BLOG: Greener Living with Dr. G

I hate to make your world more complex, but today’s world is pretty complex.  A compact flourescent lightbulb (CFL) is a great energy saving device and no home should be using the energy hog old lightbulb technology.  However, CFLs contain trace amounts of a toxic element, mercury.  This makes 2 things more  more complex about CFLs:  1)  Disposal - the mercury must be recycled, not landfilled where it can enter the environment and contaminate the fish we eat.  Soooo - you must bring any burnt out CFLs either to special collection sites in your town (call town hall to find out where these may be set up), or to your towns household haz waste collection day or to Ikea, the furniture store in New Haven area.  2)  Cleanup of a broken bulb: this needs to be done carefully and without vacuuming to avoid spreading the mercury around the house.  Most of the mercury will adhere to the broken glass so it can be carefully handpicked and disposed of.  The first step is to get kids and pets out of the room, open the windows and then read the CT DPH fact sheet on how to safely do-it-yourself cleanup of the spill.  Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Connecticut-ites are taking to the hills, trails, rivers and bikeways June 7th in celebration of Trails Day - Organized by the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association, this event will feature the glory of our woodlands as hikes are lead across the state to scenic vistas, rushing rivers and quiet meadows.  Easy to rugged hikes - some historic, some with a mission to clean up the trail, all will be fun for all ages.  You can find one within a stone’s throw of your house by going to the CFPA website.  See you on the trail.

Doing some random act of kindness to the earth doesn’t have to be time consuming, costly or wierd (talking to budding flowers is totally optional).  Hear are my 5 Easy Pieces for Earth Day (Jack Nicholson would be proud):

1)      Green Electrons – even if you can’t put a windmill or solar panel on your home, you can still put more of these renewables into the grid by signing up for green energy on your electric bill.  Look at your next bill and check the box for renewable energy – you will be paying a small surcharge (roughly $5 per month) to bring more wind, hydro, and other renewables onto the grid.  It creates the demand that increases supply and tilts the balance towards a renewable future. 

2)      Home energy Audit – invite CL&P over to audit and weatherize your home – it’s a $500 to $1000 house call from the energy doctor,  but its toally free if you have natural gas or electric heat.  Great for the pocketbook and the planet. 

3)      Recycle Your Sneakers – bring your worn out running shoes, basketball high tops, cross-trainers, tennis shoes or other kinds of athletic footwear (no cleats, spikes or walking shoes) to Wolcott School in West Hartford (Wolcott Road off New Britian Ave).  Any brand, any time of day up till about 11 PM for the next month.  Your worn out sneaks will be turned into running tracks and other kinds of athletic fields as part of Nike’s-reuse-a-shoe program. 

4)      Change your margins and save trees – the next time youre in word – or whatever word processor, notice that the default margin in 1.25 inches.  Studies have shown that millions of trees a year can  be saved if we all narrow our margins to 0.75 inches on either side – changethemargins.com – show you care about the environment through your narrow margins

5)      Make your own green clearner out of common household items like vinegar, water, borax detergent, dish soap, baking soda and essential oil.   

Extra bonus features – ride a bike, eat a veggie dinner,  hang out your laundry, take mass transit, do organic lawn care.   

I always thought my car was my biggest carbon footprint.  I’ve been surprised to learn that my house and even my diet can be a bigger source of greenhouse gases.   Animals give off hot air balloon-full quantities of methane, a highly heat trapping gas.  The more vegetarian, and in fact vegan, you are, the less is your dietary carbon footprint (see Tofu recipe book elsewhere in these blogs to take a great big leap into the world of low carbon diets).  AND, our houses - heating, cooling, lighting, laundering, drying, hot water, appliances - you name it and almost everything we rely on - yes, even the garbage disposal - has a significant carbon footprint.  But if you sign up for  a CL&P home energy audit, you can find out where you are wasting energy and money and make your home cozier at the same time.  Its such a no brainer, I’m even having it done at my house in June.  Go to the CL&P website and send in the form - within a day they called me back to arrange the audit at my West Hartford home.   They spend several hours intoducing you to those mischievious gaps and cracks that make your house an energy sieve.  And they weatherize while they are thre.    The best part - its totally a free service if you are a gas or electric customer.   So sign up for your pocketball and the planet.

Recycling your worn out sneakers is super easy - bring them to Wolcott School in West Hartford (on Wolcott Road, just off New Britian Ave).  The sneakers will be turned into running tracks and other play surfaces as part of the Nike-Reuse-a-Shoe Program.  Wolcott School will have a drop spot in front of the school for the next month.  Rubber is important to get out of the waste stream so recycle your sneaks.

The CT General Assembly has a great website listing bills and contact information for your state rep and senator.  Participate in this spring’s legislative session and be heard - here is the cga website

Many people wanted to know how to get hold of that great recipe book we highlighted on last week’s show.  Perfect for those looking to ease into vegetarian cooking.  Here is the link for Anne Tegtmeier’s website and cookbook - happy green eating.

Do you think a solar powered home is out of the question?  Well learn the facts and see how your neighbors are doing it.  A tour of a solar home in Canton CT will take place at noon and 3 PM on Saturday May 3rd and another opportunity, this time displaying solar dentist office will occur on Saturday May 17th.  But you need to sign up in advance so:   For ticket information, call 860-651-7449. For tour information, call (860) 693-4813 or go to the People’s Action for Clean Energy website, www.pace-cleanenergy.org.

Some air purifiers can actually worsen your indoor air by spewing ozone into the room.    Ozone is highly toxic and we spend millions (billions?) societally to control ozone levels outside where we call it smog.  There are misguided air purifier companies who actually think they can help you breathe by pumping smog into your home.  Ozone will attack chemicals in the air but will also attack your lungs, possibly causing damage or worsening asthma.  And the ozone that comes from these machines can turn the chemicals in your home’s air - including what comes from cleaners, fragrances, and air freshener - into more toxic chemicals.   So avoid ozone generators.  All the bad press on these devices has caused the industry to change their promos away from mentioning ozone - they may now say “Mountain-fresh air” or “Cleans your air like lightning” - beware and check out this listing from California state govt on which brands to avoid because of ozone.

Check this out from a student from BC:

Thanks for the post Emma S