Mylar and Me

I am lucky to live by a National Forest where I can take my daily walk.  It is the same daily walk every mornings and I do not vary it, so I am always surprised by how many balloons I find on my walk.  The  colorful latex balloons are usually in pieces with bright curly ribbons and then, there are  the mylar balloons.

I am most disturbed by the mylar balloons.  I thought I would look up how long it takes for the mylar to degrade but found that it just does not.

What I hadn't thought about is what these balloons do if they come in contact with electrical wires.
In 2007 So. Cal. Edison reports that they experienced 470 blackouts caused by mylar balloon releases.
It is estimated that in California the loss in business and utilities ads up to more than $120 million per year due to mylar balloons.

More important than the inconvenience and financial cost is the cost in lives of marine animals and birds.
There have been several whales found to have died as the result of mylar balloons in their systems.  Turtles are fond of the colored plastic in latex balloons and will choose it over food. Ribbons and strings attached to the balloons often tangle and strangle wildlife.

When the three year old that celebrated with this balloon, that I brought home from my walk, is 85 years old, it still will not have begun to decompose.
 For more information:  UK Rivers Network
Clean Virginia Waterways

References: New Canaan Nature Center|LA Times

Drying to go Outside

I was fairly certain when I took this picture that outdoor laundry season was over for the year.  I may get a few dry winter days that will allow me to sneak a washer load by Mother Nature but I know there will not be many before late next spring.

On to my back up plan with my folding indoor Mrs. Peggs Handy Line.

With a convenient folding rack I can continue to line dry inside or on the porch, and if I had a basement I would hang a line or put the Handy Line there.

Not only do I enjoy the activity of hanging the laundry it has a instant financial and environmental return.

Some of the benefits of Line Drying are:

• Electric dryers use are said to use 5 to 10% of the residential electricity in the United States.  Some estimates that include laundromats and laundry services estimate up to 20% of a household electric costs are for drying with electricity.  The estimate is less for gas dryers.
• You can conservatively estimate that you will save at least $100 dollars a year by line or air drying you clothes on a regular basis.
• Besides the fresh smell of outdoor drying you also get the benefit of ultraviolet light naturally disinfecting your laundry.
• Clothing and fabrics last longer.
• Out door laundry drying is a life sport that gets you outside at any age.

A Sip of a Sigg

It was discovered that Sigg water bottles made previous to August 2008 were lined with an epoxy that had trace amounts of BPA. An ingredient that most people chose a metal bottle to avoid.


 The Sigg water bottle debacle made me think about green washing and how we make choices.

We never felt confident enough about the Sigg coating to put the bottles on our site, and have yet to find a best choice reusable water bottle to offer. But, if they hadn't hidden the truth about Bisphenol being the coating inside Sigg water bottles it still would have been a good choice when you hold it up against a daily collection of one-use water bottles. Any reusable beats a one use, especially for a product that is consumable many times a day.

Every day we make choices and sometimes the perfect choice hasn't been created or is unaffordable. We have to take heart that better choices are on the horizon and that we will make a more positive choice when they become available.

If you have a Sigg water bottle made before August 2008 that has the coating with BPA the company will voluntarily exchange your old bottle until Oct. 31. Find details at mysigg.com/bulletin

I am still lugging around my glass container which has it's own drawbacks and dangers.

Source Treehugger.com|Chicago Tribune

No Impact Man-Less IS More

When my friend told me about the No Impact Man blog I was interested, and then was grateful as I became more and more involved reading the near daily entrys. Colin Beavan’s blog posts were down to earth and inspiring in the simplicity of the experiment and how doable no or low impact living could be.

One of my favorite posts was about second sleep. With out electric lights you go to sleep when it is dark, but then you tend to awaken for a few hours later in the night. I spent some time looking this up and was intrigued to find that this used to be common. People would actually socialize for a couple hours in the middle of the night. It is possible this interested me because I am having my own personal issues with sleep right now, but it really made me think about how removed modern life has taken us from even our natural human sleep rhythms.

Nearing the end of his year long experiment his graphs on the relation of no impact and happiness really proved that his year had been a valid experiment with a positive measurable outcome. I believe that using less or none actually gave him the time to assess his happiness, something that the pace of modern life doesn’t allow.

I am looking forward to seeing the movie of his No Impact Experiment, and hope to read the book-as soon as I can get it from the library, or used.

source:No Impact Man|Wikipedia

A Cleaner Burn

Aprovecho Research Center in Cottage Grove Oregon has been working on sustainable and best use methods since 1982. They offer classes and internships in sustainable living on their 40 acre campus.

Aprovecho means "to make the best use of " in Spanish.

Researchers at Aprovecho have created a commercially available rocket stove with GreenFire Technology™ which could make a large impact in reducing CO2 emissions.

Almost 1/2 of the world relies on biomass fuels like wood, coal and dung to cook and purify water. This can drive deforestation and emit CO2 and soot into living spaces. An efficient rocket stove burns ultra efficiently, uses less fuel, produces less soot and green house gases.

Aprovecho Research Center designed GreenFire Technology™ with the goal to manufacture economical, fuel efficient, low emission stoves that people will use. They not only have an efficient burning stove but have concentrated on efficient use of the heat produced by the stove.

Manufactured in China and marketed under the StoveTec™ name all of the profits go to the Aprovecho Research Center which has completed over 100 projects in 60 countries.

You can order a StoveTec™ stove on line and know that the profits got to good use.

Sources Aprovecho.net|Manchester Report:Efficient Cooking Stoves|StoveTec™