It's Easy Being Green

At some point in your life you’ve probably encountered a pesky, leaky toilet. You know the one that kicks on all of a sudden to fill it’s leaking tank back up or the one that just makes that continuous noise of water spurting out the little fill valve, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s been estimated that a leaky toilet can waste up to about 80,000 gallons of water over the course of the year. That’s more than enough water to top off that Olympic sized swimming pool you’ve been dreaming about putting in the backyard for the last two summers!

If you do have a leaky toilet, just dive on in and fix it. The repair is pretty simple, doesn’t require a plumber and will only cost you about $10 and a few minutes with your hands in the empty toilet tank. You can either buy the pieces parts to fix your current flush valve assembly or you can just buy a simple kit and replace the whole shebang. Here’s how to do it:

1) Head to your local home repair shop or hardware store and pick up a “toilet tank fill valve replacement”. Just ask for a little assistance once you get to the plumbing department and they’ll for sure know what you’re looking for.

2) Once you’re ready for the repair, turn off the water to the toilet. This is usually done on a little valve underneath the toilet by the wall.

3) Try reaching into the tank and re-seating the tank stopper in the flush valve. The flush valve is the tall assembly with the float attached to it.

4) Bend the float arm down or away from the tank wall and replace the float ball which may have filled up with water.

5) Now, drain the tank and replace or clean the flush valve seat.

6) Check to see if the tank-fill tube is cracked, then oil the trip lever and replace any faulty washers.

7) Fill up your toilet by turning on the water valve again and marvel at the fact that it doesn’t run constantly anymore!

Not only should you feel better not letting more than 80,000 gallons of precious water simply disappear down the drain but your water bill should reflect some improvements too. It doesn’t seem like a lot of water while that leaky toilet is running but it really adds up over time.

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One of the easiest ways to “be green” is by following a few simple steps to increase the fuel economy of your vehicle. One of those tips to always make sure your tires are inflated to the proper pressure and you might as well check the tread wear while you’re down there, ensuring your ride has safe traction in bad weather. Tires are declared legally unsafe when the tread is reduced to a depth of 1/16th of an inch and the rule of thumb was to stick a penny in the tread to measure this. With Lincoln’s head pointing into the tread (ouch!) you shouldn’t be able to see the top of his hair. If you did, it was time for new tires!

However, that measurement has changed. It’s now recommended that you use a quarter instead of a penny. Pointing George Washington’s head into the tread (again, ouch!), you shouldn’t be able to see the top of his head. If you do, head to the tire shop! It’s also important to pay attention to other danger signs on your tires including uneven tread wear, cracks or cuts in the sidewall, bulges and blisters and excessive vibration in your steering wheel. If your tires are showing any of these signs you should have them checked out. Tires are one of the most easily overlooked pieces of your vehicle. But if you keep regular tabs on them, not only will you save yourself money but you’ll also help the environment too.

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A team of scientists and researchers have developed a new way to harvest energy from the sun. According to an article on the Idaho National Laboratory’s website, the team developed “nanoantennas” that collect the suns rays on a tiny antennae about 1/25th the size of a human hair. The reports says the antennae could be stamped on just about any flexible material and essentially cost just a few cents per yard of material. To make the idea even better, the product can harvest energy long after sunset.

The team says their “nanoantennas” are more efficient at producing solar energy because they are also able to harvest infrared radiation, released from the earth long after the sun has set below the horizon. It’s also a spectrum that solar cells can’t currently turn into energy. They say while conventional solar cells can harvest about 20% of the sun’s rays, the new technology can harvest 80%.

Now the team will set forth on another challenge, figuring out how to take the harvested energy and turn it into something that’s usable. The frequency of the current generated switches back and forth about ten thousand billion times per second. Your common household appliance cycles power frequencies about 60 times per second. But the future is bright for this invention which could one day coat the roof of our home or be embedded in the clothes we wear.

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I caught an interesting program on The Science Channel the other day while I was at work, called Invention Nation. The show profiles some pretty cool inventions and developments in the green movement while the three hosts take a veggie-fueled trip across the country to get an up-close look at each one. While I don’t think the production quality or the hosts do the idea much justice, it’s nice to see various aspects of sustainable living shaping up across America, despite the reefer-infused hippie bus theme the show portrays.  Come on, green is more mainstream than that! This one episode got my attention because they were making stops in the Flagstaff area, visiting a LEED certified home. The house, being built in Bellemont just 10 miles west of Flagstaff, is one of only four platinum-certified homes in the U.S.

So what makes this house so green? The list is a long one and amazes me that they’ve packed so many environmentally responsible features into one home. The show focused on the “brain” of the house, an automated control system that essentially runs the place. A weather station installed outside the home monitors all weather conditions and relays them into a computer. That computer automatically opens and closes windows, adjusting the interior temperature with the outside temperature. The system also keeps the interior humidity at a healthy range. Aside from just the way the home feels, the system also tracks water and power useage, providing the homeowner a full rundown of just how much they’re using in the way of resources. The power monitors also look at the power output of the solar system, generating a little more than 7 kW hours of power and a wind turbine harvesting the almost regular northern Arizona wind, generating 2kW.

The Bellemont home is not connected to any water service. Instead it harvests all of its water from the sky through 40,000 gallons of collection tanks. The home’s designers say that’s enough for 2 years of potable water and irrigation uses. It doesn’t matter whether it’s rain or snowmelt, it all eventually finds its way into a collection tank where it’s stores and purified. The computer monitors just how full the collection tanks are. A newly planted apple orchard at the home is watered thanks to the home’s grey water system.

The eco-friendly house produces zero emissions. It’s zero energy and zero carbon emissions and produces more energy than the home itself uses. The extra electricity is fed onto the local power grid where the home actually earns energy credit for the power it produces. The home is outfitted with all Energy Star appliances and lighting. In fact, the house has such a high Energy Star rating that it exceeds IECC 2007 requirements by over 75%. When it comes to heating and cooling, a solar hot water system feeds an in-floor radiant heat system throughout the house. It’s also designed with thermal massing and passive solar design to reap the rewards of the Arizona sunshine during the cold winter months. Sewage from the home is treated with a UV alternative septic system which designers say is the first to be installed in the state of Arizona.

I think this home is truly remarkable and inspiring for the sustainable living movement. As the idea catches on and more and more homes are built with the ideas being demonstrated in the LEED Pilot Home, I think green construction will become more cost effective and mainstream. It shows people that what seems difficult could be really very easy. It would be easy for many to live green if their home was outfitted that way from get-go!

The house was designed by Architectural and Environmental Associates. Carl Ramsey, the company’s owner, seems truly committed to green and sustainable design.

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I was over cruising through one of my favorite blogs, Inhabitat, and read this interesting piece on the Masdar Initiative. It’s a new “city” being designed from the ground up by Norman Foster which aims to be completely carbon neutral, car-free and zero waste. Masdar City will be built in Abu Dhabi and construction is expected to begin sometime in the next month.

The project strangely reminds me of the Biosphere 3 project that was opened outside of Tucson, Arizona. Eventually things went a little wacky with that project environmentally but I think there’s a lot of learning and knowledge that will be gained from Masdar City. It will be interesting to watch it evolve over time and see what the city’s designers master and what fails. I yearn for country living so the idea of living in a mini city like Masdar doesn’t really excite me. But I think it will do great things for all those who choose to live in high-density areas. Check out the video!

[youtube yWVsi0UtmgI Masdar City]

What do you think about the project? Would you be inclined to live in a dense development like that if it was more sustainable than your current lifestyle?

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A new study out this week is showing that the post-Christmas rush to spend gift cards is apparently non-existent. It’s a sign that everyone is dealing with a continually weakening economy. Our nation’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, has been closely watching the way people have been spending their holiday gift cards this month. It turns out people are either holding on to them and saving them for harder times or they’re spending them on basic necessities.

Wal-Mart has indicated that most gift card purchases in their store are going toward food staples like pasta, cereal and canned goods. Even other major retailers are seeing similar trends. Upscale clothing retailers are seeing more people spending their gift cards on socks and underwear then on that new $100 pair of jeans. People are walking right past those plasma screen TV’s, video games, CD’s and other superficial items and picking up the necessities.

This sign doesn’t make me worried. I feel like we’re in a good position to weather a recession should our country really slump into one. We are always stocked up on the basic food items and are continuously looking ahead. What do we need and what do we really need to not spend the money on? One thing we could do better is save. It’s hard right now at this point in our life to really shunt money away into another account. Our retirement savings has been underway for the last 5 years now and we do have about $2,000 in a savings account that never moves. But, I still don’t think that’s enough and would like to have a bigger pad.

In the meantime, I think this latest economic trend shows consumers finally realizing what’s important and what isn’t. You need the basics to live. All the rest are just accessories of our lives that for some wild reason, we feel like we need to drag around with us. I’m glad we’re getting a bit of a reality check. I don’t think our nation has really had to scrimp or save for awhile. While I’d like to think it will get people into the habit of planning financially and making hard decision on what they need and what they don’t, I know it will just return to the same old consumer economy a few years down the road.

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Would you like to take a few simple steps to make sure your Super Bowl party is a little friendlier on our environment? Well you can and it’s pretty darn simple just by choosing a few key products that help us all tread a little lighter on our planet. I’m not talking a smörgåsbord of vegan food with a bicycle powered television pumping out the highlights of the game either!

Every Super Bowl party will inevitably have beer. So why not go the sustainable route and pick some beer that’s not only tasty but eco-friendly. New Belgium brewing company, brewers of Fat Tire and a variety of other lip-smacking good beers take pride in helping out our environment. The all employee owned company runs its brewery off of wind power and even takes extra steps like turning the steam generated in the brewing process into even more electricity. I’ve also heard they compost their leftover grains and hops. Frog’s Leap Wine is a great choice if you’d like to sport a little vino in your red plastic cup. The winery uses organic grapes and water-saving farming methods. They’re also 100% solar powered.

But what about chips you say? Pick up some bags of Kettle brand chips. The Salem, Oregon snack food company has restored damaged wetlands at their corporate headquarters where blue herons have now returned en masse. They also operate one of the largest commercial solar power arrays in the Pacific Northwest, saving 65 tons of CO2 every year and they buy wind power for the rest of their electrical needs. Agricultural waste left over in the potato chip process is turned into animal feed or compost and their used cooking oil is turned into bio-diesel, powering a fleet of company cars. That’s pretty cool!

Maybe you need some plain yogurt to make dips. Stonyfield Farms, a New Hampshire based company, supports many organic farms. They have a tree planting program to offset their CO2 emissions and they give 10% of their profit away to environmental causes every year. That amounts to about $3 Million dollars in donations every year.

Want dessert? Try some pints of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Though they’ve been bought out by Unilever, the company is still doing good. They donate about $1 Million annually and donate to local community projects. The company started an alliance for dairy farmers. It’s a way to keep them in business while improving their environmental practices.

If you need some pre or post game enery, try a Clif Bar. The company’s products are certified organic and are packaged in recycled goods. They moved a bakery near a distribution center to reduce greenhouse gasses, their employees get paid for volunteering in the community and they can get money toward the purchase of a hybrid or bio-diesel vehicle.

Last but not least, when it comes time to cleanup, you can use environmentally friendly cleaners made by Seventh Generation. I’ve talked about the company before. You can read their benefits on the environment and look into other green cleaners by checking out this blog post. Simple steps and easy products to make your gathering greener.

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