I have been saving corks for many years thinking I would someday make cork boards for people....and well, I havent so I wanted to find someplace that would use them for something other than landfill.

I found Recork America.....

We are partners in recycling. ReCORK by Amorim (previously ReCORK America) is a natural wine cork recycling program. The ReCORK program is sponsored by Amorim of Portugal, the world's largest producer of natural cork wine closures, SOLE, a leading manufacturer of footwear products, and Amorim’s U.S. sales affiliates – Amorim Cork America and Portocork America. The goal is to recycle corks and to educate and inform our audiences about
 the crucial role cork forests play in curbing climate change....... recycled cork can become flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner and sports equipment

To locate a drop off location for your corks, visit the Recork America website .

As I was looking for eco-friendly ideas for birthday party games and favors, I found this great blog post on the website ecochildsplay.com.

I love this mom's ideas on low impact birthday parties and thought I would share here :

In our family, summer time is a full of birthday party celebrations. If your experiences are like mine, your children have attended some extravagant birthday parties that leave a heavy footprint on the Earth. Large blowup, bouncing jump rooms, corporate character disposable dinnerware, paper hats that don’t even last until the end of the party, dollar store junk for party favors, balloons and excessive decorations, etc. seem to be the norm in children’s birthday parties. For my children’s birthdays, I am always looking for ways to lighten our impact during these grand occasions, while giving them the special celebration they desire. Below are a few suggestions for lightening the impact of your child’s birthday celebration.

1. Use digital invites: By creating your own digital invitations, you can email them to your friends and family and reduce the amount of paper involved in the celebration. You may need to print a few invitations to mail for those families not connected to the web, but this will still lighten the impact. A homemade invite also becomes a keepsake to document the day, and you won’t be supporting the corporate characters targeted at children. You will also save time and money by creating your own digital birthday invitations.

2. Pick a natural location for the party: By hosting your party in a natural location, such as a beach or park, you will be combating nature deficit disorder and eliminating the need for jumping rooms, extravagant decorations, etc. Every year, we have our party on a neighbor’s beach. The river provides the entertainment and increases our attendance of distant friends who look forward to a day of river fun in the mountain sun! Also, if the party is located away from your home, you are less likely to go overboard with party favors, decorations, etc., as you will have to pack it in and pack it out of the location.

3. Use reusable plates, napkins, utensils, cups, etc.: I am always amazed at how much garbage is created from even a small birthday party. By using reusable plates, utensils, etc., you are lightening your party’s impact greatly, as well as teaching your children an important lesson about disposables. The clean up after the party will be greater if you use reusables; however, the benefits to the planet certainly outweigh a little of your time. If you must use disposable products, look for paper products that are made with recycled, post-consumer materials and corn plastic utensils that are compostable.

4. Provide natural, eco-friendly party favors: One of the things I dread about my daughter attending her friends’ birthday parties is dollar store, plastic junk and candy she receives as party favors. If you feel compelled to give out party favors, look for items that will not be easily tossed into the landfill and won’t break within a day. Crystals, polished rocks, geodes, etc. make wonderful party favors children’s cherish, and these natural items will contribute to children dramatic play at home. Several natural toy stores also carry party favors. These toys may be more expensive, but when placed in the larger picture of sustainability and climate change, the cost is irrelevant. Better yet, forego the party favors all together.

5. Serve a vegan, chocolate cake: Whether you make your own cake or buy one, think about the ingredients used in the cake and how you could improve this aspect of the birthday tradition. We are lucky to live near a bakery that makes the best vegan, chocolate cake filled with raspberry sauce. They will even make the cake with our own garden grown, organic raspberries. There are many great recipes available online for vegan cakes.

6. Make gifts optional: If your kids are like mine, they already have too many toys! The birthday party can be another contributor to this problem, and if you are like me and detest plastic toys, your child will inevitably receive annoying toys that you do not like. By making gifts optional, you will prevent families frohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifm feeling compelled to buy anything just to attend the party, and your child will not receive a gross amount of junk. Children already receive many gifts from their families, so eliminating a few toys from their friends will not impact the joy of their birthday. You could also request used toys and books or no gifts at all.

There are many ways you can lighten the impact of your child’s birthday, as well as teach them a valuable lesson in sustainability, conservation, etc. You can still have themed birthday parties without all of the commercial products associated with them, by asking families to wear homemade costumes, make your own decorations, etc. Keep it simple, and everyone will enjoy the celebration more, while doing a little bit to save the Earth from climate change.

In my search for ideas for eco friendly games and party favors for my son's upcoming birthday party, I found this great blog post on the website ecochildsplay.com.

I love this mom's ideas and thought I would share her great ideas on our blog.

In our family, summer time is a full of birthday party celebrations. If your experiences are like mine, your children have attended some extravagant birthday parties that leave a heavy footprint on the Earth. Large blowup, bouncing jump rooms, corporate character disposable dinnerware, paper hats that don’t even last until the end of the party, dollar store junk for party favors, balloons and excessive decorations, etc. seem to be the norm in children’s birthday parties. For my children’s birthdays, I am always looking for ways to lighten our impact during these grand occasions, while giving them the special celebration they desire. Below are a few suggestions for lightening the impact of your child’s birthday celebration.

1. Use digital invites: By creating your own digital invitations, you can email them to your friends and family and reduce the amount of paper involved in the celebration. You may need to print a few invitations to mail for those families not connected to the web, but this will still lighten the impact. A homemade invite also becomes a keepsake to document the day, and you won’t be supporting the corporate characters targeted at children. You will also save time and money by creating your own digital birthday invitations.

2. Pick a natural location for the party: By hosting your party in a natural location, such as a beach or park, you will be combating nature deficit disorder and eliminating the need for jumping rooms, extravagant decorations, etc. Every year, we have our party on a neighbor’s beach. The river provides the entertainment and increases our attendance of distant friends who look forward to a day of river fun in the mountain sun! Also, if the party is located away from your home, you are less likely to go overboard with party favors, decorations, etc., as you will have to pack it in and pack it out of the location.

3. Use reusable plates, napkins, utensils, cups, etc.: I am always amazed at how much garbage is created from even a small birthday party. By using reusable plates, utensils, etc., you are lightening your party’s impact greatly, as well as teaching your children an important lesson about disposables. The clean up after the party will be greater if you use reusables; however, the benefits to the planet certainly outweigh a little of your time. If you must use disposable products, look for paper products that are made with recycled, post-consumer materials and corn plastic utensils that are compostable.

4. Provide natural, eco-friendly party favors: One of the things I dread about my daughter attending her friends’ birthday parties is dollar store, plastic junk and candy she receives as party favors. If you feel compelled to give out party favors, look for items that will not be easily tossed into the landfill and won’t break within a day. Crystals, polished rocks, geodes, etc. make wonderful party favors children’s cherish, and these natural items will contribute to children dramatic play at home. Several natural toy stores also carry party favors. These toys may be more expensive, but when placed in the larger picture of sustainability and climate change, the cost is irrelevant. Better yet, forego the party favors all together.

5. Serve a vegan, chocolate cake: Whether you make your own cake or buy one, think about the ingredients used in the cake and how you could improve this aspect of the birthday tradition. We are lucky to live near a bakery that makes the best vegan, chocolate cake filled with raspberry sauce. They will even make the cake with our own garden grown, organic raspberries. There are many great recipes available online for vegan cakes.

6. Make gifts optional: If your kids are like mine, they already have too many toys! The birthday party can be another contributor to this problem, and if you are like me and detest plastic toys, your child will inevitably receive annoying toys that you do not like. By making gifts optional, you will prevent families frohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifm feeling compelled to buy anything just to attend the party, and your child will not receive a gross amount of junk. Children already receive many gifts from their families, so eliminating a few toys from their friends will not impact the joy of their birthday. You could also request used toys and books or no gifts at all.

There are many ways you can lighten the impact of your child’s birthday, as well as teach them a valuable lesson in sustainability, conservation, etc. You can still have themed birthday parties without all of the commercial products associated with them, by asking families to wear homemade costumes, make your own decorations, etc. Keep it simple, and everyone will enjoy the celebration more, while doing a little bit to save the Earth from climate change.

With the holiday season fast approaching, your mailbox is likely to get stuffed with catalogs from companies you have never heard of before let alone the usual suspects, most of which you will likely not open or not be interested in. 

If you are interested in reducing the amount  of paper wasted by way of catalogs mailed to your home, here's a website I found that will help you  do that.

I just found out about  Solar Living Institute through a friend who visited there last week and said it was a great place to visit for those who are interested in alternative energy sources.

They have a sun powered carousel, electricity generating bikes, and solar panels that save 1600 tons of carbon emissions every year. 

Its in Hopland which I think is about 50 miles north of Santa Rosa.

I encourage you to check out their  website and maybe sometime we can take a "field trip" up there. 

The California Academy of Sciences is a new aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum and research institute all under one LIVING roof which just opened last Saturday. I haven't been there yet but imagine that it is a wonderful place for children to explore and learn about the amazing beauty and wonder of the world and reinforce the idea of taking care of it.

Every third Wednesday of the month is free. 

My family will be going on Wednesday, October 15. Feel free to join us. 

Fast Facts

Awards

• EPA's regional 2006 Environmental Award
• North American winner of the silver Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction.

Power Savings

• The new Academy will consume 30% less energy than required by San Francisco's codes
• Sixty-thousand photovoltaic cells will provide 5% to 10% of electricity from solar energy

Water Savings

• The Living Roof will absorb nearly 3.6 million gallons of rainwater per year

 “The total message of the building is a green message. It’s about life, how we got here, the marvelous diversity of life, it’s preciousness, and the choices we face in learning how to stay.”

If you and your kids haven't gone to see the movie WALL-E yet, you should. You will love it!! Oh and your kids may enjoy the cartoon too : ) Here are excepts from an NPR review I found online.

Pixar has always focused on loss, decay, and the dark side of materialism. Here that theme extends to the ruination of the planet — and Wall-E ranks among the most sublime feature-length works of animation ever made in this country.

Apparently, humans never changed course on pollution and consumerism, and sometime in the 22nd century they were forced to leave a planet they had turned into a giant garbage dump. But they left without turning off a robot they'd left behind. He's basically a trash compactor on treads — a Waste Allocation Load-Lifter: Earth Class, or WALL-E — who has, over the course of 700 years, developed a personality.

This movie highlights how many people are still focused on material gain often at the expense of the environment as well as some people's apathy about their connection to the earth as well as to others. I won't spoil it but it does have a great ending, so you won't leave feeling depressed but rather, maybe.....hopeful.

We got our Santa Rosa Recycling Newsletter today and I found this link on their website about a planned Center for the Environment that will hopefully start being constructed in 2 years. If you support this idea and want to take the "Go Green" pledge, click here.

North Bay Corporation's Planned Center for the Environment

The North Bay Corporation's planned Center for the Environment is a materials recovery facility (MRF) designed for sustainability and will expand the management of Sonoma County's waste disposal far beyond California's current recycling mandates.

What is a Materials Recovery Facility?

A Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is a state-of-the-art plant designed specifically to recover recyclable materials from our waste stream. Through a series of manual and automated sort processes recyclables are classified into separate areas, baled and transported to a re-manufacturing facility where they can be further processed and made into new marketable materials.

Environmental Impact

Our goal is to achieve 90% diversion, directing valuable resources away from area landfills...propelling us years ahead in the fight against global warming.

The North Bay Corporation's Center for the Environment will offer:

• Enhanced Sorting of Residential and Business Waste for Recyclable Recovery
• On-Site Green Waste Processing for Compost Preparation
• Bio-Diesel Refining Station
• Extensive Processing of Construction and Demolition Materials
• On-Site Restaurant and Grocery Store Food Waste Processing
• Environmental Education for School Children and the Community
• Further Reduction of Sonoma County's Carbon Footprint

Sustainable Building Design and Construction

• Silver LEED Construction Certified
• Solar Panels Covering Rooftop Generate Facility Power
• Wind Turbine Power Generation
• Recycled Building Materials Used in Construction of Facility

Financial and Environmental Benefits for Sonoma County and Area Cities

Jurisdictions that dedicate their waste and recycling stream to the North Bay Center for the Environment will recognize many benefits including:

• Maximizing diversion of waste stream away from area landfills
• No rate increases associated with the cost of construction of new facility
• $10 per ton rebate on all refuse passing through the facility
• Reduced Greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle traffic and noise on area roads

Construction Timeline

Upon receipt of permits we will begin construction on our state-of-the-art recycling complex. We anticipate breaking ground within two years.

If you eat fish and ever wonder to yourself when buying it " Now .....is it the wild or farmed that's better for the environment (and you) and which fish are the ones heavy with mercury and which aren't and aren't salmon now endangered species?? and on and on, then this is a great resource for you.

It's a Seafood Watch Guide that tells you very quickly (for use in the grocery or wherever you are doing your shopping) when buying fish, which are the best choices of fish to buy in terms of our health and the health of the planet and which you should try to avoid buying for health and environmental reasons.

This afternoon, I have been listening to an interview on NPR's "Speaking of Faith" with Barbara Kingsolver regarding her family's year of eating only locally and seasonally. A year she writes about in her book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which I think I have mentioned a few times on this blog. Such a fantastic book!!! I would encourage anyone looking for a good summer read to pick it up.

Anyway, this is an interview that will give you a taste of what her book is about.

Some of the questions explored are:

-How did we (the U.S.) get to the place we are now where eating locally and seasonally is considered "elite"? 

-What are the hidden costs of  eating cheap food from the grocery store and  fast food? Why don't those costs turn up in our grocery bills?

-What has the effect of the U.S. Farm Bill been on our health and the environment? 

-How can eating locally reinforce the idea of gratitude?

Sarah H. informed some of us GreenMommies that  this year's Coastal Clean Up day is September 20, 2008.

Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest volunteer event of its kind. Last year, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared six million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected.

I think she and her family are going to participate and hopefully other GreenMommies may be interested as well. If so you can sign up here and a local coordinator will contact you. 

 Thanks Sarah H. for bringing that to our attention.

Today is the first real day of blue skies in Santa Rosa since all the fires began a week or more ago here in northern California. The grey, smoky sky was sad (and even depressing in some ways) but the silver lining of that experience was the gratitude I have now for our beautiful blue sky and relatively clean air. And at least for today, I will really try not to take it for granted. 

About 6-8 months ago, I wrote a post about how I noticed some pretty tremendous water wasting happening ay the YMCA showers (where I shower every morning). Some women would turn on and leave showers to "heat up" that need no heating up, some women would shower in one and let their bathing suit "shower" under another head.....just stuff where I thought "I can't keep watching this happen and not do something about it". So I asked a woman (very nicely, I thought) if she would turn off the shower she was using for her bathing suit because we were in a drought and it was wasting water. She looked at me funny, then laughed and kept the 2 showers going. I thought sarcastically "that went well" and then thought "I really don't want to get into any more of a confrontation while naked with another naked woman in the community shower area".

So I wrote a letter to the Director of Operations at the Y and asked if they could post signs requesting that people conserve water. Within a few days, nice big lamenated signs were up in every  corner of the shower area. I was so impressed with the YMCA for taking my request and acting so quickly. As the months have gone by, the signs began to fall off the shower walls (or maybe the 2-shower-head-lady took them down one by one : ) Either way, I asked the Operations Director a few weeks ago if she could put up those signs again and she did one better...she ordered permanent acryllic signs for the shower areas and they are up today. They look great!!!

All of this is just to say that if you ever feel like you should speak up about something but think you won't be listened to or you may get laughed at, I am saying that ...well , you may get laughed at (lady in the shower) but you may also be surprised to find that (especially on a local level) people are very responsive in general to ideas and positive changes.

I get lazy though and see things that need changing and think about them and think about them and never end up saying something.

So here is my challenge to myself  for local things I have thought about for a long time that need changing and haven't acted on them but will now.  

#1 Ask Trader Joes to look at alternatives to their double bagging system. I know they say that they do it because the handles fall off but then they should purchase bags  with handles that don't fall off or bags with no handles (like they had in the "old" days...TJ's is so good about rewarding people who bring their own bags and reminding shoppers before they enter the store "Did you remember your bags?"....The double bagging system seems to me to be counter to their otherwise eco-minded, anti-bag-ness (is that a word?)

 #2 Ask Safeway to display their reusable bags that are for sale by the check out lanes (seems logical right?). The last  ten times I have been to Safeway, the reusable bag display has been hidden in obscure back corners of the store where people either won't see it at all or will see it AFTER they have realized they forgot their bags and so selected plastic/ paper.

#3 Ask the YMCA to start using something other than Styrofoam for their complmentary coffee they give out in the a.m. It's really nice they give out coffee (God bless them for that) but the Styrofoam has got to go. I will also ask them to make a little sign that requests that members please bring their own mug.

I will keep you updated on the feedback / changes if any, I find after sending these letters. 

I enjoyed this article alot...here is an excerpt:

For us to wait for legislation or technology to solve the problem of how we're living our lives suggests we're not really serious about changing--something our politicians cannot fail to notice. They will not move until we do. Indeed, to look to leaders and experts, to laws and money and grand schemes, to save us from our predicament represents precisely the sort of thinking--passive, delegated, dependent for solutions on specialists--that helped get us into this mess in the first place. It's hard to believe that the same sort of thinking could now get us out of it.
 

Bill McKibben, one of the first  to write a book on climate change called End of Nature in the 1980's, has written a more recent  book titled Deep Economy. I found an interview between him and NPR Forum's Michael Krasny that was so compelling and I thought I would share some of his points he makes on this post.

McKibben stated that every year since the end of WWII, pollsters have asked Americans, "Are you happy?". What they found was that since 1956 when happiness peaked, Americans' reported happiness has slowly but steadily gone down. He and other researchers believe that this is a result of people moving farther and farther from the city to afford bigger and bigger houses(sprawl), so they have to drive more (commuting) to get to shops and work and activities. This results in having less interactions with people and so many Americans end up feeling less connected  and more lonely than they did before. McKibben said that research has shown that Americans report having half as many close friends as they did 50 years ago. This is just one result of our "prosperity" leaving us lonely and unhappy.

As of 2007, only 25% of Americans reported being happy yet material prosperity for Americans in the last 50 years has almost tripled. You would think, he says, that those two curves should track in more or less the same direction...they shouldn't split fundamentally apart the way that they are. What he theorizes is that our prospoerity has brought about a social disconnection with our community. As we become a more prosperous country we reduce the odds that we will run into each other in the course of the day by moving farther away from the center of town,  we are forced into our cars more, which means less time at home with family and friends, less meals eaten and cooked at home (and the list goes on and on).

McKibbens' answer  to this dilemma which could also help solve our climate problem is to rebuild local economies which will force us to depend on each other more. This will likely increase our happiness on average  because we will have more interactions with community members and at the same time use far less fossil fuel than we do now.

Community building happens he says when there is a reason for us to rely on one another. He uses as an example the farmer's market re-emergence in the U.S. (now the fastest growing part of Americas food system). They save us energy (eating dinner from a farmer's market uses 1/10 the eneregy used to produce a take out meal) and they increase our socialization and sense of community with others by 10 times. A pair of sociologists, McKibben said, followed shoppers in grocery stores and then at farmer's markets and found that shoppers at farmer's markets have 10 times more interactions with others than they do at the grocery store. This is absolutely true from my own experience. At the grocery store, I know what I need, I go right to it, get it and get out, MAYBE say hello to the cashier and that's it. At the farmers market I am much more relaxed, enjoy myself more, sample food, ask the farmers about their product, educate my kids (and myself) sometimes about this plant or that food. It is a totally different experience in every way.

We have all been taught to believe in this country that more is better, and bigger is better yet all the studies are showing just the opposite. He says that we have confused the pursuit of happiness with the pursuit of stuff. and its not working for us. Isn't it sad that one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S., he says,  is storage lockers....

McKibben's point in his book Deep Economy I think (although I haven't read it yet) is that, more than any new innovation or technological advance to combat climate change,  we need to revive our local economies and rely more heavily on those in our own community for our food, clothing  services and other basic necessities, to not only reduce our use of fossil fuel but to increase our happiness and sense of wellness.

If you have a spare 30 - 45 minutes sometime, I HIGHLY recommend listening to this interview with Bill McKibben and Michael Krasny. You will be inspired.

http://climate.weather.com/video/?clip=10859

We have solar bras but our cars are still running on gasoline????

Something is wrong here.  

Here is my "Green Corner " contribution to my son' s schools newsletter this month. I know it's  an easy one but I still see so MANY plastic bags being used at the store, I thought I would remind us all of the importance of BYOB. Last month the Green Corner was on the environmental benefits of hanging laundry to dry  instead of using the dryer and the month before that , it was about composting. I should have posted those too but forgot to. Noah's school is out for the summer after this month but I am taking over the newsletter responsibility next year and will post all of my Green Corners for any of you who want to use the same tips for your school newsletters. It's an easy way to get the word out about simple changes we can all make and about GreenMommy.org too.

Paper or Plastic? Neither, please. Did you know that we use 8 percent of the world's oil supply to produce plastic, including BILLIONS of plastic bags each year? Not only is this a huge waste of resources, it results in lots of unnecessary long term landfill (each bag is projected to take nearly 500 years to decompose). It takes 14 million trees to produce the 10 BILLION paper grocery bags used every year by Americans. To help preserve our planet's resources and create a healthier environment for our children, try bringing your own reusable bags with you when shopping. (TIP: Leave a supply of reusable bags in the car to make it easier to remember)

This was the title of a recent NY Times article on the rising price of food around the globe and particularly organic foods.

It is an interesting and complicated subject because there are so many factors involved, i.e. a growing middle class around the world demanding more meat and dairy, global warming effects on crops and farming, U.S. economic slow down in every area,  higher fuel costs, rising demand and a tight supply of the grains needed for animal feed and bakery items, etc etc.

........demand for organic wheat, soybeans and corn is so great that farmers are receiving unheard-of prices. But people who have to buy organic grain, from bakers and pasta makers to chicken and dairy farmers, say they are struggling to maintain profit margins, even though shoppers are paying more. The price of organic animal feed is so high that some dairy farmers have abandoned organic farming methods and others are pushing retailers to raise prices more aggressively. Several organic manufacturers worry that sales may slow as consumers cut back......

Americans spent $16.7 billion on organic food and beverages in 2006, a 126 percent increase in just five years, according to the Organic Trade Association, an industry trade group. Organic sales account for about 2.8 percent of food and beverage sales in the United States, the group says.

The United States had 4.1 million acres of organic farmland in 2005, triple the amount in 1997, according to the Department of Agriculture, which regulates the organic industry. But farmers and grain buyers say the growth of new organic acreage has slowed, falling short of rising demand and causing organic grain prices to soar.

Here is what a few organic consumers said in the article on how they will deal with rising prices or food (organic in particular) "

At the Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op in St. Paul, Shaun Hainey, 26, said he had quit smoking and cut back on drinking and “superfluous recreational spending, like going skiing.” But he and his wife, Cassandra Hainey, have not cut back on organic food.“We don’t foresee a price level at which we’d stop shopping organic,” he said.

But Scott Cordes, a 33-year-old budget analyst for the city of St. Paul, has found the high prices hard to bear. He now buys conventional 1 percent milk for $4.09 rather than spending $6.99 on a gallon of organic milk. Still, he does not expect to forgo organic foods altogether.

 So what do you think? I know for almost all of us , paying extra money for organic groceries is really a strain on the budget and especially now that food is rapidly becoming more and more expensive. 

-Which oragnic foods / products (if any) are a must for you?

-Which could you live without?

-What creative things do you or will you do to afford organic foods/products ? 

I found this series of cute animated videos that help to explain the relationship between carbon and global warming.

National Public Radio and National Geographic have collaborated to create a series of programs dedicated to global warming called Climate Connections if you are interested in listening on line.

I came across this website and thought it had some pretty interesting links to explain air pollutions causes and effects in the Bay Area.

The Clean Air Primer

The Clean Air Primer illustrates the causes and consequences of air pollution and shows what we can do about it.

An exciting, visually rich and a compelling interactive experience, the Clean Air Primer:
   · Draws people into the heart of important air quality topics
   · Explores air pollution science, impacts and solutions
   · Showcases original geo-spatial movies, videos, photos, graphics and animations, to tell the clean air story

Ride Today's Air Currents — take a journey from the Pacific Coast far inland into California, flying over sources of pollution and geographic landscapes so detailed you can find your house.

The Big Picture — a one-stop overview of air quality. It's a self-guided tour about where pollution comes from, what's in the air and why we should care, how ozone forms, how haze effects visibility, why air gets trapped, and how air quality is monitored.

The Health Primer — an excellent exploration of the effects of air pollution on the body.

On the Road Solutions — discover how transportation is changing and learn about the benefits of using mass transit options.

The Interactive Car — provides numerous tips on how to buy, use, and maintain our vehicles to minimize air pollution.

Solutions for our Home, School and Office — explore interactive animations to find out what to do to clear the air where we live and work and to discover which energy technologies are helping to clean up air pollution.

The Clean Air Challenge Game — a fun and challenging way to discover how clean air begins at home.

Now that the torrential rains are behind us (or at least for the most part I hope) I have started to hang our clothes out to dry again. I know not everyone loves doing laundry.....I am weird like that.....but it feels very satisfying to do a household chore, carbon free. The feeling I think is comparable to getting food out of your own garden or walkiing / biking to an errand you would normally drive to.

If you don't already hang your clothes to dry and are interested in trying it, you don't have to have a traditional clothesline in the backyard to do so. We have a clothesline double strung the width of the garage inside the garage that works great. When we are home, we just leave the garage door open and during the summer months the clothes are dry in less than a day, sometimes less than a few hours. 

 Apparently, Martha Stewart even likes the idea of hanging laundry (or at least having someone do it for her : )

While googling hanging +laundry, I came across this green tip on her website.

Did you know that the tumble dryer consumes the most energy of all of your household appliances? To cut back on energy usage, you can easily hang your clothes to dry instead, and use the dryer as a last resort. Drying outside will make them smell fresher, and the added humidity is great for your plants, skin, and hair. Cutting your tumble dryer use reduces your home's CO2 emissions, and there's strong evidence that human emissions, such as CO2, are changing the world's climate. If you have to use the dryer, keep the filter lint-free and run loads back to back while the drum is still hot. And to save energy with your washing machine, reserve hot water for very dirty loads, and always rinse in cold water.

When choosing detergents, go with phosphate-free detergents. Phosphates go through the sewage system and can cause problems in the waterways. Algae feeds on phosphates, and high levels can use up the oxygen in the water, suffocating plant and animal life. So next time your clothes need drying, try the healthy alternative.

I have been thinking of some green goals for myself and the family for 2008.

One of the main  ones is to reduce the amount of driving I do. I would like to have one car-free day a week as a goal. As I would think of the environment, simplicity, frugality, and waste reduction, I quickly distilled out how much of an impact driving has.

I thought that when I drive I am consuming gas ($ & ethics), polluting ,  sometimes going somewhere that involves consumption like the store ($) or entertainment/food (more $), then the resources involved in packaging or getting goods home, and time involved.  I know I have missed something, but the simple act of driving really does impact a whole bunch of things. I think it would be nice to have a low-key day, to just be with family instead of doing with family, like a 'Sabbath for the soul'. I think that might be the title of the next Chicken Soup book. :)

So...now it's your turn...any green goals for 2008? 

"Consumed" is an interesting radio program series that has been focusing on consumption, looking at its affects on spirituality, culture, happiness, the environment, personal health, etc.

I have heard it aired in National Public Radio but I don't remember what time or day it comes on. However, you can listen to the programs online. 

I found this online quiz while browsing the internet. I am very embarrassed by my score (3.7).  3.7 is the number of planets it would take to support my lifestyle on a planetary scale. Wow! I thought I was doing better than that. Well, that's a great motivator!

If anyone wants to check out their score and share (or just keep it to yourself), its pretty interesting..... 

A couple weeks ago I posted on PG&E making the first step and offering a carbon offsetting program for our residential energy use. I said that I would update you on the actual cost and my bill just came to my inbox. The grand total to offset the carbon my family emitted during the month of October (9/26-10/26, actually) was $2.55.  I would say that its worth it. 

November 3, 2007

Noon-4 pm at Julliard Park in Santa Rosa

227 Santa Rosa Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95404

• Get free compact fluorescent bulbs
• Learn how to take local action and local leadership
• Learn more about reducing your carbon footprint
• Check out some of Santa Rosa's green building and sustainable agricultural efforts
• Live music
• Children's Art contest with Prizes

 The following information was taken from the Santa Rosa City web site

The Environmental Projects team is helping the City reduce its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and  helping facilitate the reduction of community-wide GHG emissions. The City's objective to reduce its emissions is being accomplished by encouraging the use of renewable energy through implementing solar, biomass, wind,  and alternative fuels into their every day operations.

As well as encouraging the use of renewable energy the City has reduced its energy demands and water consumption  through various conservation projects. beneficial reuse of recycled wastewater and biosolids. The City is also in the process of educating staff about Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, and encouraging  municipalities and residents to build green.

Currently, the City has installed 3 photovoltaic (PV) systems totaling 81.5 kilowatts (kW) which together are estimated to be producing approximately 153,000 kWh of green energy each year. Another project is currently in the works, which will add an additional 30 kW and reduce the City's GHG emissions even further.

In June of 2003 the City of Santa Rosa adopted a voluntary green building program, Santa Rosa - Build it Green, that promotes building and remodeling homes in a way that reduces energy demands, releases fewer pollutants into the atmosphere, conserves water and reduces construction waste. The City has also committed to utilizing guidelines set by Build It Green when constructing or renovating municipal buildings

The City of Santa Rosa continues to take bold actions towards bettering itself as a sustainable community. The City has been innovative in its pursuit of public-private relationships. These relationships are what has changed the culture in Santa Rosa and allowed us to be placed on the top 10 list of Green Cities in the U.S. for 2006. 

For more information, comments or suggestions please feel free to contact us at: Environmentalprojects@srcity.org

CNN is presenting a 2 part special called Planet in Peril. It premeires on Tuesday and Wednesday October 23th and 24th at 9pm, both nights.

CNN takes viewers around the world in a two-part, four-hour documentary that examines our changing planet. This worldwide investigation, shot in high definition, looks at four key issues: climate change, vanishing habitats, disappearing species and human population growth.

View  the trailer below: 

This is a little ways away but I figured the sooner we know about it the more people we can tell, right?

Lights Out America is a grassroots community group now organizing a nationwide energy savings event on Saturday, March 29, 2008. On this night, we invite the entire country, including businesses, city and federal government agencies, schools, and individuals to turn off all non-essential lighting to save energy...

This is a great concept and I really hope it delivers some great results. If March 2008 is just too far away for you and you really want to participate sooner then you're in luck! Tomorrow, October 20th, is Lights Out San Fransisco. Residents and business' all over SF are turning their lights off from 8-9 pm, only one hour to greatly reduce energy consumption and environmental impact. We are close enough to SF right? Right!

San Francisco Green Festival

Show Hours
Friday – 2pm – 8pm
Saturday – 10am – 8pm
Sunday – 11am – 6pm

Unless I am missing something, most people here in California do not have the ability to purchase renewable energy such as wind or solar. PG&E however is now offering their new ClimateSmart Program. I first heard of this back on our blog from Erica, but at the time the program was not up and running. As of June 28th of this year it is all set and ready to go- this is how it works:

• The energy you use emits greenhouse gases, such as CO2 (carbon dioxide) , into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels.
• By signing up for ClimateSmart, you can pay a separate amount on your monthly energy bill to make your home or office energy use "climate neutral"
• Through ClimateSmart,  PG&E will invest 100% of your payment in independently certified greenhouse gases reduction projects in California, like conserving and restoring forests and capturing methane gas from dairy farms.
• ClimateSmart projects absorb or reduce over time an equal amount of CO2 from the atmosphere, balancing out the climate impact of your energy use.

This is similar in concept to Terrapass which balances the emissions from your car (or other mode of transportation). There are different viewpoints in regards to purchasing carbon offsets. Some believe it is a passive way to be green. You live your life the same way and then "buy" your way out of actively helping our environment. Others are skeptical of purchasing offsets because it is difficult to know what exactley your money is going to. These are both good points but here is why I am impressed with the program and why I just might sign up. 

Like I said earlier, currently here in California, this is our only option in "greening" our energy (beside of course just not using it). This is the first program of its kind and I feel that the more supporters it gets the more other major companies will move in the green direction. ,I like the fact that the money we put toward the program (an average of $5 a month) goes to local carbon reduction programs, not obscure programs that may even be in other countries. I do realize that PG&E isn't the greenest company out there but I do think they deserve credit for this effort. I support green change and that is what they are offering. Until I can purchase myself some wind or solar energy it looks like this will have to do for now.

This is a commercial from climateprotect.org illustrating how much CO2 the average household contributes to the climate crisis. I thought it was a great visual... and I just like posting videos.

This may be old news by now, but at 5 am this morning it was announce that former Vice President Al Gore is the recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He shares the honor with the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for their commitment to research and raising awareness of the current climate crisis. 

I am sure we all have our own opinions of Al Gore but I think that this is AWESOME news!  This is going to bring much more awareness to climate change issues and hopefully nudge everyone  in a Greener direction. And of course, he is donating the prize (about $750,00) to the cause as well saying

... I will donate 100 percent of the proceeds of the award to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a bipartisan non-profit organization that is devoted to changing public opinion in the U.S. and around the world about the urgency of solving the climate crisis.

Here is the speech he made earlier today: