Inhabitat.com has a great article about a new way some people are monitoring their electric bill. A Southern California Power Station Manager, Mark Martinez, hit on a cool way to get people to be more aware and conserve their energy use with his Energy Orb. Wired.com’s article explains in detail how he altered the Ambient Orb - a glowing orb that changes color that responds to changes in various streaming data like stock prices, and instead made it to change color to alert the user of higher and lower usage of energy. For the lucky few that got to use this device, they claim a 40% reduction in energy use.
Seems like a good thing for people to display prominently, if its flashing red to signify high energy use- you will have a easy prompt to go check out why and turn off anything unneeded.

Need lumber for a pet project? Aren’t into the nasty selections at Home Depot - chemically treated woods from unsustainable clear cuts? A thought provoking article can be found here on Verdant.net about all the in’s and outs of obtaining free building materials. Make your projects green by recycling old growth lumber thrown away by clueless contractors. Here is a link at the California Construction and Demolition Debris Recycling site to more great info on recycling lumber, while it specifically relates to California, much of it is relevant to most anywhere.

Bamboo Composter from Grist’s Amazon Store now only $39.00 (marked down from $99.00)

Much of our kitchen organic waste could be composted and given back to your garden, house plants and the like. Your yard waste and veggie peelings could be put to a much healthier use than generating methane in some landfill.
This bamboo composter has a cubic yard capacity, a reasonable size for you typical urban user. Its attractive looks compliments its usefulness. For more info on urban composting see our post on urban kitchen composting.

GreenPan™ 6-piece Nonstick Cookware Set $99.90 at Home Shopping Network

Teflon or (Polytetrafluoroethylene (PFTE) coated cookware has been in the news lately with stories it could pose health risks to users. However some question just how much of a health risk it is, but many people are being scared off teflon anyway, electing to play it safe and look around for more reassuring options in their pots and pans.

In this article by Consumer Health Advocate, Mike Adams, states the alarms over Teflon are overblown and would only pose real danger if you cook at super high temperatures or do something crazy like use brillo pads to scour them with. However, he implies the cheap Walmart Teflon pans suck - and if you gotta have Teflon, go for the highend, maybe a $300 Williams-Sonoma sauce pan.

On the other hand, one of the best is the old fashioned cast-iron pans that can still be found in a thrift store near you. They heat evenly, last forever if you season them properly and take care of them. You get the added benefit of getting the healthy iron that will slowly release into your food when cooking. The new ceramic coated cast iron is a great option too, but you lose the iron supplement and often you’ll use more oil than is good for your cardiovascular system to prevent sticking. Fortunately there are other options for chemical free cookware.

GreenPan, recently introduced its new line of eco-friendly cookware to the Home Shopping Network and promptly sold out. It seems they are now available again, at least some models. Their cookware doesn’t use PFTE or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and instead uses their new material called Thermolon that apparently works great as a non-stick surface, it remains stable and inert in extremely high temperatures, up to 850°F As an added bonus they claim their production methods cause 50% fewer greenhouse gases to be released.

We haven’t yet got our hands on these new green cookware (sadly, we haven’t yet trashed our Teflon-coated Target Death Pans) but to hear from some people in the know, check out the 88 reviews at HSN of mostly very happy users who relate how pleased they are with these pans.

As a former smoker, I know first hand how hard it is to quit smoking. My many efforts to stop failed until I was truly ready to quit. Whatever works is fair game in my book. The new e-cigarette, available mainly in China and Europe right now, may be just the answer for many who smoke not only for the nicotine but also the tactile pleasures of smoking itself. This new e-cigarette, made with a stainless steel shell, lithium ion battery, micro-electronic circuit, atomizing chamber, and indicator light at the tip delivers nicotine that is inhaled via a cartridge (that you refill as needed) that is inserted into the device. A vapor that mimics smoke is emitted (not much info on the vapor, presumably just water vapor) The “cigarette” even has a led light up on the tip to simulate the burning. At around 200.00 US dollars users will want to make sure they don’t leave it in an ashtray (are there still ashtrays anymore?)

The nicotine cartridges are sold in packages of 50 for around $90.00. While it isn’t marketed in the United States yet, I see where a chinese company, RuyanChina, is selling them online to US customers using pay-pay, etc here. They also sell eCigars.

Who knows if this device will be anymore successful in helping people quit than the nicorette gum and patches but if helps cut down on people polluting our streets, houses, restaurants, and other public areas with toxic smoke I am all for it. Second-hand smoke is a killer. Nicotine is no sloucher either, last I heard Nicotine is a major contributer to coronary artery disease but if it helps the user actually quit it seems worth it.

No information yet on when eWeed and eCrack will become available.

I don’t get carbon offsetting. It’s like pouring oil down the sewer grate after an oil-change and then donating 20 bucks to Greenpeace so you don’t feel guilty about your toxic oil heading for the harbor. I don’t see how that’s much different than the idea of paying someone to plant a treefarm so you won’t feel bad about that cross-country airline ticket.

My suspicious nature wonders about how verifiable some of these carbon credit outfits are. Like the plant-a-tree-today.org or Dell Computer’s plant a tree for me campaign. I worry it’s a half-measure at best, giving people an excuse to postpone the difficult politics needed for significant changes to halt global warming. It will do more to create a lucrative market of pollution trading then it will to help us change from a fossil fuel based economy to renewable sustainable one. It also helps to paint a happy face on the corporations that are often some of the biggest polluters.

That said, planting a tree can still be a good thing. Trees can help remove significant amounts of carbon from the atmosphere. But a healthy forest with a thriving total ecosystem is better for people and other living things not just a monoculture of thousands of perfect rows of pine trees in a sterile tree farm. I’m sure many of the carbon trading organizations earnestly attempt to solve our global warming problems but, for me, I would rather directly give money to people fighting for healthy forests. Or even get a shovel and go out in my backyard plant my own tree. If you feel particually daring there is a group of guerrilla gardeners who plant who use direct planting to help make the world a better place. Guerrilla Gardeners is a group worth checking out.

As individuals there is only so much we can do. Planting a tree won’t absolve you of your need to get involved in the bigger political arena or better find earth friendly solutions in your life but it’s nice to do something constructive however small. If you don’t have the space or the green thumb to plant your own then consider donating to Save America’s Forests nationwide campaign to end clearcutting and protect and restore our nation’s wild and natural forests. They also work to help protect the rain-forest in Ecuador. Of course there are other groups doing similar work and equally deserving of your attention.

Check out the powerful and masterful imagery by the world renowned photographer, Yann Arthus-Bertrand. This famous French photographer’s work often speaks to environmental issues in a artful manner. His official website has an extensive selection of his works, especially interesting is his Earth from the Air Series. Good Planet.org is another site that features his work and ecological activist goals, check out the Alive Exhibition featured on the site as well. There is also a shopping area where you can buy posters and the like.
I would post an image of his work but I hesitate to post any art images without permission.

Just saw this wonderful animation created by Molly Schwartz in a VideoNation/Hidden Driver production where she artfully displays the green advantages of eating locally.

seen on GroovyGreen
and eatlocalchallenge.com

Also check out our previous post on eating locally here.

Our move from New England to Southern California brings the issue of water usage to the forefront. Water conservation in Boston isn’t nearly the issue it is here in San Diego. It is amazing that so many here take for granted the diminishing source of water that is brought from the Colorado river 250 miles away. The politics of water is huge and too complex to discuss here but an excellent and fascinating read on the subject is Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water by Marc Reisner. This book, while written awhile ago, is still very timely and is one of the best books written on the subject.

Southern California is in a near-drought state after 1 year of record low rains so we are looking into ways to save on water use. It amazes me how much water is used and then “discarded” by simply washing your hands, showering, clothes or dishwashing. Naturally you want to think about ways to reuse this “greywater”, if more people were able to reuse this “greywater” for flushing toilets and/or watering lawns and gardens it would result in a significant savings of water.

For home owners with the money available to install new rewater systems in their home there exists some terrific but pricy solutions, the ReWater system captures, filters and reuses shower, tub, bathroom sink, and laundry water, 50% of all water used inside a residence. This can then be ReWater’s under or above ground drip irrigation systems which are claimed to be at least 30% and up to 60% more efficient than sprinklers. The pricing will vary significantly on several factors but you could expect to pay several thousand for both the filter and irrigation systems.

Sadly, we don’t have that kind of cash and only rent our place. But there are still some options that range from free to affordable. One approach, offered by GreyWater Guerrillas shows how to simply remove the piping under your sink and let it drain into a bucket that you can then pour into your toilet tank to flush with (or water plants, etc) They also put out a book “Dam Nation Dispatches from the Water Underground” that they discuss on their website and have many other resources on water issues.

The bucket under the sink definitely won’t fly with my wife although my dog is cool with it. A more elegant solution that does somewhat the same thing is the Aqus, that helps you capture and reuse sink water to flush toilets. They claim their technology can save 10 - 20 gallons of water a day. The Ecogeek blog has a good article about this system here.

Another possibility to save on bathroom water use is offered from Caroma, an Australian toilet maker’s Profile toilet suite that directly convert your toilet tank into a sink. A more basic and affordable possibility is the Toilet Lid Sink from Peddler’s Wagon for only $89.00.

Treehugger’s excellent article, “How to Green Your Water” is another great place for more info on saving water at home.

A note to any regular readers: We have finally settled into our new place in San Diego, Our move from Boston to San Diego interrupted the frequency of posts here for the past few weeks but should return to normal now.