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Sustainability -- Information for Homeowners
We all care about our environment and want to do what we can
to take care of it, but with the busy lives we lead, that isn't always as
easy as we might like. Nonetheless, there are things you can do and
changes you can make that are affordable, easy, and good for the
environment no matter how busy you are.
This page will be an ongoing resource to help you make those
choices, with information and tips that you can readily incorporate so you
can start making a difference today.
PREVIOUS MONTHS' INFORMATION
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Efficiency downloads. With rising prices and increasing evidence of
global climate change, we're all doing what we can to save energy and cut
costs. Even with our computers, which don't use as much energy as the real
energy hogs our homes (like our refrigerators), doing what we can to curb
wasted energy use can make a difference.
For most of us, that means using the Sleep mode on our computer to make it
shut down after a period of inactivity. But there are
some great -- and fun!-- options out there to manage your computer
even more efficiently.
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"Spooky" insulation. Traditional housing insulation can be pretty
scary -- the chemicals used to make them are hard on the environment. Many
insulating materials include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are
ozone-depleting compounds and a source of pollution. Instead, consider
insulating materials made from recycled materials.
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Warmcel 100 insulation is made from 100 percent recycled newspapers. It's
non-toxic, non-irritant, and presents no health hazard. The insulation can
be disposed of safely without creating toxic waste and it uses very little
energy to manufacture, much less than other insulation materials.
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Thermafleece is manufactured from pure British sheep's wool. Wool is a
natural fiber derived from a fully renewable resource and the production
process takes a fraction of the energy required to produce glass fiber
insulation. It's safe to handle, has a life expectancy of more than 50
years, and is also recyclable.
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UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber insulation contains 85 percent
post-industrial recycled natural fibers making it an ideal choice for
anyone looking to use a high quality sustainable building material.
UltraTouch consists almost entirely of natural denim and cotton fibers
that are 100 percent recyclable. The product requires a minimal amount of
energy to manufacture.
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Hung up on hangers. Clothes hangers seem pretty harmless, don't
they? Chances are, we don't think twice about how many we use, nor
pitching them when they're no longer useful or we have too many of them.
But did you know that
8 to 10
billion plastic and wire hangers are manufactured every year, and only
about 15% of those ever get recycled? That's a lot of hangers! In fact,
it's enough to fill the Empire State Building...four times!
They're not easily recycled, either. Plastic hangers are often made of
different types of plastics that make them hard to separate, and wire
hangers often get mangled into a knot that gums up the works at a
recycling plant (and plastic hangers do this, too). Which doesn't mean you
shouldn't recycle them, but a better answer is to reduce your use of them
and reuse them as much as possible.
Give them to your local second-hand store where they can be used for
merchandise or given/sold to folks who need them. (And when you need more
hangers, buy them at a second-hand store instead of buying them brand
new.) Dry cleaning vendors can also make use of them. Or look up some good
craft projects for the kids that make use of old hangers. There are even
biodegradable hangers made of
corn
and
wheat and
recycled paper. You might even consider folding more of your clothes
or better yet, cleaning out your closet and getting rid of some clothes
altogether....
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Green grilling. Summertime is BBQ season for many of us, and who
doesn't love the smoky flavor the grill imparts to hamburgers, ears of
corn, and kebobs of garden-fresh veggies? But if you're using
traditional charcoal to grill up your dinner, beware: most
commercially-available charcoal is a funky amalgamation of things like
sawdust, corn starch and lighter fluid. When it's burned, it can result in
105 times more carbon monoxide than burning propane and lots of harmful
volatile organic compounds...and who wants that in their burger?
Instead, opt for all-natural chunk charcoal, which you can find at most
organic grocery stores (and is becoming more widely available at other
outlets, as well). Brands such as
Lazzari Natural Mesquite Lump Charcoal and
Wicked Good Charcoal will
impart all the smoky flavor you crave without those nasty extras you don't
want.
And skip that lighter fluid, while you're at it. Instead try a
chimney starter
to get your coals going...it's all natural and works better anyway. (You
can buy a chimney starter or
make your
own.)
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Walkability = Livability. Do
you know your neighborhood’s Walk
Score? Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our
health, the environment, and our communities.
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Better health: A study in
Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly
neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling
neighborhood. Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer
fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15 - 45.
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Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars
are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero pollution
transportation machines.
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More transportation options:
Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads
to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only
is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times
safer than driving a car!
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Increased social capital: Walking
increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your
neighbors. Studies have shown that for every 10 minutes a person spends in
a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10
percent.
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Stronger local businesses: Dense,
walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they
need to thrive. It's easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one
trip, since they don't need to drive between destinations.
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Getting out of the car.... You'd have to be living under a rock to
be oblivious to the skyrocketing gas prices. Simple things like keeping
your car well-tuned, driving slower, and keeping tires properly inflated
can all help maximize your vehicle's fuel efficiency no matter what you
drive.
Learn what you can do to help your car sip instead of chug.
If you're ready for more drastic changes, like downsizing
to a smaller, more efficient car or hopping on the bus or light rail more
often, there's never been a better time. Not every community has easy
access to mass transit options, but if you live anywhere in the Portland
Metro area, it's quite possible to become a regular
Tri-Met rider for far less
than what you'd spend on gas. Tri-Met is adding more frequent buses
on some routes and even expanding some routes to meet demand, and of
course the new WES Commuter
Rail will be coming online this fall to help commuters in the
Beaverton-Wilsonville corridor. You may even be able to get rid of that
car entirely. Other options like
Flexcar and Zipcar can
supplement your mass transit for those times you do need a car.
And don't forget that biking and walking can reduce both your gas bill and
your waistline...the next time you need to make a trip to the grocery
store, consider
hopping on your bike or taking a nice walk, instead of jumping
in the car.
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Check that plastic. You may have noticed the recent attention paid
to different types of plastics and their potential harmful health effects.
Everything from take-out containers to children's toys to fashion
accessories may contain plastics that leach chemicals. Not all plastics
have this problem, but how to tell the difference?
Here's a handy guide on the different plastic types (those little
numbers inside the recycling arrows on the bottom) and what to avoid if
you can. And of course the best practice of all is to reduce your use of
plastic overall, since it has the added benefits of reducing our
dependence on petroleum and helping the environment.
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Keep it real. You don't need a chemical cocktail of pesticides,
weed killers, and fertilizers to help your garden grow. Mother Nature
knows what she's doing when it comes to gardening so why not let her do
the work for you? Use all-natural compost and let beneficial insects keep
the pests at bay.
And there's no need to buy compost, either. You can make
your own with leaves, yard trimmings, and your vegetable waste from the
kitchen. Compost enriches soil fertility by giving it a shot of
high-powered, plant-loving nutrients. Aside from stimulating healthy root
development, the addition of rich and earthy compost also improves soil
texture, aeration, and water retention. Why waste your hard-earned cash on
commercial products when the real deal is free for the taking?
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Green Spring Clean. Spring's around the corner and for many of us,
it also means time for spring cleaning. Unfortunately, in our quest for
that fresh spring feeling, we opt for cleaning products chock full of
chemicals that have negative environmental consequences. And if those
chemicals are bad for our environment, what do they do for health...and
why are we cleaning with them?
The good news is that eco-friendly cleaners are gaining
traction in the marketplace. Products from companies such as
Biokleen,
Seventh Generation,
and Method have full lines
for all your cleaning needs. Or, save yourself money and do it like your
grandparents did: make your own cleaners. Metro provides
a handy
recipe guide for cleaning everything from porcelain to windows to
leather to chrome. They also give you a list of the ingredients to keep on
hand so you can make what you need, whenever you need it.
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Make that next computer green! Although computer makers have made
strides in reducing toxic components in their desktops, laptops, and
monitors, most PCs are still chockfull of hazardous substances. To
minimize any potential exposure, look for models selected by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Electronic Product Environmental
Assessment Tool (EPEAT), which is largely based on European Union
standards called Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS).
Across the pond, RoHS-compliant products exclude specific
hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, cadmium,
and some brominated flame retardants. Companies producing these products
must also incorporate a minimum of 65 percent reusable or recyclable
components, develop a plan to manage products at the end of their life
cycle, and reduce or eliminate toxic materials in their packaging.
EPEAT ratings, which come in Bronze, Silver, and Gold, are evaluated
according to 51 environmental criteria, 23 of which are mandatory and 28
being optional. (You can search for specific models that fall under any of
the three categories on EPEAT's website.)
Purchases of EPEAT-registered PCs and monitors over the next five years,
according to the EPA, can potentially reduce hazardous waste by more than
4 million pounds (the equivalent of 266 elephants), eliminate more than 1
million pounds (66 of those same pachyderms) of nonhazardous waste, and
save more than 200,000 megawatt hours of energy—enough to power 2 million
homes.
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Green heat. We all know the difference we can make by turning down
the thermostat a degree or two to reduce our consumption of energy, thus
reducing our demands on the environment and our pocketbooks. But here's
another way to have an impact: stop using those disposable furnace filters
and install an electronic filter system instead.
Electrostatic furnace filters not only stop the waste of
disposables, they significantly improve the air quality, filtering as much
as 88% of material passing through (compared to only 10% - 40% for
disposable filters) and doing a much better job of stopping pollen,
bacteria, viruses, and allergens. Depending on the system installed, an
electronic filter system can range in cost between $50 and $1000; however,
even at the more expensive end of the spectrum, they can pay for
themselves in just a year or two in energy savings.
And whether you use permanent or disposable filters, be sure to
clean/replace them monthly during the cold season when you're using your
furnace to keep your heating system at its peak efficiency.
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Celebrating the holidays in green-style! Looking for gift ideas
that are sure-to-please AND sustainable? Treehugger.com does the legwork
for you by putting together an
Annual Gift Guide
to ideas for everyone on your list, even that person who's hard to shop
for, that are also eco-friendly. Especially with concerns recently about
the safety of children's toys, this can be an invaluable resource for
gifts under the tree that can put your mind at ease.
Treehugger also has
tips
for minimizing your garbage output during the holidays, which increases by
25% this time of year. A few from their list:
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Consider the benefits of buying locally made goods, which aren't
transported over long distances to get to you. Or could you buy antiques
as presents? They're all about recycling and reuse.
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Wrapping paper—usually made from virgin materials—is a large part of the
holiday-waste stream. And if it's shiny or sparkly, it can't even be
recycled. If every household wrapped three gifts in recycled materials
(reused maps or cloth make great trimmings), we'd save reams and reams of
paper. (Here's one
calculation.) Other alternatives include buying gift-wrap made from
recycled paper or
hemp
and flax. While you're at it, try
Sellotape, which is made from biodegradable plant cellulose.
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Every year, 2.65 billion holiday cards are sold in the United States. If
you're buying, choose cards made from recycled paper and avoid the shiny
can't-recycle kind. Even better is to send e-cards. And recycle the
non-shiny cards you receive.
Click
here to see their full list of tips.
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Water conservation. We've all seen the news story about regions
facing shortages and droughts and if we're going to prevent problems
caused by water shortage, it's time to rethink our water usage. There are
lots of actions you can take right now to conserve this precious resource,
like installing low flow showerheads and toilets, turning off the tap
while you brush your teeth, using a rain barrel for water collection for
watering plants, and rinsing your fruits and vegetables in a bowl of water
instead of running the tap to rinse. There're lots more tips where those
came from, so
take
a look and see what you can do!
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School daze.
Well, it's that time of year again: time to make the annual pilgrimage for
school supplies. But this year, let your eco-sense be your guide --
check
out this list of products to send the kids to school in
style...green style! Don't forget
a new eco-friendly lunchbox
(the average child creates upwards of 60 pounds of waste per year from
using a disposable lunch at school). But remember: buying green
doesn't mean acting green if you don't need the stuff in the first
place.
Driving your car
like a hybrid. Just because you don't have a hybrid doesn't mean you
can't drive like you do. There are still lots of simple measures you can
take to maximize your fuel efficiency. And in these days of high gas prices,
that's welcome news for both the environment and the pocketbook. Here
are some of the top money- and planet-saving tricks, according to
KBB.com:
Reduce your air
conditioning use
Change your filters
at scheduled intervals
Check your tire
pressure regularly
Use a fuel additive
in each fill-up to increase engine performance
Get fuel injectors
cleaned
Second-hand
sustainability. Whether you're trying to furnish a college dorm room,
save a few bucks, following that second of the three Rs (Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle), or just like to bargain hunt, buying second-hand is a great way to
shop sustainably. Look to Craigslist
and Freecycle for terrific
finds, and if you're a garage sale fanatic, check out this
great new garage
sale plugin for GoogleMaps: enter an address and with the click of
your mouse, you can find all the nearest garage sales.
Get paid to do
your part. Did you know Energy Trust of Oregon provides cash incentives
for being more energy conscious? Everything from installing insulation to
buying some types of energy-efficient appliances can qualify you for a tax
credit or other kind of financial savings to offset the cost.
Visit their
website to learn more about what's eligible and how to qualify.
Gauge your
e-savings. If you've driven a hybrid car, you know about that handy
display on the dashboard that tells you how you're doing on fuel-efficiency
(in fact, we'd probably all benefit from having just such a display, whether
we drive a hybrid or not). Well, now you can download a small program that
will do the same thing for your computer. It's called the
CO2 Saver and it's a
toolbar you can install on your computer that will help manage your
computer's energy usage for you. Why would you want to do that? Because
energy usage results in harmful emissions (like CO2, a
contributor to global warming), so the less you use, the less you contribute
to the problem. You can see how much energy you've saved and how much
everyone else who's using the program is saving, as well. The download is
free and easy, so why not start today?
Charger-less
recharging.. We all know alkaline batteries are no friend to the planet,
and rechargeable batteries are certainly more cost effective over the long
run anyway. But here's a new twist on those rechargeables:
USB batteries. They're all the rage on
the internet these days, and it's easy to see why: they're handy, they're
efficient, and they're, well, cool. No more battery charger to deal
with, just flip the top of these AA recyclable batteries to reveal a USB
plug that fits into any USB port on your computer and recharge. In next to
no time, you have a fully charged battery, no muss no fuss. The batteries
have a life of about 500 charges and when they've reached the end of their
useful life, you can send them to the manufacturer at no charge (heh) to be
recycled.
Recycle
everything! Did you know that almost everything you eat, wear, and use
can be recycled? Sure, your curbside recycling has restrictions on what can
and can't be recycled, but that doesn't mean that everything else has to
head to a landfill.
"How to Recycle Practically
Anything" is a great article with helpful information on where and how
you can recycle those hard-to-recycle items. Metro has a terrific
Find-A-Recycler
page that will tell you who will take that resin patio chair that Junior
broke last summer, the Styrofoam packaging that Aunt Marjorie uses to keep
her fruitcake in one piece during shipping, and all of those old floppy
disks you haven't used since 1996.
Oh, and don't forget
to buy recycled, too. Choosing recycled products is just as important
as recycling them. But other than recycled paper and paper towels, what
other products can we buy that are made from recycled materials?
Metro has a
handy guide for that, too.
Bag it. Did
you know the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually*?
(*according to The Wall Street Journal) And because they don't
biodegrade, they end up clogging our roadways, parks, scenic areas,
beaches...they've even been found in Antarctica! You can make a significant
difference by using reusable shopping bags instead. They're handy and
affordable and in their useful lifetime, can cut down on thousands of
plastic bags that you might have otherwise used. Canvas tote bags you've got
around the house will serve the purpose admirably but if you don't have
anything that can be put to use, try
ReusableBags.com.
Home Improvement =
Earth Improvement. So you've decided to renovate your bedroom into the
master suite that you've always wanted. While you're coming up with a
design, consider utilizing materials that are eco-friendly.
Environmental Building Supplies of
Portland is your one-stop shop for all things green. They carry a wide
variety of products and they can make suggestions for materials or designs
that will meet both your environmental and design requirements.
In fact, many
suppliers now carry earth-alternative products -- many paint manufacturers
carry a line of non-VOC paints, hardwood suppliers are offering bamboo as a
smart and sharp-looking flooring material, and bathroom tiles made from
recycled glass are pretty and sustainable -- so be sure to ask what
options are available.
Sustainability ·
Sustainability ARCHIVE
Homeowners ·
Communities ·
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