September 17, 2009
· Filed under Nature/ the Earth, environment, gardening, recycling · Tagged composting, electronic waste, organic gardening, recycling, trees
We’re getting ready for the dry, windy fall weather here by having all 20 of our huge trees trimmed on Monday. They’ll be here all day making noise and a mess, but with the fire season coming on, it’s important to have the brush, leaves, detritus and dry limbs trimmed so they aren’t broken off by the high winds. Since we have a wood burning hot tub, we ask them to leave the smaller branches.
We have a compost box that we use to refill the garden areas, we put in the cuttings from the salad vegetables, and sometimes when I empty out the melon seeds, I get what I call “freebies” in the spring. The soil from the compost box will often sprout tomatoes, melons and potatoes once we spread it in the garden!
BTW, I found a cool new website at Earth911.com that has recycling information on garden composting, paper, metal, hazardous waste, plastic, glass, electronics waste, automotive, household and construction materials.
A recent article on the website reported that researchers have “found a species of earthworm to be productive in converting the huge volumes of solid sludge produced by the textiles industry into compost”! See what human ingenuity can discover once we put our minds to it?
June 4, 2009
· Filed under Water issues, recycling · Tagged CA, California, EPA, gov, government, Irwindale, recycling, southwest, water management, water recycling
clean water
Workshop on Innovative Energy Management for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Southwest (June 23, 2009)
Space is still available for the free 1-day workshop on Innovative Energy Management being sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9. The workshop will be held on June 23, 2009, in Irwindale, California, to share information on saving energy and money at Southern California water and wastewater treatment plants. NWRI is a co-sponsor of this workshop.
For more information, please visit www.epa.gov/region09/waterinfrastructure/training/energy-workshop/
April 21, 2009
· Filed under environment, recycling, renewable energy · Tagged Earth Day, environment, EPA, Washington DC
From The Environmental Protection Agency, Published April 21, 2009
EPA to Hold Earth Day Festival and Open House at Headquarters E-Waste Animated Video Wins Film Festival Award On Beyond Organic: Earth Day. Glastonbury’s Green Fields Embrace Green Credentials A ‘Summer of Green,’ the Ultimate Guide to U.S. National Forests, and Medicines in Our Waterways.
(Washington, D.C. — April 21, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold an Earth Day Festival and Open House on April 22 as the agency’s celebration of Earth Month draws to a close. The festival and open house will give the public an opportunity to see some of the ways EPA protects human health and the environment.
The festival will take place outside EPA headquarters at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, from noon to 2:30 p.m. It will feature EPA exhibits, hands-on experiments and demonstrations by EPA scientists, live music, dancing and art. The festival is free and open to the public.
Who: EPA scientists and employees, the EPA band and mascots, senior EPA officials, and George S. Hawkins, Director of the District Department of the Environment
What: EPA’s 1st Earth Day Festival and Open House
When: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Noon — 2:30 p.m.
Where: EPA Headquarters 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. at 12th Street on the Green Lawn
For more information visit: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/
To find Earth Day events near you visit: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm.
To The Dance of Life!
April 16, 2009
· Filed under environment, recycling, renewable energy · Tagged Audubon, Debs Park, Earth Day, environment, greener buildings, Los Angeles, renewable energy, U.S. Green Building Council, Vantage Communications, Wade Webb
Hi Greenies,
Post your Earth Day Celebrations (April 22nd) here, share them with everyone who may be looking for a cool way to celebrate environmentalism and fun!
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Come Celebrate Earth Day with Vantage Communications on Apr 16, 2009 in Orlando, Fla.
Join us on April 16th at Taste as we celebrate making our planet more sustainable with an entertaining evening of food, networking and giveaways! A suggested donation of $3 gets you in the door – with all donations going to the U.S. Green Building Council. The bar will be no-host.
Vantage Communications Earth Day Event on Apr 16, 2009 in San Francisco, Calif.
Join Vantage and the Bay Area’s green building and cleantech community on April 16th to celebrate making our planet more sustainable. Sponsored by Autodesk, the event will take place at its beautiful new Autodesk Gallery on One Market Street in San Francisco. Expect to enjoy food, drinks, networking, and giveaways, with donations collected at the event to benefit the US Green Building Council.
Greenv Sustainable Center Grand Opening & Earth Day Celebration Event on Apr 18, 2009 in South San Francisco, Calif.
Join Us April 18 from 9am to 5pm!
For links to the events visit http://www.greenerbuildings.com (If you do go to the website, please check out the events calendar listing “Solar System Hands-on Training” event in Los Angeles. My husband, Wade Webb, is teaching the course at the Audubon at Debs Park in Los Angeles on April 18th and I’m very proud of him!)
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How will you be spending Earth Day?
January 15, 2009
· Filed under environment, recycling · Tagged books, CURVES, eco-friendly, environment, Pasadena, recycle, recycling, The Bone Peddlar
old books
Personally, I collect books. Most of the time when I get rid of a book, I’ll need it ten seconds later and I’m angry at myself for letting it go.
But, eventually reality sets in, and having only so much room for bookshelves, once they are crammed to overflowing I know I have to get rid of some of them.
Painful as that may be, at least I don’t let them go to waste.
I give books I no longer read or use to friends and family, and leave my environmental magazines in the lobbies of doctor’s offices, coffee shops (if they have a book/magazine rack), donate them to libraries that sell used books (to help out their budget), and leave interesting magazines in beauty shops, or anywhere else I see people hang out.
A few local stores also buy back books, so I run them by and see if I can get my gas money back for the trip!
A friend of mine is involved in several children’s programs and I save the colorful magazines for their art projects, and the local daycare centers always need them for art projects.
I use old calendars (that often have stunning photos on each month) to wrap small presents and gifts during the year.
We have a cool program at my exercise club, CURVES of Pasadena, we bring in books we don’t want and borrow new ones we want to read. I’ve been introduced to some of the oddest little reading selections this way, like a book I read entitled “The Bone Peddlar”.
Remember, being eco-friendly basically amounts to being creative, and not wasting anything of value by recycling or reusing it.
