Microwave
Heat a bowl of water and lemon slices in your microwave for 30 seconds to a minute; then wipe out the oven. Stains will be easier to remove and old food odors will be neutralized.

Laundry
For bleaching purposes, add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to your washing machine’s rinse cycle and hang clothes outside to dry.

A teaspoon of lemon juice thrown into your wash can also help your clothes to smell fresher.

Ant Deterrent
Pouring lemon juice around areas that ants frequent is said to repel them.

[Editor: I've heard of using orange peel/juice as well for keeping ants out.]

Lemon image from André Karwath via Wikipedia

Supermarket Bags
If you own a store that uses plastic shopping bags, why not switch to BioBag shopping bags? You’ll be able to do something good for the environment, without needing to persuade your customers to change their habits! If you work for a store, try suggesting to your employer that they switch to these greener bags.

Composting System
In addition to making compostable bags, BioBags also has a solution to help make composting your organic kitchen waste a little easier, and odour free.

[Via The Daily Green]

But how do you know which ones to get to replace your existing incandescent bulbs?

How Many Watts?
Most CFL bulbs show the equivalent incandescent wattage on the box, but the number you really need to look for is the Lumens, which is a measurement of the light output of the bulb rather than its electrical power consumption. The Environmental Defense Fund has a great table showing incandescent wattage, CFL wattage and typical lumens values. The table also gives you a rough idea of the cost savings and the reduction in CO2 emissions over the life of the bulb.

If you’re worried about the amount of light that CFLs produce being lower than the equivalent incandescent, try upgrading to the next wattage level (as long as it is still lower than the limit on the light fitting of course). For example, if you’re replacing a 60W incandescent, you could try using a 20-25W CFL instead of the 15-19W one normally recommended.

Do CFL Bulbs Produce Cold Light?
In the past, fluorescent lights produced a cold, bluish-white light that was not very relaxing. The color of the light produced by a bulb is measured in Kelvins (it is technically a temperature). Somewhat counter-intuitively perhaps, the lower the temperature, the warmer the light!

A traditional incandescent light bulb has a color temperature of between 2800K and 3300K, so when hunting for a CFL replacement you should be looking for bulbs with a similar color temperature if you want to keep the warm light you’re used to. The cold, bluish light from older fluorescents is 4000K or above (also called daylight).

Old Fluorescents Flicker, Do CFLs?
The older, long tube fluorescent bulbs used what is called magnetic ballast to keep them lit up. That ran at the frequency of the power source (50-60Hz), which can be detected by most people as a slight flicker. This continuous flickering was also said by some to cause headaches.

The much more modern CFL bulbs use electronic ballast that operates at much higher frequencies (10-40KHz), which are well beyond the capabilities of the human eye to detect. As a result, CFLs produce what looks like a continuous, bright light. There are still a few people who claim that CFLs cause them to experience headaches, but it is unclear whether they are really caused by the bulbs, or by other factors relating to the change.

If you have had headaches when working under older fluorescents, perhaps try changing just one room first and see how it goes.

Can I Get CFL Floodlights, and Other Styles?
Yes, absolutely. You can get CFL bulbs now in most of the same form factors as regular incandescent lights.

I have flood lights, like the one shown on the right, in almost all the ceiling can light fixtures around the house, I use “standard” ones in most of the other lights around the house, and a couple of low wattage candle bulbs in the nightlight fixture that our HOA requires we keep on all night (it is connected to a light sensor to make sure it is only on after dark).

I Have a Dimmer Switch, Can I Still Use CFLs?
Yes, you can switch to CFLs even when your lights are connected to a dimmer switch, but you’ll need to make sure you select CFLs that are compatible with dimmers (they will say so on the box). Not all CFLs can be used with dimmer switches, so make sure you check – if in doubt, ask in the store.

Do They Really Last Longer?
Yes, they really do have a much longer life than incandescent bulbs. The technology in an incandescent bulb doesn’t lend itself to a long life, especially if you switch them on and off a lot. An incandescent bulb makes light by heating a thin filament of metal (by passing electrical current through it). Repeated heating and cooling of that metal filament makes it weaker and eventually it fails.

CFLs do not have any filament to fail. Instead, they have the electronics in the ballast which will eventually fail, but people have had fluorescent lights last much longer than the life expectancy on the box. You might find some fail early, but in general they will last longer than the life expectancy on the box.

Do They Contain Mercury? Is That Safe?
The one down side to the environmental story of CFLs is the fact that they do contain a very small amount of mercury. In normal use they are perfectly safe though as the mercury is sealed inside the bulb. The only times you need to think about it are if you break one, and when one fails.

If you break the glass on a CFL, you might want to open some windows to ventilate the space, and leave the room for a little while to let the small amount of mercury vapour disperse. Obviously, much like any bulb, when disposing of it be careful of the sharp glass. Fluorescent bulbs have a tendency to shatter into small pieces of glass, so be careful to get them all!

When a CFL fails, you will need to dispose of it properly and not just throw it in the garbage. They do count as hazardous waste, which makes it illegal in most places to just throw them out. Many hardware stores will take them back for safe disposal/recycling. If you can’t find one that does, try asking you garbage collection service or city authorities how to dispose of them.

Anybody who’s been following the US election news recently will have heard about McCain’s mocking of an answer Obama gave to a question in one of his campaign stops about saving fuel. Then he half-retracted it.

The truth of the discussion is that ensuring your tires (or tyres, for those English speakers outside the US) are correctly inflated does indeed help to maintain the efficiency. Having a handy little pressure gauge in your glove box and using it regularly will help keep your car running efficiently.

How Much Does This Save?
The estimated improvement in your fuel economy is 3%, but what does that mean? At today’s prices in the US (around $4.50/gallon here in California), it is around 10 cents a gallon saving. If you have to drive to work, then that’s a worthwhile saving for such a simple thing to check.

The US government estimates that 27% of the cars on the road in the US have a significantly under-inflated tire. So get out there and check your tire pressures (hint: if you don’t have a gauge already, and don’t want to buy one, most gas stations have one attached to the air compressor).

Anything Else We Can Do?
ABC News has the following hints in addition to tire pressure, derived from FuelEconomy.gov: keeping your car properly tuned can save you up to 4%, replacing your air filter when necessary will save you as much as 10% and using the correct motor oil in your engine will get you between 1% and 2% savings.

Even better though, how about using public transit, a bike or even just walking instead of driving at all? That saves you as much as 100% and gives you some time to read a book or newspaper, or perhaps catch up on email or your favourite blog(s).

If you can’t avoid the car, think about getting a hybrid (or even a pure electric) when you replace your current ride. And do you need the SUV, or would a smaller car suffice? If you only need the larger car occasionally, then money you save on fuel by switching to a smaller car would allow you rent something larger when you need it.

A few companies are using cards made of a corn-based material called Mirel, from Metabolix. These cards are actually biodegradable, so when they’re all used up just throw them in your green composting bin! Major retailers using this include Target, REI, Borders and Wal*Mart. Hopefully others will join this list and use bio-degradable plastics (it would be nice to see banks doing the same with their cards too).

Unfortunately, most of the plastic cards out there are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) a toxic chemical that is not usually accepted in your recycling bin. They’re pretty small though, so throwing them in the garbage can’t cause much harm can it? Well, you’re right, individually each card is pretty small, but there’s a lot of them out there. Each year 75 million pounds of PVC finds its way into US landfills. That’s a lot of PVC, so read on after the jump to find out what you can do to avoid adding to that mountain of toxic waste.

Recycling Options
While your local municipal recycler may not accept PVC cards in their collection bins, there is a company out there that takes PVC cards (including bank cards, driving licenses etc) and will grind them up and recycle them into new sheets of PVC ready to be used to make new cards. That company is Earthworks System.

They really want banks and stores to send them the used cards in bulk, but they will also accept cards mailed in by individuals. If you’d like to mail your cards in to be recycled, simply put them in an envelope and mail them here:

Earthworks System, LLC
33200 Bainbridge Road, Suite E
Solon, OH 44139

You might also like to suggest that your local stores collect them and mail them in as well rather than just throwing them into the trash can under the cashier’s desk.

[Via Yahoo! Green]

Is it safe?

I took a look at the containers I have here, both bought ones designed for the purpose, and ones I am reusing from my pantry & fridge. They are all made from the same plastic, labeled with recycling code 5, or the letters PP for polypropylene. Polypropylene has not been associated with any health concerns, and does not leach chemicals into the food stored within it. Whether reused or bought, make sure you wash them well between uses.

Even better, according to Recycle Now’s guide to plastic recycling codes, polypropylene is often not accepted by recycling centers, so reusing them is saving them from the landfill too. When it does come time to dispose of them, check with your local facility about recycling before throwing them out – ours here in Alameda does indeed take code 5 plastic.

What About Water Bottles?

There have been some questions about the safety of reusing bottles marked with code 1 – PETE. The American Chemical Council has a page talking about the safety of polyethylene terephthalate bottles. Their conclusion is that they are safe if well washed. The only exception they list is PET trays used for microwaveable food. Other sites seem to confirm this view that these bottles are safe to refill. Organic Picks has a list of safe and unsafe plastics that looks like this:

If you’re still worried, the good news is that they are easily recycled. Just remember to take the caps off before throwing them in the blue cart.

Of course, you’d be doing the environment (and your wallet) a bigger favour by not buying your water in bottles in the first place. A water filter and some reusable water bottles. Avoid the trendy clear plastic polycarbonate ones though as there is still a concern about chemicals leaching from those into the water, especially if it is hot water. There are plenty out there made from safe plastics, including the safe polypropylene (code 5) used for those storage containers, or you can opt for a cool stainless steel bottle. At home, think about using a glass.

Other Storage Jars

On the subject of glass, the other type of container from your pantry that you might want to think about keeping is glass jars; the kind that things like pasta sauces, pickles and salsa dip come in. These can be washed easily, and reused for storing your own sauces and other food items in the kitchen.

In some countries the outlets have individual switches, making it simple to really switch off equipment. For countries where this is not the case, think about using a simple power strip with a switch on it as a way to avoid having to keep unplugging things.

Home Entertainment Systems

High on that list of remote controlled electronics are all those home entertainment components. Some of them might need to be left on (for example, a VCR or DVR that is set to record programming while you’re out), others can be switched off at the wall.

Regular (non-DVR) cable and satellite receivers should probably also be left on, otherwise you will need to wait for them to authorize and download the programming guide each time you want to watch something.

If you are using a power strip for a home entertainment system, consider getting one designed for A/V equipment.

Computer Equipment

Much like home entertainment systems, computers can be switched off at the wall when not in use (after being shut down properly of course). Using a sleep or hibernate mode will use less power than when the machine is on, but it will still be using electricity.

The same goes for printers, scanners and all the other peripherals that we connect to our computers. Switch them off at the wall (or unplug them) when they’re not in use.

The only real exception to this for the home office are the DSL or cable modem box and, if you have one, a wireless router or access point. The former is best left on because it maintains a connection to your ISP (in some cases it might even be monitored by them). The wireless wants to be on because you don’t want to have to switch that on each time you want to surf from your laptop. If you’re going on vacation though, unplug them both too. Also, if you’re signing up for new service, see if you can get a single box that provides both functions as that will reduce the overall power consumption.

A handy alternative to the power strip that copes well with the proliferation of wall transformers is the PowerSquid type connector with individual cables for each device. If you already have a power strip, but can’t use all of its sockets because of overlapping transformers, then you can get short extensions to convert any power strip into something like a PowerSquid.

If you are willing to spend a little time setting it up, consider getting a smart powerstrip instead. These have a master socket, which remains on all the time, and a set of slave sockets that will be turned off when the device on the master reduces its power consumption. They normally have one or two always on sockets too for those devices that must remain on (see above). When you first set this up you will need to adjust the power level at which the slave sockets are turned off, but once done you should be able to sleep your computer and have the monitor, printer etc turned off automatically.

Satisfy Your Inner Geek

All that is great in theory, but how do you know how much you are saving? Well, you can always get an electricity usage monitor and measure the power being consumed by your devices when on and off.

Mowers

First up, the most expensive of your lawn care products will almost certainly be the lawn mower. There are three green options for cutting your grass, and which you choose will probably depend on the size of lawn, and the amount of effort you’re willing to put into it:

• Human powered classic reel mowers like the Scotts 20-Inch Classic Push Reel Lawn Mower;
• Electric mowers that plug in to the standard household electricity supply, like the Black & Decker Lawn Hog Electric Mower (the mower I chose to maintain our front lawn here in Alameda);
• Cordless electric mowers like the Neuton models or the Black & Decker 19-Inch Cordless Mower.

Any of those options will help make your lawn mowing simpler (no need to worry about buying fuel; no back-breaking cord pulling to get the mower started). They also help reduce air pollution and noise pollution. The folks over at Neuton Power provide these statistics comparing electric mowers to conventional gasoline powered ones:

• Mowing for 1 hour with a gasoline mower produces the same pollution as driving a typical car 50 miles.
• Over 17 million gallons of gas are spilled each year refueling lawn and garden equipment – more petroleum than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez.
• According to the EPA, gas mowers are responsible for nearly 5% of our nation’s total air pollution.
• Over 800 million gallons of gasoline are used mowing lawns in the US every year.
• If you operate a gas mower for more than 15 minutes, experts advise you to wear hearing protection.

Still not convinced? Just remember next time you’re walking behind that conventional mower that your basically breathing its exhaust!

Edging

Much like the lawn mowers, there are several green options for lawn edging too:

• The manual options ranging from half-moon edgers like the WOLF-Garten Half-Moon Edger to more sophisticated rotary edgers like the Flexrake Lawn Edger;
• Electric edge trimmers like the Black & Decker Edge Hog;
• Cordless edge trimmers like the Black & Decker Cordless Grass Hog String Trimmer/Edger.

The Neuton cordless mowers also have an optional edge trimmer, so if you went with the Neuton for mowing the lawn, why not use its edge trimmer as well.

Fertilizing & Weed Killing

Aside from cutting and trimming, feeding and weed management are also things you’ll probably need to think about. Rather than using chemical fertilizers that can burn your lawn, causing more harm than good, why not try some organic lawn care options.

• Garden Way “Nature’s Touch” Organic Lawn Fertilizer
• Espoma Organic Lawn Food
• Ringer All Natural Lawn Restore

For the ultimate in green lawn care, check out the TerraCycle Lawn Fertilizer which is made from liquified worm poop, and then bottled in old 1 litre soda bottles collected by one of TerraCycle’s Bottle Brigades.

Why?

Some interesting facts from the folks over at reusablebags.com:

• Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.
• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion)
• According to the industry publication Modern Plastics, Taiwan consumes 20 billion bags a year—900 per person.

So, all those plastic bags end up somewhere. And that somewhere is often bad for the environment. Plastic bags don’t biodegrade, they photodegrade. Which means that the break down into smaller and smaller bits, and those bits contaminate soil and waterways or enter the food chain when animals accidentally ingest them.

There is a swirling vortex of plastic waste in the north Pacific estimated to be as much as twice the size of Texas already. And it is not just the oceans that are affected. Everywhere from Australia and Africa to Antarctica people are collecting increasing numbers of plastic bags blowing in the wind.

Counter

Here is a counter from reusablebags.com showing an estimate for the number of plastic bags consumed this year alone:

What Can I Do?

Take bags with you to the supermarket, or insist on paper if you forget. If you’re only getting one or two items, don’t use a bag at all (you’d be surprised how many people I see walk out of the supermarket at lunch time carrying a single sandwich in a plastic bag). If you do use a plastic bag, see if you can return it to the supermarket for recycling. At the very least, if all else fails, make sure you dispose of it properly!

The search results are from Yahoo, so you know you’ll be getting high quality results still, but you’ll also be helping the environment. According to their site, they’ll be able to remove 1 ton of CO2 for every 1000 searches performed, and the whole thing is audited by KPMG.

That’s a really simple way that everybody can help make a difference. And all you need to do is change that little search box in the top right corner of your browser to use ecocho.com instead of your current search engine.