You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'green' tag.
Another disappointing season for the San Jose Sharks. What’s even more disappointing is that they actually scored early, wiping out Tied House’s .25 cent beer special. Tied House had specials for every Shark game in which you could get their house beer for only a quarter until someone scores. The idiot Sharks scored in the first period, and then got pummeled for yet another early playoff exit.
Hit up Fresh Tomatoes on Tuesday, and it’s nice to see them shifting over to some green energy to go along with their green vegetables.
Yesterday was yet another unproductive but fun day in the cold rainy season. It was pretty random seeing the Tour de California in downtown San Jose, then getting soaked trying to follow the pack.
One thing that bothers me from an environmental standpoint is that each team/rider has an entourage of about 5 cars. Although cycling itself is one of the purest forms of fun, transportation, and fitness, having a caravan of vehicles behind you completely negates that. The cars were even going around during the warmup laps, how green is that?
I’ve had my fair share of flats while riding almost everyday over the past year. I usually throw on a new tube while I’m out on a ride, just because it can be hard to locate pinch or small hole on the fly. Which means that I had a gigantic pile of rubber sitting at home. It would be a waste to just throw them away, especially since most of them only had minor defects.
I had some free time yesterday, so I just sat down with a bowl of water and started patching up my tubes. Some people don’t trust using patched tubes for anything more than a temporary fix, but in my experience, they work just as well as a brand new one if sealed properly. I tried using the rubber cement patches, but I didn’t think the seal would hold for too long. So I went back to the quick and easy pre-glued patches, which I have never had a problem with.
The key to patching up a tire is keep the contact area clean and clear. I like using a Sharpie to mark the actual leak, so you don’t lose the spot. Using water I clean the surrounding area and then wipe it down. Make sure the tube is dry, because it is hard to rough up a wet surface. Sand the area once it’s dry and then apply the patch, and press hard. Be sure to check the tube for multiple leaks, your tube will be worthless if you only patch up on hole on a swiss cheesed tube.
Since tubes are about $4-$5 a pop, you can save quite a bit of money re-using the same tubes. Not only that, but you would be keeping them out of landfills as well. I also found some tubes that were unrepairable, so I’m thinking of ways to re-use or recycle those.
25 low-cost, maximum-impact tips for a green 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
1. The single largest impact you can have as an individual is to drive less by car-pooling, biking, walking, or using public transit. Find suggestions for decreasing your reliance on your car here. Does not apply to me.
2. Maintaining correct air pressure in your car’s tires can significantly increase fuel efficiency. Check tire pressure once a month.Does not apply to me.
3. Help end the junk mail madness. Dramatically reduce the amount you receive by following these instructions, and sign a petition demanding a national Do Not Mail registry here. Done
4. Replace all incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents and save about $100 over each bulb’s life. Find low-priced bulbs by looking for PG&E “Save” stickers on bulbs at Walgreen’s, Rite Aid and other local stores. Done
5. If you buy new appliances, make sure to buy energy-efficient models labeled “Energy Star.” These models can cut energy use in half. Look for rebates here. A 2009 federal tax credit is also available for some EnergyStar products. Done
6. S.F. Public Utilities Commission customers can pick up free aerated faucets or showerheads at the PUC offices. EBMUD customers, inquire about rebates here. You’ll reduce your water use — and the electricity required to treat and heat it — without even noticing a difference. Done
7. Stop buying expensive and toxic cleaning products. You can accomplish nearly all household cleaning and maintenance tasks with vinegar, baking soda, and boric acid. Download natural cleanser recipes here. Done
8. Unplugging electronics, including microwaves and chargers, when not in use will shave about 5 percent off your electric bill. Somewhat doing.
9. Buy only what you’ll eat. Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, and Americans waste at least 20 percent of their food. Somewhat doing.
10. Eat less red meat, and buy only grass-fed or organic meat. Feedlot operations produce large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and pollute water. Find tips on sustainable meat eating on Gastronicity. Trying to.
11. Avoid processed foods whenever possible. Processing and packaging make processed foods’ environmental footprint bigger than natural foods’, and many contain palm oil, production of which is the primary cause of deforestation in Asian rainforests.
12. Wear a sweater this winter. Invest in an Energy Star programmable thermostat, and set it to 65 – 67 degrees when you are home. You’ll make a big dent in your heating bills and reduce your carbon footprint. It’s been like summer in mid winter here in California.
13. You can save up to 30 percent on your energy bills by sealing all leaks in your house using caulk or foam. Learn how to locate leaks here. Need to do this.
14. Keep your hot water heater set at 120 degrees, or the “normal” setting. Water heating accounts for nearly 15 percent of your monthly bill. No access to my water heater.
15. Perform routine maintenance on your furnace, including filters and ducts, to keep heating costs down. Learn more here. I have a heater, which I have used sparingly.
16. Wash only full loads of laundry and use natural detergent. Using the cold cycle can reduce your electricity use by 90 percent. Clean the lint filter before you put clothes in the dryer, and remove them as soon as they’re dry. Always full loads, but I haven’t been using cold cycle.
17. Use the dishwasher! A full Energy Star model uses less water than hand washing does. Just be sure to choose the air-dry setting. Never had one.
18. Maintain freezer temperature at 0 degrees, and refrigerator temperature at 40 degrees (but no warmer). I think my fridge might actually be heating food up.
19. Replace as much of your yard as possible with native plants that require minimal watering. Experts believe California is entering a serious drought. Find SFGate’s tips on water-conserving landscaping here. I believe my plants are native; do not require a lot of water.
20. If you’re in the market for furniture, buy used. If you must buy new, avoid rainforest hardwoods including mahogany and teak. Craigslist is my friend, bought many of my things used.
21. Use paperless bill-paying for all of your bills, and ask about paperless direct deposit stubs at your place of work. I currently do not receive any paper bills.
22. Ask the IT department at your office set computers to turn off after an hour and make double-sided printing the default setting. Always print double sided at work, when I had a job.
23. Dispose of old electronics using a certified recycling program. Otherwise, your gadget may be shipped to China and dumped in a landfill there. Alameda and San Francisco counties offer services and information. Do
24. Make sure to take advantage of your city’s recycling and composting programs. Many recyclables still end up in landfills. Learn more about San Francisco’s program here, and Oakland’s here.
25. Travel ready! Carry a portable mug for coffee stops and canvas or recycled-plastic bags to do grocery shopping. You can get a shopping tote by donating to some green groups or by making one yourself. Currently do.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/01/09/greentips010909.DTL
Why not use EcoCrawl? The site is all black which means less energy consumed by the monitors. Powered by Google peoples. A friend turned me on to this site, which seems to be neat-o.
I officially have no car. Yeah I finally did it, got rid of my car, now let’s just see how long I can last with out a vehicular automobile driving machine.
It all happened last week, and I’ve been getting around just fine with my bike and good ol’ public transportation.
My goal is to last all the way through next winter, so we’ll see what happens. So why no car?
Here are just a few reasons:
- Great way to be green
- Save money (gas, insurance, maintenance)
- Don’t have to worry about parking
- Challenge myself
By the way the picture up there is supposed to represent one less car. Hence the empty space in between the two cars.
I’ve been bringing my lunch to work more and more lately, and have been experimenting with idiot-proof salads.
One of the easiest lunches to prepare has to be the tofu/fruit salad. I just chop up some tofu, slice some strawberries, throw in some garden salad, and top it off with some fat free croutons/low fat dressing.
Throw the reusable Tupperware into the fridge, and she’s ready for lunch the following day.
If you’re like me and like preparing your food the night before, hold off on throwing the croutons in, since they’ll get soggy. Instead wait until the day of to throw them in.
I remember handing out questionnaires for my senior project back in my undergrad days. The questionnaire mostly dealt with water use on campus.
One of the questions was about waterless urinals. Many people were opposed to them, simply because of the hygiene issue. Since I had never used one, I also had concerns about smell and cleanliness.
Well, I can finally say that odor is not a problem. There is a waterfree urinal installed in one of the restrooms at the location where I am taking a class this week.
I didn’t detect any odor before or after using the toilet. Although I did smell some asparagas during use. Haha, or the string beans from Whole Foods.
Apparently there is some sort of filter that not only traps the odor, but filters the pee, before going down the drain.
Think about it though, at 1 gallon per flush (the standard for most urinals today), you could be saving a lot of water and money!
Also, since it doesn’t flush, I guess this is literally just a “urine hole” then??!? You know as opposed to urinal.
More info here:
+
There are plenty of cleaners and bleaches out in the market today. But with companies such as Seventh Generation leading the green revolution, other companies are beginning to see the light.
Clorox came out with a line of products called Green Works, and I decided to give it a try.
I squirted a couple of ounces of their toilet bowl cleaner, which I must say smelled pretty good. Definitely better than the smell of bleach or vinegar.
After a couple minutes, I scrubbed the bowl and voila, you can now see my white porcelain throne in all of its glory.
I just checked out my ecological footprint results, and can happily report to y’all that I have drastically reduced my footprint over the last half year or so.
Now I’m not exactly sure how large my old footprint was, but I think I can safely say that it’s 2 to 3 times smaller now.
My most recent footprint was at 2.5 planets, so I still have a long ways to go.
Check out how you compare to my footprint and others at Ecofoot.org.
Spring is just around the corner, which means it’s time for spring cleaning. Here’s an opportunity for you to clean out your closet the green way.
My friend told me about becohangers, an eco friendly clothes hangers company. Although they might not necessarily cater to your individual needs, a business in the clothing industry (read: dry cleaners) might.
Another suggestion my friend made was to re-use cardboard lying around your house. If you are in a position that can make purchasing decisions, consider green alternatives. In this case, it might even cut your overhead costs as well.
I came home from work today and found this on my footsteps. The box of fruits that I had ordered from Farm Fresh to You had arrived!
Farm Fresh is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Program that is family owned and operated in the Capay Valley. What is a CSA?
It’s essentially a way for local farmers to get their produce to the general public. You get high quality, local grown fruits and vegetables, that are hand picked and selected. Everything is seasonal, so that means not every package is going to be the same.
I found the box placed at exactly where I told them to place it (via the delivery instructions). The package I chose was Fruit Only, which meant 5 different fruits (with a possibility for some alternatives). The cost including delivery was only $29! The only work I had to do was to bring it up the stairs.
I opened up the box, and behold, it was straight up like a horn of plenty! I saw greens, yellows, oranges, browns and Corollas. Haha, just kidding I didn’t see any yellows.
Ok, so let’s see what I got this time around. I think the purple things were pears, but I can’t be sure.
The first thing that I pulled out were the kiwis. Haven’t tried them yet, but I’m sure I’ll have a hoot peeling them.
Since I was heading off to the library, I pulled out an apple, washed it, and polished it on my t-shirt. Kind of sour, but very crisp haha.
The oranges turned out to be tangerines I think, which were sweet and juicy.
I was pretty excited about pulling the half pound of pistachios out, since I can munch on those at work or something.
I’m the type of person who goes to the grocery store, and has no idea what to buy. So naturally, I like the idea of having everything picked for me, since I am completely incompetent of choosing food for myself. Not only that, but you’re helping the local community out by supporting their produce.
When you think about it $29 is not a whole for what you get. I am actually pretty amazed at how they can do this for such a low price. You get a few pounds of fresh organic produce, delivered to your doorsteps, for less than $30.
I am very pleased with what I received(they also followed my delivery instructions), and am happy to report that I will be continuing my support of Farm Fresh to You(once per month). If you live in Northern California, Farm Fresh to You might be catering to your area.
Link to a list of Community Supported Agriculture Co-ops near you
Hey folks, I’m here with another quick review. I just received my Klean Kanteen, and gave it a test run today.
I was looking for an alternative to my Lexan bottle (Nalgene), because the water tasted really plastic(y) after a while. I looked at Sigg bottles, but they use some sort of plastic liner in their bottle, which sort of defeats the whole purpose of a stainless steel bottle.
Edi: My cousin mentioned that water from her Sigg bottle tasted just fine. I had heard conflicting reviews on this issue before.
Enter in the Klean Kanteen. I purchased the 27 oz size, which is the perfect size for the toting along all day. Pictured above is the bottle next to a Pom glass for size reference.
The entire canteen is stainless steel metal, with the cap being a non-leaching propylene. There’s also a cool little loop on top of the cap, so you hold it or attach it to something.
One of the coolest things about the bottle is that it has a wide mouth opening. That means you can put ice in it, and also makes cleaning a lot easier.
As for it being the perfect size, I can fit it into my bag nicely.
The material and construction seems to be of high quality. There is no question that the Klean Kanteen will last for awhile. It’s also pretty light, so you don’t have to worry about it weighing you down throughout the day.
Aside from making a quality product, the company Klean Kanteen is also very environmentally conscious. What better way to help the environment than by supporting eco-friendly businesses!
Some people will argue that Lexan bottles are completely safe. For me it’s more about peace of mind, so if I don’t taste plastic, I’m good.
Although the water is tasting great, I can’t help but notice the metallic “smell” from the bottle. Maybe it’ll go away after a few washes. There is also some squeaking that the cap makes when closing. Other than that, this bottle is way better than using plastic bottles.
Check out Toyota’s new super automobile. Easy on the gas, cash, and environment.
What more could you ask for? Link
I attended a talk at work, and heard something that was pretty intriguing.
One of the departments at my company recently ordered a hoard of new Apple computers, I think he said something like 1500 items. Just think about how much styrofoam packaging that is. A lot. What is one to do with 1500 empty packages?
Cue in Apple again. They offered to take back the styrofoam packaging, and recycle it themselves! On top of that, they said eff it, WE’LL take back Dell’s packaging too!
After looking at numerous bags, sleeves, cases, and covers for my Macbook, I finally decided to go with one.
The Applesac.
A friend of mine had purchased one, and recommended it to me.
Now before I pulled the trigger on the sleeve, I wanted to figure out what features were important to me. It came down to:
1. Durability I want it to last for at least as long as my laptop.
2. Protection It should protect my laptop from scratches, scuff marks, minor dings and dents, while riding on my bike.
3. Material The sleeve should be made from eco-friendly materials that are sustainable as well as landfill friendly.
After carefully looking at the Black Colcasac Applesac, it seemed to fit the bill.
The sleeve is made from hemp, which is quite sustainable and easy to harvest. The inside is lined with what seems to be sherpa fleece, which is pretty soft.
Now when I mentioned that I wanted protection, I wanted adequate protection to prevent scratches and dings. The Applesac is perfect for that. However it probably won’t save your notebook from a 6 foot drop.
According to the Applesac website, hemp is more durable than regular cotton. Upon receiving my sleeve, the hemp material did seem a little thicker than natural cotton.
The sleeve provides a very snug fit for the Macbook, which is a good thing, since you don’t want it shifting around on you. Since it doesn’t add much size to the Macbook, I can still throw it into my messenger bag with no problems.
Instead of using zippers, the Applesac utilizes velcro. There is also a pocket on the front, which can fit the powerblock or a couple of CDs.
All in all, I am really happy with my purchase. The sleeve that I purchased was priced at under $40 (incld. shipping and taxes), so you won’t break t he bank. And it’s environmentally conscious. My only gripe is that there aren’t any handles, just in case I wanted to use it as a stand alone carrying case. DIY anyone?
This is how you streamline your home in the 21st century. Courtesy of New York Times.
Congratulations to the New York Giants! I was watching this game, and was like my man Plax is going to get a touchdown in the closing minutes seconds, and he did!!! AWESOME GAME!!
And also the Cadillac ESCALADE they gave out was a hybrid! Woot woot!
It is now estimated that some Americans spend about 20% of their salary on gas.
Well just think, what if you didn’t drive for one or even two days out of the work week?
You could take public transportation (which most jobs will happily pay for), carpool, bike, or even telecommute.
Just doing that for two days out of the week would bring that percentage down to 12%. You would be doing your part by being green, and spending less of your hard earned green on gasoline. I know this is an extreme case, but think about your situation. I’m sure you’re spending way more on gas than you would like. Those living in the San Francisco Bay Area can use 511.org, which is a great resource for driving alternatives.
