Use that computer baby!

So, a public service announcement. Don't be like me. When your laptop breaks, do what you can to fix it instead of buying a new one. It's super hard on the environment to make a new computer.

"'The manufacture of brand new computer models uses more than four times the energy and resources it would take to extend the life of an older machine for another few years,' says Sheila Davis, executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition" on The Green Guide.



Find information on computer takebacks, visit Computertakeback.com.

Ask Metafilter for ideas for making your old computer last.

Kevin 2.0 has instructions for turning your old laptop hard drive into a USB drive.

Also, check out people's ideas for Old Joel's old laptop, including "Set up the screen saver to scroll the Unabomber's Manifesto, then leave it unattended in the airport. Watch hilarity ensue."

Once you were waste, now you are disaster relief..

Earthquake! We had an earthquake last night - minor, as it epicentered 2 hours south in San Jose-ish - but it inspired me to offer you the most duh green tip ever.

Take every water bottle you've used once - preferrably glass jars - and fill them back up with potable water. Store them in the back corner of your fridge (or freezer, if they're plastic).



1. Full fridges are easier to keep cool (take less energy).
2. A new use for that old bottle!
3. You'll never notice them.
4. You will have safe drinking water if THE UNTHINKABLE occurs. And I bet no matter where you live, there is some kind of unthinkable that might occur to your water supply, even if it's not an earthquake.

And on that scary doomsday note, I leave you to your filling.

EcoEscape

Oh, Eco Tourism.

EcoEscape is an online green trip planner for travels in the UK.
The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) offers training and resources for sustainable travel
and so does the Nature Conservancy.

Now, I tend to shy away from these things. Maybe it's growing up in Colorado, but I have never had the drive to travel to far away places and look at a mountain or something. Maybe it's a lack of adventurous spirit. Or maybe it's the 1990 trip to Cave of the Winds, where a well-meaning tourguide sternly told our group that we shouldn't touch anything, that our very breathing destroyed the caves a little bit. Sensitive five year old that I was, I tried to hold my breath most of the tour... aaaaaand suddenly you have a very unhappy five year old.
I still remember a guide in the Sahara desert complaining about the Czech tourists throwing water bottles straight into the sand. Cool to see the desert, but even careful me probably had a huge impact on the environment just by living there. Still, I'm happy I'll die having seen the Sahara. It's all a balance I guess.

On another note, the Lapa Rios Ecolodge in Costa Rica is powered by pig feces.

Green Dishwashing

My mom bemoaned the stinky perfumedness of every dish washing liquid soap she'd picked up over the last week. I recommended Method from Target, not knowing that Method's actually eco-friendlier than normal (well, as eco-friendly as you get in a disposable plastic bottle.. snark snark snark). Method's environmental policy statement, or "humanifesto," as they call it reads (in part): "we believe dirty, in all its slimy, smoggy, toxic, disgusting incarnations is public enemy number one. and good always prevails over stinky."



Also, it doesn't smell bad.

And my mom is happy once more.

Green Laundry

As it is for most people, Saturday is my laundry day.

In my building, we pay twice: for the water and electricity used in the laundry room, as well as 1.75 for each run in the washer and each run in the dryer. The coin mechanisms are broken into a lot, so this does not include quarters sacrificed to figure out whether or not a machine works. Yikes. Quarters don't grow on trees, son.

You can only re-wear work shirts and pajamas so much before yes, you too start to smell like Pigpen from Peanuts - you know, with the stink lines following you in the air and stuff. A load a week might be unavoidable.

I do not relish the 3 hours I spent every week washing my clothes by hand in Morocco, so I am going to try to make my washing efficient AND sustainable this week. Oh, compromises.

Help with green laundry detergents from Co-Op America and Science Base (two very different viewpoints).

Since dryers use most of the energy bemoaned in laundering, many eco-launderers recommend line drying, especially on April 19 - National Hanging Out Day. However, many apartment dwellers including myself do not have the Right to Dry.

Exciting facts about line drying: using a clothesline once a week will reduce your carbon-based emissions 50 lbs. per year, and will save you $100 to $300 every year on household energy costs!

Here are some other tips for greening your laundry habits. Check out Sebastopol-based LineDry, an artistic statement about the beauty of line drying.

Homemade Bread

Well, I don't know if this is particularly environmentally friendly per se, but it certainly cuts out a transit step (blah blah carbon emissions blah).. pretty much, it's fun to make your own bread. I like food much better when I see everything that goes into it.

---

White Bread Recipe
2h30m time commitment: 20 minutes prep, 2 hours waiting.
Shopping list: sugar, active dry yeast, salt, vegetable oil, about 1/2 bag flour.
Stuff you should have: bread pan, big bowl, strong stirring spoon, liquid measure (a pyrex), dry measure (1 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 tablespoon, 1/2 teaspoon), serrated bread knife and cutting board (for eating!)

INGREDIENTS
2 cups warm water
2/3 cup white sugar
1.5 tablespoons active dry yeast
1.5 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS
Large bowl: dissolve sugar in warm water, then stir in the yeast. The yeast is happiest with a warm environment and food to eat, so don't boil the poor buggers to death. Wait until the yeast start eating - you can tell when the bowl has a layer of creamy foam.

Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Do not forget the oil like I did. This will require much kneading later and chewier bread.

Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. I like to clean off the countertop and dump a thin layer of flour straight onto it because then I can pretend I have a bakery.

As my mom says, "When the dough looks smooth like a baby's bottom," put it in an oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down! I think this gets the air out so you don't end up with big bubbles in your bread. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans.
Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans. Preheat your oven when it's almost risen. On second thought, don't preheat.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

---

This stuff is made with white flour, so it's pretty much cake with less sugar, but you can modify it with wheat flour and honey, says my mom who made it as a hippie health nut back in her early 20s.

Green Heroes, Crazies?

So there are all kinds of people out there - green monks, if you will - adopting this environmental asceticism business. And if you look at how the majority of the world lives and deals with stuff, it's not entirely crazy.

No Impact Man swore off buying new things except sustainably made socks and underwear. Read the rules for the experiment

Alan Durning and his family went carless for a year in Seattle, as did this family in Minneapolis.

Find tips for sustainable living from the Sightline Institute and maybe join the green layfolk like me.

Apologies for today's liberal use of Catholic metaphors.

New Belgium - Sustainable Beer

New Belgium Brewery, maker of Fat Tire Ale, goes to impressive lengths to make its production sustainable.


Founded by an electrical engineer and a social worker, its employees voted in 1998 to finance a conversion to wind power. New Belgium conserves water, signed on to the 2002 LEED-Existing Buildings pilot program, and recycles much of its materials used. Even spent grain becomes cattle feed. New Belgium comissioned an artist to create its facility stools out of old bike parts, and uses old bottlecaps to build tables. Last but not least, New Belgium has hired a sustainability specialist – keeping people like me in business.

Find out more at the New Belgium website.

Makes ya proud to be from Fort Collins!

Tesco is Coming

Britain's equivalent of Super Wal-Mart will cross the Atlantic soon.


This may not be a terrible thing. Tesco has made some strides towards rectifying the negative impacts of big chain stores on neighborhoods and the environment.

The largest solar roof in the world will sit atop Tesco's California distribution center.

In the UK, they offer a 10p shopping "Bag for Life," replaced for free if it wears out.

And! It is starting to label its produce with carbon footprint stickers.

How cool is that?

But, as Harry warns, Tesco and other UK big businesses might be in it for the image, not the environment. "[Poll] respondents held BP, Tesco and British Airways most guilty of 'greenwash' aimed at creating an eco-friendly corporate image." I don't care why they do it as long as they're greening up, but this business of misleading greenwashing does concern me a bit.

Green Jobs!

As an employee with a one year job, I am always on the lookout for future employment and resources to help me get there. Behold! Today, my prayers were answered.


MonsterTrak offers a guide to all jobs green.

Actics is the new ethical Facebook with some eco-chic bigwigs like TreeHugger contributors, etc. - friend me here!


And an addition from Jen: another terrific search engine from Sustainable Business.

Find ethical jobs of all sorts at Idealist.

An article on GreenBiz.com describes the green job phenomenon.

And... GreenBiz itself "is looking for guest and regular columnists and feature writers. We're seeking contributions from business leaders as well as the journalists who write about them. If you're interested, send a brief query to managing editor Matthew Wheeland, at editor@greenbiz.com"

But my favorite of all is the The GreenBiz JobLink. You can even fill in the drop-down menu to search entry level jobs. Yesssss!

Plastic Bag Makeover

I'm bored and penniless today, and wanted to find a craft project. What better to cheaply fill my time than a recycled plastic bag project from Craftster? You take the bags and iron them together to make a more permanent grocery solution.



Here is a plastic bag fusing tutorial that says you can use office paper instead of parchment paper. This is very exciting!

Here is my attempt, made from a Forever 21 bag, San Francisco Chronicle sleeves, and a picture from the cover of Harper's:


Things I learned:

1. It is good to have parchment paper. You have to be careful when you use separate sheets of paper.
2. It is good to have interesting plastic bags.
3. It is good to have a sewing machine.
4. Plastic bags totally do fuse together! Awesome!

What To Do With a Water Hog Like Me

Confession. I am one of those bad people who take a shower every day.


It's cosmetic, and silly, but it is one of those things that helps me get through life. So here's what I do to make it better.

I keep an old yoghurt container and plop it in the shower with me. Then, I use this sullage/greywater to water my houseplants.

At least that's a pint or so that I'm not completely evilly wasting. I started off with two collectors, but it was more water than I could really use. Someday, I'll have a garden!

There is this thing called "Bucket" officially designed to harvest greywater, but for now I think I'll stick with the yoghurt containers.

Dear old Macalester..

As a progressive liberal arts college, it's about time my alma mater Macalester stepped up to the eco-plate.

Finally, more sustainable cups and napkins! They're ordering the cups from Clovernook, a non-profit based in Cincinnati, OH. "75 percent of the people working in Clovernook's factories are visually impaired, and the extra money collected from the cup sales is used to provide community outreach programs."

They had a Zero Waste Picnic in September... set aside the Eco-House...



... and they are hiring a Sustainability Coordinator for 2008. Apparently, President Rosenberg was one of 414 college and university presidents to sign on to the Presidents Climate Commitment. "Presidents signing the Commitment are pledging to eliminate their campuses' greenhouse gas emissions in a reasonable period of time as determined by each institution." This involves setting up a task force, completing a GHG inventory, creating and implementing a climate neutral plan, taking 2 of the 7 immediate steps specified in the plan, integrate sustainability into the curriculum, and communicating to the public about all this.

An advisory committee of Mac students, faculty, and staff have been molding the Sustainability Coordinator position since this spring.

Spudware and Tater Toppers

Edible utensils?! Short of bread in Morocco, I'd never have thought this possible - until Spudware, utensils made from potatoes!



These utensils are similar to medium tensile strength plasticware, though they withstand heat poorly. Even so, it took me almost 5 minutes with a spudware fork hanging out of my mouth for it to go starchy. The upside of all of this is that spudware biodegrades within 180 days in the landfill, unlike its plastic counterparts.

Local coffee service provider Sonoma Sun Coffee also has Tater Toppers (coffee cup lids) and Cornware - they usually sell to businesses, but they sell on a small scale as well.

Halloween Green

So Halloween is just around the corner, eh? Lots of candy wrappers and one-time-use costumes and stuff. *guilt guilt guilt* Okay, no, this post is just to tell you about some hilarious "green" costume ideas out there.


1. Compact fluorescent light bulb. "Start your costume by donning a tight, white turtleneck and slim white pants or tights. Then inflate a dozen or so long, white balloons, tie them end to end, and wrap them around you from chest to hips for that unique, spiral-bound light bulb look." Save energy while looking cool! (from Green Living.)

2. Used bubblegum. Dress all in pink and tape a shoe to your head. (from The Boulder Camera.)

3. Nerd. "Roll up your jeans, tape your glasses, and do your hair in pigtails." Suspenders and glasses a plus. (Courtesy Making Friends and Shannon.)

4. Robot, my costume of choice, inspired by this video.

(Check out HAUTE*NATURE, a fellow eco-blogspot.commer who listed #1 and #2.) Also, check out TreeHugger's list of green candy, and the Sierra Club's guide to a green Halloween.

Green Up Your Driving Habits

So I have to drive sometimes. Like to take advantage of Home Depot's plant warrantee (they replace dead plants within a year.. oopsies)... I just can't walk or bike, and there aren't busses to go there. I can, however, make the best of things. Behold, top 5 do-able driving best practices to save gas - reducing costs and carbon emissions.




1. Go the speed limit. Herky-jerky stop and start means more gas. Plus, it makes the herky-jerk car behind you delightfully angry, especially here in California.
2. Have good directions and/or call ahead. No aimless driving around!
3. Windows instead of A/C.
4. Keep the tires full and go for regular tune ups. This means your car is operating most efficiently and you'll use less gas.
5. Take as much stuff out as you can. A heavy load means more gas.

Find out more from TreeHugger's How To Green Your Car.

Junking Your Junk Mail

Something for all you who live out there in the Mini-Apple, or St. Paul too: The Twin Cities Green Guide. Information on co-ops, tips for sustainable beer drinking ("Drink locally produced beer to reduce resources used in transportation.") and upcoming green events provided for your Minnesotan edification and delight.


The Green Guide also offers tips for any American to cut down on their junk mail. The Green Guide cites the EPA figures: 5.2 million tons of junk mail are shipped every year; .98 million of those are recycled and 4.2 million of those are trashed. That's 31 pounds of junk mail per person going into the garbage each year. The good news is, you can stop this mail before it even gets in the postal truck! Start with these three easy steps.

1. To stop getting Val-Pak coupons (you know you'll never get that carpet cleaning or those personalized checks!):
Send an e-mail to valerie@valpak.com with REMOVE FROM MAILING in the subject line. Include your address, city, state, and zip/postal code exactly as it appears on the Val-Pak blue envelope or mailing label.

2. To register with a Do-Not Mail Service:
Send a postcard with your name and address to:

Mail Preference Service
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512-0643

3. To opt-out of credit card applications:
Call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688)
(You will have to share your social security number.)

Buying Local

Two happy things happened this Sunday:

1. I bought bread from a bakery (Village Bakery, 1445 Town and Country Dr).
2. I bought pumpkins from a local farm (Frey Rd, off Highway 12).



The nice thing about buying things straight from the source is that I know more about the size of the carbon footprint my purchase makes, because I transport the product for 100% of its journey (or.. at least its final journey in finished form). And it gives me the chance to support local business & economy (I'm being turned into a republican, help! Quick, go look at the BALLE Project and leave me to wrangle with my growing conservative woes).

I mean, not like that makes any significant carbon difference, when I still continue to buy imported cheese from England with Wallace and Gromit on the packaging (shhh), but it gives me leeway to act smug and tout my $1.50 pumpkin with pride. I mean, I need every chance I can get to be smug. My carbon footprint is huge.

Calculate yours here. Especially if you travel abroad.. yikes. You're in for it.

Recycline Preserve Toothbrush

I found a toothrbush in Mill Valley today that is made from recycled yoghurt containers. Wohoo!


The Recycline Preserve toothbrush can even be returned and they will grind it up again. Nice!

Acorn Squash stuffed with Pilaf

As fall approaches, why not enjoy some seasonable vegetables? After all, in-season produce is less likely to be flown in from Chile and more likely to have been grown locally.



Here's vaguely what you do:

Grease shallow pan.
Cut squash in half.
Clean out seeds (save for roasting!).
Placed squash open side down and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

Cook brown rice - Uncle Ben's goes fastest, admittedly. You can throw some carrots in here for cooking.

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil. Add diced apples. Stir in lentils.

Stir cooked rice/carrot/onion/apple/lentil mixture together. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Here is your pilaf!
Spoon this into your finished squash. Top with grated cheese if you're not vegan.

Then, turn the oven down to 300 and remove flesh from the seeds. Salt them and cover them with olive oil. Make sure you remove the covers from your stove burners as this is where the moisture vents out - I once broke an oven roasting pumpkin seeds with the stove burners left covered.

Hempz Pomade

Made of beeswax, Cannabis sativa (Hemp) seed oil and extract, and castor oil, my new hair pomade from Hempz isn't telling you that it actually includes PARABENS!

Aaah!

What a bad, uninformed purchase on my part!

Green Breakfast

So I've finally replaced daily trips to Starbucks or the bagel shop with green tea and a protein smoothie. I like to re-use POM tea glasses or Acher Farms juice bottles to take them along to work with me. Saves money, time, a car trip and empty calories.


Here is my protein shake recipe:

1 banana
1/2 c vanilla yoghurt
1 c orange juice OR milk
1 c frozen strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, peaches, or blueberries
OR 3 tbsp. almond butter (use milk instead of orange juice. ew. also, freeze your banana ahead of time)
1 scoop protein powder

This packs about 30 grams of protein for breakfast overall, more if you use milk & almond butter. Not bad, eh?

When do you turn your car off for a train?

Q. Do you turn your car off for a train or not?
A. If the train will take more than 30 seconds to pass, yes. Idling for 30 seconds or more uses more gas than re-starting a car.

(From The Green Guide.)

Green Glossary

Things I have learned since I started a green job:



Blackwater (or brownwater): water with sewage in it
Greywater: sullage - water from showers, dishwasher, or clothes washer - can sometimes be recycled for irrigation
Freshwater: yay!

Primary waste water treatment: takes out the big pieces and throws them away
Secondary waste water treatment: bacteria eat biological content in waste water
Tertiary waste water treatment: it goes through a filter and can be reused by industry, limited domestic use (golf course watering), and release into streams

Single stream recycling: you throw it all in one bin!

Simple Shoes!

Oh, recycled tires. I marvel at the many attractive things you can become.



These EcoSneaks are made from:
Washed leather and organic cotton canvas uppers
Organic cotton linings
PET laces
PET pedbeds
Yes, that outsole used to be a car tire
Vulcanized rubber sidewall, toecap, and heelcap
100% post consumer paper pulp foot forms

At only $70 bucks, maybe I'll add this to my growing list of purchases to make once the loans have been paid off. Oh, recycled tires! You do pull at my wallet strings so!

Deodorant without the Alzheimer's

Aluminum zirconium: antiperspirant.
Aluminum: linked to Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's: ugly disease.



So it doesn't smell like pretty perfume, but at least I don't smell bad - aluminum-free deodorant is possible, especially now that the weather is cooling. SustainableIsGood.com says "Trader Joe's unscented deodorant is hands down the best natural deodorant I have ever used.... This deodorant is paraben and aluminum free and is actually made with cotton fibers to fight wetness by absorbing moisture."

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing."

Green My Cuisine!

Looking for a certified green restaurant in Alameda, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Emeryville, Fremont, Livermore, Oakland, or San Leandro? Look no further than GreenMyCuisine.com.

"Bay Area restaurants become Certified as Green Restaurants by committing to the following “earth-friendly” environmental and conservation measures:
First, they bring their restaurant operations into compliance with all environmental regulations.
Second, these restaurants adopt pollution prevention and resource conservation practices that are designed to reduce energy and water consumption, reduce food waste, and employ more environmentally-friendly products in their operations. "

How to Look Cool

At a recent meeting of green program coordinators, some of whom have been in the business for ten years or more, I um.. paid very close attention to the issues at hand. Mostly, I brought home notes about how you look eco-chic:

1) Pack your lunch. Preferrably something vegetarian and healthy, and in a re-usable container.

2) Bring your water in a stainless steel bottle. No plastic; that leaches and can't be recycled easily!

3) Use recycled notepaper, take limited notes, or write in margins of papers at hand.

Green Holidays

Depressingly, it is time for winter holiday talk. I am adding to the millieu of pre-Halloween Christmas/Hanukkah discussion. Luckily, Ramadan has already passed for the year or we'd have another monotheistic religion on our hands to deal with. (Ramadan and Eid seem pretty green in my brief experience of them - you eat less, eat with your hands, and walk cookies over to your neighbors - no waste!)


Sustainable forest/recycled Christmas cards from Owl.
Sign the self-righteous Buy Handmade pledge today!

Laura and I were excited to read about this, even though THE HOLIDAYS are still aeons away.



TreeHugger.com has an eco-friendly Gift Guide for Christmas and Hanukkah. As one who recently begun to relish wrapping presents in brown grocery bags, I am excited by this guide to buying the gifts themselves. Find out about fabric gift bags, recycled glass ornaments, and natural beeswax Hanukkah candles. See what you think!

Green Drinks!

Looking for some green camaraderie? Check out your local chapter of Green Drinks!

"Every month people who work in the environmental field meet up for a beer at informal sessions known as Green Drinks. We have a lively mixture of people from NGOs, academia, government and business. Come along and you'll be made welcome."


An international phenomenon, you should be able to find a relatively local chapter. My co-workers and I enjoyed September's Green Drinks in the City of Sonoma (granted, we were the youngest patrons there, but I don't think that's always the case).

Green Clothes Cleaners

So I wondered idly the other day why clothes didn't smell bad when I'd brought them home from the cleaners.



Turns out, Brookwood is an organic cleaner! That's why it's so expensive!

An article from OrganicConsumers.org says that "Regulators say the chief villain is perchloroethylene, the solvent that gives clothes that whiff of synthetic sweetness."

Well, not so on my clothes!