I learned about this project a while ago and keep meaning to post something about it on here but keep forgetting so here it is.

It’s such a great idea and something people should really try to incorporate into their normal routine. Instead of going to some big chain store to buy things try to find a smaller independent store to support. Instead of going to Starbucks go to the local coffee shop. Invest in your community and support your neighbors. Even if you don’t have a lot of money, your money has power.

If we lose our small businesses we lose what makes our neighborhoods and cities unique. I’ve noticed this when traveling to new cities and am looking around and see chain after chain after chain. Pretty soon every city will be the same, with the same 10 stores and the same 10 chain restaurants.

Check our the 3/50 Project and tell others about them.

Leaf blowers have always kind of gotten on my nerves. They are noisy and incredibly wasteful. What’s so terrible about having a leaf on your sidewalk anyway? What about a broom or a rake?

It seems to me like they are they equivalent of using a bazooka to kill a fly.

Today as I sit in my house enjoying a lazy Saturday morning there’s a symphony of leaf blowers blowing dust and dirt all over the neighborhood. The warm breeze blows the exhaust in my window. Lovely.

So I’m going to do something about it instead of just complaining. I wrote my alderman this morning and have started doing some research on how to get a ban on leaf blowers passed in my neighborhood. I’m also talking to our management company about having our maintenance people not use leaf blowers on our property.

The thing that makes me a little crazy about the whole issue is the same neighbors I see outside with their electric or old fashioned human powered push mowers are the some of the same people who have landscaping companies out there blowing leaves around.

Why are gas leaf blowers so offensive?

They pollute the air. A single gas-powered leaf blower can emit as much pollution in a year as 80 cars. It’s not just the emissions that pollute the air it’s also all the stuff they stir up into the air.

-From nonoise.org

Street dust includes lead, organic carbon, and elemental carbon according to a study conducted for the ARB. The Lung Association states “the lead levels are of concern due to [their] great acute toxicity… Elemental carbon…usually contains several absorbed carcinogens.” Another study found arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, and mercury in street dust as well. The ARB states that a leaf blower creates 2.6 pounds of PM10 dust emissions per hour of use, and based on this a report from the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District states that leaf blower dust is responsible for two percent of our PM. Blowers are widely used in residential areas where many people are exposed.

They’re really noisy. A normal decibel level, considered acceptable in residential areas, is about 60 decibels (60dB). Every increase in decibels means noise that is 10 times louder. Leaf-blowers usually generate about 70-75 dB. According to the U.S. EPA this level of noise actually degrades quality of life by interfering with communication and sleep, leads to reduced accuracy of work and increased levels of aggravation, which can linger hours after exposure.

They worsen allergies and asthma and irritate the lungs. Because they operate at such high velocities, leaf blowers stir up the mold, allergens, and dust particles that otherwise have been tamped down with rain and decomposition.

They waste gas. Two-stroke engine fuel is a gasoline-oil mixture, thus especially toxic. Rakes and even electric-lawn blowers offer a petroleum-free alternative.

Some alternatives to gas leaf blowers:

Leaf sweeper. It picks up leaves and puts them into a  bag as you roll it over your lawn or driveway.

If you just have to blow leaves around, choose electric.

Electric leaf blowers are lighter, quieter and vibrate less than gas units. An electric motor drives the fan, so there’s no need to mix fuel or refill. Smaller and medium-sized yards are especially good candidates for electric blowers. There are two types:

Corded leaf blowers provide constant power as long as you have access to an electrical outlet. The attached cord limits mobility so this may not be the best choice for a lawn with lots of trees. Look for a cord retention system to prevent the cord from being accidentally unplugged during use. Also, use an electrical cord that’s rated for outdoor use.

Rechargeable/battery-operated leaf blowers are good alternatives for smaller areas or jobs. They work well on solid surfaces like driveways and garages. They’re limited by their run time and the fact that they move less air than larger models.

If your landscaping company gives you trouble and says it’ll be less efficient and more time consuming, send them this.

Grandmother Proves Rake and Broom as Fast as Leaf Blowers

Yesterday I was reading an article on a group of people here in Chicago who are trying to get the city to ban stryofoam. Yay! Finally!! I was completely shocked and appalled to learn that Chicago Public Schools serve school lunches to it’s 400,000 students everyday on DISPOSABLE POLYSTYRENE TRAYS. I could not believe what I was reading. Seriously?

When I was in school we had reusable plastic trays. They worked just fine.

This is not only a disgusting disregard for the environment but an enormous waste of money! I found a website that sells similar trays and they cost about $37 for 500 trays. That’s about $29,000/ day. Five days a week. No wonder our schools are in such financial trouble. Holy crap!

What kind of message is this sending to children? Why did this switch happen? Why is my tax money being spent on this?

Styrofoam is another huge pet peeve. When I worked downtown my office was right across the street from this place that was kind of like a convenience store but they had a little salad bar and some prepackaged sandwiches etc. From time to time I’d go in there in the morning to get a muffin before work and would see person after person filling up giant styrofoam cups with coca cola and then piling salad fixin’s into a big styrofoam clamshell container. It pissed me off quite honestly.

Then I’d go to work for a few hours and go out to lunch at Corner Bakery and see person after person grab the prepackaged salads or sandwiches pay for them and eat them there instead of just ordering a sandwich ‘for here’ and having it come on a plate. Day after day I watched people getting up from their tables leaving behind a massive pile of plastic containers and paper and huge piles of napkins they grabbed and only used one. It made me crazy.

I had to try to stop myself from yelling at people..

I really wanted to do an installation art piece in a major office building downtown of a huge pile of Starbucks cups and to-go containers so people could see how wasteful is was. The average office worker probably goes to Starbucks (or other coffee place) at least once a day. Then at lunch they probably go to a fast food place where their food probably comes in a plastic or styrofoam container or wrapped in paper and put in a plastic bag. Add in all the paper napkins, condiment packets, soy sauce in a little plastic container, the plastic lined paper cup your soda comes in and don’t forgot the lid and the straw too. That’s just 1 day for 1 person. Multiply that by how many days a year those people are working, and multiply that by how many thousands of people work in offices in downtown Chicago. It’s insanely.. well insane.

But there is hope..

www.nofoamchicago.org

If you live in Chicago check them out. If you don’t, see if there’s a similar group in your city. There are so many alternatives to styrofoam that are much smarter and less toxic. There’s no reason why it should still be in use on such a large scale.

What’s so bad about this, right? They’re cute, non-toxic, BPA-free and recyclable. Great! No, not really. Antimicrobial isn’t that great. It’s a nicer way of saying pesticide. This is one of my ongoing rants that my husband is suscepted to on a regular basis. It’s time to share that rant with the world.

I find myself on at least a weekly basis yelling at the TV during some cleaning product commercial. They seem to imply that you are a bad mother, or bad wife, or a bad person if your house has one surface that’s not  sanitized to hospital standards. We don’t need our houses to be like a microchip manufacturing clean room.

As a country I think we Americans are completely and totally OBSESSED with sanitation and making everything antibacterial. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You should be aware of food safety in your home kitchen and make sure you wash a cutting board that had raw chicken on it before you cut some fruit. Absolutely, 100% behind that.

What I have a problem with is all the wasteful sanitizing wipe stations set up at the grocery store. I have a problem with the big plastic carts at Target for kids, you know the ones that look like cars, covered in Microban. I have a problem with so many commercial cleaning products being antibacterial.

Not all bacteria is bad. We don’t want to kill it all.

The more we spray these antibacterial products around the more of a problem we’re making for ourselves. Remember a while ago when there was a lot of talk about the over use of prescription antibiotics?  These medications worked for a while but then the viruses changed and became resistant. Same theory here. Antibacterial soaps and cleaners work. Some say they will kill up to 99.9% of harmful bacteria. The bacteria that’s left are the stronger ones. It’s survival of the fittest. We easily kill off all the weaker bacteria and are only left with the nasty ones which will breed and multiply forcing us to use stronger and stronger pesticides in our homes.

I think this is a problem. Maybe I’m the only one..

So back to the dog bowls.. Please don’t feed your dog out of plastic. Especially if it’s treated with antimicrobial agents. Stick with the good ol’ tried and true stainless steel and wash them out a couple times a week.

The major challenges to keeping the place cool are
#1 We’re on the 3rd floor
#2 South facing windows
#3 No shade from other buildings to keep the sun from beating down on the brick all day

We did inherit a window ac unit with the place which is good but it’s not big enough to cool the whole place. And it’s in our dining room. We have a blow up mattress in there just in case we can’t take the heat and need to sleep in a cooler room. So far we haven’t had to use it.

So I’ve been doing some research to see if there’s anything I can do besides buying an additional ac unit to keep the place cooler. Of course just buying another unit would be the quick and easy fix but I don’t want to spend the money to buy and run it right now.

Here are some things I’ve done that have helped a little and a couple others that are on my to do list.

1. Fans Fans Fans – Fans are really cheap to run. We have a ceiling fan in the bedroom and have been setting up a standing oscillating fan as well as a box fan at night. It’s been in the mid-90’s and I have to say it helps but isn’t completely perfect. The circulating air feels much cooler than still air.
2. Close the Blinds or Curtains – The main objective has been to try to keep the heat out. Closing the blinds the ‘wrong’ way, with the blades facing up keeps more sun out. This has helped keep our South facing living room much cooler.
3. Use a Dehumidifier – My in-laws who live in Texas suggested this. Drier air feels much cooler.
4. Wear Natural Fabrics – Dress for the weather.  Seems like kind of a no-brainer but try to wear clothes that breathe and are loose fitting.
5. Shut Off Heat Generating Appliances – Keeps tabs on lights, appliances and computers. Shut off what you can.
6. Avoid Cooking,Laundry, and Showers at the Hottest Part of the Day – If you can’t avoid these then try to ventilate the room to get the excess heat and humidity out.
7. Drink Water – Stay hydrated! If you get really hot run cold water on or put ice on your wrists.

1. Bring your own bag to the market, convenience store, hardware store, everywhere.

2. Bring your own cup.

This one too is not just limited to the coffee place. Use that mug as much as you can. I’m not sure if fast food places like McDonald’s would be as open but I’ve used my own mug at Subway. They’re usually open to it if it’s a place where you fill your own drink. Know how many ounces your cup holds and make the effort. People usually don’t care. It costs them less to not give you a cup, lid and straw.

3. Turn the water off when you’re brushing your teeth

My little bathroom faucet pumps out 2.5 gallons of water a minute. It takes a lot of energy and resources to get the water from the treatment plant all the way to your faucet. Be conscious of how much water you’re using and try to shut it off when you don’t need it.

4. Another water related one. Modify your toilet by either displacing some of the water in the tank with a brick or some other weight (A plastic soda bottle filled with water or sand work well). This will mean that your toilet is using less water to do its work. If you’re feeling a little adventurous you could look into modifying your toilet and installing a toilet lid sink. Sounds kind of unsanitary and weird, yes but kind of intriguing. Here’s an article with more info.

5. Unplug chargers and other small (or big) appliances when they aren’t in use.

Phone chargers, coffee makers, computers, TV’s pretty much any electrical appliance draws some sort of power even when not in use. These ‘Phantom Loads’ account for about 10% of the average household electricity bill. So when you’re phone is charged unplug the charger from the wall. Don’t use standby buttons on TVs or computers if you can help it. Plug them into power strips that have an on/off switch and shut it off when it’s not in use. Also remember to shut lights off when you leave a room. And think about installing motion lights in outdoor spaces instead of having lights on all the time.

6. Buy local, seasonal food.

Not only does local produce taste better and fresher it’s so beneficial to support the local economy. If you can’t make it out to a farmer’s market or there’s not one near you try to do your shopping at local independent businesses instead of large chains. It might cost a little more to shop locally but the pay off is huge.

7. Buy rechargeable batteries.

8. Be conscious of where you’re spending your money.

This is one of the biggest ways we as consumers can make an impact. Let your money be your voice. Do some research on the companies you spend money with. Find out what their environmental policies are. Are they taking steps to help the earth? Where do they get their materials from? Where is the product you’re buying manufactured? This can be really time consuming and overwhelming but you can save yourself some time by finding a couple good store or online retailers that try to carry eco-conscious goods.

9. Stop using toxic cleaners in your house

This one is really important, especially for those with small children, pets or people with asthma or other respiratory issues. There are a lot of companies making non-toxic and biodegradable cleaning products these days. Read the labels. Go for perfume and dye free laundry soap and skip the dryer sheets.

10. Pick your battles.

Don’t try to do everything at once. It’s great to want to be an eco super hero but you have to be sure to keep things in perspective and not to beat yourself up too badly when you accidentally throw that glass bottle away. Every little bit helps and it takes a while to replace the old habits with new ones.

After many months of anticipation farmer’s market season is upon us! Yay!

I have my list of markets to check out and at the top of the list is the 61st Street Farmer’s Market. It’s one of the independently run markets in the city and I’m really hoping it’s good. My goal for the summer is to get as much food as I can from the farmer’s markets hopefully it’s as easy as I think it should be.

Here’s some more info on the market. The 61st Street Farmer’s Market open May 16th and will be happening every Saturday thru October 31st 9am-2pm. They have a lot of special guest speakers, cooking demonstrations and a variety of other events going on throughout the year so check out their website or become a fan on Facebook.

If you live in Chicago and are looking for a market near you, check out the Explore Chicago website.

If you live anywhere else Local Harvest has listings for most of the rest of the country.

I watched this movie this morning.. I’m kind of speechless about it. Not sure if I’m angry, helpless, empowered or sad. I think a good helping of all of the above would be accurate.

Having lived in the Midwest my whole life and being surrounded by large bodies of fresh water I never really had to think too much about not having clean water to drink. I never experienced any restriction on water usage, have never gotten a serious illness from drinking contaminated water or really given much thought to where it comes from or goes to. I turn on the tap, wash my dishes, take a shower, fill my glass whatever, it’s always there.

I’ve started thinking a little more about my water usage lately along with every thing else I consume and noticed that there’s a lot of room for improvement in this department. I’m a water waster. I leave the water running while I brush my teeth. I love long hot showers. I wash my dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. This is one of my worst things for sure. I’m working on it but old habits die hard.

One thing I don’t do though is buy bottled water.

Flow explores, among other water issues, the huge impact bottled water has on the environment and communities. The plastic bottles are bad but so are the practices of the companies who are harvesting the water. One of the most surprising things they mentioned was that most bottled water is from municipal water supplies. So basically they are selling you what you are already paying for from your tap. I though the big issues was the packaging not what was inside.

Please check this movie out if you come across it. If you can’t catch it at least check out the website. The have a bunch of links on there about how to educate yourself on water issues and get involved if you’re so inclined.

Today while taking a little break for lunch and playing around with my iPod Touch, I found a great little app in the App Store from Buster McLeod, called Locavore. It uses data from the Local Harvest website to tell you what fruits and veggies are in season in your area and the dates and times of local farmer’s markets. Really great! You can also choose to look at individual items and see where they are currently in season in the US and find recipes.

I took a look at the Local Harvest website as well and wanted to include their link. The website has a lot of great info on finding a CSA program, farmer’s markets, co-op grocery stores, etc. in your area. It’s a valuable resource for anyone trying to get a little more local and eat seasonally.

Go to Local Harvest’s Website

A couple weeks ago on my drive back from visiting WI I was listening to NPR and heard an interview with the host of Eco Trip, David de Rothschild. It’s a new series on the Sundance Channel about the environmental impact and the steps involved in producing common thing we consume. Very interesting.

Link to Video on Sundance Channel’s Website

The more I’m learning about these things the more motivated (and slightly overwhelmed) I’m becoming. To keep myself from going completely insane I try to remember to not beat myself up too badly over somethings. It’s difficult making the informed decision. Even when you think you have all the info you find out that the info you’re getting isn’t always correct.

I think this series is worth watching. It has a lot of great information.