Putting faces on personalities
June 18, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Communities , 13 comments
Ever wonder if Arduous is really as difficult as she says she is? For all her inspiring writing, does Greenbean really wear a cape around town?
I had an awesome brunch with these two ladies yesterday. Arduous was SO not difficult. Proof? We were at a fairly nice restaurant where the waiter handed us a full breakfast menu. When Arduous asked for French Toast, the waiter shrugged his shoulders, “Sorry, we don’t have any syrup left.” Seriously? I thought. But Arduous, she just muttered “okay” nonchalantly and pointed to another item on the menu.
She was beautiful, thoughtful, earnest and oh so young! Twenty-nine years had nothing on her.
I always pictured Greenbean as a tall blond, and of Norwegian decent. Don’t ask me why. In person, she was adorable and radiant. She possessed the most infectious smiles. The pretty blouse acquired from a local thrifty store only added to her charm. Oh yeah, she was not blond. Apparently occasionally she leaves her blond wig and super cape at home when she goes about her days.
It is a bit weird to put faces on the personalities and writing I enjoy everyday. Fortunately in real life, Arduous and Greenbean are even more awesome than I imagined.
Upon parting GreenBean handed us each a box of her yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and an envolp of borage seeds.
Thanks! My kids and I ate them up in thirty seconds. See the empty jar?
Arduous gave us each a copy of children’s book written by British authors. Apparently they were not available in the U.S.
Thanks to Arduous, I now have to endure the mock English accent my husband assumes when reading to the kids.
I must report that as always I failed to follow Miss Manner’s handbook regarding giving just the right presents. Wait, wait, actually on p1287, she says it’s okay not to bring presents if your friends are non-consumers or super heros. So there.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Low Tech Solution In a High Tech World
May 29, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 9 comments
What does Silicon Valley use when it needs to clear brush? A robotic mower or a “cutting edge” machine? How about a herd of sheep (and goats) to munch away the vegetation? According to city officials, this old fashion solution not only saves money but also reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases from using fossil fuel machinery. These natural mowers will also service other areas in San Jose. The imagery of these sheep mowers makes me giggle 
In all seriousness, it seems like a great idea. Why not take care of overgrown brush and fields (especially during fire season) the old fashioned way? I checked out Living Systems (which provided the herd service to San Jose) and it’s pretty interesting. The company provides grazing services utilizing trained herds, shepherds and herding dogs and the necessary electrified 
fence to keep the herds off the roads. Sheep and goat grazing not only eliminates weeds and excess growth but also reduces the need for mechanical tilling, pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. These trained herds can graze anywhere from fields surrounding the airport to vineyards to open land next to residential developments.
I’m not sure if this land management system is feasible on a large scale but at least it’s being tried…..
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Banking on Recycling
April 17, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 6 comments
As I was taking out my curbside recycling this week, I noticed that not all my neighbors have their recycling boxes out. That got me wondering about recycling rates and habits, so I did a quick search on this question.
I couldn’t find any definitive answer on the percentage of people who recycle as it seems to vary from state to state. However, according to the EPA, recycling rate of household trash, or municipal solid waste (MSW), has doubled since 1990, from 16% to 32%. Much of this increase is attributed to widespread curbside recycling programs and composting.
Well, the optimist in me was happy to this increased rate but the critic in me wondered why don’t more people do it? More important, how can we encourage people to recycle more?
Then I came across an article about RecycleBank, a company that gives monetary incentive to increase recycling. The idea is really quite simple. Participating household receives a (free) recycling container with an electronic tracking system. On recycling/garbage day, trucks equipped with special computers weigh the recycled materials, scans the bin tracker and electronically credits the household account with “points”. These recycle points can then be redeemed at local retail partners like CVS, Target or even Starbucks. Each household can also track the amount of recyclables they help divert from landfills. In 2004, RecycleBank launched operations in Philadelphia and noted a dramatic rise in recycle rates – from 7% to 90%! In addition to the monetary reward (averaging $8 per week per household), RecycleBank founder also believes measurable results encourage better behavior.
Since then, RecycleBank has expanded to many cities in the Northeast as well as pilot college programs. Because RecycleBank makes money by collecting a percentage of landfill fees saved by its program, it can continue to offer free bins to households and help cities achieve their waste reduction goals. Unfortunately, operations are still mostly focused on the Northeast but I hope it will soon consider expanding to the West Coast and my neighborhood.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Rooftop Solar Plant
March 31, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 3 comments
If everything goes to plan, southern California will have enough solar energy to power 162,000 homes, all generated by two square miles of solar panels installed on commercial rooftops. Southern California Edison is launching its $875 million initiative to install 250 megawatts of solar panels on warehouse rooftops leased from building owners in Riverside and San Bernardino County.
This project exceeds total solar cell production in 2006 and is the first attempt for a major utility to use “distributed energy”. Instead constructing a centralized power station to transmit energy into the grid, the project will connect the solar cells directly to the neighborhood circuits. This plan avoids the need to invest in muti-billion dollar transmission systems in remote areas but rather create the opportunity to bring power directly to areas with growing demand.
I don’t know about you but I prefer the sight of solar panels to ugly, boxy warehouse rooftops any day.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Earth Hour - March 29th
March 26, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 2 comments
On October 20, 2007, Lights Out SF supporters turned off their lights for one hour to raise awareness for conservation and climate change. Supporters handed out donated CFLs and even convinced the city to darken the bridges and TransAmerica building.
If you missed that opportunity, you will have the chance again this month to show your support for conservation. Lights Out SF is supporting Earth Hour (and World Wildlife Foundation) to turn off the lights on March 29th from 8 to 9pm.
Earth Hour started in Sydney last year and has gone global in 2008. Other large cities around the world like Chicago, DC, Toronto, Melbourne and Bangkok will also participate in the effort. So take the pledge, tell a friend and turn off your lights this Saturday night for our planet.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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PG&E’s Cow Power
March 10, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , add a comment
A few posts ago, I marveled at the idea of biogas digester for family use (in India). Last week, PG&E announced the launch of a biogas to renewable natural gas project.
Turning manure into power is not a new concept, though previous attempts were smaller in scale or home-made. However, since many states have alternative power mandates, biogas facilities are starting to pop up in states like Vermont, Washington and California. This PG&E and BioEnergy Solutions joint project will be the first that deliveries quality, renewable gas to a utility in California. Cow manure will be collected in a large, three stories tall pit and broken down by natural microbes. The released methane gas is then scrubbed of corrosive materials to meet power plant standards.
The methane captured from manure produced by 5,000 milk cows is expected to produce enough renewable gas for 50,000 PG&E customers a year. The project is also expected to reduce methane emissions (from these 5,000 cows) by 70%.
COWabunga!
(sorry, couldn’t resist)
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Plastic Bag Ban Bad for Environment?
January 31, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 4 comments
A local headline caught my eye on Wednesday.
Recycling Group: Oakland Plastic Bag Ban Hurts the Environment
Say what?
Apparently a group calling themselves The Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling is suing to overturn the Oakland’s city law that prohibits large retailers (greater than $1 million in revenues) from using nonbiodegradable plastic bags. The Coalition claims that people will confuse compostable with regular plastic bags and this confusion will cause inefficiencies in the recycling progress. The Coalition also claims that Oakland did not do comprehensive impact studies prior to law passage and that more paper bag use can be more damaging. The plastic bag ban was supposed to take effect in February but now has been delayed pending the suit’s outcome.
Let’s take a step back here. First, although the idea of recycling is a nice one, the reality is less than ONE PERCENT of plastic bags are recycled and 100 BILLION of them are thrown away each year (1). These bags are littering our streets and sitting in landfills NOT biodegrading. Second, the paper or plastic argument is a futile one as neither side will ever concede. Nothing suggests people will use more paper bags when reusable options are now more popular and available. Whole Foods actually handed out free reusable bags when it announced its voluntary plan to eliminate plastic bag use by Earth Day 2008.
Lastly, let’s ask who is behind the Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling. That would be plastic bag manufacturers and recyclers. Apparently, the Coalition filed this suit as a “preemptive strike” against other cities looking to follow San Francisco’s plastic ban. Last year, they successfully bullied city of Fairfax to make their plastic ban a voluntary one. Oakland vows to fight this suit and believes the ban is the right for any progressive city. (2)
For those Oakland readers out there, please use your canvas or reusable bags with pride and show them that this time bullies won’t win!
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Source:
(1) World Watch
(2) Complete story found at SfGate.com
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
A Year’s Worth of Trash
January 10, 2008
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 5 comments
I was watching the news the other day saw an interesting story about one man’s project to keep his trash – for one year! Ari Derfel, a 35 year old man from Berkeley, started this experiment to see how much trash one person generates in a year. With no outside storage space, the trash was kept inside his apartment, made possible by composting all food scraps and diligently washing all non-perishable packaging, paper, plastic containers. At the end of 2007, his personal trash tallied to a grand total of 96 cubic feet and filled most of his living space.
Source: Save Your Trash
Not only did this experiment generate some striking visuals, it also garnered discussions and national media attention on the issue of waste. Derfel’s story has been picked up by ABC, CNN and MSNBC, not to mention the slew of interesting questions and comments posted on his blog. Although commonly cited, 250 million tons of solid waste (annually generated by Americans) feels abstract to me. However, seeing someone’s trash laid out in a personal living space is more relatable. What I found interesting about Derfel’s project is how personalizing his trash prompted changes and learnings in his life and lives of others. By stumbling over processed food boxes every day, Derfel became more conscious of his diet. By asking stores to minimize packaging while doing his shopping, he raises the consciousness of others. Most important, taking his learnings from 2007, Derfel plans on continuing his project in 2008 with the goal of reducing his trash. Now that’s a great new year resolution.
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Billboard Power Plant
December 7, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 1 comment so far
“This isn’t a billboard. This is a power plant.” An interesting proclamation on the country’s first solar powered billboard, unveiled this week by PG&E. The billboard, located at 1000 Brannan Street in San Francisco, is powered by 20 solar panels; on a sunny day, the panels can generate 3.4 kilowatts of energy – enough to power an average household of four for a day.
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The billboard does need to tap into conventional grid for power during the night hours. However, the solar energy collected during daylight hours exceeds the total daily amount needed to power the billboard.
Although this unveiling is the first in the US, it is similar to ones already installed in Africa, where the signs actually send power back to the grid, like a power plant. Of course, this initial billboard is more symbolic than ready for practical use. However, this sign demonstrates yet another method to merge modern life with greener living.
P.S. If any Organicpicks readers out there have a personal picture of the billboard, please share with us!
CindyC at Organicpicks
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Turning Grease Into Fuel
November 28, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Communities , 2 comments
Instead of emitting diesel fumes and greenhouse gases, city buses may soon smell like the restaurant dinner you had last night. Last Tuesday, San Francisco launched SFGreasecycle, a program which picks up used cooking oil from restaurants, hotels and other commercial sites and turns it into biodiesel called B20.
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Until now, the biodiesel used in city vehicles are made from soybeans grown and shipped from the Mid-West rather than locally recycled grease.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city has been piloting SF Greasecycle since summer and now performs pickups for over 50 restaurants and 4 hotels. Participation in the program is completely free but service preference is given to businesses that currently don’t have service from any of the private recycling companies in the area. SFGreasecycle sends the recycled oil to a local biodiesel producer, Blue Sky Bio-fuels. The city is also in the process of determining feasibility of building its own biodiesel production plant.
Illegal dumping of cooking grease has long been a problem for the city. The grease congeals and form clogs in the sewer pipes, creating extra $3.5 million in maintenance costs. This program aims to eliminate this problem and satisfy San Francisco’s year end mandate of using diesel mixture that contains 20% biodiesel for the city’s fleet of 1500 diesel vehicle. With the B20 diesel mixture, city officials estimate reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 15% and soot by 20%. I don’t know about you but I prefer the smell of food over diesel fumes any day. CindyC at Organicpicks If you enjoyed this entry, please subscribe to the Organic Picks Blog Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
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