Archive for the 'household' Category

Palm Oil Offenders

Published
by
JB
on June 2, 2008
in corporate and household
. 4 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, we have a situation on our hands with respect to the production of palm oil. It’s certainly not helped by the fact that big U.S. based agribusinesses are keeping demand for palm oil high. The big companies are Cargill, Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). Never heard of them? Yeah, me neither. So here’s some more info on these companies, which I got from the Rainforest Action Network site (a very good site, I might add).

U.S. agribusiness giants ADM, Bunge and Cargill are the ABCs of rainforest destruction: They dominate the world markets for palm oil and soy crops that are grown on cleared rainforest lands.

ADM is deeply involved in the production and sale of palm oil. It is also one of the greatest recipients of government subsidies, which means taxpayers are footing the bill for ADM’s rainforest destruction. An ADM affiliate, Wilmar, is the largest palm oil producer in the world, and its practices are among the most destructive.

Bunge, though not a household name in the U.S., is the largest agribusiness and food company operating in Brazil. While Bunge is primarily involved in soy operations that are devastating communities and ecosystems throughout South America, it is also among the largest importers of palm oil into the United States.

Cargill is the most powerful agribusiness and commodity trading group in the world. It owns a dozen plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it grows oil palm on freshly cleared rainforest land. It is also a major global trader of palm oil.

Next up – some products which contain palm oil…and how you can help.

I have a confession

Published
by
greenhl
on May 17, 2008
in action, conservation, energy, household and waste
. 2 Comments

About five weeks ago, I wrote that I would go the entire summer without using my air conditioner. Sadly, it’s not even summer, and I already broke down.

Yesterday afternoon and evening, I had guests staying over and used my air conditioner. I admit it felt really good to have the cool air against my hot, sweaty skin. I had four people staying over, including a baby who had a fever. I guess that gives me a little bit of an excuse since the baby was running a fever and everyone wanted to use the air conditioner. Does it make it right someone else asked to turn it on? Not really. Does it make me feel a little better telling everyone? Maybe just a tad.

I will say it reached 97 degrees yesterday (which is boiling hot by San Francisco Bay Area standards), and it was well over 100 degrees in my house. While I’m at it, I might as well admit that I’ll probably have it on again tonight since they will be staying over one more night. I hope I don’t break down too many more times. These posts aren’t really that fun to write. Will you forgive me?

Going a Summer Without Air Conditioning

Published
by
greenhl
on April 10, 2008
in action, energy, household and waste
. 3 Comments

carrier_air_conditioner_compressor

I like to think that every little bit makes a difference, so I’m going to try avoiding the use of my air conditioner this summer. The only caveat to that rule is if temperatures break 100 degrees, at which point I’ll use it briefly. Being I live in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, temperatures are often fairly mild, although I have to admit the past few summers have been getting noticeably warmer and warmer.

I got an air conditioning unit installed about three years ago since the townhouse I live in has all the hookups and electricity built into it. The only thing missing was the compressor, which I hired a company to install. I have to say, it’s been really nice having air conditioning on those hot days, and because I live in a city that provides electricity at about half the cost of other areas (the city generates and sells its own electricity), it hasn’t been that expensive to use it… which leads to another problem and the source of my inspiration.

I notice that a lot of people in my area leave their air conditioners running all day long and year round. I think cheap electricity is a huge culprit, and people have gotten way too comfortable leaving their windows closed and air conditioners cranked up high. I find it ironic to hear air conditioners humming 11pm at night when it’s about 40 or 50 degrees outside, especially when these homes have built-in air systems and fans that take in and circulate outside air. Perhaps the city needs to raise electricity rates to increase revenue and encourage conservation. When you hit people’s wallets, I notice they tend to listen a lot more closely.

Back to my personal goal. This summer, even though I paid a premium and purchased an ultra-efficient air conditioning compressor and condenser coil that uses half the electricity of the standard units, I’m still going to try and limit my use. When I use my air conditioner, I notice my electricity bill nearly doubles, which is a clear sign that it uses a lot of electricity (even though it’s “efficient”). Apparently, my air conditioner uses Puron, which is supposed to be safe for the ozone. To keep myself honest, I’ll post each time I use my air conditioner and let everyone know how long I used it for. Let’s just say I don’t plan on posting.

I often find turning on a couple fans and opening my windows does the trick just fine. In fact, it’s even nicer because I get to enjoy the fresh air. In the worse case, if it gets really bad, I’ll just walk down the street and jump into the swimming pool.

Be a drip-er. Drip watering systems are great.

Published
by
Paul
on March 30, 2008
in gardening and household
. 1 Comment

drip_top_pic.jpgDepending on where you live, Spring is here, or is coming soon. And of course, Spring is the time when young men and womens thoughts turn to … gardening. We’ve got a few gardening posts percolating , but today I want to talk about drip watering systems.

A drip watering system is a basically a way to water your plants without sprinkler systems or having to stand around spraying water on plants. Instead, you set up a series of tubes and hoses that bring water to your plants. Water drips out of small emitters, that you strategically place in the tube.

I’m not a pro-gardener, but I’ve set up a few of these systems myself, and there are some really huge advantages to drip watering.

First, because drip systems deliver water directly to the plants, and at a rate that the soil is able to soak up more easily, it’s less wasteful than regular watering. In fact, according to eartheasy.com, which has a great writeup of drip watering systems, drip watering systems can use 30-50% less water than ordinary watering.

Second, it’s much more convenient. Why? Because the flow of water is much slower (imagine a leaky faucet), so you leave it on for longer and not waste huge amounts of water. Also, by getting simple garden timers, you don’t have to remember to water your plants for days at a time, which is a huge boon when you’re on vacation.

It’s really easy to get started. When I set up my drip systems, I just went to Home Depot or Orchard. They usually have whole aisles of drip watering supplies. A simple Google search also unearthed a whole treasure trove of drip watering resources, such as:

You can even set up drip watering systems if you have an apartment if you like to tinker. More on that in my next post!

Sign up for electronic bills and electronic bill payment

Published
by
greenhl
on March 14, 2008
in household and waste
. 0 Comments

stack_of_bills I recently read a statistic somewhere saying the average household pays 23 bills per month. This sounds a bit high to me personally, but let’s run with it. It could very well be possible with water bills, homeowner community association bills, cell phone bills, cable television bills, gardener bills, house cleaner bills, internet bills, credit card bills, electricity bills, gas bills, car bills, and all the other bills we get each month. For those who don’t use electronic bill payment or sign up to receive electronic bills, I highly recommend it.

usps_forever_stamps I’ve been using electronic bill payment for years. I’ve never had any problems with electronic bill payment from my bank account. It’s fast, efficient, and it automatically ties in with your bank account records. With electronic bill payment, it’s a no brainer. You don’t have to worry about dropping off your bill into the mail or the Post Office potentially losing it. The biggest benefit is that if you pay anywhere near 23 bills a month, the amount of money you save from not buying stamps is huge. Currently, stamps cost 41 cents each, and it’s increasing to 42 cents in May. At 23 bills per month, you are paying over $113 per year in stamps, and you know the cost of stamps will only rise! Can you think of anything you’d like to do with $113? I sure can!

As for receiving electronic bills, I admit I’ve been a bit slower to adopt them, but I’ve been converting. I receive quite a few electronically already, but to be honest, I’m not sure what my lag is as this is a huge environmental savings, not to mention a huge paper filing and tracking savings for me. In addition, it’s less likely your bill will get lost in the email or be intercepted by a potential ID thief. In fact, when I finish writing this, I’m going to convert a few more of my bills to an electronic format! There are just so many good reasons why you should receive your bills electronically.

One tip – if you sign up to receive electronic bills, make sure you save electronic copies of your bills in case you need access to the statements later. Often, the companies issuing the bills do not save historic copies of the bills past a certain time or they will charge you on a per bill basis to send you a copy. If the company you’re with doesn’t offer electronic bill payment, send them an email or give them a call to let them know you care!