Eight green New Year's resolutions for 2008

[RecycleMichael]

This is a list I made for 2008...I could babble on and on about each, but am just trying to give ideas...

Eight ways to green your 2008

New Year's resolutions are all about improving you and your world. Why not do both and resolve to be greener in 2008! You can make a big difference by buying a hybrid car, replacing your appliances with ones that are more energy-efficient, or adding insulation to reduce your energy usage, but there are also simpler and easier changes that, when added up, can have a big impact. These might not help you lose weight, but each of these steps might lessen your footprint on the planet.

Refill water bottles
Americans will buy six billion bottles of water this year and nine out of ten won't be recycled. Making those bottles takes 18 million barrels of oil, a non-renewable resource, and the leftover bottles fill up 11,000 cubic yards of landfill space every day. Make a resolution to refill each one you purchase at least once and then try to recycle them.
(Side note...a sixteen oz. bottle of water for a dollar costs 4,000 times the price of Tulsa tap water).

Resolve to recycle.
Only about 20% of Tulsans recycle, but it is one of the easiest habits to start. It is really just getting two trash cans and using one for those things that are more valuable than trash. Start with newspapers and mail and add cans and bottles as soon as you can. Local recycling options vary by community, but each area town has a location where you can recycle for free seven days a week.  
(Side note...the biggest week for glass bottle recycling is the week after the New Year's Eve parties).

Get out of the car.
Half of harmful air emissions come from passenger vehicles. Riding the bus or carpooling can be difficult, but you can also make a measurable difference by avoiding the drive-through at fast food restaurants. Turning off the engine for as little as 30 seconds will reduce hydrocarbon exhaust. Bringing a lunch to work instead of going out, or setting aside one day a week for all your after-work errands will also reduce your vehicle miles traveled.
(Side note...Oklahomans drove an average of 13,200 miles per vehicle last year, second only to Wyoming).

Use free wood chips
Many of the suburbs will burn the tree storm debris but Tulsa will chip the limbs into mulch. Last year the city chipped 100,000 tons and the December ice storm produced at least three times that. There are going to be more chips available for free than ever before. A two or three inch layer under all shrubs and trees will keep the soil moist and warmer this winter. Other uses include ground cover around the dog house or an organic barrier under fences. Wood chips add valuable nutrients and help drainage in clay or compacted soils.
(Side note... wood chips are free to any metro area resident and are available seven days a week).

Learn to make soup
Americans throw away as much as 30% of the food they buy. The world average is around 5%. With re-sealable containers and microwave ovens we can reduce this waste but even better is to learn to make soup or casseroles with leftover vegetable, meats and pasta. Vegetable peels and scraps can also be put into a backyard compost bin.
(Side note...Americans will throw away an estimated $50 billion worth of edible food in 2008...almost two pounds per person per day).  

Lower the thermostat
Every degree you lower your thermostat this winter can save you 5% on your electric bill. That means the average Tulsa household can save a dollar a day by just keeping their home three or four degrees colder in the winter or warmer in the summer. 40% of American carbon emissions that cause global climate change come from electricity production.
(Side note...electricity production causes more pollution than any single industry in the United States).

Use the sun
Solar devices for landscape lighting can be found at home improvement stores, but just opening the drapes to let in natural light can reduce heating bills by as much as 10%. Closing the drapes in the summer can reduce cooling by an equal amount. The sun can also reduce the need for indoor lamps during the day or heat water for sun tea.
(Side note...Tulsa averages over 300 days of sunshine per year).

Plant a tree
Trees are easy to plant and Tulsa needs to replace thousands lost during the ice storm. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide that humans breathe out and produce oxygen that humans need for survival. The best time to plant a tree are the first three months of the year. Properly placed trees (not near power lines) can also shade a home and reduce utility bills in the summer or become a wind break that can reduce residential energy use in the winter.
(Side note...trees also remove particulates from the air, offer habitat for wildlife and add beauty to our neighborhoods).

[dayzella]

recyclemichael, please tell me ...

more about the wood chip/mulch where-to-get part?
a link would be nice, if you have it handy.

and also ...

do you know much about Up with Trees?  the website has zippo info on it.  i thought all the signs in tulsa with the up with trees message on it were heirlooms from another time until i found a planet tulsa story on the program.



http://upwithtrees.org/

[RecycleMichael]

I do have some inside knowledge of Up with Trees. My wife was named the Executive Director about a year ago. Their website does suck. She is close to having a new one ready.

I have been associated with the organization for a long time having served on their board on two different occasions. Together we pass out seedlings in the spring, (last year 10,000) and both promote the urban forest. Trees are the perfect action for anyone who cares about the planet. We plant a tree for every birth in our family.

The wood chipping site for Tulsa is at 56th street north and Mingo (just west of 169) and is open seven days a week. The city collects the trees and branches every day and it is a free drop-off for Tulsa residents with a driver's license or utility bill with a Tulsa address. Outside residents or commercial tree companies. The price is lower than the landfill price and has been dramatically lowered for the winter storm debris customers.

Residents can also pick up wood chips or even bring their own chainsaws and cut firewood seven days a week as well. The wood chips are great and the city also has more than they can get rid of, especially this winter.

It is my goal to get every Tulsa resident to come out and get some wood chips this year. All you want (all you can eat).

The suburbs are burning their limbs and Tulsa has made the committment to not. They have invested in the machinery and have excellent trained personnel. If we don't find a home for them, Tulsa will be forced to spend extra money to transport (and maybe dispose) of them this year.

Use them in every garden and under every tree. They will keep the soil moist and warm during the winter. I have used them to improve compacted soil and have even used them to regrade and fill some serious slope in my backyard. I don't necessarily want them burned, but I can't believe someone can't find a way to use them in a wood pellet stove. I have been following a Denver company's plan to convert them to ethanol.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5171879

I have been hoping some local company would try it (especially if they used the old Trash-to-energy plant to do it).

Come and get some wood chips. They will load a truck or trailer for you or you can pick through it yourself with your own pitchfork or shovel. There are people every day who just bring out their own buckets, trash cans or plastic bags and get the very best mulch.

[Wilbur]

My house already does all of Michael's suggestions except for the car thing.  Can't do with my line of work.

We'll certainly be planting a couple trees this year to replace the ones we lost to the ice.

As far as the free wood chips (mulch) - have been doing that for years.  The city grinds up all the tree branches people drop off and make the mulch available for people to pick up, all for free.  If you have a pickup or a trailer, they'll even use a front-end loader and load your trailer or pickup for free, that way you don't spend half the day with a shovel trying to load your own.  One thing about this kind of mulch - you never know what is going to grow in your garden because you never know what is in the mulch.

As for the thermostat, we use a programable one, so it gets pretty chilly in the house at night and when people are away, but then warms up at times we're home.  Some models will even remind you when to change out your furnace filters.

Don't use bottled water.  We make our own soup (just did ham/bean soup from left over Christmas food).  We recycle.

[spoonbill]

I would add another item to your list. . .

Compost:  Not only is it healthy for the environment, it's fun!  I run 3 large composers in my back yard for various types of garden and yard waste.  I haven't purchased a black trash bag in 5 years.  Everything I cut, trim or mow becomes soil for my gardens, vegetables and even house plants.  

. . . and as an avid fisherman, all I have to do is turn one of my piles with a pitch fork and I've got hundreds of the largest night-crawlers you've ever seen. []

[sgrizzle]

I'm confused on this one:

quote:
Lower the thermostat
Every degree you lower your thermostat this winter can save you 5% on your electric bill. That means the average Tulsa household can save a dollar a day by just keeping their home three or four degrees colder in the winter or warmer in the summer.

The first statement says: 1 degree change = 5% reduction.
The second statement says: 3-4 degree change = $1/day

Is the average electric bill in Tulsa really $150-$200?

[RecycleMichael]

I found a JD Power study that said the average residential electric bill nationally was $135 per month.

The only reference I could find locally was a 2005 Tulsa World arrticle that said Tulsa's average was $110.

I rounded up to a dollar a day...

[cannon_fodder]

Thanks RM.

Honest self-assessment:

- I refill water bottles.
- I walk/bike to place pretty often (yay midtown!)
- I don't use mulch
- I'm pretty good about left overs, at worst it's dog food instead of trash (read: all meats in my fridge during the ice-storm)
- My house is 60-65 (cold nights and during the day, +5 for shower time and evenings) in the winter and 75-85 in the summer (outside -10 or 15 generally)
- I enjoy natural heat, but my house is a garage front type... not very conducive really.  But all my outdoor bulbs are CPF...

I am horrible about recycling though.  Sorry.  Iowa had can/bottle deposits and free recycling pickup, I was spoiled.  I do pretty well on newspaper but fail at all other 90% of the time.  I'm a horrible person, I know.

But I'm a lazy man in general.  So I give myself a B (recycling and I could always walk more).  I'll work on the recycling this year RM.  One of many resolutions I am sure to fail at (get in shape, get organized, more work/less posting :-).

[T-Town Now]

A word of caution to those who reuse plastic water bottles: Don't reuse them for periods longer than a day without washing them in hot soapy water and rinsing them thoroughly.

I saw a report that said the mouths of plastic water bottles are a breeding ground for bacteria, and you could endanger your health if you don't wash them daily.

My household recycles, carpools, uses a programmable thermostat, we bought a new high efficiency washer and dryer in 2007, we're replacing burned out bulbs with compact energy saving bulbs, we let the sun in on cold days, and we have over 40 mature trees in our yard, and have planted quite a few over the years as well.

I'm amazed at how many of my neighbors with kids do none of these things. What are they doing to protect the future of their children? Nothing, from what I see.

[cannon_fodder]

Good call on the bottles T-Town.  I probably neglect this more than I should and it makes sense.  I'll pretend I do it to help build my immunity.

When I first started reading your post I was fearful it was going to warn of the dangers of Dioxins (see the Snopes article if you care).

[safetyguy]

Over the past year my family (especially me) has made a concerted effort to recycle. I wish it was curbside like I had it in Indiana, but at least its available.

We are converting all of our light bulbs to the compact fluorescents.

I work from home, so I save a lot of gas and emissions.

The thermostat is another story. My wife keeps cranking it up since we have a 2 week old baby at home!! She thinks that the baby will freeze. The thought of another blanket hasn't crossed her mind yet, that would be too easy.

The whole water bottle issue is interesting. I have learned a little bit about the BPA stuff in plastic because of all of the talk regarding bottles for feeding babies and how the BPA is released when heated.

For those of you don't watch Biggest Loser, they are doing an interesting campaign this season in an effort to reduce the numbers of bottled water that is used. They are pushing the Nalgene bottles to be refilled. You can read more at Nalgene bottle info