Organic Lawn Care

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 ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.