Monthly Archives: July 2010

Is Big Oil Going After California’s Climate Legislation?

Quick answer, yes, Big Oil is targeting California’s climate legislation. Proposition 23 would cause California to only enforce it’s Global Warming Solutions Act when unemployment is under 5.5% for four consecutive quarters.

That doesn’t sound that bad until you understand that unemployment has only been that low three times since 1970.

Worse, as the article at Grist points out,  the clean energy law has created more jobs than it has damaged. Claiming that green energy solutions damage job creation is a common tactic used to make people think that it’s not something we can afford to do right now.

Funny, I always thought that new technology meant opportunity. Opportunity for individuals to get jobs and for new businesses to grow. Jobs are being created as new technologies become available and improve.

Of course, this isn’t about other businesses. This is about the oil companies protecting their profits. What happens to the rest of us doesn’t matter.

This is where it becomes important to pay attention to who is sponsoring a proposition, or any commercials supporting it. You can learn a lot here in California about what to vote for just by who’s trying to pass or defeat a proposition.

Keep an eye on this one. I expect some really nasty advertising to come around trying to pass Prop 23 in the coming months. I hope my fellow Californians don’t fall for it.

Treat Your Skin to Eco Friendly Care

Many popular beauty treatments you buy in the store really aren’t that good either for your skin or the environment. They give a temporarily good look, but in the long run they’re hard on your skin and may even be damaging.

It’s amazing how easy it is to make some basic beauty treatments at home with products that are much kinder to your skin and the environment. They won’t feel exactly like store bought products going on, but that’s not a bad thing at all. Do your best to find organic versions of these products. Fair Trade is a good choice also when you cannot find locally produced versions of these products.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil, especially organic, virgin, unrefined coconut oil is wonderful for your skin. You don’t need a lot. Just take a little and rub it in. It’s also very good for hair, but be very careful to not overdo, or your hair will appear oily.

Jojoba Oil

Jojoba oil has similar effects to coconut oil, but it is a much lighter feel. It is considered to be the most similar to the skin’s natural oils.

Shea Butter

Shea butter is another great choice for dry skin. Once again, organic and unrefined are the best choices, and you may be able to find Fair Trade shea butter. There are claims that shea butter can treat a variety of skin ailments, but I would suggest testing it out on your own.

Honey

Honey is an ingredient in many homemade facial recipes. The simple reason is that it’s great for most types of skin. It’s mildly antimicrobial and helps to keep skin moisturized. It can even be used to soothe cuts and burns. Raw honey is considered to be better by many people.

Egg Whites

The proteins in egg whites are good for your skin. Whip them, apply to your face, and let it dry for 15 minutes before rinsing off with cool water.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Many people are fans of the wide range of uses of apple cider vinegar. On your skin it acts as a natural toner and is great for the pH balance of your skin.

Essential Oils

Some essential oils are great for your skin. Others aren’t so research before you add any essential oil to your skin care regimen. They should always be added to a carrier oil such as coconut oil or jojoba oil, just a few drops per ounce. Lavender is a great choice for a relaxing scent. Tea tree oil is popular for its antiseptic effects.

There are many more products you can find around your home to care for your skin. The best part is that you can treat your skin wonderfully while spending less than you would for name brand products that might be damaging your skin in the long run.

7 Ways to Make Your Home Office More Eco Friendly

Even if you don’t work at home as I do, you probably have some sort of a home office set up in your home. It’s a place to keep the computer and various papers you need. It’s a quiet place to work when you need to get something done.

You may not have given much thought to how much energy you use in your home office. It’s one of those rooms where it’s easy to have bad habits. These are some basic fixes that you should consider for your home office and possibly other rooms.

1. Turn Off the Computer at Night

Lots of people just leave their computer on all of the time. It’s easy, and then you don’t have to wait for it to boot up in the morning, which can be annoying. But it also wastes energy.

If you can’t bear the thought of turning your computer on a few minutes before you’re ready to use it, at least make sure it goes to sleep mode when you’re away from it.

2. Beware the Phantom Loads

When you shut down your computer, do all the accessories turn off too? The monitor, the printer, the speakers? If they don’t they’re still drawing power.

You should of course not bother to even turn on accessories that you won’t be using anyhow. My printer is rarely powered on, for example, because I very rarely use it.

Get a Smart Strip or similar product rather than the usual surge protector. These still protect your electronics from power surges, but also turn off the power to peripherals when you turn the main item off. It’s great for computers and television sets. Just be sure that anything that should keep power is in one of the always-on plugs.

Alternatively, you can remember to turn off the power to your current surge protectors. That works too, just be sure that anything that needs to keep power isn’t on that line.

3. Consider a Laptop Computer

When the time comes to replace your computer, consider a laptop model rather than a desktop. They use far less power. There are some disadvantages too, such as keyboard size, but for most people a laptop is an excellent choice.

4. Make Recycling Convenient to Your Home Office

You may or may not make a lot of paper trash in your home office, but if you do, make sure you’re ready to recycle that paper. A bin just for recyclables is easy to put in a corner or under the desk.

Also have a place to keep your empty printer cartridges for recycling. Some places will pay you to bring them in. Check with your local office supply store.

5. Reuse Paper When Possible

How often do you really need a fresh sheet of paper. Most printing is done on only one side, and you may only need the printout a short time. Take advantage and save paper for a second use for those times that you don’t need a fresh sheet.

Don’t forget to buy post consumer recycled paper when you need new.

6. Take Advantage of Natural Lighting When Possible

Why turn on a light if the sun can do the same job for free? This isn’t a good idea all year – if the heating from the sun during the summer is making you need the air conditioner you’d be smarter to block it and use a lamp to see by, but otherwise enjoy natural sunlight.

7. Bring in a House Plant

Plants clean the air naturally. They look better than an air purifier too. Plants add a touch of beauty to any room and give you a chance to express your personality.

How Can You Make Your Summer Road Trip More Eco Friendly?

Summer is a great time for family vacations. The kids are out of school in most areas and the weather is great… so long as you aren’t after snow or something. Now you just need to find that balance between a fun vacation and being good to the environment, particularly with the Gulf oil spill much on our minds. You have a few options.

Staycation

A staycation is often the most environmentally responsible choice. Check out the fun things to do in your own area. Often people skip the tourist destinations in their own area because they’re always there. You know you can visit them eventually, and often eventually is really far away.

Use your staycation to do the fun things in your area. Visit local historic sites, parks, beaches, trails and so forth. Try out unfamiliar restaurants.

Local Road Trip

Next best is a local road trip. Find some nearby areas you can drive to visit and stay there. This can include camping, exploring sights a bit further from home, staying in a hotel and so forth.

Longer Road Trip

A long road trip can be a lot of fun for the family. Mine someday wants to do a long road trip up the California coast on the 101, camping whenever we need a break. It’s a great way to appreciate the natural beauty of a place.

If you’re driving for your vacation, short distance or long, make sure you inflate your tires correctly, remove excess weight from your car, use your cruise control and obey the speed limit. These tips should improve your fuel efficiency.

What About Buses, Planes and Trains?

This is a complex calculation. Which is the best depends on what’s available for your transportation, the distance and how many people are in your group and sharing the transportation with you. A full flight is going to be more efficient per person than a half empty one, after all! Depending on where you’re going, you may still need to rent an efficient car to get where you’re going. Most of us aren’t going to spend a vacation in the immediate vicinity of the airport.

Time is also a factor. Planes are fast, but may not be the most efficient option in terms of direct fuel cost. If you don’t have the time to drive, take a bus or train to wherever you’re going, that’s the option you’re going to pick, regardless of efficiency.

There’s a good review of the options at Scholars and Rogues that discusses the lifecycle cost of each type of transit. It has a lot of food for thought. It covers the issues from more than just the viewpoint of fuel consumed by each vehicle. There’s the entire complex lifestyle, and the results go against the usual calculations done based on fuel expended per person. It’s an interesting perspective.

Don’t Forget Bicycling

Bicycling isn’t an option for all family vacations. Kids can only ride so far, and may not be able to do distance riding safely. But of all options, it’s the most energy efficient and the best way to appreciate nature. If you’re going on your vacation by car, consider taking bikes along, remembering that the bike racks will decrease your gas mileage.

No option is perfectly environmentally friendly, but then living isn’t perfectly environmentally friendly. Think about your impact before you pack.

Is There Ever a Good Reason to Shop at the Dollar Store?

When you think of your local dollar store, you probably think of all the plastic and cheaply made crap they sell. Dollar stores aren’t exactly known for their high quality merchandise, and they certainly don’t aim at the environmentally friendly market. With that in mind, is there ever a good reason to shop at one?

I’ve found a few. They’re strictly limited, and I believe that if you can afford better options, do so. But sometimes even when you’re green you do what you have to do.

Budget

While much of what the typical dollar store carries is low quality, there are some reasonable things to buy there. Just what depends on which one you shop at.

I’ve found coloring books and workbooks for my kids at the one by me. These are things I can’t get at the library since the kids need to color or write in them. We don’t use a lot of coloring books as my kids would mostly rather draw their own pictures, but sometimes they want a coloring book.

The one by me also carries a lot of canned food. While I prefer to avoid canned foods, preferring fresh or frozen, for those things that I do buy in cans the price is often – not always- better than for the same thing at the grocery store. That means a lot when you’re on a tight budget.

The dollar store by me also carries fresh produce. Well, barely fresh produce. Sometimes it’s even organic. On a budget, buying produce that you know you need to use right away isn’t a bad thing, so long as you do use it. You have to be extremely picky to find the packages that have food in good condition, as too often the fruits and vegetables have already started to go bad.

That may sound gross, but there’s usually plenty of produce that is just fine.

What Shouldn’t You Buy at the Dollar Store?

If your goal is to be eco friendly, then the answer is “most of what they offer.”

Dollar stores serve a purpose, certainly. They sell a lot of stuff that didn’t sell at other stores. Most of it is things you really don’t need. Most of it is not remotely eco friendly.

The one by me sells tons of plastic containers. They have a lot of conventional cleaning supplies. They sell a lot of little party favors for gift bags. They sell a lot of cheap personal care items.

If you have a need, that’s one thing. But make sure it’s a need before you start buying even the highly discounted stuff at these stores.

If you need containers, for example, visit your local thrift shop, swap meet or garage sales first. You might luck into some cheap glass storage containers and get to avoid the plastic.

Much of your cleaning can be done with baking soda and vinegar, which are much cheaper when you buy them in bulk than what you’re likely to find at any dollar store.

If you’re throwing a party for one of your kids, skip the plastic party favors. If you really need to give the guests something, have it be a craft they can do at the party. We had a blast one year with the kids planting seeds in little pots they could take home. They loved it.

Think about where you’re spending your money. For a lot of reasons, the dollar store isn’t my first choice for shopping. But if you keep it sensible and really need the assist on your budget, do what you have to do. Just avoid the junk.