Be Green, Save Green

Too often, the face of current ecotrends is advertising and tv shows. Watching them, it is easy to think the way to be green is spend spend spend. There's definitely energy-efficient products that pay for themselves, and if you are in the market for a new product it's better to go with the eco-friendly product. But there's tons of ways to be green that don't cost a dime (and actually save some $$$).

Here are a few things we practice in our home:


1) Composting. You do not need a composter to compost. All you need is space. Your trash won't smell as bad, you won't have as much trash, and it makes rich fertilizer for your yard or garden.


2) Turn off the heat/ a/c. Or at least use it less. If it's summer, aren't you wearing less clothes? I hate walking into a building in summer and freezing because I'm wearing shorts. We keep our house 76 summer and 64 winter. Use fans in summer, layers in winter. Small temperature differences lead to big savings.


3) Zero waste eating. When you plan meals for next week, your first stop should be what you already have. Are the eggs expiring, will the spinach go bad? Americans throw away a huge amount of food, an estimated 40%!!!! So stop wasting and your grocery bill could be 40% less. If you know you have more food than you can eat, freeze it. The refrigerator and freezer also run more efficiently when they are full.

4) Reuse creatively. A lot of "trash" can be useful. I like to reuse food containers. Grated cheese and hummus containers are great for snacks instead of buying plastic bags or "Gladwear." Glass jars are also the best! I use large ones for leftovers and freezing soups or broth and small ones to hold herbs or dry goods. When I start seedlings sometimes, I will poke holes in the bottom of yogurt containers for a temporary pot before planting permanently.

5) Homemade cleaners. 50/50 water/vinegar solution works great for sanitizing surfaces and cleaning toilet bowls. Mix vinegar with baking soda for a stronger cleaner. Not only will you save money, you will avoid inhaling the horrible cleaning concoctions that contain who knows what...

6) Your trash may be someone else's treasure. If you don't want to go through the hassle of a garage sale or ebay, donating your unwanted items still gives you a tax deduction (and creates jobs too).

7) Drive less. Americans spend much more on transportation than other countries, an average of $9500 per household annually. Buying a car, maintenance, gas, insurance, it all adds up. Extend the life of your car and save gas by carpooling, using public transportation, or working from home if possible. Our insurance company (Amica)  asks us how frequently we drive to work and our rate is less because neither of us drives to work often.

8) Eat less meat. Yep, unless you are getting local meat (and grassfed beef, organic, etc. etc.) your meat is probably bad for the environment. About 30% of arable land is used for meat production, not to mention how much energy it takes grow the grains, transport the grain to the animals, then transport the animals to your table. Not only is eating less meat good for the planet, it's usually better for your health and your wallet.

9) Avoid traffic. I hate running errands on the weekend, it feels like waiting in traffic for hours just to spend a few minutes buying something. All the while the car is idling at 0 mpg. Run errands on a weekday evening (8 pm is prime empty time) and enjoy your freed weekend.

10) Don't impulse buy. Advertising and stores are set up with the primary purpose of getting your money. The more you buy, the more energy is put into those products, half of which you may decide you don't need after all. "Every dollar I spend is a statement about the kind of world I want and the quality of life I value." Read more at New American Dream.

Food Part #2 Solar Oven

I have been planning on building a solar oven for quite awhile and last week finally got around to doing it! It was pretty cheap to do and not too hard either. Of course I had all the same sized boxes and the outer box is larger, so I had to adjust the plan and put two boxes together (hence the hexagonal shape). 

You probably cannot see the oven thermometer I put inside, but it's reading about 200 degrees. The temperature swung between 175 and 200 for most of the day. It was not a very hot day, low 80s, so I was happy with that. At least the oven got to the slow cooker temperature range. The biggest problem I had using the oven was that I had to move it because our lawn gets a lot of shade. I also did not do a good job stabilizing the lid so the flap fell a few times and decreased the temperature.

When I was done making the solar oven, I wanted to use it but hadn't thought of any recipes so I threw in some apples and sprinkled on cinnamon and sugar.

They cooked! I have no idea how long it actually took them to cook, but they were in the oven for about 5 hours. I think I will need to perfect my solar oven skills. I envision slow cooked baked potatoes. Solar ovens are not supposed to save much energy, since cooking only accounts for 4% of energy use. But I would loooove it if I could avoid heating up the house on warm days, which just happens to be the best days for solar cooking. If I really get into solar cooking I will probably upgrade to a better model and use wood instead of cardboard, nails instead of tape and staples. But for now this model seems to be sufficient for slow cooker speeds. 


This is the design that I modified for solar cooking: http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/solarbox.htm
There are lots of  other designs out there. This design is probably the simplest but also the most limiting: http://solarcooking.org/plans/newpanel.htm . Parabolic designs are supposed to get as hot as conventional ovens but also can result in burns and eye injuries. And of course, there's lots of companies willing to sell them to you if you don't want to build the solar oven.

What is your carbon footprint?

So, I've been thinking about my monstrous carbon footprint and decided I need to calculate it. On average, Americans emit 27 tons of carbon just for their food and energy use. That doesn't even include other extras, such as pets, energy use away from home (e.g. movies), or buying clothes/furniture/electronics. Europeans emit about half the amount we do, and the average world citizen emits 5.5 tons. The only country that emits more carbon dioxide than the U.S. is China, and our population is much lower. Our emissions account for about 20% of the world emissions, while our population is only 4.5%. If everyone in the world used as many resources as Americans, we'd need nine worlds to keep up (clearly carbon dioxide isn't the only thing going into this estimate). While the European Union may have already decreased their emissions by 11% since signing the Kyoto protocol, emissions in the U.S. have increased by 15%.

So for the American wanting to reduce their carbon footprint, the best thing to do is following the three Rs: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Of course, carbon is not the only pollutant out there. For example, electricity from coal plants also emits sulfur and mercury into the air, and nuclear plants generate nuclear waste. So while it is possible to buy carbon offsets, it is better to reduce overall pollution and work down to needing just one earth for our demands.

I have found a few carbon calculators. None of them seem to have everything and some of the numbers vary, but here are a few numbers:

The minimalist: You live in a two bedroom apartment with another person, and eat vegetarian organic food. You take measures to conserve energy in the apartment. No pets, and you walk or bike everywhere. Sometimes you go out to eat or to movies. Your impact is 13 1/2 tons of carbon dioxide each year, half the American average.

If this doesn't describe you, add the following:

If you live by yourself in a 1 bedroom apartment, add 4 tons

If you live by yourself in a 2 bedroom apartment, add 9 tons

If you live in an energy efficient 2 bedroom house with someone, add 6 tons

If you live in an energy efficient 2 bedroom house by yourself, add 24 tons

If you don’t use conservation settings for heating/cooling, add 3 tons

If you don’t use energy saver bulbs, add 1 ton

If you don’t use energy efficient appliances, add 2 tons

If you don’t use a water heater blanket and don’t use a low flow shower, add 2 tons

If you are not vegetarian, add 3 tons

If you do not eat organic, add 2 tons

If you do not recycle, add ½ ton

If you drive 12000 miles, add 5 tons for a hybrid, 7 for compact, 9 for sedan, and 10 SUV

If you fly, add 1 ton for every 1200 miles

If you have a cat, add 4 tons

If you have a dog, add 5 tons for a medium dog (e.g. collie), 10 tons for a large dog (e.g. German shepherd) and increase/decrease based on the amount of food comparatively

If you enjoy having the latest in fashion, add ½ ton

If you enjoy having new furniture and electronics, add 1 ton

If you own a car, add 1 ton

If you commute by train, add 1 ton for every 10,000 miles

If you commute by bus, add 1 ton for every 6000 miles

If you commute by subway, add 1 ton for every 8000 miles

To figure out your carbon footprint, try these calculators:

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/

http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

My carbon footprint is 39 tons this year, half of which is from flying...I estimate next years will be average (for an American that is). To offset your carbon footprint, you can go to terrapass.com and buy carbon offsets at $11/ton.

I want to believe

The news is now calling the Gulf Coast oil spill the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. This has led me down a very negative train of thought, not only about the current disaster, but what will happen in the future, for both the U.S. and world.

I want to believe that this has been the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.

However, looking at what we have done already, I think we may have done worse (at least so far). From the deforestation in the early 1900s, to current impacts of sprawl, to water mismanagement in desert areas to pesticide use to greenhouse gasses that are contributing to global warming. I guess we don't count these since they are more intentional? Or maybe because they happen over a long period of time we're used to them...


I want to believe that the oil spill will remain the worst environmental accident in U.S. history.

We will see worse accidents, probably in our lifetime. While it's not inevitable, I think it's likely. We flirt with technology before we know how to control it, the government lets industry progress while the government doesn't have the technology to clean up the mess. We want to bury nuclear waste in mountains that will remain radioactive for years. We want to increase the number of nuclear plants. We want to get oil and coal from environmentally sensitive areas. It's true that our technology prevents disasters from happening on a daily basis (in this country), but the point I'm making is we're human. To err is human, and human error will certainly be behind the next accident. It doesn't matter if it's 99.99% likely that something won't happen. The low risk is outweighed by the magnitude of the potential disaster, since disaster only needs to strike once.

I want to believe that our government change regulation to prevent future disasters.

But I think that public relations firms and lobbyists that represent industry will continue to be the louder voice, and cause the politicians and public to believe them and what they say they're capable of. Industry has billions of dollars to get us to see their side, the environment and people supporting it don't have it, even though the benefits we receive from the environment certainly outweigh those we have gotten from industry.

I want to believe that our government will support our technological future.

I mean several things by this. The government needs to invest in renewable energy progressively. Remember walking on the moon? That was a 10 year goal thought impossible by many. If we seriously invest in renewables and couple it more efficient energy usage, there will not be a need to increase the oil supplies available to us. It seems like every renewable plan I've seen is so far in the future and so small in scope that it never materializes into immediate action. A 20% goal of renewables in 20 years doesn't even compensate for increase in energy use at the current pace. The U.S. government hardly invests in renewables. Worldwide spending on renewables is 38 billion a year (by the way, China invests more in renewable energy than the U.S.). Second, government needs to invest in public transportation with the same vigor it invests in highway and road projects. Part of the reason public transportation is not popular is that in many areas it is still a pain in the butt. Transportation is a huge part of our energy use. Along these same lines, we need tougher energy standards for appliances. High efficiency products often already exist from their development for other countries. They just don't always get to the American consumer. Anyone wonder why that might be?

I want to believe that our government will change regulation to reverse global warming.

I am so skeptical about this. I believe that many politicians realize the threat of global warming but try to balance scientific reasoning with other political concerns. Unfortunately, the environment does not care about political concerns, you really can't half stop global warming. Please listen to science!

I want to believe that ordinary people can affect change.

This is a hard one. I want to affect change, badly. But with the oil spill I think, there's only two types of people that had the power to prevent this disaster: the officials at BP and politicians. Everyone else can yell and scream all they want but we still would have been at the mercy of these people. I am surrounded by people who study the environment and we were powerless without others taking action from our research. And again, we do not have the millions of dollars that lobbyists and public relations firms have to make it sound like what they do is not that bad, or to get everyone else to question whether global warming is actually happening. And, sadly the environment has become a one party issue and is not enough of a priority for most people to vote just for that issue. But we can't live apart from the environment, and so I don't see what we can do other than vote for it. Vote in referendums for tougher regulation, and vote for green politicians. We haven't been paying off our debt, the price we pay the pump is not the true price of oil. The most change I can see most people affecting is their own. That isn't something to scoff at, but we need more.