This week I came across this article in the Chicago Reader about the garbage issues facing the city of Chicago. Honestly it was a little depressing. Mayor Daley is constantly up on his little pedestal saying how ‘green’ the city is and how he’s committed to making Chicago the greenest city in the country but we still don’t have a fully functional citywide recycling program. Granted he has implemented a few good ideas like having green roofs on some city buildings but overall he hasn’t done enough.

My neighborhood is one of the few that actually has the ‘Blue Bin‘ program but my building can’t get one because we have 13 units. We pay for our own recycling pick-up from an independent company. The problem is that we can’t recycle every thing that you can recycle using the city’s blue bin. We can only recycle #1 and #2 plastics in the shape of a bottle. No yogurt tubs, no margarine containers.. It’s not a huge deal but I think it’s silly that our neighbors who have 2 people living in their house get this huge cart to use and can recycle pretty much everything and we have to pay for a private company to come out to get our and we can only recycle a fraction of what they can.

And so I’m happy to have a little bit of power. I’m really happy my neighbors are excited about composting. I’m hoping it’s not too difficult to get people in the habit of doing it and doing it right.

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.

Now that I’ve finally starting recycling on a regular basis I’ve started thinking about composting. Though I’ve noticed a huge reduction in the amount of garbage we’re producing, it’s still not as good as it could be.

My husband and I cook quite a bit and I’d say probably about 60-70% of our garbage now is probably compostable.

I’m really interested in starting a compost bin but I have a couple reservations about it. The biggest one being the smell. I know if you do it properly it’s not supposed to smell at all, supposedly. My sense of smell is really sensitive and I find it really hard to believe that rotting organic matter in a closed bin isn’t going to have some sort of odor. Another reservation I have is attracting bugs.

One of my biggest issues previously with the idea of composting was what to do with the compost itself. I didn’t have a garden or a lawn, just a couple house plants. Now we do have a courtyard and some trees, it’s a shared outdoor space but at least I have a use for the compost.

I’ve started doing some research again on the subject and found this great website that talks about composting in the city. I wonder if there’s a similar program in Chicago…

The New York City Composting Project

The Chicago Recycling Coalition has some great info as well.

Another website with a lot of info on composting is MasterComposter.com

A link to some books on the subject

Over the past year or so I’ve been slowly phasing out my non-stick cookware. After reading about, and having my own suspicions about the safety of non-stick coatings I decided that I was done with it. Even if the health risks are minor there are so many other options out there why not try something else.

I’ve gotten a few different types of pans to replace the old ones, some have been better than others. We got a few pieces of really nice anodized aluminum cookware as gifts and I wasn’t really impressed at all. They are great for some things but food sticks to them like crazy. They also require too much babying. I have to keep referring to care card that came with them to remember the proper way to clean them.  They end up sitting in the cabinet most of the time. 

We got a couple stainless steel sauce pans that I’ve been really happy with. They’re easy to clean even when something happens to stick like rice or oatmeal. I’ve been pleased with them overall.

The 2 stars though have been the cast iron and enameled cast iron pans. The one draw back is that they are really heavy and I’m kind of a weakling but they work great. We have an enameled cast iron braising pan and use it all the time. Really easy to clean, food doesn’t stick to it. Same thing with the regular cast iron skillets.

If you’re looking to change your cookware to something a little greener, here are a couple things to keep in mind.

Avoid pots and pans made with perfluorochemical (PFCs):  PFCs are the chemicals that make your pans “nonstick.” PFCs is a collection of substances that among other things, keeps food from sticking to pots and pans. PFC’s aren’t just used in cookware, they are also used in cosmetics and a variety of other applications. PFCs may be worse in dishes than other applications because there are many health hazards of having PFCs in your body, and PFCs last forever both in our bodies and they won’t degrade in the environment. You don’t want to cook on and eat off this stuff.

The best choices of cookware are stainless steel, glass and cast iron. 

The worst pots and pans: Non-stick pots and pans – anything with Teflon coating.

What if you already own non-stick cookware?: The best thing to do is upgrade your cookware, but if you do hang on to your non-stick pieces, don’t heat them to above 450 F and get rid of them if the non-stick coating starts to peel off.

The Environmental Working Group website has a lot of great info and research on a variety of topics.

I think these kinds of things are a little scary. People should pay attention to the things they buy and take just a second to think about the impact of that product. When in doubt go for the least processed, least engineered, most natural option.

Give these kids a big giant gold star!

Almost daily there is a story about how the CTA is complaining about needing more money to fix the rail system. Here you go. I’m sure the initial investment will be substantial but if Daley is as serious as he says he is about making Chicago the ‘greenest’ city in the US, this is a fantastic step in the process.

Personally I think all city vehicles and taxis should be hybrids. It makes sense from a financial standpoint. They use less gas which equals lower operating cost which equals tax money being used for something else. It’s a no-brainer.

We should all find things we can do as individuals to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but the biggest impact we can make is pushing our cities and towns to do the same.

Here’s a link to the whole article in the Tribune. 

I’m so incredibly over it! Not only is it through this here blog but my email, myspace, my photo gallery. Every possible avenue. So aggravating! Not that it’s so hard to go through and just delete spam comments or emails or friend requests, it’s just the principal. I don’t want your stupid drugs or porn or especially not your crappy ringtones. This also carries over to my home phone where every call comes up ‘unknown name unknown number’ and my mailbox jammed with credit card offers and the ‘Local Values’ papers. Sick of it! It’s all garbage. I’d almost rather someone put a big pile of poo in my mailbox at least then I could use it as fertilizer.

There has to be something we can do. There’s obviously something we are doing that makes this a viable way of advertising for these people. It’s worth it to them to continue marketing in this way.

Here’s a list of somethings you can do to reduce garbage and waste in a few of these areas. Some of these things a specific to Chicago so if you live somewhere else you might have to do a little research.

-Sick of getting 500 of those Shop Local flyers from the Tribune everyday that inevitably get thrown on the floor or the ground by your mailbox

Call – 800-998-2339 give them your address and ask to removed from the mailing list. If you notice there are ones being sent to apartments that don’t exist in you building go ahead and remove those too if you feel so inclined. Unless you really love those things then never mind.

-Sick of getting all those credit card offers in the mail that inevitably end up in the garbage

Call – 1-888-5-OPTOUT
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/optoutalrt.htm

It takes a couple minutes and will save you massive amounts of junk mail and garbage. Unless you really like getting those things then never mind.

-Another good thing that takes a minute. Send a quick email to your alderman about implementing Separate-Bin recycling in your area. It’s been started in a couple neighborhoods and is on it’s way to being rolled out city wide.. Help keep the ball rolling.

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

As I am writing this my phone is ringing with ‘Unknown Name Unknown Number’ UGH!

Anyway I feel a little better. Now I’m going to go outside with my puppy and play in the nice spring weather! Hopefully I don’t get solicited by a panhandler

One more quick thing.. If you have a dog and it poos in the snow please pick it up for chrissake. The snow melts eventually and the poo is still there. Our bushes are full of it along with the aforementioned Local Values papers and a wide array of garbage. Eeeeww.

Okay now I’m done