Archive for November, 2008

Lights, Camera, Action

Sunday, November 30th, 2008

Ahhh,
the turkey feast is over and the holiday season has begun. When I was young, I loved the holidays. I loved shopping, exchanging gifts, the decorations, the lights, connecting with people that I hadn’t seen all year-and of course the food and parties! As I have gotten a little older, however, it seems less and less important. I have enough stuff, and so do most of my friends and family. The last thing anyone of us need is another doodad to take up space on the mantle. I now try to stay connected with people throughout the year, so I don’t need to save it all up for the holidays. I want to lose weight, not add to it, so the food isn’t as big an issue as it once was. Besides, I live in Cleveland-not a lot of local fresh foods in season right now.

All this being said, I am going to touch on a little bit of greenness for the holidays. Lets start with the lights. My in-laws pay anywhere from 75-125% premium this coming month for their electric bill. They are not alone. As I drive down the street, I see houses who can probably be seen from space. Even the bankrupt and struggling cities and towns that are cutting social services are lighting a big tree and putting up the decorations. Now, I agree that holiday lights are pretty. Still the Scrooge in me says-what a waste. How about a compromise. Try all LCD lights this year. Replace all those strings that are left over from Grandma’s house and get the newer energy efficient strings. They will pay for themselves in energy savings. Hang one or two less strings-instead opt for evergreen branches or other garland that is pretty without being lit up. Put the lights on a timer, who needs to see them at 3 am anyway? Wait one extra week to hang those lights. Cutting the lighting time down by 7-10 days can mean a large savings in electricity.

Now for paper waste. Thousands of pounds of paper waste are generated every year by us foolish Americans, for the holidays alone. Instead of cards, get out the camers. Take a family photo and put a nice holiday greeting on the back. This is the kind of card that people like to hang on to anyway. This year, keep one box of cards that feature cute puppies in a santa hat from being tossed out in a few days. Better yet, take a few minutes each day and call the people on your card list. You know they would love to hear from you in person, and isn’t that the real reason for sending cards in the first place? If you must send the cards, at the very least opt for card printed on recycled paper. Wrap your gifts in the Sunday comics. Try stamping newsprint with big stars. Instead of ribbon, try a little raffia or other biodegradable product for a more homespun flair. And as always-RECYCLE!

Lastly, think about others this year. Try taking the real reason for the season and making a difference. Give the gift of charity in the name of others. I want to pass on this idea that I heard of through the social network. Check out these gift cards. They allow you to give a charitable gift, but involve the person to whom the gift is meant. They get to choose their own charity, and you have something for them to open on the big day. Be sure to buy one extra toy this year and drop it off at a charity drive. These are the kids that will appreciate the gesture the most-not like that bratty nephew who breaks the toy you gave him five minutes after he rips it open…For that person who must get a tangible gift, buy local and save the planet from the pollution of dragging all those cheap crappy things from China.

Whether you love the holidays, or are more of a Scrooge, take the chance to make this season a truly special one.

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Spooky…Vampire Electronics

Friday, November 28th, 2008

So I finally got off my butt and did my power strip project. All my electronics and appliances are now on strips that can be completely shut off with a flick of the switch. I knew that I needed to get this done, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. Our computers have all been on power strips, but I still needed to fix a few other things. I already knew that phone chargers and similar items draw power, even when not in use. I try to unplug them when I am done. I just never thought about the other things and how much it could mean. What are vampire appliances? They are a reminder of how we Americans can’t wait even 30 seconds for anything. One of the helpful “advances” in the electronics industry has been the stand-by mode. This has been added to all manner of appliances and electric devices. In stand-by mode, the TV or DVD player springs to life in an instant-saving us from the terrible scourge of waiting 30 seconds for the appliance to warm up. What is the big deal? Not much in itself. The TV draws a little power all the time to keep it at the ready for us-its faithful worshipers. In return, it showers us with instant access to the big game or the latest episode of American Idol. So I started adding up all the things in our house that draw power when not in use. There’s the computers, printers, cell phone chargers, cordless phone, cordless mini vacuum, tv, vcr, dvr, Wii, dvd player, and surround system. Now I know we love our gadgets, but most folks have just as many. No wonder the disc on our meter runs so fast. Well, no more. The entertainment system all goes off with a flick. The microwave, one more. A couple more and chargers computers, printers. I have just put an electronic crucifix on my vampire appliances!

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The first product highlights from Greenbuild

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008

The Greenbuild show: If you are in design, construction, administration, architecture or public policy making there will always be something here for you. If you are an avid environmentalist, already following LEED policies and using green products, much of what was on the show floor was not new to you. Still, there were plenty of highlights. Let me tell you about a couple of my favorites.

Sloan has now introduced a dual flush, automatic toilet.

Automatic dual flush fixture

Automatic dual flush fixture

Dual flush toilets are a fairly new entry into the mainstream market.
Solar powered dual flush module

Solar powered dual flush module

They use a two button system to flush using less water for liquids and more for solids. This can drastically reduce water consumption in any situation. The sensor is calibrated to determine the length of time that the user is sitting, and flush accordingly. This is the icing on the cake for dual flush toilets. To make things even cooler, they have also introduced a solar powered model.

Speaking of plumbing fixtures, the company with the coolest new toys was Toto. This company has some things that were beyond cool. My favorite was the EcoPower series.

EcoPower faucet

EcoPower faucet

The only drawback to conventional sensor technology in plumbing fixtures is the use of disposable batteries. The EcoPower series does away with them. They use a rechargeable battery that harnesses the power of the flowing water to recharge the battery in the sensor. How cool is that! No dependence on sun, no electrical wiring, no batteries to replace. These sustainable sensors weren’t everything though. They had more to offer, like ultra efficient, low flow and dual flush toilets. They have a new glazing technique, called SANAGLOSS, that keeps the ceramic bowl cleaner by making it even less porous and more durable. They offer a line of tiles and surfaces called Hydrotect. According to the TOTO website,

Hydrotect works on a self-cleaning principal. When under ultraviolet (UV) exposure from sunlight or an illuminated light source (florescent lamps), a chemical reaction generates an active surface. Hydrotect’s active surface neutralizes global environmental pollutants such as Nitric Oxides and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and helps make cleaning easier. Additional benefits of Hydrotect technology are anti microbial surfaces, odor prevention and air quality improvement.

Check out their website for a dealer that stocks their products near you.

This last technology has taken its time getting to market in America. It is similar to another product called Oxygena by an Italian maker-Ceramiche Gambarelli Group. Their tiles use titanium oxide and UV light to bind oxygen to pollutants in the environment and clean the air. I also saw it in a concrete manufacturer that was an Italian subsidiary. But concrete is another product for another day.

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Time is short: Do one thing NOW!

Monday, November 24th, 2008

Do just one thing now to make your life greener. Turn down your thermostat, buy more local, time your showers, or put a brick in your toilet tank-anything to make this a better planet. I want to point out that we can’t save the planet through recycling and changing our light bulbs. We need to be thinking bigger and demanding more-from our local grocery to our federal government. Does that mean that we shouldn’t buy compact fluorescent bulbs or shut the light off when we leave the room? Not at all. It means that we have to do that and so much more. Maybe you aren’t the type to write letters to your senator or march in protest. That’s okay; there is still a big impact that you can have on a daily basis. We can easily vote with our dollars. Make a stand on one item and get your friends to stand with you.

I only buy toilet tissue made from recycled paper. If there were ever a place that it makes sense to use a recycled product, this is it! Talk to everyone about how you are making this choice. Sooner or later, when everyone is buying recycled TP, it will be in every store and get cheaper and cheaper. Everybody needs to buy toilet tissue, so make a stand-and if your store doesn’t carry it, just ask them too.

Use reusable bags at supermarkets and give them as gifts. Keep them in the trunk of your car and if you forget to take them into the store, take the groceries out without them and bag them in the trunk. Shop at the store that makes it easy to reuse bags and tell them so.

Until we show the people who provide us with our goods and services that we will put our money where our mouths are, they won’t change their ways. Detroit hasn’t done a thing about hybrid technology until Toyota started selling the Prius like bottled water. Suddenly, every automaker has a hybrid. Had we made this demand a few years earlier, perhaps we wouldn’t be talking bailout of the auto industry.

Being green in your daily life takes a little work, but if you are reading this you already have the interest. The more you work, the more companies will work with you to bring you better products-and make it easier.

The important thing is to start NOW and do just one thing.

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“6000 Looney Tunes running around Boston”

Monday, November 24th, 2008

After several days of walking the huge expo hall floor, multiple educational sessions a few keynote addresses, I opened the Boston Globe to read an article by Alex Beam. He seems to be against the current green movement-or at least a little slanted away from it. He quotes Joseph Lstiburek who seems to think that the world should live in dark cement boxes if they want to save energy. To see how Lstiburek thinks, one need only read his article in the journal of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Any jounalist shows his intentions clearly when he quotes a man who calls Greenbuild attendees “6000 looney tunes walking around Boston.” Being from Cleveland, I don’t know if this Beam is an opinion writer, but he goes on to quote xconomy.com techie, Wade Roush. Roush thinks the green movement is in trouble, but mostly he cites examples of old technology and lack of training. He ends his column with a mention of the Green Bible-not a guide book, but a greener version of the Holy Bible of the Christian faith.

Now I think that Alex Beam could not be farther from the truth, but I was driven to contemplation on the “greenwashing” of America, how far the industry has come, and how far we have to go. The exciting thing about Greenbuild was how many people attended. Tens of thousands of attendees, from all over the globe came to find out more about what is going on here and how they can help make a change. I even met representatives from small municipalities who are responsible for the greening of their own towns. Desmond Tutu gave a keynote address-hardly a “looney tune” wandering the streets of any city.

The really great thing about the green movement in America is that it is about everything good. It recognizes that: people are healthier in green buildings, not just saving the earth; reducing CO2 emissions can save us money as well as the ozone; we like to see the outside world when we work and will work harder when we can, so buildings need to make us happier as well as save energy; and recycling is cheaper than endless consumption. I could go on all day.

However, since it has become fashionable to be green, I am seeing a huge influx of companies who are trying to talk green while not being green. It is no longer acceptable to call a product “green” just because it has some recycled product in it. Green means that it uses a higher amount of recycled content, is recyclable at the end of its life, uses less energy to produce and transport, and has a means of being recycled. Just because bamboo is easily renewable, it isn’t okay to ship it from China and veneer it to chipboard that is loaded with chemicals and adhere it to the floor with glue that makes you sick. Most people don’t understand the big picture and are easily duped by sound bites and ad gimmicks. But with the help of green conferences around the world, the public will eventually catch on. If you are trying to “green-up” your life, do a little research and make the best choices possible.

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Bud’s notes on Greenbuild Opening Session

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

We attended the opening forum of Greenbuild on Monday afternoon which consisted of a moderated panel discussion. It was really a kind of “State of the Union” for green building in America, especially in this down economy. Ashok Gupta, the Program Director for Air and Energy at the National Resources Defense Council was one of the panelists who said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste”, meaning that in this economy there are opportunities we must take advantage of.

We were shown a short video of President Elect Barack Obama’s message to the Governors meeting filmed earlier that day in which he discussed climate change and what must be accomplished in the U.S. and globally in the upcoming years. After the video Moderator Steve Curwood of NPR’s ‘Living on Earth’ commented, “I’ve heard more in this four minute video from President Elect Obama on climate change than over the last eight years.” Hopefully this is a clear indicator of where the new administration is headed.

One of the questions asked of the panel is whether or not the auto manufacturers should be bailed out since they hadn’t seemed to learn any lessons from the current crisis or the past ones (regarding oil consumption). Mindy Lubby, President of Ceres recommended there be strings attached to the bail out plan since, “the auto manufacturer who told me that he will not make hybrids, that America doesn’t want them, is the same CEO that no longer be the head of a major auto maker under this plan.” It is obvious, at least to those attending Greenbuild that America DOES want newer, greener technology. Lubby said, “The fact that thirty thousand are attending this conference during a down economy sends a message that (green) is important.”

The attendees of this conference have high hopes that this time we will act quickly and get it right. The current political climate has opened the possibilities. Although we must proceed with intelligence and caution, Stockton Williams, Chief Strategic Officer of Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., reminded us that, “the population who has little or nothing to do with causing the climate change (the poor) is the one who pays the most for it (through higher energy costs due to low insulation, etc.).”

Overall the forum was interesting and inspiring.

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Where art thou? MOCA Cleveland!

Sunday, November 16th, 2008

It was drizzling rain and gray outside, but I manged to get in the car and drive over to Denison Ave and stop by the Art House show on Saturday. I was greeted by free hot coffee, and a table of delicious looking baked goods for sale. I moved on into the open space where they teach classes in pottery, printmaking and other cool art skills and came across the most beautiful vibrate purple pottery that I have seen in quite some time. Iron and purple glazed noodle bowls that were out of this world, were hand made by Gina DeSantis. I was struck also by the pottery tree decorations: mottled snowflakes and colored drops that would perk up any holiday decor. While I am not a big fan of jewelry, there was a nice selection here. Handcrafted necklaces and earrings hung from displays like candy on chains. As I am a photographer, I am always delighted to see the work of fellow lens junkies. There was a chance for me to see the world through the eyes of fellow artist’s lenses. In addition, there were unique wall hangings and textile art-I LOVED the kitschy potholders with fried eggs sewn on! What set this stuff off from the usual art show, was the friendliness of the artists. They were all available to discuss their work and talk about their artistic approach. There was a good crowd of interested buyers. That means artists should consider joining Art House and sell their wares here next year. They have a unique program for artists who are self employed, called AH SEAN.

If you missed this show, or even if you didn’t, don’t forget about Artscape next weekend. It will be at MOCA Cleveland on Friday, November 21 from 4:30-9pm and Saturday, November 22 from 11-5. If you are a member, then you probably already know about the member preview on Friday evening. While Saturday is free to the public, Friday evening is free to members, and $5 for non-members-with a donation cocktail bar and nibbles. This unique show is a great way to support local artists and buy on of a kind gifts for those on your holiday list. If you have read any of my previous entries, then you know that I think gift giving should be personal and meaningful-a task that is hard to achieve buying a pile of imported cheap junk from the usual retailers. At the very least, stop by on Saturday and get a free preview of Cleveland Playhouse’s Festival of Trees, while showing your support of venues that help promote local artists. MOCA Cleveland is located at 85th and Carnegie.

Shopping local is a green idea that helps the local economy! Get your shopping done early-and promote Cleveland’s own Art scene.

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Today is National Recycle Day

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Today is national recycle day. I could tell you to go and recycle something, or be sure to take your paper to a recycle center, but that won’t really have much impact. I suggest that everyone reading this write their local city councilperson today and ask them to implement or expand curbside recycling in their city. Today is a day to celebrate our recycling efforts and raise awareness-so do it in a way that can truly make a difference. Write an email, call (even councilmen have voice mail), or write a good old fashioned letter-just be sure to mention that they should recycle it when they are done reading it.

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Is Cleveland the last place on the planet to have full curbside recycling?

Friday, November 14th, 2008

What is the deal? Recycling saves money. Recycled glass, paper and cardboard are worth money. So why is it that Cleveland doesn’t have citywide curbside recycling? I moved here from Oregon in 2000. It has been a struggle at times to overlook the use of Styrofoam cups and overuse of plastic shopping bags (see my previous post). While I am on our mayor’s side to make Cleveland one of the greenest cities in the nation, the biggest leap forward should come from a basic thing like recycling. When it was announced a while back that curbside recycling would begin this year, I was ecstatic! Still, the roll out has been slow, and not very methodical. One friend of mine gets his recycling picked up, while his neighbor does not. What the…?

While it is a pain in the neck to drag my recycling down the street and dump it in a recycling dumpster, this is not my biggest issue. While I don’t my stuffing bags of cardboard and glass jars in the trunk, my friends seem to. I know that having a couple of kids, full time jobs, work on the side, and a house to maintain can wear you out. Still, the recycle dumpsters are not that far away. I know that these friends of mine will never be enticed to recycle until we make it easier for them.

When we relocated to Cleveland, I was astonished at the waste. Nothing, it seemed, was being reused. New bed, throw the old one on the tree lawn. Stain on the couch, chuck it out. I have found windows, doors, tables, chairs, antiques….all laid out for the garbage man. Luckily there are entrepreneurs. If I have metal waste, I set it out near the curb, and somebody will stop by and pick it up. So if they can, why can’t the city? The curbside program that the city is SLOWLY implementing will limit garbage to one large can per household. I am excited to see how this might cut down on the overall waste around town. To top things off, the new cans all have attached lids, and maybe there will be less uncovered garbage on trash day, left to blow away in the wind. Cleveland could be a cleaner, greener city-what’s the hold up?

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10 Things You Can Do Right Now to Save Energy

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Of course there are many more, but here are 10 quick and easy ideas:

1. Clean your refrigerator coils. Vacuuming the dust out of your refrigerator coils makes it run more efficiently and thus saves energy.

2. Turn off the water while shaving and brushing your teeth. Gallons of potable water are flushed down the drain while we brush or shave. If you use hot water, it is even worse as you spend the energy on heating the water as well as the water itself.

3. Change your heater filter. The cleaner the filter, the more efficiently your heater will run. At a minimum, it should be changed every season.

4. Insulate hot water pipes. The unused hot water in your pipes cools quickly in winter. Insulating the pipes means that there will be less time (and water) wasted waiting for your shower to heat up.

5. Check your weather stripping. Replace old worn out weather stripping to create tight seals around windows and doors. Keep the warm air inside this winter.

6. Carpool one day a week. Simple, but true. One day a week could mean a huge impact on your fuel costs. Don’t like to carpool? Try public transportation one day a week. Who knows, maybe you will see that it isn’t so bad-soon you can skip the fuel costs, the parking, the maintenance, just by using the mass transit system in your town.

7. Wash your clothes in cold water. Clothes rarely get cleaner in hot water. If you are a hot water junkie, dial it down slowly, try warm for hot and cold for warm.

8. Replace standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones. My favorite suggestion! If you want to know more, check out my earlier post on the subject.

9. Put master strips on major gadgets and appliances. Turning off the TV and DVD player rarely turns them all the way off any more. Unplug them at night or when away from home (or use a master strip that you can simply switch off). The clock on your VCR won’t read right-but does it now? Don’t forget about the chargers! Phone and gadget chargers still draw power, even when they are not charging anything. Unplug them when not in use.

10. Get a programmable thermostat. I cut our natural gas use significantly by installing one of these. It was easy to install, easy to program and cost about $30. Does your entire house need to be heated all day when no one is there to enjoy it?

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