Bulletin Club Green Tip #10: Ride your bike to school

Now that the weather's heating up, it's the perfect time to ride your bike or walk to school. Try to find at least one day each week to leave the car at home and reduce your carbon footprint. May 16-22 is Bike to Work Week, so we'll definitely be encouraging people to ride during that week, but for now, ride at least once a week. (Avoid rainy days like tomorrow, though, unless you're a super hard core environmentalist and in that case, we love you for being so brave!)

Yes this is a ridiculous picture, but it made you take a second look at the email, right? :)

Bulletin Green Tip #7: Bring Your Own Bag

Which one do you think is "greener": using a plastic bag or a brown bag at the grocery store check out line? As it turns out, they're both pretty bad, each with its own reasons to avoid it. (However, I am anti-plastic anything and if faced with the choice, I will always choose paper. Plastic is evil.) The best option is to bring your own bag. Here are some facts for reinforcement of why we should bring our own:

- "in most of Europe and Canada it is considered customary to bring your own bag...Instead of offering discounts for people who do bring their own bags (like in the US), they charge for those who don't."

- "Plastic bags don't biodegrade, they photodegrade - breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits contaminating soil and waterways and entering the food web when animals accidentally ingest them."

- "A plastic bag can take between 400 to 1,000 years to break down in the environment."

- "Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistake them for food."

- "Nearly 90% of the debris in our oceans is plastic."

- More than "380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year."

- The United States "goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually."

- "Four out of five grocery bags in the U.S. are now plastic."

- "The average family accumulates 60 plastic bags in only four trips to the grocery store."

Source: The Crunchy Wife at http://www.thecrunchywife.com/.


Having trouble with remembering to bring the reusable cloth bags with you? Leave them in the car. After you unload your groceries, bring them right back outside and put them in the car. Or, get yourself a free window cling that will remind you to grab the bags before you leave. You could save the energy required to ship you the little window cling and make yourself a pretty little sign for the backdoor. Whatever works for you, just try to remember to bring those bags with you. And if you find yourself at the store without a bag, just reuse the bag as much as possible and then recycle it when you're finished. :)

Some articles on the brown paper versus plastic bag issue:
- The paper vs. plastic question must die (Grist.org)
- Which is more environmentally friendly: paper or plastic? (HowStuffWorks)
- Paper vs Plastic: The Final Decision (Organic Lifestyle magazine)
- Paper Bags or Plastic Bags? Everything You Need to Know (TreeHugger)
- Plastic bags are the devil (No Impact Man)

-- Melissa, secretary

Press Release for "Flow" Movie Showing

Amador Valley High School’s Environmental Club, which focuses on raising awareness about conservation and the environment, will be showing the award-winning film Flow about the world water crisis. The film takes a look at fresh water privatization and the many issues surrounding it, including human rights violations, pollution and politics. The movie also talks about practical solutions to the growing problem of a decreasing fresh water supply and ways in which technology may play a role in reversing this global issue. The film has won many awards, including Best Documentary at the United Nations Association Film Festival and Jury Prize at the 2008 Mumbai International Film Festival.

The movie will be shown in Amador Valley High School’s multipurpose room on Wednesday, April 21 from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Admission is free and snacks will be for sale.

The club can be contacted at avhsenvironmental@yahoo.com.

More information: "Flow" Film Showing post (1/29/10)

Bulletin Green Tip #5: Litter-free lunches

Let's talk trash!

We have already discussed reducing lunch waste this year (see the tip here). Our focus then was lunch bags and reducing our waste impact by bringing a reusable lunch box or bag.

For the next two weeks, though, we're going to try to reduce waste in all aspects of our lunch. Try to reduce your waste one step at a time. It'd be great if one day during the next two weeks you went completely litter-free. Write down your most common disposable items and think of ways to reduce your use of them. Also write down any challenges you face or successes you have while trying to go litter-free at lunchtime so we can have a discussion about it at our next meeting on Friday, February 26.

Some things/tips to think about:
1. Plastic baggies are a big issue in waste-generation from lunches. Some great alternatives are reusable containers like Tupperware or glass jars (glass is a better option since it doesn't leach toxins into your food as plastic does; just make sure it's durable glass!). Anchor Hocking has some AWESOME alternatives to plastic baggies. I use their one cup size Kitchen Storage with BPA Free Lid container for trail mix, hummus dip and dry cereal. They make containers in a variety of sizes, so you can use the larger ones for salad, chips, sliced veggies, etc. If you can't purchase some Tupperware/glass jars, then the second best option is to reuse the baggies. For greasy foods, like chips, it's difficult to wash and reuse them, but for foods like crackers, cookies and some sandwiches that don't leave huge messes inside the bag, you can rinse the bags and hang them to dry. Avoid reusing them more than a few times because plastic breaks down over time and will leach into your foods the more you reuse it. Reusing them once or twice won't hurt you, though (well, it won't hurt you any more than using the bag the first time).

2. Use cloth napkins in your lunch. This is an easy one! Most households have at least one set of cloth napkins. If you don't have any, you can often find them second-hand, or invest in a set for your family. They're a great alternative for everyday use, at home and at school.

3. Reduce your reliance on packaged foods. Not only do they generate more waste, packaged foods are most often processed and unhealthy compared to non-packaged foods like vegetables and fruits. There are some healthy packaged foods, like certain granola/fruit & nut bars, but for the most part it's always better to eat real food. Shop the perimeter of the market for the healthiest, least-packaged foods.

4. Make soup and bring it in a thermos. Soup is a perfect lunchtime meal during the winter. It would be ideal to make your own (click here for a great soup recipe I've made twice), since then you have control over what goes into it, and you reduce the amount of resources wasted when you buy it canned (can, paper label, plastic lining). Plus, it generally tastes better and makes you feel accomplished (maybe that's be me, but it's worth trying it!).

5. Buy a sandwich holder. I have a plastic one, which is not ideal. They make metal ones, so if you're going to buy one, invest in metal. Plastic is in so many things, it's always better to opt for non-plastic whenever you have the option. It can also hold chips, pretzels, pita bread, homemade granola bars (okay I've never tried making homemade granola and putting it in a sandwich holder, but try it and I'll bet it'd work!), etc.

6. Bring reusable utensils or actual silverware (not your parent's fine silver, though!).

7. Bring reusable water bottles and coffee mugs. Fill a coffee mug with apple juice instead of bringing a disposable apple juice box.

8. BE CREATIVE. That's the key to reducing your waste consumption. Think about what it is you are actually throwing away each day and brainstorm ways to reduce that.

For some more information, visit this blog post I wrote in October on alternatives to wasteful lunchtime objects.

Happy Reducing!

ACE: Alliance for Climate Education

As you may be aware, our club will be participating in an event presented by ACE (Alliance for Climate Education) . Our club will be creating a set of questions or ideas for classroom discussions that the science classes can use after seeing the presentation in May. We will see the presentation in February on the 18th, so we will have an idea of what kinds of questions would be good to ask.

We also received a packet of background concepts, comprehension questions and terms. It will be very useful in helping us think of questions to create for the science classes. I can scan the packet and email it to you all. I think we should all have a copy by February 18 so we can have some background knowledge before watching the presentation.

To get a better sense of the presentation, here are some of the terms and questions listed:
- greenhouse gas
- greenhouse effect
- human-caused greenhouse effect
- fossil fuel
- atmospheric concentration
- emissions
- carbon footprint
- What does the ozone layer have to do with global warming?
- Name four of the main natural greenhouse gasses.
- Where do fossil fuels come from and how are they created?

From their website:

"ACE performs 45-60 minute interactive assembly presentations for high school
students that explain global climate change and its effect on our planet, while
offering solutions. Our program is scientifically based, interactive and
energizing - and we present it at no cost to schools."

I encourage you to look through the organization's website at http://www.acespace.org/. There are ways to "take action" and learn more about climate change. They even have a blog! I told you guys blogs are cool :-)

Bulletin Green Tip #4: Create recycled Valentine's Day cards

This Valentine's Day, show your love for the Earth while showing your love for friends and family: create a Valentine's Day card of recycled or reused materials or make your own to avoid purchasing a wasteful card from the store.

Whenever we purchase something that can otherwise be hand-made, we tell corporations that we support what they're doing and we increase demand for those products, when we otherwise could be decreasing our reliance on the corporate world. It increases the amount of trees cut down to make cards, the amount of plastic used to laminate those cards, quantities of ink used, transportation and fuel usage, and many other things that can be damaging to the environment in such a large-scale operation. Don't you wonder how many cards go unused and unpurchased every year? There are so many cards being produced for Hallmark, Walgreens, Walmart, Target--there's no way they're all used. Most of them are not recyclable.

Nice Hallmark cards can show someone that you care enough to spend money for a card and can seem like a better gesture than making a card yourself. It's become part of our culture to associate spending with appreciation or how much you care, and that's often not the case considering it's much easier to buy a card and sign it than you for you to come up with an idea, create a card, and write your own thoughts.

Sometimes, of course, it may not be appropriate to make a card, especially when it's for a professional or business reason. However, Valentine's Day is a time to show others how much you appreciate, care for, and love them. Creating a card is a great way to show that you care enough to take the time to make something special for them.

Even if you don't use recycled materials, you are at least reducing the demand (however slightly) for more unnecessary cards to be produced. You may be reducing the amount of gasoline burned to get the finished product to your Valentine (if you reuse, especially if it's something like a local paper you're reusing). Plus, decorating a card is a lot more fun than simply signing your name!

Some materials you could use to make your card:

- Newspaper/magazine: Find an article or picture in your used paper or magazine that relates to something your Valentine is interested in and use it as a decorative aspect of your card. Or, create a collage of pictures and words--you could even write your message this way. You would have otherwise just recycled the paper or magazine, so you might as well give it a second life as a Valentine!

- Used tissue paper, wrapping paper, and other gift wrap items, like bows: They've already been used for one purpose, so now use them again--plus, they're colorful!

- Torn, worn, or otherwise unreadable old books: This makes for a unique, interesting, readable Valentine card. If you have a book that's literally falling apart at the bindings, take it apart and find some interesting passages in the book to use as a background for your card. Supplement with construction paper for structure and color.

- Draw a picture: Even if your artistic skills are negligible, drawing a picture says a lot about how much you appreciate someone.

This website has some more great ideas for recycled Valentine's Day cards, along with design ideas. If you have any suggestions, feel free to post a comment including your idea. At our next meeting (February 12), we will make some recycled Valentine's Day cards, so bring in some materials to do so.

Science on Saturdays

Starting January 30 (tomorrow), there will be "a five-week series of lectures and demonstrations intended for middle and high school students" relating to science.

Three of the events relate to the environment:

The February 13 event is titled "Put it back when you are done: Storing carbon dioxide in the earth, not the atmosphere" and will be presented by Roger Aines, a scientist from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Ken Wedel, a teacher at Tracy High School.

February 20's event is titled "Understanding climate change: seeing the carbon through the trees," and will be presented by Karis McFarlane, a LLNL scientist, and Dean Reese, a Tracy High School teacher.

And finally, on February 27, there will be an event on "Harnessing fusion energy: the power of light" by Ed Moses, a LLNL scientist. It would be great if you guys attended one or all of these and reported back to the club about what you learned--you could even write a blog post about it!

The series is held at The Bankhead Theater located at 2400 First Street in Livermore. The events are free and, for each event, there are two presentations of it on the same day. The first starts at 9:30 A.M. and the second starts at 11:15 A.M. The presentations are an hour long and seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get there early! No pre-registration is required.

Some teachers give extra credit for attending, so check with your teachers if you plan on going. The events are always fascinating because the scientists who work with and have extensive knowledge on the issues are the ones presenting. At the end, there is an opportunity to ask them questions. For more information about the Science on Saturdays series, visit their website at http://education.llnl.gov/sos/?page=home.

(If you do plan on going, let us know. We can let others in the club know that you're attending and perhaps you could carpool or at least sit together at the event.)

Bulletin Green Tip #4: Reduce fireplace use to reduce pollution

This time of year, a fire in the fireplace is tradition. Since the dawn of mankind, we have been using fireplaces to warm ourselves and to cook meals. Back when the earth's population was smaller, using fire for heat everyday was great and innovative for many centuries.

Unfortunately, our population has grown exponentially, and burning fires contributes to air pollution. Try to use your fireplace as seldom as possible, and especially on spare-the-air days opt to use a heater or pile on the blankets (considering it is illegal to burn fires on spare-the-air days!) Some are upset that Christmas was a spare-the-air day this year, but it wasn't just some Scrooge regulators trying to ruin holiday traditions--the air quality that day was terrible, and to allow burning would have put everyone's health--especially those with conditions like asthma--at risk.

Also, a study found that using a fireplace to warm your house is really inefficient. According to this article on Yahoo! Green, "Another estimate found that for every $100 you spend on firewood, you get only $10 to $20 worth of heat. The traditional fireplace only warms your heart, not the room."

From the same site:
"If you upgrade to a woodstove, make sure to follow the EPA's advice:

• Burn only dry, well-seasoned wood.
• Never burn household garbage or cardboard.
• Keep the doors of the wood-burning appliance closed.
• Install and maintain a smoke alarm.
• Install and maintain a carbon monoxide detector."

If you want that fireplace feel, there are electric fake fireplaces that you can purchase that don't emit the same type or quantity of pollution. Or put tall candles in the fireplace on a nice stand for a more subdued decorative fire.

A realistic-looking electric fireplace.
On a related note, if you don't use your fireplace, then plug and seal the chimney flue so that heat won't escape from your home.

Happy Winter!