by Rachel Tanis
You’ve probably heard it said that whenever you change your clocks, you should also change your smoke and carbon-monoxide detector batteries. It is a great suggestion that was put forth by fire departments years ago in an effort to improve the safety of the community. The idea was simple and the message was repeated often enough that everyone got the concept and remembered year after year.
One week from this Sunday, on March 8th, we will “spring forward” or advance our clocks one hour for daylight savings time. I think that it is a good time to think about our smoke detector batteries, as well as take a look around and think about how we can green up our own spaces. For instance, why not think about starting this spring a little brighter and better for the earth by making a list of things that you can do on a regular basis to improve the environment.
Take a cue from the fire department’s and make the events coincide with a date or event so that they will be easily remembered. Here’s a little list that I’ve started. Find things that you can add to make it your own and then share your suggestions with others here by posting a comment.
> Annual Basis: Review your accounts and check billing statements and options every year on New Year’s Day. Most of us are too mentally exhausted to do anything that’s very involved on New Year’s Day, but here’s something that I’m betting we can probably all handle. Review all of your accounts and make sure that everyone is sending you an electronic version of your billing statement or other important account information. It will cut down on the amount of paper mail being sent out, and lessens the likelihood that a stack of bills will get lost.
> Monthly Basis: On the first day of the month change your furnace filter. It is recommended that furnace filters are changed on a monthly basis to keep your furnace running at its highest efficiency.
> Weekly Basis: Take every ________ (fill in your favorite day here) night off from the television. Pick the day of the week when programming isn’t really to your liking anyway, and this will be a much easier transition. You’ll save on energy bills and consume less electricity. You might even just get a thing or two done on that night that you’ve been putting off for a while. Remember, taking a night off from television only counts if you aren’t replacing it with another energy-consuming time-passer like the internet or computer-gaming.
> Daily Basis: Stock up on energy-efficient replacements for batteries, light-bulbs and more so that you have greener options when something goes bad. By replacing an inefficient light bulb with a greener choice, or a standard battery with a rechargeable one, you are not only saving the environment, but also some serious coin!
Spring Forward!
Searching for a Better Commute
By Rachel Tanis
In this rough economic season there is little to be happy about when it comes to discussing the job market. However, the recent turn of events that have resulted in lay-offs and pink slips is proving to be a plus for the environment in some ways, and may just perhaps change the workplace as we know it.
If you have had to drive into work or school lately you may have noticed that traffic is lighter because less people are commuting. For some, it is because they don’t have a job to commute to, but for others it is because they have worked out a deal with their employers that allow them to work from home and save the company money.
Many employers, like Sprint and several universities across the nation, allow their employees to telecommute. This means that they can work from their home computers and fax or email work in to the office, host meetings via Web Ex or their web-cam, or even operate a telephone answering service from their home line.
For employers, they find that they are saving money on everything from office space to paper to electric bills to coffee and Styrofoam cups. Employees, on the other hand, are given more flexibility and save on dry-cleaning bills, gas and car costs and much more.
The savings are not insignificant for either party and have prompted a review of many company’s telecommuting policies. The trend began about a decade ago when working mother’s begged for their employers to offer either on-site daycare or telecommunication options.
Several months ago when energy costs skyrocketed, companies moved at a lightening-fast pace to accommodate telecommuting. The results have been mostly positive for both companies and employees, which begs the question of whether this trend will continue even after the economy recovers.
At your next job interview, or at your current place of employment, consider asking about the company’s telecommuting policies. The answer might surprise you!
Jatropha’s a Win-Win
By Rachel Tanis
Critics and skeptics alike are quick to put the kibosh on renewable energy sources like corn-based ethanol because they claim that growing food for energy diverts it from the starving mouths of underdeveloped countries. So, it is no surprise that amid the cries of environmental concern and the need to end our dependence on foreign oil, voices that fear change are heard louder than those who are considering what there is to be done about the problems.
Fear, after all, is a common ailment that we all empathize with, and in which resonates a tone that is audible to the youngest and oldest ears of our society. Fear is non-discriminating. Ideas, well, they are not so commonly shared. Good ones are hard to come by, and even great ones have a high rate of failure. Ideas are easily trampled and are often left to rot rather than given a second-chance.
Fear is the acid in a solution that dissolves new ideas before they are fully developed. That’s why you probably haven’t heard of many of the proposals and alternatives in the green movement: fear has gobbled them up, dissolving before they were aloud to blossom. But, here’s one proposal whose base is so good that I’m betting it gives acid like fear a run for its money.
Jatropha is a tree that grows and produces seeds rich in oil. Historically, the seeds were used to fuel long-burning oil lamps around the world. Recently, they fueled a 747 jet across New Zealand. What’s even more encouraging is that jatropha is not difficult to grow. Some even use the old euphemism, saying that it “grows like a weed.” It does not have to be re-planted year after year, and is currently being grown around the globe. Jatropha and similar non-edible bio-diesels are growing in popularity because they don’t take away from food supplies. The trees can also work to capture four tons of carbon dioxide per acre of forest.
(Padgett) An American-based company, My Dream Fuel, is currently growing the trees in Fort Meyers, Florida with incredible success. The climate there is so well-suited for the trees that My Dream Fuel’s crop may yield up to eight times as much oil as is reaped in places like India and Africa, where the harvest is already considered successful. (Padgett)In addition, poorer countries like many of those found in the Caribbean are benefiting from the goodwill spread by the trees that are donated to them from companies like My Dream Fuel.
My Dream Fuel donates trees to nations that would normally be forced to choose between growing bio-fuels or crops. Both are necessary to the struggling nation’s economies, yet both are also in short supply. Jatropha was introduced to scientists and investors at the annual National Bio-diesel Conference on February 1st, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Padgett)
I certainly don’t pretend to have the answers or even that jatropha is a magic wand that will erase all of our energy concerns, but let’s hope that there’s a solution out there that can neutralize fear and allow us to move forward in our search for a greener tomorrow. That process begins with listening ears that are able to turn down the streaming squawk of fear in favor of intelligent ideas.
Sources for this article include:
Padgett, Tim. “The Next Big Biofuel?” Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1874835,00.html(8 Feb 2009)
Padgett, Tim. “The Next Big Biofuel?” Time Videos.
http://www.time.com/time/video/?bcpid=1485842900&bctid=9561533001 (8 Feb 2009)
Redell, Bob. “Fruity Fuel is Hit at SF Conference.” MSNBC.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28996863/ (8 Feb 2009)
Sustainable White Green House
By Rachel Tanis
This past week President Obama chose a new and somewhat unexpected assistant chef to help run the kitchen in the White House. The chef, Sam Kass, is a 28-year-old Chicagoan who fed the first family when they resided in the Windy City. Kass graduated from the University of Chicago and had some training in Europe before working at a trendy Chicago eatery and then moving on to serve the Obama’s. Kass also runs his own business, Inevitable Table.
Kass is a big believer in the sustainable food movement. He will serve the Obama’s (as well as any other White House guests) meals made with local, sustainable ingredients. Sustainable kitchens have become a big part of the green movement because they incorporate environmental initiatives with just plain great food.
Sustainable kitchens are supplied with fresh vegetables from locally grown gardens (preferably as local as one’s backyard) and local meats that come from real local ranches instead of commercial meat farmers. This cuts down on the amount of shipping that the food must go through before it reaches your cutting board. It also ensures that you know what chemical sprays or additives are or aren’t there.
Commercial farms have certainly changed the way that we eat, and impacted our economy. However, some would argue that commercial farming is detrimental to the average person’s diet as well as the environment. Commercial produce farms grow and harvest crops that are then shipped all over the world.
While it is convenient and nice to enjoy Florida oranges during a Michigan winter or Michigan cherries during a Florida heat wave, it is also costly to the environment. Huge tractors are involved in every facet of farming, which leaves a large carbon footprint. From there, semi-trucks and planes use oil-based fuels to ship the goods where they need to go.
The damage doesn’t just apply to produce. Farm-raised animals are also causing damage. Commercial dairy and meat farms often raise the most animals that can be fit onto a ranch, with little regard to what those close quarters mean to food quality. It is no coincidence that as commercial meat farms have increased, so has mad cow disease.
Many of the highest quality restaurants will only purchase “pasture-raised” animals. That’s a lot like saying “free-range” when talking about chickens. It means that the animals have room to roam and can enjoy many different varieties of vegetation, instead of just the limited diet provided to them. This provides leaner meat on animals that can roam, and tastier milk and meat on those that are aloud to consume different foods.
While it certainly would not be surprising now to see a vegetable garden at the White House, one must wonder if we’ll see chickens running around anytime soon!
For more on the sustainable White House, click on this link to hear or read an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered.
LINK: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98613372
Sources for information featured in this week’s post include:
http://www.startribune.com/politics/38589597.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUsT
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2009/01/30/barack-obama-eating-sustainable-local-food-in-white-house/
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