KeepGreenGoing

As the weather has been taking a warm turn over the last couple weeks, I’ve started seeing small groups of college students out in our local pedestrian mall promoting Environment Iowa. Who was this old hat in the community? It was definitely new to me, so I did some research. It turns out, Environment Iowa has been working for years to protect Iowa’s air, water and open spaces. For a town like Iowa City, where I’ve been living for the past 6 years, the work they do is crucial. I’ve always taken the stubborn stance that drinking straight from the tap, no filter, makes me stronger. The truth is, however, that the Iowa River is currently listed as the third most endangered river in America. That’s our main source of water. Blech.

I’m highlighting this not because I imagine most of you will find anything useful about an Iowa-based organization. The point is, thinking about the environment in broad, global terms quickly gets discouraging and confusing. Environment Iowa is my way of connecting locally. Tell us: What’s yours?

It has been said that the single best thing one can do for the environment is not reproduce. I for one disagree. While I think we need to reproduce responsibly and probably try to adopt a few kids that sentiment creates a bleak outlook for the human race as far as the idea of procreation goes. Also you can bank on the people that don’t care about the environment ignoring the idea of living small and not reproducing and after one generation we greenies would only be a bleak memory and the planet is doomed. You with me?

In light of my wife and I’s imminent birth of a freshly developed human I thought I would put together some green baby ideas. Truth be told the subject deserves an entire book rather than an article so I’ve put together some of the best ideas and resources that I’ve come across so far.

Ideas:

One thing I’ve learned so far is what is good for the regular sized person is probably just as good for the miniature sized person as well. Take our recent talk on drinking apparatus; adults (particularly pregnant adults) don’t need BPAs and babies don’t either. Two of our readers, Claire and Jenna, put me in touch with the following products: The Babisil Silbottle and The Safe Sippy respectively. Both are BPA free and a great product. Responsibly grown fabrics are also good for baby, same with locally grown foods, etc. Forks are also good for baby… just joking. A baby’s only eating utensil should be yours or your partner’s boobs for the early months.

Our children are undoubtedly going to take on some of their parents behavior as much as they may desire not to. With that being said we can create an environment that helps to instill a degree of respect for the planet in our offspring. Be selective with what you expose your baby to; read them The Lorax and The Giving Tree, take them on a hike instead of drive, etc. I think I need to be careful here; I’m not insinuating that you should take your baby from womb directly to some sort of green solar powered box. If you are reading this you probably just need to continue the behavior that you’ve already started.

Resources:

Treehugger – Green Your Baby

This a great tree top article that will get you started on the right track with an overall green baby perspective. The article gives a brief on everything from diapers to clothing to breast milk. I think it’s a great place to start your green baby research.

Baby Earth

This is the best e-commerce site I’ve found dedicated to a wide spectrum of baby care products. With that being said, we may all be better served visiting individual companies to make our purchases, as Baby Earth sells a lot of products that I wouldn’t give my green stamp of approval to, but this was the best resource I found that had everything in one spot. They also do their best to fill you in on green jargon and how they review each product that they sell.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth By Ina May Gaskin

This is my favorite book on birthing/babies that I’ve read. Written by one of the most prolific midwifes today, it gives an excellent portrayal of a medical model vs. a midwifery model of birthing. I strongly recommend it for anyone who is considering where to deliver their child.

There are a tremendous amount of “green baby” resources out there; I hope that this has helped to point your search in the right direction. My best advice though is, like always, to keep it simple and to keep green going.

::a

By now, you’ve all heard of the Carbon Footprint – the measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. Today, KGG sheds light on the other foot; Your Water Footprint.

The Water footprint of an individual is defined as the total water used for the production of the goods and services consumed by the individual. It can be estimated by multiplying all goods and services consumed by their respective virtual-water content.

The water footprint of a nation shows the total volume of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. The water footprint consists of two parts: Use of domestic water resources and use of water outside the borders of the country. The water footprint includes water withdrawn from surface and groundwater and the use of soil water (in agricultural production).

A Few Facts

• The production of 1 kilogram of beef requires 16,000 liters of water.

• To produce 1 cup of coffee we need 140 liters of water.

• The water footprint of China is about 700 cubic meter per year per capita. Only 7% of the Chinese water footprint falls outside China.

• The USA water footprint is 2500 cubic meter per year per capita.

Coffee Case Study

Background – Coffee is, in dollar terms, the most important agricultural product traded in the world. Producing coffee requires a lot of water.

Objective – A case study performed by A.Y. Hoekstra and A.K. Chapagain was conducted to calculate the volumes of water required to drink coffee and tea in the Netherlands.

Results – “We found that for drinking one standard cup of coffee in the Netherlands we need about 140 litres of water, by far the largest part for growing the coffee plant. A standard cup of coffee is 125 ml, which means that we need more than 1100 drops of water for producing one drop of coffee. Total coffee consumption in the Netherlands requires a total of 2.6 billion cubic metres of water per year, which is equal to 36% of the annual Meuse flow. The Dutch people account for 2.4% of the world coffee consumption. All together, the world population requires about 110 billion cubic metres of water per year in order to be able to drink coffee. This is equivalent to 15 times the annual Meuse runoff, or 1.5 times the annual Rhine runoff.”

What’s Your Water Footprint?

If you’re interested in finding out your individual water footprint, please use the extended calculator provided by WaterFootpring.org

Fellow apartment dwellers let it be known; growing a garden is not only for homeowners. If you have a porch or balcony that receives a fair share of sunlight, consider yourself good-to-grow.

Gardening for apartments, or container gardening, is easy, movable and can be accomplished in very small spaces. The first thing you need to do is to save containers in which to plant your vegetables. Coffee cans, water jugs with the top cut off, deep bowls, and empty milk jugs or flowerpots are all viable choices. After you’ve found the perfect container, make sure you put holes in the bottom of the container for excess water drainage.

Next, it’s best to put feet under the container like a brick or a terra cotta saucer. This is so the water can drain easily out of the bottom. Leave one or two inches between the soil and the top of the pot so there’s room to water without soil spilling out of the container.

If you’re not too sure what to plant, take a few picks from the following list:

• Sugar baby watermelon

• Small squash or melon

• Cucumbers

• Strawberries

• Tomatoes

• Small potatoes

• Carrots

• Onions

• Pineapples

• Lettuce

• Broccoli

You’ll want to take special note of which areas of your porch get the most sunlight. Place sun-loving plants where the most sun is and shade-loving plants behind those. Also, taller plants should go in the back where they can share the light with the smaller plants in front.

Another tip from Amber Seber at Associated Content says to hang old CDs from string in order to keep birds away - A great way to recycle CDs. The reflection and movement from the CDs will scare the birds away.

Last, have fun and be creative. There’s no space too small to grown a usable container garden. Check out Green Your Apartment for more apartment friendly ideas and solutions.

The Norwegian electric car producer TH!NK has reached across the Atlantic to establish TH!NK North America.

The new venture was announced at the 2008 FORTUNE Brainstorm Green Conference held in Pasadena, California, that brought chief executives from all over North America together to talk about the business opportunities.

TH!NK city is an environmental vehicle, emission free and 95 percent recyclable. It reaches a top speed of 100 km (65 miles) per hour and can drive up to 180 km (110 miles) on a single charge. 
TH!NK city meets all European and US federal motor vehicle safety requirements.

At the Geneva Motorshow earlier this year, TH!NK announced a strategic partnership with energy giant General Electric, also an investor in TH!NK. At the Show, TH!NK unveiled its future car, the 
TH!NK Ox, the first 4/5-seater fully electric vehicle which is slated to begin production in 2010.

The TH!NK city is currently produced in Norway and international sales are slated to begin in Scandinavia, with Switzerland and France also being the initial focus areas. Sales other than initial trial and demonstration projects will begin in The North American market in 2009.

Vicki Northrup, an electric car veteran, has been retained by TH!NK North America as Operations Manager and will initially be based out of TH!NK North America’s Menlo Park Office.

About Think Global

TH!NK designs, develops, manufactures and markets environmentally friendly vehicles and technologies. The company has more than 17 years of experience in developing and producing electric vehicles and there are about 1,200 vehicles driving on Norwegian roads today. The latest TH!NK city is the fifth-generation electric vehicle that has been produced in Norway. Series production of the newly designed TH!NK city car started late last year and the first cars will be delivered to Norwegian customers. The capacity of its first assembly plant in Aurskog, outside Oslo, is presently being increased to 10,000 cars per year. TH!NK expects to be producing at full capacity sometime during 2009. Enthusiastic owners with the vision and resources want to make TH!NK the “car company of the 21st century.”

More about TH!NK here.

Solar Power…It’s free. It’s clean. It’s available everyday. What more could one ask for, right? With solar power systems down more than 80% in cost from the last two decades there are a variety of options available. But before we all go super-solar crazy, let’s take a look at the cost and benefits associated with each option.

How Solar Power Works

Solar power is produced by using photovoltaic (PV) cells that capture the energy of the sun and then covert that energy into electricity. The basic unit of the system is the solar cell, which are connected together into modules. PV cells are comprised of semi-conductors, most often made of silicon. The semiconductors absorb power when they are struck by light. The modules of PV cells are what you see installed on the roofs of homes and businesses. The electricity created by the solar system is direct current and the electricity we use in our homes is alternating current. Therefore, solar systems include and inverter that changes the CD current into useable AC current. Installing solar systems can be quite complicated. It’s best to find a solar installer in your area to get the process started.

Solar Power Home Systems

When it comes to solar power systems for homes, there are two main formats: grid-tie and off-grid. In a grid-tie system, a home has solar cells but is still connected to the local power grid. The home solar system includes solar cells installed on a home that collects the sun’s energy and converts it into DC electricity. Then the inverter converts the DC power into AC power, which can be used directly in your home. Electricity produced by the solar cells that is not used immediately in your home is returned to the power grid. When this happens, your electricity meter literally spins backwards as you are passing energy to the grid. You are also building a credit on your power bill. This is called “net-metering.” The benefit of the grid-tie system is that it does not include expensive batteries to be installed in your home for the storage of power.

Off-grid systems are typically used in remote locations where standard grid-based power is not available.  These systems are more expensive, but do allow for complete electrical independence. These systems require deep-cycle batteries for storing the electricity as well as a charge controller to assure the flow of electricity from the cells does not over-charge the batteries.

For a solar system to work well it needs an unobstructed view of the sun. In the United States, typically the best orientation for solar panels is to the south as the sun is in the southern half of the sky (lower in the winter and higher in the summer).

Solar panels can either be attached directly to a slanting roof, or bolted onto frames on flat roofs. If your roof is not a good option, then panels can also be mounted on the ground. They can either be placed on a fixed mount frame or on a “tracking mount” that follows the sun across the sky.

For an excellent consumer guide to selecting and purchasing the right solar system, please visit http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35297.pdf

For more detail on how solar power works, please visit: http://www.solarelectricpower.org/index.php?page=basics&subpage=pv&display=facts

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In follow up to our previous article on bisphenol-A I wanted to draw some attention to some more solutions to this chemical and others. Take a look below at some more health-friendly drinking bottles.

But first let’s recap what bottles to avoid. Nalgene and other hard plastic bottles (polycarbonates) have been the lead culprits when it comes to the proliferation of bisphenol-A but they are not the only plastics causing troubles. Do your best to avoid the following:

#3 Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC); can release di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), an endocrine disruptor and carcinogen.

#6 Polystyrene (PS); can release styrene, an endocrine disruptor and carcinogen.

#7 Polycarbonate; can release the infamous bisphenol-A.

What to look for in a health friendly bottle:

#2 High Density Polyethylene, #4 Low Density Polyethylene, and #5 Polypropylene plastics; these have been shown to yield next to no chemicals and not react to heat in the same way as the chemicals listed above.

Glass; probably not the most convenient in light of its obvious breaking potential but it is completely un-reactive (think high school chemistry beakers).

Stainless Steel or Lined Metals; check out Sigg and Klean Kanteen below.

Klean Kanteen - Established in 2004 Klean Kanteen makes their bottles out of #304 stainless steel. This is the same material used in kitchens, dairy farms, and breweries the world over due to its inert properties. Checking into their green factor I think they may fall into the category of greenwashing; they offered a lot about why they think plastic bottles are bad for the environment but I didn’t see to much about why Stainless Steel bottles (produced in China and shipped to America) are good for the planet. Brush up on greenwashing visit Klean Kanteen and let us know your opinion.

Camelbak – Known for their hydration bladders Camelbak has been a household name amongst outdoor enthusiast and endurance athletes alike. Only recently have they branched out to include common drinking bottles in their line of products. These bottles are definitely the most technically savvy as they are outfit with leak free bite valves. There was no information on their relationship with the planet that I was able to find online.

Also for you hiking, outdoors, endurance athletes I contacted Camelbak to check on the chemical makeup of their bladders. Camelbak’s bladders are BPA free and are made from polyurethane.

Sigg – Sigg, a Swiss company, takes beverage consumption to another level. They provide style, personalization, and the quality and craftsmanship that the Swiss are known for in one excellent drinking apparatus. On top of their great product they also are a member of 1% for the planet. Sigg also has started their “Thirsty for Change” campaign where they are donating all proceeds from a specific water bottle to Children’s Safe Drinking Water.

Not enough? Sigg bottles are made of aluminum; this sounds scary but then consider that they are lined with a proprietary inner liner that has been tested in the U.S. and Europe to insure that no leaching occurs from the liner or the aluminum bottle.

Nalgene? …

Come on folks they are classic, they’re phasing out their BPA bottles and I think they’re still a rocking company. They’ve also developed a stainless steel line of bottles.

::a

Check out the current issue of SEED Magazine (Science is Culture) for a sharp analysis of the universal consequences brought on by our consumption of meat.

Carnivores Like Us is by journalist Paul Roberts, a Harper’s regular. His last book, The End of Oil, highlighted problems with the energy economy, chastised American energy (over)use, warned of global implications and encouraged a shift in the way we approach energy. Here, he does the same thing with food.
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Again, in the marketing world –

Greenwashing is a term that’s been catching on in the media. Seems to me, it’s about ready to enter the public lexicon, too, just by virtue of its increasing applicability as consumers become simultaneously more eco-conscious and less trusting.

Here’s a simple definition: When a company makes a green claim that’s either false or misleading, it’s greenwashing.

Thanks to Rob Walker at Murketing for linking to The Greenwashing Index, what is already an interesting resource that has the potential to become the go-to guide for navigating green claims in advertising. I’m not a fan of the ratings system as it stands — the criteria is good, but I’d love to see numbers based on more informed reviews from advertising and environmental professionals — but I like the sharing of information that occurs in the comments section of each ad.

On a very basic level, it’s been helpful to consider their criteria (assembled by “advertising academia,” according to the site) when I come across any new “green” ad.

1. The ad misleads with words
Do you believe the ad misleads the viewer/reader about the company’s/product’s environmental impact through the things it says? Does it seem the words are trying to make you believe there is a green claim when there isn’t? Focus on the words only — what do you think the ad is saying?

2. The ad misleads with visuals and/or graphics
Do you think the advertiser has used green or natural images in a way designed to make you think the product/company is more environmentally friendly than it really is?

3. The ad makes a green claim that is vague or seemingly unprovable
Does the ad claim environmental benefits without sufficiently identifying for you what they are? Has the advertiser provided a source for claims or for more information? Are the claims related to the company/product?

4. The ad overstates how green the product/company/service actually is
Do you believe the advertiser is overstating how green the product/company actually is? Are the green claims made by the ad believable? Do you think it’s possible for the product/company to do the things depicted/stated?

5. The ad leaves out or masks important information
Do you think the ad exists to divert attention from something else the company does? Do you believe the relevant collateral consequences of the product/service are considered in the ad? Does it seem to you something is missing from the ad?

Millions of ink jet, laser and toner cartridges are thrown away each and every month. But why? My guess is there’s a lack of knowledge when it comes to deciding, “What do I do with this empty cartridge?” And by all means, I’m at fault too.

Today I stumbled across a unique resource that has the answer to our question: www.RecyclePlace.com

How it works?

1. Register. It’s quick and free.

2. Collect empty ink jet, laser, toner and fax cartridges.

3. Return the cartridges using one of the pre-paid UPS labels sent to you after       registration. Enclose a copy of the completed Cartridge Return Form.

4. A check will be sent to you.

5. Yes, Recycle Place pays you for empty cartridges.

Why recycle ink cartridges?

1. More than 3 quarts of oil are used to produce each laser cartridge.

2. The plastic used in each printer cartridge takes more than 10 centuries (that’s 1000 years) to decompose.

3. 25 million printer cartridges go to land fills each month.

4. Toner cartridge remanufacturing saves over 38,000 tons of plastic and metal from landfills.

5. Stacking 125 laser toner cartridges end-to-end equals the height of the Statue of Liberty.