Where Does Our Power Come From?

Kids are filled with endless questions... Does the tooth fairy leave money if you swallow the tooth? How do the peas get inside the peapod? How old do I have to be to go to Antarctica by myself? I've managed through these questions for nine years, but how about this one: Where does our power come from? Um... the power company? But, how does it get there?

Our local newspaper, The Everett Herald, had an interesting story on Washington state power sources yesterday that answered many of those questions. As I had suspected, the vast majority (81%) of our power comes from hydroelectric sources. Want to know where your power comes from? The Energy Information Administration (EIA) has a chart that shows the primary source and relative expense state by state. EIA also has a cool map that shows where all the power comes from.

State by state, the primary power source varies greatly from nuclear (Vermont) to petroleum (Hawaii) to gas (Alaska) to coal (Kentucky). No one produces more hydroelectric power than Washington, but that leads to more questions. Is hydroelectric power green? Some say yes - it is a renewable source and it doesn't generate many greenhouse gases - and some say no - the dams that it requires are wrecking the natural flow of water which can have devastating effects on the ecosystem.

The next time you flip the lightswitch, think about where the energy is coming from. Is it a coalmine, a windfarm, an oil refinery, or a dam? As states begin to talk about moving to more renewable sources of energy, its important to know the source of today's energy.

When To Replace Appliances

Fortunately, many of the energy-sapping products manufactured for our households are getting to be more energy efficient, but when is the right time to replace them? Does it make sense to send a refrigerator to a landfill when it's keeping the milk chilled just fine? Here are some guidelines provided by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE) for when it makes economic sense to replace an appliance.

1) Lightbulbs - The answer here is simple - REPLACE THEM NOW! Even if you spend $4 to buy a new CFL bulb and use it only 2 hours a day, you will save an estimated 21 cents in the first year. If it is a high-use light - let's say it's on 8 hrs/day - you save $30 in the first two years on that single lightbulb!

There has been some recent concern about mercury in the CFLs. Here is what the ACEEE says: "CFLs save 2-10 times more mercury from the environment than they contain by avoiding pollution from coal-fired power plants. The amount in each bulb is not significant enough to pose a health risk in your home, but they should be disposed of properly, like batteries, to minimize their impact on landfills."

2) Refrigerator - New refrigerators use half the energy of those created in the 1990s. The ACEEE recommendation is to replace when it needs repairs or when it is more than 15 years old.

3) Dryer - If your dryer works well, keep it. Just make sure to maintain it.

4) Washing machine - The new high efficiency models use much less water which means less water that gets heated for hot water cycles. They also spin better so the clothes take less time to dry. The ACEEE recommends replacing a washing machine more than 10 years old.

5) Heating/Cooling Systems - Similar to dryers, these should just be replaced when they are old or worn out.

If it is time to replace something in your house, make sure you recycle the old applicance (there are often free programs offered by your power company) and replace it with an energy-efficient one. You can research all the options on the Energy Star website. Also, learn enough about the new appliance to take advantage of the energy saving features.

Chemical-Free Cleaning

We know that chemical cleaning products aren't good for the Earth - for starters, all those chemicals eventually wash away into our oceans - but are there actually good alternatives?
I started thinking about this while pressure-washing my lawn furniture last week. The chairs had been left out for an entire rainy winter season and the formerly white metal now blended with the green seat cushions. Here are four suggestions for alternatives to chemical cleaners starting with the one I used on the chairs...

1) The Right Equipment - The pressure washer is my new favorite tool because it was actually fun spraying off all that gunk. I have tried the cleaning product route in the past and it was much more difficult and time-consuming. I'm not suggesting you go buy a pressure washer just to use it once a year, but it may be a good choice for renting or borrowing (mine was a hand-me-down from my in-laws). Other chemical-reducing cleaning tools that come to mind include steamers and high-efficiency appliances (e.g. washing machines) that can minimize the amount of detergent you need to use.

2) Natural Cleaning Products - lemon juice, baking soda, club soda, corn starch, salt - many everyday products are great cleaning products. One of my favorite magazines, Real Simple, has a good article this month on 66 All Natural Cleaning Solutions. They'll give you ideas for everything from vinegar for your windows to baking soda for removing crayon marks from the walls.

3) "Green" Cleaning Products - these new products are everywhere in the stores today. Just make sure you read the labels to see what makes them "green" since those labels aren't always meaningful. I'm not sold on all the cleaning products, but I do like the Seventh Generation laundry and dishwasher detergents.

4) Elbow Grease - Sometimes good old-fashioned elbow grease does the trick with little or no cleaning products. I put this one last because it's my least favorite, but maybe I'll enlist the kids this summer and make them earn those allowances! After all, aren't they the ones tracking in all the dirt??

Which is Better: Compost or Disposal?

This is the first in a series of "Which is Better" articles. Many times we want to do the right thing, but honestly don't know which is the better choice. Feel free to suggest your own topics and I'll go hunt down the answers!

While I think composting food scraps is a great idea, I confess I have never done it. When our garbage company offered to compost it for us, I was happy to hop on board, but I wondered if it really made a difference. Wasn't I already grinding up most of that food in the garbage disposal? So, which is better - sending the food down the disposal or letting the garbage company pick it up with your yard waste?

The hands-down winner on this question is composting. Why? Well, if you think about it, garbage disposals use electricity and water to send the food down the disposal and through the sewer to the treatment plant where it will eventually be disposed of in a nearby large body of water. With composting, there are resources involved - primarily, the gas in the trucks that do the pickup, but then the food scraps are turned into a beneficial use. In the Seattle area, it all goes to Cedar Grove which then turns it into a variety of compost products that are sold to gardeners. Basically, less resources go into disposing of the food scraps and it gets put to a good use rather than just dumped in the ocean.

That leads us to two common questions...

1) Doesn't it smell? Honestly, my answer is no, it doesn't. Find a good container and take it out daily and you're fine. We just use leftover grocery bags (from those trips when I forgot to bring my reusable bags) in our regular under-the-sink garbage bins, but there are other options available.

2) What can I compost? Check with your local company, but in our area, all food scraps are acceptable - the scrapings off the dinner plate, leftover kids lunches, you name it. Soiled paper products (pizza box, used paper towel, etc.) can go in as well as long as they aren't plastic-coated (typically, it would be shiny - e.g. milk carton, juice box, frozen food container). The food scraps and acceptable soiled paper items then all get tossed into our yard waste bin along with grass clippings and weeds.

For me, it is a fairly easy way to reduce the waste generated by our household. It's strange to think that eight weeks after leaving my house, my garbage is being turned into compost. Maybe I'll get some of it back when I pick up some compost for my garden!

The Vegetable Experiment - Part I

The three-bite rule.
The no-thank you bite.
The shred-it-and-hide-it-in-the-sauce trick.

In my quest to get a morsel of vegetable into my seven-year-old's tummy, I have tried all of the above and more - everything from patiently waiting ("let the child decide when he's ready to eat the vegetable") to bribing with dessert - I know it's not recommended, but it does work sometimes...

I suppose I can't complain. He happily eats peas and corn, although a fellow mom in the same shoes pointed out to me that corn hardly qualifies - it's kind of like counting french fries as a vegetable. Although he will suffer through 1 baby carrot, 1 green bean, 1 broccoli stem, or 1 forkful of lettuce, the offending vegetable must first be drowned in either parmesan cheese or ranch dip. I'm not sure its worth it based on the microscopic amount of vegetable he actually ingests on these occasions.


My new plan is The Vegetable Experiment. Let him plant the vegetables, let him watch them grow, let him care for them, let him eat them. OK, I realize that the final step may be a complete bust. The mom I mentioned above said she is on her 3rd garden and her son's vast vegetable palate is still limited to salsa and tomato sauce.

Regardless, we're plunging forward. The seeds have been planted and they are now growing in Stephen's room where they can get a warm and sunny start. He was thrilled to see them pop up on Day 1 (to be honest, as the neophyte gardener that I am, I was quite surprised) and now thinks on Day 4 that they've outgrown their peat pellets. I'm voting for a little longer inside.

Is he going to eat the vegetables? I have no idea, but I figure we'll benefit in other ways - fresh organic vegetables that did not have to be trucked across the country or shipped around the world to make it to our table. While I would love it if he would try something new, I'm vowing to just enjoy the process. If all goes well with the garden, at least I'll have yummy veggies to eat this summer!

Get Rid of the Junk Mail!

About two years ago, I was fed up with all the catalogs I was receiving on a daily basis. I might like to shop from home every once in a while, but on a daily basis my mailbox was clogged with catalogs for toys, clothes, home and garden supplies, wine - you name it.

To stop the madness, I signed up for Green Dimes about two years ago. The idea, at the time, was that for a dime a day they would stop any specific catalog that I requested. The results were quick and amazing! They have since changed their name to Tonic Mailstopper and reduced their price to $20/year.

The US Postal Services says that over one billion pieces of junk mail were sent last year so the potential to save trees and reduce greenhouse gases is huge. Save yourself the bother of recycling the unwanted mail and just stop it before it ever gets produced. I love how little mail I get now!

Snack Mom Reduces Game Day Waste

It's game day and you're on the list as "snack parent" for the day. What do you do? Run to the grocery store and pick up one of those snack packs filled with Doritos and a case of water bottles?

I have absolutely been that mom - and have even done it during the game when I suddenly realized it was my day! I figured this week was my chance to redeem myself - what could I provide if I had some advance planning?

The goal was to reduce the waste, while still providing a healthy, fun snack for the kids. I settled on local Gala apples, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and cans of Crayons (a new all-natural, locally produced juice). I originally considered a big thermos of juice and paper cups, but I know, as a parent, that most of us are in a hurry to get home after an evening game so I went with something that was portable and recyclable instead.

One kid did ask what the fruit was for and then happily grabbed one when I told him it was part of the snack. That tells you how often we parents tend to offer healthy snacks after games.

I do admit it took more time to make the cookies than run to the store, but my younger son loves cookies and I rarely make them (because then I eat all of them) so it was worth it. The extras went to school today for Support Teacher Appreciation Day so we had homemade gifts for the teachers and no leftovers for me. Perfect!