RiverWired Blogs

2010 Ford Flex to Use Straw-Based Plastic

khallgeisler — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:04:07 -0500

Ford Motor Company announced that it will be using a wheat-straw-reinforced plastic in the interior storage bins of the 2010 Ford Flex. While this might seem like a baby step — and it is — Ford says the change to a 20% wheat-straw plastic will reduce petroleum use by 20,000 pounds per year and CO2 emissions by 30,000 pounds per year. The wheat straw itself is a byproduct of processing the grain.

These numbers are drops in the pollution bucket, but you have to start somewhere. Ford says it will be using the biomaterial in other places and other vehicles in the future. This is in addition to Ford’s soy-based polyurethane seat cushions and headliners, seat fabrics made from post-industrial recycled yarn, and post-consumer recycled resins for underbody covers.

A wee bit of wheat trivia, courtesy of the Ford press release: This isn’t the company’s first foray into the wheat world. In the 1920s, Henry Ford developed Fordite, a mixture of wheat straw from his farm, rubber, sulfer, silica, and more, that he used to make steering wheels.

Eco-Friendly Christmas Stockings

jchait — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:58:46 -0500

It’s never too soon to start thinking about a green Christmas. Once fall hits Christmas can sneak up on you quickly and the more prepared you are the less stressful the holidays will be. Also, if you need special gear, like stockings, it’s good to have a chance to look around. It’s not easy to just walk into any store and find eco-friendly stocking options.

Following are some great choices for eco-friendly Christmas stockings:

Use what you’ve got: If you’ve been using the same old stockings for years, that’s actually a very nice tradition. You don’t need to buy new each year. I used the same stocking from the time I was born until my teens – my mom made it. Using family stockings is one of the best ways to keep it green.

Make your own: It’s easy to find a free stocking pattern online. Then simply use an eco-friendly fabric like organic cotton, felt, or bamboo to make it. See more cute DIY stocking ideas.

Buy one: If you’re buying an eco-friendly stocking it can pay to check out local crafty Fair Trade or eco shops. If you can’t find one locally there are some good options online.

ChunkiChilli Christmas stockings hand-knitted and hand embroidered in pure merino wool. MANY pretty styles to choose from.
Eco-friendly felt stockings from rikrak – lots of color and design choices.
Beautiful wool felt stockings hand made in Hungary by a womens’ cooperative that uses traditional appliqué techniques from Hable Construction – so many cool colors and designs to choose from too.
Adorable Recycled Sweater Personalized Christmas Stockings!
Amenity holiday stockings made with 55% hemp 45% certified organic cotton, and printed with non-toxic, water-based dyes.

Green flea prevention and treatment

jchait — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:29:57 -0500

If you’ve got a furry friend then more than likely you’ve dealt with fleas. Fleas are little trouble makers for sure, but before you resort to toxic treatments that can get all over your green home, try some natural prevention and treatment.

Prevention first: Don’t wait until you’ve got fleas to treat the issue. You can minimize or kill off flea problems with the following tactics…

Your pet’s diet and exercise routine - a healthy pet is far less likely to be flea affected. Feed your pet like you feed yourself, healthy whole food based meals that are pesticide-free. Try pet food like Natura Pet or Newman’s Own pet food. Give your pet plenty of exercise as well and play often.

Healthy supplements - Talk with a holistic vet about healthy supplements for your pet. You can also try giving your pet dog garlic which has a scent that repels fleas - grate fresh garlic into his food. Brewers yeast is noted as being a good flea repellent supplement for kitties.

Groom tactics - frequently brush and bath your dog - frequently brush your cat as well, although slipping your kitty into a bath could prove more trouble than it’s worth. When brushing pay more attention to areas that get flea infested first like under the legs, on the belly, and around the head and tail.

After prevention comes treatment:

If your prevention tactics didn’t work you may need a flea repelling product. Aim for the least toxic first and move up the treatment ladder. Basic tea tree oil can kill off fleas on dogs (NOT cats) but needs to be diluted in water before you use it. It’s best to speak with a professional aromatherapist or a holistic vet before using. Herbal flea treatments are another option.

To rid your home of fleas clean like mad. You need to vacuum all the floors and upholstered furniture then get rid of the vacuum bag asap. Wash all washables well and send other items to a green dry cleaner.

Washing your pet’s bedding is something you should do regularly even when there’s no fleas around. Also you can sprinkle crushed lavender near the bed to keep fleas away.

See more green flea prevention and treatment tips.

Organic Thanksgiving Beverages

jchait — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:34:21 -0500

When planning your green Thanksgiving menu, don’t forget about the drinks! It’s easy to keep it green nowadays because there’s a wide array of yummy organic beverages, perfectly suited to Thanksgiving. Here are some ideas.

Organic wine: Many companies offer great organic wines nowadays, and for less money then you might think. Some choices include…

The Organic Wine Company
Frey Vinyards
Visit the Organic Wine Journal for more advice.

Organic sparkles: Santa Cruz Organics TeaZer sparking teas - I LOVE these sparkling teas and so does my eight year old. They’re made with organic juice and Fair Trade tea and are a fun switch from the typical sparkling cider.

Organic apple: Organic apple juice or organic apple cider is a must have. Adults can even make their own organic hard cider.

Organic fizz: If you must have soda on Thanksgiving, make it organic soda.

Organic beer: Your best bet for organic brew is local. Read Green America’s guide to greener brew.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Menu

jchait — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:38:56 -0500

We recently looked at why you should go vegetarian more often - meat = bad eco-footprint. Thanksgiving is actually a really easy meal to go vegetarian with and that means a super green Thanksgiving. Families tend to serve more veggie dishes on Thanksgiving already so losing the turkey is the big challenge. But you can do it. If you’re considering a vegetarian or even vegan Thanksgiving below are some helpful links…

Is this your idea of a veggie Thanksgiving? Think again!

Plan a vegetarian Thanksgiving - full recipe ideas and serving tips
Recipe Zarr – 236 vegan Thanksgiving dishes
Beautiful Vegetarian Holiday Dishes
Unique vegan Thanksgiving meal ideas
Amazing looking vegan Pumpkin Pie Brownies
Excellent NPR piece and interview about the best vegetarian Thanksgiving (with fab recipes)
Main meal dishes for a vegetarian Thanksgiving from Gourmet – with beautiful photos

Extras:

Learn how to set a green holiday table.
If you’re a meat eater, but your two out of state cousins aren’t, see how to plan a veggie meal ahead of time so that they can eat too.
Vegan Thanksgiving Stories for Children

Are Pay-As-You-Throw trash programs fair?

jchait — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:18:30 -0500

As of 2006, the last time the EPA took down stats, about 7,095 communities were participating in Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) programs. PAYT programs are unit pricing or variable-rate pricing programs for trash disposal. Basically, residents are charged for the collection of their solid waste, i.e. what ends up in their trash can instead of a flat rate. For one thing this creates an economic incentive to recycle and so far programs like this result in communities that recycle more and trash less.

However, one common argument I’ve heard is, “Are these programs really fair?” In my opinion they are, because if we don’t charge people for larger amounts of trash, someone has to pay for it, which means even if you recycle diligently, you may still be subsidizing your neighbor’s trash by means of taxes. IF your community has a good recycling program in place, that’s easy to manage, it seems fair to me.

Plus of course excess trash harms the planet, so it’s tough to argue that programs like this suck - they do encourage recycling.

Problems that may make the program unfair:

Communities that have bad recycling programs in place. It’s impossible to get people on board with recycling when it’s nearly impossible to manage. For example, in New Mexico I had to make special trips, in my car, simply to recycle. Here in Oregon, it’s terribly easy with curbside pickup weekly.

Rural communities where the cost of curbside is prohibitive. The EPA notes that this is an issue in some communities but some have changed to monthly vs. weekly recycling pick-up which has worked well.

Too little education: Recycling, like any task is a learned task. People aren’t born knowing how to discard of their recyclables properly and plenty of communities don’t make this easily accessible public knowledge. I mean, when was the last time you saw a good deal of how-to-recycle commercials on television, or got some mail about it? Rarely. In fact, I live in one of the so-called greenest places in the U.S. and I meet people all the time who have no clue about recycling. I think that of all the unfair arguments, this one is the most valid. As a country, we really need to push for greener education initiates that are also accessible to everyone.

What do you think? Are PAYT programs a great way to encourage recycling or just a way to get more money out of a community?

Which is Greener – Car Wash or Hauling out the Hose at Home?

susan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:50:14 -0400

By Susan Seliger
Grabbing a sponge and turning on the hose at home is definitely a cheaper way to clean your car than driving to your local car wash – unless you factor in the value of your time, but really, you weren’t doing anything anybody was going to pay you for this weekend, anyway, now were you?

But is it more eco-friendly?

First, the car wash is likely to use less water than you will. Some automatic car washes use only 30 gallons of water in a drive-through wash. You’re likely to use that much in only four minutes – and lots more, if like me, you wind up chatting with your neighbor and get a little distracted (you call it ADD, I call it being sociable). Score one for the car wash on the green scale — as long as you don’t have to guzzle too much gas to get there.

Even more important — the handling of the runoff water is key. Sure, there is dirty water either way – and the water isn’t simply dirty but contaminated with detergent, gasoline, antifreeze, oil and whatever other toxic filth your car has accumulated in your travels. But, when you do the deed at home, your filthy water just runs out into the street, into the nearest storm drain, which empties into nearby waterways – and could end up killing little fishes in rivers and creeks near and far.

The car wash, however, is required by law to dispose of their waste water at local sewage treatment plants – where it is filtered — and the residue deposited at landfills. Depending on how well the car wash complies with the law, that’s Score Two for the carwash.

So don’t feel guilty – put the sponge and hose away – grab your kids (or your neighbor’s kids, if you don’t have any) and go for a drive-through adventure.

Win an Outdoor Adventure Trip Worth $3,000

susan — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:03:46 -0400

By Susan Seliger

You know you’re tired of staying indoors and staring at that computer screen. It’s time for an outdoor adventure – made even more invigorating when someone else pays for the whole deal. So just sign your name and you may be one of four lucky duos to win a $2,000 certificate for an adventure trip for two – plus a $1,000 airfare voucher.

And if the thought of the outdoors is making you thirsty, you could also win a year’s supply of Honest Tea or Honest Ade, which you can sip while riding the Mountain bike you might win if you are one of eight runners-up prize winners. All courtesy of Honest Tea and the Sierra Club. So start clicking… the deadline is 3/31/10, but they’re awarding some of the prizes even sooner.

Update on the Appalachian Trail and Governor Sanford of S.C.

susan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:54:57 -0400

Bu Susan Seliger

We don’t really care to comment about South Carolina’s Governor, Mark Sanford’s admission today that he had an affair with an Argentinian woman. We like to steer clear of politics and keep life focused on what really counts — the eco side of the economy.

But what we cannot understand is his misrepresentation to his wife and staff — and really, to all of us — that he was on the Appalachian Trail when he wasn’t. (See yesterday’s post.) We were so proud of him as we imagined him hiking amidst all those outdoorsy folks, walking stoically past those out there out parading in their birthday suits on Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail — eyes straight ahead and thinking only of the beauty of nature.

No, what is really hard to believe is that anyone would chose Argentina over the Appalachian Trail. We are mystified and a little sad about being misled.

But we are pleased that in his press conference today, Governor Sanford did reaffirm his love of the Appalachian Trail. And after all this brouhaha, maybe a peaceful hike on that trail would be just what he –and all of us, come to think of it — need to think things over.

So once again, turn off the TV, put down the paper, and check out the Appalachian Trail website for the the fastest way to hit the trail and get away from it all.

Photo Credit: purebound.com

Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail: Missing Governor Sanford Found — Just Hiking the Trail

susan — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:11:39 -0400

By Susan Seliger

Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina is no longer considered missing. Though he seems to have disappeared for a few days over Father’s Day, his staff now says he was just out hiking the Appalachian Trail and could not be reached. And it is only a “coincidence” that he was out there on Naked Hiking Day — yes, there is a naked hiking day on the trail — celebrated on the first day of summer. (No, that is not the Governor in any of these photos.)

The Governor has still not returned, according to the Christian Science Monitor but his wife says she is not concerned — he was writing something and needed his space. The staff say Naked Day had nothing to do with his disappearance. And the Park rangers say that they do not condone or encourage Naked Day — and people caught out in nature au naturel could get fined.

Who says hiking can’t be sexy?

For more on hiking the Appalachian Trail — any day — go to their website. Clothes optional.