. I don't think I flush that much, but who knows.

Right now they've only got irrigation systems and toilets, but hopefully they expand to things like dishwashers, clothes washers, and shower heads.

TreeHugger Hit It

2007-01-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Here's another lazy copied post for you. I think this TreeHugger post captures the heart of the current environmental movement - or at least my current mindset. Here's part of the post:

"TreeHugger was conceived with the intent of showcasing those cool products and services which could help the hesitant move toward a more sustainable lifestyle, without feeling they’d have to revert to hippydom. But from the outset we were very aware that it is simply not possible to buy a greener life. Money can open up choices, but it cannot be traded for core values or attitudes. And this is one of the determining factors for the dilemma we find ourselves in. We are conditioned by advertising, TV, cinema, and so on, to believe that more stuff will make us blissful. If the glow of owning a new plasma TV wears off, we jet away to the Bahamas, or buy another pair of shoes to fill that gnawing happiness void. (It is the materials extraction, manufacturing, distribution, use and subsequent disposal of all this desired ‘stuff’ that is at the root of our environment (and social) woes. Yet, while it has been long studied and reported that there is no link between wealth and happiness, we still pursue them. Recent related research now suggests that wealth and longevity are not good travelling buddies either. The US is up the top of list when it comes to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of a country’s ability to spend money. But it ranks way down in 30th spot for life expectancy."

While my family still buys our share of stuff, we're doing some things differently: really thinking about whether or not we need the item, looking for the most environmentally sound choices, looking for something made locally, and looking for the item used on Freecycle, Craig's List, or Ebay. It is difficult to fit in (keep up with the Jones') when you show up with a beaten and faded slide for your kids while the neighbors have a new Rainbow Play Set, but the feeling of doing something positive for the environment while saving money is really starting to feel good.

State of the Union

2007-01-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

Well, he was better than his usual speaking self last night. As usual, the address was full of hope and great ideas and new spending with no way to pay for it. Apparenlty I don't know enough about the current budget status because he spoke about how he cut the deficit in half. I thought it was balanced when he inherited it. Hmm ... maybe I was dozing off.

His environmental/energy content was pretty disappointing relative to what it was built up to be. I think he spent about 5 minutes on it. So his plan is to cut gasoline (note - not oil) usage by 20% in 10 years. I thnk it will be really easy to accomplish based on all the current and almost-here technologies. At a large corporation I used to work for, we used to have all sorts of goals, and the hardest part was always determining how to set a goal that appeared hard to achieve, but that you knew you could meet (since bonuses were paid on them). I think Bush set an easy goal last night that we shouldn't have any trouble meeting. We're talking 10 years here!

Gasoline only. In this post, I noted how Sweden pledged to elmininate fossil fuels in 13 years.

Also notice GW had nothing but a general reference to global warming.

What a joke we are.

State of Environmental Policy

2007-01-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

Tonight's State of the Union Address will contain more environmental lingo and hot topics than any in my lifetime. Even though it's on past my bedtime, I might have to stay up to watch. Unfortunately the environmental issues are more a result of energy security than environmental concern, but I'll take it where I can get it.

My favorite thing ever said about Bush is, "George Bush giving a speech is like a drunk man walking on ice."

Geothermal Energy

2007-01-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

NPR had a bit about a new geothermal energy study performed by MIT which claims that "...mining the huge amounts of heat that reside as stored thermal energy in the Earth's hard rock crust could supply a substantial portion of the electricity the United States will need in the future, probably at competitive prices and with minimal environmental impact." So all we need to do is drill down a mile, inject water which is boiled by the earth's heat, and channel the steam back to turbines on the surface. Sounds great.

There are a few drawbacks, among them being a shortage of water in the parts of the country where the hot spots are most readily available (west), and the possibility that drilling into and fracturing rock may cause earthquakes like this one in Switzerland.

I honestly haven't heard of this type of geothermal energy before, but am familiar with the geothermal heating and cooling available in all sizes. I've been in a home equipped with a system that simply had the pipes laid underground throughout the yard. I've also seen them work very well with the pipe coils in nearby ponds or lakes. I commented on TreeHugger here about how geothermal deserves a lot more press.

Fort Wayne is actually home to a large geothermal company called WaterFurnace International, as well as some smaller businesses.

If you are in the market, please do a little research on geothermal for your heating and cooling. You will be amazed at what it has to offer.

Arm & Hammer

2007-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

I just read this on top of the baking soda box:

"Our Environmental Commitment. For over a century Arm & Hammer has helped the environment. Since 1888 we've encouraged protection of wildlife with our bird cards. Our boxes have used recycled paper for more than 80 years. Recently we've developed technology to purify drinking water and reduce smokestack pollution. Environmentally sensible products are part of our heritage. Century old Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and ... Super Washing Soda are environmentally acceptable alternatives to other household products. A&H Laundry Detergent pioneered the 1970 introduction of phosphate-free detergents. We remain committed to providing products that help you and our environment."

I can't find anything more than a general sustainability statement on the parent company's (Church & Dwight Co) or the Arm & Hammer site that expounds on that box-top statement, but now I'll have to do a little research to get the details.

Organic Birthday

2007-01-21T15:03:00.000-05:00

I wrote about my wife's 30% organic shopping trip to Meijer, and yesterday was the day we celebrated by birthday and got to eat all those goodies. The breakfast was smoothies with organic yogurt, bananas, blueberries, and orange juice; and organic eggs and turkey sausage. The highlight was the organic ice cream cake (no cake mix). The crust was a layer of crushed organic chocolate cookies held together with organic unsalted butter. Then two layers of Meijer Organics ice cream of different flavors, and topped with melted organic fair trade chocolate chips. It is excellent!

Meijer has come out with their own brand of organics called Meijer Organics. All the containers have this wording: "All Meijer Organics products are made with: No artificial ingredients; minimal processing; no pesticides, antibiotics, or growth hormones; dedication to renewable farming practices." The orange juice carton I read that off of does have a USDA Organic cert stamp.

Cash Cows

2007-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty much just copying this post from an EPA Enewsletter for lack of time today. It's an interesting topic and one way to clean up the dirty agriculture industry.

EPA and its partners have released guidance that can help farmers manage livestock waste and boost farm earnings while reducing greenhouse gases. Processing livestock manure under controlled conditions can produce biogas, a source of greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers also benefit because the biogas can be used to generate electricity.

"Using biogas has multiple benefits; it decreases greenhouse gas emissions, produces renewable energy for rural communities, and safeguards local air and water quality," said Bill Wehrum, EPA's acting assistant administrator of Air and Radiation. "This guidance will help farmers and potential investors make informed choices about which systems work best for farms, for profits, and for our environment."

Biogas is made up of methane and carbon dioxide. Because methane is more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, capturing biogas provides significant environmental benefits. Also, farmers and project developers can increase their incomes by using biogas for on-site electricity generation or delivery to a local electric utility.

Waste methane recovery systems, also known as anaerobic digestion systems, are estimated to be feasible at about 7,000 dairy and swine operations in the United States. In 2005, about 110 systems were operational or under construction, and another 80 were in the planning stages.

The standardized guidance was developed jointly by EPA's AgStar program, the Association of State Energy Research and Technology Transfer Institutions, and USDA. The guidance will provide a standardized method that will allow farm operators and investors to compare the effectiveness of available waste methane recovery systems.

AgStar is a voluntary program that encourages the use of waste methane recovery systems on dairy and swine farms. Each year, these systems have reduced methane by about 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, while providing enough renewable energy to power over 20,000 average American homes. The program also assists countries throughout the world in developing biogas recovery projects through the Methane to Markets Partnership.

Information on the AgStar Protocol: http://www.epa.gov/agstar/resources/protocol.html General information on Methane to Markets Partnership: http://www.epa.gov/methanetomarkets

Doomsday Clock

2007-01-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

According to this article on the BBC, the scientists at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) have moved the minute hand two minutes closer to 12 on the symbolic doomsday clock they maintain in Chicago. Why? Global Warming!

The clock is meant to symbolize imminent threat to human civilization. When the clock strikes 12, it's all over folks. The sky will be falling. They moved it to 11:55 this time, which is as close as it has been since the doomiest parts of the cold war. In 1953 it made it down to 2 minutes, and to 3 minutes in 1984.

Global warming isn't the only reason they're moving the minute hand; there are also the obvious nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran.

I've never heard of these guys or this clock before, and therefore do not know if this group tends to lean left or right. Nonetheless, it's interesting to hear that they view this risk so seriously. They state that "the world has not faced such perilous choices" since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I don't view it THAT seriously: I'm only building a raft around the foundation of my house and stocking up on guns.

Permitted to Pollute

2007-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I often get the impression that many people do not understand what an environmental permit is - and that's OK because few people ever deal with them. Well, permits and figuring out how to comply with them happens to bring home my bacon.

A permit is just a document issued by a regulatory agency. An environmental permit is the same, but the issuing agency has some authority over the air, water, or land. So an air permit is issued by an agency (usually the state) to a facility and describes how much of a list of pollutants that facility may emit, legally, into the air.

For example, your local dry cleaner has an air permit that may list VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds - many solvents fall into this) and may give a limit of 2.0 pounds per hour. That means that your dry cleaner may legally release up to 2 pounds per hour of VOCs into the air, or up to 17,520 pounds per year (2 pounds/hour * 8760 hours/year). They have to demonstrate compliance with that limit by testing the stack once in a while.

Water permits work in much the same way - describing what that maximum concentration of a pollutant may be in the water they discharge to a body of water.

For more info on permits, let me know what specifically you're curious about and I'll send you the info. For general info, start at the US EPA.

Gas Price!

2007-01-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

I saw gas this afternoon for $1.88! I haven't seen that in an awfully long time. Then I stumbled across this article on CNN.com about why gas prices skyrocket at a mere oil sneeze, but take their sweet time coming back down. I've always wondered why it happened that way, and of course it quite simply boils down to ... because it can.

Mission Accomplished

2007-01-14T13:33:00.000-05:00

I covered Mission Organic 2010 here, and described the mission to purchase 10% organic products by 2010. Well, my wife whipped that goal yesterday: of the 82 items purchased on her weekly Meijer grocery trip, 25 were organic for an astounding 30%!

Two of those items were organic cotton clothes, which grabbed her attention with the large "organic" sign above them, and they were on sale. It's a brand called I.W.I., which I can't for the life of me find any reference to online. The label says cut and sewn in Taiwan, and finished in China.

If she had gone to "Fresh Market" or "Whole Foods" or "Trader Joe's", you might not even be able to get under 50% organic, but we're talking Meijer in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The bill? A lot! There's no doubt we paid more for many of the organic items vs. their normal competitors. And I can't say that we'll get 30% every time from now on, as this trip was in preparation for my bday, when I will be treated to all-organic breakfast and dinner - including ice cream pie!

Why Buy Green?

2007-01-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

I very recently wrote here and here about buying green, and a good blog called Celias that I have linked to your left has a feature article about why we shoud buy green. I highly recommend it.

Oak Farm Montessori

2007-01-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

We were very surprised to find, just a short drive north of our house in Avilla, Indiana, a fantastic place called... "Oak Farm Montessori School and Oak Bridge Montessori Middle School provide a unique opportunity for each student to be at home in the world of nature. Strengthening a child’s connection with nature and the environment is an important part of our curriculum. We seek to give students, parents, and faculty a reverence for the earth, its waters, and all living things. We also encourage caring for the environment based on our individual responsibility for the beauty of the land and the health of our ecosystems. We believe that being at home in the world of nature is basic to being a whole and healthy person."

By that read, you're probably picturing some hippie teachers with dreads working in Quonset huts. Quite the contrary! I toured the school and it was amazing. It is located on an old farm, with a few buildings into which the different ages are segregated. I toured the youngest-age building, which is a renovated/added onto beautiful Victorian home. I was simply amazed at the facility and by watching the kids interact. I won't go into the Montessori methods, but I suggest you do if you have little ones or plan to.

Our application is to be submitted any day.

Buying E Green

2007-01-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

I just wrote about buying green, and then today found this great post on TreeHugger. It's so in line with what I'm into that I don't need to paraphrase or reword; I'll just copy:
"Working from the idea that electronics are both ubiquitous and helpful in our everyday lives, they don't want you to quit using them (and certainly don't want you to just throw them away); myGreenElectronics hopes to help you learn more about minimizing the environmental impact of these gadgets and toys through responsible use, reuse and recycling. They've also added a fourth "R" to the common Reduce, Reuse, Recycle mantra that gets bandied about these pages: Rethink, and we think that's a biggie. By considering the environment before you ever go shopping, and then finding electronics and accessories that use less energy, are made with recyclable and recycled materials and are easier to upgrade, fix and recycle, you make it easier on yourself, your energy bill, your conscience and your planet."

I love the 4th R: Rethink. In fact, it should be the 1st R.

For more e-recycling ideas and information, including where to take your used electronics, go to the EPA Plug-In to eCycling pages.

Chicken Little

2007-01-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Even with almost all of the skeptics now agreeing that global warming or climate change is real and is affected (at least to some extent) by human activity, there still exists a powerful minority of dissenters. I'm ashamed to read the comments (BBC News) of Daimler-Chrysler's chief economist, who has attacked "the quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their "chicken little attitute" towards global warming. He believes, and obviously will try to pursuade DCX, that little should be spent on greener efforts.

My view? I don't know and I don't really care if human activity is affecting the natural cycle of warming and cooling. We do KNOW that humans, and especially Americans, emit way more than we need to. So WHY NOT make changes that we KNOW will reduce our footprint? I'm not talking about going broke trying; I'm talking about making sensible investments that are proven to be sustainable (i.e. let you keep making money in the long run).

The next question: why are Europeans' and Americans' attitudes different? My question is: on what issues are their attitutes the same? Not many I think.

Buy Green

2007-01-09T15:33:00.000-05:00

Of course many of my posts have already offered green purchase options, but I'll go a little broader with this one. Really, I just want to provide you with knowlegde and options for how or where to buy green.
CNN has a special report called Buying Green. There will can find a fair amount of information including sales figures through 2005 on food, consumer products, and construction. There is a survey and a forum, and also some help decoding the labels (which can be very misleading).
TreeHugger has a great series called How to Green Your Life, with topics including work, water, lighting, wardrobe, and many more.
I also really dig The Green Guide, which claims to be The Green Living Source for Today's Conscious Consumer. The feature today is The Eco-nomical Bedroom, and at a quick glance it looks very well done. It offers you different options from different manufacturers and includes pricing.
Those are a few of the better sites that I've encountered. I'm sure there are many more that I've missed.

Green (colored) Lumber

2007-01-09T06:04:00.000-05:00

I'm talking about the lumber that is visibly green - the wolmanized, or pressure treated lumber that takes up the majority of the lumber area in Lowe's or Home Depot. You've probably read or heard about some of the controversy over that lumber, like you should not burn it, or that you should wear gloves when handling it.

The EPA announced yesterday that they will not approve one of the treatments called Acid Copper Chromate (ACC) for residential use because of the potential for harmful effects on humans. ACC is just one of a handful of different pesticides used, and the others are linked in a box on the right side of the page.

If, like me, you've always wondered about treated lumber and why it's dangerous, browse those pages and you'll be much better informed.

Alternatives? Again, I'm sad to tell you that many alternatives are costly and have widely varying properties. One just simply cannot keep untreated lumber outside for very long without it literally falling apart, so unless you have a lot of money to spend, you may be stuck with treated lumber. Some alternate treatments are listed here.

I built a play set last summer and used treated lumber except up on the decking where the kids will be in contact with the material the most. Up there I used a composite, which is recycled plastic extruded with sawdust or wood chips. It's more expensive, heavier, and not as strong so you'll need more joists. But, you'll never have to seal it and it won't warp or shrink, and it's safe for the kids to play on (no slivers either).

So if you're thinking about building something this summer, start your research now and see what's available in your area. You may even ask you local lumberyard to order something they don't normally carry. That kind of request is one of the few ways to help bring more environmentally friendly products to the masses. Many people believe that if Lowe's doesn't have it, it doesn't exist.

Local Agriculture

2007-01-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

I've been talking about organic groceries, and also about buying local. Local Harvest is a great resource for finding local organic produce from small farms near you. There are literally thousands of sources listed. We found a farmers market just about 2 miles from our house on this site, and also discovered Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). If you haven't heard of a CSA, they are membership programs in which you buy "shares" (a full or a half, usually). Each week you stop by the market and pick up a box of whatever is in season.

So, check out your farmers' market or jump right into a local CSA.

Mission Organic

2007-01-08T16:30:00.000-05:00

A non-profit group called The Organic Center has launched a campaign to try to get Americans to get to 10% organic consumption by 2010. Right now, America is at about 2%, which is higher than I expected. They're calling the campaign Mission Organic 2010. Whether you pledge to or not, check out their site. It has a lot of very good information and links about organic food, including recent science on human and environmental health related to the fertilizers and pesticides used in "non-organic" food production.

I believe that knowledge is the only way to get many more people to change behaviors (buying organic as one), and The Organic Center seems to offer quite a bit. And I did check to see that it was non-profit before suggesting it.

As I mentioned before, organic products are more readily available every day. Via TreeHugger.

A Local Story

2007-01-05T16:50:00.001-05:00

This is a guest-written post by a friend in northern Michigan, about the local environmental council and their efforts and problems.

The local council is apparently divided;

the good news: several (mostly young) leaders actively seek locally sustained renewable resources (ranging from intelligent forestry, recycled animal and human waste, fresh produce, meat, milk, in a rather old-fashioned cycle which can (allegedly) be linked to the four seasons via production on the land round about -- but outside the vertical (one way) system of chemically polluting agribusiness (from chem loaded orchard to table). Their claim: this, when in place, will produce profit. I find the details fascinating. In the local business community support is growing.

The bad news: I see no evidence they can compete with Meijers or Walmart. I shop at both since on Soc Sec I have no choice. Gas prices restrict me to one trip a week, but I save more on produce imported from Chile and S. Cal.

The other bad news, if I read the literature correctly: many who appear to support these renewable alternatives actively crave a hippy-like return to the land, as if we can all survive only if we all become anti-tech like the Amish. Do these folks drive to the meetings?

He goes on to mention a well-intentioned art show about once a year from which the proceeds are donated to an environmental organization, but there are never any bikes among the gas guzzlers. On the other hand, he knows at least two locals that ride their bikes year round. Whether they do it for exercise or for the environmental benefits is beside the point.

The writer offers good examples of the challenges faced by, in my guess, a large majority of our population. Being green is not easy or cheap in many areas, and therefore is often not an option.

---------------

There are a few topics mentioned here that I'll hit on in later posts: local products (edible or not) and how competitive they are, and the 'holier-than-thou' attitude of some of the more vocal environmentalists.

Wind 1

2007-01-05T16:50:00.000-05:00

I'm betting you've all heard a least a little of the controversy over wind turbine farms. Most of that controversy is based on a view that the turbines are "bird blenders". The other big problem is a perception of decreased property values.

Celsias has a post that does a good job presenting the animal vs. turbine arguement.

As with all new energy technologies, buying your own unit is expensive and may not ever pay itself off. I did some research for a foundry and, for any turbine smaller than the utility-scale 5MW jobs, the payback period was ∞. The cost of a 5MW unit is around $1.5 million.

For more info, check out The US Dept. of Energy Wind Power site, including whether wind power is even feasible in your location by searching for your windmap.

This Old House of Green

2007-01-05T16:45:00.000-05:00

In February, This Old House will be doing a green renovation on a small bungalow in Austin. I found it on Ecorazzi, or get it straight from This Old House.

This is the kind of thing I love: traditional programs doing green features. If you're gonna do something (like renovate), why not do it as green as practicable? Same goes for just about any project, big or small. Take a few minutes to see if there are any greener options than what you would normally do.

Challenge - Truckless

2007-01-05T16:30:00.000-05:00

Today is my last day with Pinky, Barbie Truck, Pink Panther; my 1984 "raspberry" Chevy S-10, 4-cylinder, bare bones, manual, no tape or CD, regular cab, short box, truck. We've decided to attempt to get by with 1 vehicle for a few months and see how it goes.

Honestly, it's more about economics that ecologics right now, and the main reason we can pull it off is that my wife will be able to simply walk next door for work starting Monday. Nevertheless, a reduction of dependence on personal vehicles is one of the holy grails of treehugging. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Trucks and Treehugging don't go hand in hand very well - or do they? This idea has really been bothering me for quite a while. The organic or natural lifestyle encourages composting, mulching, gardening, reusing spent materials, fixing things instead of throwing them away, etc. My little pickemup is just perfect for all of that. Last year I made many trips to the municipal compost site for the free biosolids (yep: crap), composted mulch, and lime. I made many trips to the lumber store to build a play set (used composite decking with recycled plastic), and made bunches of trips to nurseries for plants and topsoil. How will I do that with 1 family sedan between us?

You might say, "Buy a hybrid or electric." OK, I say, find me a truck. Other than a few used prototypes or fleet pickups one can find laying around (usually they need new battery packs $$$), the only pickup I know of is the GM Full-size made right here in Fort Wayne. The problem? Well, the cost ($30,000 base) is the first problem. The second problem is the mileage is only improved by 2 mpg city driving. So we're talking peanuts. I could go with an E85 - equipped Silverado for around $20,000. Then the problem becomes making sure I always have enough gas to make it to the few (but growing) stations that carry it.

So making trucks more efficient, hence environmentally friendly, is one of the big challenges I see in making treehugging more practical.

Big Newseses

2007-01-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

Today on the MSNBC Environment Page are two very interesting articles. The headline, the same as on most news outlets today, is about the UK prediction that 2007 will be the hottest ever. They predict that a mild el-nino combined with the additional greenhouse gases introduced by us will be enough to break the record.

The other that peaked my interest is Sweden's pledge to phase out fossil fuels by 2020. That is huge! GDubya will barely commit to reducing greenhouses gases by 10% in that time. Seriously, can you imagine a good sized country eliminating fossil fuels? Can you imagine an average American family eliminating fossil fuels? There are a few, but only a few.

I'm looking forward to following these this year.

Oh, and the MSNBC Environment page is hardly worth a visit. They get a new article about once a week.

Natural 'Hoods

2007-01-04T11:21:00.000-05:00

I wrote before about green neighborhoods, and today TreeHugger has a post about an article in Natural Home Magazine that rates America's top 10 Eco-Neighborhoods. No. 1 is the West Asheville Neighborhood in Asheville NC, followed by the South Congress Neighborhood in Austin TX. A newbie in the eco-world is Indiana's own Fall Creek Place in Indianapolis, ranked No. 7. I'll have to take a drive through next time I go down to wrangle with the regulators.

COMMENT !

2007-01-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to see that I'm getting a few hits from across the US and around the world. As you can see, right now I'm just writing about whatever smacks me in the face that day. This site could be much more useful to all of you if I knew what you were curious about, or knew what you were having trouble with.

I like reading and researching about how people can be more green, and I feel that by sharing whatever knowledge I can gather, we will all be more able to make better decisions that help protect the environment.

So add a comment, ask a question, bitch, whatever ... I want to hear it.

LED Again

2007-01-04T06:59:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder why you keep hearing, over and over and over again, that you should change your lightbulbs to flourescents or LEDs? Yes, I've mentioned it a few times already too. Well, it's because it's the easiest (how many average Americans does it take to change a lightbulb?), it's cheap, and it really makes a difference (energy=environment). In other words, it's where every aspiring treehugger should start ... Wait, no ... it's what anybody with common sense should do.

Thanks to my Brother-in-Law John for sending this email:

"And LED is truly the way to go if you can get the color temperature that you want. I have two fixtures that are designed for accent lighting right now that are fun ...http://www.chauvetlighting.com/fixtures/colorsplashjr_fix.shtml, but don't really do justice on the pure white or yellow tints since they use color mixing tech. These guys have a few heavy output jobs, but again, the prices...http://www.enluxled.com."

I couldn't get the Chauvet link to work this morning, but Enlux has a good site that discusses their green-ness very well. Enlux also has a photo gallery that really shows you what LEDs can do these days.

Organic Cotton

2007-01-03T20:46:00.000-05:00

I don't believe one can talk about organic cotton without mentioning Patagonia. While they could never have made the conversion without the smaller companies that started the trend and the existing organic farmers, Patagonia kicked the trend into a higher gear. Since then, organic cotton has sprouted up almost everywhere you turn.

I got a very nice organic cotton blanket for my daughter from WalMart, where there is also a decent selection of organic cotton baby clothes.

One of my favorite brands, Speesees, uses fair-trade organic cotton for some very clever kids clothes.

Gaiam, another fav green shopping site, has organic cotton clothes among everything else green. My wife is wearing some organic cotton pants from there right now.

Organic Cotton yarn, fabric, batting, etc. is also available online for the do-it-yourselfers at places like earth friendly yarns and sewshoppe.

Kill 2 Evils with 1 Bike

2007-01-02T14:47:00.000-05:00

My wife just called, which forced me over to my cellphonetalking position at my office window. I looked out at the long wintery shadow of the foundry on the nonwintery green grass. We've been talking a lot about the weather 'round here lately - especially since we spent 4 days up at Houghton Lake (Northern Lower Michigan) at my parents' house and there was no snow (it wasn't even cold enough to make snow - we tried!). Tip Up Town is scheduled for a few weeks from now and the lake isn't frozen. I guess the west and plains got the snow normally allocated for all of us this season.

We're going to try to get by with just 1 vehicle starting Friday - a nice treehuggerish thing to do. I actually don't think it will reduce our footprint any since we'll probably do the same or maybe just slightly less driving. We have talked a lot about getting me a good road bike so I can pedal the 18 miles to work. I figure it will take about an hour once I'm in shape for it. Well, the bike isn't in the budget for the near term, but the weather got me thinking (uh oh).

As you might have guessed, treehuggers are rightfully BIG on biking. Not only does our environment need a rest, but most of us rest way too much. Why don't more of us bike to work? I'm not kidding. I am confident that at least 30 people at my office live 5 or fewer miles from work, where there are showers and changing areas. So, if they could get to work in 20 minutes, take a quick shower, and have their workout done for the day, why not kill two evils with one bike?

The Evolution of Eco Books

2007-01-01T13:42:00.000-05:00

Call this an addendum to the last post. While reading over those reviewed by BookPage, I couldn't help but think of a few on my shelf. As I pulled the dust bunnies off of them just now, I realized that the three books I'm about to mention pretty well cover the entire evolution of the environmental movement, and I think aptly demonstrate the knowledge level of the time they were written.

Few will deny that Silent Spring by Rachel Carson all but formally began the mass environmental movement. Writing in 1962, Carson noted that she could no longer hear the birds chirping as she once did, or how her parents or grandparents often described. She writes mainly about pesticides and their reckless use, but also about other social and political factors and the parts they play in the destruction of our ecosystems. This was, and remains to be, an accurate and well written "state of the environment." Even though it was published 45 years ago, I still recommend it.

Before An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore wrote Earth in the Balance; Ecology and the Human Spirit. I read this back in college, and even then thought "Whoa, easy there killer!" Gore didn't have very good data and often spewed diarrhea-like from his typewriter in 1992. I remember many people referring to this book and asking, "Do you want THAT guy to be our President??" when he ran against Bush. My answer was no. I don't recommend reading Earth in the Balance unless you like science fiction, but I think it nicely captured the knowledge level of 1992: we knew there were problems, but we were all over the board about what we should do about it.

And lastly, a super intriguing book called Cradle to Cradle; Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough & Michael Braungart (1992). Even after 4 years (or 5 today - Happy New Year), this book is still rattling heads. You may have heard the phrase Cradle to Grave, but this book challenges even the old mantra of the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. They consider traditional recycling "downcycling" and offer the alternative of "upcycling" - where a product actually becomes higher quality with use, or at least not lower quality. It is quite obvious that most of the things we recycle are only recycled once, and are no longer recycleable: the free pencils made out of recycled pop bottles that one can find anywhere, for example. The first chapter is named "This book is not a tree". Let me quote one paragraph for your thought-provocation. "This book is not a tree. It is printed on synthetic "paper" and bound into a book format developed by innovative book packager Charles Melcher of Melcher Media. Unlike the paper with which we are familiar, it does not use any wood pulp or cotton fiber but is made from plastic resins and inorganic fillers. This material is not only waterproof, extremely durable, and recycleable by conventional means; it is also a prototype for the book as a 'technical nutrient,' that is, as a product that can be broken down and circulated infinitely in industrial cycles - made and remade as "paper" or other products." I just got this one for Christmas so can't give my full review yet, but all the other treehuggers around are huge fans.

Save the Planet One Book Report at a Time

2007-01-01T12:56:00.000-05:00

While checking out at the library a while ago, a high school girl next to me laid her books on the counter and the clerk immediately said, "Someones doing a paper for school." After smirking about the clerk's nosiness, I looked at the girl's collection and they were all about climate change. She didn't appear pleased about the assignment, but maybe she was just smirking at the clerk's nosiness too.

I remember doing my first environmental reports and it was really hard to find any good resources at most libraries. Now, of course, every ex-vice president and his brother have written books on the subject. Many of these books are specialized so you can get decent info on everything from ice caps to the deep see or the boreal forest.

Then last week I picked up the latest BookPage, which can be found at most libraries, and the cover story is about environmental books.

I've not read the five books they feature, but I'll list them here with a quick summary and you can check them out.

Worldchanging: A User's Guide for the 21st Century is one I've heard a lot about. This is a true treehugger book and will present a new way to do everything you do. If you want to change and need ideas, read this.

Hell and High Water: Global Warming-The Solution and the Politics-and What we Should Do has too long a title, but sounds like it might hit the spot on how environmental protection is not about environmental protection - it's more about politics. The review says that the book offers many problems and not many solutions.

The Rough Guide to Shopping with a Conscience sounds very cool to me, as one who wishes to put his money where his mouth is. The review points out that this book is very credible and current, hence useful.

365 Ways to Change the World: How to Make a Difference One Day at a Time is one of those books that offers you some idea every day, from donating money to simply meditating about some topic.

The Business of Changing the World sounds like it has more to do with philanthropy than granola. It's written by the head of Timberland (shoes) and focuses on how companies can make a difference through volunteering and giving. While this isn't directly environmental, it's easy to choose an environmental project or program when considering philanthropy.

Bamboo Update

2006-12-31T21:02:00.000-05:00

Well I got a bamboo tee and socks for Christmas and they really are extremely soft and comfortable. I probably wore them a bit too long, actually, but it's OK because I was on vacation, right?

The claims about the silky or cashmere feel are true! I will attempt to wear these out and let you know how it goes - not so much just to find out how durable they are, more because they really are that nice.

Happy New Year!

Bamboo Boxers

2006-12-25T20:07:00.000-05:00

Ouch, right? No, actually super soft, wicking, durable, breathable. My wife tried her bamboo activewear longsleeve tee for her run today and loved it. She also said she wanted to wear it all the time because of it's comfort. Funny, that's exactly what the websites say.

Bamboo has erupted lately into a do-all material, and the tree huggers love it because it quickly regrows (highly renewable). Part of the trend are flatware, flooring, furniture, cabinetry, and on and on. Based on my recent experience with the stuff, I'm definitely buying more of it soon.

Places to find it include Jonano, Shirts of Bamboo, The Bamboo Company, and BambooClothes.

The downside is that, since most bamboo comes from China, there are concerns about organic practices, fair labor, responsible growing practices, etc. I suggest asking about the source of the bamboo before buying or you may cancel out your positive efforts with other negatives.

Hemp is Good

2006-12-24T09:40:00.000-05:00

Hemp has been a staple fabric for a certain group of friends since, oh, middle school I guess. Little did I know how green they were! Widely misunderstood and linked to the marijuana culture, hemp is actually an excellent material with many uses, and can't be smoked. Well, it won't get you high anyway!

Hemp (Cannabis Sativa) is one of the most intriguing plants humans have come into continued contact since and before the advent of agriculture. For thousands of years, right up until the 1900s, hemp was of critical value because it is a rapidly renewable resource that is capable of being grown all over the earth in varying climates and soil conditions. It is grown for textiles & fabrics, fuel, fiber, food, paper, medicine and more, making hemp one of the most valuable and beneficial crops humanity has been wise enough to take full advantage of...until now. -The Hempest

The Hempest has the largest variety I've found of reasonably-priced hemp products. I got a (Hempy's Beanie) hat from there for an early Christmas present and like it a lot. It's my first experience with hemp so I'll let ya'll know how it lasts.

My other fav hemp online store is Rawganique, which carries many other organic fabric items too.

To shop in real life, go to this mapmuse map of hemp clothing stores nationwide. I also keep this link over in my link list for future reference.

A few hemp species are even native wild forbs in this part of the world, so I've got some on order for delivery in the spring. Hopefully by next fall I'll have some dead stalks that I can try to harvest and weave. We'll see how that experiment goes....

In the days and weeks to come: organic cotton, bamboo, flax, coconut(?), who knows.

Green Games

2006-12-23T20:40:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure that every large corporation, every environmental agency, and every environmental organization has a game on their website meant for kids to learn about the environment. All good. The bad part is that I've never heard of anyone actually getting their kids to them.

The latest, from Clarkson University, is covered on TreeHugger and Hugg and appears to be quite good. Others can be found at the USEPA, GM, Michigan DEQ, Indiana DEM, DOE, and a million others.

Show one to a child near you.

Virgin Biofuels?

2006-12-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

It must be too warm on Richard Branson's private Caribbean island, because he just signed an agreement with Former President Clinton to invest $3 Billion (with a B) in Biofuels.

I think it's great!

Gold, Myrrh, and ...

2006-12-23T07:28:00.000-05:00

Cinnamon? How about Lavender?

According to a recent study, the trees from which Frankincense is made are becoming tapped-out, and younger trees are not rising to the occasion.

This is a great anecdote for one of the big problems facing renewable (environmental friendly) products. The supply side must be very carefully monitored when demand increases, or else unintended consequences almost always arise. Frankincense, like all agriculture, is renewable, but by not properly managing the supply, the supply may suffer serious declines.

Green Travel - More

2006-12-21T13:31:00.000-05:00

So I just learned that one of my good buddies left yesterday from SLC heading east across Colorado. Yes, the same Colorado that is completely shut down due to an enormous snow storm. Send out the search parties.

After my earlier post, I figured I needed to try to find some resources for those not traveling in Michigan, and then realized that many people are changing travel plans right now due to a huge ski destination being shut down for a couple days.

So below you'll find a list of sites that list more hotels that are getting green under a variety of different programs. Supporting them is one small way to reduce your impacts.

US & Canada: Terrachoice

Florida: DEP

Cali: CIWMB

Worldwide: Greenhotels

Pennsylvania: DEP

And finally, the Green Lodging News - see what this hotelier's group is talking about

Green Travel

2006-12-21T07:51:00.000-05:00

You've probably heard about the growing business of "eco-tourism". Well, for those regular Joe's who still enjoy their Holiday Inn Express (and are then able prevent nuclear melt downs), you might be happy to learn that many hotels are taking steps to be more environmentally responsible. You've probably seen the little card (usually glossy plasticy paper = bad for the environment) hanging on the towel rack in your hotel room that says you can hang up your towel if you're willing to reuse it, or throw it on the floor if you want it washed. That minor step, done at thousands of hotels, surely makes a difference. Obviously, there's a lot more they can do.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the state regulators that businesses generally don't like, is encouraging more hotels to adopt more green practices. On this site, they offer quite a few decent resources for hoteliers to learn how to improve. Then, here they list the facilities that have received recognition of successful practices. Only 6 facilities are listed so far, with a few more applicants.

I, for one, will look to this list the next time I travel in Michigan.

Lighting Myth

2006-12-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

I heard that Discovery Channel's MythBusters did a bit on their show this week about lighting, and whether it pays to keep the lights on when running down to the coffee machine, or turning them off each time. Unfortunately, I didn't see the episode and I can't find the data they generated. I did, however, find piles of posts on their message boards all about their findings.

What I'm told is that you should just get rid of your incandescent bulbs (duh), that you should turn off your fluorescents if you're leaving for more than 23 seconds, and that LEDs don't burn out. All 3 of those statements require some qualification, but I'll leave that research up to you unless you ask for more info - which I'd be happy to dig up.

I've been shopping for more general-use LEDs and haven't come up with much. I wrote about them for Christmas Lights, and still love them. You can buy a few different varieties for general use, but you can't get the candlepower or lumens you can with CFLs anywhere in the affordable range. Give 'em time. If you want to see what's out there, search for "warm LED light" on Ebay.

So buy the penny-pincher on your list a few warm-colored (make sure) compact fluorescents for Christmas, and plan to buy them some LEDs in a year or two.

Organic Everywhere

2006-12-15T20:46:00.000-05:00

Whether you're just curious about "Organic" products or you buy nothing but, you can't deny the explosion of the availability of organic products in the last few months. Remember, I'm talking Fort Wayne, Indiana here. If this were San Fran or New York, well ... you know.

Probably 6 months ago Wal-Mart announced the organic children's clothing line called George (not all George products are organic though). Now I'm learning that one can find more and more organic products every day at Meijer. That includes ice cream and even frozen fruit - perfect for my smoothie fix.

You have probably noticed that many grocery stores now have a small organic food section too.

No matter how organic you are or want to be, it's getting easy for even the most midwestern of us!

RE3 - Reduce Reuse Recycle

2006-12-15T20:32:00.000-05:00

We've all heard that phrase a million times, but this group has taken a new twist on the old concept via YouTube (By the way, tonight being my very first visit to YouTube proves that one doesn't have to be a part of the geek squad to write a blog).

By the way, some of these videos are great!

PC Energy Use

2006-12-15T08:50:00.000-05:00

I wrote before about a few ways to measure your energy usage. One user that you probably haven't thought too much about is the very thing you're looking at right now - your computer. Many people leave their PC powered up, on screen saver, when not in use. Multiply that usage by the number of computers in the US or world, and you're talking a huge amount of electricity. TreeHugger has been talking a bit about it lately, and in the post you'll find a link to a nice little energy calculator that will let you know how much you're expending.

2 Suggestions: power down when not in use, and set the monitor to turn itself off instead of going to screen saver.

Compost for All

2006-12-14T08:18:00.000-05:00

I think most people are afraid to compost; they think it's too smelly, too ugly, too gross. Those are fair concerns based on our basic understandings of the concept. Many probably know about the giant manure compost piles at farms, or think of the cubic yard-sized wire or wood bins way in the back of a large yard in the country. Those still occur and are great. But things have changed.

Why Compost?

1) It's Free

2) You'll dispose of less garbage

3) It creates the best fertilizer there is, period

4) Most* store - bought fertilizers are produced from petroleum

5) It's perfect for teaching kids about environmental responsibility, science, & biology

6) Almost everyone has plants or grass (yes, use it on your lawn) that need food

This is really a huge topic that I'll cover more in the future, but this post will be a good starter.

Composting has really evolved into an efficient and easily manageable process that literally anyone can do no matter where they live. You can buy nice kitchen compost pails into which you throw your food scraps until you have a minute to take them outside - food sitting out does attract fruit flies. Mine even has an activated carbon filter in the top to adsorb any odors - I have honestly never sensed an odor from it (had it for maybe 5 years now) - no matter how rank it got inside. Your actual composter can be one of many designs, depending on your situation and space availability.

I think the best for the lazy man like myself is the drum-style, that makes sure the material is mixed and aerated enough. I used to have bins on the ground that required turning with a pitch fork, but now I've got a drum (more because of space and aesthetics).

So visit some of the links above and do a little research. I'm confident you'll find that you can do it too.

*Just came across this very interesting article about a guy who's selling worm compost tea packaged in used soda bottles with spent sprayer attachments. His entire product, packaging and all, is 100% reused or recycled. This is also a great article for those interested in entrepreneurial stories.

New Mileage Label

2006-12-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

The EPA announced today that they have ...dun duh dun... issued a new label for fuel economy display in 2008 model year vehicles. The one on the left is the old one, with the new one on the right. As far as I can tell, they contain almost exactly the same amount of information. I'd bet it took a couple thousand man-hours to come up with this new label. The EPA is an incredibly bureaucratic monstrosity full of inefficiencies and waste - just not the types they regulate - unfortunately. I digress.

I have owned some fuel inefficient vehicles - the most of which was my beloved 1986 K5 Blazer with a rebuilt 350, separate exhaust, and no catalytic converters (bought it that way). I think I got 12 mpg on a good day. When someone buys a vehicle like that, of course they don't care what the mileage is. I didn't care when I was in college and gas was $0.99. I just needed something to go 4-wheelin' and to hold both kayaks and my mountain bike on top. I don't want to know what my mileage was with all that up there!

Of course now I care, and our two vehicles get pretty darn good mileage. If you're shopping, I encourage you to consider mileage. A good place to start might be EPA's Green Vehicle Guide, or just click this post title.

Criticism aside, the EPA claims that it's new mileage analysis methods are more accurate starting with the 2008 models (concurrent with new sticker). I hope that's true. Our dependence on oil, and the painful drain on our wallets, needs to decrease.

Neighborhood Associations

2006-12-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

Neighborhood associations, which were once reserved for the wealthy, are now quite common. It seems that every newer home in the Fort Wayne area is part of an association. As I found out, being green in an association is a challenge. As always, there are exceptions: Coffee Creek Center is a recent entry or communities like Greendale, WI, where a friend lives and pays enormous property taxes.

However, my association is not green, despite the beautifully manicured lawns and common areas. So I'll start there. We (association 'members') pay for a lawn service that cares for the common areas, including the entrance, the retention pond, and the open space. The open space is all grass with a few trees and a concrete path through it. The pond is just grass down to the water's edge, with ugly concrete ditches running into it. I will talk about lawn care another time.

The pond could be made much more beautiful, and environmentally beneficial, quite easily. If we stopped mowing down in low areas surrounding the pond, planted some native lowland and wetland plants, and let it thrive, we would quickly attract a huge variety of wildlife, and reduce our annual maintenance costs. Plus, we'd be filtering the runoff of all those pesticides and fertilizers before discharging that water to the creeks and rivers. I'm willing to bet that the maintenance required for a natural pond would be less than the current maintenance requirements. By the way, they actually go in and kill all the cattails every year. I still haven't figured that one out.

From the Association covenants and restrictions, "No clotheslines or clothes poles ... shall be ... used on a lot." Ever realize how efficient clothes-line drying is? No emissions, free energy. Clothes dryers are very energy-intensive and pretty damaging to your clothes. Apparently, clothes drying outside reduces property values and is an eyesore to some.

There is also a specific restriction on any type of solar panels. Not that they do a whole lot of good in NE Indiana, but they do work for a limited use.

So, my choice of a home in an association just adds a few more challenges in my desire to live more sustainably. Maybe I'll run for Association President and try to change some of those practices.

Paint Me Green

2006-12-08T12:40:00.000-05:00

Or blue. Assuming my usual cell phone-talking position in my office, I leaned against the window sill and watched a train go by. The only reason this was different from any other time is that it had just been painted - a dark blue gray color. It hides surprisingly well on my jeans.

This latest of many acts of braindeadedness reminded me to talk about environmentally friendly paints. We all know the strong pungent odor of a good oil-based paint, including the odors from the gasoline or mineral spirits we used to clean them up. Now most people use the latex or other "water-based" paints for interior and exterior painting. But, you say, those paints still stink. Yes, they do. They still contain a lot of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), which are the solvents that carry the paint and then evaporate away during drying (and into the air in your home). You can read on the side of most paint cans what the VOC content is in pounds per gallon (lbs/gal).

The VOCs in paint are generally bad for people, like xylene and toluene, among others. They are also petrochemicals, which cause more than environmental harm these days (the chemicals themselves and the oil they come from).

The last 10 years, and especially the last few years has seen an explosion of low or no VOC paints, or even recycled paints. In fact, you can find them in most paint stores, although I have not seen them in Home Depot or Lowe's stores yet.

If you're looking for some interesting options, go here or a lot of other places easily found with a web search. Some ideas that have peaked my interest are the clay-based paints. The clay is completely non-toxic and will actually regulate the humidity in your home - it absorbs water slowly when humidity is high and then slowly releases it when humidity drops. Other cool ideas are milk paints and recycled paints. There are little operations around the world springing up that will collect unused paint and mix them together, and resell it usually quite affordably.

Warning: when buying low or no VOC paints, make sure to ask about the coloring. Often, the base is very low in VOCs, but the added coloring (who buys base color?) is quite high in VOC.

And .... yep, you'll usually pay more for these.

Know Your Watts

2006-12-08T09:33:00.000-05:00

Turn off the lights!
Don't leave the TV on!
Turn the furnace down!

These are some of the key things taught to kids, and relayed to parents, about how to save energy (and money). My question, as a rather left-brained guy, has always been, "How do I know how much it really helps?" Watching your utility bill from one month to the next, with so many variables, really isn't too informative about your habits. One weekend with relatives over can throw the comparison out the window.

There are answers! One can purchase a Kill-A-Watt, into which you plug your items and watch how much energy they're using, and what it's costing you. Or, go home-wide by getting a PowerCost Monitor or a Cent-a-Meter. They have a sensor that attaches to your electrical meter or directly to wires in your panel, respectively. Wireless screens can then be placed anywhere in the house, which tell you the instantaneous usage as well and projected usage over time. You can set them (at least the PowerCost Monitor) up like a trip odometer so it will keep track of total cost since you last reset it.

My latest questions relate to the use of a ceiling fan or furnace fan and how it affects how often the furnace needs to kick on. If I put down the $150 for the PowerCost Monitor, I could find out.

DVD/CD Lifecycle Analysis & Reuse Idea

2006-12-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

The EPA has developed a very basic, yet informative, Life Cycle Analysis of DVDs and CDs. If you don't know what a life cycle analysis is, read this.

I thought this was a good chance to relay a pretty cool idea for reusing those CD jewel cases that are lying all over the place - especially since you've already burned all your CDs into MP3 and don't know what to do with them all: photojojo.

If you don't like that idear, you can recycle or donate your old CDs in a whole heap of ways. Here's one way: EcoEncore will resell them with all profits going to enviro activities in the Puget Sound area.

I'm Dreaming of an LED Christmas

2006-12-07T07:57:00.000-05:00

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) are the latest craze in efficient lighting. They've been around for a long time for different uses. The first time I noticed them was maybe 5 years ago showing up on the upper brake light on luxury vehicles - when they were able to integrate the light into the top of the deck lid or into a spoiler. Then they started replacing street lights with them, and now every semi on the road has LED tail lights.

Why? They last a very long time and they use very little electricity. I won't bore you with the details, but it's true. They produce almost no heat too, which is another reason they are so attractive for live-tree-buying holiday celebrators who prefer not to burn down their homes this holiday season. Click here to read more about LED Christmas lights and their benefits.

I bought a few strands this year to try them out. We've had one large bulb color strand going for a couple months inside the house (don't worry, I didn't start lighting up the outside until after Thanksgiving) which my son really diggs. We put a few more white (kinda bluish really) and colored strands of the small bulbs on the tree. It is true that they produce almost no heat, which for those of you who don't understand the physics of it, means they are wasting very little energy. My son can walk up and touch them after being on for hours, and I have no fear of burns.

If you're looking to buy: I have found them at most stores I've surveyed. You'll pay a little more of course, but that doesn't seem to be keeping them on the shelves.

Fuel Cell Powers CA Christmas Tree

2006-12-07T07:49:00.000-05:00

I just read that the California State Christmas Tree at the Capital is powered by a fuel cell. I think that's great - if nothing more than a demonstration of the technology and a means of promoting its further development.

Fuel cells have been used for decades to power space missions and other small or R&D uses. GM even produced a fuel cell van in the 60's that actually worked! That link to General Hydrogen (not part of GM) also gives a decent history of fuel cells.

There continues to be much debate on which is more environmentally friendly: real or artificial trees. Here's an article that discusses it a bit. That article claims that 85% of artificial trees are manufactured in China, which I don't doubt. Plus, artificial trees are mostly made from petrochemicals, which China has a shortage of (oil - they have plenty of coal). Then it must be shipped all the way here. Live trees (we like to cut our own down - so there is no transportation emissions) provide local jobs and absorb CO2 and other pollutants during the growing cycle. Then I mulch or compost mine each year. I could go on, but read that article and you'll hear many of the arguments.

Lastly, let me offer you a couple of sites for finding environmentally friendly Christmas ideas, from party ideas to gifts. Their subjects are pretty apparent in the URLs.

http://www.newdream.org/holiday/index.php

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/12/green_gift_guid_1.php

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/11/how_to_green_your_gifts.php

Happy Holidays

Gore = Personality ??

2006-12-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

I just watched Al Gore's appearance on Leno and was really impressed. That guy barely displayed a heartbeat for 8 years in the White House and now he's talking about "hot glacier on glacier action" in "global warming gone wild" and doing bad imitations of Governor Arnold! I have not yet seen "An Inconvenient Truth", but hope to soon. The varmints don't allow too many 2 hour downtime opportunities.
Mr. Gore echoed something I said in a post this morning - that everybody can do something little that makes a difference - and saves money: compact flourescents (CFLs), programmable thermostats, etc. Easy, cheap things that will save you money and reduce your energy consumption.

The Start

2006-12-04T07:36:00.000-05:00

I've been concerned about / interested in helping to protect the environment since probably elementary school. I was active in school organizations where we talked a lot and did just about nil, but my interest was always there. I planted 100+ trees as part of my eagle project. I decided to major in environmental chemistry in school. I got a job as an environmental engineer. I took a masters in environmental science and management. I've talked to kids about Earth Day and did water sampling with them.

So my formal studies and work, for the last 11 years (since high school), has been somehow related to environmental protection. Yet I still struggle every day to protect the environment.
A year ago, or so, I stumbled upon a blog at treehugger.com that kind of pushed me to the point where I'm really (finally!!) changing my focus and my habits. It's a good site with mainly really good posts. They present everything from dream-on-never-going-to-be-able-to-afford new inventions to anyone-can-do-this-at-home ideas. They present really-green things and just-a-little-bit-green things. The comments aren't filtered so you get honest and sometimes emotional views. Do I sound like an add for them? Yep. I think anyone who is interested in making a change in their life should view sites like theirs. If you want to make a change, and know how to find the url bar on your browser, you're smart enough to decode what is extreme and what is feasible for you.

The bottom line is that you don't have to be a vegan living in an off-grid straw-bale house and only motivate by bike to help the environment. Any little change you can make will help, and only the combination of those little changes by the masses will make the real nation- or world-wide differences we need. As you change, you'll learn. Then you'll change again, and learn some more. Before long, you'll seem like a real hippie to your neighbors. And before long, they'll be asking you how they can do those things too. Trust me, I'm experiencing it right now in my great little neighborhood with super nice people that just don't know how to change; they just need a little push and guidance.

The First

2006-12-01T15:23:00.000-05:00

I want to discuss, hopefully with more than ... well ... myself, how a guy like me can keep working towards a sustainable existence while raising two small kids while living in the suburbs while working in foundries.

For the past 2+ years my absolute obsession has been by kids. My little man is now over 2 years old and is an absolute universe of fun, adventure, emotion, and amazement every day. My second, a little angel, is just over 2 months and has a heartbreaker's smile. My wife of 4.5 years is the engine and control system of our little spaceship of a family.

We live in an association in the suburbs of Fort Wayne, IN. Don't be impressed by "association". Our home is only 1350 sq. ft. with little attic and no basement. Our lot is something like 1/4 acre. The home is 4 years old and in good shape. Very little landscaping until we moved in in June and started tearing up the lawn.

Foundries. Are you starting to piece this non-sequitor blog title together? I work for a company that currently runs 5 gray and ductile iron foundries in the US. Foundries are of course widely (mis)understood and extremely dirty and polluting. Ok, they are dirty, and do pollute, but less than one might think. Less polluting, that is; they are usually quite dirty.

My intention in the forthcoming posts is to explore the challenges that my blog title invites, and hopefully solicit solutions for and discussions on those challenges.