Frankly Green

How Green is Your Artificial Christmas Tree? You Might Be Surprised

By John Collins Rudolf, NYT

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When it comes to Christmas trees, Americans increasingly prefer plastic pines over the real thing.

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Kim Jones, who was shopping for a tree at a Target store in Brooklyn this week, was convinced that she was doing the planet a favor by buying a $200 fake balsam fir made in China instead of buying a carbon-sipping pine that had been cut down for one season’s revelry.

“I’m very environmentally conscious,” Ms. Jones said. “I’ll keep it for 10 years, and that’s 10 trees that won’t be cut down.”

But Ms. Jones and the millions of others buying fake trees might not be doing the environment any favors.

Green Tip: Computers

Thanks to reader Elicia V. for this Green Tip:  Give your computer a Rest.  Did you know computer's in "standby" mode consume almost as much energy as when they are in active use?  In fact, a computer running 24 hours a day uses more power than an energy-efficient refrigerator.  So turn it off.  You'll save electricity, money and system wear (continuous run-time is actually harder on PC components than shutdowns and start-ups).

Business Delivers Christmas Trees for Rent

View full article via www.nytimes.com

By Jennifer Steinhauer

It is a nibble weird that a guy who describes his relationship to Christmas as “hostile” runs around greater Los Angeles in a floppy red Santa hat and answers his iPhone, “Merry Christmas, this is Scotty Claus!”

But bummed as false merriment and gift obligations render him, Scott Martin — landscape architect and tree hugger in a literal sense — was unnerved by the sight of post-Christmas trees lying about like so much discarded sausage casing.

What people really ought to do, he reasoned, was rent a Christmas tree, and return it, alive, to the nursery after the season.

Do New Bulbs Save Energy if They Don't Work?

By Leora Broydo Vestel, NYT
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I have been using CFL bulbs for over two years and have not had one fail yet. This is certainly disconcerting as poor quality and defects may keep potential buyers away thereby leading to higher energy consumption. Thanks Tom P. for sending this.

SAN FRANCISCO — It sounds like such a simple thing to do: buy some new light bulbs, screw them in, save the planet.

But a lot of people these days are finding the new compact fluorescent bulbs anything but simple. Consumers who are trying them say they sometimes fail to work, or wear out early. At best, people discover that using the bulbs requires learning a long list of dos and don’ts.

25 Low-Cost, Maximum-Impact Tips for a Green 2009

Cameron Scott, SFGate.com
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1. The single largest impact you can have as an individual is to drive less by car-pooling, biking, walking, or using public transit. Find suggestions for decreasing your reliance on your car here.

2. Maintaining correct air pressure in your car's tires can significantly increase fuel efficiency. Check tire pressure once a month.

3. Help end the junk mail madness. Dramatically reduce the amount you receive by following these instructions, and sign a petition demanding a national Do Not Mail registry here.

4. Replace all incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents and save about $100 over each bulb's life. Find low-priced bulbs by looking for PG&E "Save" stickers on bulbs at Walgreen's, Rite Aid and other local stores.

5. If you buy new appliances, make sure to buy energy-efficient models labeled "Energy Star." These models can cut energy use in half. Look for rebates here. A 2009 federal tax credit is also available for some EnergyStar products.

Solar vs. Energy Efficiency

Solar gets more subsidies, but home energy efficiency may be more cost-effective.

By Ben Arnoldy| Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor/ November 26, 2008 edition

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When Ted and Astrid Olsson set out to cut their home electricity bill, they had three strong incentives to buy solar panels: federal, state, and city subsidies. But they shelved the idea in favor of insulating the attic of their San Francisco Victorian.

While it’s not as sexy as a rooftop rack of silicon, improving a home’s energy efficiency tends to be the more cost-effective way to trim carbon emissions. So why are politicians showering subsidies on residential solar instead?

Paper or Plastic?

Thanks to my sister T for this article!

Link to Article

"Paper or plastic?" It seems like it should be an easy choice, but from durability and reusability to life cycle costs, there's a lot more to each bag than meets the eye.

Paper comes from trees -- lots and lots of trees. The trees are found, marked and felled in a process that all too often involves clear-cutting, resulting in massive habitat destruction and long-term ecological damage. It takes approximately three tons of wood chips to make one ton of pulp. The pulp is washed and bleached, and both stages require thousands of gallons of clean water.

Solar Versus Energy Efficiency

Solar gets more subsidies, but home energy efficiency may be more cost-effective

Reporter Ben Arnoldy, The Christian Science Monitor
Link to Article

When Ted and Astrid Olsson set out to cut their home electricity bill, they had three strong incentives to buy solar panels: federal, state, and city subsidies. But they shelved the idea in favor of insulating the attic of their San Francisco Victorian.

While it’s not as sexy as a rooftop rack of silicon, improving a home’s energy efficiency tends to be the more cost-effective way to trim carbon emissions. So why are politicians showering subsidies on residential solar instead?

That’s the question posed by Matt Golden, president of Sustainable Spaces, a company specializing in optimizing the energy performance of homes. He convinced the Olssons to think first about energy efficiency, but with every new solar subsidy, it gets harder for him to get homeowners’ attention and contracts.

Trimming the Tree, Trimming the Costs, LED Lighting

Written by ARAcontent  

Link to Article

Washington, DC - This year, crews won’t just be trimming the National Christmas Tree, they’ll be trimming the nation’s energy bill, too, with the most energy-efficient holiday display in our national history.

Lit almost entirely by light-emitting diodes called LEDs, the 2008 National Christmas Tree display will be 50 percent more energy efficient than last year’s display. While LEDs were used on the National Tree for the first time in 2007 at the request of the White House, this year’s display saves even more energy by eliminating the lighted garland and making use of smaller, lighter-weight ornaments. 2008 marks the first year that all 56 U.S. state and territory trees will be powered by LED lights donated by GE, for a substantial savings in energy.

BlueAvocado Reusable Bag System

 BlueAvocado has created the gro-pak - a fashionable reusable bag system made from recycled materials. gro-pak™ is a grocery-shopping nirvana - a sustainable system that includes everything from large multi-use bags to stylish totes to ventilated produce bags. To make things even easier they've assembled 4 stylish combinations - they call them Kits - to choose from.

The system has bags for fruits and veggies (VEG),  freezer items (CHIL) and dry goods (POD, GRO) that all fold up and fit into the main PAK bag.  They are currently being sold in Whole Foods SW Region, select HEB stores in Austin and they are in talks with additional retailers!

Thanks to my friend Jeff S. for sending this!