Going Green

Rebates, Incentives and Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency

Goinggreen — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:17:17 GMT

There's a great new site, Green Made Simple , that let's you find out about tax credits, rebates and incentives for things like installing energy efficient appliances, buying a fuel efficient car, using renewable energy, etc. As I have always said, reducing carbon emissions and saving money go hand-in-hand.

It's very simple to use, just go to the site and enter your zip code to find local residential incentives and rebates covering appliances, lighting, cars, home improvement and construction, energy audits, solar and other renewables, recycling and financing options. You can also create an account to keep track of your projects, incentives and other offers and find green home products and services near you.

The incentives are updated each month, so you can keep checking back. And the Energy Savers in Action section let's you see how people are saving money through better efficiency.

According to the US Department of Energy, residential energy accounts for 21 percent of the national total energy consumption and costs American households more than $160 billion a year. It is estimated that energy efficiency improvements could save people 20 - 30 percent annually on their energy bills while helping to save the environment. It's a win-win for everyone!

Pick Up Pal

Goinggreen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:50:48 GMT

Looking for ways to reduce your driving and share the cost of gas through carpooling? Check out Pick Up Pal.

This service let's you find a ride, bid on a ride and get paid to drive. There's no cost to join and you can even use it instead of a courier service for packages. The little ticker at the bottom lets you know how many CO2 emissions are being avoided through ride sharing.

According to the website, here's how it works:

Step 1

A Passenger tells us where they want to go.
Drivers tell us where they are going.
We match up Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way.

Step 2

We inform Drivers of potential pickups. They can make an offer to the Passenger based on how much they want to charge for a ride and the Passenger's feedback rating from other Drivers.
We inform the Passenger that Drivers have offered rides. The Passenger reviews the offers and chooses the driver with whom they want to ride based on price and Driver rating.
When a Passenger accepts a Driver's offer, we contact the Driver and issue them both a "ticket to ride" with all the necessary information.

Step 3

Passenger pays the Driver the agreed amount in cash (or otherwise, if agreed upon) at the end of the ride.
The Driver keeps the cash.

Step 4

After the ride, we ask the Passenger and the Driver to provide feedback on each other and their PickupPal experience.
We update the Passenger's and the Driver's profile.

The Warped Tour used it to set up an eco-ride share system, so did the Dave Matthews Band and Coachella, along with a host of other events and festivals.

So check it out, save (or make) some money and spare the atmosphere some CO2. Plus, you never know, you might make an actual pal!

Understanding Meat Labels

Goinggreen — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 14:44:38 GMT

Haven't gone totally veggie yet but want to eat meat with the least amount of negative impact on the environment (conventional meat and dairy accounts for something like 20% of greenhouse gas emissions!) Start with finding meat that is locally grown to cut down on the impact of long distance shipping. And stay away from conventionally raised meat and dairy alltogether if you can. The corn they are fed leads to higher risks of e-coli, the hormones and antibiotics they are given can have negative effects on consumers and the ways in which they are raised and slaughtered are often inhumane. Instead, pay a little more for better quality, better tasting, healthier stuff with less environmental impact and just eat less of it. Here's a guide to some of the labels:

"Organic" - animals get access to the outdoors (cows, sheep, and goats get pasture time), bedding materials, and aren't injected with hormones or antibiotics.
"Cage-free" Poultry - birds aren't kept in cages.
"Free-range" - animals are given access to the outdoors.
"Pasture-raised"/"grass-fed" - animals get access to the outdoors and can graze.
"Humanely raised" - animals get exercise and their cages are big enough for them to move in.
"Hormone-free" - cows aren't injected with any hormones (using hormones on chickens and pigs is already against the law).

Wall-E's Reminder to Simplify

Goinggreen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:48:10 GMT

I can't say that I went to see Wall-E today, it is more like I was coerced. A friend just had surgery and we were having an excursion because she was feeling a bit better and she really wanted to see that movie and nothing else. So being a good friend, I agreed. I am so glad.

This film is much more than another well animated Pixar film, it makes you really think. Just read the New York Times op-ed from Frank Rich which puts the film up against the 2008 political campaigns in terms of addressing the real issues. Rich puts the film ahead of the campaigns on that score. And the New York Times review sums it up well, the film doesn't preach at the viewer, just lays it out with dark simplicity.

There is very little dialogue in Wall-E, but much is said, particularly during the first 40, nearly silent, minutes. What we see is an earth destroyed by climate change and over taken by trash. A world that is empty of the people who have consumed themselves out of a home planet. And the humans, when we meet them, are obese and lazy, living on a luxury space cruise ship with no sense of responsibility for what has been done to the planet.

The strongest moralizing in the film is really in regards to consumer culture. Instead of government, things are run by Buy n Large and the people are fat, dumb and oblivious. It is a theme that I think about a lot. The short lived pleasure we get from consumption, sometimes not getting any pleasure from it at all, with no sense of the consequences. It made me more resolute in my desire to simplify my life, so that the things I indulge in will be more meaningful and I will have more appreciation for them. It made me glad that I put that $100 (on sale) shirt back on the rack and walked away.

Check out the 100 Thing Challenge and think about creating your own. In the end, what we really need are friends, family and love. Some music, some art and culture don't hurt either. And we need a healthy planet, the natural beauty and life sustainment it affords us The rest of it is just, well, stuff.

Get the Grill Going without Toxins

Goinggreen — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:33:41 GMT

Barbecue season is fully upon us. Yesterday, I was walking the dog and could smell the ever so familiar scent of lighter fluid. And then my head started to hurt! That stuff is petroleum based toxicity which contributes to buring off the ozone layer. Yuck! Fortunately, there are alternatives.

- Gas Grills rock. Personally, this is what I use because you don't have to wait an hour while the charcoal briquettes heat up. Just start that baby right up! I got mine a few years ago at Sears for less than $200.

- Maya Campfire Starter Sticks were a great discovery a few years ago for starting the fireplace or the grill. They're made from pine that comes from Mexico and Guatemala and one or two is all it takes to get the fire going

- Crumpled up newspaper. Yep, just like we used to do it in the old days (minus the copious amounts of lighter fluid). Just put some underneath the briquettes, light and watch that charcoal catch fire

- Cowboy Charcoal is made from hardwood scraps, no digging up coal

EcoBrain

Goinggreen — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:10:11 GMT

Can't get enough information on sustainability? Looking for some summer reading with meaning? Check out EcoBrain, an online seller of downloadable books (digital and Mp3) on topics of sustainability, environment and nature. With 96 books about sustainability, 170 geared toward kids and 80 on agriculture and gardening, there's something for everyone. Some are by authors that may be familiar like Bill McKibben and Jimmy Carter, and others by lesser known authors. A few downloads are free. Others start at $1 and go up from there, with lots of options under $5.

Check out titles like "EcoKids: Raising Children Who Care for the Earth" or the "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles" series. Or for those looking for some harder science, check out "Biodiversity. Sustainability and Human Communities".

Download, read or listen, enjoy and learn. What more could you ask for?

What Happens to Trash

Goinggreen — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:41:37 GMT

When you take out the trash, do you forget about it? Does the word landfill seem like an abstraction to you? We have done a good job in much of the developing world of making sure that we don't have to think too much about trash. But it doesn't just disappear. Check out the Story of Stuff, a 20-minute video about the dark underbelly of production and consumption. When you're done consider ways to reduce your own waste stream:

- Recycle

- Reuse

- Compost

- Avoid pre-packaged items

- Frequent bulk bins and fresh produce aisles

- List items you don't want on e-bay, Craig's List, Freegan sites, or elsewhere!

Cool New Stuff at LOHAS

Goinggreen — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:34:36 GMT

I was at the LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) conference in Boulder last week and saw some cool new products. Here are some of my favorites:

- Theo Chocolate - organic and the only American chocolate that is Fair Trade Certified. It's also really, really good. Try the fig and fennel or the cream truffles. Delicious!

- Get Green - a natural, nitrogen free lawn "greenilizer". They also have one to eliminate the brown stains on the lawn from your dog. And they are all natural, organic and earth friendly.

- 1% for the Planet - Companies that join donate 1% of profits to environmental causes. They have a great list of companies and new ones joining every day.

- Planet Green - the new cable station from Discovery, the shows are all about environmental topics. Hosts like Summer Rayne Oakes and others make environmentalism accessible.

- Sunlawn Push Mower - They even had some push mower races at LOHAS! It's the old-fahsioned way to make lawn mowing carbon free. You have to push the mower no matter what, and this one is a whole lot lighter. Plus it fertilizes while it cuts by mulching the clippings right back into your lawn.

What Will It Take To Save the World?

Goinggreen — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:53:29 GMT

Colin Beavan, aka No Impact Man, asked me to write a guest post about the new campaign to lobby the U.S. Congress to set 350 as the greenhouse gas emissions target, 350.org. Here's an excerpt from that post:

"The most recent science tells us that unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth."

--www.350.org

Bill McKibben's new 350 Campaign is designed to get people to champion a goal to reach a safer level of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Pressing lawmakers to do what needs to be done to get to this level of emissions is brilliant as a means to take the decidedly unpopular - legislating conservation, higher energy prices, carbon taxes and the like - and making it seem politically popular.

Right now, we are at 385 parts per million and that number is rising as China builds a new coal powered plant every week to ten days and new wealth and industry in India creates new levels of energy use. I am left wondering what it will take to reach the 350 goal and stay there and if people are willing to take the medicine, as it were, after they clamber for it...

Read the rest of the post here. And while you are at it, check out Colin's site and get inspired to reduce your own environmental impact!

Keeping the Bugs at Bay

Goinggreen — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:21:13 GMT

Summer and bugs seem to be inseparably linked. And what's an environmentalist to do in order to keep them from munching the roses or dining on your arm?

GardenMandy has 5 great home remedies for bugs, both keeping them from your plants and from your person.

In my own garden, I like to plant nasturtiums near the roses since aphids prefer them, or let loose some lady bugs to eat the aphids. I noticed that some of my kale is being eaten, and I hear putting some cayenne pepper on the plants helps without hurting the plants.

When I ask the organic farmers at the farmer's market what they do, they usually hand remove bugs as needed. One has a bunch of German Shepherds to keep the birds at bay from the cherry trees.

Citronella candles sometimes work for an evening barbecue, but rosemary or sage on the embers might work better.

More natural remedies can be found here.

So find one that works for you and keep the bugs abuzzing somewhere else!

Wine and Dine

Goinggreen — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:39:12 GMT

Long summer nights were meant for sitting at a sidewalk cafe or on your front porch, sipping a glass of wine. But which wine is the most environmentally friendly?

- Go local first. If you are lucky enough to live in California or Oregon, the Loire Valley (or practially anywhere in France!) Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or any of the many parts of the world where good wine is produced, try to buy most of your wine local. Less shipping means less carbon emissions. And if you can find wine made from organically grown or sustainably grown grapes, even better! (A note here, I am still trying to figure out what biodynamic wine is exactly. The things that actually make a difference in terms of environmental impact are growing methods -pesticides and synthetic fertilizers vs. organic, packaging - materials used and how much energy they take to produce, and shipping - how far and by what method it travels. To the degree biodynamic means organic, go for it!)

- Figure out where you should buy from based on where you live. A gneral rule of thumb is that those west of the Rockies should buy west coast wines and those east of the Rockies should stick to European wines. This has to do with the emissions from ground shipping versus shipping by sea. Dr. Vino says the line is further east, like starting in Ohio.

- Buy bigger bottles or some of the high end boxed wine (I would never tell anyone to drink that boxed swill from the 70's!). As always, bulk is better as it means less packaging. And the benefit of boxed wine is that it keeps longer, so less waste.

Waste Not

Goinggreen — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:58:20 GMT

Americans waste a lot of food. An average family of 4 throws away around $600 worth every year. With food prices at record highs, this is one place we can all do a lot better. Some suggestions for minimizing the waste:

- Buy too many berries or too much stone fruit at the market? You can wash, dry and freeze berries whole to be used later for smoothies, jams and cooked desserts. Peaches, apricots, nectarines and plums should be washed, cut in half and the stone removed. Freeze flat on a try first and then put into containers to be used same as berries.

- Fish, meat, chicken and seafood all freeze well. They won't taste quite as good as they do fresh, but use them with heavier sauces and in soups and stews.

- Brocolli and cauliflower coming out of your ears? Greenbeans abound in your refrigerator? Blanch them, cool and freeze. When you need, you can take them out and boil them until they heat up. They will taste a lot like frozen vegetables!

- Can, Pickle and Jam. It seems complicated, but it's really not. Epicurious.com has recipes and your grandma probably does, too!

- Herbs can be dried and put in jars, basil can be chopped and frozen to be used for pesto or flavoring later.

- Freeze leftover soup, stew and other dishes in small containers that you can grab and thaw on a night you don't feel like cooking

- Use leftovers the next night in salads or as topping for home made pizza

- Keep fruits and vegetables in the proper drawers so they stay crisp.

- Keep food properly wrapped so it doesn't go bad

- Bread starting to go stale but not moldy? Grind it up and save the bread crumbs in the freezer for when you need them or cut in cubes, sautee in olive oil, garlic and herbs and make your own breadcrumbs.

- Crackers gone soft? break them up and store in the freezer to be used as coating for fish or chicken

Saving at the Pump

Goinggreen — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:10:48 GMT

I filled my tank on Sunday and it cost a whopping $59.85! Outrageous and yet, if rising gas prices get people to buy more fuel efficient cars and look at alternative methods of transportation, I can't complain too loud. But still, $4.01 a gallon? Fortunately, there are things that you can do right now to conserve fuel, no matter what kind of car you drive.

- Keep your tires at the correct pressure

- Avoid using air conditioning

- Anticipate traffic flow so you aren't constantly breaking

- Coast when possible

- Keep your speed to 25 on streets to coordinate with the traffic lights

- Keep your speed to 55 on the highway

- Reach your cruising speed as quickly as possible, using the highest gear possible and then stay there

- Get scheduled maintenance so that your car is running at peak performance.

And the number one thing you can do to conserve fuel? Walk, bike, take the bus or train!

Summer eReading

Goinggreen — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:56:32 GMT

I have taken to reading my news online. I don't like the smell of newsprint and I only want the sections I want, so it works well for me. I probably miss some interesting stuff, but that's okay. Books, though, I love books. I like the smell and feel of a book. I like to curl up with it on the couch and read it. Reading news online is one thing, but a novel is a whole other. But then I consider this:

- paper manufacturing is one of the 3rd largest polluters of air, land and water

- paper manufacturing is also a leading cause of deforestation

- many of the books we read were printed overseas, shipped to the US and other countries by boat, trucked, to distribution centers and then trucked to your local bookstore

So in certain cases, it makes total sense to get your books electronically and have them on your computer. For example, cookbooks and how-to guides. eBooks are fully searchable, so when you want to find a materials guide or a recipe, there's no flipping around to find what you need. If you just need a few pages of something printed out, you can print on recycled paper. eBooks will also save you money as they are 30% cheaper than print editions and there is no shipping involved.

A few to check out:

www.EcoBrain.com

www.ebooks.com

www.free-ebooks.net

Washing Away the Green Wash

Goinggreen — Tue, 20 May 2008 01:21:37 GMT

A few recent studies have shown that consumers want to buy goods from ethical, responsible companies, but they don't always know how to read through the green washing. Thankfully, there are some resources out there for you

Co-Op America Responsible Shopper - gives you information about a company's environmental stance and social responsibility activities
Fair Trade Certification - look for the Fair Trade symbol and know that the people involved with those goods were paid a fair wage and treated with dignity. This is key when buying chocolate which is all too often made with cocoa beans harvested by child slave labor. Other Fair Trade products include vanilla, coffee, tree nuts and more.
Rainforest Alliance Certification - These farms and their goods have to meet rigorous standards of health, safety and environmental stewardship. And their coffee is darn good!
World of Good - Cool products, ethically sourced, from all over the world. Your purchase actually empowers the artisan that made the product.
Have a product you really like? Check out what that company is doing to do good. There is nothing like a thank you letter, or a letter asking that they do more to get corporations in line with your values.