Planning Ahead

The Snow is Accumulating Rapidly in Our Yard

It is hard to reduce my carbon footprint in the winter.  We need heat to keep our house warm in this frigid weather and I am certainly not one of those brave souls who actually bike in Minnesota when it is cold and there is snow and ice on the ground!  In fact, I barely even walk outside.  So when the temperature gets above 10 and the wind stops howling, a walk seems like a good idea - particularly if the sun is shining.  Yes, 10 and above, sunny and no wind is actually pretty darn comfortable weather.

This morning fit the bill.  It was snowing, but the temperature was reasonable and I decided that I would walk to my noon hair appointment.  I am particularly lucky to live in the city where it is possible to walk to the grocery store, the library, shops and services without too much effort.  The beauty salon is a little farther so I knew that I had to plan an extra 20 minutes into my leaving time to make this work.  Didn't happen.  At a quarter to (instead of half past) I tore out of my house in my big boots, waved a thank you to my neighbor who just finished shoveling the sidewalk in front of our house - once again- and hit the deep newly fallen snow at a jog.  I made it about a block before deciding there was no way I would make my appointment in time. I returned home to get the car. The difference between driving and walking to this appointment was a matter of 15 minutes.

So much of what we need to do to reduce our carbon use significantly is like that.  It's not necessarily hard - in fact much is quite pleasant.  The walk in the newly fallen snow would have been lovely and healthy.  Riding to a meeting or an outing with friends, ie: carpooling is fun.  Reducing clutter in the house and not filling it up with more stuff is liberating.  Yes, much of the changes I am trying to make are not only good for the earth, they are good for me.  And yet it does mean that I have to change the way I think about doing things.  To walk to my hair appointment means leaving the house 15 - 20 minutes earlier - to carpool means taking the time in advance to email my friends and suggest we share a ride - to reduce waste means remembering to take a reusable bag to the store, to think twice about buying that cute whatever on the shelf, to think about how to reuse the things I have.

I'm working on it, but it certainly doesn't happen overnight.

Update:  For those of you who read yesterday's post on solar leasing, the company I mentioned sent me some additional information on their business partners.  If you are interested in that update, I've added it to yesterday's post.

Solar Energy Leasing - A Great Way to Save on Your Electric Bill

Solar Panels

A few days ago Cathy Eberhart alerted me about a really exciting opportunity to get solar panels on my roof at hardly any upfront cost and to benefit from reduced energy charges for years to come - but the opportunity is going to go away in a few weeks.

Here is how it works:

• Cooperative Energy Futures will install a 3 - 10W solar array on your roof at basically no upfront charge. (A $25 share and a $300 refundable deposit). 
• You pay a monthly bill for the electricity generated by the panel at 75% of your current electric rates for 15 years
• After 15 years, the ownership of the solar array transfers to you along with a 10 year warranty on the equipment.  At that point, you get full credit for all of the electricity it produces.

Cooperative Energy Futures says that during the first 15 years you can expect to save from $150 - $300 per year on energy costs and after the first 15 years, they are projecting savings over $1000 per year - and of course, you are reducing carbon use for all of those years!

For this to work, you need to live in Minnesota, get your electricity from Xcel Energy (for this program.  There may be other folks offering programs for other Minnesota power companies) and have a roof position that will enable a solar array to generate enough electricity. And if there are too many home owners applying, there will be a lottery to choose who gets to go ahead.  Here is the site with the details:
Solar Leasing: Cooperataive Energy Futures

This program is dependent upon the Minnesota Made Solar Incentive program, one of those great initiatives of the 2013 legislature that I mentioned in an earlier post.  But the deadline to apply for that is February 28th and to get approved through Cooperative Energy Futures, you need to apply by February 14th.  So if you are interested, call: Bruce at Cooperative Energy Futures right away.  His phone number is: 612-568- 2334.  He's a nice guy - easy to talk to, and it doesn't hurt to at least see if your house qualifies.

I called him regarding our house.  He Googled our address to look at the house on Google Maps - it's that easy.  Unfortunately, the neighbor's trees and the particular shape of our roof puts us out of the running, but at least I tried.  Why don't you give it a try too.

Now keep in mind, that I have not worked with Cooperative Energy Futures and this is a new business model and there may be other companies offering similar models, so read the details, ask the questions and make your own decisions.  I'm just passing along information on what sounds like a good idea and a good deal.  Let me know if you do it and how it goes.

Update:  After I wrote this post, Cathy shared it with Cooperative Energy Futures.  They thought you all would also like information about their partners - all Minnesota companies - in this project.  Here is the information they sent to me with links to those companies:

Cooperative Energy Futures is working with the following partners to offer this solar leasing program to its members:

The Gopher Solar Program coordinates the financing and manages the financing and bill payment system for Minnesota’s first solar leasing program. Developed locally in January 2014, Gopher Solar harnesses the recent 2013 Minnesota solar legislation to enable Minnesotans to install solar at no upfront cost.

Innovative Power Systems is one of Minnesota’s oldest and largest solar installation contractors, named a top 100 Solar Contractor nationwide by solarpowerworldonline in 2013. Since 1991, IPS has installed hundreds of solar systems across Minnesota and serves as the system developer and installer for this program.

tenK Solar, based out of Bloomington, is one of two Minnesota manufacturers of solar     electric panels. This project will utilize their latest 410W modules, which have built in micro-inverters, full 25-year equipment and production warranties, and qualify participating households for the Made in Minnesota Solar Incentive.

Copper Mining or Copper Recycling?

Birch Lake, Minnesota

The battle is raging in Minnesota over whether or not to allow PolyMet to begin mining for copper adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  This is in the iron range - mining country - and lots of folks in that area want the mine because of the jobs it will bring.  Lots of other folks are terrified that a copper mine in the Boundary Waters watershed area will pollute the water and have frightening environmental and health consequences for hundreds of years to come.  

The environmental hazards of copper mining are pretty scary to me.  See this article: Sulfide Mining in Minnesota.  This is also disturbing: Recycling copper saves up to 90% of the energy of mining and processing virgin ore, yet the United States only recycles about half of its copper scrap.  The rest is exported to other countries!  Here's a quote from a Bloomberg Business Week article on exporting scrap metal to China: 

"Demand for copper in the U.S. is too low, and labor is too expensive, to be worth any scrap yard’s time." .... "for the last decade  (China) imported more than 70 percent of the scrap copper it uses. Meanwhile, the U.S., which throws away far more scrap metal than it can ever use, has become the world’s most attractive market for the savvy Chinese buyer."

So why do we need to build copper mines here that will harm our environment - and our drinking water - when we have so much recyclable scrap copper here that we export it overseas?  I imagine it is so that we can export even more copper.  Hmmm.Let's save that 90% more energy that mining uses and build some copper/ metal recycling plants on the Iron Range.

Whatever your views are, the environmental review for the PolyMet project is in process.  The last of the three public hearings is tomorrow at RiverCenter.  Show up if you can and make your views known. (5PM Open House, 7PM Public Comments)

If you can't make it,contact a key official.  Here are a few names:

Govenor Mark Dayton
Tom Landwehr, Commissioner Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Tom.Landwehr@state.mn.us
Lisa Fay, Environmental Impact Statement Manager
Lisa.Fay@state.mn.us
Douglas Brunder, Project Manager, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
douglas.w.bruner@usace.army.mil & mvp-reg-inquiry@usace.army.mil
Tim Dabney, Deputy  Forest Supervisor, U.S. Forest Service, Superior National Forest: t.dabney@fs.fed.us
John Stein, Commissioner, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
John.Stine@state.mn.us
Rep. Betty McCollum
www.mccollum.house.gov
Sen. Amy Klobuchar
202-224-3244
Sen. Al Franken
202-224-5641

Great Recipe for Lentil Soup

Lentil Vegetable Soup

I've been trying out vegetarian and vegan recipes.  My family puts up with me.  We still eat meat because I'm not the only one in the house who shops and we do have a freezer.  Still,  as I wade through recipes, I do come up with plenty that are quite tasty.  I use Pinterest to collect my recipes.  It is just so inspiring to look at the beautiful photos of how other people's recipes turn out.

Here's one for lentil soup that I tried last month and just loved.  It was so hearty and made me feel good to eat it, but I haven't tried it since.  This weekend I'll be at a cabin with friends eating and snowshoeing and reading and talking.  I'm going to make the lentil soup again.  We will have it with some corn bread, a nice hearty salad and a yummy sounding cake with icecream. Wish me luck.
Here's the recipe:
     Lentil Vegetable Soup Recipe

Here's a link to my Pinterest recipe to try collection and here is a link to my Tried and True Recipes collection.  It's smaller by far.   There are others I've tried and liked but they aren't on Pinterest yet. Maybe one of these days I'll take photos of my own - assuming I get any that look photogenic enough.

Regrowing Vegetables I've Bought at the Store - In My Windowsill

Rooting Celery, Scallions and Romaine Lettuce

Here is a dandy way to reduce food waste, save a little money and garden in the middle of winter all at once - use the ends of your lettuce and other vegetables to grow new ones on your windowsill.

I didn't grow up on a farm and sometimes I miss the most obvious things.  One is that those vegetables I buy at the supermarket can often be used to grow a whole crop of new vegetables.  Peppers, onions and garlic are an example.  Then just a few weeks ago Elizabeth Andrew (who by the way is about to publish a great new novel) circulated this great blog post
 "10 Vegetables & Herbs You Can Eat Once and Grow Forever".  Now that is an idea that appeals to me.  Does growing garlic sprouts, carrot greens basil, scallions, Romaine lettuce, bok choy, onions, cilantro, ginger and mushrooms in the middle of winter appeal to you?  Me too.  Read that post for details.

The onions & ginger will require some soil right away, but all of the other vegetables can be grown or at least started in water right by a bright window.  I've started the Romaine, scallions and celery so far.  It seems amazing to me that I can grow a new head of Romain from the stump of an old head that's been sitting in the fridge a week, but, by gum, there is a nice little head of greens forming.  It's about an inch and a half tall after a week - no roots.  The greens are just popping up from the middle of the stump.  I have no idea how big they will grow, but I'm hoping for something harvestable.  Here's a close up:

Romaine Growing in Water

I've only started the scallions, from some slimy ones in the bottom of the crisper drawer.  The celery stump has been at it just under a week.  There is a root growing and a tiny bit of green coming up from the center.  It's going to be fun to see how they grow.

Getting Rid of Plastic Food Containers

"New" glass containers for pantry shelf

My mind has been on plastic the last couple of days.  It is everywhere! In the pantry, in the fridge, kids plates and cups, the shower curtain, the bathtub, every single lotion and cosmetic container, the milk jug, the vegetable wrappers, indestructible packaging and on and on and on.  And yet, there is plenty of evidence that many plastics are just plain bad for you - not to mention the environment.  I've known this for a long time, but when I look in my cupboards and my refrigerator, there is plenty of plastic and in the past I have been complaisant about heating up food in the microwave in plastic containers.  NO MORE!

Part of my problem has been that I wasn't really sure what plastic is OK and what is not and there is always the thought that if the government let's manufacturers sell the stuff, it must be OK.  Well, maybe not.  I found a good website yesterday that clearly defines by recycling number, what the different types of plastic are and which ones ought not to be around food.  (Stay away from 7!) Here's the link to the list:  Exposure to Chemicals in Plastic.
 This site also provides lots of information on breast cancer, and the things one should do to reduce cancer risks.  Now I had breast cancer 20 years ago and had sort of stopped thinking about it, but in the last month two people close to me have been diagnosed with breast cancer and I've heard several stories of the fatal return of cancer in women who had been cancer free for years.  Ooops.  Maybe I should be paying more attention to these things.  If not for me, than for my daughter and my grandchildren.

So today I got rid of the antique plastic containers I've been using in the pantry because you know they probably have BPA, as well as all of the plastic kids' plates, bowls and glasses just to be on the safe side.  My house is still full of plastic, but I feel a little better about the food.  Besides, I like the look of the glass jars full of goodies, don't you?

Oh, and of course, I don't really want to throw the old plastics away.  The containers will get use as storage organizers for non food items, but I'm not sure what to do with the kids plates etc.  I should give them away, but if I think they are not a healthy idea, how can I give them away just because other people aren't as worried??

Gardening to Reduce Climate Change

Roberta's garden (from DigginFood blog post)

It's the middle of winter.  It's cold outside.  There is snow everywhere.  Of course, I'm thinking about gardening.  The thought of green things growing, the smell of soil and flowers - it is like dreaming of going to a vacation paradise.  It's pretty good for the earth too.  Growing your own vegetables is certainly a way to avoid buying plastic enclosed vegies at the store.  Picking vegetables and fruits in your own yard takes less carbon than buying ones that have been trucked to your city and composting your fruits and vegetables will reduce the amount of produce that is thrown into landfills where methane - a heat trapping gas 23 times more potent CO2 - is formed.  I'll probably be sharing lots of posts on my efforts to grow vegetables this year, starting with this one that has some ideas for how to reduce the carbon impact of our gardens.  Here are a few ideas gleaned from The Union of Concerned Scientists website.  I know nothing about the organization, but the points in this linked article "The Climate Friendly Gardener" certainly make sense.  Here is a summary of their climate friendly gardening tips:

1. Choose low emission garden products and practices (use push lawn mowers, and avoid fossil fuel based fertilizers and pesticides, and peat based potting mixes).

2. Grow cover crops at the end of the season to keep the soil covered and replenish nutrients

3. Plant trees and shrubs.  They suck up CO2

4. Compost your food and garden waste

5. If you have a lawn, avoid those fossil fuel based fertilizers, mow high and water during the cool times of the day to reduce the negative impact of watering.

Here's a nice graphic on the flow of CO2 in our atmosphere:

And here is another plus to gardening - it is a way to reuse containers that are lying around!  Here is a link to a blog post from DigginFood of the garden that grows behind Roberta's pizzeria in Bushwick, Brooklyn (pictured at top).  This garden is planted on top of storage containers.  I love that she has used old cans for planting  and great big plastic containers for her raised beds.

What fun reused items have you used in your garden?

Minnesota is Moving in the Right Direction

Solar Panels - Image borrowed from the Fresh Energy website

My church, Prospect Park UMC, has been putting on a series of monthly seminars on how we can approach global warming. At tonight's seminar, we heard from a home owner about his family's experience with the installation of a solar system for their home; we heard from a physicist about the mathematical approach to recognizing that spending the money to really insulate your home is a good idea and we heard from a representative of Fresh Energy who brought us up to date on the significant strides towards reducing our carbon generation gained at the Minnesota Legislature in 2013.

It made me proud to be a Minnesotan.  2013 was a banner year.  A lot of legislation was passed that moves Minnesota closer to significant carbon reduction.  I was particularly happy to learn that this is a bipartisan feeling at the state capitol.  It is nice to hear the word bipartisan used to describe good lawmaking accomplished rather than just wishful thinking.  The legislation and policies included:

•  the adoption of Minnesota's first solar energy standards,
•  the institution of solar policy and tax incentives to implement solar gardens,
•  improving the way energy rates are determined
•  and even changing the way legislators and rule makers think about the cost of power by adopting a policy that recognizes the value of efficiency. 

There is more.  Here is a summary of the energy related accomplishments by Fresh Energy with Minnesota's lawmakers and rule makers and power plants in 2013.  Fresh Energy is a Minnesota public policy organization devoted to clean energy.  I'm going to follow their work more closely from now on.

Neighborly Acts of Kindness

 We had a nice snow last night and this morning when I walked outside to do the shoveling, this is what I saw.  Someone had been by already and cleared the sidewalk along the entire block and then lifted their snowblower up our sidewalk steps to clear our sidewalk up to the house and around the corner half way to the back.  I figured out later that it was the work of our next door neighbor Michael ( I saw him disappear around the corner as I was coming outside) and he told me he had stopped where he did only because he was concerned that the twins might possibly still be sleeping and he didn't want to wake them up.

Yes, we have a neighborly game when the snow falls of clearing our neighbors walks.  It is not just Michael, though he certainly went beyond the norm today.  I've seen Gary out in front of our yard with shovel in hand several times.  I've caught Ken at it and Gordon and I have been known to swing our shovel in the neighbor's yard from time to time as well.  Usually though, the shoveling is done when no one is looking.  It is just a quiet gift from an anonymous neighbor that greets us when we come outside to get to work ourselves.

One of the major concerns of the impact of global warming and peak oil (i.e., it is running out), is that our economy will change drastically and there will be a need for communities and towns to be more resilient and self supporting rather than relying on products manufactured far away.  The upside is the potential for communities where neighbors know each other and help each other out.   I think Minnesotans have a head start here.  There is nothing like a snowstorm to get the neighbors out helping each other, whether it is shoveling the walks and the alley or pushing the car that is stuck in the snow.  There's a very nice feeling about sharing the adversity and helping each other.   Not a bad thing at all.

OK.  I know that Minnesotans don't really have a head start.  I bet there are all kinds of examples of how neighbors - and strangers - help each other out and work together.  What are some examples you have experienced?

Day 17: Eat at Home or Eat Out?

Photo by Hong Borrowed from the Cafe 99 Review on Urban Spoon

We are going out to dinner tonight with Bill and Vicci at Cafe 99, a new local Chinese restaurant that was pretty tasty the first time we tried it.  We have been going out to eat a lot this month.  We seem to do this in clumps - eat at home almost all of the time and then we will have a month of eating out several times a week.  I think our current burst of restaurant visiting is a reaction to the cold weather we've been having.  We need to get out of the house but a nice walk in the neighborhood is just plain cold!

Our increase in eating out is not following national trends, however.  A new report by USDA's Economic Research Service says that Americans are eating out less, eating fewer total calories and eating better at home -  and by eating more at home, people are having more family dinners.  That's got to be a good thing for health and family ties. (Summary article from NBC News)  It's hard to believe though.  One of our recent restaurant visits was to Crave downtown Minneapolis on the last Holidazzle Parade weekend.  It was expensive and it was packed!  Downtown was packed.  I had trouble getting a 5PM dinner reservation anywhere. So even if people are eating out less, they must still be eating out a lot.

What's this got to do with global warming?  I'm not totally sure, but I do see some good signs:

• The trend to eating out less included less eating at fast food restaurants so that may mean less cups, wrappers and plastic containers to throw away (though at regular restaurants serving sizes are so big there is always the temptation to take home leftovers in those ubiquitous styrofoam  containers). 
• People who are eating at home more are not necessarily doing it to save money.  Rather they are more concerned about eating healthily.  Perhaps that means more organic products are being purchased which is good for the earth.  
• And, of course, eating at home instead of a restaurant means the car stays in the garage saving us some carbon costs.  (We will carpool tonight and we are not going far, so our outing is somewhat climate friendly.)

Though we have been eating out a lot this month, we have studiously avoided fast food and take out.  That is our little contribution towards reducing waste. You might then ask, how do we handle those big plates at restaurants.  Do we take home leftovers in styrofoam cartons?  No.  We just eat it all.

Day 16: Fighting Climate Change Through Micro Lending

This is Simon.  He lives in Tanzania and I just lent him $25.  I am helping him buy a biodigester for his farm and other biodigesters to sell. The biodigester will convert food and animal waste into fuel for electricity and cooking  Just as climate change will be reduced through the action of millions of individuals, Simon will get his biodigesters through the small gifts of many individuals.  Welcome to the world of micro finance.

The loan is being made through KIVA, a micro lending organization that facilitates small loans to individuals around the world.  I was aware of this avenue for helping poorer people get access to capital and improve their lives, but I hadn't thought before about using these loans to help reduce greenhouse gases.  It's an exciting idea to me.

Today was the first time I've made a loan through KIVA.  I was able to make four loans totalling $100 for the price of $50 thanks to a couple of Groupon coupons I purchased back in December.  Three of the loans will directly impact climate change - two biodigester projects and one solar heating project, so less propane, less oil, less charcoal, more trees.

It will be interesting to follow the progress of the projects and see if the loans are repaid.  Since I purchased Groupon coupons through a two for one offer, the loan repayments won't come back to me but will go into the general lending fund of KIVA.  Next time, I'll lend directly through the organization.  Then I can use the repaid funds to lend again and again.

Day 15 - Public Action - What is the US Doing About Climate Change?

Total U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector in 2011

I've received a few emails in the last week from organizations urging me to tell the EPA that I want them to enact their proposed regulations for power plants.  Not knowing much about the subject, I went to the EPA site to get some background for us all.

It takes a bit of wading through links to get much information but here is the little bit that I did pick up:
1.  Power plants are the biggest source of greenhouse gases in the U.S.
2.  This is a first ever regulation of this type for power plants.
3.  The proposed regulations are for new power plants only.
4.  There will be regulations for existing power plants, but that is still in progress.  Those regulations will not be as strict as the regulations for new power plants.
5.   To comment on the proposed regulations for new power plants go Here. (There is a blue tab at the top right of the page)  I haven't read all of that info.  Too technical for me.
6.  To comment on what regulations should be for existing power plants, go Here.

I did comment after the first email I received saying "yes, go ahead with the proposed regulations", figuring some are better than none, but to tell the truth, I still really don't know what the regulations are or how much they will impact new plants.  Seems to me, we should not be building new plants at all if our trouble is that we already use too much energy.

While filtering through pages at the EPA, I did find an easy to read summary of President Obama's Plan to Fight Climate Change.  It is a "look how good we are doing" kind of piece from the Obama Administration, but it does give a good summary of all of the areas the Obama Energy plan addresses, what has been accomplished so far and what is expected to be accomplished.   I'm not sure what I think about all of the points made, but I was pleased to read that in 2012 the U.S. energy sector carbon pollution fell to the lowest level in nearly 20 years.  That's a bit of good news.

What none of these reports tell me is how do these efforts compare to what they should be for us to reduce greenhouse gases back to a sustainable level?

A Car Free Day

Junco Approaching Feeder

I didn't think about it until I was typing the post's title, but there is an interesting juxtaposition between the words car-free and carefree.  Today was a car free day for me and a carefree one as well.  We had another good sized snow last night and together with relatively warm (27 degrees) temperature, today was a nice day to just hang about the house and yard and neighborhood.   It was one of those rare days when I could walk to the store pulling my grandson on a sled through the snow most of the way before the snow shoveling got serious.

There is something very peaceful about walking in the snow - when it is not too cold and when the air is still. The snow muffles the sound of traffic and other mechanical noises, and yet I found that the sounds of the birds calling were much more clear to my ears.  Normally I can't hear that much at all due to hearing loss and tinnitus, but today, the crowds of juncos were indeed music to my ears.

Today was a day to watch the birds come to the bird feeder (we saw junco, house sparrow, purple (or maybe house) finches with their pretty red heads, nut hatch, chickadee, cardinals and blue jays at the feeder and woodpeckers (hairy and red bellied) and crows in the trees.  It was a busy afternoon at the feeder.

I wonder if our days will be more like this when oil becomes just too expensive for us to drive our cars very much?  Not entirely a bad thing, is it?

The Good and the Bad of Recycled Clothing

My "new" used sweater

I have become a fan of doing my clothes shopping at used clothing stores.  This came to me after the umpteenth time of complimenting a friend's outfit and then being told that it was purchased at a consignment shop.  Duh - if all of my friends have been shopping this way for quite a while, why haven't I?  So now I am and what a delight it is!

The above ensemble is today's purchase from the Goodwill Store in Roseville.  I had not shopped at Goodwill in many years on the thought that I should save all of those good prices for people who needed the discounts more than me.  But now that I am concerned about reducing my carbon use, shopping for used clothing seems the way to go - and it's more fun too.  My goodness, the Goodwill Store in Roseville is really nice - well laid out, lots of happy people working there.  They even dust the clothing racks of all things.  The clothes are nice and the price is right.  It was a much calmer shopping experience than at the mall - and the dressing rooms were quite nice as well.

The primary benefit to the world in buying used clothing is it reduces the amount of new clothing that needs to be manufactured and since clothing manufacture and fibre growth have pretty serious environmental impacts (see this article), reducing that impact is a good thing.  Having a market in used clothing also reduces the amount of clothing that is thrown in the landfill.  In 2006, 2.5 billion pounds of clothing was kept from landfills because of used clothing sales.  (See this article.)

We still have a long way to go in that regard. Americans discard about 68 pounds of clothing a year compared to buying 10 pounds of used clothing.  In fact, the rate at which clothing is purchased and discarded in our society is a real problem.  Even if you contribute your used clothing to charity, as I discussed in yesterday's blog post, you may be contributing to international economic woes.  In fact, when I googled "Impact of buying used clothes", I found more articles on the negative impact to African economies caused by the re-marketing of used American clothing than I did articles on the positive impact to the environment.  Here is one of those articles.

So first of all, buy less and when you do buy - buy used.  Here is another plus to that approach.  We did go to the mall today, after our trip to Goodwill.  Gordon was still lacking a bathing suit for that infamous trip to Acapulco we are going to take.  Since I am trying to limit my clothes buying to used clothing, I didn't feel the need to look at clothes racks in the mall at all.  It was a very freeing feeling.

Getting Rid of Stuff

Cooking Tortillas in Mayan village

If you have clothes to wear, food to eat and a home to live in, you have more than 70% of the people on earth.

During church today we talked about turning points in people's lives.  Jan shared the story of when she had to rush to Walter Reed Hospital from her home in Puerto Rico to be at her husband's side.  She quickly packed a small travel bag, not carefully thought through because of her hurry, but with a few pairs of jeans, t-shirts etc., expecting to be gone a week or two.  She was gone seven months and during that time, she got by with the contents of that small bag.   For her it was a turning point in her thoughts about the import - or rather the un-import of stuff and it changed her life.  She realized that she didn't need a lot of stuff - she could get by without it. Even today, years later, she and her husband live by a creed that if they are to buy something it must be either useful or beautiful and they don't keep - or buy in the first place - things they don't really need.

But getting rid of things you already have - that is the tough part.  We talked about the things we have that may not be beautiful or even useful but are precious because of some attachment - a piece of jewelry owned by a great aunt, a trophy from a special time in your life, a gift from a loved one, your father's tie.  What do you do with these things that accumulate and to which you are attached, but you won't ever use?  I don't really have an answer, but here are a few thoughts people shared:

1.  Try to identify what is really important - is it the item, or the memory attached to it?
2.  Take a photo, for instance, of your child next to the art work they've just created with the date and age.  Keep the photo rather than the artwork.
3.  Find other family members to pass things onto.  Perhaps the young nieces and nephews would be happy to have one of grandpa's books now that they are older.
4.  Find a meaningful use for your object in another place and know that it will be loved by someone else.  Martha's Closet, for instance, takes good professional suits and clothing that people can use to look presentable for a job interview.
 
And then, of course, there is just all of that other stuff - not precious, not needed.  Kathy Magnuson sent me this great article from the Women's Press with one woman's fine tuned recycling resources.  Want to know what to do with your metal scraps, plastics, coat hangers, fabric, mesh bags etc., etc.?  Click here

Of course, there is always the garage sale and, my favorite - put your items on the curb and say FREE!  It's amazing how quickly that big old sofa will disappear.

Goodwill and other charitable organizations would love to pick up your used items.  In fact, the big yellow card from the Epilepsy Foundation came in the mail yesterday.  I think that tomorrow, I'll go through the house and gather some items to leave by the curb for them to pickup next week.


What ideas do you have?

Day 11: Buying Carbon Offsets

Cross Ranch Presesrve, North Dakota

"Remember that the first and most important step we can take to help fight climate change is to make choices that will reduce our overall emissions. But voluntary carbon offsets are a supplemental way of making a difference that can further help reduce the buildup of carbon pollution that is causing climate change." 
The Nature Conservancy 

A few days ago I said that I might consider purchasing a carbon offset to alleviate my guilt about buying two tickets to Acapulco.   Well, I did.  I am now supporting The Nature Conservancy's projects to protect existing forests, plant new trees and improve forest management.  Right now I am only  contributing to allay my guilt about the plane trip - $75 worth rounding up - but they do supply a carbon footprint calculator that you can use to estimate your annual carbon use and sign up to buy offsets for the whole shebang.  I'm not quite ready for that, though I do have a great deal of respect for the work The Nature Conservancy is doing and it is something to consider.

I first became aware of the Nature Conservancy one morning when Gordon and I went walking in the Cross Ranch Preserve, in North Dakota.  This is a ranch that was purchased by the Nature Conservancy to protect some native grassland above the last remaining stretch of undammed water on the Missouri.  It was so peaceful and beautiful and I was so impressed that there was an organization out there that buys up land that needs to be protected rather than waiting for the government to do it.  I've continued to be impressed with their work.  I like that they have a collaborative approach to their projects, working with business and local people to create win win scenarios for their conservation projects.

I have a built in trust that their carbon offset program is a good one and the description of their approach  is reassuring as well.  There are plenty of carbon offset opportunities out there but I expect they vary considerably in just how effective they might be.  Here is an interesting article from the Wiki How on how to buy a carbon offset program.  Check out also the FAQ for the Nature Conservancy program for things to consider in a carbon offset program.

And in case you are wondering - the concept of a carbon offset is that I pay to support a project that will eliminate the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide that my behavior has created.  Trees are great because they actually suck up carbon dioxide and I like that the Nature Conservancy projects address both the conservation of existing forests that are in danger as well as planting new trees (which  can take some time to have significant environmental impact).

Day 10 - What It Is All About

Yosemite Valley

We are at 400ppm (parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere).  "Unless we are able to rapidly turn that around and return to below 350 ppm this century, we risk triggering tipping points and irreversible impacts that could send climate change spinning truly beyond our control." (per 350.org)

It was a quiet day today, spent with the grandsons at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge visitor center - a wonderful building of native limestone and glass which looks out over the woods and where we can watch the birds and turkeys eat right by the windows. It's a good day to remind myself of why I am writing this blog - because our beautiful world is in real jeopardy and there is not much time to fix it.  I want my grandsons to live in a beautiful world too - and a peaceful one.  We in the United States are the ones that need to take the biggest steps because we are the biggest producers of carbon through our consumption.  We need to take action in many ways - political, community, cultural and personal.  I am only one person, but I hope that this blog will help me to reach out to others and for you to reach out to me so that we can share our journey.  I want to thank all of you who are reading and commenting and giving me support.  It is really wonderful.

To Fly or Not to Fly

I woke up in the middle of the night last night and didn't go back to sleep for a couple of hours.  That's unusual for me.  Normally, I'll wake up, roll over and I'm out again in a wink.  But last night I started thinking and worrying and turning things over in my mind.  The cause?  We had just booked a flight to Acapulco.

Oh dear, how could that possibly keep me up all night worrying?  It's this carbon business.  In a flash I've probably wiped out all of my lower thermostat, no plastic bags and eating meat free meals by one spur of the moment whimsey to spend a week sitting in warm weather by a swimming pool.  In the Chutes and Ladders game of reducing my carbon use, I've just slid down a very long chute.

Should I feel guilty?  My daughter says to get over it and in today's Worldwatch Institute's newsletter the author of an article on transforming culture to reduce consumption makes the point that putting too much import on the individual's responsibility to change behavior can inadvertently take away emphasis from the cultural, political and business changes that are necessary to have significant impact on global warming.

That's all well and good, but I know that a culture is composed of individuals and it is the actions and decisions of those individuals that dictates how that culture will be  - so I feel guilty anyway even though I plan on having a very good time during our winter break.  It's not that I think flying to someplace warm in the winter is a bad thing.  We live in Minnesota after all.  It seems the only sane thing to do after a week like the last one.   But I know that our decision was made quickly without a lot of thought and there are closer, easier to get to places that we could have chosen.

So what am I going to do to alleviate my guilt?  Maybe I'll buy some carbon offsets.  It isn't the same thing as not flying, but it will help.   I'll let you know about that.

Is it better to fly or drive?  Getting specific statistics is kind of like reading the Bible - the answer changes depending upon how it is interpreted, but generally speaking, flying has a  slightly larger carbon impact than driving alone and when you add people in the car, the benefit to driving expands significantly.  With 4 people in an efficient car you can even compete with the efficiency of a train.  That was a surprise to me.  The most efficient way to travel though, by far, is to take the bus!

Getting Rid of Junk Mail

Paper, paper, paper.  It does accumulate, doesn't it?  For my part, I can pass up the exciting opportunity from Bank of America promised on the envelope above as well as a good many other offers and solicitations I receive each day by mail.  I'm not alone here, right?

Tonight my daughter came home and hit the computer to get her name off of mailing lists and so was an inspiration to me.  She complained a bit about the process she used, so I went on line and found a few suggestions of my own.  I was directed by an official looking PDF document from the state of North Dakota to the following site:  DMAChoice.org, an online tool developed by the Direct Marketing Association to help people manage what marketing mail they received or don't receive.  You can register with the site and then select the companies you want to receive mail from - or you can blanket select to not receive marketing mail at all.  Now filling out my name and address on a marketing site in order to not receive marketing mail seems a little counter intuitive, but since the referral came from a government site, I'm pretty comfortable doing it.  Any thoughts out there?

I have now gone in and requested no marketing mail in all four categories.  This means that in the next 30 to 90 days, my mail box should get lighter.  This will not stop mail from any companies where I have recently shopped or organizations where I have recently contributed  - and I am not sure how long recently is (I read it, but immediately forgot!)  I'll have to contact them directly if I want to stop their mail. Also, this is only going to affect me and only me as I spell my name, so as I see mail come in to me with a different spelling, I'll need to go into the site and add those names and to stop mail coming for my husband, I'll need to set up an account for him.  It's a process, but I'm on my way.

Now to be fair to the marketers, DMA reminded me that shopping through the mail saves gas expended on trips to the mall, paper is a renewable resource from trees planted specifically for that purpose and direct marketing supports many small businesses.  These are fair points, so let's consider this blog post as a plug to get rid of the paper you don't want, not to give up on direct mail entirely.

Here's a link to a Wiki with a pretty detailed list of other ways you can reduce paper in your household:

Wiki How to Reduce Paper

How low do you set your thermostat?

How low do you set your thermostat?

One of the simplest ways we can reduce our carbon use, particularly in these cold winter months, is to turn down our thermostat.   Energy saving tips suggest reducing the temperature by 2 degrees - but don't give a particular target, so I'm curious.  What temperature do you use during the winter?

We are making a real effort this year to keep our household temperature lower than previously - and no, our grandson in the photo above is dressed for going outside this morning, not for inside.  We set our thermostat to 67 during the day and bring it down to 61 at night or when we are going to be gone for awhile.  But 67 is a pretty relative term.  Sitting on the south facing window seat when the sun is streaming in is probably in the 80's and I spend a lot of time there on sunny winter days.  At the same time, the kitchen table by our north facing windows will be 57.  Upstairs is warmer than downstairs and the coldest time of the day is just after the sun leaves that window seat.

We have found out a few things turning the temperature down a bit this year - it's actually more comfortable sleeping when the temperature is 61 than when it is 67, curling up under a comforter to read or watch TV in the evening is just fine, and if I start to get chilly, it usually means I've been sitting too long and need to move around a bit, which always warms me up and makes me feel better too.

So just how cool can we get and still be comfortable?  What is your experience?

Day 6: Keeping the cold out

-15^°

Mostly Clear and Cold

-14^° | -20^°

Brr.  It's cold in Minnesota and Gordon and I found some more uses for plastic bags - stick them in the cracks around the edges of the old door in the basement to keep that cold air from blowing in.  We've been walking around the house these last few days feeling along the edges of doors for places where the cold air might be coming in and then plugging them as best we can.  We've had the Home Energy Squad come and install weather stripping, but it's been a few years and the house must have settled some more.  It's an old house and there are just plenty of leaks still.

The Home Energy Squad is a great deal and if you haven't had them come visit, I recommend it.   They take a look at the house and put in weather stripping, energy efficient light bulbs, a programmable thermostat and hand out little insulated pieces for behind the plates where plug ins are located on outer walls.  It's quite inexpensive for what you get.  Here's the link:  Home Energy Squad

Day 5 - Homemade Gifts Can Be Wonderful

Reducing my carbon footprint isn't all about giving up things.  There is so much to be gained as well. Here's an example:  The cute little banjo in these photos was given to our grandson last night by the banjo player in Gordon's Jazz band, Gary Peterson.  Thank you Gary!  Here is how it happened:

The twins visited Santa Claus at our local bank the beginning of December and had a chance to make their Christmas wish.  This is the first year they have really gotten into Santa Claus so it was kind of special.  Julian did as one might expect and asked in great detail for the Jake and the Neverland Pirates hideout that he had seen at Costco with the barrel that twirled to part the palm trees and send up the lookout tower and the car that the characters could ride in and the cannon that shoots arrows etc. (and yes, we did buy that huge plastic toy for him).

Dre asked for a banjo.  Well, I looked for banjos and they were Expensive, so I thought - well, we'll just make one.  Ha, Ha.  Gordon came up with a tambourine and we were going to give it a go, but first he asked Gary for advice and Gary, bless his heart said - I can make one in an hour - and so became Santa's helper.  Clearly he spent more than an hour and this little banjo looks and sounds pretty.

It was so fun watching Andres last night with his new banjo, playing along as the band played (we were at their monthly gig at the Eagle's club ) .  He watched Gary play and then tried to do the same things, bobbing his head to the music all the time.

This homemade gift will become a family heirloom.

So Day 4 resolution is to try and remember that not everything needs to be purchased in a store.

Chicken and Climate Change

Another of the many quandaries on my climate change challenge - to eat or not to eat chicken.  Here is the story:

I stopped at Speedi Market to buy a chicken yesterday and not only was it encased in plastic, but then the butcher enclosed it in a second plastic bag.  I said "You don't need to do that," and he gave me a look - kind of a polite "what are you thinking of lady" look.  I was upset about adding even more plastic to my shopping, but what I didn't realize was that I has buying a bio hazard.

When I got home, sitting on the table was a Consumer Reports magazine with the cover story "Is Your Chicken Safe to Eat?"  Well, evidently not. In the Consumer Reports testing of 252 samples from conventionally produced chickens and 64 from brands that use no antibiotics in raising chickens, more than half of the chicken was tainted with fecal contaminants and about half of the samples tested positive for at least one multi drug resistant bacteria.  Oh dear!  Here's the link: The High Cost of Cheap Chicken

But from a climate change position, chicken is the most environmentally friendly of the meats.  See this article on the Carbon Footprint of  Chicken for details.  Not eating meat and milk products at all is best. If everyone in the U.S. gave up eating meat for only one day a week, it would be the equivalent of not driving 91 billion miles or taking 7.6 million cars off the road.  What a simple way to have a tremendous impact on climate change.  Why not try it.  I certainly will.  Actually I've been trying to give up meat entirely, but that has not happened yet.  But one or two days a week - we can handle that.

Try giving up meat and milk products for at least one day a week and when you do eat meat - eat chicken (preferably raised without antibiotics), and follow these safety precautions:

1.  Don't wash it before preparing it - bad stuff flies around the kitchen

2.  Cook to 165 degrees F. - use a meat thermometer

3.  Wash your hands after touching raw poultry

4.  Use a cutting board reserved for raw meat

5.  Buy chicken last at the store

And if you would like your chicken to be safer in the future, read the Consumer Reports article for some suggestions on actions you can take.

Are Plastic Egg Cartons Really Necessary?

Last post I declared an end to plastic bag use.  Today I'll face another kind of ubiquitous plastic and while at it, here is a good example why so many of us feel overwhelmed when we start to seriously  try to reduce our carbon use.  Look at that photo - everything you could want in an egg - cage free, organic, large brown fresh eggs - but then it comes in an indestructible plastic egg carton!  My husband is trying to buy good healthy food for our family and we slide backwards on our carbon use.  Of all producers, you would think that the organic folks would get it right and yet here they are replacing good old fashioned bio degradable  paper egg cartons with this.  It is discouraging.

It is not just the climate cost of making plastic, it is very much the ecological cost of landfilling the used cartons. Here is a quote from Eureka Recycling's page: "Consider these figures from US EPA for 2007: Nearly three-quarters (73.3%) of the waste we generate is throw-away products and packaging. According to a study released in September 2009 by the Product Policy Institute, 44% of US greenhouse gas emissions come from products and packaging." (My bold) 

That's major. So today I am saying no more plastic containers for my fruits, vegetables and eggs.

Now here is today's challenge for us all:  What do I do with the plastic containers I've accumulated, because, you know, I don't want to throw them away?

Pile of plastic containers in my basement.

I have a few ideas:  The egg cartons will go to the co-op to be reused.  They would also make nice little seed starters.  The larger containers might work as terrariums or herb planters.  I haven't bought Costco apples for a long time because of the packaging but I do use  that packaging to store my glass Christmas ornaments.

Other ideas??