Allie’s Answers

It’s hot and muggy and you simply can’t survive without your air conditioner this summer. Here are some tips to get optimal performance using minimal energy.

• Check which windows in your house get direct sun during the day and close the curtains to keep the sun from heating the room.
• If you don’t use a room in your house, you don’t need to cool it. Close the vents and shut the door.
• Have your air conditioner cleaned and inspected annually to make sure it’s running at it’s most efficient.
• Keep the area around your air conditioner clean. Remove leaves, sticks and other debris regularly.
• Sealing your house isn’t just for winter. Caulking doors and windows can work to keep cool air in the same way it works to keep cold air out in the winter.
• Use fans to better distribute the cool air in your house.
• Dress appropriately. Don’t wear a sweater and crank up the A/C.
• Remember to turn off the air conditioner and open the windows on days when it’s cooler outside.
• Replace older models with Energy Star compliant ones.

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Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Summer is a great time for painting, and nothing revamps a room like a fresh coat of paint. But you know that new paint smell? That’s off-gassing from your paint as it dries. It’s not good for you. It can lead to headaches, and sick building syndrome. And it’s not good for the environment. The Volitile Organic Compounds or VOCs, in regular paint contribute to air pollution. If paint isn’t disposed of correctly, it can end up contaminating the soil and ground water.

The solution? Opt for a natural paint like Green Planet Paints. Their paints are free of VOCs, and use soy-based resins and mineral pigments. They use renewable resources, instead of petroleum based ingredients, and they disclose all the ingredients in their paint.

You’ll get a great new look for your room, minus the pollution.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

I do love a steaming hot shower — the skin scalding kind, where you come out looking like a half-boiled lobster — but it’s not necessary. A warm shower is better for your skin, and the environment.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, water heating accounts for up to 25% of home energy consumption. Lowering the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees (Fahrenheit) will lower your household energy usage considerably.

You’ll still get a good warm shower. Unless you’re used to boiling in your shower, chances are, you won’t even notice the difference.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal ran an article about Bee Gardens. In an effort to support the bee population in the face of Colony Collapse Disorder, pesticides, and destruction of natural habitat, home gardeners are working to plant native, bee-friendly plants and provide nesting materials for bees.

You can too. LifeCycles Project Society has instructions for making a bee box for your yard.

Plant asters, black-eyed Susan, Echinacea, and plants that are native to your area. Choose flowers in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes and plant them in sunny areas of your yard. If possible, leave the ground bare instead of covering with mulch. Many types of bees like to burrow in the ground, but mulch prevents them from doing so.

Most bees aren’t likely to sting unless they’re disturbed, so watch them quietly, and leave them alone. Of course, if you or someone in your family is allergic to bees, use extreme caution and make sure you always have an epi-pen or other prescribed medication on hand.

In addition to being bee-friendly, native plants are beautiful and easier to care for. Enjoy your bee garden!

Thanks, Mike!

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie

First order of business, don’t buy new shoes if you don’t need to. I understand this is a cold, hard adjustment to make. I, at one time, was the proud owner of about seventeen pairs of black, chunky heeled shoes (hey, it was the late 90’s) that were only slightly different from each other. One of the best ways to be green is to only buy what you need. So do your best to stretch the life of the shoes you have a little longer.

But if your soles are shot, your heel is broken, or no amount of shoe polish and buffing will make your shoes look respectable again, go for a new eco-friendly pair.

Simple makes adorable casual shoes from earth-friendly materials like jute, organic cotton, bamboo, recycled tires, and water-based glues.

U Roads shoes for men have soles made from recycled tires.

Chaco Sandals are made with new materials, but have extensive repair and re-sole services. One of my friends bought a pair of Chaco sandals seven years ago and they are still going strong and looking good. When you trade in your old footwear, you get 20% off of a new pair of Chaco sandals, and Chaco will clean your old shoes to donate to charitable organizations.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Do you have an old, worn out fleece in your closet? Patagonia recycles Polartec fleece from any manufacturer and uses the material to make new clothes.

Research shows that the environmental impact of using worn-out clothing to make new polyester fiber is significantly lower than making that same fiber from virgin materials derived from petroleum. By diverting worn-out garments from landfills, we reduce solid waste. Diverting them from incinerators results in an energy savings of 76% and a CO2 emissions [greenhouse gas] reduction of 71%. Garments made with recycled fibers use 50-100% less virgin polyester, which reduces our use of oil.

Make sure your fleece is worn out and no longer wearable, (if it’s still usable, donate it), and wash it one last time. Bring it along on your next trip to your local Patagonia Retail Store or Patagonia Baselayer Dealer.

If you don’t have a Patagonia store near you, mail your fleece to Patagonia Service Center, ATTN: Common Threads Recycling Program, 8550 White Fir Street, Reno, NV 89523-8939.

When you’re in the market for new performance clothing, check out Patagonia’s line of Clothing with Recycled Content.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

According to NASA, green or flowering houseplants are extremely effective at removing airborne household toxins, like dry cleaning, new carpet, plastic, and plywood fumes. Houseplants also release oxygen and water vapor, further improving the quality of the air. For optimum air quality, you should have one potted plant for every 100 square feet in your home or office.

The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has a great list of non-toxic houseplants to help you chose new plants. Make sure you remove all dead leaves and flowers from the plants, and check the soil for mold regularly to make sure you aren’t introducing allergens while you’re removing toxins.

Potted herbs in your kitchen can do double duty, providing you with clean air and fresh seasonings. A potted palm adds a nice finished look to your living room, and an African violet in the bathroom will brighten things up. In addition to better air quality, you’ll get a mood boost from surrounding yourself with green.

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

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My husband asked me to pick up a pack of protein bars the last time I went shopping. Reading the labels in the store, I was shocked to see how many protein bars had partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and nasty chemicals.

I grabbed a box of Double Dark Chocolate NuGO Organic Nutrition bars and kept my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t taste like cardboard. They don’t! They have a chewy whole grain center, and are coated with real antioxidant rich dark chocolate.

The bars are free of trans fats and genetically modified ingredients. They have 180 calories, 10 grams of protein, and only 8 grams of sugar per bar. Slip one in your workout bag or purse for a quick organic meal on the go.

Another Eco-Friendly Food from Allie.

The July/August issue of Sierra: The Magazine of the Sierra Club, has a great article about World War II era conservationism. Ride sharing was a major staple of the WWII conservation campaign.

In Colorado, the Republican Party vowed to save rubber by having all of its candidates in the 1944 elections hitchhike to campaign rallies.

The idea of that happening today is somewhat comical, but there’s a better way to ride share.

eRideShare.com has 20,081 Commuter Carpool listings and 3,721 Cross Country Travel listings and even has monthly meet ups, so you can meet the person you’ll be driving with ahead of time.

CarpoolConnect.com has listings in the US and Canada.

CarpoolWorld.com has worldwide listings.

There are regional ride share sites, like CarpoolMatchNW.org in Oregon and SW Washington, and RideNow.org carpool listings in East Bay and San Francisco, or check your local craigslist ride share listings.

Carpooling can also be as simple as asking your neighbor if she’d like to ride to the grocery store with you.
Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.

Switching over to green products is exciting. It’s always fun to try out a new shampoo, face cream, or naturally-scented cleaner. But excessive consumption is not an eco-friendly endeavor, even if the new products you consume are eco-friendly.

Don’t buy an eco-friendly shampoo while you still have a full bottle of the old stuff. Throwing out a non-green product, or banishing it to the shampoo retirement home under your bathroom sink isn’t the way to go. Replace your usual brand of shampoo with a biodegradable, paraben-free product after you’ve used every last drop in the bottle.

Make a committment to switching your household and beauty products over to green ones over time. Give yourself a goal. Our household is going to be paraben-free by 2008. What’s your goal?

Another Eco-Friendly Tip from Allie.