Rotating House

http://www.everinghamrotatinghouse.com.au/

What a creative way to save money on heating bills while getting a good view of the sunset! I thought this was pretty interesting and wanted to save this to my blog!  Also, to rotate the house it costs as little at twelve cents a day!

Tacoma Accepting Food Scraps as Compost

Yard Waste Bin To Allow Food Scraps in Tacoma, WA

 It is always shocking to me when I return myhome in Fife, WA (near Tacoma) and see that my parents do not compost any of their food waste. They are also unaware of the food items that are compostable! In Bellingham, composting is basically a way of life and something you get accustomed to by living here. It would be weird not to compost here it seems like. I am lucky enough to live in a house in Bellingham that has a yard waste container that also accepts food waste.

It will be nice once I visit home to finally have the same options. The only downside to these bins is the smell and flys that it attracts (I remember this being a problem last summer when temperatures rose).

Some items you can put in the yard waste bin:

• Bread
• Meat
• Bones
• Eggs
• Pizza
• Kitchen Scraps

 This will also be good for my parents to put these food scraps into the bin because our dog sometimes gets into the garbage, pulls it out from underneath the sink and drags it into the dining room which can create quite the mess. Without any food in the garbage really, there will be a smaller mess for her to make when we're not home.

At the beginning of next year Tacoma will launch a public awareness campaign explaining the do's and don't of the program.They will also distribute gallon-sized pails to customers to put their kitchen scraps in.

Since Fife, WA is technically a smaller town located in Tacoma, WA I am eager to see if my parents will actually use this compost program. Although they recycle the things they know they can (soda cans, plastic bottles) they are completely unaware of composting food scraps and I hope this program helps them become more aware so I don't have to get on their case any more when I visit!

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/20/1953064/in-tacoma-food-scraps-soon-will.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/20/1953064/in-tacoma-food-scraps-soon-will.html

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/13/1943167/6-blue-whales-spotted-off-washington.html#storylink=cpy

Ecological Footprint (FINAL)

Final Ecological Footprint Quiz

Well I was still a little disappointed by these results but I think I'm being overly hard on myself. Decreasing from 4.3 to 3.6 to a final 3.2 shows that I am improving my way of life but there are still things I can do to decrease this number even more.

I think what made the biggest difference is the fact that I am eating much less meat and dairy. I've gone out of my way to also not purchase packaged products and spend more money on fruits and vegetables.

Unfortunately there were things I noticed while taking the quiz that I cannot change. I live in a house of nine people (including myself) which are rented out like apartments. My rent includes utilities so I was never able to get ahold of the electricity bill so in the quiz I assumed it went down. I was much more consciuos of turning lights off and unplugging cords and turning off power strips so I'm sure it made a difference. Our landlord is in control of how much green power we have and I honestly could not get ahold of her to find out this information. If it was up to me, I would make an effort to get more greenpower.

I noticed a few changes with people in my house though. Instead of fans, people were opening windows and have been turning lights off more frequently. My house is pretty environmentally conscious which is nice to be around.


There are still things I can improve on. Although I cut down my consumption a LOT (My recycling bin hasn't been full for nearly a month now and I've had to take out the garbage once for three weeks, a HUGE improvement) I still could drive less. I got a job recently and haven't had a chance to go home so I guess that has been good for decreasing the amount of miles I drive, but I'm still pretty bad about taking the bus to the grocery store. I have made up for that with other steps such as cutting down my consumption, not traveling home, and bringing my water bottle to class instead of buying a disposable one.

I'm pleased with the changes I have made but I would like to see my number of planets continue to decrease. Especially when the weather is nice I need to put on my tennishoes and walk everywhere!

I'm glad to have taken this class because it is keeping me aware of the things I need to improve.

Garbage Island

Out of Sight Out of Mind?

Inside the Maldives' Trash-Only Island 

 A worker sifting through burning garbage for valuable metals on the island of Thilafushi, the garbage-only island in the Maldives

I was horrified when I stumbled across the information on the garbage-only island called Thilafushi located in the Maldives. Out of the 100 gorgeous islands that accommodate tourists, they are turning some of the islands into dumps which takes away from the beauty of the surrounding islands.  

Usually landfills are covered and hidden from view, but this island is out in the open and can be seen by its thick black smoke that rises from it all day long. The island is only a mere four miles off of the main island Male.

The garbage is transported by boat to this island. It is a faux island that was created 1992 with the specific purpose of holding the country's garbage.

Some facts:

• It receives 300-400 tons of trash each day
• Locals + 850,000 tourists (visited last year) each producing more than seven pounds of trash a day 
• Only a few of the islands have set up recycling programs 

Workers throwing garbage into the water 

So what effect does this garbage being dumped and burned have on the way of life of the people living on Male?

Concerns:

• Toxic products (mercury, lead, asbestos) leaking into the sea-damage to undersea environment 
• Pollution, long-term effects on health from the smog

According to the article, locals used to toss garbage into the sea. On every island the other visited in Maldives, there were heaps of trash lining the shorelines. This was especially noticeable after the tsunami of 2004 because the wages carried trash everywhere.

Final thoughts:

Everyone is guilty of throwing some trash away, it's hard for it to be completely unavoidable, but if the islands in the Maldives don't start reducing their consumption and disposal then all of the islands will eventually turn into trash islands. Apparently the Maldivian authorities say they proposed a law that would limit the types of garbage that are allowed to be burned to only materials, but will this actually happen? Is this even feasible? The damage already done cannot be reversed. How did they not think about this before? Another solution they thought of was to export the recyclable waste to China Malaysia and neighboring India but this also uses a lot of energy. At least it would reduce the amount of waste on the islands though.

"Soon the Maldives' two biggest exports will be fish...and garbage"

It is incredibly sad that places around the world act so carelessly and don't think about the future consequences. I hope they find a solution to this problem soon...before it's too late.

BBC video on the "Trash Island"

I'm glad that by filming the island that they are creating awareness, but there can definitely be more..especially since it has been in existence since 1992 and this is the first that I've heard of it.

For more information check out these sites:
http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/05/21/toxic-garbage-dumps-ruin-island-nations?cmpid=tp-ptnr-hufpo
http://wwwnews.live.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18073917

Recycling toilets

Bellingham Recycling Toilets in Sidewalk

Did you know that some of the sidewalks in Bellingham, WA are made from recycled toilets? Because I sure didn't! I was looking for "green articles" on the Huffington Post and stumbled across this one. The article stresses that it is a creative way to recycle toilets and that is definitely an understatment.

They call these tiles "poticrete" which contains crushed porcelain instead of gravel.  The old toilet pieces replace about one dump-truck load of gravel which saves a lot of energy!
 It also saves about 5 tons of materials from the landfill by crushing it up and reusing it instead. It is also the first roadway construction project that earned a Greenroads certification.

Greenroads certification Bellingham:

• First energy-saving LED street lights
• City's first porous-paver pocket parking (porous pavement filters pollutants out of stormwater runoff and moderates water flow)
• Rain gardents (help filter and moderate the flow of stromwater)
• New and improved facilities for walking and bike riding

The Greenroads Rating System began as a research project at the University of Washington in 2007
The Greenroads must meet 11 requirements and be awarded one of four levels

• Certified
• Silver
• Gold
• Evergreen

Where are these toilet sidewalks?

The poticrete went on Ellis Street as part of the six-block in the Whatcom Creek Trail

Where did these toilets come from?

Bellingham Authority, which had received a federal grant to replace its old toilets with more water-efficient, low-flow toilets. The local nonprofit company, Sustainable Connections called Anthony ( project engineer) with the suggestion for Bellingham to make use of the porcelain.

Final Thoughts:

Although this is kind of an...odd way to recycle toilets, it is incredibly creative and honestly needs to be done. Toilets are a pretty solid thing to have in landfills and by grating them up and reusing them we are reducing waste in an easy way.

Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/13/bellingham-washington-sidewalks-recycled-toilets_n_1342322.html?ref=green-technology

A Liter of Light

Plastic Bottles = Light?

I saw this video a year or so ago and was amazed by the genius of this idea. Who knew that a plastic bottle could produce so much light! How does this work you ask?

1. Get a plastic bottle
2. Fill it with mineral water and a few drops of bleach
3. Cement the bottle halfway through a small metal roof sheet
4. Cut out a small piece of the actual roof, place the sheet with the bottle on top of the hole
5. Cement any remaining cracks

Here's the advertisement that was created for these products and the Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) project

These bottles are just another example of that if we are going to generate waste by consuming wasteful products, we need to reuse them somehow. In this case, these plastic bottles were reused and changed the homes of many occupants in the poorer part of the Phillipines (Sitio Maligaya). These "lights" provide as much light as a 55Watt bulb. 

Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) Project

The initiative is a project that was designed and developed by students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and implemented by MyShelter Foundation and is already transforming lives of low-income people and homes in the Phillippines. The goal is to brighten one million homes in the Phillippines by 2012 with the help of volunteers and partners.

Here's the advertisement that was created for these products and the Isang Litrong Liwanag (A Liter of Light) project

Thoughts:

Why aren't we better at reusing our waste? There are many different uses for the containers that we recycle (or worse, throw away). Certain plastic containers can be used as tupperware, glass jars used as drink containers, and the plastic bottles used as lights! Who knew?! If we are going to consume waste we need to have a plan on what we are going to do with those containers otherwise it's going to add up and that won't be pretty (see later blog post on that!). I google searched "uses for plastic bottles" and found a lot of different things that you can use plastic bottles for:

• Scooper
• Mosquito/insect trap
• Holders (this example showed a picture of bottles holding various nails, nuts, and bolts)
• Protecting a plant (stick bottle over plant if the weather is too cold, this acts as a greenhouse)
• Cookie cutter (cut off neck of the bottle and use the circular part to cut the dough)
• Butter churn
• Building brick

Obviously there are creative ways to reuse bottles, jars, and certain waste in general. At home I reuse glass jars and put my cotton balls and makeup brushes in them. I also use cleaning wipe containers to store my plastic bags. All you have to do is search for ideas and together we can reduce the waste and extend the lifetime of a disposable product.

EPA Top 50 Universities/Colleges

Top 20 College & University

 

The Top 20 College & University list represents the largest green power users among higher education institutions within the Green Power Partnership. The combined green power use of these organizations amounts to more than 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours of green power annually, which is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power more than 123,000 average American homes annually.

• Current and Past Partner Lists

As of April 5, 2012

Annual Green Power Usage (kWh)	GP % of Total Electricity Use*	Green Power Resources	Providers (listed in descending order by kWh supplied to Partner)	Athletic Conference
1. University of Pennsylvania
200,194,600	48%	Solar, Wind	Community Energy°, On-site Generation	Ivy League
2. Carnegie Mellon University
119,515,000	103%	Solar, Wind	Nexant°, On-site Generation	University Athletic Association
3. University of Utah
98,255,850	36%	Solar, Wind	3Degrees°, Rocky Mountain Power°, On-site Generation	Pac-12
4. University of Oklahoma
97,201,680	56%	Wind	Oklahoma Gas & Electric	Big 12
5. Oregon State University
95,005,040	100%	Biogas, Biomass, Solar, Wind	Bonneville Environmental Foundation°, On-site Generation	Pac-12
6. Drexel University
84,268,000	100%	Wind	Community Energy°	Colonial Athletic Association
7. Northwestern University
74,311,195	30%	Solar, Wind	3Degrees°, On-site Generation	Big 10
8. University of Wisconsin
69,891,198	15%	Wind	Madison Gas & Electric, We Energies, WPPI Energy	Big 10
9. Apollo Group, Inc. / University of Phoenix
68,931,000	46%	Wind	NextEra Energy Resources°	Numerous
10. University of Maryland
66,000,000	26%	Wind	Washington Gas Energy Services°	Atlantic Coast Conference
11. The City University of New York
64,000,000	15%	Biomass, Wind	New York Power Authority	Numerous
12. The Ohio State University
60,810,000	10%	Various	Greenlight Energy°	Big 10
13. American University
54,033,500	100%	Solar, Wind	Renewable Choice Energy°, On-site Generation	Patriot League
14. University at Buffalo
44,120,000	20%	Solar, Wind	Starphire.NET°, Better World Energy, On-site Generation	Mid-American
15. Texas A&M University System
43,350,000	15%	Wind	Champion Energy Services	Numerous
16. The Catholic University of America
43,000,000	100%	Biomass, Geothermal, Small-hydro, Solar, Wind	Hess Energy Marketing	Landmark Conference
17. Auraria Higher Education Center
40,652,886	100%	Wind	Renewable Choice Energy°	Numerous
18. Western Washington University
40,000,000	102%	Wind	NextEra Energy Resources°	Great Northwest Athletic Conference
19. Quinnipiac University
37,744,000	100%	Wind	Renewable Choice Energy°	Northeast Conference
20. Georgetown University
36,511,500	25%	Biogas, Biomass, Wind	Hess Energy Marketing°	Big East

*Reflects the amount of green power as a percentage of total electricity use. Partners choosing to purchase green power in an amount exceeding 100 percent of their U.S. organization-wide electricity use are listed as such.

Organizations can meet EPA Partnership requirements using any combination of three different product options: (1) Renewable Energy Certificates, (2) On-site generation, and (3) Utility green power products.

I was excited to see that out of all universities in the United States, Western Washington University was ranked 18 out of 20 for the universities that use the most amount of green power.

Western currently has a green fee which the students have to pay along with tuition. With these funds, FM will be installing new technologies to conserve energy costs these are the projects that are in progress:

• Solar Panels on 5th floor roof of the Environmental Studies building
• Approximate allocated funding amount: $167,500 
• Approximate utility savings: $4,430 per year
• Additional costs include structural engineering, equipment
  rental, etc. This bid does not reflect total cost of project
• Seattle-based  A&R Solar’s bid to provide solar panels,
  inverter, electrical interconnections and solar panel framing for
  installation: base-bid $81,200 dollars; Alt 1 $11,800; total $93,000
  
  
• Hand Dryers
• Preliminary estimate for units, labor, fees, and permits:
  $9,700 - $12,000. These numbers do not include educational
  components.
  
  
• LED Retrofits
• Preliminary estimate for units, labor, and fees: $50,000 - $59,000.These numbers do not include educational components.
• Approximate utility savings: $1,200 per year
  10x12  program The 10x12 Program is an initiative to reduce
  Western’s utility use 10% by 2012. The program focuses on
  operational changes from the university and behavioral changes from
  the campus community in four areas: Electricity, Natural Gas, Water,
  and Zero Waste. Parks Hall, Arntzen Hall, the Biology Building, and
  the Chemistry Building serve as pilot areas for this program. 

I think it is extremely important for schools to have a fee for sustainability. If more colleges required a green fee or sustainability fee then they can use that money to improve the school and save the environment. Other companies could do this as well. For example, when joining a gym, members must pay a one time fee that goes towards energy efficient machines, hand dryers for the bathroom, etc.

http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top20ed.htm