Mini LED lights from HolidayLEDs.com

Last year about this time, I wrote a GreenSpace column about how much energy regular incandescents holiday lights use, and how the new bulb technology using light-emitting diodes -- LEDs -- is a great way to reduce your lighting footprint. Indeed, the national Christmas tree in Washington, the tree in New York's Rockefeller Center, and the Times Square New Year's ball have all gone LED. Longwood Gardens has, too.

In my view, the lights do look slightly more metallic, less warm. But they're pretty all the same, and improving all the time. And the way some people light up this time of year -- and isn't it lovely! -- we could use the energy break. 

People complained about the cost, however. Why buy new when you can use old? At least two companies are offering rebates to customers who bring in their old strings of incandescents for recycling.

The e-commerce company, www.holidayLEDs.com , is offering 15 percent discount coupons for each string someone sends in. The company then sends the lights to a recycling facility in Michigan where they are first placed in a commercial shredder and then separated into the various components that make up the light sets including glass, metal, and plastic. The components are then recycled separately.

Last year, they recycled 5,000 pounds of lights. So this year, to make it even more eco-friendly, the company is encouraging participants to consolidate shipments with friends, neighbors, church groups, co-workers or other groups in an effort to maximize the environmental benefit of the program.HolidayLEDs.com

Information is here on the company website, but basically, send the lights to the company, Attn: Recycling Program, 118 Rosehill Dr. Suite 118, Jackson, MI 49202. And don't forget to include a clearly printed note with an email address (not a mailing address) of where the coupon should be sent.

Better yet, said Holiday's Philip C. Curtis, look for a local recycling effort. There may be others, but one I know of is Home Depot, which is offering people $3 coupons for every string of old lights, whether they work or not. 

LED lights consume about 90 percent less energy, which should help on the bill. This is another fun fact from Home Depot: Because the LED strings have superior connectivity, you can link up to 87 strands -- about a quarter mile -- and plug the end into one outlet without overloading most circuits.
 
 

A still from the film, "Eating Alaska"

The Wild and Scenic Film Festival -- for activists, by activists -- is naturally a West Coast baby. But some of the group's best films have gone out on tour, and they were quite a hit when they came to Chester County about a year ago.

Now, some of the tour films are going to be shown this Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The Academy is teaming up with Greener Partners, an organization that promotes farming, large and small, within the greater Philadelphia region.

The event will be from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and the $35 admission includes a selection of short films from the Patagonia Wild and Scenic Collection, plus refreshments, live music (by the bluegrass band, "The Treats") and a raffle with sustainability-style prizes. 

In addition to supporting Greener Partners, proceeds also will support the Academy's Center for Environmental Policy, including its popular public science programs like Town Square -- more than 100 of these alone in the past five years. 

Speaking of which, tonight's program, from 6 to 8 p.m., is a federal policy briefing on climate change.

Nov. 17 brings a talk by polar explorer Lonnie Dupree, who earlier this year led a team of explorers on a 54-day trek to the North Pole.

The program Nov. 19 is an Urban Sustainability Forum on transportation reform. How apropro, in light of the SEPTA strike. All are free.

I always knew cigarette butts were nasty, but now it seems they're even worse than I thought. New research -- albeit funded by anti-cigarette groups -- suggests they could qualify as toxic hazardous waste.

The research comes from San Diego State University (SDSU); the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and consulting groups Oxford Outcomes and the Varda Group. It's part of the Cigarette Butt Pollution Project funded by the California Tobacco Related Disease Research Program of the University of California.

Their findings are being presented Monday at the 137th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, held in Philadelphia. 

Meanwhile, here's a preview of the findings and project activities, provided by San Diego State University: 

 • According to SDSU Public Health Professor Richard Gersberg, cigarette butts allowed to soak in both fresh and salt water kill half the exposed fish in a standardized hazard assessment at a concentration of about one butt per liter. Further research is planned to identify the organic and inorganic chemicals in the cigarette butt that are lethal to fish and may be identified in natural environments.

• The tobacco industry fears an alliance among environmental and tobacco control groups that would demand that the industry take responsibility for discarded cigarette butts, according to Elizabeth Smith, associate adjunct professor at UCSF. Smith studied tobacco industry documents and found that, to avoid this responsibility, tobacco companies developed numerous anti-litter efforts. However, the companies’ own research revealed that smokers litter cigarette butts for complex reasons, including disgust at the butts and guilt about their addiction, and industry programs have had little success at changing smoker littering behavior.

• Richard Barnes, of the UCSF Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, described regulatory policies that may help reduce cigarette butt waste. These include levying litter fees on tobacco products, strengthening the enforcement of existing penalties for illegally disposing of cigarette butts and possibly bringing lawsuits against the industry to recover costs to communities of cigarette butt blight and butt cleanups.

• An economic study based on a litter audit in San Francisco found the annual cost to dispose of cigarette butts was more than $6 million. Dr. John Schneider of Oxford Outcomes said this justified the imposition by the City Council of a litter fee of 20 cents per pack of cigarettes sold in San Francisco.

• Finally, Clifton Curtis, of the Varda Group, described how an alliance of environmental and tobacco control groups and other supporters might develop an innovative public information and advocacy campaign to reduce cigarette butt waste at the local, state, and national levels.

The project (www.cigwaste.org) seeks to unify its environmental efforts against butt waste with public health efforts against smoking.

Alas, the scenario is all-too-familiar: A family buys a new, energy-saving refrigerator. So far, so good. But then they put the old one in the basement or the garage. And then they PLUG IT IN!  Aieee. Total energy use goes up, not down.  And often, that second fridge is mostly empty. It's just used for extra drinks or parties or some such.

Now, PPL is following the lead of other utilities companies. Today, it's going to inaugurate an appliance buy-back program by picking up the old refrigerator of Mary Anne Smeltz, who lives in Dalmatia, north of Harrisburg.  PPL is offering $35 for any old -- but working -- refrigerators, freezers or room air-conditioners their customers have.

And they'll come pick the aged appliances up to boot. Customers can schedule a pick-up by calling 1-877-270-3522 or visiting www.pplelectric.com/recycle  The $35 comes as a rebate.  The electric company says it will recycle 95 percent of the materials in the old appliances.

In Smeltz's case, she realized the old fridge was costing her $150 a year to run, just to store a few drinks and frozen foods.

PECO customers, your turn is coming. Just wait a few months.

Yesterday, the company announced a few more details about a suite of energy efficiency programs that they say will save their customers $1 billion. One of the programs is, yep, $10 million in customer incentives to part with older, inefficient appliances. Not to mention $42 million in rebates for buying newer ones.

Other programs, all of which begin in March, 2010,  include $28 million in weatherization programs for low-income customers plus $112 million in rebates and energy efficiency programs for non-profit, educational, governmental and business customers. A $20 million program discounting compact fluorescent light bulbs at more than 800 PECO-area stores has already begun.  And that's not even a rebate. The clerk gives customers the cheaper rate at the register.

Both the PPL and PECO programs are a response to a state law that requires all state electric utilities to reduce energy use by one percent by May 31, 2011. The PECO programs are estimated to cost residential customers $1.50 a month on their bills, so "selling" the utility your old appliance is a great way to get that money back, as well as seeing a reduction in your bill without that old think sucking up so much energy. Plus, you get to feel great about helping the environment.

Not sure exactly what constitutes a green home? Me, neither. The insulation should be top-notch, of course. Likewise the windows. Leaks should be sealed. But there's so much more to it than that.

This Saturday, the Warminster Township Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) will host a free seminar on green building presented by the Delaware Valley Green Building Council. One of the organizers, Larry M. Menkes, reports that although a lot of people have heard about green building, "few have a clear understanding about what it is, what it can do, what it costs, and why it's become the most important movement in the building industry in modern times. This event is tailored for municipal officials that are charged with administer building codes that are often at odds with the needs of the community, financial responsibility, and the environment."

He says that it will be a basic, non-technical seminar. Attendees will learn about fundamentals of green design; how to identify green-washing, how to lower municipal and personal utility bills, be more comfortable and productive in a healthier workplace or home, and other benefits of green design.

The event is sponsored by the council and the Bucks County Sustainable Building Alliance. It will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Warminster Township Administration Building, 401 Gibson Ave. Lunch will be provide. To RSVP, the link is: https://dvgbc.org/civicrm/event/register?id=51&reset=1

And to find out more about green homes yourself, visit the U.S. Green Building Council's green home website, www.greenhomeguide.org

Last week, I met two of the most charming fellows. They went by Ecoman and the Skeptic, but in actuality they were Philadelphia University professors Rob Fleming and Chris Pastore.

Rob, who is Ecoman, is director of the university's sustainable design program. He's big into the philosophy of green. 

Chris, the Skeptic, is head of the architectural engineering program. He's big into the science of green. If there's no data to back it up, there's no green. 

Together, they host a weekly online radio show about environmental matters that's informative, fast-paced and fun.

Last week, I was the guest, there to talk about toilet paper and facial tissues and other similar products.  You can buy ones made of recycled paper, or you can buy ones made of trees. Big difference.

They were nice to me. Even Chris. (I was scared of the Skeptic!) So I suppose I might be considered biased. But here goes anyway. I was so impressed with how well they had prepared for the hour-long show. In a room off a student lounge with a few microphones and a bunch of laptops, they start off with 15 minutes of news, all delivered with an easy banter.  Then it's time for the guest. They grilled me not just about TP, but about all manner of things I had written about recently, from better-burning wood to green burials. I tried not to sound like a chipmunk -- or an idiot -- and I think it went okay. Either way, it was fun.

At the end, Rob and Chris square off on a weekly true-or-false Green Wash quiz about eco events, hosted by Prof. Rob Frye, who usually tries to trip them up. Last week, they needed to know whether Republicans were supporting climate change legislation and what the big data point was that Bill McKibben is so hot on. Skeptic is winning so far, but Ecoman shows promise. 

This week's show, live at 11 a.m. tomorrow, will feature actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr., star of Living With Ed and author of Ed Begley, Jr.’s Guide to Sustainable Living, Learning to Conserve Resources and Manage an Eco-Conscious Life.  The "dueling duo," as Rob and Chris are sometimes referred to, will delve into practical tips for living green – while still getting along with your spouse.  Begley's probably a real live wire. In his first book, Living Like Ed, his wife got to chime in with segments they dubbed "Rachelle's Turn," which were often hilarious. She'd stumble over the solar oven and freak out trying to switch the battery system over to the grid. So what Ecoman and the Skeptic want to know is:  Will Ed and his wife Rachelle be able to strike a balance between doing good and living well? What are the three steps to energy independence?

You can get more info -- and tune in to boot -- at http://www.philau.edu/ecomanandtheskeptic/

Better yet, if you're listening and you have questions, call in during the broadcast at 1-888-346-9141. 

Whether the Phillies will win the World Series or not remains, well, iffy at best, at this point.

But at least the team has been making hits when it comes to its green initiatives.

Last year, as part of a broader effort in Major League Baseball, the Phillies announced a new initiative to increase recycling, switch to biodegradeable cups and buy renewable energy. The link to the story has expired, so I’ll copy it below from our archives.

Now, an MLB spokeswoman has an update: “With the Phillies confirmed to represent the National League, they have really done a lot over the last two years and are one of our strongest green teams. For the American League, the Yankees new stadium was built with environmental considerations and the Angels have done a lot to become more environmentally friendly.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council has been working with the teams, and here’s a blog update from Jessica Esposito. Not only was Esposito out at Yankee Stadium last week promoting recycling of fans’ game waste, she also noted some of the behind-the-scenes efforts: “Games played at Yankee Stadium will use renewable energy offsets from Bonneville Environmental Foundation, sourcing 100% of the energy from wind farms in North Dakota and Minnesota. Offsetting the games at Yankee Stadium means saving more than 3,500 metric tons of CO2 pollution during the four potential games there. Games played at Citizen Bank Park will also all be offset with 100% renewable energy credits from WindStreet Energy.”

Meanwhile, MLB has passed along some of the Phillies’ latest recycling data. The team has a goal of increasing the
the ballpark recycling rate to exceed the current 15% rate. In 2008, approximately 251.16 tons of cardboard/white paper and 95.72 tons of commingled material (plastic or glass bottles/aluminum cans) were recycled. So far this year:

• During the month of April 2009 (15 home games), collected 179.75 tons of trash and 34.82 tons of recycling (cardboard & commingled) for a 16% recycling rate.
• During the month of May 2009 (15 home games), collected 192.98 tons of trash and 37.20 tons of recycling (cardboard & commingled) for a 16% recycling rate.
• During the month of June 2009 (9 home games), collected 180 tons of trash and 34.82 tons of recycling (cardboard & commingled) for a 16% recycling rate.
• During the month of July 2009 (17 home games), collected 342 tons of trash and 59.42 tons of recycling (cardboard & commingled) for a 17% recycling rate.
• During the month of August 2009 (12 home games, 1 concert), collected 268.52 tons of trash and 46.34 tons of recycling (cardboard & commingled) for a 17% recycling rate.
• During the month of September 2009 (13 home games), collected 213.64 tons of trash and 37.98 tons of recycling (cardboard & commingled) for an 18% recycling rate.

Go Phillies.

And here's the story from May 1, 2008:

The Phillies players all wore green hats last night.

Whether it did anything to help their game, no one will know.

But it was a sign of the team's new environmental strategy and its new logo: Red Goes Green.

Yesterday, the team rolled out an entire green program, announcing that it would buy enough renewable energy - wind, in all likelihood - to cover all of its energy use at Citizens Bank Park this year.

The 20 million kilowatt hours will make the Phillies the third-largest purchaser of green power in the city. It will heat the fryers, light the field, power the scoreboard and more.

In short, it will juice everything except Chase Utley's swing.

The team also plans myriad smaller greenings such as switching to biodegradeable cups and plates.

The fry oil from the chicken tenders and French fries will be converted to biodiesel.

The stadium's cans and bottles - 20,000 for sodas alone - will be recycled.

All in all, it will be enough to turn the Phanatic . . . oh, wait, he's already green.

Major League Baseball executive vice president John McHale Jr., who donned his own green cap along with Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell at an afternoon ceremony, termed the Phillies' commitment "unprecedented."

He said the club had gone far beyond what his office imagined when it challenged the league's teams in March to green their operations.

It also opened the door for a host of groaner puns, from suggestions that saving the planet requires "a team effort" to hopes that the new initiative would be "a hit."

Meanwhile, the accolades flowed. "We will hold you up as an example to the rest of the country," said regional Environmental Protection Agency administrator Donald Welsh.

"This is absolutely a great thing," said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the national environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, which advised the league for free. "There's no downside to it."

He said it was important that a cultural icon like baseball would throw its considerable weight behind environmental initiatives, and to do so "in a fish bowl. It's a courageous thing."

Said Rendell: "It's our hope the fans will emulate the club."

The Washington Nationals may be building the nation's greenest stadium, and the Eagles may have beat them to it with their own burst of green projects last fall, including toilet paper made from recycled materials. But the Phillies are leading on the renewable energy front. With the wind-power purchase - expected to cost about $250,000 - they have become the first major-league baseball team to join the EPA's "Green Power Partnership," which encourages groups to buy green power.

In the city, the team will rank behind the nearly 200 million kilowatt hours the University of Pennsylvania purchases, and just below the 21.5 million kilowatt hours the city purchases for City Hall and the airport.

The team is also one of only 13 groups in the state to purchase the renewable energy equivalent to 100 percent of the energy it uses.

This does not mean, however, that a field of wind turbines will literally be sending the electrons they generate to Citizens Bank Park.

What the team is actually buying is renewable energy credits, brokered by WindStreet Energy Inc., a Perth Amboy, N.J., company.

Here's how it works:

All kinds of generators, from coal plants to wind turbines, pump electricity into the grid.

But in the case of wind turbines, solar panels and other forms of renewable energy, the environmental benefits - no air pollution, for instance - of each kilowatt hour can be separated and sold as "renewable energy credits."

The credits are certified by an independent auditing body - in the case of the Phillies, a company called Green-e Energy - and registered so they can only be sold once.

The credit system helps offset the higher costs of generating clean energy. So while the Phillies aren't literally powering the park with wind, "if people weren't buying these credits, the wind farms would not have the financial incentive to operate," said WindStreet president Christopher Kent.

Jeff Deyette, an energy analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit unconnected with the effort, called Green-e certification the "gold standard" for ensuring the validity of the credits.

Other than hooking the stadium directly to wind turbines or solar panels, "it's the next best thing they can do to support clean energy," he said.

Penn's new environmental sustainability coordinator - which tops the nation's colleges and universities with its wind purchase - welcomed the Phillies into the clean energy fold.

"The idea of influencing behavior through associating with things you like is very powerful," said Penn's Dan Garofalo. "So the Eagles and Phillies are greener; every little bit helps influence the general population."

The NRDC's Hershkowitz also saw potential for green growth. "The story as I see it is that one of the most culturally influential organizations is saying, 'We're going to look at our supply chain and our operations to see where to reduce our impact,' " he said.

"It really is a huge cultural shift . . . There's motherhood, apple pie, baseball, and now there's environmentalism."
 

The details of plastic bagdom are ever in flux. Cities are trying to ban them. Stores are giving people money to not use them.

Today, a major national pharmacy retailer joined the fray. CVS announced what is basically a 25-cent giveback for every bag a customer doesn’t use. Great deal, right? Especially when you consider that most grocery stores only give in the neighborhood of a nickel.

But there’s a catch. You need one of those horrid little cards — “loyalty” cards is what they’re often called — to take advantage of the deal. Actually, you need TWO of those horrid little cards.

Do I need to say here how much I hate all those horrid little cards and tags that we’re supposed to carry around on our key chains to get a discount at some store or other? Am I alone?

I have cards at two grocery stores. For a while, I had a card that gave me a free cup of coffee every tenth time. My pet food store gives me some kind of cut if I use their card. And so on. If I took advantage of all of the cards and deals, I’d just about need an extra purse.

So, yes, I rolled my eyes when I heard about yet another discount card, even though CVS promises theirs — a “GreenBagTag” in the shape of a green leaf — is made with corn-based material and 100 percent recycled silicone.

Except that the 25 cents really is a good deal, so bear with CVS in figuring out how it works. I've distilled it into ten easy steps:

1) Sign up for an “ExtraCare” card, which is free and entitles you to various discounts. You cannot get a GreenBagTag without it.

2) Hand over 99 cents.

3) The clerk will give you the tag. 

4) The GreenBagTag comes in a little package — it’s made of recycled paper, but still, go figure. Please save this so you can recycle it.

5) Next time you buy something and don’t use a bag, swipe the ExtraCare card AND the leaf-shaped tag.

6) Do it again.

7) Do it again.

8) Do it one more time. Only after the fourth bag denied does the computer tally a $1 discount, which CVS calls the “Extra Buck.” It’s printed on your receipt. Your paper receipt.

9) And now ... don’t lose that receipt! May I suggest paper-clipping it to your leaf card, just in case your key ring isn’t already bursting?

10) Next time you’re back in any of the 7,000 CVS stores in the nation, hand the receipt to the clerk, who will scan it to give you the ExtraBuck credit on your purchase.

Got it? Stay tuned for the tally on how many plastic bags this saves.
 

This weekend, I'll probably crank up the fireplace insert and start burning. Last year, using it for heat kept my oil usage to 440 gallons, a little more than half of what it was without the insert.

But not all fires, not all fireplaces, and not all woods are created equal. To help people sort things out, the Environmental Protection Agency has started a "burn wise" campaign to help reduce pollution from wood smoke -- which, as the agency notes, is "a mixture of gases and fine particle pollution that isn’t healthy to breathe indoors or out – especially for children, older adults and those with heart disease, asthma or other lung diseases."

It's like those days when people are burning leaves, and you think it smells so good. Actually, you're breathing harmful particles. And by the way, if you ant to purchase a more efficient wood-burning stove, you may qualify for a federal tax credit.

According to info from the EPA:

If you’re burning wood, you can have a cheaper, safer and healthier fire by following these tips:

· Burn only dry, seasoned wood. It’s better for the air and your wallet. Look for wood that is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when hit against another piece of wood. Dry seasoned wood is more efficient at heating your home and can add up to significant savings over the winter. Never burn painted or treated wood or trash.

· Maintain your wood stove or fireplace and have a certified technician inspect it yearly. A certified technician can clean dangerous soot from your chimney and keep your wood stove or fireplace working properly, which reduces your risk of a home fire.

· Change to an EPA-certified wood stove or fireplace insert. These models are more efficient than older models, keeping your air cleaner, your home safer and your fuel bill lower, while keeping you warm in the winter. An estimated 12 million Americans heat their homes with wood stoves each winter, and nearly three-quarters of these stoves are not EPA certified. An EPA-certified wood stove can emit nearly 70 percent less smoke than older uncertified models.

More information on Burn Wise: http://www.epa.gov/burnwise  The site has all sorts of useful information and makes for interesting rummaging for a while.  It even has an on-line calculator that provides a cost comparison between different fuel types including hardwoods, softwoods, gas, oil, and electric.  And it solved the mystery of why, when I was camping in Nova Scotia earlier this fall, I saw signs warning against burning driftwood in the fire circles at each campsite. It releases toxic chemicals. Ack.