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Cleaning green


Type "green cleaners" into any online search engine and you’ll get links to sites giving you "recipes" for do-it-yourself cleaners to brand-name environmentally-friendly cleaners.

Although buying Earth-friendly brands like Simple Green are fine for the environment and maybe a more familiar buying process, they can be much pricier than chemical cleaners.

On the other hand, making your own green cleaners is cheap and just as, or even more effective than, using harsh chemicals — and much better for your own health, too.

There are usually the same natural ingredients listed on most of the do-it-yourself sites:
1) white vinegar
2) hydrogen peroxide
3) baking soda
4) castile soap

White vinegar has many different uses. Combine it in a spray bottle with water and it’s a glass cleaner. It kills bacteria, so it can also be combined with the castile soap to clean countertops, floors, and toilets or to rinse dishes.

Hydrogen peroxide is a bleach alternative and non-toxic to the environment. Anything that usually takes bleach can be substituted with HP instead. HP is also an antiseptic that can clean superficial skin wounds, be used as an oral rinse to whiten your teeth, and work as a hair lightener. Combine it with baking soda and castile soap to clean and whiten the bathtub and sinks.

Baking soda is a gritty powder that can be used in places that need scrubbing. A very effective way to unclog drains is to combine one cup of baking soda and one cup of white vinegar to a pot of boiled water. It will fizz up when the ingredients are added, and that’s what will purge your drains of clogs. Pour it down the plugged drain, flush with water, and voila — the drain will be miraculously unplugged. I actually used this as a last-ditch effort on a slow drain that has been backing-up for years. I had been using a chemical unclogger because it seemed so stubborn that only chemicals would unplug it.

Castile soap is a vegetable-oil-based natural soap. You can go one step further and actually make it yourself (there are lots of recipes online), but it’s usually reasonably priced. Dr. Bronner’s is a good brand that can be found online or at places like Trader Joe’s. This soap is used in place of other soaps, like dishwashing detergent, bathroom cleaner, laundry soap, and shower gel. I’ve read online accounts of people even brushing their teeth with the soap.

Some other green cleaning ingredients (that I haven’t tried but are also popular) are lemons and borax.

If you have chemical cleansers in the house, it’s best to use them up before you go green — because if you throw them out, it’s just as bad for the environment as using them.

 

And not all your old standby cleansers are necessarily bad for the environment. Ivory Soap is pretty much natural and not bad for the Earth. Also look for words like biodegradable surfactants — and anionic and nonionic on dish and laundry soap labels.

keeping the earth ever green 

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Voice from Tibet in China — from a Han


Although this isn’t about the environment, it’s about human relations and is the voice of an ethnic Han who lives and works among Tibetans in China.   

Chen Lu* is an owner of a Tibetan business that operates from Langmusi in a traditional Tibetan area in China. Although of Han Chinese ethnicity, Lu works and lives among ethnic Tibetans without any conflicts. The protestations by monks and government crackdown have affected Lu’s business as well as other businesses depending on tourism. These are Lu’s words about how he as well as regular Tibetans view the situation, which is different than how the western media have portrayed it:

In Langmusi, the violence was not so bad as in Lhasa. There are two monasteries in Langmusi, one belongs to Sichuan [Province] and [the other] belongs to Gansu [Province]. On 16th March, around 200 young monks from Sichuan monastery went on the street to throw stones [at] the shops. No old monks joined in. And only the monks from Sichuan monastery made this violence. The monks from Gansu monastery and the local Tibetan people hadn’t join[ed] in them.

Langmusi is very small town with only one street, so this violence only lasted for around half an hour. Later in the same day, policeman surrounded the Sichuan monastery. But the monks in Gansu monastery and all the local people’s life are still as normal. This is very important. Not like the western news [who] said the police crack[ed] down [on all] the Tibetans, they were just taking action [on] the people who violated the law. The police need[ed] to find who organized this violence and need[ed] to prevent it [from] happen[ing] again.

I asked many local people [what] they thought about the things the monks had done. Actually, they can’t understand why the monks did this very well and they don’t want to this [to] happen again.

Especially when April arrived, the local people find the number of the tourists is much less than last year, they become worr[ied] about the influence caused by the violence.

Yes, [still] today the Chinese government doesn’t allow the foreigners to go to the Tibetan area, but the Chinese people can go. But from the travel forums in China, you can see many Chinese are afraid of the situation in [the] Tibetan area, some of them will cancel their plan to travel to the Tibetan area in this year.

The Tibetans think the monks are the representation of the god. So they think they must follow what the monks request. But actually the monks are still human beings, when they get the power, some of them will become avaricious. Now some old Tibetan men have recognized that the monks are not as good as what they think. But [still] today, they still think Dalai Lama [is] their spiritual leader. But this doesn’t mean they don’t like what the Chinese governments do.

As an old Tibetan man told me, before 1949, the life for the normal Tibetans were very hard. They didn’t have their grassland and livestocks. They worked [hard] for the monks or the aristocrats [but got] very little food to survive. But after the Chinese army [got] inside the Tibetan area, [the Tibetans] first got the grassland [for] livestock, so they could control their own life.

In these decades, the Chinese governments build many roads in Tibetan area; give money or corn to them when they suffer [bad] weather; help them to build new houses, etc. And they also can believe the Buddhism, as they like.

So actually, [the Tibetans] like the religion and the Chinese government both. The very important thing is that they want to have a peaceful life; they want their living condition [to] be better and better. They don’t want violence or war [to] happen. So after this violence, 99 percent of the Tibetans when they talked about this, they don’t think it’s right and they don’t want it happen [to] again.

First my country and all the Chinese people already know the Cultural Revolution is at fault. Second, it’s already passed. When we are talking about something happening today, we should see what’s going on, but not the history. As all the western countries have done some wrong things before, but should we still use the history to talk about these countries today?

All the Chinese have seen in these decades, although there are still many problems in our government, but our life is really becoming better and better. So we have the faith for our country. We need time to build our country and we need time to make our life better than now. We want the people in other [countries to] understand us, but not censure our government and ignore what we have already done.

*name has been changed

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How green are the new NYC sports stadiums?


A frenzy of construction activity has arisen to the cause of building new New York-area sports stadiums. It’s not that the old stadiums were falling apart but because new stadiums represent presumably more interest and revenues for the sports teams. Even though tear-down and construction of the stadiums could reap environmental disaster, as long as more money pours out from the stadiums, that’s all that really seems to matter. Green building has been gaining in popularity and is much easier to utilize and abide by environmental rules. It’s good to see that many of the new stadiums will be green, but unfortunately some of the new arenas decided against any sort of environmental aspects during and after construction. Lew Blaustein wrote an excellent article, "Green fields of dreams," for green-links.org detailing his search for answers about how green the new stadiums are/will be. Below are some sum-ups of his findings:

The Prudential Arena for NHL’s New Jersey Devils in Newark, NJ:
Green aspect: The fact that it will be downtown and easily accessible by public transport, something that their old Continental Arena in the Meadowlands did not offer.
Non-green aspects: Everything else about it, even though ironically the architect firm HOK Sport has collaborated with the U.S. Green Building Council on other stadiums.

Red Bull Park for the Red Bull New York major league soccer team in Harrison, NJ:
Green aspects: The new stadium will reclaim New Jersey’s largest brownfield (a commerical or industrial site unused due to environmental pollution) area and will clean up 100 acres along the Passaic River waterfront. It will also be accessible by public transport. Once built and in use, the stadium will supply only recycled paper products from a local company and will use clean energy supplied by carrier PSE&G.
Non-green aspects: Building plans and materials are not finalized and therefore LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design) compliancy — in other words, the green building industry benchmark guidelines — is not certain.

Citi Field for baseball’s New York Mets in Flushing, NY:
Green aspects: Lew calls it a "veritable Green Grand Slam!" Will be LEED-compliant where possible during construction and operation. Public transportation, green energy use, sustainable building operations, among other implementations, are emphasized.
Non-green aspects: LEED currently does not have guidelines for open-air stadiums, but this stadium’s commitment to environmental protection sets its own high standards.

New Yankee Stadium for baseball’s New York Yankees in Bronx, NY:
Green aspects: No one associated with the stadium would talk to Lew about its greenness, therefore making him come to the conclusion that it is not green. Everyone likes good publicity, so he concluded that they would definitely be willing to talk up any sort of green aspect in the building or design if there was any. However, a new MetroNorth train stop is to be built by the stadium, giving it access by public transport.
Non-green aspects: The land taken over for building the stadium was two well-used public parks. A new mall will be built next to the stadium that will attract CO2-spewing vehicles.

Barclay’s Center Atlantic Yards for New Jersey Nets basketball team in Brooklyn, NY:
Green aspects: This Frank Gehry-designed stadium will be completely LEED-compliant and the first LEED-certified green arena. It will be built on environmentally-damaged land and will develop and clean up the area, creating public spaces, environmental homes, and office buildings. Construction will minimize environmental damage by using particulate filters, ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, and noise barriers, among other things. Once completed, the arena will be easily accessed by public transportation and sewer overflow into the Gowanus Canal will be reduced by simply reusing rainwater.
Non-green aspects: Lew didn’t write about any.

Jets-Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ:
Green aspects: Sustainabilty is a definite high priority for the building of this stadium. The separate teams decided to share the stadium, thereby cutting down instantly on the environmental detriment of building two different stadiums. A new light rail system will be constructed and car traffic is anticipated to be cut by 5,000 vehicles per game. Construction will be LEED-compliant.
Non-green aspects: Lew didn’t write about any.

keeping the earth ever green

Click here for the full article, "Green field of dreams."

For more on LEED, please visit the U.S. Green Building Council .

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Al Gore’s summer conservation concert Live Earth


One of the must-do events for eco-conscious folks is to attend one of the Live Earth concerts this July. According to the official website, the event will be a "24-hour, 7-continent series of 9 concerts taking place on 7/7/07 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis." And yes that does mean that there will be a concert on the continent of Antarctica, which, however, can only be attended by the 17 research scientists already there. But in terms of the other continents, anybody can go listen to music and learn about how to save the planet.

In recent years, Al Gore has been one of the greatest influences in the rise of interest to conserve the planet. His highly popular documentary An Inconvenient Truth helped the cause of global warming; and, through his efforts, environmentalism is no longer a bad word. But the question of ecological responsibility during huge mega-stage musical events seems illogical.

The Live Earth organizers claim that this event will use new Green Event Guidelines (GEGs) as outlined by LEED, the Green Building Rating System. A quick visit and search on the LEED website didn’t show any sort of GEGs. A call to their customer service to find out about this led to only a voicemail saying to leave a message. Granted, the new GEGs could be so new that there is no information about them yet, but since this concert is such a big event that could yield a lot of publicity for LEED, one would think they would have info about it.

The place that there are GEGs is in the Live Earth press kit, which of course they want to publicize. So according to this, Live Earth will use renewable energy and biodegradable plastics, recycle, offset carbon emissions, and use hybrid vehicles among other things. Environmental advisor John Rego says that this event is breaking ground for the live event industry and is a learning process because of the newness. He goes on to say that educating the people involved in this event about minimizing their environmental footprint, from which they will be able to take and make good in future events, is key.

The real question is what sort of impact will happen regardless of all the so-called environmental precautions taken. Thousands of people converging for a day in one area has to have a negative effect. Most of the people who will attend this concert probably think they care about the environment enough, so how does this event really "trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis?"

keeping the earth ever green

For more on LEED visit their website.

For more on Live Earth click on their website.

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Idling vehicles bad for health and earth


With the average gas price at over $3, using less gas should be the norm, but many people still idle their cars, delivery trucks, or buses. This not only wastes gas but also spews out greenhouse gases and creates poor air quality like smog that’s unhealthy to breathe.

A 2003 New York City Council report compiled findings about idling engines. It found that idling a car for more than 30 seconds wastes gas and is not good for the engine. And "when viewed in the context of global warming, idling your car is about as responsible as fanning the flames of your burning house." Diesel fumes are the worst for adding to environmental as well as health degradation. This is especially of concern for school children who are exposed to diesel exhaust from school buses. New York City has the highest asthma rate in the nation and idling vehicles are one of the main contributors to this.

New York state and city have laws concerning idling. Under state law vehicles can’t idle for longer than five minutes unless for emergency purposes, if the engine is needed for maintenance, or to run an auxiliary function such as a loader. And the city’s law is similar except that vehicles cannot idle for more than three minutes.

But a quick stroll around the streets of New York show that many delivery trucks, such as mail or parcel delivery and food delivery, idle for much longer than three minutes. Often times they even block traffic, leaving their truck to idle in the road while they make their delivery.

But the city is trying to fight pollution and global warming. It uses hybrid buses for public transportation and a small percentage of taxicabs are hybrid too. Mayor Bloomberg recently made a splash by declaring that all taxicabs need to be green by 2012.

Idling vehicles are a big problem. Each individual can either contribute positively or negatively to this detriment. The easiest decision to make is to turn off your engine instead of leaving it to idle.

keeping the earth ever green

To read more about New York City’s commitment to clean transportation, click here.

 

 

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The not-so-silent problem of noise pollution


A harmful detriment to people’s health comes from outside forces. You can paint your house whatever color you like as well as design the interior, but you can’t control things like how loud your neighbors play their music or the jackhammer noise from when they decide to renovate.

Living in a city gives off a hum of noise from things like traffic, construction, and air conditioning units. Noise pollution can ruin sleep, create headaches, and essentially lower the enjoyment of life. Watch below for more on this problem:

For more on New York City’s noise control laws, visit their Department of Environmental Protection.

keeping the earth ever green

 

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April 22, 2007 = Earth Day


This is the annual day of conservation recognition. National and state governments will promote environmental efforts in their towns and cities. Being "green" will be the "it" thing of the day and participating will make everyone feel good about themselves. For people who don't normally help the environment, Earth Day is a great concept. But to really help the Earth, environmental consciousness needs to be ingrained into everyone's mindset every day of the year. A mantra of Earth Day is "make every day Earth Day," and indeed we must.

Earth Day began 37 years ago in 1970. Since then its founders have organized the Earth Day Network (EDN) that, according to their website, "promotes environmental citizenship and year-round progressive action worldwide."

This year the EDN has many initiatives and suggestions for citizens to do for Earth Day. They are calling for people to make this day the "catalyst" for climate change policy. Demanding a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, citizens can lobby Congress for definite policy on global warming. Other suggestions include pledging to change your light bulbs and how to make events — such as an Earth Day event — carbon neutral. One interesting feature is the ecological footprint quiz.

The government has their own Earth Day site touting the positive environmental changes that have happened since this environmental day began. It claims among other things, that the air is much cleaner, wetlands are no longer shrinking, industrial sites are being cleaned up, and the strangely worded "President Bush is meeting his commitment to reduce the National Park Service maintenance backlog." We also must remember that Mr. Bush pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, which set standards for greenhouse gas emissions (for which the U.S. is the worst offender), but there is no mention of that on their website. But whatever positives are touted by the government are better than none.

International Earth Day has already been celebrated on the vernal equinox, March 20. Founder John McConnell created an Earth Day Proclamation in 1971 that was signed by reknowned world leaders. The text follows:

"Whereas: A new world view is emerging; through the eyes of our Astronauts and Cosmonauts we now see our beautiful blue planet as a home for all people, and

Whereas: Planet Earth is facing a grave crisis which only the people of Earth Can resolve, and the delicate balances of nature, essential for our survival, can only be saved through a global effort, involving all of us, and

Whereas: In our shortsightedness we have failed to make provisions for the poor, as well as the rich, to inherit the Earth, and our new enlightenment requires that the disinherited be given a just stake in the Earth and its future — their enthusiastic cooperation is essential if we are to succeed in the great task of Earth renewal, and

Whereas: World equality in economics as well as politics would remove a basic cause of war, and neither Socialism, Communism nor Capitalism in their present forms have realized the potentials of Man for a just society, nor educated Man in the ways of peace and creative love, and

Whereas: Through voluntary action individuals can join with one another in building the Earth in harmony with nature, and promote support thereof by private and government agencies, and

Whereas: Individuals and groups may follow different methods and programmes in Earthkeeping and Earthbuilding, nevertheless by constant friendly communication with other groups and daily meditation on the meaning of peace and goodwill they will tend more and more to be creative, sensitive, experimental, and flexible in resolving differences with others, and

Whereas: An international EARTH DAY each year can provide a special time to draw people together in appreciation of their mutual home, Planet Earth, and bring a global feeling of community through realization of our deepening desire for life, freedom and love, and our mutual dependence on each other,

Be it Therefore Resolved: That each signer of this People Proclamation will seek to help change Man's terrible course toward catastrophe by searching for activities and projects which in the best judgement of the individual signer will:

-peacefully end the scourge of war
-provide an opportunity for the children of the disinherited poor to obtain their rightful
inheritance in the Earth
-redirect the energies of industry and society from progress through products…to progress through harmony with Earth's natural systems for improving the quality of life

That each signer will (his own conscience being his judge) measure his commitment by how much time and money he gives to these purposes, and realizing the great urgency of the task, he will give freely of his time and money to activities and programmes he believes will best further these Earth renewal purposes. (At least 9 percent of the world's present income is going to activities that support war and spread pollution. Ten percent can tip the balance for healthy peaceful progress.)

Furthermore, each signer will support and observe EARTH DAY on March 21st….(Vernal Equinox — when night and day are equal throughout the Earth) with reflection and actions that encourage a new respect for Earth with its great potentials for fulfilling Man's highest dreams; and on this day will join at 1900 Universal Time in a global EARTH HOUR — a silent hour for peace…"

For more on the Earth Day Network, visit earthday.net.

For more on International Earth Day, visit earthsite.org.

keeping the earth ever green

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Eco-ski resort Whistler Blackcomb


Environmental responsibility extends to ski resorts where nature plays a major part in the enjoyment. Whistler Blackcomb, just north of Vancouver, BC, has been taking the role of protecting the environment very seriously. Maintaining the world-famous resort that sees around 20,000 daily visitors and reducing their footprint has been a welcome challenge. Watch below for more.

 

 

For more on Whistler’s environmental responsibility, please visit their website: whistlerblackcomb.com.

 

keeping the earth ever green

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Global warming concerns voiced


Too-warm days bring people outside and environmental questions to mind. Watch what others think below.

 

 

 

 

For more about global warming, check out my previous posts:

Global warming caused by humans

How to fight global warming, use less energy

For more on climate conditions, check out the NOAA climate program website.

 

keeping the earth ever green

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Environmental stories of note via video


ever green is experimenting with different forms of media to deliver enviromental issues.

Watch some stories of note right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read the stories talked about on the webcast, please click on the source below:

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: UW to cut emissions

The New York Times: The year without toilet paper

The Christian Science Monitor: Global boom in coal power

 

keeping the earth ever green


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Incandescent light bulbs out, saving energy in


More and more countries and states are realizing that saving energy as well as the environment is as easy as changing a light bulb. As energy consumption grows and demand creates a need for alternative energy sources, governments are looking toward the source to solve the problem. Mandating energy-saving light bulbs is becoming the embraced legislation to quickly resolve these energy problems. And the environmental benefits are just one of the many pluses in doing so.

Energy-saving light bulbs are 75 percent more energy efficient than incandescent and last 10 times as long. Installing them cuts down on energy consumption that in turn cuts down on pollution spewed from energy-generating plants. The less energy we consume from traditional energy plants helps the environment and also helps our monthly bills.

Australia is the first country to systematically phase out incandescent bulbs and hopes to do so within the next three years. The goal is, by 2010, to have installed only energy-saving bulbs nationwide and to have eradicated the energy-wasting incandescent ones. The country already has legislation regulating energy consumption for appliances and wants to do the same for lighting. And the reduction of greenhouse gases from less energy consumption is one of the main reasons for mandating restrictions on lights and appliances. Environment Minister Malcolm Turnball told The New York Times, “Electric lighting is a vital part of our lives; globally, it generates emissions equal to 70 percent of those from all the world’s passenger vehicles.”

The European Union is also mulling over legislation to phase out incandescent bulbs. At a recent summit, EU leaders asked the executive branch to think of a two-year plan to introduce the energy-saving bulbs. German Chancellor and summit leader Angela Merkel told the Associated Press, “We need to give people a little time to change all their bulbs. We are not saying they should throw out all bulbs in their house today, but everybody should start thinking about what's in the shops.”

Countries that already have energy-saving light bulb programs include Cuba, Venezuela, and Chile. Cuban President Fidel Castro introduced the bulb program to counter his country's energy shortage. Castro's program influenced Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez to hand out free energy-saving bulbs to his citizens. Chile's bulb changeover is suggested in its new energy-efficiency plan, which calls for the use energy-saving appliances.

In the U.S., states such as New Jersey, Texas, and California are urging bans on the bulbs as well. California hopes to ban sales of incandescents by 2012.

Greenhouse gas emissions from energy producing plants are slowly being cut down by governments' own volitions. The world is realizing that reducing energy use and decreasing harmful pollutants go hand in hand. And regulating simple things like light bulbs make a huge and positive impact.

keeping the earth ever green

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Building green for environmentally conscious homeowners


Green building is gaining a small foothold in American homes. Although mega-mansions and their wealth status are popular in many subdivisions, some environmentally conscious homeowners are no longer satisfied with consuming energy for the sake of showing off. Conserving the environment while making a home more energy-efficient, using alternative energy sources, as well as building with reclaimed materials is gaining in popularity. And now some states even help the greening of homes by offering attractive tax credits and incentives that offset some of the costs of materials and installations. Creating or restoring a home into a clean-energy-efficient one also creates less of a dent in owners' wallets each month. This perk, along with creating less of a carbon footprint, are enough of an incentive for owners who have already gone green.

Reclaimed building materials
Buildings, houses, and barns are demolished everyday, and many of the materials used for these buildings are still perfectly good to use. Second-hand goods are cheaper in every market and, by reusing these goods, it also keeps them out of landfills and creates less destruction of nature for manufacturing. Reusing building materials such as bricks, tiles, and flooring is an attractive way to help your home become green. And, in turn, home restorers can also recycle their old materials. There are companies that specialize in recycling and reclaiming building materials from demolished or renovated residences.

Solar power
With energy costs creeping higher and higher and energy resources dwindling, alternative and clean energy sources are gaining a small momentum with homeowners and businesses. Certain states such as California, New Jersey, and New York offer rebates and excess-energy buyback programs that, along with federal tax credits, can offset the cost and installation of solar panels. Depending on the state and program, most actual payback times — the amount of time that your out-of-pocket costs versus zero-energy-costs merge — can be as little as 10 years. Most solar panels are hooked up to a battery pack or generator that store excess energy to be used when the sun isn't out.

Indoor energy efficiency
Using less energy to begin with will make your house green. It starts with proper insulation — this keeps the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Some green builders have used hay as a natural insulator. Ceiling fans use much less energy than air conditioners and, in the winter, the fans can circulate the hot air that rises to the ceiling. Installing florescent energy-saving light bulbs cuts down on energy consumption and the bulbs also last much longer than traditional incandescent ones. Saving water is becoming a big concern, so dual-flush toilets, which use more or less water depending on the need, are a good alternative. For more on how to save energy around the home, check out my post How to fight global warming, use less energy.

Natural aspects
Not all green building has to do with the house itself. In the summer, a big tree over the roof of your house provides natural shade for cooling. Installing a bucket to catch rainwater is a good way reuse it to water the lawn. Planting the garden with native plants that don't require a lot of watering also makes ecological sense.

Your home is one of the most expensive investments you will ever purchase. Most anyone can easily do a few things around their home to make it green. The next time the energy bill comes around, think about simple solutions to bring down the bill and in return help the environment.

keeping the earth ever green

For more on green building check out the excellent "Austin House Project" series on "This Old House."

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