Eco Living

My name is Terry and I'm an oil addict...

Jun 13th, 2012 | By Nicole Rogers

In a clever series of public service announcements by The Human Impacts Institute, NYC Climate Coalition and NYC Oil Addicts Anonymous, oil addiction is satirized in the context of a twelve step program like Alcoholics Anonymous. This video addresses food and oil addiction.

http://youtu.be/JSa4D1EEiMQ

Much of the food that we eat everyday travels thousands of miles before it gets to our table. See our posts on food miles here, and here.

By buying local foods, organic foods, and growing our own food, we can reduce the amount of oil it takes to produce what we eat. We can take action to reduce the carbon footprint of our food, while eating healthier and supporting local economies.

Take action today. Use one of these databases to locate your nearest Farmers Markets and CSAs:

Local Harvest

USDA Farmers Market Search

The Eat Well Guide

Eco Living

Replate, a simple concept

Jun 10th, 2012 | By Aubrey Yee

Replate - to place unwanted leftovers, typically in a doggie bag, on top of the nearest trash can so they don’t go to waste.

A simple concept, Replate was the brainchild of Language in Common founder Josh Kamler. The idea is designed to fight food waste by encouraging diners, particularly in urban environments, to take their leftovers to go even if they don’t intend to eat them.

Just leave the doggie bag with your extra food on top of a trash can. That way, the next homeless (or hungry!) person who comes along will be able to pick up the food and enjoy a good meal.

When you realize that some 40% of the food produced in America is not being consumed, it’s clear that we need to do all we can to curb food waste. So next time you’re out to eat, don’t leave the restaurant without your leftovers, Replate them!

Eco Living

The Transition Town Movement

Jun 8th, 2012 | By Aubrey Yee

What would our world look like without cheap and readily available oil?

If it looks anything like a Transition Town, things might not be so bad after all.

“Transition Network supports community-led responses to climate change and shrinking supplies of cheap energy, building resilience and happiness.” ~ Transition Network

The Transition Town Movement began in the towns of Kinsale, Ireland and Totnes, England in 2005 and 2006. Inspired in part by the Permaculture movement, Climate Change, and Peak Oil, Transition Towns aim to help local communities find elegant ways to transform their energy use away from oil while building local economies and all around resilience.

Rob Hopkins is typically noted as the founder of the Transition Town network, which in many ways began with his publication of a manual titled, “Energy Descent Action Plan”.

“These communities have started up projects in areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing, waste, arts, etc. as small-scale local responses to the global challenges of climate change, economic hardship and shrinking supplies of cheap energy. “ ~Transition Network

Today, you can find transition town movements springing up all over the world. Want to start one in your community? Transition Network has a wealth of information on how to successfully transition your town away from oil.

Eco Living

An Energy Saver App

Jun 6th, 2012 | By Aubrey Yee

Whether you want to save energy because you know it’s good for the planet or because you know it’s good for your wallet, this new app for your smart phone can definitely help.

“EnergySaver allows you to analyze your current and estimate your future energy consumption instead of just analyzing or tracking past energy consumption. EnergySaver also enables you to customize and analyze each appliance’s energy consumption instead of just the overall consumption. By analyzing each appliance’s current energy consumption, you can make real changes that will translate into more money in your wallet.” (source)

The app works with iOS and Android platforms. Creators claim that it can cut your electric bill up to 10% simply by eliminating phantom loads from your household appliances. Beyond that you can begin to recognize which appliances consume the most energy and start changing your behavior to save energy and save money. The app allows multiple household profiles so you can monitor your house, your parent’s house, or should you be so blessed, your second home.

With pre-populated average rate information for all 50 states, you can compare your energy use to others in your community to see where you fall on the spectrum. The same app will also analyze your water usage and rates.

To learn more and download the app, visit Energy Saver.

Eco Living

The Volt and the Supertanker

Jun 5th, 2012 | By Nicole Rogers

2012 Chevy Volt photo courtesy GM under Creative Commons 3.0 License

GM says drivers of the Chevy Volt have saved 2.1 million gallons, or a supertanker, of gas by driving their vehicles in electric mode. Volt drivers drive electrically about 60 percent of the time, with the car’s extended mileage kicking in the rest of the time. Volt owners typically drive an average of 900 miles between fill ups at the gas station. The company hopes to court an even larger pool of energy-conscious drivers with some pretty dazzling statistics.

According to Chevrolet, the 40 Million Total Electric Miles (EV) already driven are equivalent to:

16,373 trips across the United States (2,443 miles from New York to Los Angeles)
1,606 trips around the Earth (24,901 miles each)
167 trips to the Moon (238,657 miles each)
2,130,000 Gallons of Gas Saved, which is equivalent to:

50,714 barrels of gas saved (42 gallons of gas per barrel)
$8 million saved at the gas pump (based on $3.80/gallon of gas)
387 U.S. semi-truck tankers of gas saved (5,500 gallons of gas each)
One supertanker of gas saved (2 million gallons of gas)

With more electric and hybrid cars on the market every year, there is reason to be hopeful for even better statistics in the future.

[AutoblogGreen]

Eco Living

A Love Affair With Worms

May 27th, 2012 | By Aubrey Yee

What is Vermicomposting?

It almost sounds like a foreign word, but vermicomposting is the process of using worms to compost food waste into a rich, black humus. The “humus” is actually a compost of the worm castings (castings is a fancy way of saying: worm poop!)

The worms eat the food scraps, paper, etc that you put into your bin and their excrement is a rich, black, dirt-like compost that your plants will absolutely love! (and it has no smell, it really looks and feels like dirt, so don’t worry!)

To get started you need:

• Worm Bin
• Worms - make sure you get the right kind of Redworms - not all worms are alike!
• Paper and food scraps to compost!

If you choose to buy a worm bin, there are a few different styles to choose from.

There are also several websites that will help you build your own worm bin.

Once you have the bin and the worms, you’ll want to prep it for success. The worms like paper including your junk mail minus the plastic parts. They eat most food waste as well with the exception of  dairy, meats and citrus (although citrus is ok in small amounts).

The first time you put the worms in the bin make sure you have a good mix of paper and food waste. The shredded up paper/newspaper/old magazines/cardboard is called “bedding” and you’ll need a good layer of bedding to start your bin off. Make sure you shred it well so the worms can move around and through the bedding. Spray a little water on the bedding to get it damp.

You’ll want to add some of these paper products every so often so the inside of the bin doesn’t get too wet. The heat inside the bin creates water vapor and your worms can drown in too much water!

Most bins will have a valve to drain excess water. The water is actually called “worm tea”. This brown “tea” is also great for your plants or your garden.

Expect to harvest your worm castings every few months. All you need to do is keep feeding your worms. The amount of worms you’ll need depends on how much kitchen waste you produce each day. Start with one pound of worms for a typical family of four and add more if they aren’t eating the food fast enough.

It helps to chop or cut up the food and paper waste before putting it in your bin. The worms will be able to eat it faster.

The worms will keep reproducing and if a couple escape into your soil it’s good for the whole ecosystem so don’t worry! The great thing about worm bins is they don’t smell - as long as you follow the rules and don’t put in any dairy or meat. It’s a great way to up-cycle almost all your food waste. And when you put the compost back into your garden to grow more food, you’ve created a closed-loop, truly sustainable food system.

Eco Living

Electric Scooter Updates

May 26th, 2012 | By Aubrey Yee

Electric scooters are all the rage in some cities. San Francisco is launching Scoot Networks, a scooter version of the Zipcar idea, next month. Subscribers pay a monthly fee to access a city-wide network of super cute electric scooters.

You can find the scooters nearest you with your smartphone. Your phone then slips into a dock on the scooter’s dashboard to unlock it and voila! you’re off and riding.

The scooters top off at about 30 mph and go for about 30 miles before they need a charge, perfect for the range of city riding. Scoot Networks was one of the companies chosen by the Greenstart cleantech startup accelerator program which provides start up capital to innovative cleantech business ideas.

Photos Wired.com

In other great scooter innovations, the people of smart, an eco-subsidiary of Daimler, are now developing a scooter line called eScooter. It’s cute and fast, up to 30 mph with a 60 mile range on full charge. Originally unveiled during the 2010 Paris Motor Show, the scooter is just one part of Daimler’s overall strategy to create comprehensive urban mobility for the future. Photo Daimler

Eco Living

Exercise as Energy

May 20th, 2012 | By Nicole Rogers

Imagine going to your morning spinning class, getting a great workout, and producing clean energy, all before breakfast. This isn’t some dream of the future – it’s something you could do tomorrow at certain gyms across the country.

That’s right, all of that energy you expend in your workout can be converted into usable electricity. Several companies are already making it possible. Based in Seattle, PlugOut specializes in making cardio equipment that returns electricity to the gym’s electrical system by plugging the standard three prong power cord that is included with the unit directly into a standard outlet. If the building isn’t using any electricity it will be returned to the power grid, essentially spinning the building’s meter backwards.

For gyms with fleets of cardio equipment who may not want to invest in all new equipment there are companies like ReRev that retrofit existing equipment to do the same thing. According to ReRev’s website, a typical 30-minute workout produces 50 watt hours of clean, carbon-free electricity. That’s enough electricity to power a laptop for one hour. Though that may not sound like a huge amount, think of how much cumulative power is generated by the legions of people who go to the gym on any given day.

Using PlugOut equipment, Portland’s Green Microgym is focused on maximizing energy creation. According to their website, through energy creation and saving culture, in 2010 they generated 36% of their own electricity, and saved 37,000 Kilowatt hours or 85% (compared to traditional gyms per square foot). Those 37,000 Kilowatt hours saved are equal to 74,000 pounds of carbon emissions, 81,400 miles not driven, or 15 acres of trees planted.

PlugOut equipment can be found at fitness centers nationwide, and ReRev has an impressive roster of universities, private gyms and organizations (including the US Air Force) who use their equipment. With any luck, and maybe a nudge from customers in the right direction, your local gym will recognize the potential to save energy and money. With this new technology on your side you could be on the path to becoming a lean, green, alternative energy machine.

Eco Living

Celebrating Bike Month

May 15th, 2012 | By Nicole Rogers

May is National Bike Month! If you haven’t dusted off your bike yet this year (or this decade), here’s some inspiration.

- A new report</a> from the League of American Bicyclists, Sierra Club, and National Council of La Raza (NCLR) shows that cyclists in the U.S. save $4.6 billion every year on gas and transportation costs.
- The same report states that if American drivers replaced just one four-mile car trip with a bike every week for a year, it would save more than 2 billion gallons of gas.
- 82% of bicycle commuters believe their health has improved since they started bicycle commuting.

Enough facts and figures. The best part of cycling is how it feels. Let this compilation of the films in the 2012 Bicycle Film Festival remind you. The festival runs in 21 cities throughout the year. The next one is in New York from June 26 to July 1.

http://youtu.be/w3lc-lEYOLk

Eco Living

Current Electric Car Ranges

May 9th, 2012 | By Nicole Rogers

You want to buy an electric car but you’ve got visions of being stranded in the middle of nowhere. There is data to suggest that even though there aren’t charging stations on every corner today, it is likely the distance you travel to perform your daily commute and errands is well within the range of today’s electric cars.

In the past few years automakers have made a serious commitment to electric cars, but a phenomenon called “range anxiety” still persists among the public. It is the fear that you will run out of power far from a charging station. Anyone who has ever run out of gas on a lonely road can relate to why the threat of this might cause anxiety.

Right now the national infrastructure to charge electric cars lags behind the enthusiasm for and production of them. This is thought to hinder the consumer who might be interested in an electric car from actually purchasing one.

But there is hope. Not only is the infrastructure to charge electric cars improving rapidly, but some new models about to come on the market have incredible ranges. Tesla’s Model S for example, boasts a range of up to 300 miles. There are also Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, or PHEVs, that run on electricity and gas, so you can always stop at a gas station in case of emergency. Most fully electric cars, or EVs, currently for sale in the US travel from 60 - 100 miles on a charge, with the Teslas potentially going up to 300. (source) While the Tesla Model S is still very expensive at $49,900 after $7,500 federal tax credit for electric cars, its vastly improved range bodes well for the future of all electric cars.

Electric cars are likely to be charged at least once a day - overnight at home. So with most EVs that gives you 60 - 100 miles to drive per day. This is where range anxiety comes in.

A cool head and hard facts are the antidotes to most anxiety, and the same is true here. If you want a fully electric car, you should ask yourself a couple of questions:

‘Does my family have more than one car?’ and ‘How far is my daily commute?’

Many two car families interested in an electric car could use the EV for commuting and light errands, and use their second car for road-trips. Single car families may lean toward a reasonably priced PHEV like a Prius with a base price of $24,000 - $29,805.

It’s important that you don’t just estimate how far your daily commute is; you must measure it. On your next workday, record how far you actually drive on your odometer. For most people, this should fall well within the range of today’s electric cars.

Approximately 95% of car commuters in the U.S. travel less than 40 miles to work, with the average commute being being 13.6 miles, according to data from the National Household Travel Survey of 2009, analyzed in a study by Garrett Fitzgerald and Rob van Haaren, doctoral students at the school of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University. Those figures represent one-way commutes, but that still means that an average round trip commute is well within the range of the electric cars on the market.

Knowing the facts about electric cars means you can let go of that range anxiety and relax . They can get you nearly anywhere you want to go, and the growing infrastructure is making it easier to go farther everyday. Besides, freedom from oil is invigorating!