Dog waste disposal poses a dilemma to the environmentally friendly pet owner. Leaving the waste on the ground is hazardous, as it may carry E. coli, salmonella, or giardia, and the rain can wash it into rivers, streams, and oceans. Beaches and rivers have been closed to the public due to such contamination. So we need to pick it up. However, instead of taking this organic matter that would eventually degrade on its own, encasing it in plastic bag, and throwing it into an airless landfill where nothing decomposes, you can compost it. (Photos by Jim’s Photos1, Flickr)
Recology’s Artist in Residence program had an exhibition of art made from materials scavenged from the San Francisco dump on January 20th and 21st. The featured artists were Ethan Estess, Terry Berlier, and Donna Anderson Kam. These original and resourceful pieces included cement sculptures, drawings with discarded material, and marine life representation.
Electronics go out of style faster than clothes these days. Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers every day, according to Time Magazine. E-waste piles up and often gets shipped to poor countries where it causes serious environmental and health problems. Fortunately, there are companies like 2nd Solutions which use smelting to extract recyclable elements from electronics. In this video, Michael Pittman from 2nd Solutions shows Sierra Club Green Home how it works. (Photo by JohnMuk, Flickr)
“Eat local” has become a popular slogan. One way people eat locally is to buy organic produce and other goods from farmers’ markets or community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs. Another way is to grow their own garden or raise chickens. But can you take steps to “live local,” too? In 2012, challenge yourself to make more choices to shop, eat, dine, and recreate in ways that take advantage of the businesses and resources near your home. (Photo source: Stock.Xchng)
Want to be the first to check out the latest environmental films this year? Sierra Club Green Home is covering them for you at Sundance Film Festival 2012. Here is a list of the environmental films set to debut at Sundance this week. (Photo courtesy of Sundance)
The outside world may be unforgiving, but science and technology has made comfortable artificial environments with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). HVAC has made it possible for us to live almost anywhere on the planet. Las Vegas was once a barren desert, but is now teeming with people, lights, and imported water. (Sineadmc, Stock.Xchng)
Those of us with fireplaces and wood stoves have been basking in the glowing embers and brilliant red, orange, and yellow flames of burning wood and pellets. All that comfort and joy can come to a tragic end though if your chimney has not been properly cleaned of creosote, soot, and other residues. Hot smoke can ignite these materials inside the chimney. Also, toxic smoke and carbon monoxide, which is undetectable to humans, can enter your home. (Photo by Kgreggain, Stock.Xchng)
All through the year, massive amounts of food are discarded in landfills in the United States. Not just from homes, but from grocery stores and restaurants as well. Much of this food is perfectly edible and, as the documentary Dive shows, still packaged. Why do we as individuals and a nation discard so much food? Is it just an automatic response? Are we too busy to find a happy home for the leftovers? Maybe many people do not think of food waste as a problem, because they assume it will biodegrade in the landfill (it won’t). (Photo by Ericortner, Stock.Xchng)
Carbon Fund is a nonprofit that offers carbon offset options for individuals, businesses, and organizations who want to reduce their carbon footprint. When you buy carbon offsets from Carbon Fund, you sponsor one of their projects to counteract global warming. These projects range from a providing hydroelectric power to a in India to reforestation in Louisiana, as well as awareness campaigns. (Image courtesy of Carbonfund.org Foundation)
I grew up in Shenyang, an industrial city in the northeast of China. I used to go fishing with my father at the Hun River beside our house. If we were lucky enough, we could catch several kinds of fish in a few hours. The Hun River in Liaoning Province used to be clear, clean, and full of carp, crucian, and bass. In the early 1990s, however, steel and coal firms started popping up along the riverbank. The toxic runoff from these plants contaminates the river, and now the fish are fewer and fewer. (Photo by CandaGood, Flickr)
As the economy shows signs of moving in the right direction, so does our personal and national energy consumption. A growing number of energy efficiency programs are noticeably increasing our energy savings and our usage efficiency. According to a new report from the Institute for Electricity Efficiency (IEE), in 2010, our overall national energy efficiency programs saved enough electricity to power almost 10 million homes. That almost 112 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity was a 21 percent increase over 2009 levels. (Image courtesy of The Edison Foundation)
Maybe an electric vehicle, biodiesel engine, or hybrid car is out of reach right now, but you can still drive your current car in the most fuel-efficient manner possible (for your wallet’s sake as much as the environment’s). Sierra Club Green Home learned some fuel efficiency tips from Ford at this month’s auto show in Detroit, and we’re only too happy to pass these along. (Photo courtesy of Ford)
Studies conducted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers show that windows can account for 25-30% of the total heating and cooling energy use in a home. Optimal window performance requires some research to determine the most appropriate units for a home based on energy efficiency, solar exposure, usability and aesthetics.
Hybrid cars and 100% electric vehicles are set to be the stars of Ford’s next generation of cars. Sierra Club Green Home drivers, meet the Focus Electric, the Fusion Plug-In, and the C-MAX Hybrid! These cars vary in range and energy source, but all promise to make alternative energy cars more practical and fun in 2013. (Photo courtesy of Ford)
Everyone wants to enjoy the freshest food possible. Sierra Club Green Home recommends fresh produce that is grown locally and bought in-season. Many local farms have Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs where people can buy shares in the farm and receive part of the harvest. (Photo by Safari11, Stock.Xchng)
Have you ever wondered how an electric vehicle works, or how car companies can use more environmentally friendly materials? Ford sustainability expert John Viera has spent his entire career working on everything from fuel efficiency improvements in vehicles to sustainability initiatives for manufacturing facilities, and is excited to talk shop with Sierra Club Green Home readers. (Photo courtesy of Ford)
From cameras and cell phones to watches and eggbeaters, we use batteries every day in all sorts of household products. It’s hard to imagine life without them, but can the environment live with them? (Photo by EvelynGiggles, Flickr)
CODA is more than a car company. These self-described “hippies of the car industry” are on a mission to get an electric car in every garage in the United States. They do their part by creating a more affordable, practical electric vehicle (EV), and by raising awareness of the EV option. Next month, CODA will release their four-door sedan with two battery options: 125 miles per charge, or 150 miles per charge. (Photo courtesy of CODA)
Bob Shaffer is a lifelong farmer based in Honaunau, Hawaii who works as a composting consultant for farmers and vineyards in temperate and tropical cropping systems. He travels throughout the western United States, and sometimes aboard to Australia and Guatemala. (Photo courtesy of Bob Shaffer)
NORTHERN LAOS — High in the isolated mountains of northern Laos lives an ancient tribe called the Khmu. Their culture is being preserved through Khmu women artisans who handcraft what could be considered the Earth’s Greenest Bag. (Photo courtesy of NatureBay.org)
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