Alot of parents and other gift-givers are in a quandary about how to buy safe toys for kids, when so many contaminated toys have made it to stores in the U.S.
Although many of the toxic toys have been taken off the shelf, buyers need to be especially careful this year. There is absolutely no guarantee that the toys in the stores right now are truly safe; it is possible they have just not been discovered as being unsafe.
Coop America (are you a member yet? It's a great subscription: green news, fair trade, discounts, etc - ) www.coopamerica.org has a list of 10 Green (and safe) toys to give.
Please click on this website: www.coopamerica.org/programs/shopunshop/10GreenToys.cfm
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
GI's go GREEN, save lives in Iraq !
A 5 year old think tank for military innovation has added a positive green twist to the lives of GI's in Iraq. Previously, the Rapid Equipping Force had come up with several ideas to save soldiers' lives, such as robots to search caves in Afghanistan, an acoustic sniper finder and a laser pointer to flag down cars at night.
Instead of a new gadget, this time, Joe Amadee III, of contractor Synovision Solutions, proposed a green solution. How could a an environmentally friendly solution help save lives?
He and an Oklahoma roofing contractor sprayed foam onto soldier's tents at the desert base east of Baghdad.
The huge, heat-absorbing tent barracks were turned into rigid shells of 2-inch insulation. The solution improves soldier's lives in two ways: 1. The soldiers are subject to less extreme temperatures while they are in the tents, and 2. Because the insulation reduced the need to heat the tents, they are going out on fewer trips in their conveys to obtain the fuel. As most people know, many of the deaths and injuries are received while out on convoys.
The more fuel a base uses, the more convoys that have to venture out to obtain fuel. Dan Nolan of Rapid Equipping Force says the price of insulation, which works out to about $30,000 a tent, is worth it. Preliminary data show that insulation tents can cut a base's fuel use by 40 percent, he said.
So the soldiers are more comfortable, and they are safer, plus there is an approximate 40% reduction in fuel use!
Gleaned from Denver Post 11/29/07; by The Los Angeles Times
Instead of a new gadget, this time, Joe Amadee III, of contractor Synovision Solutions, proposed a green solution. How could a an environmentally friendly solution help save lives?
He and an Oklahoma roofing contractor sprayed foam onto soldier's tents at the desert base east of Baghdad.
The huge, heat-absorbing tent barracks were turned into rigid shells of 2-inch insulation. The solution improves soldier's lives in two ways: 1. The soldiers are subject to less extreme temperatures while they are in the tents, and 2. Because the insulation reduced the need to heat the tents, they are going out on fewer trips in their conveys to obtain the fuel. As most people know, many of the deaths and injuries are received while out on convoys.
The more fuel a base uses, the more convoys that have to venture out to obtain fuel. Dan Nolan of Rapid Equipping Force says the price of insulation, which works out to about $30,000 a tent, is worth it. Preliminary data show that insulation tents can cut a base's fuel use by 40 percent, he said.
So the soldiers are more comfortable, and they are safer, plus there is an approximate 40% reduction in fuel use!
Gleaned from Denver Post 11/29/07; by The Los Angeles Times
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Note to I.R.E.A.: Get R.E.A.L. !!!
The I.R.E.A. (Intermountain Rural Electric Association) is the 11th largest electric co-op in the United States.
The I.R.E.A. needs to get R.E.A.L. (Renewables Enhance All Life; annie's term).
One would think, with this size of co-op, it would express a fairly progressive philosophy regarding future energy needs. That is, one would think IREA would be looking at all possible and positive means to meet the exploding population in this area, as well as taking climate change and depleting resources into serious consideration. For example, Xcel energy has broken ground on a new solar plant, and has worked to educate consumers regarding conservation and the need for renewable energy. There are hundreds of other examples.
That is what one would expect of a good "corporate citizen".
And we're not talking just about Al Gore here. The vast majority of business, government and other entities have finally come around to the fact that global warming (or climate change) is real, and is an escalating threat, not just to polar bears, but to all life on earth. Groups as divergent as Ford Motor Company (Denver Post 4/24/07), school districts, and churches (Genesis Church in Castle Rock, CO Denver Post 6/29/07) have expressed concern and their resolve to decrease their impact on the earth's resources. Most people that I have spoken with have expressed concerns about the environment. Many people have taken their own initiative to do everything they can to reduce their personal impact.
Yet the IREA seems to be moving in the opposite direction! This was so hard for me to understand that I sat through two different presentations by IREA officials before I could grasp the depths to which they would go to push their antiquated agenda. "Press on, regardless!" seems to be their philosophy regarding additional coal plants (Comanche 3 in Pueblo, CO), and it is my belief, amongst many others, that they are truly backpedalling into the 20th Century as fast as they can. (Additionally, I attended 4 other presentations: 3 by highly respected scientists, and one by Al Gore. These 4 presentations were very convincing on climate change.)
To this aim, the IREA has paid more than $100,000 to obtain opinions and "scientific facts" that support their philosophy. Many of their sources have been debunked. I know I didn't OK any of my monies to be spent this way; did you? They also seem to take bits and pieces of facts and rearrange them to agree with their head-in-the-sand attitude. At a recent meeting, I got Stan Lewandowski Jr, the General Manager, to admit that they plan to spend even more in an attempt to defeat Colorado Governor Ritter's study recommendation on the environment. I also asked him why the IREA was not focusing on conservation as an important factor in reducing consumption, and his response would have been laughable if it was not so sad. I asked about renewables, and he said, "Well, people can do that if they want...." (this quote to my best recollection); this seemed to imply that the IREA sure wasn't about to encourage it.
Part of the IREA's campaign seems to be not only to characterize climate change as "hysteria" (IREA Watts & Volts most recent insert in their bill), but also to deliberately foster a climate of fear. It seems to me they want to make everyone, especially older or less-advantaged persons, so afraid of climate change that they will vote against their own best interests. (Can't guarantee dependable energy at a decent price in the future, I guess.)This reminds me of the old adage of what FEAR can mean: False Evidence Appearing Real.
Yet if one pays attention to the news, there is evidence every day that exciting growth is taking place in the renewable energy business. As renewables grow and meet the demand, these businesses will flourish. So will jobs.
There is a volunteer group that anyone can join: www.IREAvoices.org This is a small but growing group of IREA members who feel the IREA is not headed in the right direction and needs to be more accountable and transparent to their members. There is no cost to join, and I encourage everyone to do so. Let's join the volunteers, and together we can all help the I.R.E.A. get R.E.A.L.
Thank you!
The I.R.E.A. needs to get R.E.A.L. (Renewables Enhance All Life; annie's term).
One would think, with this size of co-op, it would express a fairly progressive philosophy regarding future energy needs. That is, one would think IREA would be looking at all possible and positive means to meet the exploding population in this area, as well as taking climate change and depleting resources into serious consideration. For example, Xcel energy has broken ground on a new solar plant, and has worked to educate consumers regarding conservation and the need for renewable energy. There are hundreds of other examples.
That is what one would expect of a good "corporate citizen".
And we're not talking just about Al Gore here. The vast majority of business, government and other entities have finally come around to the fact that global warming (or climate change) is real, and is an escalating threat, not just to polar bears, but to all life on earth. Groups as divergent as Ford Motor Company (Denver Post 4/24/07), school districts, and churches (Genesis Church in Castle Rock, CO Denver Post 6/29/07) have expressed concern and their resolve to decrease their impact on the earth's resources. Most people that I have spoken with have expressed concerns about the environment. Many people have taken their own initiative to do everything they can to reduce their personal impact.
Yet the IREA seems to be moving in the opposite direction! This was so hard for me to understand that I sat through two different presentations by IREA officials before I could grasp the depths to which they would go to push their antiquated agenda. "Press on, regardless!" seems to be their philosophy regarding additional coal plants (Comanche 3 in Pueblo, CO), and it is my belief, amongst many others, that they are truly backpedalling into the 20th Century as fast as they can. (Additionally, I attended 4 other presentations: 3 by highly respected scientists, and one by Al Gore. These 4 presentations were very convincing on climate change.)
To this aim, the IREA has paid more than $100,000 to obtain opinions and "scientific facts" that support their philosophy. Many of their sources have been debunked. I know I didn't OK any of my monies to be spent this way; did you? They also seem to take bits and pieces of facts and rearrange them to agree with their head-in-the-sand attitude. At a recent meeting, I got Stan Lewandowski Jr, the General Manager, to admit that they plan to spend even more in an attempt to defeat Colorado Governor Ritter's study recommendation on the environment. I also asked him why the IREA was not focusing on conservation as an important factor in reducing consumption, and his response would have been laughable if it was not so sad. I asked about renewables, and he said, "Well, people can do that if they want...." (this quote to my best recollection); this seemed to imply that the IREA sure wasn't about to encourage it.
Part of the IREA's campaign seems to be not only to characterize climate change as "hysteria" (IREA Watts & Volts most recent insert in their bill), but also to deliberately foster a climate of fear. It seems to me they want to make everyone, especially older or less-advantaged persons, so afraid of climate change that they will vote against their own best interests. (Can't guarantee dependable energy at a decent price in the future, I guess.)This reminds me of the old adage of what FEAR can mean: False Evidence Appearing Real.
Yet if one pays attention to the news, there is evidence every day that exciting growth is taking place in the renewable energy business. As renewables grow and meet the demand, these businesses will flourish. So will jobs.
There is a volunteer group that anyone can join: www.IREAvoices.org This is a small but growing group of IREA members who feel the IREA is not headed in the right direction and needs to be more accountable and transparent to their members. There is no cost to join, and I encourage everyone to do so. Let's join the volunteers, and together we can all help the I.R.E.A. get R.E.A.L.
Thank you!
Friday, September 21, 2007
14 Gas Saving Tips
14 Gas Saving Tips
1. Buy gas early in the morning. (afternoon sun heats gas, causing it to expand, and you pay for more than you actually receive. Also, it adds to air pollution.)
2. Never top off your tank. Natural expansion will make excess fuel spill out.
3. After filling tank, lift the handle and count to 5 so the remaining gas you’ve already paid for trickles in.
4. Tighten the gas cap. Gas can evaporate from your tank.
5. Keep your tires fully inflated. (you lose 2% fuel inefficiency for each pound of pressure you are low)
6. Tighten the gas cap. Gas can evaporate from your tank.
7 Make sure your wheels are aligned. Otherwise, your engine & fuel work harder, not to mention your tires and suspension.
8. Get regular tune-ups and car maintenance checks.
9. Combine errands into one trip whenever possible.
10. Make sure you’re ready to go before starting the engine. Fasten your seat belt and take care of anything else you need to do. Idling for 2 minutes uses enough gas to drive ONE MILE !!! Parents, are you idling your car while waiting to pick up or drop off your students at school?
11. Try to rid yourself of the habit of “warming up the car” before you get into it. You are getting ZERO MPG, polluting the air, and most vehicles perform well without the warm-up.
12. Remove any unnecessary weight inside, and any unnecessary encumbrances on the outside. (Remove storage bins, bike and ski racks if not using them; your car will glide more smoothly through the air and thus you will get better mileage. Inside: are you hauling around things you don’t need to?) Added weight/air disturbance contributes to reduced MPG; think what happens when you stick your hand out the window while driving down the highway.
13. Close your windows; you will get less air drag. Hard to do on a nice day, though!
14. Avoid gunning the gas when the light turns green, racing to the next light, and screeching to a stop at the last second, unless you’re qualifying for the Indy 500. Yeah, you won the race to the next red light but your car has gulped a lot more gas, and you have just been hard on the brakes. Try to time your approach to the lights, but be aware of the traffic around (and behind) you.
15. Slow Down. Driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph can get your 3 more mpg.
/anniesecotips/mas/9/21/07/various sources
1. Buy gas early in the morning. (afternoon sun heats gas, causing it to expand, and you pay for more than you actually receive. Also, it adds to air pollution.)
2. Never top off your tank. Natural expansion will make excess fuel spill out.
3. After filling tank, lift the handle and count to 5 so the remaining gas you’ve already paid for trickles in.
4. Tighten the gas cap. Gas can evaporate from your tank.
5. Keep your tires fully inflated. (you lose 2% fuel inefficiency for each pound of pressure you are low)
6. Tighten the gas cap. Gas can evaporate from your tank.
7 Make sure your wheels are aligned. Otherwise, your engine & fuel work harder, not to mention your tires and suspension.
8. Get regular tune-ups and car maintenance checks.
9. Combine errands into one trip whenever possible.
10. Make sure you’re ready to go before starting the engine. Fasten your seat belt and take care of anything else you need to do. Idling for 2 minutes uses enough gas to drive ONE MILE !!! Parents, are you idling your car while waiting to pick up or drop off your students at school?
11. Try to rid yourself of the habit of “warming up the car” before you get into it. You are getting ZERO MPG, polluting the air, and most vehicles perform well without the warm-up.
12. Remove any unnecessary weight inside, and any unnecessary encumbrances on the outside. (Remove storage bins, bike and ski racks if not using them; your car will glide more smoothly through the air and thus you will get better mileage. Inside: are you hauling around things you don’t need to?) Added weight/air disturbance contributes to reduced MPG; think what happens when you stick your hand out the window while driving down the highway.
13. Close your windows; you will get less air drag. Hard to do on a nice day, though!
14. Avoid gunning the gas when the light turns green, racing to the next light, and screeching to a stop at the last second, unless you’re qualifying for the Indy 500. Yeah, you won the race to the next red light but your car has gulped a lot more gas, and you have just been hard on the brakes. Try to time your approach to the lights, but be aware of the traffic around (and behind) you.
15. Slow Down. Driving 55 mph instead of 65 mph can get your 3 more mpg.
/anniesecotips/mas/9/21/07/various sources
Make a Big Difference in the Bathroom !
The use of new wood to create paper products uses a tremendous amount of electricity, water, let alone the trees themselves. Most of us know that. Here is a simple way to make a big difference. Seventh Generation makes alot of green products. One of them is bathroom tissue. At the regular supermarket, it costs a fair amount more than the standard tissue. But you can purchase 1000 sheets of 100% recycled paper for 99 cents at Vitamin Cottage stores. (Price could be subject to change.) This is a really good price. You can purchase either one-play or two-ply. Before you say "ewww", be assured of the following: this 100% recycled paper is hypo-allergenic and whitened without chlorine bleach. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1000 sheet virgin paper bathroom tissue with 100% recycled ones, we could save: * 469,000 trees *1.2 million cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 1700 full garbage trucks * 159 million gallons of water, which is a year's supply for 1300 families of four. Now, isn't that worth it? (Annie receives no compensation or other benefit from this blog.)
Monday, August 27, 2007
Buy 100% Recycled Copy Paper
We all know that it's best to use recycled paper for our copy needs at home, school and office. Until recently, purchasing recycled paper was a little difficult for Coloradans.
You can now purchase 100% Recycled Paper from Staples and Office Max. Probably from Office Depot, also. Previously, you could pick up partially recycled paper (around 30%).
The price is reasonable, too.
100% recycled copy paper uses 100% fewer trees, 43% less energy used, 36% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and 49% less water used!
What's not to like?
You can now purchase 100% Recycled Paper from Staples and Office Max. Probably from Office Depot, also. Previously, you could pick up partially recycled paper (around 30%).
The price is reasonable, too.
100% recycled copy paper uses 100% fewer trees, 43% less energy used, 36% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and 49% less water used!
What's not to like?
Friday, August 3, 2007
Water Facts from the EPA
Drinking Water Facts and Figures:
* 66% of the human body is water; 75% of the human brain is water. (Ever wonder why you get a headache when you've exerting yourself in hot weather?)
* 75% of a chicken, 80% of a pineapple, and 95% of a tomato is water.
* A person must consume 2.5 quarts of water per day from all sources (drinking, eating) to maintain health.
* Water regulates the earth's temperature. It also reguates the temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, cushions joints, protects organs, and removes wastes.
* It is possible for people today to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era.
USAGE
* Industries as well as people need water. It takes on average, 39,090 gallons of H2O to manufacture a new car and it's 4 tires. 62,600 gallons of water are needed to produce one ton of steel; 1,500 gallons to process one barrel of beer; and 9.3 gallons to process one can of fruit or vegetables.
* On average, 50-70% of household water is used outdoors (water lawns, washing cars, etc)
* The average American uses over 100 gallons of water per day; the average residence uses over 100,000 gallons during a year.
* Americans drink more than 1 Billion glasses of tap water per day. (MAS note: this needs updating; not sure what the stats are on our bottled water usage are.)
INFRASTRUCTURE
* The average cost for water supplied to a home in the U.S. is about $2.00 for 1,000 gallons, which equals about 5 gallons for 1 penny.
* It costs over $3.5 billion to operate water systems throughout the U.S. each year.
MINIMIZE PRODUCTION OF WASTE
* Learn who your water supplier is, where the water comes from, whether shortages have occured in your community.
* Repair leaking faucets and toilets. (MAS note: Many water suppliers can provide you leak testers and other items, such as low-flow faucets, for free)
* Take short showers. (MAS note: you can reduce the water that goes down the drain by installing low-flow showerheads, or installing a simple water cutoff to use when you are soaping up.)
* Turn off water while brushing your teeth. (MAS note: Capture the water you are warming up, too. Use it to wash your toothpaste spit down the drain.)
* Turn off the hose while washing your car.
* Be careful and prudent with your water use outside. (MAS note: use soaker hoses or drip systems; water in early morning or early evening to reduce evaporation. Also, your hoses may need new gaskets; the little rubber things you find inside the hose. If they are old, they'll leak.)
* MAS note: In the winter, protect your water line by blanketing the outside faucets; this can help prevent a rupture.
For more information: call Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit the safewater web site at www.epa.gov/safewater.
Source: EPA Handout "Water Facts," 2004.
* 66% of the human body is water; 75% of the human brain is water. (Ever wonder why you get a headache when you've exerting yourself in hot weather?)
* 75% of a chicken, 80% of a pineapple, and 95% of a tomato is water.
* A person must consume 2.5 quarts of water per day from all sources (drinking, eating) to maintain health.
* Water regulates the earth's temperature. It also reguates the temperature of the human body, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, cushions joints, protects organs, and removes wastes.
* It is possible for people today to drink water that was part of the dinosaur era.
USAGE
* Industries as well as people need water. It takes on average, 39,090 gallons of H2O to manufacture a new car and it's 4 tires. 62,600 gallons of water are needed to produce one ton of steel; 1,500 gallons to process one barrel of beer; and 9.3 gallons to process one can of fruit or vegetables.
* On average, 50-70% of household water is used outdoors (water lawns, washing cars, etc)
* The average American uses over 100 gallons of water per day; the average residence uses over 100,000 gallons during a year.
* Americans drink more than 1 Billion glasses of tap water per day. (MAS note: this needs updating; not sure what the stats are on our bottled water usage are.)
INFRASTRUCTURE
* The average cost for water supplied to a home in the U.S. is about $2.00 for 1,000 gallons, which equals about 5 gallons for 1 penny.
* It costs over $3.5 billion to operate water systems throughout the U.S. each year.
MINIMIZE PRODUCTION OF WASTE
* Learn who your water supplier is, where the water comes from, whether shortages have occured in your community.
* Repair leaking faucets and toilets. (MAS note: Many water suppliers can provide you leak testers and other items, such as low-flow faucets, for free)
* Take short showers. (MAS note: you can reduce the water that goes down the drain by installing low-flow showerheads, or installing a simple water cutoff to use when you are soaping up.)
* Turn off water while brushing your teeth. (MAS note: Capture the water you are warming up, too. Use it to wash your toothpaste spit down the drain.)
* Turn off the hose while washing your car.
* Be careful and prudent with your water use outside. (MAS note: use soaker hoses or drip systems; water in early morning or early evening to reduce evaporation. Also, your hoses may need new gaskets; the little rubber things you find inside the hose. If they are old, they'll leak.)
* MAS note: In the winter, protect your water line by blanketing the outside faucets; this can help prevent a rupture.
For more information: call Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or visit the safewater web site at www.epa.gov/safewater.
Source: EPA Handout "Water Facts," 2004.
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