Going Green with Aurien (it rhymes!)
Yep, that's my car! A Camry Hybrid, pretty isn't she? And the color is so appropriate! Green...literally! After some research on hybrids, I decided to test drive the Camry.
Nice car, very quiet, roomy enough for clients, high safety rating and I expected good savings on gas mileage. (I'm averaging about 31 mpg so far!)
Here are some of the other reasons I bought the car:
- I'm reducing my dependency on gasoline, therefore by a miniscule amount, reducing America's dependency on oil.
- I'm reducing carbon emissions which is the major cause for global warming (I like the thought that my grandchildren will still be able to see polar bears at the North Pole)
- With the number of cars increasing on our roads in the valley, I'm just helping to keep the air a little bit cleaner for us to breathe.
I know that some of you are skeptics. But here's a thought, just like the Jack Canfield story of the starfishes that wash up on the beach every day. A man walking along the beach begins to throw them back into the ocean to save them from certain death, when asked, "What difference do you think you can make when you can see the beach is loaded with them?" He answered simply, "It made a difference to that one, didn't it?" as he threw another one back into the ocean.
Okay, cars aren't starfish, but maybe if we all pitch in, we can make a difference! Your referrals are appreciated and remember that I am a renewable resource as your real estate needs change!
Debbie Loves "Green"
This is an exciting newsletter for me to write. It was tough because there are so many green things I'm interested in. When did my interest in "Green" start? I'm not really sure, I know I've always wished I could gave lived 100 years ago when things were though but not technologically tough. Anyway, lots of interesting stuff in this letter.
One thing I wanted to bring up here was an item that really got me, its called Doggy Loo, it's an environmentally friendly way of getting rid of yes, dog poo. It's kind of like a septic tank and it's set in the ground; an enzyme breaks up the poo and sends it back in the soil in a safe and sanitary way. It appears it's all over Canada and other countries just not the U.S. Heres a website in Gilbert that sells them www.satisfactionassured.netfirms.com.
Heirloom & Heritage Seeds...Yum
How do we bring back that old world fresh grown flavor of vegetables? It certainly isn't going to the grocery store and buying fresh produce. Most of these if not all are grown to be mass produced and strong enough to withstand being shipped to various locations across the country. They have lost their flavor with all the ways developed to mass produce and make them available year round.
Home gardens are one way to get that real taste back but buying any old pack of seeds or plants isn't going to necessarily do it, you need to buy heirloom and heritage seeds, these varieties are typically known to be at least 50 years old. These are called open-pollinators and when seeds are saved for next season they will produce the same great variety whereas the hybrids of today may not. For more info on this topic, visit www.greenlivingtips.com. A search on the internet will show you where to purchase these types of seeds and what varieties are available.
Living With An Organic Lawn
Just like changing your lifestyle to be healthy, organic lawn care is a lifestyle change for the lawn. All the synthetics used to maintain a beautiful lawn are taken away from it just like fast food is taken away from the now healthy choice person.
The change takes some work but it's worth it as far as saving our planet and ourselves.
When starting to go organic have your soil tested to see what needs to be done to balance the nutrients and ph levels. Liquid compost can help to bring the soil back. Some natural soil improvers are worm castings, kelp, fish wastes and decomposed organic matter. Once that is done; think native, plant grass, trees, shrubs, & flowers that are native to the environment.
Don't over water the grass, as it starts looking limp and grayish its time to water about 6 inches. Also use a rotary mower. Then read the weeds, they tell you whats wrong with your lawn and not all are bad like clover. See www.thegreenguide.com 's July/August issue about Easy Organic Lawn Care for more info on this topic.
Organic Pesticides
Weed Killers are not only environmentally bad but bad for our health also. It gets tracked into our homes and we socialize in it causing constant and continual exposure to something toxic. What can we do, well I came across several ideas for killing weeds naturally.
One is to boil water and pour it on the weeds. Seems strange but scalding water burns us it must destroy the weed also. Then there is the typical natural way of killing weeds, white vinegar, it works well on killing broad leaf weeds. How about pouring cooking salt on them, especially in areas like gravel driveways. I had heard rock salt could kill oleanders, so why not salt the weeds. Finally, there is an organic product called Glyphosate which is available under many different names. It's worth a shot to try these remedies to save our environment.
Is Bottled Water Really "Green"?
Water is one of the most important things our bodies need. Today people are so concerned about the quality of tap water and it can be a concern; however buying all that bottled water is not only expensive but not environmentally friendly.
Where do the empty bottles go, not to the manufacturer to be refilled. Hopefully, they are being recycled buy many times they are being tossed in the garbage and going to the dumps causing more pollution.
Now lets look at the water, did you know that most of these bottled waters are just plain old tap water that has been sent through a filtering system and we are paying premium prices for water that we could just filter ourselves with a water filtering system that would most likely pay for itself within one year.
There are many types of filtering systems from full home installs to portable units. It could pay off in the long run to buy a system and sports bottle and carry your own water.
Save Energy On Home Cooling
Can you believe my electric bill was $700? That's not me but many people around the valley cry at the thought of that bill and on top of that think about the greenhouse gases being emitted from the energy plants running these units. There are ways of taking control of lowering your energy consumption especially in the summer. One thing that can be done is protect your home with trees and shrubbery, find way to cover windows with southern exposures to help cool your home. My sunroom is killer in the summer and I am installing outdoor window coverings to help cool my room. Another thing portable fans in each room or even ceiling fans, and run them. An evaporative cooler will save energy during dryer times and keep your house very cool. Finally, if you're replacing an AC unit buy the highest SEER rated unit you can, they save energy and never set your unit lower than 78 degrees. A combination of these things will not only save you money but help our environment.
Here are several websites to visit with ideas for going "Green":
www.greenlivingtips.com
www.thegreenguide.com
www.nrdc.org/greenliving/
www.greenhome.com
www.gliving.tv
www.greenpeace.org
This month's articles were researched through www.greenlivingtips.com.
