Today I am going to urge your to monitor your energy use daily.  It is something that I currently am not doing, but I am going to implement it.  If our local utilities and Google get it together soon enough, this will be something you can someday do for free  with Google Power Meter.  For now though there are a lot of products on the market that can help you do this and they should definitely pay for themselves in the time it will take for power meter to be up and running.

There is a new webstore out there called Energy Circle where the staff are users of the products and where if you are not satisfied with the products you buy, you can send them back.  It’s pretty cool and for Earth Day this year they have hacked an energy monitoring device so that you can have a voyeuristic view into their own homes Energy Use.  It’s pretty interesting to watch and it is what really made me want to add this to my own home. I am almost afraid to know where I am wasting energy because I like to think that I am doing a pretty good job of conserving it.  However, I know that the truth is that I can do better.

Well, have a good day this Earth Day and whatever you do, have fun doing it.

Back in the day when people were “green” and didn’t really know they were green, they made things.  They didn’t buy them.  They took old stuff and made it new again.  I don’t think my grandfathers knew any other way of living and I would always find wonderful things to look at, hold and touch in their workshops.  All things put together with their own hands.

With the above in mind I am starting a new weekly post called DIY Wednesday and every Wednesday I am going to share a new gadget, toy, or useful device that you can make at low cost or no cost, with things you may just have laying about.  So on we go with the first DIY Wednesday!

So, let’s do something simple this week.  You are going to learn how to sharpen your knives with a tool we all have around.  A coffee mug! Can it be done?  Sure!  You never need to spend 19.95 or even 199.95 on a knife sharpener at Williams Sonoma ever again.

Sharpen Your Knife With A Cup – video powered by Metacafe

For my darling bebe, I have chosen to go organic for his diet. It’s highly likely that his environment (and his mama) has put toxins in his system. It doesn’t mean that I can’t try to make sure that he eats well without pesticides or GMO. I could buy organic baby food, but instead I now make it from scratch. For our baby shower, my hubby’s work friends bought us a Beaba Babycook. So now either A or I make bebe dinner. Here are my photos of making pears.

First you chop up the pears and add them to the steamer basket.

Then you allow the BabyCook to steam the fruit or veggies.

You take out the basket, reserve the requisite amount of water and then pour the fruit back into the bowl for the food processing portion.

Here it is pureed into pear mush.

And voila, here is the final product. Pear mush that is organic and good to eat, no added sugar or salt. Very good for bebe. You make so much that you do end up storing it for use at a later time. But it works well, and is easy to use.

There was origionally a lot of concern about the Babycook containing BPA, with many people getting rid of theirs because they were not getting a good response on the situation from the manufacturer.  We sat on our Babycook for 6 months (until our baby was ready for solid food) before using it and the problem had worked itself out and the Beaba is indeed free of BPA.  Good news!

So what is so great about TerraCycle? The products are made from garbage, packaged in garbage and shipped in garbage. The products re-use waste that would otherwise clog our landfills and to top it all off, you can collect the garbage through your schools, groups, or charitable organizations and GET PAID to send that garbage to TerraCycle.

So what does TerraCycle do with all of this garbage? They take it from the landfill and turn it into useable everyday products. Products like the fertilizer I mentioned above and more. Backpacks, pens, notebooks, cleaners, firelogs, shopping bags and more!

If you want to know where to purchase their products in your area click here for a store in your area or here to purchase them online.

Image: Terracycle

Never in history have so many people had so much information, so many tools at their disposal, so many ways of making good ideas come to life. Yet at the same time, so many people, of all walks of life, could use so much help, in both little ways and big.

In the midst of this, new studies are reinforcing the simple wisdom that beyond a certain very basic level of material wealth, the only thing that increases individual happiness over time is helping other people.

In other words, helping helps everybody, helper and helped alike.

How this project works is that you submit your idea for helping others to Google by October 20th. Your submission can be in written or Video Format. The ideas will be posted at Google on January 27th and the public will choose 20 semi-finalists. Then an advisory board will narrow those 20 down to Five. Google will them provide $10 million dollars to implement those 5 ideas.

Because rules can stifle creativity, there are very few rules. Google has basically set up Categories and criteria to follow and that is it.

Categories:

* Community: How can we help connect people, build communities and protect unique cultures?
* Opportunity: How can we help people better provide for themselves and their families?
* Energy: How can we help move the world toward safe, clean, inexpensive energy?
* Environment: How can we help promote a cleaner and more sustainable global ecosystem?
* Health: How can we help individuals lead longer, healthier lives?
* Education: How can we help more people get more access to better education?
* Shelter: How can we help ensure that everyone has a safe place to live?
* Everything else: Sometimes the best ideas don’t fit into any category at all.

Criteria:

* Reach: How many people would this idea affect?
* Depth: How deeply are people impacted? How urgent is the need?
* Attainability: Can this idea be implemented within a year or two?
* Efficiency: How simple and cost-effective is your idea?
* Longevity: How long will the idea’s impact last?

To learn more about the idea Click Here and to submit your idea, Click Here

Basically what you can do with RoofRay is draw your solar array on YOUR roof using Google Maps and then RoofRay determines your square footage, total potential power generation capabilities and then your payback time. It takes into account all the main variables as well, using data for your region to determine number of sunlight days, smog, etc… In my own situation I learned that I can generate more than enough power for all of my needs using the roof on my garage and my home.

This is a pretty useful tool for anyone considering whether or not solar is right for them and if you are considering the purchase of a home and want to add solar to it, you can see right away whether or not it will work. Do note, however, that there are still a lot of variables to consider that they can’t possibly consider (think neighbors trees) and that ultimately you should still have a professional evaluation done. All in all this is a pretty cool tool.

Source: Cnet Green Tech Blog

On July 16th Waste Management launched a new website www.thinkgreenfromhome.com and sent me a press kit along with a sample of their recycling kit to review.

Thinkgreenfromhome.com is a streamlined online service for the recycling of universal household waste including compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), batteries, and eventually other household electronics. Through the website they offer consumers convenient mail-in solutions to safely store and recycle heavy metal containing household devices, as well as resources to encourage household sustainability.

The core purpose of the site is the recycling of CFL bulbs and flourescent bulbs under 3ft long. To safely store and recycle used CFLs and batteries, customers can order online and receive prepaid-postage kits delivered to their door. Think Green® From Home CFL recycling kits incorporate Mercury VaporLok technology, which is designed to reduce the risk of airborne exposure and environmental contamination from lamps broken during storage and shipping. The kits are suitable for both the storage and transport of discarded bulbs or batteries and are approved for shipping by the United States Postal Service. Consumers can ship the boxes directly from their home or at any one of the over 34,000 postal offices across the country.

The bulb and battery recycling kits cost $14.95 and include postage to you and back to Waste Management. The straight tube recycling kit runs $59.95. When you mail the kit back to Waste Management you have your account set to automatically mail you a replacement box.

In looking at the sample kit they sent me I think it is a great program, but I am concerned that most will not want to pay the $14.95, even though it mainly covers the postage to and from your home. With the cost of gas where it is today I think that this program makes a bit of sense when you consider that driving to the nearest Ikea or Home Depot (if you even have one near you) will cost you a pretty penny for a round trip and cause it’s own share of harmful pollutants. The Vaporlock bag that comes with this kit is another great idea and also adds some value to this program. You no longer have to worry about the bulbs at home or at the retailers breaking and releasing their mercury into our air. You can also sign-up to receive confirmation that your bulbs have been recycled. You won’t get that from the retailers. In fact I often wonder if they just throw them away anyway.

Another exciting thing about this site are the coming options for electronics and computers along with other home recycling options. The more you can do from your home the better. It keeps cars off the road and makes breathing a little easier for everyone.

For more information or to order your kit visit www.thinkgreenfromhome.com.

When I was considering it I went to my local Green Building Store and asked about it. They too were very interested and when they called the manufacturer for a sample they were turned down. So they dared not try it or sell it. I decided then to avoid it. Now this Treehugger debate has once again piqued my interest and I may just have to try it. What do I have to loose. As one person commented, “So build a shed and test it.” i just may have to.

Besides, both Morly Safer and Bob Villa tout it on recent videos over at YouTube

Source: Treehugger

They start off answering the question on what a Geothermal Heat Pump is
and finish by giving you the resources to find more on geothermal near
you.

I personally had a neighbor install the first geothermal system I had
ever seen back in the mid 90’s.  The system was installed for a home
located on top of a limestone shelf and was a test project for this new
technology.  They were very pleased with the results and even though
the installation in the limestone was rather difficult, the system paid
for itself quickly in the harsh Northern Arizona Winters.  I have
wanted a system ever since, but have never been in the position to
install one.

Hop over to low impact living and take a look.

Also, enjoy the video below.

Over at TreeHugger they recently posted Victorian Houses Can Have A Green Makeover Too.  In this post they discussed the recent Eco Open House tours in Brighton, England.  In this tour the majority of the homes were older or very old and saw significant reductions in utility expenses through green upgrades. 

I have also made significant performance increase in my 100 year old home through very simple and mostly inexpensive upgrades, that can be seen in the video below. 

So the next time you think about moving just to be greener, know that you can do it right where you are.