Buy Green

Surfboard industry rides a wave of eco-friendly change

tdsollog — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:56:49 -0700

Surfboard industry rides a wave of eco-friendly change
By TIFFANI N. GARLIC For The Press, 609-569-7483
Published: Monday, June 23, 2008, The Press of Atlantic City: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/188873.html

Some area surfers are going green because it's the right thing to do, they say. Others will tell you it's for a better ride on the waves. Whatever the reason, a shift in surfboard production is changing what surfers bring to the beach.

"The last few years the surfing industry has gone through a complete revolution with the materials that are being used," said Jim Hennessy, owner of Heritage on West Avenue in Ocean City. "The industry is going a long way to reducing production waste."

Two types of surfboards dominate the mainstream market today: the traditional polyurethane (Fiberglas) boards and the new epoxy boards. The difference is environmental safety.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Web site, the chemical 2,4-Toluene diisocyanate, or TDI, is the toxin that makes polyurethane environmentally dangerous. Released during production, TDI is extremely toxic in short- and long-term exposure, causing severe skin and eye irritation as well as respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous system complications. In 1985, the chemical was officially recognized as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the EPA.

Although the effects of TDI are only harmful during production and after disposal, the surfing community has become much more aware of the environmental impact. In December 2005, Clark Foam, the leading producer of polyurethane surfboard cores in the U.S., was shut down by the EPA, which cited several violations related to TDI emissions from the factory building.

Referred to as "Black Monday" in the surfing industry, Clark Foam's halt in production hasn't been a wipeout for surfboard sales in area surf shops. On the contrary, Hennessy said, "Business is very good, we've probably sold 1,000 boards between the three shops." He sees the emergence of epoxy boards as a positive factor for the industry and says that they are stronger, lighter and more environmentally friendly than traditional polyurethane boards.

Friends and surfers Chris Conte, 17, and Dan Ginolfi, 14, have been braving the waves for the past five years and say they see a difference between the boards. Conte, who owns an epoxy board, said "it floats better in the water," while Ginolfi said his polyurethane board "doesn't break as easy." Going through about two boards per year, the Stone Harbor residents have to take price, performance and personal style into consideration when buying a new board. Ginolfi said that he'd be switching to an epoxy board for his next purchase.

Mike Rossi, 14, has surfed for the past five years and feels that epoxy surfboards are going to be the wave of the future. Crediting professional surfers with the switch, the Ship Bottom resident predicted the change in the industry. "There's always going to be a hardcore surfer that wants an old-school Fiberglas board, but I think that's going to change now that pro surfers are riding epoxy boards," he said. "Kids will want to follow that."

Skeptical about the trend toward epoxy boards in the past few years is Michael Lisewski, owner of Matador Surfboards on Beachview Avenue in Manahawkin. "I don't doubt that people are buying thousands of these boards, but when I go out to the beaches I don't see them (the boards) under their feet."

For Lisewski, traditional polyurethane boards are the best way to go. The East Coast surfboard shaper said that most surfers won't want to have a mass-produced board when they can get one that is hand-crafted and customized to fit their needs.

Preferring to use a less harmful polyurethane chemical called Methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, or MDI, Lisewski realizes that the environment is a pressing issue but said no material is perfect.

"I think the surfing industry is extremely environmentally concerned but resin is resin," he said of the shell that covers polyurethane surfboards. "It's all nasty, but it's still the best way to make boards."

To e-mail Tiffani Garlic at The Press:

TGarlic@pressofac.com

Ecotravel (Green Travel): Back to Nature and Ready for Guests in the Great Plains

tdsollog — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:17:53 -0700

Back to Nature and Ready for Guests in the Great Plains
Dan Koeck for The New York Times
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/travel/08journeys.html?th&emc=th
By JOSHUA KURLANTZICK
Published: June 8, 2008

OVER the past decade, as human populations on the Great Plains have thinned, many conservationists have seen an opportunity unparalleled since the frontier days of the 19th century brought towns to the region.

Outdoors people, big landowners, travel operators and conservationists are now returning much of the Great Plains to its wild state, to a kind of American steppe. Conservationists are reviving native fauna and flora, and wolf populations are returning to the Yellowstone area. In the future, many hope, one giant fenceless region might be created across the entire plains that cover much of central North America east of the Rockies south to West Texas and New Mexico.

The idea of rewilding the West takes its inspiration from two professors, Frank and Deborah Popper. In an essay written two decades ago in the journal Planning, they suggested restoring the Upper Midwest to its native state, which they called the Buffalo Commons, and largely replacing agriculture in the region with eco-tourism.

While many Western conservationists do not agree with elements of the Buffalo Commons, preservation efforts have taken off. The American Prairie Foundation, a group dedicated to creating prairie wildlife reserves, has been buying up land in Montana and reintroducing wild American bison, which had largely vanished in the region. Another nonprofit group, the Great Plains Restoration Council is helping to preserve open land in South Dakota. Private landowners, too, have been buying land to return it to open space - Ted Turner, who owns some two million acres of Western land concentrated in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota and Oklahoma, has helped restore bison herds on his property.

The lions won’t be arriving anytime soon, but travel operators have already come, to take advantage of the return of the wild. “When my wife and I first started, two decades ago, we were one of only two operators in the state,” said John Hanson, owner of the Logging Camp Ranch in Bowman, N.D. “Now there are thousands.”

Off the Beaten Path, an operator based in Bozeman, Mont., was one of the first to take advantage of interest in rewilding. Among its custom and group tours, it runs guided six-day wolf-watching trips. “They know they just want to see wolves,” said Bill Bryan, a co-founder and chairman of the company, of his growing clientele.

As the plains have become depopulated, locals have also started sighting regular migrations of pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain lions, bighorn sheep and even bison.

Taking advantage of the animal repopulation, Upper Midwest outfitters are designing extended wildlife safaris. Twice a year, the American Prairie Foundation runs safaris across the land it has preserved, trips that at times include private plane flights across the open land. In the future, predicts Sean Garrity, the foundation’s president, Off the Beaten Path will run these safaris, and many local aviation outfits will begin prairie flights.

Though often overshadowed by nearby Badlands National Park, South Dakota’s Custer State Park runs backcountry jeep safaris. The trips put visitors within feet of herds of bison roaming in the park, as well as providing background on their habits and history. “They’ll get you right into the middle of the herd,” said Duane Lammers, a guide based in South Dakota.

Even without the jeep rides, it’s hard to miss the bison. On one trip to Custer State Park, I woke in the early morning, walked out of my tent and stumbled into a group of bison ambling slowly across the road.

Other guides focus on an airborne niche. In North Dakota, the guide Jean Legge leads trips to search for birds like the rare Baird’s sparrow, whose summer range is in the northern plains.

Ninety percent of her clients are not from North Dakota, Ms. Legge said, but they know that the state’s prairie habitat allows for breeding behavior not found elsewhere. Victor Emanuel Nature Tours, among the largest American eco-tourism operators, also runs weeklong birding trips to North Dakota, Minnesota and other Midwest destinations.

Mr. Hanson’s operation draws game hunters, who know North Dakota is witnessing a revival of wildlife, but he also attracts visitors who want to go birding or merely want a more rugged experience on a real working ranch than they can get on a typical dude ranch.

“A lot of people come here because they know this is very remote,” he said. “It’s not like a tourist ranch.”

With the revival of the buffalo herds, ranches across the Upper Midwest have also begun offering big-game hunting, with bison as the biggest lure. Across Montana, outfitters run hunts on ranches like the Flying D, more than 100,000 acres owned by Mr. Turner. Like bagging big game in Africa, though, bison don’t come cheap: a bull hunt can cost well over $2,000.

To truly appreciate the prairie’s wide-open spaces, groups like the American Prairie Foundation suggest an extended drive. The foundation has begun a self-guided auto tour, with extensive information on prairie history. North Dakota’s Little Missouri National Grasslands, over a million acres, also offers a self-drive itinerary. The drive winds through the tall, brownish grass and bright prairie flowers, passing eerie buttes standing tall amid the plains, their formations like pieces of rock eroded smooth by water.

For now, the Upper Midwest cannot offer the kind of rhino-by-day, riesling-by-night pampering of famed African bush camps. Accommodations on many extended Upper Midwest trips tend to be rustic, with basic lodges or ranch houses; on the self-drives, you can cruise for hours through the desolate plains moonscapes without coming to a sizable town.

But that will change. “Five years from now, you’ll have the infrastructure here for a more upscale experience,” said Mr. Bryan of Off the Beaten Path. Already, the American Prairie Foundation has opened an upscale ranch house on the land it has preserved.

“A lot of folks we’re bringing out here have been to places like Africa and stayed in some of those extravagant lodges,” said Mr. Garrity, the foundation president. The customers, he says, are often pleased to find that the prairie accommodations, though hardly as plush, come near to what they expect.

In the long run, plains advocates hope growing tourism will not ruin the special lure of the destination. “The most incredible thing is, if you want to experience the Great Plains the way it was in the 19th century, you can still have that experience,” said Ted Lee Eubanks, chief executive of Fermata, a company that helps regions develop eco-tourism. “You can still stand right in the wagon ruts from that time.”

PURE PRAIRIE

American Prairie Foundation (406-585-4600; www.americanprairie.org).

The Montana Hunting Company runs bison hunts (www.montanahuntingcompany.com; 406-585-9042).

Custer State Park in South Dakota (605- 255-4515; www.sdgfp.info/Parks/Regions/Custer/index.htm).

Off the Beaten Path is based in Bozeman, Mont. (800-445- 2995; www.offthebeatenpath.com).

Logging Camp Ranch is in Bowman, N.D. (701-279-5501; www.loggingcampranch.com).

Dakota Birding operates out of Valley City, N.D. (701-845-4762; www.dakotabirding.com).

Victor Emanuel Nature Tours is based in Austin, Tex. (800-328-8368; www.ventbird.com).

Nothing But Nets: A $10 Mosquito Net Is Making Charity Cool

tdsollog — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:31:14 -0700

A $10 Mosquito Net Is Making Charity Cool
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/us/02malaria.html?th&emc=th
By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
Published: June 2, 2008
Donating $10 to buy a mosquito net to save an African child from malaria has become a hip way to show you care, especially for teenagers. The movement is like a modern version of the March of Dimes, created in 1938 to defeat polio, or like collecting pennies for Unicef on Halloween.

Unusual allies, like the Methodist and Lutheran Churches, the National Basketball Association and the United Nations Foundation, are stoking the passion for nets that prevent malaria. The annual “American Idol Gives Back” fund-raising television special has donated about $6 million a year for two years. The music channel VH1 made a fund-raising video featuring a pesky man in a mosquito suit.

It is an appeal that clearly resonates with young people.

Addressing a conference of 6,000 Methodist youths in North Carolina last year, Bishop Thomas Bickerton held up his own $10 and told the crowd: “This represents your lunch today at McDonald’s or your pizza tonight from Domino’s. Or you could save a human life.”

The lights were so bright that he could see only what was happening at his feet. “They just showered the stage with $10 bills,” Bishop Bickerton said. “In 30 seconds, we had $16,000. I’m just lucky they didn’t throw coins.”

Part of what has helped the campaign catch on is its sheer simplicity and affordability - $10 buys one net to save a child. Nothing But Nets, the best-known campaign, has raised $20 million from 70,000 individuals, most of it in donations averaging $60.

That is a small fraction of the overall need, which experts estimate at $2.5 billion. But it gives the effort a populist edge, and participation is psychologically rewarding for anyone whose philanthropic pockets are shallower than those of Bill Gates.

“The first time I donated money, after my bar mitzvah, it was for someone who needed a heart transplant,” said Daniel Fogel, 18, a founder of his Waltham, Mass., high school’s juggling club, which raised $2,353 for nets last year. “But I had the feeling: Am I really helping? But if you can say $10 saves a life, that makes students feel they can help a lot. And every student has $10.”

Emily Renzelli of West Virginia University learned about malaria on a trip to South Africa. She raised about $1,000 through bake sales and parties where students were snagged in nets and not released until they recited facts about malaria.

Naomi Levine, an expert on philanthropy at New York University, said young people “more than ever want to do something.”

“You won’t find them giving money to research,” she added. “It’s too far off. But a net is something you can hold in your hand. And any time young people get interested in any form of philanthropy, it’s a good thing.”

Crucial to the drive against malaria, which kills an estimated one million people a year, mostly in Africa, has been the development of an inexpensive, long-lasting insecticidal net. Unlike old nets, which either had no insecticide or had to be dipped twice a year, the new ones keep killing or repelling mosquitoes for three to five years. When more than 60 percent of the inhabitants of a village use them over their beds while they are sleeping, malaria rates usually drop sharply.

Major donors have focused on malaria since the creation in 2001 of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has paid for 106 million nets. President Bush in 2005 started the President’s Malaria Initiative, which has bought 6 million so far.

The Gates Foundation has spent almost $1.2 billion on malaria, and although most goes toward research into vaccines and new drugs, part went to match the first $3 million raised by Nothing But Nets.

Although in recent years a welter of malaria campaigns has sprung up worldwide, participation in the United States was anemic until two years ago when Rick Reilly, then the back-page columnist for Sports Illustrated, took his daughter to Venice.

Exhausted from shopping, he said in a recent interview, he returned alone to their hotel. Idly channel-surfing, he stumbled onto a BBC documentary about malaria in Africa. Imitating a British accent, he said: “Up to 3,000 children die needlessly each day of malaria - and all they need is a net.”

“I thought, ‘That’s a column,’ ” he said. “Sports is nothing but nets - basketball nets, tennis nets, soccer nets, lacrosse nets, jumping the net, cutting down nets, the New Jersey Nets, girls in fishnets, whatever ... .”

Before asking his readers to donate $10 or $20, he searched for an agency to collect the money and buy the nets. He found the United Nations Foundation, which was started in 1998 by Ted Turner. Although it was already sponsoring another campaign, Malaria No More, it agreed to his request that a new group be started with the name Nothing But Nets. “That’s a real title,” Mr. Reilly said. “It’s so simple that even sports fans can get it.”

The foundation put a donation form on its Web site and promised to cover all administrative costs. Within a few days, $1.6 million had flowed in.

Soon after, Major League Soccer and the National Basketball Association became sponsors.

Players like Diego Gutierrez of the Chicago Fire and DeSagana Diop of the New Jersey Nets, who is from Senegal, helped raise money and traveled to Africa to hand out nets.

The United Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church and the Union for Reform Judaism also joined the effort, as did corporate sponsors like Orkin Pest Control and Makita tools.

The two Protestant churches pledged to raise up to $100 million each. They organize youth basketball tournaments and ask for money from their own adherents. For example, Bishop Bickerton said, at the Methodist general conference in April, a basketball signed by all the church’s bishops was auctioned off for $430,000.

But most of the contributions have been modest, raised by students.

Yoni D. P. Rechtman, a seventh grader on the undefeated middle-school team at St. Ann’s School in Brooklyn, organized a 3-on-3 basketball tournament as part of his “mitzvah project,” the tradition of raising money for a good cause before one’s bar mitzvah. Unfortunately, he said, it rained that day; but the nine players who showed up anyway had family pledges totaling $1,900.

At Howard University in Washington, Ololade Ajayi helped organize the African Student Association fashion show to raise $2,300. She had a personal interest, she said, because she caught malaria several times growing up in Nigeria and lost a friend to it.

“We had to take our own nets to boarding school,” she said. “There were stagnant water pools on the school grounds. If your net got holes in it, you’d be bitten.”

But the champion for her age and weight class is undoubtedly Katherine Commale of Hopewell, Pa., who has just turned 7 and has raised $43,000.

Her mother, Lynda Commale, said it started in April 2006 when she was watching television while the family slept and learned from a PBS documentary that a child died of malaria every 30 seconds.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Ms. Commale said. “The next morning, the kids said, ‘Mom, what’s wrong with you?’ I told them - and Katherine was just 5, and she started counting on her fingers. She got to 30, and she looked horrified. And she said ‘Mommy, we have to do something.’ ”

With her 3-year-old brother, Katherine built a diorama from a pizza box and some Barbie dolls to represent an African family in a hut. Then, with a piece of tulle and a toy bug, she developed a short skit showing how nets protect sleeping children.

“She tucks it in, she says, ‘You’re safe now,’ ” Ms. Commale said. “Kids get this in like 90 seconds.”

Soon, she and Katherine made a presentation at their church and raised $2,000, and they have continued visiting churches. Katherine and her friends also hand-decorate gift cards (which can be ordered at lyndacommale@yahoo.com.) that say, “A mosquito net has been purchased in your name.” They have raised about $8,000 each Christmas, Ms. Commale said.

As Oil Prices Soar, Restaurant Grease Thefts Rise

tdsollog — Sat, 31 May 2008 21:07:28 -0700

As Oil Prices Soar, Restaurant Grease Thefts Rise
From the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/us/30grease.html?th&emc=th

By SUSAN SAULNY
Published: May 30, 2008
The bandit pulled his truck to the back of a Burger King in Northern California one afternoon last month armed with a hose and a tank. After rummaging around assorted restaurant rubbish, he dunked a tube into a smelly storage bin and, the police said, vacuumed out about 300 gallons of grease.

Nick Damianidis, an owner of Olympia Pizza and Pasta in Arlington, Wash., has had oil stolen.
The man was caught before he could slip away. In his truck, the police found 2,500 gallons of used fryer grease, indicating that the Burger King had not been his first fast-food craving of the day.

Outside Seattle, cooking oil rustling has become such a problem that the owners of the Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Arlington, Wash., are considering using a surveillance camera to keep watch on its 50-gallon grease barrel. Nick Damianidis, an owner, said the barrel had been hit seven or eight times since last summer by siphoners who strike in the night.

“Fryer grease has become gold,” Mr. Damianidis said. “And just over a year ago, I had to pay someone to take it away.”

Much to the surprise of Mr. Damianidis and many other people, processed fryer oil, which is called yellow grease, is actually not trash. The grease is traded on the booming commodities market. Its value has increased in recent months to historic highs, driven by the even higher prices of gas and ethanol, making it an ever more popular form of biodiesel to fuel cars and trucks.

In 2000, yellow grease was trading for 7.6 cents per pound. On Thursday, its price was about 33 cents a pound, or almost $2.50 a gallon. (That would make the 2,500-gallon haul in the Burger King case worth more than $6,000.)

Biodiesel is derived by processing vegetable oil or animal fat with alcohol. It is increasingly available around the country, but it is expensive. With the right kind of conversion kit (easily found on the Internet) anyone can turn discarded cooking oil into a usable engine fuel that can burn on its own, or as a cheap additive to regular diesel.

“The last time kids broke in here they went for the alcohol,” said Mr. Damianidis, who fries chicken wings and cheese sticks. “Obviously they’re stealing oil because it’s worth something.”

While there have been reports of thefts in multiple states, law enforcement officials do not compile national statistics and it remains unclear whether this is part of a passing trend or something more serious.

The suspects in a growing number of grease infractions fall into a range of categories, people interviewed on the matter said, as grease theft is a crime of opportunity. They include do-it-yourself environmentalists worried about their carbon footprints, warring waste management firms trying to beat each other on the sly, and petty thieves who are profiting from the oil’s rising value on the black market.

“It’s a new oddity,” said Officer Seth Hanson of the Federal Way Police Department, near Tacoma, Wash. He said thefts occur outside at least a couple of restaurants there each week. “We’re trying to get an eyeball on how well-organized it is, if at all. To date, we haven’t been very successful in finding anybody.”

Thefts have been reported in at least 20 states, said Christopher A. Griffin, whose family owns Griffin Industries, one of the largest grease collection and rendering companies in the country. The problem has gotten so bad, Mr. Griffin has hired two detectives to investigate thefts around the country.

“Theft is theft,” said Mr. Griffin, who is based in Cold Spring, Ky. “I don’t care if you’re stealing grease or if you’re stealing diamonds.”

Fryer oil from a restaurant that does a high volume of frying one kind of food - for example, a fried-chicken chain - is at a premium because of its relative purity. The large-scale producers of grease, restaurants mostly, own their old oil and in recent months have even made a small profit by selling it to collectors.

Because of the grease’s rancid odor, most restaurants usually store it out back with the trash.

“Once you put something in the trash, it’s abandoned property,” said Jon A. Jaworski, a lawyer in Houston who represents accused grease thieves. “A lot of times, it’s not theft.”

Even so, most restaurant owners and grease collectors say that grease is not free for the taking.

“There’s a new fight for the product, definitely a whole new demand sector,” said Bill Smith, a market reporter for Urner Barry’s Yellow Sheet, an industry newsletter that tracks yellow grease. “Grease theft is becoming a bigger and bigger issue.”

In the case of the Burger King theft, in Morgan Hill, Calif., the police were alerted to suspicious activity by a neighbor who runs his own grease collection and recycling business and is on the lookout for rustlers.

Driving through town, the neighbor, Mark Rosenzweig, said he spotted the suspect’s truck because “it stuck out.” He said he followed it for blocks before it pulled into the Burger King. Mr. Rosenzweig said he knew the man who holds the Burger King grease account, so he called him.

“I had to give everybody a roadside tutorial on grease theft,” Mr. Rosenzweig said of his next call - to the police. “Ten years ago we couldn’t give this stuff away. Now everybody’s fighting over it.”

The suspect in the case, a 49-year-old man who said he was from Las Vegas, has yet to enter a plea, and is due in court next in July.

A typical fast-food restaurant produces 150 to 250 pounds of grease a week. Many do not even know when a theft occurs because it usually happens overnight. Most security cameras and night watchmen are focused on cash registers, not the trash.

“Who do you go after?” said Jason Christensen, a trader of fats and oils for the AgriTrading Corporation, in Minnesota. “I sense you’ll start seeing more surveillance equipment put in to monitor these storage facilities at the restaurant. As the price goes up, you can afford to spend a little more to protect your interest.”

And there is so much interest in grease these days.

The City of San Francisco has its own grease recycling program run through the Public Utilities Commission called SFGreasecycle, which collects discarded vegetable oil from city restaurants at no charge and recycles it into biodiesel for use in the city fleet.

Healy Biodiesel, a company in Sedgwick, Kan., says it offers a top-quality fuel made from local cooking oils.

Ben Healy, the owner, has contracts to collect the raw grease from several franchises around town.

“One particular night not too long ago, 9 out of 15 were stolen,” he said of the grease bins. “That’s a majority of the oil and it was a big kick in the stomach.”

At Olympia Pizza and Pasta, Mr. Damianidis, who now sells his grease for a small monthly fee, finds the problem of stolen fryer oil quite annoying and distracting. And he wants to stop the thefts. He is leaning toward a security camera and hoping for the best.

“I cook food,” Mr. Damianidis said. “I’m not going to stay up until 2 in the morning trying to catch someone stealing a barrel of grease.”

Organically Natural Blog From ELF (Eyes, Lips, Face)

tdsollog — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:43:37 -0700

From ELF (Eyes, Lips, Face)

Organically Natural Blog
http://www.eyeslipsface.com/blog.asp?blog_id=1000116&pagenum=1

The craze and rage is all “nuts” for natural and organic food, makeup, clothes, you name it. But does that really have an effect on most consumers, will you go all organic or all natural with your purchases or are there some items that you just can’t live without? What are your best buys, are they natural or not and why? Are you an Organic, Natural, or a Regular Shopper? Does price, packaging, or popularity out way “healthiness”. Ok sorry 20 questions…but would love to hear what you think. And for every valid web comment on this blog only we will give you a Free $5 e.l.f. coupon via email just to say thanks (1 per person, valid to the first 100 posts only).

Most reusable grocery store bags pay for themselves over time

tdsollog — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:56:58 -0700

Most reusable grocery store bags pay for themselves over time
Published: Sunday, May 18, 2008
From the Press of AC:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/106/story/161343.html

ShopRite supermarkets this week increased their modest reward to customers who bring their own shopping bags - if those bags are reuseable.
ShopRites had been giving customers 2 cents for each bag used, whether they were paper, plastic or cloth, as long as they brought them to the store.

Now, if you merely bring back the paper or plastic bags grocers ordinarily use to pack your order, you still get 2 cents each.

But if you bring bags made from recycled fabric, recycled and woven plastic, or canvas, you get a 5 cents-per-bag credit.

As economists like to say, that's a 300 percent increase.

Still small change, of course, but the bag credit has never been about money, just as using fewer plastic and paper bags is only partly about benefiting the environment.
The best reason to bring your own bags is that you can use much better bags.

It's not hard to outperform handout plastic and paper bags. They rip easily, are less comfortable to carry and don't provide much protection for your ever-more precious groceries.

I like canvas bags. I can load them with cans, sweating cold drinks, even sharp objects, and they never tear or break.

The handles are wide and comfortable, they can be tossed into the wash when they get dirty, and they're useful for many other purposes such as gathering drinks and snacks for a car trip.

Unfortunately, canvas bags are now the hardest to find. I have several from the now-closed SuperFresh in Northfield, and several more from Wegman's - the nearest of which is on the other side of the state.

Acme used to offer a fine canvas bag much like the ones from SuperFresh, and I've got one of those, too. But now they only have the recycled fabric bags - good, but not as big, strong or flexible.

The preferred price point on reusable bags seems to be $1. Every store has reusable bags for that price.

At 5 cents credit per use, using them four times per month, the ShopRite credit would pay for the bags in just five months.

Genuardi's gives a 4-cent-per-bag credit, regardless of what kind of bag you bring. Pathmark gives 2 cents per bag. Acme doesn't give you anything for bringing your own bags, but an Acme manager said it's only a matter of time before it implements such a program.

Canvas bags, if you can find them, run about $3 per bag.

Pathmark has a larger bag from the Elizabeth Haub Foundation, a 40-year-old environmental organization, made from recyclable woven polypropylene. They have colorful images of wildlife on them, and they're also only 99 cents each.

With stores eventually refunding the costs of the bags and then some, it can't get much easier to have better quality bags to use.

Oh, yeah ... it also reduces litter, waste and energy use.

To e-mail Kevin Post at The Press:

KPost@pressofac.com

REUSABLE BAG RATES

ShopRite

Credit: 5 cents for reusable bag, 2 cents for plastic, paper
Bags: Earthwise recycled fabric 99 cents; ShopRite logo 99 cents; larger Earthwise $1.29

Pathmark

Credit: 2 cents per bag
Bags: Large Elizabeth Haub Foundation woven polypropylene 99 cents; Pathmark logo recycled fabric 99 cents

Genuardi's

Credit: 4 cents per bag
Bags: Large Safeway logo recycled fabric 99 cents

Acme

Credit: none
Bags: Acme pink logo recycled fabric $1, portion goes to breast-cancer research

Conflict Free (not Blood) Eco Friendly Diamonds

tdsollog — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:22:50 -0700

I'm not in the market now for a diamond ring, but this caught my eye. Maybe, if you're looking for a diamond, you might want to consider conflict free diamonds. They are eco-friendly and BIG on human rights protection.

BRILLIANT EARTH:
http://www.brilliantearth.com

Embrace the Beauty of Conflict Free
Your perfect diamond doesn't have to be a compromise between quality and conscience. At Brilliant Earth, every engagement ring and wedding band is inspired by pure values and natural beauty. Exquisitely cut conflict free diamonds and elegant recycled gold settings come with an ethical and eco-friendly guarantee that offers couples pure peace of mind.

Brilliant Earth Diamond Ring

Find the Perfect Conflict Free Diamond
Start your search for a beautiful and natural conflict free diamond with Brilliant Earth's guide to buying conflict free.
What makes a diamond conflict free?
http://www.brilliantearth.com/conflict-free-diamond-definition.aspx?utm_...
Where do conflict free diamonds come from?
http://www.brilliantearth.com/conflict-free-diamond-origins.aspx?utm_sou...
How can I trust that my diamond is truly conflict free?
http://www.brilliantearth.com/conflict-free-diamond-tracking-and-certifi...

Eight Ways to Cut Summer Energy Bills

tdsollog — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:23:29 -0700

Eight Ways to Cut Summer Energy Bills
by Stephanie AuWerter
Friday, May 9, 2008
http://www.smartmoney.com

With summer finally kicking into gear across the country, you can almost hear the gentle hum of air conditioners ratcheting up. And with it, climbs home energy bills.

These days, the average household spends $1,900 annually on energy (based on electricity and gas usage), according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). But much of that, say energy conservationists, is money wasted.

The good news: Cutting back doesn't mean you need to be a tree-hugging naturalist, suffering stoically as you read by candlelight. These days, you can do right by the environment and your pocketbook-without any major lifestyle sacrifices. In fact, by taking some relatively painless steps, you can cut your bills by one-third or more.

Here are eight easy ways to save this summer (including a few tips that will work year-round).

1. Upgrade Your Thermostat

Are you the type who likes to chill after a sticky workday by coming home to a house that's as cool as a meat locker? You can live this dream and cut your energy costs by investing in a programmable thermostat. These handy little devices allow you to cool your home at different temperatures at specific times.

So you could, for example, turn down the AC during the day, when your family is away from home-and crank it up again 30 minutes before the first family member returns. Or, you could turn it down during the wee hours of the morning, when no one's likely to notice a shift in temperature.

Installing a programmable thermostat shouldn't set you back more than $100 to $150-and the energy savings can be substantial. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), you could cut your heating and cooling bills by 10% annually just by turning your thermostat back 10% to 15% for 8 hours a day.

2. Go Green

Ok-this will require a bit of effort on your part, but the returns are twofold: Planting just three shady trees around your house not only can whack $100 to $250 off your annual heating and cooling costs, according to the DOE, but will most likely make your yard more attractive, to boot. (Leafy trees can shield the house from direct sunlight, keeping temperatures down, while still permitting sunlight to hit your house during the winter months.)

Not interested in nurturing your green thumb? Simply pulling the shades (or drawing your curtains) can cut energy costs as well, says Mel Hall-Crawford, an energy efficiency expert at the Consumer Federation of America.

3. Keep It Clean

Keeping your air-conditioning unit clean and in peak performance is another big money saver. To kick the summer off, your AC unit should have a professional tune up (expect to pay somewhere between $90 and $120), says Maria Vargas, an Energy Star spokesperson at the EPA. (Energy Star is a joint program run by the EPA and the DOE that, among other things, deems certain products energy-efficient.) And air-conditioning filters (regardless of whether you have central air or an individual unit) should generally be checked every month or so to see if they need cleaning or replacement. This is something you should be able to do on your own.

Another item to add to your spring cleaning list: Dusting off your refrigerator condenser coils, says Hall-Crawford. This will make the unit run more efficiently.

4. Buy a Better Bulb

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (called CFLs) require 75% less energy than traditional (officially called incandescent) light bulbs, and last up to 10 times longer, according to the ASE. Be sure to look for CFLs with the Energy Star label, since these bulbs won't have any buzzing or humming problems, promises Energy Star's Reed. These bulbs now come in smaller sizes (called subcompacts) that can fit into any lamp, and they have a wider color spectrum. According to the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), replacing just four well-used 100-watt incandescent bulbs with equivalent 23-watt CFLs will save you $120 to $200 over three years.

Also, do you still have one of those halogen lamps leftover from your college days? (You know-those tall lamps that didn't cost much more than a couple of pizzas to buy?) Do yourself a favor: Dump it. Not only are these dangerous fire starters, but their bulbs, which can generate temperatures of 700 to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, are energy hogs as well, says Vargas. That makes them considerably less inexpensive than they seemed back in the day.

5. Join the Fan Club

A ceiling fan can balance out a room's temperature, allowing you to turn down the AC and still feel cool.

6. Unplug

Even when all of your home electronics are turned off, many continue to suck down energy. The main culprits: televisions, VCRs, DVD players, stereos, phones and microwave ovens. (Generally, anything that has a clock, a remote control or an on/off light falls into this category.) In fact, idle TVs cost U.S. consumers $600 million annually, or $5 per household, according to the EPA. One solution: Plug the items that can truly be turned completely off into a power strip, and then use that as your on/off switch.

7. Fight Leaks

Your pricey, cooled air might be leaking right out of your house. Leaky windows and ducts (which carry the air to the rooms in your home) are two ways that cool air can be lost, making your air conditioner work harder. "We have found that as many as 70% of ducts are installed with leaks," says Vargas. Having your ducts properly sealed and insulated could save you as much as 10% in energy costs, according to the EPA. So if you think your duct system is faulty, try to have it checked out by an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) technician. (One way to find one is to visit the North American Technician Excellence web site.)

8. Be a Savvy Shopper

By far the biggest way to save is to invest in energy-efficient appliances. When shopping around, look for the Energy Star label. There are more than 44 product categories that qualify.

Of course, replacing your appliances (particularly the biggies, like a refrigerator or dishwasher) will require an upfront investment. But if you've got an old clunker, you could recoup your costs quickly. For example, if your central-air-conditioning unit is more than 10 years old, replacing it with an Energy Star-qualified model could cut your operating costs by 30%.

Eco-Friendly Laundry Products?

hippiecowgirl — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:20:56 -0700

Anyone have suggestions for detergent, liquid fabric softeners or stain pre-treaters? I'm looking for things I can make myself or find in a store vs buying online.

10 ways to make your next party chic, stylish, and green

tdsollog — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:06:17 -0700

Simple Green
Just because you’re ecofriendly doesn’t mean you’ve gone hippie. Here are 10 ways to make your next party chic, stylish, and green.
Christie Matheson
http://lifestyle.msn.com/green/greenarticletkt.aspx?cp-documentid=457509...

Do as many of these tips as you can. Then reward yourself with a fresh mani and pedi for your party. Hey, even three or four of these ideas will help future generations of Nesties.

1. Evites are a must.
Skip the pretty paper cards and save a tree or two. We know you love wowing your friends with your invitation creations, but you'll amaze them enough when they arrive, we promise! Plus, the Evite has a great way for you to still be clever with your post. We love uploading funny pictures and choosing pretty designs that even the pickiest guest will love. And be sure to get creative with the reply categories.

2. Use the stuff you've got.
You know those dishes, glasses, and place settings you put on your registry but still haven't taken out of the cabinet? Now is the time to break them out. You'll have to do a little extra cleanup at the end of the night, but isn't reversing global warming worth an extra few minutes?

3. Personalize cups.
If you insist on using disposable glassware, buy the kind made from recycled or sustainable materials (look for stuff manufactured from corn resin or sugar-cane stalk, or items labeled "biodegradable" or "100% recycled content"). And prevent the cup-mistaken-identity syndrome (you know, when someone takes a cup and places it next to an identical one, and then both people have to get new cups) by taking a Sharpie and marking each cup with a personalized monogram.

4. Light it up.
Cut down on electricity and create a romantic (and, let's face it, flattering) glow by placing lit candles everywhere. Use soy or beeswax candles, which, unlike petroleum-based paraffin candles, won't emit toxic, sooty fumes.

5. Be thrifty.
When looking for hosting odds and ends that will add a finishing touch to your decor -- like salad servers and place mats -- check out flea markets and thrift shops. As long as you wash them in incredibly hot water, you are actually getting something amazingly unique and doing your part to create less trash. After all, if you didn't buy it, it might have been thrown out.

6. Go local.
Skip the produce aisle at your regular grocery store, and visit a local organic farm or market to grab your greens. Or if your supermarket chain carries a local organic vendor line, all the better. You'll not only get pesticide- and hormone-free products, but buying local items means they've had to travel only a short distance (versus thousands of miles) to get to your house. And if you haven't guessed it already, that means they used up less fuel.

7. Fill 'er up.
Treat your friends to organic wines and spirits, and you'll be getting them drunk without the gunk of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Another reason you're hearing and seeing so much "buy organic" propaganda is that it supports farmers who make the extra effort to not pollute the soil, which helps Big Momma Earth.

8. Give away your decor.
Decorate your pad with small organic plants -- they'll help clear the air of carbon dioxide, of course, and pump in more oxygen. Then give them away as favors. Encourage guests to plant them, and you'll be spreading that earth-lovin' love!

9. Recycle!
This might be the "duh" tip of the day, but if you don't do it already, you must. Check absolutely everything you're about to throw away to see if you can use it again (even if it's to send home extra food with a guest). And if you can't use it, make sure glass, paper, and plastic products get thrown out in the recycle bin. This will preserve natural resources, cut down on junk heading to landfills, and reduce the amount of energy used and pollution emitted in the manufacturing of new products.

10. Clean up green.
We've said it before and we'll say it again: Organic stuff equals good for the planet. So use spray cleaner and dishwashing liquid that won't add bad chemicals to the water supply, air, and soil. We like Method (methodhome.com) because its products smell yummy. And if you must use paper towels (reusable cloths are ideal), get recycled products from Seventh Generation (seventhgeneration.com) or Planet (planetinc.com). And for whatever waste you have (hopefully, it's not too much), use biodegradable trash bags, like the ones from BioBag (biogroupusa.com).