Written by Guest Blogger: Bridget Oland

We all know that swapping out old incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs(CFLs) is one painless way to reduce your annual power bill. (Lights account for about 5% of overall household power use). CFLs use 75 percent less energy than their incandescent counterparts and last up to 10 times longer. When you do the light bulb math each CFL bulb can prevent more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions. And depending on electrical rates you could save about $80 in energy costs over the life of the bulb.

If you’re going to make this worthwhile investment (and it is an investment, considering the cost) you’ll want to ensure each bulb lasts a good long time.

A friend was complaining recently that CFL bulbs in his home weren’t lasting nearly as long as they were supposed to. We were noticing the same thing so I did some research and discovered a few tips to help extend the life of your pricey bulbs:

• In fixtures on a dimmer switch use dimmable CFLs (should be stated on the packaging). Dimmers shorten the life of regular CFLs.
• CFLs are best in areas where they’re likely to be on for 15 minutes at a time or longer. Using them in places where they’ll be turned on and off frequently (like closets and bathrooms) will shorten their life.
• For totally enclosed fixtures buy bulbs that state clearly on that packaging that they’re designed for this use.
• If the bulb has been used according to the manufacturer’s instructions and still burns out early you may be eligible for a refund or a replacement. Energy Star certified bulbs carry at least a two-year warranty (covering manufacturer defects). The catch is that you need to save your receipts and contact the manufacturer directly.

Something else you need to know about CFL bulbs is that they all contain mercury. As a result they’re considered household hazardous waste and cannot go in the regular trash. Spent bulbs can be taken to the Crane Mountain Household Hazardous Waste Facility (Saturday mornings) or to convenient drop-off boxes at Home Depot or IKEA. The mercury is recycled into new bulbs.

Because of the mercury you should be careful where you use the bulbs. Basically anywhere with a higher risk of breakage is not a good spot for a CFL (ex. lamps in children’s rooms or table lamps in high traffic areas).

If you break a bulb you should open a window, leave the room and close the door, turn off the air exchange system and go looking for a glass screw top jar and a roll of duct tape. After 15 minutes you can go back in (wearing gloves), put the glass fragments in the jar and use the tape to pick up the tiny bits. Put the tape in the jar too and use a damp cloth to wipe the area. Put the cloth in the jar, screw on the lid and take it to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility.

This is the ultra-conservative clean up method suggested by Energy Star. Apparently the overall the health risk is minimal (each bulb contains just a fraction of the mercury contained in a silver filling).

Last year David Suzuki published an article about a woman in Spokane, Washington who would drive to a neighbouring state to buy a phosphate-containing product to clean her dishes, as she believed the phosphate component was essential for good results.

Suzuki uses the story to illustrate the impact of choices we make concerning dishwashing, that impact the environment and the health of our families. He challenges us to consider the total life cycle of the products we use.

Phosphates have been used for years as very powerful detergents that cut grease and facilitate the cleansing process. But the trade-off for phosphates is large in the impact they have from wastewater on rivers, streams and lakes. The problem is that they cause large algae blooms in fresh water lakes and rivers, starve the water of oxygen and kill wildlife and plants. Canada became the first country to ban phosphorus from laundry detergents in 2008.   Canada also was first to require that phosphorus be removed from municipal sewage discharged into the Great Lakes. Many of the American states bordering the Great Lakes then followed Canada’s lead but it is only in 2010 that bans on dishwasher products in the US are being implemented.

At Green Cricket we offer a choice of phosphate free dishwasher products. This month we are giving a free package of Greener Choice dishwasher tablets with every order. Try them – they work AND they are good for the environment.

Now is the time for you to choose to make a difference, one dish at a time!

[written by Trevor Smith]

Three of the five members in my immediate family smoke. My Dad, after a breast cancer scare, quit. He’s been a non-smoker for almost three years now! Yay! At eleven years old, I took my first puff on a cigarette. And fainted. Clearly, the thrill was lost on me.

Which brings me to my rant of the month. It is estimated that 4.3 trillion cigarette butts are littered each year. It takes 12 years for the filters to decompose.

It is estimated that one in five New Yorkers smoke. My guess, from random observations, is that it is probably one in four. By comparison, the San Francisco Bay area has far fewer smokers. My guess is one in ten. I have pondered the reasons for this difference, and conclude that New Yorkers think it is part of the style image, and Californians weigh in on the healthy living side of things.

I was in Napa Valley recently. Friends from New York were visiting, and one of them had tossed a cigarette butt on the ground. I didn’t see her do this, and if I had, I’m not sure I would have said anything. Why is that? A man walked up to her with the discarded butt and did his best to politely ask her not to discard cigarette butts on the street because they wind up in the creek and get washed out to San Francisco Bay. She was more than a little surprised, and a lot embarrassed. Her comment? “That would never happen in New York!” So true.

I recall the day when my parents, chain-smoking in the car with the three of us suffocating in the back seat, would open the car door and dump the overflowing ashtray on the ground. I also recall being scolded to close the window because the air conditioning was on. I couldn’t see my parents in the front seat through the blue haze of smoke.

If, at the same moment a smoker tossed a butt on the street, I tossed a candy bar wrapper on the street, I suspect they would holler at me to pick it up and toss it in the bin.

Why do smokers think it is okay to discard their butts on the ground? How about get one of these portable ashtrays?

Most of the flowers in these shops come from far away – so start with a
good dose of greenhouse gases from the transportation to get them here.
While growing, they are sprayed with a cocktail of pesticides –
sometimes as many as 100 times what they would spray on foods at the
same farm.  These pesticides have very negative impacts to the local
environment, not to mention the local people employed on the farm to
pick them and ship them here – people who don’t have options to demand
better.

So what should you look for?

Well, like most products, buying local is a great start.  Our labour laws are stricter and so are the limits that we place on pesticides. And you save on the greenhouse gases since its not crossing the continent.

Then look for organic.  Organic flowers are grown without the use of pesticides and herbicides.  Many people who are very careful about the food as well as the cleaning and personal care products that they choose don’t realize that traditional flowers have a significant dose of pesticides that you bring directly into your home without thinking.  Nothing says “I love you” like a good dose of DDT, right?

Lastly, choose fair trade.  Fair trade means that products are purchased at a fair price from the local source, which allows them to grow things sustainably, in a way that protects worker safety.  Many other products
are purchased at next to nothing from local sources, and the money made instead goes to the distributor, keeping communities in developing countries in absolute poverty.

This Valentines Day – consider the gift of organic flowers which are healthier for loved ones, and the planet.

(PS. Don’t forget the chocolates!)

January 31, 2010 was the deadline for participating countries to submit their proposals to the UNFCCC to reduce greenhouse gas emissions reductions. How did they fare?

Currently, with no changes, the forecast for average global temperature increase by 2100 is 4.7 degrees Celsius.  Scientific consensus is that this would be catastrophic, with sea levels rising by one metre.

The Copenhagen Accord was a promise (non-binding, remember) that the participating countries would reduce emissions so that we have a minimum average global temperature increase of only 2.5 degrees by 2100.

When you look at these projections, it is worth noting that many African countries, who are particularly sensitive to the drought and desertification brought about by higher temperatures, walked out on the Copenhagen summit at one point because their position is that average temperature rise by 2100 of more than 1.5 degrees will be catastrophic for them.

So how are the proposals that were just submitted on January 31? According to Climate Interactive, a collaborative project to use open-source tools to accurately predict the future of climate change, the proposals that have just been submitted don’t even take us to where we’re supposed to be ~ that is, reducing emissions such that the temperature only increases by 2.5% by 2100.

Instead, the scientists and data-modeling folks at Climate Interactive say that the current proposals will only bring down the temperature increase to 3.9% by 2100. In other words, almost exactly 4 degrees.

If we take that as a given, and we assume that all the participating countries will do what they say they are going to do (which is a big IF) then what will the world look like, 4 degrees warmer?

A four-degree C overall increase means a world where temperatures will be two degrees warmer in some places, 12 degrees and more in others, making those uninhabitable.

It will likely mean one to two billion people will not have access to adequate fresh water because of the major shift in rainfall patterns.

It is a world with a one- to two-metre sea level rise by 2100, leaving hundreds of millions homeless. This will head to 12 metres in the coming centuries as the Greenland and Western Antarctic ice sheets melt, according to papers presented at a conference in Oxford in October.

Even with a two-degree rise, most of the world’s coral reefs will be lost, large portions of the ocean will become dead zones, mountain glaciers will largely vanish and many other ecosystems will be at risk.

The 16th conference of the parties (COP16) to the UN Framework on Climate Change will meet in Mexico next year. Let’s hope that as a global family, we can see fit to finding real, binding agreements that have more effective results than the four degree solution that just isn’t any solution at all.

David Greene writes…

When I was growing up on the Canadian prairies (where, at this time of the year, your eye lashes freeze together), hot water was divine. To soak in a hot bath after being outside all day, shoveling snow, cross-country skiing, and building snow forts, warmed the soul. It turned my pink cheeks rosy red and made me feel so comfortable. When my partner and I moved onto our sailboat and began our circumnavigation of this beautiful world, hot water became a luxury. The hot water tank on our boat held only 5 gallons. It was very hot water, so 5 gallons mixed with cold water went a very long way. Our water was heated in two ways – by running the engine, or by running the generator. Either way, hot water required the consumption of fuel. And because we were often visiting in places where we couldn’t get water, we made our own by desalinating seawater. The generator was needed and fuel was consumed so that we could have water, hot or cold.

By the same token, fuel is consumed to heat the hot water you use in your home, and with some hope, some of that fuel is solar or wind. Becoming personally aware of the impact of the choices we make is the first step in finding a healthy balance between sustainability and creature comforts.

One bad example is our condominium in New York City. Hot water was constantly heated by mixing steam with cold water. To add insult to injury, hot water was constantly pumped through the entire building, so that when we opened the hot water tap, the water was instantly hot. Even at 3am! It struck me as a complete waste of energy to keep the water hot and to keep it circulating! But, we likely used way less water in total because the water was instantly hot, and therefore we weren’t running the water until the hot stuff came up through the building. On balance, I’m guessing that our carbon footprint for hot- and cold-water consumption was bigger than it needed to be.

A significantly better solution is a tankless, on-demand hot water heater. We have one in our new house in California, and I really like it. It heats the water when needed, and we never run out of hot water. No more keeping a tank at 49-degrees celsius (or hotter), all day and all night. And no more running out of water when guests take 20-minute showers! The old tank water heaters consume significantly more energy than the tankless ones. And having used both, I like the tankless ones better.

The downside is that the tankless water heaters are more expensive to buy. But the US Department of Energy estimates energy savings of up to 30%. Actual savings depend on several factors, primarily the efficiency of the new water heater and the amount of hot water a family uses each day. Also, the choice of a tankless water heater that uses electricity instead of natural gas is a much more costly way to heat water. With a larger family, there is less idle time and less standby loss with a conventional water heater if a lot of hot water is used throughout the day. You can estimate how many gallons of hot water you consume by using the Consumer Reports calculators.

If you have a storage tank hot water heater in your home, and it’s getting on in years, consider replacing it with a tankless hot water heater. One pleasant benefit of getting rid of the old tank is that you will have more closet space! The tankless water heaters are very small. Better to research it now than doing it in a panic when your tank stops working or starts to leak.

And if you are considering replacing your washing machine or dishwasher, consider replacing it with a new energy-efficient model that heats its own water – this way you won’t need either the storage tank or tankless water heater.

Whatever your choice is, and it is a choice, bring awareness to the impact your choice has on the environment. Remember, your consumer choices have a big influence on those around you and the way companies who manufacture these products behave.

‘Tis the season when we look back on the year and make some commitments on going forward.  This year, why not include a little greening into your resolutions.  If you’re looking for suggestions, here are a few to get you started:

1) Ditch the plastic waterbottles.  If you are going to do just one thing to improve your ecological footprint, your best bang for your buck is to kick the bottled water habit.  Not only are you paying a ridiculous mark up on water, but you’re contributing billions of bottles to the planet, and all the associated greenhouse gases that come with them. Stainless steel waterbottles are reasonably priced and easy to find, and tap water is cheaper.  Save some money and the planet!

2) Go litterless at lunch.  Whether for you or the kids, its really no extra work to pack a few reusable containers instead of using plastic wrap or baggies.  One day, not a big day – 320 work days in a year – well that’s a lot of baggies in the landfill.  Consider a lunch kit – it makes packing kids lunches much easier.

3) Go green when you clean.  Our health tends to be the focus of most of our new year’s resolutions, so this is a good time to remember how closely the environment is tied to our health.  When we choosegreen cleaners for example, its not only better for the planet to choose a green cleaner, it’s also much healthier for you and your family.  Same goes for personal care products – the very same things that make a shampoo green make it easier on the body.

4) Drive lightly on the planet - We’ll explore how to save money on gas later - but you can get started simply by going lighter on the gas pedal.  Every 10 kilometres over the speed limit that you drive, costs you 10% more fuel to drive the same distance.  The two minutes that you save by speeding cost the planet and your pocketbook more than you think.

** Add your resolutions below – and check out the resolutions from my fellow Green Cricketers.

Resolutions from the Green Cricket team:

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David Greene = Green Cricket Expert (living in San Francisco)

I’m not a new year resolution believer BUT I am committing to reduce my plastic consumption by 50% by using reusable produce bags, swapping clam shell packaging in the store for reusable bags and where it is impossible, get in touch with companies to persuade them to cut down packaging. I am also planning to cut water consumption drastically, which is a big issue here in California.

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Peggy Smith = Green Cricket: Research & Administration

Here I sit with my copy of Sleeping Naked Is Green by Vanessa Farquharson.

My New Year’s resolution is to read it through 2010 and incorporate as many of Vanessa’s ideas for becoming greener as I can!  Vanessa managed to add one new green action every day for a year – impressive!  I am under no illusion that I will be able to do the same but I know that I will find some good ideas and have a really good read at the same time.

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Trevor Smith = Green Cricket: Director, Quality Management

First on a personal note to build up my own energy and health, I resolve to make much better use of the health club membership I have and also to walk more - drive less.

Secondly at home, now that Toronto has Electricity Smart Meters, I resolve to conserve more and use energy wisely (run appliances at “off peak” times) and just REDUCE - practice the discipline of “turning off lights when not in the room”!

In the aftermath of the UN’s conference on Climate change in Copenhagen last month and what seems, atfirst glance, to be the lack real progress from countries for plans and commitments to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions, we are tempted to say “Why bother?”

The magazine The Economist comments: “Faced with the undoubted grandeur of climate change, a grand response seems in order. But, to the immediate disappointment to most of those participating and watching, the much anticipated UN climate conference held in Copenhagen in December led to no such thing…” [The Economist (Leader) Dec 30, 2009]

The article goes on to comment that two positive outcomes may have been on some agreement for a process for international monitoring and also the recognition of new political structures to enable progress across developing and developed countries.

While this international debate is raging should we, the public, the consumer, the homeowner…really care?

I feel we must – individuals can make a difference - we must all strive to learn more about our environment, our lifestyle, the products we use and impact on climate change, pollution, depletion of natural resources as well as the health impacts of products we use every day.

The Green Cricket Blog can provide a forum for sharing thoughts, ideas and actions. What do you think? Do you think you can make a difference to what often seems to be a hugh issue and out of your hands? And why should we care?

In the coming weeks we shall talk more about the Copenhagen Accord, but also discuss the 5 criteria for selecting Green Cricket products that we feel support the move towards achieving a Green Lifestyle and a more sustainable world. We also want to hear from you - to understand what you think, what governs your buying and lifestyle decision choices. Post your comments!

(Trevor Smith, Editor)

1 - The gift of time. Ever thought about offering to be someone’s
babysitter so parents can enjoy a night out? How about helping with
other chores - dog walking, snow shoveling or even visiting!
2 - Personal basket of home-cooked meals. Why not make some of your
specialties and package them up in a reusable box or basket? Everyone
loves a homemade lasagna, baked pie or jams and jellies!
3 - Gently used gift exchange. Pre-establish with friends and family a
theme (ie. books) and have each person select an item from their own
collection that they’d be willing to part with.
4 - Rain barrel for the avid gardener. Not only saves the water, but
saves the home owner money as well – it’s a win win situation!
5 - Books promoting outdoor activities and/or sustainable living. Could
include hiking on local trails, camping, bird watching or greening a
garden with water efficient plants.
6 - Organic personal products. Because so much of what we use becomes a
part of us via our skin, introduce someone to the benefits and pleasures
of natural ingredients.
7 - Solar or “people” powered gadgets - whether it’s a phone charger or
crank flashlight, the impact made by reducing energy use is worth the
gesture!
8 - Charitable gift in someone’s honour. Whether it be to a local
charity that supports environmental initiatives or an international
organization that encourages sustainable living on a global scale, this
is an ideal option for the person who has everything.
9 - Fair trade, organically grown coffee for that coffee lover on the
list!
10 - Basket of environmentally friendly (and appropriately certified!)
household products. This is a great way to introduce friends and family
to the benefits of unbleached, recycled paper towels or the idea of
beeswax candles!

Finding the right green gift for someone can be a challenge, but by
doing even a small amount of research, you not only do your part for the
planet, but your thoughtfully selected gift might just be the most
unique thing they receive all season!

Happy shopping and have yourself a green Christmas!

[written by Katrina Dudar - Guest Blogger]

Bio for Katrina Dudar:
As an avid environmentalist, Katrina is honoured to be contributing to
this wonderful space as a guest! Currently working at an environmental
education charity for children, Katrina spends her days trying to find
fun and innovative ways to inspire children to care about our planet and
to do small things everyday to make a positive difference. Some might
think this sounds challenging, but when you take the time to think about
just how impressionable young children are, her job instantly becomes
easier! As a mom to a youngster who has had his fair share of health
issues, she is happily forced to invest a significant amount of time
staying informed about emerging environmental issues and searching for
ways to minimize her own footprint while encouraging others around her
to do the same.

You’ve been asking for ways to get the kids involved in your quest for green, and we’re happy to provide some suggestions. A great way to start - if they haven’t seen the Earth Rangers, check them out at www.earthrangers.org and invite your school to book their free show.

Earth Rangers is an environmental education organization based in the Greater Toronto Area. They go into schools and offer a live show with a strong environmental message in a fun way, along with some amazing wildlife that the students can see in action. There are separate shows for primary, junior and intermediate students that inspire them to take action to protect the planet.

Their kids’ website, www.earthrangers.com provides a follow up to the school show. I has a bunch of great eco-tips for kids, along with fun games to play (my daughter likes Funky Skunky best – and I have to say that I see where she’s coming from). The games also have a great message woven into them, like recycling, composting, or energy efficiency.

They also keep the information very topical – in October they talked about how to have a green Halloween, and the kids on the board were discussing everything from how to dress green, to what to give out for trick or treaters. Now, they’re launching a new campaign called Bring Back the Wild and getting the kids involved.

If you’re in Toronto, you can also catch the Earth Rangers live at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), where they opened the Power of One Show in May. The Earth Rangers Studio is in the centre of the ROM, part of the Biodiversity Gallery and features some of their most interesting animal ambassadors.

Equal parts of inspiration and education make this show a favourite with the schools. We hope it will become one of your kids’ favourites too.