Jet skis are harmful to the environment

You know jet skis are dangerous (and loud), but did you know that they leak as much as 30% of the fuel directly into the water? Ditch the machine in favor of a pedal boat or kayak and you’ll be doing the environment (and your waistline) a favor. ITbikes.com has several models (including a water bike!).

We have to remember and be reminded to be good stewards of our earth. We cannot continually follow our selfish pleasures and desires without experiencing consequences. The choices we make today to live a more sustainable life is not only good for today, it has a lasting impact on the future. Our children need to know we are protecting the earth and their future.

By making the decision to own a man powered boating vessel you have the opportunity to be aligned with nature without consuming, reducing or contaminating natural resources. What a great way for families to slow down and truly enjoy what nature has to offer.

Once you proudly own a man powered vessel. you need to visit Discovery Bay, CA where you have an opportunity to participate in the annual Paddle For Fame. It’s usually held in June at the end of the month.

According to the Delta Sun Times, Discovery Bay broke it’s own World Record Saturday, June 25th, 2011 for the largest raft-up of man-powered vessels. The unofficial count is 492, which beats last years record by more that 100 paddlers.The

Sunflowerproject.org Beeing environmentally proactive

At the November 2010 Green Festival I had the pleasure of meeting people from the Sunflower Project. I was asked to participate in the project and was given a packet of Sunflower Seeds. My mission should I choose to accept it is to plant the seeds in my yard in the hope of being able to attract and report back through their website on the bees that choose to extract pollen from my flowers.

I can honestly say I’ve been disheartened over the past few years as I look out in my yard and have to really squint and pay close attention to my blooming flowers just in case I miss a bee sighting. As a child I remember gardening and pulling weeds on a hot day and I was comforted by the gently lull of bees busily buzzing and carrying pollen all around me. Now I hear nothing but the whine of electrical current going through our power poles, street lamps and cell towers. Do you think the bees have had enough of emfs being released into our atmosphere?

I am not an expert on what has caused the demise of our bee population but I do know that without bees pollenating, our food supply will diminish very quickly.

I look forward to planting seeds with my family and am excited at the possibility of participating in a bee revival in my own backyard. What a worthy project and a great way to slow down and do something purpose driven that will make a difference.

How many different species of bees can you identify? I knew of two but after visiting the website I discovered there are more than just honeybees and bumble bees. Have you ever heard of carpenter bees and green bees? I recommend checking out their website they have great pictures and it is very educational.

The Sunflowerproject.org

Going Green - Do you know what the 4th “R” of recycling means?

It’s time to expand our thinking and add another layer to our recycling strategy. How many of you know the 4 R’s of Recycling? What is the missing “R”? Well if you’ve been watching my events post you could probably make an educated guess. The fourth “R” is “Rot” I have listed all the composting events going on in Contra Costa County for 2010 in my events section. I highly recommend that if you don’t know a lot about composting that you attend a class. Last year I made an attempt to compost and I made a nice garbage can full of stinky sludge. The good news is after attending the class I learned about the scientific part of composting and I started over and now my composting pile is starting to do it’s job. It’s amazing what a little air will do to help in composting.

Another surprising benefit to composting is that my trash can is not full every week. Little did I know that this one small change would reduce my trash so much. I am so much more aware of what I’ve throwing away.

Did you know that composting has a significant impact of reducing the carbon dioxide released into the environment?
Composting helps the climate! The US EPA estimates that simply increasing our national recycling rate from its current level of 30 percent to 35 percent would reduce GHG emissions by 10 million metric tons of so-called carbon equivalent (MTCE). That amount is equal to the average annual emissions from the electricity consumed by roughly 4.6 million households. (2.)

There is a great article on the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority website pertaining to the impact of the 4r’s on our climate. Did you know the EPA ranks landfills the second largest source of human released methane gas?

I challenge you to think about making one small change and consider composting. Worm composting is a small way to start and it’s something you can do in a small tub that doesn’t use very much space.

Here is a link to a quick guide to worm composting at www.savvygardener.com.

3 Steps to Save Money, Save Energy, and Reduce CO2, Doing Your Laundry

I’ve been pondering ways to save money and reduce my energy consumption around the house and I stumbled upon interesting ways to save money doing my laundry.

First a few facts:
1) According to a laundry article I found on the City of Concord’s website, doing your laundry has a significant impact on our environment. Did you know that over the lifetime of a T-shirt up to 9 lbs of carbon dioxide can be release in the air just through washing and drying?

These are general usage cost for a family of 4 for a washer and dryer

Clothes washer (with hot water)  -

Electricity kWh/yr -    1,080

Cost /Year - $86

CO2 emitted/yr  1,544

Clothes washer (minus hot water)

Electricity kWh/yr  - 99

Cost /Year $8

CO2 emitted/yr 142

Clothes dryer

Electricity kWh/yr - 1,060  -

Cost /Year  $85 -

CO2 emitted/yr-  1,516

Surprising huh?

So what is my plan? Well, I have a few obstacles but I can still make a difference. First the simple fix……

1) Wash my clothes in cold water. I had no idea that the hot water consumed 90 percent of a washers energy usage.

Second fix a little more challenging but doable……

2) Line dry my clothes. This is FREE SOLAR ENERGY and another big way to save on energy, laundry supplies and to preserve the longevity of your clothing. Have you ever smelled line dried sheets and towels? They are the best! Did you know the sun is a natural whitener as well as a natural antibacterial? A couple of challenges are living in a community that doesn’t let you hang your laundry as mine doesn’t allow you to hand your laundry outside. I’m thinking about hanging my laundry in the garage or  you can watch this funny video clip that is trying to get a petition signed so it is a right to hang your laundry. Check it out here.

Another advantage to line drying is you don’t need to use bleach or fabric softener, just shake, snap and hang your clothes upside down. If you really don’t like the stiffness of your jeans just toss them in the dryer for a couple of minute on wrinkle release.

3) Finally, use a really good biodegradable phosphate free laundry soap.

Here’s a link to some laundry soap options to get you thinking about some eco-friendly brands thank goodness the stores like Walmart, CVS, Target and Safeway are starting to stock eco-friendly laundry products.