Miomarmo

Life-Cycle Assessment and How to Apply it to Your Buying Habits

Life-Cycle Assessment, or LCA, as defined by the the EPA is "a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service, by: compiling an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases; evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases; and interpreting the results to help you make a more informed decision."

Sounds confusing, but you might be reading between the lines already. It's difficult to know, as a consumer, what impact a product you buy has on the environment, humans, and other animals. Most of the products we buy and use today were invented a long time ago, the process used to make each of these products were determined by how much it cost the manufacturer and not how much impact it had on the environment. That's because we were in the dark about the potential dangers of manufacturing, and today we need to basically reinvent pretty much everything.

New industrial ecology is using LCA to take a product and tear it down into it's various components. What it's made of, what process is used to make each of those components, how it's transported, how it's used, how we dispose of it, and how the company treats its employees and its community ... every thing we buy has a hidden price tag on our lives and environment. Making decisions on what to buy, or if to buy at all, can be daunting for those of us determined to make a difference. By remaining uneducated on what we buy, we're creating potential dangers for our futures.

So what can you do?

I've been doing my best to research what I buy. As some of you know, we're building a house and one example, recently, is our search for a sealer for our wood floors. We did some research and found some soy-based products that were looking good. We ordered samples and tried them out and were ready to purchase the product. Then, we found a newer one recently that uses a by-product of cheese making: whey. We liked this, not only were the ingredients all natural, they were using something that was being thrown away. And, it's made locally (in our state). We love supporting Vermont-made products whenever possible.  Bonus: It actually works better than anything we tried! This took a lot more time than walking into Home Depot and asking for a floor sealer ...

Another example, when we put in our plumbing, we decided to go with PVC pipes. Copper is a nonrenewable resource, and other products were less durable so using them meant having to replace them over and over rather than buying PVC once. It's a tough choice when none of the choices are perfect.

The research is time-consuming, but worth it. It's hard to know what information to trust. The manufacturers are using all kinds of phrases to get us to think they're green such as "all natural" and "wholesome" but what is really behind the product and the company that makes it?

In researching about LCA I came across an amazing resource: GoodGuide (now in beta). Rather than rating on how well something may work, they're rated based on an LCA for that product.

So, I went to GoodGuide and looked up a common product: Cheerios. Its GoodGuide rating is 8.5. They based this on:

• Health/Nutrition Performance: 10 "This product has a good nutrition score."
• Environmental Performance: 8.1 "This company has minimal or no community-related controversies."
• Social Performance: 7.4 "This company that makes this product has an above-average score in use of resources."

But it also gives a lot of deeper information and not just an overview. I looked into the Environmental Performance and found that it rated very well in Energy Management, but not as well for Compliance and Toxic Waste. For Social Performance, Cheerios rated "Best in Category" in Working Conditions & Benefits and Philanthropy, but less well (though still not part of the "Worst in Category") in Quality & Safety, Workplace Diversity, and Labor & Human Rights.

Check out GoodGuide's information on their Ratings and Methodology. And their blog.

And please check out what you're buying and maybe you'll find something better? I know I'll be spending a lot of time on this and from my initial look-through, will be replacing a lot of what I buy with something better.

We Can Now (Will) Make Our Own Independent Power!

After years and years of knowing that someday we'd have our own independent power at our new house (which is still not done), we picked up everything we need to make it happen. Last Saturday, we drove to New England Solar in Massachusetts to pick up our system and solar panels. With this, we'll be able to add wind and micrhydro power as simply as plugging it in!

In case you're one of the many (which included me) that doesn't know what's entailed to get off-grid power working, for just over $16,000 we got all this (and yes, we still need to add more power via wind/water/solar, as needed):

• Wall mount racks for the solar panels
• MC connector cables
• Outback Array combiner box
• Outback Array circuit breakers 10A
• Watertight connectors
• MidNite Solar MNE175STM-240-L AC/DC disconnect (pre-wired)
• Magnum MERC-50 remote control (needed for inverter settings)
• Set of 10' 2/0 inverter cables.
• FlexMax60 60A MPPT Charge Controller
• Delta LA303DC lightning arrestor
• 60A circuit breakers
• Trojan T105 batteries (24)
• 2 Ga. battery cables.
• Battery anticorrossion rings
• 12V battery vent fan
• Lightning arrestor (for AC)
• 8 Sharp 170W solar panels
• Magnum MS4448AE 240/120 VAC inverter

Yes, this is a daunting list, what the heck is all this? Now, if you were to add solar or wind to your current grid-tied system, this list would be much shorter. Before all this, we had an electrician in who wired our house just like he would anyone else's house, except that it doesn't connect to a city-supplied electric source.

We first will need to mount the solar panels. Then mount the pre-wired inverter (the last item in the list above) that they so nicely put together for us, and build a wooden box to house the batteries, including the vent fan. And then we'll get our electrician in again and he'll hook it up! I can't wait to plug something in and see it turn on!

The picture you see is all that I've listed above, it all fits in one 6' truck bed. I'll definitely post pictures of the finished product.

Bike to Work Day

This year's Bike to Work day is Friday, May 15 - although some sources are giving it as Thursday, May 14, so you have twice as many chances to saddle up! If that weren't enough, according to the League of American Bicyclists, May is National Bike Month, and this whole week is Bike To Work Week. Get the picture? There are plenty of days to take your bike out for a spin and get a great workout besides.

The League says,

People ride bicycles for all sorts of reasons, from better health to saving money on fuel. Additionally, bicycling helps the environment, allows you to escape from the endlessly clogged freeways of America, and is a lot of fun!

Although I have the shortest commute ever, I do have a hankering to take my bike out for a ride this afternoon and run some errands. Have you ever biked to work, and would you give it a try tomorrow?

To get you in the mood:

It's Mom's Month! Celebrate, Remember and Cherish!

Most of all other beautiful things in life come by twos and threes by dozens and hundreds. Plenty of roses, stars, rainbows, brothers and sisters, aunts and cousins, but only one mother in the whole world.
~ Kate Douglas Wiggin

Finally (for me): Reusable Produce Bags

I finally got something that I can use to store produce in at the grocery store rather than those plastic bags they provide.

I do not use the plastic bags for things like bananas and potatoes and onions and oranges — items that I'll be peeling anyway, but for everything else, I would reluctantly tear off a new plastic bag. Later, I always use them for other purposes, but at some point they end up in the trash or with the other plastic grocery bags I recycle (it's amazing how many plastic bags I still accumulate considering the fact that I bring my own bags to the grocery store, something I need to give more attention to).

Anyway, back to the bags ... I'm still reluctant to buy anything new that I don't need. But, after so many instances of standing next to the green beans or mushrooms and NOT wanting to buy the mixed greens that come inside the plastic bag which is inside a hard plastic container, and instead wanting to buy the loose mixed greens but realizing with that, too, I had to use a plastic bag to get it home, I broke down and bought reusable produce bags.

I now have four of the "veg" bags, which you can see and buy here. I get some funny looks at the grocery store when the checkout clerk has a little harder time seeing what's inside, but I feel so much better now :-)

I'm not pushing a specific manufacturer, there are plenty of resources for reusable produce bags:

• Reusable Bags
• Eco Bags
• Pristine Planet

Or make your own!

• Mountain Mama Knits
• Instructables
• CraftStylish

Walking New Jersey Point to Point

Back in the day, my husband Paul and Rich biked the 200+ miles from High Point to Cape May in one very long all-day trip, appropriately titled “The Longest Day.” You can make the same journey -- but you don’t have to do it all at once!

Check out a fun online initiative from Rutgers: Walk New Jersey Point-to-Point. Just wear your pedometer or walk on a treadmill and keep track of your steps and mileage. If you don't have a way to count your steps, the site has a table to help you figure out how many miles you've logged by gardening, mowing your lawn, and chasing after your children.

You will need to create an account and set a goal for yourself to keep track of your journey. Walking from High Point to Cape May is just one of the trips you can log; you could do the Lighthouse Tour, the Historic Tour, or create a custom goal of your own if you don't live in NJ. Or get a team together of friends or co-workers together and walk as a group!

I'm beginning to walk the trip Paul and Rich took those years ago, and I think next I'll try the ambitious 1,000 Mile Challenge. It might take me all summer to do it, but eventually I'll get there, the same way you do anything. One step at a time.

Who Knew Saving Trees Could Be So Easy!

Unfortunately, not all municipalities recycle newspapers/magazineS that are acquired from everyday junk mail within corporate business parks.  Petitioning the township/municipality that you work in to start doing this is a great idea!  But an even easier start is to take the newspapers/magazines home and throw them in with your weekly or bi-weekly pickup.  You won't believe the difference you'll be making when you see how much junk mail offices can actually get.  By doing this, thousands upon thousands of trees are saved every year.  START NOW AND MAKE A BIG IMPACT WITH A SMALL EFFORT!

Our favorite things (to do to save the Earth)

In honor of Earth Day and the almost-one-year anniversary of Miomarmo, we’ve got a list of some of our favorite green tips and practices.

Nichole:
Grocery stores, Staples stores, Wal-mart all now have bins at the entrance to the store or just inside to recycle the plastic shopping bags.  I’ve doing it for a while now & I’m noticing more & more people.  It’s pretty cool because even though I mostly use my tote bags when I shop, we all still wind up with these plastic shopping bags that we all never wind up using (well…not all of them at least).

On your weekly, monthly, whatever trip to the grocery store…bring the bags back & recycle!

Chintan:
Go veggie! I don't know if I can be anything but a vegetarian. There are far too many reasons to list here, but some of the most important ones according to me are:

• It’s good for the animals. Stop the cruelty towards animals. What have they done to deserve this violence towards them?
• It’s good for you health. Simply doing a google search on vegetarianism and health will get you tons of information proving so.
• It’s good for the Earth. We are destroying pristine forests and converting them into farmland that can provide food for cattle.

Some links to get you started:
http://www.goveg.com/
http://www.peta.org/
http://www.vrg.org/journal/

Elena:
Check out yesterday’s post! Seriously, turning off lights and appliances you’re not using has to be one of the simplest things you can do.

Tim:
Some things we do on a regular basis are:

• using minimum amounts of detergent when doing laundry (you really don't need a full cup)
• re-using towels and work cloths
• find other uses for otherwise discarded items (I made birdhouses out of old deck lumber)
• using the fireplace more often in the winter (I use my own trees when possible and ask the neighbors if I can have the one they plan to discard)
• I no longer use bottled water; instead I use a filter pitcher
• discard batteries and other contaminates appropriately (our public library has a bin just for old batteries)

Matt:
The reusable grocery store bags – my family all uses them.

Dany:
Seek out sources for refilling containers, such as laundry and dish detergents. Our local coop has this service available for these and a few other items.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

Small Steps

While everyone is hopefully inspired by Earth Day (and Arbor Day!) this week to do something good for the world, our family actually made our big list on New Year’s Day of things we wanted to do this year to help make the world a better place. In the past 4 months, we’ve been taking small steps to try to be in better touch with nature and the world around us. Our hope was to show the children that even preschoolers and kindergartners can make a difference – that no step (or person) is too small. Below is our list – most of the suggestions coming directly from our kids (“hug the birds” being my favorite, though impractical, suggestion).

We broke our list down into three sections:

Helping the World:

• Turn off lights.
• Don’t leave water running.
• Plant trees.
• Learn about other countries/cultures and who needs help -  not everyone in the world lives the way you do.
• Walk more and drive less.
• Pray for peace.

Helping Nature:

• Create a website for our favorite park.
• Feed the birds.
• Help clean up the park.
• Hug the birds.
• Plant more trees.
• Plant flowers that bees like.
• Read 50 Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth for ideas.
• Help clean up the reservation near us (they have trail cleanup days and are always looking for volunteers
• Go on walks and spend more time outside enjoying nature.

Helping Kids and People:

• Bring coats and food to Foodbank (we did this and it made a huge impression on the kids)
• Adopt a child from another country
• Rice bowls at Lent
• Visit people who are shut-in or hospitalized
• Draw pictures/share art with people who need cheering up

What are your favorite small steps?

Together in Electric Dreams

When I read this recent article in the New York Times, all I could think of was the scene in “Electric Dreams” where the Edgar, the computer, runs all the household appliances and makes coffee as well. (It also tries to steal the main character’s girlfriend away from him, but that’s a whole other story.)

The article, "Keeping a Green Home, Remotely", says:

“Now a new set of software tools lets a cellphone owner track a home’s electricity use from wherever she is.

The new tool from Tendril … lets the cellphone user turn appliances and furnaces on and off from a distance. It integrates with a collection of tools that track consumption and broadcast it to local and distant displays.

Their systems will compare your home’s consumption against similar sized ones in your neighborhood. It will also make suggestions and predict how much lowering the thermostat would lower the bill.”

“Electric Dreams” came out in 1984, and it’s exciting to think that 25 years later, we could actually do some of the things that were so over-the-top techhy back then. Apparently there’s a remake of the movie being planned for 2010 – I can’t wait to see what they come up with for Edgar (the computer) to do this time. I'm sure managing the electricity for a greener household will be part of it.

Below: Edgar tries to get his lovely neighbor's attention....