Happy Earth Day!

[Jacko]

Happy Earth Day! Watch a great video here Get some cool ideas here

Its a great time to consider getting involved with a local grass roots organization like ECO-Western North Carolina...here is an interesting message they recently sent me....

Big green energy savings for a small planet

Happy Earth Month! Many people know about the ofttouted “low carb diet” promoted by Dr. Robert Atkins as a way of taking off the extra weight. Since the Atkins diet, gone is the notion that a low fat Twinkie won’t haunt us again where we least expect (or want) it. Low carb diets aren’t just for losing body fat. They also help reduce our carbon footprint, a diet that provides benefits to ourselves, our children and our planet.

Living a high energy lifestyle has its consequences. For many years we had access to cheap oil and as a result petroleum became the basis of every aspect of our life. We saturated our food in oil (fertilizers), we sautéed our homes with it (concrete, asphalt shingles, vinyl siding), we stirfried with oil to make our containers (Tupperware, plastics) and even drizzled oil to produce our medications.

Americans have been diagnosed with the “Beverly Hillbillies Syndrome.” You know how it is, you shoot your rifle, hit some black gold, Texas tea, and off you go packing up granny and the kin to Beverly Hills. Winners of lotteries are said to experience this as well. (I unfortunately wouldn’t know from personal experience.) The sudden wealth and fame causes erratic behavior, wild overspending, divorce, disease and worse. People not prepared for their sudden wealth often spend until it all suddenly disappears, taking with it whatever happiness and comfort that used to exist.

All of us have experienced a taste of the Beverly Hillbillies Syndrome in our lives. Leaving lights on everywhere we go, driving gas guzzling cars, using inefficient heating and AC systems at temperature levels far beyond what’s necessary. But there is something about $4 a gallon gas, 15,000 children dying each year from asthma and 11,000 deaths annually in the Southeast due to air pollution that takes the luster from our oil riches. The strife in the Middle East and the billions of dollars we’re spending in foreign oilrich lands leaves a bitter taste. We haven’t mentioned climate change but certainly it has become increasingly clear that what we do to our environment, we do to ourselves, and the window for action is rapidly disappearing.

So let’s bring this back around to our low carb diet. How can we start living a low energy lifestyle?
Looking at our homes, healthy built homes provide many incentives that keep us (and the planet) healthy. Healthy built homes create a healthier outdoors by using erosion control, and saving existing trees. They save water by using highefficiency irrigation and plumbing fixtures. They use highefficiency windows and insulation. Heating and cooling systems produce greater comfort using efficiency equipment and sealed air ducts. Energy Star appliances and lighting greatly reduce energy usage. Indoor air quality is healthier through the use of nontoxic finishes which minimize mold. Materials that are used are from durable, local and recycled content sources. All of this results in lower energy bills, higher quality of life, less “sick building syndrome,” less effect on local habitats and less negative contribution to climate change.

In addition to the individual steps we can take, the best solution is always a community solution. One of the problems with living the Beverly Hillbillies life is the loss of community that an oil enriched lifestyle entails. We used to live near each other in closeknit communities depending upon one another. But over the past 5060 years our societal makeup has been based on traveling (often alone) by car to get to places, living on the far edge of suburbia or rural tracts in sprawl type developments, and relying on electronic devices for entertainment rather than each other’s company. As we’ve grown apart as a community, we’ve lost what was one of the most valuable things that made America a great country to live in. We were the place where neighbors helped neighbors in times of crisis.

David Weintraub is executive director of ECO, the Environmental and Conservation Organization, a grassroots, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and conserving the natural environment of the mountain region. For more information on this and all of ECO’s public programming, please contact us at (828) 6920385 or online at www.ecownc.org

[Kellyk]

Thanks Jacko and Happy Earth Day to you too!!

[ryberg]

Thought about this this morning and then let it slip and now you beat me to it.

Happy Earth Day, indeed!



Steve

[drewl]

It's buy a tree a beer day!

[UGAplaya]

I wish I would have realized that today was Earth Day before I dumped my used motor oil in the ditch last night behind the house!!! Good thing is, it keeps the snakes away. :-)

[MaripositaII]

Earth day info:

Earth Day 2008: History of Earth Day


I bet that the majority of people could care less whether there is such a thing as Earth Day. I told my neighbour that instead of bagging up all the leaves and grass for the garbage truck she should start a compost pile. The woman looked like I had committed a crime. We don't have much recycling resources in this part of the country (shame on Oklahoma/Mid West). What a wasteful society this is!

[lolabella]

Happy Earth Day!

Received this Earth Day list in an email.....

) Want to cut your electricity bill and lower our demand for energy? Turn off televisions, DVD players and other electronic devices when you're not using them. That little red standby light means they're still using power. Over the course of a year, that little bit of power adds up – especially when multiplied by every electronic device in use.

2) Here are two quick and easy ways you can save water:
- turn off the tap when brushing your teeth.
- collect the water used to wash vegetables and salad to water your houseplants.

3) Call your local government to see if they have a disposal location for used car batteries and other hazardous household wastes. Landfills that are not suited for toxic materials can become toxic when hazardous materials are hidden in bags or other containers.

4) Shopping can still be fun – even when you’re taking steps to help our environment. Take your own bags to to carry home your groceries and shopping. Look for products that have less packaging. And, buy organically grown fruits, and vegetables.

5) Water is a healthy beverage choice – but you do not need to buy bottled water if you know your tap water is safe. Transporting water from its source to the supermarket shelves is an expensive waste of energy. And the plastic and glass bottles add to the already-high mountains of rubbish that we produce.

6) You can have a clean house – and a clean environment too. Choose biodegradable cleaning products so that the chemicals have fewer negative impacts on the soil and water system. Buy the most energy efficient appliances you can find … and … don’t forget how good clothes smell when they are dried hanging on a line.

7) You can help the environment and have the best garden in the neighborhood too. Collect rain water that you can save and use to water flowers on another day.

8) Artificial lighting at night can significantly disturb and endanger certain nocturnal animals - including birds, turtles and reptiles. But by using different light fittings, turning some lights off, or lowering their brightness - you can help minimise the impact we humans have on nature’s plan.

9) Everyone loves trees – be sure to plant local species of trees. Also, never take plants or pick flowers from anywhere in the wild. Let nature run it’s course!

10) Stop using chemical pesticides on your lawn or in your garden. Try to attract birds to your garden as gardeners’ pests. Use traps, parasites, and natural predators such as ladybirds.

11) Pure soap is biodegradable and breaks down completely. Choose a soap that is pure, such as Dove. Avoid soaps with synthetic scents or colors that will end up in our water table.

12) Save energy by installing a programmable thermostat to heat and air condition your home. Saving energy means saving money to you.

13) Remember to bring your cat in at night – really! Native animals do most of their feeding at night and become targets for domestic pets looking to do some hunting.

14) Dispose of your weeds and garden waste properly. Waste disposed of in the wild can introduce foreign species into an ECO system.

15) Did you ever think of car-pooling with someone else in your office? Just a few days a month would be a great start – and who knows: the money you save may make it more appealing on a regular basis.

16) If you’re going camping this summer, don’t use soap’s or shampoo to bathe in a river or lake. Let the refreshing clean water do it’s magic!

17) Did you know that front loading washing machines use significantly less water – and electricity – than top loading machines? Remember that when it’s time for a new washer.

18) Using a low-flow shower head can reduce your energy consumption by over 50% each time you take a shower: that’s savings in both water usage and energy to heat the water.

19) If you’re going to renovate your home – or you’re thinking about building: use double pane windows instead of single pane. Double pane’s reduce your need for heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer.

20) A few ceiling or regular fans strategically placed in your home can reduce the amount of time you spend with the air conditioning by creating a summertime “wind chill” that will feel refreshing.

21)Toaster ovens, pressure cookers, crock pots, microwaves, and electric grills all use less electricity than a standard oven – plus they won’t add heat to your already sweltering home in the summer.

22) Your car will get much better gas mileage if you keep the tires inflated to the proper pressure. Also, make sure you’re not carrying around unnecessary cargo in the trunk. The lighter the car – the less fuel needed to move.

23) Leaving the window on your car open while driving increases drag and significantly lowers your mileage. Using the air conditioner on low is a much more efficient option.

24) Don’t forget – you can recycle more than just bottles and cans. You can recycle toner cartridges, milk jugs, telephone books and pure glass.
25) The amount of junk mail that American’s receive in just one day could produce enough energy to heat a quarter of a million home. To help stop junk mail, write to: Mail Preference Service, Direct Marketing Association, 11 West 42nd St., PO Box 3861, New York, NY 10163-3861.

26) Did you know your hot water heater accounts for about 20% of all the energy you use in your home? You can reduce that by 8% by turning down the temperature to 130 degrees and adding insulation to your water heater.

27) Beware of toxic paint! Oil based paint is highly toxic and its manufacturing process produces nasty pollutants. Use latex paint instead.

28) 40% of the water you use every day in your house is flushed down the toilet. Switch to a low flush toilet and save between 3 and 5 thousand gallons per year.

29) Buy in bulk – this not only saves on packaging you would eventually have to dispose of – but it reduces the amount of industrial waste generated to make the packaging.

30) How can we kids help the environment? Pick up litter you see in your neighborhood and put it in the proper disposal place.

31) How can we kids help the environment? Turn off the lights when leaving a room. Also, turn off the water when brushing our teeth.

32) Try to use reusable containers – like Tupperware - to store food in your refrigerator instead of wrapping it in tin-foil or plastic wrap.

33) Ever thought about organizing a beach, lake or creak clean-up this summer? The time to plan it is now.

34) Use a rag or hand towel instead of a paper towel. Paper towels mean more trees are cut down – and they clog up land-fills when you throw them away.

35) Use a coffee mug instead of a Styrofoam cup. Mugs keep your coffee warmer and won’t clog up our land-fills.

36) Re-use printed paper. If you have non sensitive documents that have been printed and are no longer needed – use the paper again and print on the other side.
37) Clean the filter on your air conditioner monthly to improve efficiency. Don’t forget to ask your mechanic about changing your car’s air filter at your next tune-up.

38) If you are going to water your lawn, do it early in the morning before the sun begins evaporating moisture. You will be able to use less water to cover the same size lawn.

39) Want to help minimize the land needed for landfills? Recycle your paper, glass, plastics and other waste. Use rechargeable batteries and send e-greetings instead of paper cards.

[Rissask]

Bring your own reusable cup to Starbucks and get a free cup of coffee in honour of Earth Day.

[UGAplaya]

Originally Posted by Rissask

Bring your own reusable cup to Starbucks and get a free cup of coffee in honour of Earth Day.

Now that's just gross. Do you know how many people here down south use those as spit cups???? ;-)

[caramba]

Happy Earth Day! Some great ideas here....

We are doing a big green expo in NYC this weekend with our milk paint (and one in Chicago next month).
Earth Day (or Earth Week) has been a good opportunity for us to have lots of new people try our paint, which we donated to a couple of events. Today a 'green' mural is being painted in LA on the corner of Wilshire Blvd. by a bunch of little kids, as part of their Earth Day celebration.
And last weekend in Central Park a big 500 foot mural was painted by 1000 people, on 6" x 6" pieces of canvas that are being stitched together by Paul Kostabi, a pretty well known contemporary artist. And we are especially excited that there is a documentary being filmed about the project, and the mural may be on exhibit for a time this summer at the Guggenheim Museum! Here's a link about that if anyone is interested.

[lolabella]

A big irritant for me is when I arrive home and find the Yellow Pages and/or any other phone book sitting on my doorstep. It immediately gets thrown in the recycle bin. I use yahoo yellowpages if I need to find a local business number or location. I really need to find out how to stop all these phone books from getting delivered to me. I think I get about 5 of them/year.

[Rissask]

Great tips Lola.

5) Water is a healthy beverage choice – but you do not need to buy bottled water if you know your tap water is safe. Transporting water from its source to the supermarket shelves is an expensive waste of energy. And the plastic and glass bottles add to the already-high mountains of rubbish that we produce.

Not to mention the plastic contains toxic chemicals....Canada just banned plastic bottles and containers which contain bisphenol A.



Buy re-usable water bottles and drink tap water.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by lolabella

A big irritant for me is when I arrive home and find the Yellow Pages and/or any other phone book sitting on my doorstep. It immediately gets thrown in the recycle bin. I use yahoo yellowpages if I need to find a local business number or location. I really need to find out how to stop all these phone books from getting delivered to me. I think I get about 5 of them/year.

really? That is crazy- they deliver them not knowing if you even want them? We have to pick ours up at the corner store in town if we want one. There must be a way to get them to stop?


We don't buy magazines, get the paper, or get any flyers at home anymore. What little we do get we make sure to recycle though. I do buy some books but I am cheap so I borrow a lot (and lend out) and buy secondhand most of the time.



So much for our paperless society huh! I marvel at how much paper is wasted in this office, it's nuts. People print off so many things for no good reason.

[lolabella]

Originally Posted by Rissask

Great tips Lola.



Not to mention the plastic contains toxic chemicals....Canada just banned plastic bottles and containers which contain bisphenol A.



Buy re-usable water bottles and drink tap water.

This is something I've started doing this past year. The water in my area tastes and smells horrible, so I was buying water bottles in bulk....until I realized that, even though I was recycling, many of those bottles end up in land fills.

I now have a Britta water filter and pitcher. I just refill bottles when I need them and store them in the fridge. Saves me alot of money too!!!

[Jacko]

Great ideas folks!

This is interesting....Take a quiz Here

Energy Efficiency Saves Money.
But How Much?