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This summer I had the opportunity to be at the Minnesota State Fair, which among all the traditional farm shows and equipment, features a wonderful building for science and technology. The last couple of years have seen a focus on green tech and sustainability in this building. I picked up a card about composting from RethinkRecycling.com:
"Food waste accounts for about 11 percent of the garbage thrown away in the Twin Cities metro area. That's over two pounds per person per week! Much of this waste can be put to better use. Many types of food scraps, along with leaves and yard trimmings, can be combined in your backyard compost bin to create a valuable soil additive for your lawn and garden. That's recycling at its best!
The benefits of composting include:
-Reducing waste in your garbage can
-Reducing water and fertilizer required for your lawn and garden
-Improving soil quality and supplying essential nutrients for plant growth"
The same card also includes "A Recipe for Good Clean Dirt":
-Place you bin in a convenient location for easy access. A shady or sunny spot will work
-ADD food and yard wastes including:
--Vegetable and fruit scraps, rinds and peels
--Coffee grounds and filters
--Tea leaves and tea bags
--Egg shells
--Nut shells
--Plant trimmings
--Grass and leaves
-DO NOT ADD fats or animal products including:
--Butter, cheese, or dairy products
--Meat or bones
--Gravies or sauces
--Pet waste
-As a general rule, add three parts of dry ingredients, leaves or dry grass, to one part of wet food waste.
-Keep the pile moist. The optimal moisture level for compost is best described as similar to a wrung-out sponge.
-Speed up decomposition. Turn the pile with a pitch fork or shovel at least monthly."
That's all for now, happy composting!
September 19th 2009 16:28
Welcome back! I've been off lately as school has been restarting, but that should mean that I've got a wealth of new information for building it greener, and I do!
Today's spotlight is another program to green up your PC. Previously I showcased Edison from Verdiem Software which throttles your PC's power to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions. Another wonderful program is GreenPrint, a program that allows you to cut off unwanted print material when you print from web pages. This saves ink and paper by allowing you to maximize usage of your print area.
Download GreenPrint
I just read a great article about how downloading music is more environmentally friendly than going out and buying a disc/tape/album. Check it out at: Znet.
Now the music labels can stop complaining about how illegal downloads are harmful. It's just an underground green-revolution causing the music industry to go digital!
As many of you have heard, the government ran out of money for its "Cash for Clunkers" program. Kudos to the EPA for spurring a program that actually worked. Recently $2 Billion was reallocated to the program.
Why is this program such an important event in green news? It removes tons of vehicles that don't meet current EPA standards. Especially those junkers you see spewing black smoke or burning oil on your way to work! These older cars have inefficient engines and ventilation systems that cause them to not only use more fuel but expel more waste as well. Old cars are also more likely to break on the road or have pieces come off (mufflers) that become roadside waste. While most metals are not too harmful to just rust away outside, some are very toxic to animals and others are coated in toxic waste from the vehicle
[ Click here to read more ]
A friend of mine who works for the University of Wisconsin Medical Foundation sent me an interesting email that outlines the company's stance on computers and being green.
In their administrative building the Foundation asks that employees turn off PC's and monitors before they leave for the day. There is also a note about using the "Wake on LAN" remote feature to manage power during off-peak hours. Also contained are a number of facts regarding computer power use and CO2 production
[ Click here to read more ]
During a recent visit to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA, I noticed something on my straw wrapper that surprised me: This wrapper is biodegradable. Not only did my wrapper sport this statement, but many other products at the snack at which I ate. (If your interested it was the snack bar at the Fishing Bridge.)
These items were produced by Eco Products, a company that manufactures eco-friendly cups, plates, containers and similar disposables. What is unique is that this company has been around for almost 20 years! It would be wonderful to see more businesses and restaurants using the environmentally friendly containers.
I'm not sure how many people pay attention to the energy use of their laptops and desktop computers but it is amazing the amount of CO2 and electricity usage they have! Desktops tend to output less CO2 and have lower temperatures because they are vented better, but consume more electricity. Laptops reach higher temperatures and emit more CO2 but are designed with low power consumption in mind.
A neat program to help both users is Edison. Edison is a power management program that runs on start up and minimizes to the system tray (the part by the clock). The program allows you to control when your monitor, hard drive, and PC will sleep or suspend or even shut down. Another perk of this program is that it allows you to set different settings during work-time and non-work-time. This means you don't have to wake up your computer when you step away for 5 minutes. The best part, at least to me, about Edison, is the on board calculator that shows how much CO2 and energy you are saving as well as the amount of money you save by reducing your electric bill! I've been using Edison for almost a year now and it has worked great; however, I do not know about compatibility for Macs
[ Click here to read more ]
For those of us in the United States, this weekend of July 4th celebrates our nation's independence. Many of us choose to set off fireworks that we have purchased. No, I'm not going to remind you to be safe, but to be environmentally safe.
Please recycle as much packaging as you can, cardboard boxes, plastic bags and even paper instuctions. All of these things are often thrown away in the spirit of celebration. Also remember to remove any plastic from the ground (plastics don't break down). Paper material will dissolve in the rain so it's OK
[ Click here to read more ]
John Imes from the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative has just published a wonderful article about stormwater use in the city and suburban areas. He highlights the fact that runoff can take oil and other pollutants from lawns and roadways and transport it to lakes and rivers. By decreasing the amount of runoff we can eliminate harmful waste being removed so carelessly.
A bio swale or rain garden is one way to take advantage of runoff and stormwater. The garden is a depression that captures the water and allows it to sink into the ground and be naturally filtered. Good locations for swales and rain gardens are near runoff areas like downspouts and eaves as well as the bottoms of hills
[ Click here to read more ]
Recently I purchased a new hard drive for my computer. My old one was dying and getting quite loud and producing a large amount of heat. The new drive I bought is a Western Digital Caviar Green. What I didn't know when I first started looking at this product is that it not only has a catchy title, it actually means something. The Caviar Green has more efficient technology that uses less power to run, therefore it's quieter and generates less heat. As a bonus the reduced power draw means my whole system uses less electricity. This drive is a great example of the proliferation of green, eco-friendly tech that's relatively cheap and easy to obtain. So remember to check out the WD Caviar Green when purchasing your next hard drive!
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