Mother's going GREEN Day 52 - The Car Wash

My car is probably one of the not so clean cars on the road. I honestly do not have time to wash it and quite honestly have better things to do. But when it gets really dirty and dusty - when it is tempting to write on it with your finger "please wash me" then I head of to the drive through car wash. (okay - so not as dirty as in this picture)

Today, was the day I headed for the car wash and as we were going through it the thought occurred to me that this might not be the best environmentally friendly way to wash my car. As soon as I had a spare moment I was going to investigate this and here is what I found:

What is the most environmentally friendly way I can wash my car: doing it myself or going to the local car wash?

I figured washing the car by hand would be the most environmentally friendly way to go - since most of the time to be 'green' one needs to go 'old school' but as it turns out that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the most environmentally un-friendly chores we can do around the house. Unlike household waste water that enters sewers or septic systems and undergoes treatment before it is discharged into the environment. Which means that the water from washing your car in the driveway goes right into storm drains -- and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc.

The water from out washed car includes the following harmful ingredients: gasoline, oil and residues from exhaust fumes; not to mention the detergents used in wasting the car, unless of course you are using an environmentally friendly detergent but even so it has the other chemicals I have just listed.

However federal laws in both the U.S. and Canada require commercial carwash facilities to drain their wastewater into sewer systems, so it gets treated before it is discharged back into the great outdoors. And commercial car washes use computer controlled systems and high-pressure nozzles and pumps that minimize water usage. Many also recycle and re-use the rinse water.

The International Carwash Association, goes on to say that automatic car washes use less than half the water of even the most careful home car washer. According to one report, washing a car at home typically uses between 80 and 140 gallons of water, while a commercial car wash averages less than 45 gallons per car.

For more info on this topic you can visit the following sites: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tech-transport/car-wash.html

http://www.imagesautospa.com/Environmental.html

Needless to say I was thrilled about my findings - taking my car to the commercial car wash was in deed the green thing to do.

Mother's going GREEN Day 42 - Electrical Power

As some of you may note; my post for day 42 comes one day late... We had a power outage yesterday - for us it lasted a few minutes but for some of our town into the early evening. Because of this our Internet connection was affected and now was only operating intermittently - not sure how - but that is what the cable company told me after several calls begging them to see what they could do to get me up and running so I could do my post. To no avail - hence I post today for Monday July 7,2008.

It was really weird - early in the afternoon as I was researching our use of electrical power (my kids have TV time for an hour after lunch and I surf the net) and BOOM the power went out. how ironic...

Since going green I do not turn on any lights - it works well now that it is summer as when it gets dark it is almost time for bed and then I usually sit on our deck and enjoy some quite time by the light of the moon.....It is great. I have always been a fan of saving electricity as it it a savings you also see in your monthly bill. I have been known to sit and read in almost darkness before turning on a light (which by the way does not damage your eyes only outs strain on them).

You too can save electricity by following these simple steps:

-- Do not leave lights on in a room when you leave.

-- If you have a porch light and would like it stay on to welcome your night time visitors - invest in a motion detector light that goes on when some one approaches your house. We have one as my husband often only gets home after dark and I do not want to leave a light on so he can find his way in putting the key into the lock - now the light goes on as needed and turns off 5 minutes later.

-- Turn off electrical appliances when not in use. Even the ones that are just in sleep mode. If it still has some sort of light/clock running even when it is off - it is still drawing power and using electricity.

-- Cut down your TV watching time (this benefits you and the environment). Get out and enjoy the world or in the evening pick up a good book.

-- The hardest one for me is also cutting down on my computer time - and also making sure I turn it off when I get up and leave. That includes the monitor.

-- As mentioned before only run appliances like the dishwasher and washing machine with full loads. Also, decide what you want from the fridge before you open it. No need to stand with the fridge door open as you decide on what you need. You warm up the fridge, which then needs to use more energy to get it back to it's original temperature. Same thing with the oven when you are cooking. Use the oven light rather than opening the door to check.

-- Install energy efficient light bulbs - now that is an easy one.

For some numbers on how much electrical energy we use world wide look here. The United States ranks number 1; Canada number 8; United Kingdom number 13.

Electricity production requires the use of non renewable resources such as coal, oil, (natural) gas, uranium, of semi renewable resources such as biogas, wood, waste, or of renewable resources such as water, wind and solar energy. The non renewables form by far the most important resources for electricity production. Therefore there is an almost direct relation between electricity production and the use of fossil non-renewable resources. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the electricity generated in America in 2002 came from the following sources:
Coal 50%
Nuclear 20%
Natural Gas 18%
Hydro 07%
Other 05%

Here is some information on the relationship between oil and electricity and the impact on the environment.

Hence, you can see why it is important to conserve electrical energy or use a renewable form for producing electricity such as solar or wind power.

Mother's going GREEN Day 37 - Driving "Green"

We live about an hours drive outside Vancouver, British Columbia (60km or so) along a beautiful mountain road with lots of twists and turns. And sometimes I need to make that trip into the city.

There is a rail track that runs right next to the road but alas no passenger trains or I would by far prefer to take the train. It is a 'political' thing that their is no passenger train - I would say about 50% of our community commutes to the city on a daily bases for work (my husband included). Lots of CO2 !!!!!! Now if only the train could take you there that would cut down on some of that pollution. But I think that is going to take awhile for that to happen.

However, there are green ways to drive, and I use the book Green for Life by Gillian Deacon as reference to some of them:

• Drive the speed limit - cars engines will operate more efficiently at the speed limit, as they are designed for this. Plus it is safer too.


• Keep your cars tires at the correct pressure - Tires that are not inflated enough cause a drag on the road - hence using more energy, gas and creating more pollution. To know what pressure is right for your tires - look at the sticker that should be inside the door frame of the drivers side.


• Keep your oil clean - The cleaner your oil is the better the car will run - more efficiently. I prefer to have my oil changed 'professionally' this way the oil can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way. If you choose to do it yourself, please ensure that you dispose of the oil correctly.


• Do not idle your car - not even to warm it up - Idling your car only wastes the gas and creates unnecessary CO2. It is best to drive a car to warm it up and if you live in a really cold place it is more energy efficient to buy a block heater that can keep your engine warm. Along our highway into the city - there is a lot of construction going on - in preparation for the 2010 winter Olympics, hence there are often times when cars are stopped for construction purposes. There are signs posted asking us to save the air and turn off our cars and I think this is just great - although some people do not and prefer to idle for the 10 - 20 minutes that they need to wait.

So even if you do not yet drive a 'green' car - at least drive green!!

Mother's going GREEN Day 19 - Garden Pests: in particular a Squirrel

We have our rooftop garden underway - but the last few mornings we have woken up to see that some little animal has dug up our seeds - we suspect a squirrel. Now we are trying to grow our own vegetables in order to be sustainable - but we did not figure we would have to sustain a squirrel as well.

When I 'googled' garden pest deterrents I came up with some scary facts in regards to pesticides:

• Pesticides not only kill the pests but all of the good bugs too like Lady Bugs, Honey Bees and Wasps.


• Collect in the tissues of animals and humans, causing disease and possible death.


• Each year 43 000 children under the age of 6 are exposed to pesticide in concentrations high enough to cause damage to their developing bodies.


• Many of the common pesticides have been linked to an increased occurrence of allergies, asthma and cancer.

Since we are growing an Organic Garden using pesticides was never an option but the information on them very informative.... But I still had a squirrel to deal with.

One website suggested that we feed the squirrel - squirrel food. Set up it's own little eating area away from our garden and then he would not bother our seeds. While this would be ideal, quite honestly I do not want the squirrel to become reliant on me for providing its food.

Finally, I found a website that suggested hot pepper flakes. Currently, we have none on hand but I thought regular coarsely milled peppercorns might do the trick too.

My search on pest deterrents also lead me to a website where you can make your own Pest Control Spray right in your kitchen. Should we ever get those unwanted bugs we will be sure to try the recipes. Most of them involve a combination of Water, Oil, Biodegradable Dishwashing Soap, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder - all non toxic and chemical free.

For some information on the dangers of pesticides visit: http://www.noahsnotes.com/naturalpest.html

And for the recipes for the "Pest Control Spays - you can make in your kitchen!" visit:http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/health-environment/pesticides/non-commercial-pest-spray.pdf