All this month, this blog will feature articles and tips surrounding water issues. To get started, visit the Nature Conservancy's interactive map to explore how different threats have an impact on watershed ecosystems.
Friday, March 6, 2009
March is Water Month!
Why water? Often our greatest blessings are things that we take for granted until they are threatened. Unlike much of the world’s citizens, in Mountain Lakes we are lucky knowing that there will be ample, quality water in our taps any time that we turn them on. Yet, in order to preserve this peace of mind into the future, we must learn to protect this precious resource now.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Landscaping is for the Birds
Why should we care about the birds? Because diverse bird populations are a direct mark of a healthy ecosystem--their lack of habitat is an indication of forest health and their declining numbers can be a barometer of pollution. Birds benefit the environment by being agents of seed dispersal, voracious consumers of insects and rodents, and important to pollination. The Bird Education Network states, "People benefit because an environment that birds can thrive in is a healthy environment for humans."
What can YOU do to help the birds? NJ Audubon provides a list of Ten Tips for Backyard Habitats. A backyard habitat reduces the amount of your lawn which provides absolutely NO benefit to wildlife (except for deer & geese). If you choose native plants and shrubs, not only will you provide food for the birds, you will help replenish the understory in our woods. An extremely helpful online state-by-state plant finder (listing natives and invasives) can be found at eNature, and the U.S. Department of Transportation provides a comprehensive NJ list.
Whatever you do, don't plant invasive barberry or burning bush... their seeds are also dispersed by birds but the plants choke out what little native understory plants the deer don't eat.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Landscaping Saves Energy!
Did you know that winter is a great time to assess the "bones" of your garden? We all know that trees and shrubs can soften the hard lines of our homes, but, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, they can help us reduce our heating and cooling costs as well.
Shade--by planting deciduous trees with high crowns to the south-east of your home and trees with low crowns to the west and south-west, you can decrease your air conditioning costs by 10% in 5 to 10 years. It's best to leave the south area of your yard open to allow passive solar heating in the winter. Remember to plan for shade around driveways, walkways and patios because those surfaces radiate and retain heat.
Windbreaks--can lower windchill near your home and trap snow to lessen drifts. Use dense evergreens and shrubs with low crowns and plant to the north and north-west of your home at a distance of two to five times the mature height of the tree/shrub.
Planting shrubs near your foundation creates air pockets that act as insulation in winter and summer. It's important to leave at least one foot of space more than the mature width of the shrub to prevent moisture problems (and leave elbow-room for maintenance).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Be My Green Valentine!
Did you know that over 1 billion Valentine cards are sent annually? That's a lot of trees! Here are some suggestions to celebrate sustainably:
For the kids--homemade decorated cookies or lollipops are a sweet solution and scads of ideas for making your own valentines can be found at Family Fun. The most fun (and messy) idea is for plantable Valentines found at Thrifty Fun .
Flowers--if you aren't aware of the eco-issues surrounding the cut flower industry, you should at least be concerned about bringing these pesticide-laden lovelies into your home. You can help enact change by seeking out flowers with the Veriflora certification--ask for them at your favorite florist or online at Organic Bouquet.
Food--the Obama's chef, Sam Kass, believes in healthy and local food which is a much-needed boost to the local food movement. Show your family some love every day by serving locally-produced organic food! The February issue of Bon Appetit gives us a Valentine's Day menu that's easy enough for the kids to help as well as 50 ways to Eat Green. Try to avoid take-out: besides being laden with fat and salt, the plastic clamshell containers, disposable chopsticks or plastic cutlery, packets of condiments and napkins are definitely not eco-friendly. If you haven't visited this site already, Planet Green has a valuable Food & Health section where a search will provide recipes for some take-out favorites like this one for Spring Rolls.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Yellow is not Green
Jeana found this on WiseBread.
In this day and age of the internet, free Google 411 and a host of other paperless directory services, what use do the big, fat phone directories serve? I don’t know about you, but when I get those large plastic bags filled with 3lb phone books, I usually put them straight in the recycling bin. We never use them. Now a website similar to the National No-Call registry is asking you to sign up and stop receiving these archaic books.
The facts speak loud and clear; the massive amount of money and resources the phone directory industry sucks up is phenomenal. This, from YellowPagesGoesGreen.org :
• 540 million directories are printed annually in the United States.
• The average weight of each directory is 3.62 lbs.
• 1.79 directories are printed for every man, woman and child in the US.
• The phone directory industry is worth over $13 billion in the US (that figure doubles to $26 billion worldwide).
• It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of paper.
• It takes over 19 million trees to make half a trillion directories.
• It takes 380 gallons of oil to produce that ton of paper (over 7.2 billion barrels per 500,000,000 books).
• 3 cubic yards of waste are taken up by one ton of paper (that equates to 1.6 billion lbs per 500,000,000 books).
• Over 270,000 cubic yards of landfill are taken up per 500,000,000
• 7,000 gallons of water go into the production of one ton of paper.
• 4,000 kilowatts of energy are also needed to make that ton of paper (3.2 billion KW hours/500,000,000 books).
So much money, so many resources, all for nothing. However, if we all do something about it, maybe we can speed that process up. Simply click on this link and you’ll be directed to an opt-out page where you can opt out of both the yellow and white pages.
In this day and age of the internet, free Google 411 and a host of other paperless directory services, what use do the big, fat phone directories serve? I don’t know about you, but when I get those large plastic bags filled with 3lb phone books, I usually put them straight in the recycling bin. We never use them. Now a website similar to the National No-Call registry is asking you to sign up and stop receiving these archaic books.
The facts speak loud and clear; the massive amount of money and resources the phone directory industry sucks up is phenomenal. This, from YellowPagesGoesGreen.org :
• 540 million directories are printed annually in the United States.
• The average weight of each directory is 3.62 lbs.
• 1.79 directories are printed for every man, woman and child in the US.
• The phone directory industry is worth over $13 billion in the US (that figure doubles to $26 billion worldwide).
• It takes 24 trees to make 1 ton of paper.
• It takes over 19 million trees to make half a trillion directories.
• It takes 380 gallons of oil to produce that ton of paper (over 7.2 billion barrels per 500,000,000 books).
• 3 cubic yards of waste are taken up by one ton of paper (that equates to 1.6 billion lbs per 500,000,000 books).
• Over 270,000 cubic yards of landfill are taken up per 500,000,000
• 7,000 gallons of water go into the production of one ton of paper.
• 4,000 kilowatts of energy are also needed to make that ton of paper (3.2 billion KW hours/500,000,000 books).
So much money, so many resources, all for nothing. However, if we all do something about it, maybe we can speed that process up. Simply click on this link and you’ll be directed to an opt-out page where you can opt out of both the yellow and white pages.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Green Dinner Table Talk
Did you know?….that you can cook your family’s meal without the use of gas or electricity. The solar oven “Sun Cook” can reach temperatures up to 400 F, with sunshine alone. For more fun facts and photos about this style of cooking visit http://solarcooking.ca/ .
Did you know?…..that the energy efficiency of a one-mile urban trip by bicycle, when the cyclist is fueled by meat (which contains the embodied energy required to produce and transport one mile’s worth of meat energy to the cyclist’s home), according to one analysis, is equivalent to 31 miles per gallon.
But…the energy efficiency of a one-mile urban trip by bicycle when the cyclist is fueled by bread is 300 miles per gallon
Did you know?….Germany currently generates more solar power than any other country, in spite of having more cloudy days than sunny days.
Did you know?....Portugal has just plugged in Europe’s largest wind farm, located in its northern highlands. Cervantes would have loved it…..imagine Don Quixote and 120 wind turbines. Jointly, these turbines provide enough electricity to power one million homes. Other green projects under way in Portugal include a second, smaller wind farm; the world’s largest solar photovoltaic farm (in the south); and the world’s first commercial wave power plant. Vive Portugal!
Did you know?...The California EPA Air Resources Board has approved the scoping plan for California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) as of December 11, 2008. The plan includes a renewable energy standard, adoption of a low carbon fuel standard, green jobs bills, water conservation, and sustainable forest and agriculture plans. Go California! [You can locate this 142 page plan at http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/document/psp.pdf ]
Submitted to the GCP blog spot by Louise F.
Did you know?…..that the energy efficiency of a one-mile urban trip by bicycle, when the cyclist is fueled by meat (which contains the embodied energy required to produce and transport one mile’s worth of meat energy to the cyclist’s home), according to one analysis, is equivalent to 31 miles per gallon.
But…the energy efficiency of a one-mile urban trip by bicycle when the cyclist is fueled by bread is 300 miles per gallon
Did you know?….Germany currently generates more solar power than any other country, in spite of having more cloudy days than sunny days.
Did you know?....Portugal has just plugged in Europe’s largest wind farm, located in its northern highlands. Cervantes would have loved it…..imagine Don Quixote and 120 wind turbines. Jointly, these turbines provide enough electricity to power one million homes. Other green projects under way in Portugal include a second, smaller wind farm; the world’s largest solar photovoltaic farm (in the south); and the world’s first commercial wave power plant. Vive Portugal!
Did you know?...The California EPA Air Resources Board has approved the scoping plan for California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) as of December 11, 2008. The plan includes a renewable energy standard, adoption of a low carbon fuel standard, green jobs bills, water conservation, and sustainable forest and agriculture plans. Go California! [You can locate this 142 page plan at http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/document/psp.pdf ]
Submitted to the GCP blog spot by Louise F.
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