Levittown Goes Green: March 2008

Hempstead's E-Cycling Program "Computes" To A Clean & Green Levittown ... & Planet!
February 27, 2008
Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilman Gary Hudes have partnered in Levittown to continue the greening of America's largest township with some of the nation's most environmentally sound initiatives, including the successful E-Cycling Program. E-Cycling collects and re-cycles old computers and electronic equipment. "As a government and as a community we accept the responsibility of preserving a safe and healthy planet for generations to come," stated Supervisor Kate Murray.
The Town of Hempstead's first E-Cycling Program for 2008 is set for Saturday, March 15 from 8 am to 2 pm (rain or shine) in the town parking field off Division Avenue in Levittown behind the Tri-County Flea Market. The program is open to town residents only. A second E-Cycling Program is scheduled for Sunday, October 5 in Baldwin Park.
The E-Cycling Program will allow residents to dispose of unwanted computers, televisions, DVD players and VCRs in an eco-friendly fashion that prevents health-threatening toxic material, such as lead, mercury and arsenic, from entering the waste stream. In addition to the environmental positives, the town's E-Cycle Program protects the security and sensitivity of computer data by grinding all machines.
"In the six E-Cycling Programs to date, over 4,000 residents have participated and more than 291 tons of electronic equipment have been collected," added Supervisor Murray. "Town residents have clearly embraced the benefits of e-cycling and other environmental initiatives with great enthusiasm."
"E-cyling is just one avenue along the journey to environmental safety," observed Councilman Hudes. The town has become a municipal leader in the development of ecological safeguards by formulating earth friendly programs that are cost 'e'-ffective and energy 'e'-fficient."
With solar powered offices, pristine nature preserves, kayak eco tours, hybrid vehicles, progressive recycling and e-cycling efforts, and a successful S.T.O.P. program that collects dangerous household chemicals and pollutants, the town has adopted a pro-active environmental agenda.
"Preserving a safe and healthy planet for generations to come is a responsibility entrusted to each of us," commented Supervisor Murray. "Government has the unique ability to allocate resources and mobilize manpower to orchestrate environmental programs of immense value and widespread participation."
Having achieved the acclaimed status as "America's Largest Township," we are proud to add the banner as "America's Greenest Township." With resolute determination and unbridled optimism, the "greening" of our township continues with innovative programs such as e-cycling."
The town's 2008 E-Cycling Program welcomes the support of KJOY 98.3 fm, Tele Techie and Lenovo.
Welcome to the Levittown Chamber of Commerce website. Known as the birthplace of suburbia, Levittown is a large community, established in 1947 and occupying 6.9 square miles in the Township of Hempstead in Nassau County, Long Island. More than 50,000 people reside in 17,500 homes. The history of the Levittown Chamber of Commerce dates back to 1959. Currently, there are 150 members in the Chamber representing small mom and pop stores, corporations, banking institutions, real estate, retail, wholesale and service businesses, organizations, public and specialized schools, and a variety of other businesses. New members are always welcomed.
The Levittown Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce and the Levittown Community Council, Inc.
Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi kicked off plans to dub Levittown America’s first "green suburb". Mr. Suozzi has reached out to the community and schools to explain his initiative to reduce Levittown’s carbon footprint by 10% in 2008, and by even more in the future. This public-private partnership has begun with a door-to-door campaign to inform homeowners of ideas to help cut energy bills. The goal of this initiative is to retrofit Levittown’s 17,000 homes with energy-saving equipment, devices and home improvements at a reduced cost and affordable financing rates.
Mr. Suozzi would like to work closely with the schools, faculty and students to make Levittown “a model to be replicated for the rest of America”. He has spoken to the students at each of our elementary schools. He was most impressed as the students dressed in green and answered his questions regarding global warming. Mr. Suozzi gave citations to the East Broadway students who participate in the recycling club and spoke to the students encouraging them to recycle, to create projects to promote awareness of global warming, and to come up with ways to help clean up the planet.
Our elementary schools are teaching the students about the harmful effects of pollution and green house gases on our planet. East Broadway recycles paper and water bottles. The children of the recycling group wear “Go Green” aprons and hats and collect materials from the offices and classrooms.
The technology class at Jonas E. Salk Middle School recently completed an energy audit of the school building. The students collected data throughout the day relating to energy consumption. Their research also included a tour of the boiler room and learning about the new furnace that was recently installed. Their findings not only led to the students placing first in the FIRST Lego contest, but to the creation of a school-based advisory committee on energy conservation.
Both Division Avenue and MacArthur High Schools recycle cell phones and printer cartridges. In addition, both schools offer electives in Environmental Science as well an AP Environmental Science course in which students study environmental changes and impacts.
The Levittown Public Schools are already quite green. Our multi-year budget process has allowed the district to budget for and implement numerous capital improvement projects that continue to make our schools more energy efficient, saving money on energy costs, and making them more environmentally friendly. Many of our buildings have recently installed new energy efficient duel fuel heating systems, insulated roofing materials, energy efficient windows, motion sensor light switches, energy efficient light fixtures, and water saving devices. Additionally, the schools do not use pesticides and use green cleaning products.
As America’s first suburb celebrates its 60th anniversary, local, state, and national attention will once again focus on Levittown as it makes history again by becoming the first “green” suburb. For more information check the www.greenlevittown.com web site.
Few communities in America are as easily recognizable by name as Levittown, New York. In addition to its distinction as the childhood home of world famous singer/songwriter, Billy Joel, (who was actually raised in a Levitt home in nearby Hicksville) Levittown is the model on which scores of post World War II suburban communities were based - a place that started out as an experiment in low-cost, mass-produced housing and became, perhaps, the most famous suburban development in the world.
Many volumes have been written which provide comprehensive histories of Levittown, including its "pre-history" as a center of early Long Island aviation and its prominence as the host of the 1908 through 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Races. Some of these are available at our Museum Shop or at various Long Island libraries. For those of you who are interested in a basic outline, the following "mini-history" is extracted from the Levittown Historical Society's History Of Levittown, New York, by Lynne Matarrese.
In The Beginning: Island Trees
The story of Levittown begins with the story of the Hempstead Plains, sixty thousand acres of flat, treeless grasslands that was once considered the largest prairie in the eastern United States. It was here, in 1644, that a group of English colonists established Hempstead, the first permanent settlement in what later became Nassau County. Subsequently, through various grants and land deals, Hempstead was divided into territories, one of which became known as Island Trees, likely because it contained a tall group of pine trees that, from a distance, resembled an island unto itself.
The few early residents of Island Trees were mainly farmers of English descent. When the Long Island Rail Road extended its tracks from Jamaica to Hicksville in 1836, the Island Trees farmers found themselves with a new, more convenient means of transporting their goods to market - and for receiving shipments of feed and fertilizer. This made the area surrounding Hicksville highly attractive to German land developers, who soon purchased large parcels of land in the railroad's vicinity, which included Island Trees. Over the next several decades, small villages of immigrants, most from Germany, sprouted up around the area.
Island Trees' main cash crops in the late 1800s were cabbage and cucumbers, until a severe blight hit the area in 1912 and farmers shifted their attention to potato farming. Island Trees soon became the center of potato farming in Nassau County. But then, in the mid 1930s, farmers in the area suddenly began to experience serious potato crop damage brought on by a dreaded critter called the Golden Nematode. It was at the onset of this crisis that Abraham Levitt and his sons, Alfred and William, purchased an abandoned potato field in Island Trees at a "greatly reduced price."
Levitt & Sons
Abraham Levitt was a real estate lawyer by trade, but also dabbled in real estate investment, purchasing land and selling it off to developers in the late 1920s. When the onset of the 1930's Great Depression caused the developer of a Rockville Centre property to default on his payments, the senior Levitt was forced to complete the development himself to protect his investment. Having no previous experience with construction, he called on his two sons, in college at the time, for help. Together, Levitt & Sons labored to learn everything there was to know about construction techniques, and together, they completed the project.
Strathmore, as the upscale Rockville Centre development was called, was such a success that Levitt and Sons continued to purchase land and build new homes throughout the Depression. And, with each new development, their construction methods became more and more efficient. When the U.S. entered WWII in 1941, Levitt and Sons won a Navy contract to build homes for shipyard workers in Norfolk, Virginia. Here, they developed and perfected the mass production techniques they later used in the construction of Levittown, New York. It may have also been this experience that inspired William, the older of the Levitt sons, to enlist in the Navy in 1943.
Meanwhile, back home in Island Trees, the golden nematode had gained a strong foothold and was wiping out a large part of the area's potato crop, on which many local farmers depended for survival. By 1945 and the end of World War II, Island Trees farmers began looking to sell off affected land as quickly as they could.
At the same time, 16 million GI's were returning from either Europe, the Pacific, or from military bases in the United States. Many were planning to get married and raise families. But these former soldiers were running into trouble in their search to find suitable shelter for their new families. The war had created a shortage of construction materials and the housing industry had fallen off rapidly. At the end of 1945, the US was in dire need of about five million houses, as ex-GIs and their families were living with their parents or in rented attics, basements, or unheated summer bungalows. Some even lived in barns, trolley cars, and tool sheds.
During his service in Hawaii, Lieutenant William Levitt realized that the urgent need for post-war housing and the availability of cheap farmland provided a golden opportunity for his family to capitalize on their Island Trees property. He proposed to his father and brother that Levitt & Sons divide the former potato field into small lots and build simple, inexpensive mass-produced homes for veterans and their families. These returning servicemen were entitled to low-interest, insured "GI Loans," which would make the new Levitt homes easily affordable and, therefore, highly attractive.
The blueprint for the postwar American way of life was written in the culs-de-sac of new developments like Levittown, N.Y., the Long Island community that calls itself the country's first suburb. Beginning in 1947, developer Bill Levitt's armies of builders churned out house after house, transforming a bare potato field into a centrally planned town that today is home to 53,000 people. Low-cost and low-interest loans enabled the working class to flee dense cities for the new suburbs, while cheap cars and cheaper gasoline supported their long commutes to urban workplaces. Three-bedroom houses, two cars in the driveway? The suburbs were about having more, and more became the American Dream.
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But that manifestation of the American Dream came at a cost: soaring energy use, which is higher per capita in the U.S. than in almost any other country. "What is causing global warming is the lifestyle of the American middle class," says Miami-based architect Andres Duany, a longtime proponent of sustainable design.
That makes what is happening in Levittown today so important. County officials, along with environmentalists and local businesses, recently launched the Green Levittown program, which aims to persuade residents to upgrade their homes, improving energy efficiency and cutting fuel bills. Volunteers signed up to canvass Levittown's 17,000 homes starting Jan. 15. Their mission is to introduce the program and offer to schedule an energy audit (approximately $300) that can identify cost-effective renovations. Those who choose to participate--replacing an inefficient hot-water boiler, adding solar thermal power--can finance the upgrades with reduced-interest loans offered by a local credit union. "For all the attention paid to global warming in the media or internationally, this will be something to show to actual people that they can make a difference in their own lives," says county executive Tom Suozzi.
Given that many houses date back to Levittown's creation more than 60 years ago, there is great potential for efficiency improvements, and an energy overhaul may not be a tough sell in the era of triple-digit oil. Suozzi hopes the program--which runs through Earth Day, April 15--will enlist about 5,000 households and shrink Levittown's carbon footprint 20%. But the real benefit may be even greater. "There is nothing more Middle America than Levittown," says Stan Bratskeir, a public relations executive who co-organized the program with Suozzi. "If we can demonstrate this here, we can do it anywhere."
Greening house by house is already catching on--the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) extended its Leadership in Energy and Design (LEED) rating system to residences to meet the interest in more environmentally friendly homes. But the next steps will be tougher. The sprawl of the suburbs has ensured that much of the energy we consume--and carbon we emit--comes from our dependence on cars. Until we change the layout of our neighborhoods--reversing the suburban ideal of semi-isolated homes--living green won't be easy. "Having a green neighborhood and a green home are two different things," says Michelle Moore, a vice president at USGBC.
As it happens, USGBC recently launched LEED-Neighborhood Development, a new rating system that evaluates how the layout of a development has an impact on the environment. Green features on individual homes will count, but so will designing a neighborhood dense enough to make walking to the office or store a simple task, not an epic journey. "The building is a piece," says Douglas Farr, a Chicago-based architect who helped design the rating system. But "it's part of a bigger system." Making the suburbs truly green will take a construction revolution every bit as sweeping as the one that created Levittown out of thin air six decades ago.
Widely regarded as the first mass-produced suburb and the archetype for postwar neighborhoods, Long Island's Levittown is again on the cutting edge of design and modern living. This week Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi jump-started the much-anticipated effort to remake the community as a pioneering Green Suburb, as Newsday reports.
Suozzi began the process of canvassing Levittown's 17,000 homes with the goal of getting residents to sign on to public/private partnerships based on saving energy and money. The heart of the program is that homeowners can receive special discounts on energy efficient items, such as $500 off and 10 free trees when purchasing a soy-based bioheat furnace from Tragar Oil. Residents get 20% of all Satco CFLs and gift cards back upon purchase of Energy Star appliances from P.C. Richard & Son.
Other program partners include the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Alure Home Improvements and Bethpage Federal Credit Union.
Historic Levittown, which was built between 1947 and 1951 by the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc., hopes this program will catch on nationwide. The initiative's website is Green Levittown.
Long Island's Alure Home Improvements is Going Green, and Holding Design &
Planning Show to Kick Off the Program
EAST MEADOW, N.Y., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 14th, Nassau County
Executive Tom Suozzi announced plans to dub Levittown, America's first suburb,
the first "green" suburb and he announced a public-private partnership that
will take measures to reduce Levittown's carbon footprint by a fifth. From the
statement: The program aims to reduce Levittown's carbon footprint by 20%
next year by retrofitting Levittown's 17,000 homes with energy-saving
equipment, devices and home improvements at reduced cost an affordable
financing rates. Partners in the program include Alure Home Improvements,
Tragar Oil, LIPA, Keyspan, Bethpage Federal Credit Union, Satco products,
Intellidyne, Earthkind Energy, and Citizen's Campaign for the Environment.
Alure will be holding their own Design & Planning Show this weekend to
help educate the community on the Green Levittown program, as well as their
partnership with LIPA as a Home Performance Energy Contractor and will show
off their environmentally green kitchen display, one of many new displays in
their fully remodeled three-floor showroom.
The event is Saturday, January 19th thru Monday, January 21st, from 10am -
6pm each day. The show is open to the public and will include free educational
seminars, free food, raffles and prizes and special promotions for those
attending.
Alure continues to set the bar for remodeling companies with their
dedication to customer service and commitment to the community. In March of
2007, Alure President & CEO Sal Ferro led Alure through their sixth renovation
for ABC's Emmy winning show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, building a
recreation center at Clearpool Education Center in Kent, NY, a 100-year-old
non-profit camp that caters to underprivileged children in the tri-state area.
Alure is the area's premier home remodeler, specializing in kitchens,
baths, finished basements, siding, windows, roofing, sunrooms, dormers and
extensions and is an authorized installer for the Owens Corning Basement
Finishing and SunSuite Sunroom Systems. In business since 1946, Alure prides
itself on friendly and knowledgeable salespeople, creative designers,
meticulous installers, and superior lifetime customer service. Alure was
recently recognized by Forbes Magazine and awarded a Forbes Business
Enterprise Award for exceptional customer service and commitment to community.
Alure's Long Island showroom is located at 1999 Hempstead Turnpike in East
Meadow, NY. For more information about Alure, call 877-44-ALURE or visit
www.alure.com
The blueprint for the postwar American way of life was written in the culs-de-sac of new developments like Levittown, N.Y., the Long Island community that calls itself the country's first suburb. Beginning in 1947, developer Bill Levitt's armies of builders churned out house after house, transforming a bare potato field into a centrally planned town that today is home to 53,000 people. Low-cost and low-interest loans enabled the working class to flee dense cities for the new suburbs, while cheap cars and cheaper gasoline supported their long commutes to urban workplaces. Three-bedroom houses, two cars in the driveway? The suburbs were about having more, and more became the American Dream.
But that manifestation of the American Dream came at a cost: soaring energy use, which is higher per capita in the U.S. than in almost any other country. "What is causing global warming is the lifestyle of the American middle class," says Miami-based architect Andres Duany, a
longtime proponent of sustainable design.
Use cast iron pans instead of nonstick. Read about Teflon health concerns.
2
To avoid chemicals leaching into food, go easy on processed, canned or fast foods and never microwave plastic. Read about Bisphenol A, a toxic food-can lining ingredient associated with birth defects.
3
Buy organic, or eat vegetables and fruit from the "Cleanest 12" list. Find out more about the "Dirty Dozen."
4
Use iodized salt to combat chemical interference from the thyroid. Read about rocket fuel's effect on the thyroid.
5
Seal outdoor wooden structures. Order a test kit to find out if your wooden deck, picnic table, or playset is leaching arsenic.
6
Leave your shoes at the door. This cuts down on dust-bound pollutants in the home.
7
Avoid perfume, cologne and products with added fragrance. Search for personal care products that are fragrance-free, or check the products you're already using.
8
Buy products with natural fibers, like cotton and wool, that are naturally fire resistant. Use our list of products and manufacturers to avoid the chemical flame retardant PBDE.
9
Eat low-mercury fish like tilapia & pollock, rather than high-mercury choices like tuna & swordfish. Check our Safe Fish List to see which fish to avoid and what's safe to eat.
10
Filter your water for drinking and cooking. How does your tap water stack up? Search our tap water database to see what you're drinking.
Half the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions needed to make the world safe can be achieved at a net profit to the global economy, a study has found. Investing about $170 billion a year worldwide into energy efficiency would yield a profit of about 17 percent, or $29 billion. The energy savings would be equivalent to 64 million barrels of oil a day, while the cost would amount to about 0.4 per cent of GDP. The study also found that the most inefficient sector in the world is heavy industry in China, with the second being residential housing in the US, where homes are large, poorly insulated and equipped with a range of appliances that are often themselves inefficient or poorly used, such as air-conditioning systems left on unnecessarily. Full Article
By Fiona Harvey © 2008 The Financial Times Ltd
US Energy Dept Sets New Power Transformer Efficiency Rules
October 12, 2007 - SmartMoney
New York -- Under a new rule, new electricity transformers will need to be 38% more efficient than current models. However, this measure still falls short of the standards requested by both utilities and environmentalists. Transformers only lose about 1%-2% of electricity through heat, but because there are millions of them in the United States tremendous amounts of energy could be saved through improved efficiency. The implementation of this requirement is expected to save 320 billion kilowatt hours of electricity over the next 29 years, according to the DOE. Full Article
By Matthew Dalton © 1995 - 2007 SmartMoney © 2007 Dow Jones Newswires
After Oil and Gas, Sahara Sunshine?
August 11, 2007 - The Boston Globe
Algiers, Algeria -- Work has begun on a 150 megawatt hybrid power plant that will use a combination of solar energy and natural gas. This is part of a larger plan to tap the vast amount of land in North Africa and the high amount of solar radiation that hits the area everyday. The potential for energy production is huge since the country receives enough sunshine to meet Western Europe's needs 60 times over. Full Article
By Aidan Lewis © 2007 The Associated Press © 2007 The New York Times Company
House Shifts $16 Billion Toward Renewable Energy
August 5, 2007 - Planet Ark
Washington -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Democratic rewrite of U.S. energy policy that strips $16 billion in tax incentives away from Big Oil and puts it toward renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Included in the bill is an amendment that would require U.S. utilities to generate 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020. Republicans criticize the lack of drilling incentives and “green pork.” The White House threatened to veto the bill on concerns that it could boost energy prices. Full Article
By Chris Baltimore © 2007 Reuters © 2007 Planet Ark
U of D Researcher Says Seeds from Salt-Tolerant Plant a Promising Source of Biodiesel
July 10, 2007 - ENN
Lewes, Del. -- The seashore mallow could be a source of biodiesel in the future. The oil composition is similar to that of soybeans and cottonseed, however annual plantings are not required and because the plant is salt-tolerant it can grow in areas where other crops cannot, so additional land does not need to be diverted away from other crops. The stems of the plant can be used for cellulosic ethanol, the roots can be used to make industrial gum, and the meal left over can be used for animal feed. Full Article
By Randall Chase © 2007 The Associated Press © 2007 ENN
Nearly Half of Electricity From Renewable Resources By 2030: Berlin
July 5, 2007 - Yahoo! News
Berlin -- Germany plans to generate 45 percent of it's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The country has already surpassed it's previous goal of 12.5 percent by 2010. Full Article
New York Cares wants you -- on Saturday, April 12! That’s when we are mobilizing 5,500 volunteers to help give our city’s public spaces their annual spring-cleaning. Please join us for a day of good green fun as we revitalize local parks, gardens, playgrounds, community centers, homeless shelters, and schools. Here’s how you can help:
• Start a team and recruit a team of volunteers to join you. Online Team Registration for Hands On New York Day has now closed. To start a team, please call 212-228-5000.
Putting REAL Creamer in My Coffee
Remember last month when I was all jazzed up about trying to cut some High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) out of my diet? If you don't remember, don't feel too bad, I forgot too. That's me in a nutshell. All pissed off about something one day, distracted by a shiny object the next. You really have no idea how amazed I am that I still even write in this blog!
Seriously.
Well, I've got HFCS change #2 for you today. It is to replace my usual CoffeeMate Hazelnut Yum-O-Riffic Chemical Concoction with good, old fashioned cream and sugar. Not only does this entirely nix any morning HFCS, but it also means one less #2 plastic bottle per week. Instead I will be using cream purchased in a returnable glass bottle (same dairy that produces our regular milk). And the sugar? Comes in a big ol' paper sack.
I made the switch over two weeks ago and I must say, I don't miss the flavors. much. I thought that the calories in the cream would be a tad high, but because it is so.... well, "creamy", I find that I use much less of it than I thought I would.
Savings:
HFCS plus one plastic bottle each week. Two birds with one stone. Good stuff.
Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5
As long as the COFFEE part is still there, everything will be ok. Mess with the java though? Now that would be a recipe for disaster!
0 comments
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
#190 - IT BURNS! IT BURNS!
Using Hot Pasta Water to Kill Weeds
Imagine, if you will, a quiet suburban street. An eco-dork housewife is busily preparing a homecooked meal of spaghetti with red sauce. As she drains the pasta, she laments the fact that she is pouring perfectly good hot water down the sink.
In another dimension, in a house just like the first, another 'green' woman is wondering what sort of eco-friendly solution she could find that would eliminate those pesky driveway weeds that keep popping up between the cracks.
Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps there's more to this story.
Perhaps both these ladies have access to a fifth dimension called - the interwebbies. Where they both discover that...
BOILING WATER KILLS WEEDS!
So when you see me out in my driveway pouring my dinner on dandelions, you'll know what I'm doing. Now if you wouldn't mind explaining it to the neighbors so they don't think they're in a bad episode of the Twilight Zone, I'd appreciate it.
Savings:
Give or take 1 gallon of hot water per week.
Difficulty Level: 3 out of 5
Most of my changes can't really be seen by others, so this does take me a little out of my comfort zone. But since they're going to be seeing me growing a veggie garden in the flower beds and herbs in the window boxes this summer, they might as well start getting used to my Serling-esque ways.
12 comments
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
#189 - Be A Trendsetter
Shut Off the Lights in Public Bathrooms
Picture this: You're at Starbucks. You've just purchased a non-fat, no whip Mocha Latte and a couple of, what appear to be, two week-old chocolate glazed donuts for the kiddos when the little one turns to you and says "I go boopey."
Great. Hands full of coffee and "fresh" food, protected only by a thin paper bag, you head for the germtopia that is the public bathroom. You open the door to the single-serve potty room and find the lights and fan have been left on, just waiting for the next person to "boopey". You do your thing, wash up and head back out.
But what happens when you open that door and the lights are off? Sure, you flick 'em on, but then you shut them back off when you leave, right? I know I do. It's the old "Leave it as you found it" mentality. Why does this happen? How the hell should I know? I'm not a psychiatrist. I just know it's true. We tend to do whatever the last guy did because, hey, he's done it so it must be right. Let's face it, we are a species of followers.
So from now on, I'm going to be the trendsetter who shuts the lights off. Hopefully, the next person after me will do the same and the lights will be left off in that bathroom for a least a couple more boopeys. Who knows.
I wouldn't recommend this in those multi-stall bathrooms though. That might piss someone off. Or result in someone being pissed on. Either way, it wouldn't be good.
Savings:
Incalculable. Unless I want to hang out in Starbucks all day watching people go in and out of the crapper. If I had more free time, maybe I would. They've got wi-fi you know.
Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5
So many of the changes I make are just about being more aware. More conscious of your actions. Living in 'The Now'. All that zen stuff. This is one of those changes.
8 comments
Monday, March 10, 2008
#188 - Dropping A Brick In The Toilet
Sounds Like A Euphemism For Taking A Crap
But it's not. It's actually a way of further reducing the amount of water you use every time you flush the toilet. Only, in my case, I didn't use a brick. I used three empty glass honey jars I had sitting around - one for each toilet tank in the house. I filled each one with two cups of water and placed it in the tank, away from all the moving flushy-type stuff.
Tada! Instant water savings every time I flush! Which is much less often than it used to be (yeah, have I mentioned that this is a slippery slope change? Once you get used to seeing pee in the toilets, you tend to stop flushing unless the toilet paper is actually coming up over the rim ;-).
Also, have I mentioned how much I am LOVING Technology-Free Day? The only downside is it doesn't leave me much time to work on my Monday post, so they end up being kind of short. Like this one.
Savings:
Two cups of water per flush and I'd say we're now averaging eight flushes per day. So 8 x 2 = 16 cups per day, or one gallon. In one week, that's seven gallons of water. In a year, 365 gallons saved! That shaves another percentage point off my riot numbers! Woo Hoo!
Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5
This literally could not be easier. Fill jars with water. Set jar in tank. Forget about it forever. The only caveat I'd give is to make sure the labels are off the jars. You don't want them to come off and float around in the tank -- they might interfere with the flushing mechanism.
12 comments
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Are You Sick Of Planned Obsolescence in Your Electronics?
Even more disgusted with the fact that you can't repair these crappy products, that you have to dispose of them and buy new? Well, you're not alone. Not by a long shot! And thanks to the efforts of the Electronics Takeback Coalition, you've got a chance to let your complaints be heard.
The Electronics TakeBack Coalition is a national coalition of non-profit organizations promoting responsible recycling and green design in the electronics industry. Beth Terry, the infamous Fake Plastic Fish blogger, contacted ETBC last week about issues she was having with her piece of crap HP Monitor that can't be repaired. Turns out, ETBC loved to hear her story and wants to hear from any of you who have similar Dead Gadget stories. Here's the email she received from Barbara Kyle of ETBC:
We have focused on the recycling end of the e-waste problem. But we want to do more on promoting reuse, and green design concepts that allow us to hang on to our electronic products longer, and to upgrade them to keep up with advances in technology. So far, the industry has focused on energy as the primary criteria for “green design.” While we don’t disagree that energy use by the product is important, the energy used to create new products is even more significant, and could be reduced if our products simply lasted longer.
We want dead gadget stories!
We would love to receive stories just like the one you documented on your blog, showing clearly how products simply can’t be fixed or upgraded, because of clear choices made by the product designers. Please send your stories to Stories@deadgadgets.com and include the following information:
• Make and model
• Year they bought it. Is it under warranty?
• Why it’s dead. (Doesn’t turn on, won’t reboot, can’t upgrade it to run certain software, etc)
• Steps taken to try to fix it, or cost to fix it. (Here’s where your story was incredibly compelling. You didn’t just say your monitor died – you found someone who tried to fix it, identified the part needed, made the call, and then was rebuffed. So asking your readers to fill in this part would be great. Making the call to get an estimate on what it would cost to fix it (vs replace it) is good. But actually getting the company to say they WON'T sell you a replacement part gets to the heart of the issue. So that’s an extra step, but if you could ask them to document this, it will help us tell this story. Feel free to include whom they spoke with at the companies, so there can be no question of misunderstanding.)
• Picture of the dead gadget. (Be sure we can see the manufacturer name or logo!) For our dead gadget gallery (soon to come). This request includes broken TELEVISIONS, not just computer-type devices.
According to Beth, Barbara also added that if there are any serious reuse and upgrade geeks out here, she'd love to talk to them in more detail about how they could do a more thorough “study” of this issue, trends they see with different companies, etc.
So if you've suffered similar frustrations, please take a minute to send your story to Stories@deadgadgets.com and help persuade companies to take responsibility for the products they release into the world.
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Saturday, March 8, 2008
Story Hour XVI
Story Hour is a collection of short, autobiographical stories written by my father about growing up on a farm in rural Upstate New York.
The School
SAGE DISTRICT NO. 6. The neat, white, one room school sat on the crest of the hill between Sawmill Road and Upton Road. In addition to the classroom there was a boy’s cloak room with a toilet and a girl’s cloak room and toilet.
There was no running water, but a washstand with a basin and a pail of water provided the means to wash your hands. The toilets were the conventional farm type except they had a cement pit for cleaning out the waste material instead of moving the building. The clean out job was hired out to a local farmer or student willing to earn a dollar or two.
Strategically located was a wood burning heater. If the teacher was female, arrangements were made during cold weather to have one of the older boys come to school a little early to start the fire and get the school warmed up. Some years we had a man for a teacher and he would perform this task. The well and pump were located by the front steps on a concrete pad. I had a rather traumatic experience with that concrete pad at a later date.
Off to one side of the yard was the recess area consisting of a swing set with four swings and a trapeze bar. The yard was large and maintained for the usual games of tag, foot races and other physical activities.
Multiple windows provided adequate light as there was no electricity and I don’t recall seeing any lamps there during the seven years I attended the school. I do not remember there ever being an evening social event.
The desks were neatly arranged in rows, with the black cast iron frames and seats secured to the floor with screws. The tops of the desks did not lift up but had a shelf beneath for storage of books and papers. The top surfaces were invariably ink-stained and marked up with more than a few initials carved into the wood.
The teacher’s desk was of modest size and was, of course the focus of all attention. There was also a work table for projects and a world globe on an iron stand for geography lessons. A rack of pull-down maps gave an enlarged view of various countries and continents.
The library consisted of a few well-worn primers, some classic chapter books, a large dictionary and various arithmetic books. Other books that were needed could be obtained from Sandy Creek central school by the teacher. Ball point pens did not exist so each desk was furnished with an ink well. We were considered modern so we didn’t use turkey quills, but steel nibs on the scratchy pens. Penmanship was very important and many hours were spent doing the “Palmer Method” practice. Somehow I fell through the cracks on that deal.
The official school day started with a “Good morning students,” from the teacher. The reply was a resounding,”Good morning Mr. or Mrs. Blank,” in unison.
“We will start as usual with the younger classes and their reading lessons.”
Each student would stand and read from the assigned pages or report on an event. Sometimes the teacher would ask for a definition of a word or a personal reaction to a bit of dialogue. The rest of the pupils were expected to behave in a much disciplined manner and concentrate on their own lessons.
Of course there were whispers and giggles as the enthusiasms of young people exceeded the rules. A sharp rap on the desk with a long wooden pointer and a stern look at the offender usually restored order allowing the classes to continue.
As the school day progressed, the teacher would, after the allocated time with an age group or class, move on up to the next higher grade. The lessons got a little more involved; arithmetic reared its ugly head and demanded recitation of multiplication tables.
Quite a bit of the learning process at that time was having a good memory. Practice and recitation was the best route to good grades. Having been exposed to the one room system and then going to a centralized system where you stayed with your own class and changed classrooms several times a day. I have ambivalent feelings as which system is best.
I have to confess I do not recall if we carried our lunch or went home to lunch. I suspect that when there was good sledding we went home and made sure not to overshoot the driveway or we would be late getting back. If we carried our lunch it would have been bread and jam.
At one time the U.S. Department of Agriculture instituted a “Hot Lunch Program.” Mr. Butterworth brought in a couple of sauce pans from his kitchen and us kids each brought in a spoon and a cup or mug. At lunch time the can opener was put into operation and three cans of red kidney beans (surplus foods) and a can of evaporated milk (also surplus) with an additional can of water were mixed together and heated on the stove. This then, was the government’s idea of what a hot lunch should consist of. Mom generously contributed a loaf of bread occasionally. For some reason the delivery of the food was rather sporadic for a while, then stopped completely.
By late afternoon the teaching day reached its pinnacle - seventh and eighth grade. That was as high as one could go. From this point on it was up and out to high school. Something mysterious called “Algebra” and another creature called “Geometry” entered the vocabulary.
My own children have seen many changes in teaching methods with the “New Math”, Number lines and a general deterioration of standards. Unfortunately, many of our students are emerging from school as functional illiterates. Many cannot figure out what their pay checks should be. Simple basic arithmetic is beyond their comprehension.
As I told all of my kids, "The most important thing you can learn is to read and understand what you are reading. If you can do this then you can LEARN ANYTHING.”
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Friday, March 7, 2008
#187 - Oh Say Can You See...
By The Dawnzerlee© Light?
Ok, there are several ways you can change your indoor lighting habits in order to save energy. The two you hear about most often are the suggestions to switch to CFLs or remember to turn out the lights when you leave the room. What very few folks talk about is not bothering to turn them on in the first place.
Spring is in the air here in America and the days are getting longer. So I'm trying to be more conscious about flickin' the lights on during the day. Do I need all three lights on in the living room? I mean, I'm only hanging laundry, how bright does it need to be? Do I need any lights on at all?
Generally speaking, when I walk into a room I turn on the lights without even thinking. It could be as bright as Doogie Howser and I still flip the switch. My personal favorite is when I catch myself turning on the lights in the kids' bath during the day. I certainly don't need that light on, since there is a huge skylight in there that floods the room with tons natural sunlight every day from 8 am - 5 pm.
So instead of automatically reaching for the "on" switch every time I enter a room, I'm going to first assess whether or not I actually need the lights on. Because sometimes, being really bright is really quite dim.
Savings:
Assuming each light I flick on is a CFL that runs at 18 watts, and assuming I'm avoiding a measly 5 hours of lighting per day, that equates to 2.8 kWh per month or 33.6 kWh per year. Not a ton, but if I convince just 10 of you to make this change and those ten each convince ten friends to do it and then those folks convince another ten, together we will save over 33,000 kWh each year and have the base for a very lucrative ponzi scheme.
Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5
This is yet another one of those wasteful habits that is so ingrained in our daily lives that it takes a bit of focus to change it. But, after concentrating on it for a couple of weeks, it will become second-nature and I will win the title of the "Dimmest Bright Idea".
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Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi (D) has a challenge for Levittown, America's first suburb - go green.
"We want to make this the best example of a green suburb anywhere in the United States of America," he says.
Suozzi jump-started GreenLevittown this week, an initiative that plans to reduce the town's carbon footprint - or the amount of carbon dioxide produced - by 10 percent during 2008 through various energy-saving means. Representatives for the campaign will be going door-to-door to all 17,000+ homes in Levittown to urge citizens to lead a green lifestyle.
"Our job is to engage and energize the members of the public to participate in this meaningful program," says Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "We are going to go these homes with a simple message: going green in your home will save you green in your wallet."
GreenLevittown has partners across LI offering deals. Residents will receive discounts on things like fluorescent light bulbs from Satco and Energy Star appliances from P.C. Richard & Son. There are also low-interest loans specifically for energy-saving appliances from Bethpage Federal Credit Union and Intellidyne, as well as state and federal tax incentives.
Ultimately, Suozzi said, he wants to get everyone in Levittown involved, and it won't take much to do that.
"Our goal is to have 100 percent participation in Levittown," he says. "Not everybody is going to put in a solar panel in, or change their boiler or change their windows, because those are big projects. But we want everybody to at least change a light bulb in their household."
Install dimmer switches where dimmed lighting makes sense, like the dining room and hallways. Any light bulb dimmed by 25 percent (including incandescents) will use roughly 20 percent less energy. Dimming one 75 watt incandescent by 25 percent for only 4 hours a day will save you 30 pounds of carbon over the course of the year. Start dimming around the house and watch the savings add up!
Save even more money with a dimmable CFLs, which last up to 10 times longer and use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs. For a list of brands and where to buy them, read Fresh Finds.
© The Green Guide, 2008
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Convert to Green Power
Filed under: Energy, renewable energy, Wind energy, Green Power
11:05 am - February 4, 2008
The next step I am going to take to reduce my CO2 footprint is to switch to green power. I live in New York City, and my utility is Con Edison. They have a program called Green Power for residents and business customers. By selecting Green Power, I can buy electricity generated from regional wind and low-impact hydropower sources.
Con Edison makes it incredibly easy for its customers to sign up online simply by entering one's service information. And although it costs a bit more, ConEd's Green Power costs only an additional one cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh) more than the utility's standard offer and Wind Power just 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) more, making it a very affordable way to make a difference. By switching to Green Power for the energy needs of my 2-bedroom apartment (which averages out to be about 925kWh/month) I'm reducing my CO2 emissions by about 795 pounds per month.
More than 50 percent of retail customers in the United States now have an option of purchasing a green power product directly from their electricity supplier. By doing so, you can support increased development of renewable energy sources, which can reduce the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. Greater reliance on renewable sources also provides economic benefits and can improve our national energy security.
Even if your state is not implementing electricity market competition, you may still be able to purchase green power through your regulated utility. More than 600 regulated utilities spanning more than 30 states offer "green pricing" programs (see our map of green pricing programs). The term green pricing refers to an optional utility service that allows customers to support a greater level of utility investment in renewable energy by paying a premium on their electric bill to cover any above-market costs of acquiring renewable energy resources.
Finally, whether or not you have access to green power through your utility or a competitive electricity marketer, you can purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs). RECs (also known as green tags, green energy certificates, or tradable renewable certificates) represent the environmental attributes of power generated from renewable electric plants. A variety of organizations offer RECs separate from electricity service, that is, you need not switch from your current electricity supplier in order to purchase these certificates.
To find out what green power options are available in your state, visit the "Can I Buy Green Power in My State?" web page maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Department of Energy, where you can click on your state to view available green power products.
I was also curious to know whether the Green Power offered by Con Edison was certified. Indeed, it is, by a well-respected organization called Green-e, a voluntary certification and verification program for wholesale, retail, and commercial electricity products, tradable renewable certificates (TRCs) and utility green pricing programs in the U.S. Green-e certifies about 100 retail and wholesale green power marketers across the country. To be sure that your green power purchase will benefit the environment, check out Green Power Consumer Protection.
© The Green Guide, 2008
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Turn Down Your Thermostat
Filed under: Energy saving measures, Carbon reduction
4:55 pm - January 29, 2008
Before you leave for work these wintry mornings, make the thermostat your final stop. During cold months, lowering the thermostat 10 degrees when no one is home can save 326 pounds of CO2 over the course of the year, and can reduce heating costs by ten percent. Plus, you'll avoid the sensation of walking straight in from the cold to the sauna. Instead, your home will warm up gradually as you do.
If you have an afternoon free, go on a hunt for heat leaks around the home. Hold a lit beeswax candle next to windows, doors, ceiling fixtures and any other seams in your walls. If the flame flickers to the side or (worse yet) is blown out, you've got a leak. Caulking, sealing or weather-stripping gaps will boost your heat savings and will allow you to turn down the thermostat even more. Try Geocel's VOC-free Quick Shield sealant (www.geocelusa.com) or other low-VOC varieties.
Lastly, never turn the heat off completely (or below 55 degrees during freezing weather), or you'll likely come home to frozen pipes!

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