Really, Really Green (July 2008)

Reprinted from the July 2008 Edition of Neighbors Newspaper

Summer is finally here, complete with barbecues, beaches, and, ...well…bugs. But, are you worried that you can’t hold a raging party this summer with all of those disposable products, without also harming the planet? Fear not, you can still have an awesome bash on the Fourth and keep it green. Just in time for summer, here are a few tips to lighten your load as you light up the BBQ pits and cool down by the pool.
Greening Up for Summer

- “Healthy” Sunscreen. 89% of the sunscreens out there do not do what they are intended to do and most contain highly toxic materials. Most sunscreens only protect against UVB rays, the ones that burn, and not UVA, the damaging ones that cause cancer. This summer, try sunscreens with zinc (zinc oxide). They may leave your skin a little white, but you’ll avoid some of the unintended ingredients.

- BBQ’s Are The Pits – Well, not really, but those charcoal briquettes can be a downer when they emit more than 105 times the carbon monoxide of a propane bbq, as well as many volatile organic compounds. Make the switch to propane and even consider using a solar oven to do baking rather than your traditional oven. Hey, it can even cook a baked potato.

- Biodegradable Plates – Plastic accounts for over 90% of debris floating in the oceans. This summer, if you don’t have enough washable plates for your party, choose plates, cups and silverware made from soy, or wheat, for example that are easily compostable and biodegradable. You can find these at Whole Foods, Henrys or other markets. These typically break down in 3-6 weeks, keep items out of the landfill and make great soil for your garden.

- Compost Bins For Everyone – Not sure what to do with all of the food scraps from your summer BBQs or all of the produce leftover from the farmers market? Why not make a compost pile to turn that food into useable soil? Even apartments can compost on their balcony or use a countertop composter. There are many options today, making composting easy and virtually work free. Your local gardening supply center can tell you how to make one or have a few for sale.

- Drop the DEET – While bugs are annoying to say the least, it’s not cool to douse your family and pets in cancer-causing poisons just to eliminate a few bugs. Instead try alternatives like planting rosemary, a garlic barrier or even a Mosquito Magnet. Some of those tiki-torches also come with mosquito deterrent materials.

- Get Outdoors – Turning your AC unit up just a few degrees can save you quite a bit of money this summer. Consider planting trees around your house to shade and cool the building, as well as opening windows and using fans to circulate the air. Run your errands during the hottest part of the day, to give your AC unit a break as well.

- Cut That Grass By Hand, sort of – While lawns aren’t a great idea for southern California, for those of who can’t kick the lawn habit, try a push-lawnmower (reel mower) or an electric lawnmower to “cut down” on pollution and noise.

- Support Bees – A recent documentary ‘Silence of the Bees’ reports that we are losing bee populations globally, and this major loss in pollinators could mean serious collapse of our food systems. At this rate, we will lose all bees globally by 2035. That is serious and that is soon. Plant flowers that bloom year-round, and check with your local garden center for specific “bee-friendly” florals.

Get Paid to Plant a Tree in DC

For those of you in the District, the District of Columbia that is, there is a shortage of trees. Well not exactly, but there is a big push to plant more trees, particularly shade trees and who can argue with that.

To encourage this planting of trees, Casey Trees and the District of Columbia are offering a $50 rebate for residents that plant and agree to maintain an oak, elm, maple or river birch tree. For more information, see below:


Last call for Casey Trees' spring shade tree rebate. There are just three weeks left to plant a shade tree in DC and claim a
$50 rebate from Casey Trees. May 31st is the deadline to submit rebate requests which can be found online at Casey Trees and are available at many garden centers in the metro area such as: Ginkgo Gardens, American Plant Food, Home Depot off Rhode Island Ave., Campbell & Ferrara, Nature By Design and Shade Tree Farm.

Recipients must plant an eligible shade tree such as an oak, elm, maple or river birch at a residence in DC and agree to water and care for the tree. Smaller flowering and ornamental trees such as dogwoods, cherries and crepe myrtles are not eligible for this rebate program. Spring is a great time to plant trees in DC, but the sooner they get in the ground before the hot summer months, the better. Rebate requests must be mailed by May 31, 2008.

Plant a tree, store some carbon Washington Post home and garden columnist Adrian Higgins has an excellent article, "A New Leaf on Life," on trees and carbon sequestration in the May 8th Washington Post. Great article, excellent graphics. Check it out Washington Post article, 05/08/08. A New Leaf on Life article.

Community Tree Planting application deadline, June 15, 2008.
Apply for a Community Tree Planting in your
neighborhood or community next fall! Applications for our next Community Tree Planting (CTP) grants are due June 15th. Every fall and spring, Casey Trees helps organize community-based tree planting projects in each ward of the city. We work with neighborhood groups and Citizen Foresters to plan these projects, and to then recruit teams of community volunteers to plant the new trees. Read the application for details. Link to the Casey Tree Planting application.

Help new DC street trees survive the summer. More than 4,000 street trees were planted this season by DDOT's Urban Forestry Administration. To help these trees survive, Casey Trees and UFA are recruiting volunteers to adopt and water these trees this
summer. Please join us by volunteering to water one or two trees this summer!


For information on free classes, summer volunteer events and tree care, visit Casey Trees.

Train to Coachella

Wanted to get this out as fast as possible...

For those of you lucky enough to go to Coachella this year, and you know who you are, consider taking the Coachella train out there instead of using your own gas. Granted, you have to have the 3 day pass and plan to stay all weekend becuase the train leaves thursday and returns Monday. We can bet there will be some shenanagins going down on that train ride. What happens on the Coachella train, stays on the Coachella train? maybe.

For more information and tickets, find them online at: Coachella Amtrak Ride.

For the rest of you not on the west coast, Coachella is a huge 3-day music festival in the desert. Kind of on the order of SXSW or Bonnaroo or Woodstock. Except this is in the desert where temps easily climb past 100 and theres realy no place to stay. So dehydrated hippies in the desert sleeping in tents and causing chaos and getting down. Really big acts show up each year, including this year's surprise guest: PRINCE!

Another Carbon Calculator

There are many carbon calculators out there, from basic to complex. The Carbon Account has come up with their own version of the carbon calculator that lets you change your consumption and monitor your patterns over time.

They also have an application on Facebook for those of you technically savvy folks. Or those you who think Facebook is better than Myspace. Yeah, i said. What are you gonna do about it?

Find them online at:The Carbon Account.

For their facebook application, check out: Carbon Account on Facebook.

*Manic Organic is in no way endorsing the carbon calculator. Just passing this tip along, do with it what you will.

Paperless Faxing

Paperless faxing.

This company (certainly not the only one) offers the ability to send and receive "faxes" without the paper print out and ink/carbon waste of a typical fax machine. Particularly for large corporations that send thousands of faxes, this small change can have a big impact.

http://www.easylink.com/our-services/on-demand-messaging/index.html

If You Give a Child a Lightbulb...

Mr. Luna's Bright Idea!! One teachers' brilliant idea to save the planet by giving one CFL to each child in America. This will not only reduce emissions but also save at least $2.3 billion in electricity costs in America.

To donate or learn more, see: The Bright Idea.

Save Your Gas

For each gallon of gas you dont use, you save 20 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Try running your errands at once instead of making multiple car trips, or even take a bike or walk to the store. Every little bit helps.