07.31.07
Posted in ecotravel, pollution, global warming at 2:01 pm by greengirl
(I’ve been so darn busy lately! Sorry for the lack of posts.)
It’s no secret that the S in SUVs is short for sucky-fuel-mileage. But, just how much are you saving by driving that subcompact? You can be proud to know that the average car emits 30 tons less CO2 in its lifetime than a typical SUV. And that average car will save enough energy in a year (as compared to the SUV) to power a color TV for 28 years or leave your frig door open for 6 years. !!! And that’s the average car; a fuel-efficient car saves $300 to $700 a year in fuel costs and 2 tons in greenhouse gases. And for those of you with a hybrid, even a family-sized hybrid (a sedan) is more efficient than a subcompact. A family will spend $2500-$2800 in gas on a conventional car, and only $800-$1500 a year on a hybrid.
For those of you who must drive an SUV or are stuck with one till you can afford to buy a hybrid (yeah, that’s me - it’s a small SUV tho), you can join the National Arbor Day Foundation or American Forests. A small amount of money can help to make your commute carbon neutral by donating enough to help plant trees to offset your driving. If you’re looking for a rental car, Enterprise has done its part by giving the Arbor Day Foundation a $50 million donation to plant 50 million trees. Woah!
All this info is thanks to the book True Green.
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07.24.07
Posted in recycling at 3:47 pm by greengirl
Last November, I posted about recycling your cell phone. I’ve since found a couple other recycling programs for cell phones.
One is Wireless Recycling, which collects cell phones for reuse or recycling. They refurbish them and distribute them to people in need. They also allow you to sign up to collect phones to benefit an existing charity or your own non-profit group.
The other is Charitable Recycling, which does the same sort of charity collection as Wireless Recycling and also collects ink cartridges. In their FAQs, they state that phones donated to them are refurbished and given to battered women’s and children’s shelters, people awaiting organ transplant, and developing countries where land-line service is cost prohibitive.
Both companies break the phone down and recycle the parts in accordance with EPA regulations, if the phone is too old to be refurbished. Wireless Recycling has a searchable database of drop-off locations.
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07.21.07
Posted in home & garden, organic, weekend census, shopping at 4:08 pm by greengirl
This weekend, a list of places to get environmentally friendly (organic cotton) bedding. Happy napping.
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07.20.07
Posted in recycling, pollution at 11:07 am by greengirl
As you may remember, I undertook a mission several months ago to find a 20 oz coffee mug and wondered how many trees I was saving. Well, according to the book that I’m reading, True Green, a ceramic mug will be used 3,000 times over its life span. This results in 30 times less solid waste and 60 times less air pollution than cardboard cups, even accounting for the water used to wash the ceramic mug. Drink up!
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07.19.07
Posted in energy, home & garden, water at 8:29 pm by greengirl
I got my watering orientation today - I’m volunteering to water the plants at a local community center. And, in reading this True Green book that I mentioned yesterday, I found some interesting garden facts.
The book recommends planting native plants that are accustomed to the rainfall amount in your area. Growing native plants can save 50% of the water used to maintain outdoor plants (a sprinkler uses 264 gallons of water an hour). And when you’re planting those native plants, make sure to shade your air conditioner so it doesn’t have to work as hard. And for the water that those native plants do require, consider using a simple rain barrel. Collecting the rainwater that runs off the roof of a 2,000 sq ft home can yield as much as 36,000 gallons of rainwater per year. Make sure to put a cover around where the drain spout feeds into the barrel to prevent mosquitoes from using it as a nursery.
And the bit of advice that is most applicable to my volunteer watering: when to water. Watering during cooler times of the day not only prevents a wicked sunburn, it gives the water a chance to soak into the dirt and roots rather that quickly evaporating from the sun. In hot seasons, water in the evening. In cool seasons, water in the morning to prevent the fungal growth that could develop on wet leaves overnight.
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07.17.07
Posted in energy, water at 7:42 pm by greengirl
I’m reading a new book called True Green, with lots of easy-to-read quick bits on things you can do to help the environment. Two of the tips center on showering and, since I tend to linger in the shower, it seemed like something I should pay attention to. According to the book, if I reduced my 10 minute showers to 5 minutes, I’d save 4,200 gallons of water per year and eliminate over 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions (produced by the hot water heater). Doing a little figuring of my own, reducing my daily 10 minute shower to 5 minutes would save approximately $3 per month or $36 per year. If both myself and my fella reduced our showers by 5 minutes, we’d save $72 per year. That’s just figuring the charge for the water itself, assuming a charge of $4.04 per 1,000 gallons and a standard showerhead, and doesn’t include the charge for the energy used to heat the water.
A standard showerhead uses 4 to 6 gallons of water per minute. A low flow showerhead can reduce that amount by 50% or more. According to the book, after a year of 5-minute showers, a family of 4 will save up to 20,000 gallons of water, plus the energy needed to run the hot water heater. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 300+ pounds per year. Low-flow showerheads range from $12 to $55 in price and can be found many places including Gaiam, Creative Energy Technologies, Oxygenics, and Amazon.
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07.11.07
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:58 am by greengirl
I will be taking a long weekend, so likely no posts till Tuesday. Till then…
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07.10.07
Posted in organic, pollution, habitat at 2:09 pm by greengirl
Reuters reported today that a study at the University of Michigan has shown that organic farming can yield as much as three times as conventional (read: herbicide and pesticide laden) farming in developing countries, and equal the food production of conventional farming in developed countries. According to the 293 examples that they looked at, organic methods can sustain the existing population of the earth (and possibly an expanded population) without increasing the agricultural land base. The full article is online in the Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. Hooray for organic and for U of Michigan!
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07.09.07
Posted in energy, pollution, global warming at 7:32 am by greengirl
I recently stumbled across something that had never even crossed my mind: environmentally-friendly web hosting. Who knew? I don’t know why I never thought this might exist, since I design websites for a living - ya learn something new every day.
Sustainable Websites, Go Green Hosting, ThinkHost, Acorn Host and Sustainable Hosting are all 100% carbon neutral through the purchase of wind energy, solar energy or other green energy credits. And they’re all competitively priced. EcoSky uses a combination of energy credits and on-site solar panels.
Affordable Internet Services Online powers their servers through a bank of solar panels. Their solar panel system prevents enough emissions to be the equivalent of planting 3.5 acres of trees per year. Their tagline is web hosting as nature intended, which cracks me up. I have images of giant redwood tree data storage and kudzu for connectivity. 
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07.08.07
Posted in organic, weekend census, fair trade, shopping at 4:39 pm by greengirl
Today’s weekend topic is clothing. Specifically, fair trade and organic clothiers available on the web.
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