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!