96 gal recycling cans come to Discovery Bay, CA

Three years ago the Garaventa Family, owners of Mt Diablo Recycling Center

in Pittsburgh, CA had a grand vision and this month in Discovery Bay we get the opportunity to participate in their vision and help make it a reality.

As our bins are being delivered over the next few weeks we have choices to make that effect the way our community embraces and accepts the responsibility that has been bestowed upon us. As in “Field of Dreams,” The Garaventa Family built a state of the art 90,000 square foot recycling facility now it’s our turn to keep it busy.

Choice #1 - Are we going to challenge ourselves to truly reduce our waste? Discovery Bay Disposal is offering all residents three different sized garbage waste containers. Most of us are probably comfortable with the 96 gallon container just in case we need it. But what if we can get by with a smaller container such as a 64 gallon or a 32 gallon container? The benefits are you’ll save money on your garbage bill and more importantly you’ll divert garbage going to our local landfill. Think about it. How much garbage do you think we can sustain in Contra Costa County before we eventually reach capacity? We might not run out of capacity in the next few years but our children may have to deal with it when they are older.

Choice #2 - Are we going to change our habits? If you were going to look through your garbage today and actually separate it into the proper containers you’d be amazed. Here is a list of four types of garbage that could be either diverted or not used at all.

1) Vegetable table scraps -Store them in a waste container underneath your sink until you take the trash out. You can throw them in the yard waste or start a compost pile.

2) Paper towels and napkins - How often do we use paper towels or napkins to just wipe up a quick spill or wipe a dirty mouth. Maybe cloth napkins or hand towels could replace them and it would save money too.

3) Cardboard boxes - If you accumulate a lot of useable cardboard boxes post them on Freecycle.org and someone in your local neighborhood will pick them up to use for moving etc.

4) Plastic grocery bags - stop using them at the grocery store instead bring your own bags. There is a great website called “Bagnetic” that sells bags that hang on a hook so they don’t take up much room in your trunk.

Choice #3 - Teach our children the importance of recycling. We need to lead by example and encourage them to separate the trash. After all it’s probably one of their chores anyway. Mt Diablo Recycling offers school presentations and tours of their recycling facility in Pittsburgh. Talk to your children’s teacher about organizing a field trip or plan a family or neighborhood trip of your own. Contact Nicole Adler at (925) 692-2224, or email her at nicole@garaventaent.com.

In conclusion, let’s get excited about this new recycling program by taking action and changing. By the way did you know that currently 30% of our garbage in Contra Costa County is being diverted from the landfill at the Mt Diablo Recycling Center? Wouldn’t it be great to get it up to 50% or higher?

I invite you to post comments and ideas on what works for you.  What changes are you making to make a difference.

Solar Energy

Solar energy is a light and heat from the closest star. Our star is  150 000 000  kilometres away, and amazingly powerful. The power of the closest star has been used by us since the beginning of our race but still only a slight fraction of the available solar energy is used. In fact , every minute , enough energy arrives at the Earth to meet our demands for months .

Collector and storage

The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation  at the atmosphere . About 30% is reflected back to space while the rest is absorbed by the earth (atmosphere, lands, oceans). The sun creates its energy through a thermonuclear process that converts about more then   650 000 00   tons of hydrogen to helium every second however only a very small fraction of the total radiation produced arrives the Earth.

Solar energy production requires two parts to work. These two components are a collector and a storage unit. The collector simply collects the radiation that falls on it and converts a fraction of it to other forms of energy. 
The storage unit is required because of the non-constant nature of solar energy. The sun is not available at night. Storage can be done using thermal mass or water tanks for liquid based systems.

Uses of solar power

• Solar water heating
• Heating, cooling and ventilation 
• Water treatment
• Cooking
• Process heat
• Electrical generation
• Solar chemical
• Solar vehicles

The future of the solar power is bright

In the begining of the 21st century, solar power became  a part of our daily life. We have solar heated pools , solar powered homes. However there is one large problem we are facing. The amount of space required to build solar power is incredibly large. Currently, the one of the hugest solar power stations in the world covers more than 10 square miles and creates power to run about 200,000 homes. But what about bigger cities or industry ? It’s definitively not enough. The solution of this problem is more effecient solar cell. It has to increase from 10-20% to at least 50%. Scientists claims it will be possible in few years . So what do you say, is it the time of the solar power?

For more info about solar power and green solutions visit http://BeGreenBlog.com please. I highly recommend you to read articles Solar Power: cut your electric costs now or about water heaters.

Renewable Solar Energy for The Home of The Future

The increasing  public interest in renewable solar enery for housing , combined with the ever rising price  of carbon based fuels used to produce commercial electric energy ensuring your home energy cost grow ever bigger , meaning   that now we  all would like to be able to benefit  from an open-minded approach shown  by a city in California .

San Francisco and the greater Bay Area have created  a way forward to support  the improved  use of renewable solar energy not soley  for big  business, offices , sports facilities , maufacturing units  but also for every  home  owner. The acessability   of loans to property  owners has been made much simpler and will greatly increase  the use of solar panels for renewable solar energy systems throughout the whole city .

The loans supported by the city, are made readily available for all property  owners that covers the price tag  of fitting  a renewable energy  system  to their house , which previously had been the main barrier for home owners. The city facilitates  the repayments through increased  property taxes The loans rise  from a min.  of five thousand dollars to a maximum  of $50,000 or 10%  of the homes  value, whichever is the lesser . These loans are attached to the property not the owner and when or if the property is sold,  the remainder of the outstanding loans transfer  with it, repayments can be scheduled for a repayment period of up to 20  years.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful  if other states  could be swayed  to follow this lead  and make renewable solar energy for homes the best way forward.

Until that occurs  the rest of us who want to have renewable solar energy  maybe  with a DIY project like homemade solar panels either for ecological  reasons , or simply to lower  our utility bills, should examin some of the great homebuild  solar energy kits that are available from the internet . The best of these packages  will help you design a system suited to your exact  requirements and needs, all the wiring diagrams and list all the materials  you will need , step by step installation manuals and videos, so that you can see exactly what a ‘thingamabob’ is , what it looks like and how to fit it properly. As long as you a practical person you need no specific skills or knowledge to build  your own complete unit .

The cost  of a retail system for your home  will be as high as $24,000 (taking the latest average)! You can make your own for a fraction of that price .

Once you have finished the bonuses  are tremendous , you will have a hugely  lowered or even a zero cost electricity bill, and at times when you energy needs  are low you can sell your over capacity back to the utility  company, how sweet  is that. The Government will also contribute to your coffers by giving you Alternative Energy Rebates for your system once it is in operation .

At the beginning  of this article we referred  to the increasing  public interest  in the installation of renewable solar energy systems, home solar power  is a great Green Business Opportunities for any local entrepreneur.

Taking the knowledge gained through the kits, manuals and videos and the experience from the planning and installation of your own system you can build systems for others, and help make solar power for homes the way forward.

Going Green, Burning Fat and Drinking Organic, Fair Trade Coffee from Boresha®

Okay my loyal fans, I really want you to give this a fair sip. If I told you I found a coffee that is 100% certified organic, as well as fair trade certified, and helps you burn fat would you be interested in hearing about it? I’m banking on the fact that you are reading this blog because you want to make better buying decisions this year and you want to burn off excess fat.

We’ve all been continually reading and watching the news and know that coffee beans are the #2 internationally traded commodity but not all coffee is treated equal nor are the people who work hard to cultivate, produce and deliver it to our doorsteps.

Boresha International roasts coffee in Concord, CA. Did you know that the United States does not grow any coffee except in Puerto Rico and Hawaii? The coffee beans purchased by Boresha arrive from the Ethiopian, Ugandon and Tanzania regions. These beans are grown on farms that are environmentally sustainable and boast of the following certifications.

(OCIA) - Organic Crop Improvement Association which is the oldest, largest and most trusted leaders in the organic certification industry 100% shade grown organic.

USDA Organic - The United States benchmark for standard agricultural practices. Operations must be certified by a state or private entity that has been accredited by the USDA.

Fair Trade Certified - The coffee was grown responsibly, the farmers received a fair price and no child labor was used.

So now you feel good about the coffee you are drinking, you are supporting the local Concord, CA economy and did I mention you can also burn fat at a rapid rate drinking Boresha’s B-Skinny coffee?®

Boresha Coffee and Skinny Science joined forces and together have developed a patented fat-burning thermogenic coffee. BSkinny Coffee® received the first and only low glycemic coffee patent ever awarded. This low glycemic patent is for hunger control, balanced energy, and combats stress-related eating. Did you know that drinking coffee causes fat storage in humans? So technically you are getting the buzz you crave but you are stimulating fat storage at the same time. One of the key components of BSkinny coffee® is that is contains “Buffered Caffeine” instead of regular caffeine.

I am personally looking forward to trying Boresha Bskinny coffee® for myself if for nothing else than to know I’m purchasing and consuming a responsibly grown coffee that is being roasted in Contra Costa County. If I burn some fat in the process I’m certainly not going to complain.

If you click here, you can order a free sample, just pay for the shipping.

Visit the Greenest Building in Berkeley, CA “The David Brower Center”

June 22, 2009

7:00 am

Green Personality, what kind of lawn “Mower” are you?

Choosing a lawn mower is a matter of sifting through a bewildering array of types, power ratings, and fuel sources. Let’s break it down a little to make the process easier. What if you could choose your lawn mower based on your personality? After all there are four basic choices, Push mowers, Electric mowers, Cordless mowers and gas mowers. Which mower best fits your personality?

• “Pushy Personality” Push reel mowers are powered by you, after all you need to be in control. They’re quiet, they don’t need cords or recharging, and they don’t pollute. But on large lawns, you might not want the workout you get when using a push reel mower. They also tend to be less effective on grass taller than two inches. A push mower might be a challenging choice if you tend to be impatient, lazy or a procrastinator.

• “Electrifying” Electric mowers do reduce air pollution but they also have some restrictions. They need to be plugged into an outlet to power them, which means you’re constrained by the location of power outlets, the length of your power cord, and any obstacles that may snag the cord. If you have a small yard but don’t want the forced exercise of using a push reel mower, an electric mower may be for you. If you need boundaries in your life and want to help contribute to the air quality by reducing air emissions in your neighborhood this is a good choice.

• “Rechargeable” Cordless mowers are powered by a rechargeable battery. Although you are not tied to a cord, time is of the essence. You don’t have to deal with the hassles of keeping a cord plugged in, but battery life becomes a constraint. Depending on the battery capacity, the size of your yard, and the height of your grass, you may not be able to complete your mowing job on one charge. If you have a small yard and effective time management skills this is an excellent “green” option

• “Gassy” Gas mowers If you can smell the toxic fumes need I say more? Gas mowers offer the most power, which is best if you’ll be mowing tall, dense grass or if your yard is larger than 2,000 square feet. But you will have to keep gas and oil on hand as well as keep the engine serviced. They do serve a purpose but if you live in a residential neighborhood and you have a small amount of grass to mow it is ridiculous to have a gas mower that we know pollutes the environment when we know either of the three above choices are acceptable.

So if you are in the market to purchase a lawn mower may I suggest that you visit this link at Amazon.com and see what kinds of lawn mowers are currently available.

I invite you to visit my Uplifting Green Store if you are in the market for a lawn mower.

I like the fact that you have a good chance of getting free shipping since all of the mowers you choose will be over $50. After all it will save you time of going to the store as you can read the reviews on line and do you really want to shove a lawn mower in the back of your car if you don’t have to?

I also invite you share your lawn mower personality and to review the lawn mower you purchase. Make sure you include your city in your review so your neighbors can hear what you think.

Here’s the link to the Uplifting Green Store

Proposed green building, the future of Oakland, CA

Good morning my dear green followers. It’s Saturday morning and it’s “drizzling” (a Seattle term my husband can’t grasp….) and I’m drinking hot tea and checking my email. I received an interesting email from my best friend about a proposed “green building” in Oakland. what’s truly amazing about this building is that currently it’s an oddity. because it’s being built right!

The glass floor to ceiling windows offer panoramic views of San Francisco Bay, East Bay Hills and historic downtown Oaklandand access to two private rooftop gardens

GREEN BUILDING FACTS
• LEED Silver (or higher)
• Transit Oriented Development in an urban location
• Photovoltaic solar panels
• High efficiency HVAC system with raised floor air distribution
• High performance glass facade
• Green roof and rainwater collection, filtration and reuse system
• Reduced building operating costs passed along to tenants

I tip my hat  to all people involved in this project. This building is truly an inspiration and I  hope it stirs the hearts of many to step up and not just think about what what  each of us are capable of accomplishing but to take action and push for what’s right. It’s time for us to step up and continually find ways to be responsible for the resources we use.

Check out the proposed video Awe inspiring rendition of green building in Oakland, CA

It’s easy to become a green plumber in California

In California during 2008 a new green program for plumbers came to town.  GREENPLUMBERS® launched an accreditation program that trains plumbers in water conservation and climate issues.  The program originated in Australia in 2001 and is open to all plumbers, regardless of  affiliation or association membership.

Like anything in life it’s always admirable to continually educate yourself and add “another notch to your belt” GREENPLUMBERS® is providing a way for the plumbing industry to enhance their image as well as give plumbers a very specific purpose in becoming a direct spokesperson in educating the public of what options are available to protect our environment and conserve resources.

GREENPLUMBERS® has developed a 5-course accreditation that totals 32 hours or training.

• Climate Care -

• Caring for our Water

• Solar Hot Water

• Water Efficient Technology

• Inspection Report Service

By educating our plumbers on new ways to conserve water and utilize new technology we will strengthen the plumber consumer relationship and the positive change  will prove to be beneficial as informed consumers will prefer and demand a green certified plumber.

It is the objective of the GREENPLUMBERS® to train as many plumbers as possible. Their aggressive goal is to accredit 15,000 California plumbers in the next 10 years. Their workshops are open to all c-36 contractors & plumbers.

To learn more about GREENPLUMBERS® go to www.greenplumbersusa.com or call (888)929-6207