Are you wasting energy?

Homes use energy, lots of it, electricity, gas, water. A home energy audit is a great way to take a look at where you could be saving money on utilities, this could be anywhere from 5% to 30% of your total usage. There are DIY ways to do this and it's pretty simple.  You could also hire a special home energy auditor to perform a more sophisticated home energy audit.
I like the idea of a do it yourself approach at first, this article in thedailygreen.com website was simple and straightforward. This is a good way to start educating yourself about your home and easy ways to start on making your home more energy efficient.
Look at it as a treasure hunt in reverse.

Green news from around the world

Just discovered the New York Times green blog.
Interesting news from around the world on green issues.

New York Times green blog

City Car Share is in Alameda

I knew that City Car Share was in Alameda but had completely forgotten about it until I used the parking lot on Central recently.  It is  a great idea that is catching on quicker in cities and urban areas where it's more of a hassle and expense to own a car.

I remember well the days of searching for a parking space at night when I lived in SF.  I hope the program is successful here in Alameda because it is such a great idea for those who do not own a car or maybe want to drop owning a second car.  I have emailed them and asked for more information on the program and will be getting back with updates. Check out their website for more information.

Ever heard of recycled paint.

What happens to all the latex paint that is dropped off at hazard waste centers? It’s recycled and is being resold at your local paint distributors, Dunn-Edwards and Kelly-Moore, for instance. Recycled paint sells for less, but the quality and viscosity is augmented by blending it with virgin materials. For more information and a complete list of distributors, visit  http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/ConDemo/Paint/

Happy New Year! And welcome 2010

Happy New Year to all you human beings who aspire to use less resources and become more environmentally friendly.  My resolutions this year are to simply do more to help green my home, business and family.  Keep lights off when not necessary and use less paper (this comes under home, family and work). I am planning on signing up for an electronic document service that allows clients to sign remotely. This will ultimately use less paper in my transactions.  Get more use out of our re-usable shopping bags.  This means remembering to bring them more and encourage their use with other family members.  In general it is more of the same and discovering ways to improve along the way.  I look at each element of being greener as a challenge to see how I can squeeze more out of less.  It's just a matter of changing my mind on how, when and where I use resources.

Raid on bottle deposits.

I originally read about this in Eve Pearlman's blog in theIslandofalameda blog. Made me a little sad that this was happening, however budget cuts seem to be so commonplace that nothing is sacred.  It seems Sacramento has raided the nickels and dimes we paid for the bottle deposits leaving many recycling centers to close.  Many of them employed at risk youths.
Recycling centers close, eliminating green jobs.

Everywhere I go bags seem to show.

Everywhere I go I seem to be assaulted with bags.  While we need bags to hold things it has been an interesting process trying not to take every bag that is offered to me.  Last night my family was shopping at a local department store and we declined the bag at checkout.  Sure there were a few things to carry but we didn't have to go very far.  I would like to think since my son was with us perhaps he will also be inclined to think about if he really needs a bag everytime he is offered one.  Hopefully the old adage "Leading by example" will work with as he progresses into his shopping years.  Many people now have reusable shopping bags.  I keep mine next to the front door so I remember to take them with me when I leave the house.  As far as the debate on whether paper is "greener", or better for the environment than plastic, it seems plastic is actually a little bit better.  A plastic bag takes 594 BTU's to make and a paper bag takes 2511 BTU's.  Then of course there is the plastic which is actually oil.  Of course it takes energy to make a reusable bag but it can be... reused, again and again, saving energy, landfill (8 billion pounds of plastic bags enter the waste stream every year.) and perhaps some of your conscience.  I have a space in my kitchen where I have a large bag full of bags that will last me for my throw away bag needs for a long time to come.  Hey sometimes you forget and need a bag at the store.  It happens, but maybe we start buying more reusable bags and need a whole lot less of those bags being handed out so freely.  Because in actuality they cost us.  It's just a matter of changing your mind.

Read more about the actual cost of plastic bags.