It's Easy Being Green

While the snow has all but left us here in the mountains of Northern Arizona, the weather has still been pretty cool. That’s how it should be this time of the year. It may warm up into the 60’s during the day but temperatures quickly drop off into the low 20’s overnight. That’s of course too cold for a garden going outside. Despite the fact that I’ve got spring fever and want to get my veggies on their way outside, I have to give them some gentle nudges inside, first.

Two weeks ago I planted two seed starting flats worth of tomatoes and other veggies which will require some time to get themselves established before they actually produce anything. More than likely I won’t be able to get any veggies outside until sometime in May so the few weeks they have to begin sprouting inside and forming root systems will be beneficial. My first flat of tomatoes has sprouted but the seedling are already too leggy. With tomatoes you want to keep replanting them fairly deep, allowing roots to grow off their main stems every time you replant them. This ensures your tomato plants will grow strong and healthy. They’ve already outgrown their little seedling flat so now it’s time to transfer them into small pots so they can continue their growth.

If you happen to save all those little plastic nursery pots you probably don’t have to worry about what you transplant your seedlings into. As it turns out, the last time we moved we through most of those pots littering our potting shed into the recycling bin. So, I turned to some newspaper to form little transplant pots just like the peat pots you could buy at the local nursery. It’s cheap and allows you to put the newspaper to another use, recycling it before it’s demise. Just like the peat pots the newspaper pot is biodegradable and will eventually just disappear into your soil. I found a great video showing how to make some newspaper transplant pots, so take a look below.

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Here’s another interesting toilet upgrade that can help you save water in the long run.  The Sink Positive is a toilet tank lid replacement that could help you use less water and encourage healthy hand washing.  The lid replacement includes a small sink that turns on after you flush the toilet.  As the water runs out of the tap and down the drain, it refills your toilet bowl.  It’s a simple idea that could be effective and essentially refills your toilet using grey water.  Apparently the design has been popular in Japan for some time now but is just now catching on in the U.S.

I personally think the sink would make more sense if you could turn it on whenever you wanted but nonetheless it’s a smart idea.  To find out more about the Sink Positive, visit their website.

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I like to compost my kitchen scraps but haven’t ever thought about composting human waste. That was until I found out there’s a new book out on the subject. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for living in a sustainable environment but I’m not about to start composting my waste to fertilize my vegetable garden. The idea just doesn’t sit well with me. However, some people might have an interest in the subject.

Joseph Jenkins, author of “The Humanure Handbook” will be speaking down in Prescott next week on March 12th, 7:30pm, downstairs at the Crossroads. The book Jenkins wrote talks about how human waste can be recycled using natural processes and not harmful chemicals. If you’d like to buy a copy of his book or read a free online version, you can head to his website for Humanure.

What do you think? Could you compost your own family’s waste and fertilize your vegetable garden with it? Is it a mind over matter situation? Share your thoughts.

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If you live someplace warm like Phoenix, you might already be getting your spring garden into the ground about now, hoping for a harvest before the Summer heat kills off your plants.  If tomatoes are a part of you new garden, remember this fun tip.

You can snip a branch of your tomato plant and put the stem in a cup of water until it roots.  Once the roots develop, put the new tomato plant into a pot and watch it grow.  Many people apparently clone their tomatoes and keep the new plants inside for a winter harvest, long after their garden has been covered in snow and frost.  That’s a great tip I hadn’t heard about!

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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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This week our car decided it wasn’t going to start on a very random basis.  We had been out running errands all morning and decided to stop at Sam’s Club and stock up on our usual grocery staples like milk, eggs and bread.  When we got back out to the car 20 minutes later it acted like the battery was dead.  Perhaps it was karma coming back to bite me after I muttered a profanity at all the people fighting over who was in line at the only two check stands open.  After munching on fresh fruit and potato chips in the parking lot for half an hour, our roadside assistance showed up and jump started our car.  Home we went!

Once we pulled in, I turned off the car to see if it would restart.  As luck would have it, dead again.  I had a co-worker pick me up for the ride into town and I schlepped my battery to the auto parts store.  It tested ok (as it should since it was only a few months old) and they informed me it must be my alternator.  Fantastic!  I knew I was either looking at a very long weekend and close to $300 for one silly part or about $600 to have a mechanic do it for me.  I guess I was in vapor lock mode.  My girlfriend and I decided we would tackle the alternator together making the experience more fun with the two of us at each other’s side.  Four hours later we were steaming hot mad and hadn’t removed a single damn part.

We finally decided we were defeated and that the car was going to have be towed to a mechanic where we would shell out the insane amount of money to have a mechanic do it for us.  I reconnected the battery cables and thought why don’t I just try starting the car.  I did and it started.  We let it run for about 30 minutes while we got ready to head into town, not wanting to shut it off again until we got to the auto parts store.  We pulled into the parking lot and the helpful clerks tested our electrical system.  Their tests showed everything was fine.  The battery was great and the alternator was putting out plenty of juice so they told me to clean up the cables and battery posts.

We did just that and it only cost us $4.00 as opposed to at least $300.  We bought a battery terminal brush, mixed up a quick concoction of 1 cup warm water and 1 tablespoon of baking soda, grabbed the vaseline and headed to the garage.  As it turns out, making sure your battery has a good electrical connection is super easy and takes just a few minutes.  First, disconnect the negative battery cable from the terminal and set aside.  Next, disconnect the positive cable.  With a paint brush, wipe on some of the baking soda solution.  As it comes in contact with the battery acid buildup it will bubble and sizzle.  This is a natural reaction so don’t get worried.  After you let the backing soda neutralize all that buildup, wipe it off with a clean towel.  Apply the baking soda solution to the wire rings that clamp to the battery posts and wipe clean.  Use the battery terminal brush to help scrape the extra stuff off both the clamps and the posts of your battery.  Once you’ve cleaned all the surfaces, reattach the positive cable and then the negative cable to your battery.  It’s that simple!

I also ready many anecdotes involving pennies.  Supposedly if you place a copper penny near each battery post it will attract the corrosion from the battery acid to the coin as opposed to the posts and cables.  I haven’t tried that but I guess it couldn’t hurt.  What a weekend!  We grew together as a couple once more after getting seriously frustrated with our weekend’s car repair.  I guess we were technically successful though since the car is running again!

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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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