3 Ways To Make Yard Work Greener

I like his thoughts on yard work:

<!1.   Whenever possible, try using manual tools.

>2.    There are many natural methods for warding off pests and killing weeds.

<!3.    Use what resources you have instead of going out and buying manufactured supplies. 

April 2013

It’s very easy to get dirty when working in the yard yet what ends up on our hands and clothing isn’t true guck and grime. That’s because in reality the earth is clean and nature is constantly renewing itself as a place for life to exist.

Ironically, because of limited time but a desire to keep our properties looking somewhat respectable, we try to speed up the process that harm our environment. We use machines that run on or derivatives of fossil fuels which pollute, harsh substances that contaminate, and misuse natural resources.

In many ways what ends up happening is that we leave the ground a little worse off than when we started. That’s why there is no better time than now to make a few adjustments to our landscaping and gardening practices and bring about a greener future for our communities and the environment at large.

Consider the following three points to help achieve this goal:

Tools

The automatic tools we use in the yard like lawn mowers, weed whackers, and bush trimmers make cleaning up  a lot easier but depending on their energy source can negatively impact the ecosystem around us.

How so? Take the models that use gasoline. They burn it just like vehicles driving down the street and depending how big a lawn is studies have shown the average lawnmower can create as much pollution as a car on the freeway. That means the person holding the lever is breathing in fumes until the last blade of grass is cut!

Electric power is a better option but during the summer electricity is in high demand. Additional pressure on the grid equals more pollution, especially for power plants that run on coal.

The bottom line: Whenever possible, try using manual tools. They may require a little extra effort but when juxtaposed with the effects automatic tools have on our health and environment they are worth a few extra minutes outdoors.

Chemicals

Pesticides are a common problematic chemical used on a homeowner’s property. When they are sprayed on plants producing food they can be absorbed by fruits and vegetables and scrubbing and washing won’t remove what's under the skin. Also, pesticides not only kill pests but beneficial insects as well which means they can drastically affect the local ecosystem.

A second category of chemicals is weed killers, which don’t always discriminate between weeds and desirable plants. They can make pets and wildlife very sick and potentially contaminate soil by tainting aquifers when absorbed into the ground.

Exposure to both weed killers and pesticides are believed to cause uncomfortable symptoms in people like itchy eyes and dizziness and repeated contact with these substances may result in serious long term health problems.

The bottom line: There are many natural methods for warding off pests and killing weeds including store bought products and solutions made from household staples. Make one of these your preferred choice for striking back at pests or unwanted vegetation. Also, keeping plants healthy can control weeds and avert disease.

Resources

A third point for greening yard work involves focusing on resources. On the one hand resources need to be used wisely, such as water, which should be distributed near a plant’s roots.  When water it poured on leaves or sprayed with a garden hose it creates a lot of waste.

Another consideration about water usage is the types of plants in the yard including the lawn and how needy they are as some species require less water than others.

Meanwhile, resources aren’t just about keeping certain things in check but also checking what’s available for improving overall efficiency. For example, it’s very easy to go to a home improvement store to buy fertilizer, mulch, and other landscaping and gardening products but usually unnecessary.

Depending on your surroundings many of these items can be made on site. Food scraps can be composted and clippings and trimmings can be turned into mulch. Doing so is simply another form of using and reusing that makes the world a better place.

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Jakob Barry is a home improvement journalist for Networx.com. He blogs about Green topics for professionals across the U.S. like fencing contractors in Scottsdale, AZ.

http://www.naturallysavvy.com/eco-living/3-ways-to-make-yard-work-greener

Repurposed Items

Before you throw something away, see if you can come up with another way to use it!  Here’s some ideas…

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Friday Funny

A woman called her husband during the day and asked him to pick up some organic vegetables for that night’s dinner on his way home.

The husband arrived at the store and began to search all over for organic vegetables before finally asking the produce guy where they were. The produce guy didn’t know what he was talking about, so the husband said: “These vegetables are for my wife. Have they been sprayed with poisonous chemicals?”

To which the produce guy replied, “No, sir, you will have to do that yourself.”

http://stacienaczelnik.hubpages.com/hub/5-Jokes-About-the-Environment

Switzerland - The Land of Alps, Watches, Chocolate and .. Extreme Recycling

By Paula Zevin   July 2013

Everyone knows how serious we are about recycling and its benefits at EPA. The past decade has shown that we can change our mindset and adapt to change: throwing things away without a second thought is a thing of the past. If you need a reminder, check out the EPA community website, which contains so much valuable information on helping to protect our environment and our recycling resource page.

We also have heard or even seen how much more serious Europe in general is about the 3-R mantra. “Reduce, reuse and recycle” is not just a buzz phrase; it is a way of life in the Old World, which in many cases is way ahead of the United States. Switzerland was one of these revelations. The occasion to visit this beautiful country came about almost as an afterthought to attending my 40^th high school reunion in Heidelberg, Germany in June of this year. Reunions can be fun, but also stressful, so a little R&R in the beautiful cities of Zurich and Geneva seemed just what the doctor ordered. And it was! Past and present blend seamlessly, the scenery is truly breathtaking, the friendly locals made us feel welcome and it didn’t hurt to be able to sample delicious chocolate, raclette and Movenpick ice cream!

As an EPAer, I never quite leave the environmentalist behind. The sight of so many distinctive bags all over Zurich piqued my curiosity. So I asked at our hotel. The answer, “Oh, they are our special waste/recycling bags” led to some investigating and some illuminating answers. They’re called “Züri-Säcke” or “Zuri-Bags” and according to the city’s website, about 30,000 are picked up daily. What Zurichers don’t recycle at the ubiquitous drop-off points for plastic, glass, etc, must go into these special bags. The catch is that they are quite expensive. The bigger the bag, the more you pay. If you’re not already so inclined, the incentive to reduce, reuse and recycle becomes purely economic. In addition to familiar advice, such as dropping off your electronics, textiles and other household items at recycling centers, such as we have in my home county of Somerset, NJ, you are encouraged to take all your outdated or broken electrical appliances back to the store where you bought them – they are obligated to accept them at no charge to you! The advice is given in a gentle, yet firm way. Check out the English website for how to deal with modern life’s trappings.

Geneva does things in a similar manner, noting with pride that “Genevans recycled 45% of their waste in 2011 up from 37% in 2003 (recycling in the city of Geneva is lower, at only 36.2% in 2011).” For more information on this and on Geneva’s recycling programs visit the English language website.

Geneva took the visual impact of being environmentally responsible to a different level. They are displaying a ball of garbage weighing 35 tons at Place du Plainpalais in Geneva. This was after officials started a campaign to encourage citizens to dispose of their garbage responsibly. The 35-tons of garbage represent the amount of waste that is collected from public trash cans over a period of three days.

We are doing so much already in New York City and in the surrounding areas to reduce, reuse and recycle. These glimpses into another culture remind us that the work is never done and that it is upon us to do it.

About the Author: Paula Zevin is currently an Environmental Engineer in the Division of Environmental Science and Assessment at the Edison Environmental Center. Her work is centered on the technical and programmatic aspects of ambient water monitoring. She is also the volunteer water monitoring coordinator for EPA Region 2. Paula has been with EPA since 1991, and has worked in the chemical, pharmaceutical, textile and cosmetic industries prior to joining EPA. 

13 natural remedies for the ant invasion

Mar 27 2012

Ants are making their way into homes this time of year. Thankfully there are natural pest control methods to help you cope with and eliminate the problem. Plus, many of the solutions use what you already have in your cupboard!

Little tiny ants have been spotted in our new home, and many people are suffering the same fate across the country. As much as I love spring, I don't like bugs — especially bugs that can infest a house. Last week I asked for some advice in how to deal with ants naturally as I hadn't time to research it myself since I moved this last weekend. I got such good advice, I had to share it with the readers here at MNN as well. 

Some of these measures are deterrents. That is, they deter the ants from coming in your house. This seems to work well for those with a mild problem. Others found that they needed to use a method that kills the whole colony of ants. I've compiled the comments and suggestions by category, allowing you to compare the different methods a little more easily. 

1. Lemon juice 

Teresa: We just spray around the openings with pure lemon juice … and it always works for us … something about the acid messes up their sense of tracking…

2. Cinnamon 

Shayla:We use ground cinnamon around where there are coming it. It works really well.

Peggy: We spray cinnamon essential oil all around the doors, windowsills, floors, etc. keeps them from coming in. I put the sugar water and borax OUTSIDE!

Letia: Another vote for ground cinnamon. Easy to clean up afterwards and worked great for us!!!

Jean: Cinnamon and cloves. Makes your house smell nice and the ants just hate it sprinkled right in their path.

Patricia: We also use cinnamon oil. We draw borders around everything with a Q-tip dipped in it. They won’t cross it.

3. Peppermint 

Heather: My mother-in-law has success with peppermint essential oil around windows and doors (any entries). Plus her house then smells awesome.

Julie: Dr. Bonner’s liquid soap in the mint aroma. Mix 1 to 1 with water in a spray bottle. Spray on the ant invasion and watch them suffer.

4. Borax, water and sugar 

Kristi: We use borax, sugar, water and a touch of peanut butter. It takes a couple of weeks but really works. We used it last year in our old house and are implementing it again this spring in our new house. Pesky ants! Here is the site where I found the recipe:http://naturalantkiller.blogspot.com/

Christy: I second Diana’s comment about borax and sugar. I’ve made a thin paste before with water, sugar and borax, then spread it on little pieces of thin cardboard or stiff cardstock and placed them near where it seems they are coming into the house. They’ll eat it and take it back to their colony (just like the Terro liquid you can buy). The paste will dry up in a couple days, so you’ll have to make more. But I think I only had to do it twice before they were gone.

Chookie: What worked for us was a mixture of borax and sugar in water. Several years ago, we lived in a house where there was an ants nest in the walls. Removing it would have meant virtually demolishing the entire front wall of the house (not practical!), so instead, after a year or two of having flying ants swarm into our bedroom every year we decided to go on an ant killing spree. Conventional ant killers didn’t work. Borax and powdered sugar didn’t work. But adding water to the borax and sugar mix to make a thick sugary borax-y syrup DID work…. the worker ants took it back into the nest and it positioned the queen – result = no more flying ants. OK, so borax does need to be kept away from pets and small children, but it is relatively safe beyond that as it is only toxic if you eat it. my solution was to put it somewhere where the kids and the cats would not reach it but the ants could.

BeverlyC: We live in China and had a HORRIBLE ant problem in our house. Tried cinnamon, black pepper, vinegar, etc. etc. We were concerned about the borax because we have guests in and out regularly and the little children are often, well, naughty and undisciplined. When someone suggested Terro liquid ant bait and we found it was just Borax and sugar, we asked someone to bring us some. We could pick the traps up and put them away when company came and put them back out after they left. They worked wonders!!

5. Boiling water and dish soap 

Jennie: We make sure all of our food is sealed up. The honey jar is usually the biggest ant magnet, so it gets a thorough washing and then is placed on a small water-filled saucer in the cupboard. We use a spray bottle filled with water and a squirt of liquid dish soap (I use Seventh Generation) to kill any visible ants. I also look around outside to try to find their hill; pouring a kettle of boiling water on it solves the problem.

Christy:  I’ve done what Jennie mentioned too – boiling water will destroy an ant colony, or weeds popping up between sidewalk cracks or in mulch. It’s an easy, purely natural way to kill things that we don’t often think about.

6. Diatomaceous earth 

Karen: Yes … diatomaceous earth (DE) works well … use food-grade not swimming pool DE. It should be sprinkled around the perimeter of your new home and you can also safely sprinkle it inside where you see them. Do not wet the DE or it will not work. DE isn’t an instant kill but should resolve the problem within a week or so.

Jami: I have a pretty serious any invasion at my house too. When I moved in last April they had already made themselves at home. I did the cinnamon thing last year and worked ok, but they just kept finding new ways in. My ants weren’t attracted to sugary things, but protein, especially the dog food. This year I made some borax cookies and put them in the old fireplace where I noticed the ants returning a week ago. I also sprinkled DE around the perimeter of my kitchen and that seems to have worked better than anything so far for immediate results.

7. Chalk  

Natalie: Oh! And they will not cross a line drawn in chalk. I drew a line around my window where they were coming in and it kept them at bay. 

Anali: My grandparents has really good results with the line of chalk, they used powder that you can get at home improvement stores. It comes in a squeezey bottle so it’s easy to lay down a line with.

8. Baking soda and powdered sugar 

Jennifer: Ants carry an acidic substance with them always for protection. I do a mix of baking soda and powdered sugar in a plastic lid set in strategic places. I think a little volcanic science experiment happens inside their bodies. Over the course of several days it has made a huge difference.

9. Coffee grounds

Lea: I have had success with used coffee grounds, I did know where their entry was, after putting it in the cracks they never returned. I also do know it doesn’t kill them, it just makes them move homes, (we have put them on beds outside and we just see them pop up a small distance away.

10. Cornmeal

Jill: One more thing to add to this. I saw somewhere to use corn meal. Well, it worked out since some moths got into my cornmeal, and I felt bad wasting it. That’s when I saw the idea and tried it. I sprinkled a little bit just off the back porch. Every day I would check and every day the same trail of ants was still there. Then I forgot about it. My daughter found another ant nest further out in the yard, and it made me remember to check the last trail. It was gone, completely gone. So, I sprinkled it on the new nest, and less than a week later, it is gone. If you google it there are a ton of places where it mentions it. Here’s just one link, and if you scroll to the Tip there is still another idea using molasses. Although if cornmeal will work I think it’s cheaper, and safer around kids and pets. http://www.ehow.com/how_6395566_kill-ants-corn-meal.html

11. Cream of Wheat 

Rebecca: Cream of wheat! They eat it & it expands & they explode! Ha! I used it in my garden for ant problems. Kind of makes you wonder what it does to our insides when we eat it too

12. Vinegar 

Kristie: Vinegar! Since we switched to using a vinegar/water solution for mopping the floors and cleaning the counters, our ant problem has vanished.

Mysty: Vinegar is the one sure solution, but you need to pour it where the ants have their nest, not just to where they walk around. If you find their nest just pour about 0.5-1 L of white (cheap) vinegar. I never had ant problems but my grandparents sometimes has as they has a big farm and there is always an ant problem is some corner of the farm 

Cath: We used a mixture of vinegar, washing up liquid (ecover) and peppermint oil last year. Tracked them back to their nest and syringed it into the cracks. They never came back.

13. Equal 

Tea Leaf: We killed our ants by mixing Equal packets with apple juice. It is a neurotoxin to the ants. Scary that people put these in their coffee.

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/blogs/13-natural-remedies-for-the-ant-invasion

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Office of Sustainability

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

A New App Will Let You Share Your Leftovers With Strangers

by Elise Hu

July 29, 2013

Startups have made it so much easier for peer-to-peer buying and bartering these days. Need a place to stay? Swap houses. Want to fill out your wardrobe? Swap clothing. And coming soon is Leftover Swap, a smartphone app to help you barter or give away your leftovers.

This is either ingenious or cringe-worthy, depending on your penchant for other people's unfinished meals.

"It's obviously not for everybody," says Leftover Swap co-founder Dan Newman. "But for as many people who seemingly have a problem with it, there's people who love the idea."

The basic gist is this: Let's say you have some leftover pizza. Snap a photo of it and post it to the app's database. Strangers in the same geographic market then have an option of trading you for the food — or just taking it off your hands.

Newman says he and co-founder Bryan Summersett, a Seattle-based programmer, came up with this "ridiculous" notion while college roommates at the University of Michigan three years ago. "It was an outrageous joke in 2010, but in 2013, it's very plausible and something that people would use today," Newman says.

The founders aren't sure how to actually make money from Leftover Swap. For now, they see it as an effort to do good.

"We're not gonna make millions," Newman says. "[The environmental concern] is a big part of it. There's a bunch of studies about how much more food we need to produce for the world population by 2050, and how fertilizers are less effective and our current rate of producing food isn't going to suffice. Meanwhile, in the US we produce so much more food than we consume and so much is going to waste."

Leftover Swap is expected to launch by the end of August and will be available to download for free. Newman said he and Summersett are considering marketing in a few test markets to allow experimentation of the community-building around the leftover share, but haven't decided which ones they'll be. Either way, San Francisco health officials are already sounding warnings that users there could be breaking the law since leftovers pose a health hazard. Per SF Weekly:

"In San Francisco, it's illegal to sell food to the public without a permit, said Richard Lee, director of the Health Department's environmental regulatory program, and it could result in expensive citations — potentially a couple thousand dollars, or three times the original permitting fee. It could also lead to a much stiffer crackdown than the ones on Uber and Lyft for operating without state-issued livery licenses.

"Leftover food is, in fact, a huge source of food-borne illnesses and other pestilence, Lee said. And in this case, there would be no way for officials to trace the source — they wouldn't know who originally produced the food and under what conditions. Even if it came from the cleanest, best-inspected restaurant in San Francisco, it could still have been handled by some grubby hipster with no hygiene standards."

Newman says that they won't be allowing users to formally sell their leftovers, rather, individuals can offer to donate for particularly tasty or premium grub. He's also studying up on liability concerns and regulations surrounding individual food sharing. The bottom line is, this thing is for real, and it's happening.

To the haters, Newman says this: "People seem to have a huge lack of trust in their fellow man, thinking that leftovers would be diseased somehow. It goes back to the couch-surfing thing. You're staying at a random person's place and you have to trust they aren't going to do something weird. It's the same with leftovers."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/07/29/206493794/a-new-app-will-let-you-share-your-leftovers-with-strangers?utm_source=npr&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=20130729

Ever wonder what happens to used hotel soap?

By Roger Yu, USA TODAY

Updated 5/2/2011

Ever wonder what happens to leftover soap and shampoo at hotels? Most are thrown away. About 1 million partly used bars of soap are tossed out daily by U.S. hotels, according to Clean the World Foundation, a non-profit organization that recycles used soap for distribution to developing nations and homeless shelters.

But recycling organizations such as Clean the World, based in Orlando, and Global Soap Project, based in Atlanta, are starting to get more attention from large hotel companies.

Clean the World said last week that it reached an agreement with Starwood Hotels to recycle soap, shampoo and lotion. They estimate about 1.6 million pounds of soap may be recycled each year because Starwood has about 176,000 rooms in North America. Starwood runs Westin, Sheraton and other hotel chains.

Clean the World has had collection deals with about 1,000 individual hotels, including about 100 Marriotts and 80 Hiltons. Some properties run by Carlson, Wyndham, Hyatt and Joie de Vivre Hotels also donate to the organization. But the Starwood partnership is its first corporate wide agreement with a large hotel company.

Clean the World charges hotels 65 cents a room to clean and redistribute soap and shampoo bottles. Its business has been growing so fast that it's creating a for-profit operation to raise money. The foundation will retain its non-profit status and continue to distribute reprocessed soap. But its for-profit Clean the World Global arm will sell its services to hotels. "It will allow us to get the capital we need to open local (recycling) centers. We really need that capital to grow," says Shawn Seipler, founder of Clean the World.

Since its founding two years ago, Clean the World says it has distributed more than 8 million bars of soap in the U.S. and more than 40 countries, including Haiti, Japan, Zimbabwe, Uganda, India and Mexico. It estimates its efforts have diverted about 550 tons of waste from polluting landfills in the U.S. and Canada. Each day, 9,000 children die from diseases that can be prevented by washing with soap, the organization says.

Seipler and co-founder Paul Till were corporate salesmen before quitting their jobs to embrace the cause. "I was staying at hotels four nights a week," Seipler says. "I started asking, 'What's going on with soap and bottles?' "

They started collecting soap from 80 Orlando hotels and have since built recycling centers in Orlando, Las Vegas, Vancouver and Toronto.

Clean the World provides bins for housekeeping staff to deposit soap, shampoo and lotion bottles. The bottles are taken to a recycling plant, where soap is sterilized and reformed into 2-ounce bars.

http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/04/ever-wonder-what-happens-to-unused-hotel-soap-and-shampoo/167172/1

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Office of Sustainability

Office - (954) 828-5785  Fax - (954) 828-4745

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov