Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fighting for Cleaner Energy

I'm up in the mountains right now and, while I haven't had much chance to blog (no Internet connection in the cabin), I have had a lot of time to soak up all the fresh air and fresh water up here.

My phone does still keep me marginally connected with emails and I've received two this week from various organizations telling me about HR 2454 - The American Clean Air and Security Act. It was enough to prompt me to head over to the local WiFi hotspot and pass along the info...

Congress is voting in the next few days on this bill which would move the US dependence away from oil and coal to renewable sources including wind turbines and solar panels. Find out more about it and, if its something you support, contact your representative. This link comes from the World Wildlife Foundation and gives you an easy to fill out template that goes right to the appropriate people.

Here in the mountains, its easy to see the vast possibilities of wind power and the benefits by just breathing in the fresh air. Every area is different, but there are clean ways to harness the Earth's resources - whether that be wind, water, or sun. Here is a picture of a wind turbine farm that I saw yesterday in the middle of an apple orchard.


To me, this issue is a perfect example of Our Kids' Earth. This is one chance we have to make a change today that will impact the future of our children much more than ours.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Nature Summer Camps

Kids today have more choices than ever when it comes to summer activities. Without driving too far, most kids have an array of sports, arts, and technology camps available to them.

But what about nature camps? A chance to just lose yourself in the wilderness (not literally!) and all it has to offer. Sure, there will be mosquitoes, but isn't that part of summer too?

One option close to me that sounds like a good bet is Islandwood on Bainbridge Island. The camp is set on 255 acres of forest and wetlands and comes complete with trails, treehouses, and a 190 foot suspension bridge! My kids aren't old enough for overnight camp yet, but I plan to check this out when they're ready (or is it me that needs to be ready to let go?). Islandwood also has some day-camp and family camp options worth looking into if you're local.

What about you? Any favorite camps, or other places, that you want your children to experience this summer?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Is White the New Green?

What color is your roof? Brown? Tan? Black? Grey? Terracotta? Whatever color it is, my guess is that it isn't white. Should it be?

An article in The Seattle Times, U.S. suggests white roofs to curtail climate change, made me start thinking of this. According to the article, the idea is that "the reflective properties of white, if applied on enough of the worlds rooftops, might be a brake on global warming."

I get it - it's along the lines of wearing a white shirt on a hot day instead of a black one. I definitely don't have any plans to change the color of my roof (my neighborhood association wouldn't allow it either), but I do like the out-of-the-box thinking by Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

I particularly like it because, if it is found to be significant, it shows a way that one industry could make a big difference. We clearly aren't going to solve our problems lightbulb by lightbulb so the ideas that seem crazy at first blush sound interesting to me. In this case, the suggestion is not that it would reverse our current problems - simply turn down the heat a little while we try to figure them out. At least worth investigating.

Of course, living in the Pacific Northwest, there aren't really enough hot days that we would want reflective white paint turning the heat away. Maybe one day we'll all get black roofs instead to absorb heat.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

My Most Un-Green Appliance

We all have them. Those energy-sapping appliances that we know we should toss, but still hang on to for whatever reason.

In my case, I have just officially gotten rid of my torchiere lamp. Why did I even still have the same lamp that has caused hundreds of fires? I guess my illogical reasoning was that if the lamp had never caused a fire in the twenty-odd years we've had it, ours must be somehow different than the rest. I learned tonight that most fires were caused by the lamps being tipped over or something being thrown on top of the bulb. Let's see, it was in between the foosball table and the Wii. Likelihood of tipping over? Very high.

Why did I still have a light with a 300 watt bulb when most of the rest of my lightbulbs are tiny little CFLs? Um... because it gives off really good light? Okay, lame reason, but it's the truth.

The final straw? About a week ago, I went to turn it on and found it was already on--and hot. That's one of the problems with them - kids twist the knob to to turn the light off, but don't twist it all the way so it continues to consume energy. How long had it been on? Hours? No, probably more like days. I resolved to throw it out immediately - then had a second thought. No, I'll blog about it, take a picture, then throw it out. Today, when I took the picture, it was on and hot - again. It's now unplugged and on its way to the dump. This is one item I don't feel bad about adding to the landfill. I can't even imagine how much money we have spent over the years to provide energy to an ugly lamp that probably cost $19 in the first place.

What energy-sapping appliance lurks in your house? What's keeping you from getting rid of it today?








Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The Comeback of the Clothesline?

Last year, a fellow mom mentioned to me that she thought one of the best energy-saving moves Americans could make would be to stop using the dryer. The comment caught me by surprise--mostly because I had never even considered the alternatives. In Seattle, we hardly have enough sunshine to get our Vitamin D requirements! Surely, we don't have enough sun to consider a clothesline...

A few weeks later, my family had the chance to spend a few weeks with in Finland. While staying in our friends' home, I experienced laundry European-style. Most surprising was that even though they had a dryer, they generally chose to line-dry their clothes. They encouraged me to use the dryer (since I was an American), but I was going to live the Finnish life while there so if they could do it, I resolved I could also. One person even told me that it helped clothes last longer and showed me the dryer lint as proof. I guess all those fibers do come from somewhere.

I was told that it usually only takes 24 hours to dry clothes inside, but on warm/dry days, it would be even quicker if I hung them outside. Twenty-four hours?? Isn't that a lifetime in the world of laundry?

It definitely requires a different mind-set, but now that I've opened my eyes, I'm slowly moving over. I have learned a few things along the way.

  • One load each day is ideal. You cannot line-dry a week's worth of vacation clothes!
  • Invest in a good quality rack or clothesline. My first one never stayed together, but my new one from Storables works great and folds down small when not in use. Even cheaper, if you have the room, you could hang a line the old-fashioned way.
  • Sunny days are good days to do laundry, but the laundry room works as well, no matter what the weather.
  • Pajamas and athletic-wear dry the quickest.
  • Cotton shirts look much better after hanging on a rack than sitting in a pile of unfolded laundry (there's not a lot of ironing in my house).

Does it really make a difference? According to the US Dept. of Energy, the average family uses a clothes dryer 500-1000 kilowatt hours/year which makes it quite high on the list of electricity-consuming appliances - above the dishwasher, microwave, freezer, and TV.

What do you think? Would you ever try it?

Friday, June 5, 2009

How Does Paper Recycling Work?

Most kids know the basics about recycling, but to take it one step further and make the process a little more real for kids, I decided to actually show a group of first graders how it works. Project for the day: making paper!

It is actually fairly easy to turn leftover paper into new paper. It was so successful, my son wants to know if we can stop buying paper now. Hmm... I'm not sure my paper is good enough to run through the printer yet, but I did agree we could start doing it for homemade cards.

Supplies: paper, frame/screen, water, large plastic tub, blender, dull knife

1. The first step is to buy, find, or build a frame with a screen. I actually had a paper making kit from years ago that came with screens. I found a few kits on the market today, but the reviews I read were questionable so you may be better off buying screens at a local craft store or building one yourself with supplies from a hardware store. To build one, you just need a basic wood frame and a screen to staple to it. Here is a picture of my screens.


2. Dig into your paper recycling container and pull out about 15 sheets of scrap paper. Any color will work, but you might want to think about what color paper you want in the end. I used mostly white with a few colored sheets. Newspaper can work if you're okay with grey-colored paper, but stay away from any glossy paper.

3. Rip the paper into approximately 1 inch squares. This seemed to be great fun for kids!

4. Put the paper scraps and four cups of water in a blender. Blend until it looks like a soupy pulp (no big scraps left). I did about 5-10 seconds on low and 30 seconds on high.

5. Pour the mixture into a large tub. I used an old plastic toy bin, but lots of things could work. Repeat step 4 until all of your paper has been turned to pulp.
6. Add enough water to the tub to make it a few inches deep.

7. Submerge your frame in the pulp with the flat side of the frame on top. Lift it directly up out of the water. Hold over the tub until the water has drained.

8. Dry the paper. My kit says that the frames can be cooked in the oven for 20 minutes at 250 degrees, but they weren't quite dry at that point. Also, if you're making your own frame, you might not know if it is able to withstand the heat of the oven. Sunshine for a few hours seemed to be the best method. A hairdryer can speed up the process, but be careful not to get too close to the screen or you can burn a hole in it!

9. Use a dull knife to separate the paper from the screen.

We added some glitter to the pulp, but lots of decorations (dried flowers, confetti, etc.) could be added for embellishments. It is a fun project with kids and gives them a chance to learn about recycling beyond throwing it in the right container.




Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Free National Parks

Crater Lake - Discovery PointImage by Odalaigh via Flickr

An update to National Trails Day...

In honor of the day, the Forest Service is opening up Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest for free on Saturday, June 6th.

If that's not in your backyard, you may want to check out the 100 National Parks that will be free for three weekends this summer - June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16.

These include big parks like Crater Lake, Yosemite and Yellowstone!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Plastic Bottles by the Number

With all the rumors swirling out there, I thought I would take on the confusing issue of plastic

recycled plastic (PET) bottles #6620Image by Nemo's great uncle via Flickr

bottles. While I'm not promoting the use of plastic when we have other good alternatives (aluminum and glass), there are still many questions that need solid answers. Most surprising is that a lot of the misinformation is coming through email hoaxes.

* Does the reuse of plasic bottles promote bacteria growth?
No. Bacteria is no more likely to grow in a plastic bottle than another beverage container. Of course, they do need to be cleaned in between uses (hot soapy water) because drinking does introduce bacteria from your mouth into the bottle.

* Does the reuse of plastic bottles cause harmful chemicals to leach into the water?
No. Plasticsinfo.org has a detailed answer to this, but in short, the FDA has studied and found PET (the plastic used in most beverage containers) to be safe for single and repeated use.

* What if I freeze the bottle?
Everything above still applies. The concept that freezing the bottle changes its safety came from an email hoax. Snopes set me straight on this one.

* What do all those numbers on the bottom of the bottle mean?
It simply indicates the type of resin used to make the plastic. For a summary of what each one means, check out this summary from Earth911.

* What can I recycle?
That is dependent on your recycling company. Mine recycles plastic bottles, jugs, and round dairy tubs. If you want to recycle something not on their list, check out Earth911 for local recycling centers. In my area, my grocery store recycles the plastic bag and UPS recycles the packing peanuts.

Any questions???

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