10 Money Saving Ecocations

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Eco Rock

TwitterMoms asked for 10 tips towards a money saving vacation, but to make this challenge applicable to me, I needed to think of ten ways I could save money and tread lightly on the earth. Of course, as a mom to a one-year-old, I know that camping, although inexpensive and relatively earth-friendly, is simply out of the question for most families. Its a vacation, after all, not a punishment!

1. Calling all passengers. Flying by plane is faster, but these days that’s one of the only advantages to flying. Its expensive, you can barely bring anything with you, and there’s very little sight-seeing on the way. Depending on the size of your traveling group, consider trains or driving.

2. Here we are now, entertainers. Forgo movies or expensive shows this vacation, you’re family will enjoy and remember a $12 board game far more than a stuffy play. For that matter, forget buying games and DVDs for the car this year. If you have a smart phone. Library books and books on tape.

3. Taxpayer’s dollars. You pay for national forests, visitor centers, and even the roads you travel on, so enjoy them!

4. Pack and Pick your own food. For the dreaded travel itself, try not to buy snacks from gas stations or service stations along the way. Pack your own food ahead of time. This will decrease your impulse buying, and you’ll be able to plan ahead of time to pack the least greasy and more healthful foods.

5. Volunteering. Volunteering locally will allow you to get to know the people and culture you’re visiting. You’ll also most likely get a free keepsake to commemorate your trip (one less token to buy).

6. Collectables. Help your kids decide on a specific way they plan on commemorating their travels. Instead of allowing them (and yourself) to collect a mountain of brochures, ticket stubs, buttons, or mugs, decide what kind of memorabilia you’ll be willing to buy before entering the gift shop.

7. Capatalists. Capitol buildings, and national monuments, are usually free to the public. They’re educational,

8. When in Nebraska… Pick up the local newspaper (especially the Entertainment center or weekly publication) that comes out in the

9. Make friends. Whether its other vacationers or locals, two heads (or five or six) are always better than one. They’ll be able to suggest worthwhile things to do and see

10. Home Sweet Home. Be sure to turn off any faucents, lights, and air conditioners when you’re away. Tell a neighbor you trust how long you’ll be gone so they’ll keep a look out for anything fishy.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the Toyota Sienna and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.” <a

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Global Green Girls

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Eco Rock

Girl Nature Camp

As a girl I had a passion for anything remotely environmental. I begged to go to Nature Camp year after year at the Austin Nature and Science Center. Posters and books about endangered species and the lifecycle of various insects padded my room. I boasted that I would become an “environmental writer illustrator.” Twenty years later, I can definitively scratch out the “illustrator” part of my dream, but here I am writing about all kinds of green goodness at my discretion, and I’m not the only one. Green gals all over the world wide web are giving their two cents into the green global community. If you’re a more traditional green girl, visit Green Girl TV for creative and fashion-friendly products you can do at home! If you don’t have time to watch these fascinating, though addictive, videos, turn on one of Make-It-Green Girl’s voice recorded articles as you’re doing other things.

These women are doing a wonderful job of paralleling the importance of women and the world, but whats the use if the next generation doesn’t appreciate it!? Instill a wonder for wildlife in your children. Its not too early to begin looking for a nature camp for your child!

Milk: It Does the World Good

Posted on December 30, 2009 by Eco Rock

Photo: REUTERS

Dairy farmers and neighbors of dairy farmers rejoice! A growing trend among dairy farmers world wide are knee-deep in a more innovative way to rid themselves of manure, which according to the Environmental Protection Agency, livestock raised for slaughter, wool and milk production account for one quarter of methane emissions in the country. Many farmers are beginning to harvest said methane, either using it to run elelcticity on their own farms or selling it back to utitility companies. Californian rancher Albert Straus uses his herd of 270 cows to run his 75- kilowatt generator. Like many environmentally solutions, this one seems to have no flaws except for the financial investment each farmer or rancher must hand over. According to Chuck Fry, vice president of the Maryland Farm Bureau, a farm about Strauss’ size of around 200 cows, can be up to a $1 million investment, not including the cost of maintenance and extra labor. As for the benefits, methane capturing tanks not only keep the stench to a minimum, they also decrease greenhouse gas emissions and keep manure from ending up in waterways. This process has been recently employed in Maryland, where debate rages on about the effect of land-based agriculture on marine agriculture. While dairy farms themselves seems to be leading the way on such innovations, dairy agriculture as a whole is still being scrutinized for emissions that have to do with processing and transportation. Thus, children, we have two lessons to learn here: one, buy milk and other agricultural products locally whenever possible, and two, remember that cows are the only kind of animals that create excrement. As they say one man’s waste is another mans fuel, I paraphrase.

Put a Cork In It!

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Eco Rock

parquet-cork-floor1

Its hard to find a downside to this amazingly versatile material! The best part about the Cork Oak, indigenous to Northwest Africa and Southwest Europe, is that it lives for 200 years and the cork itself is sustainably harvested every nine years without any tree fatalities! Whats better, this woody tissue is buoyant, fire resistant, impermeable and elastic. You may have unwitting used cork when playing a wind instrument, throwing a baseball, or using boating and fishing equipment. Now that word is getting out about this amazing material, you can find all kinds of items made of cork. At corkstore.com, cork luggage, serving trays, and even furniture are sold. Although its traditionally known as a means to stop bottles and for bulletin boards, cork is quickly finding its way into our homes and local home improvement and supermarkets as flooring material. While cork was recently awarded the most sustainable way to stop a bottle (compared to twist-off aluminum and plastic caps), cork flooring is actually a bi-product of cork bottling manufacturing, so its a completely recycled product. It comes in a variety of colors, lengths and shapes. One can buy a roll, tiles, or snap-together planks. Its runs about the same price as a regular hardwood floor and comes with a 25 year warranty at Walmart, but its warm and soft on your feet on cold mornings like carpet, yet still bears a polished look! Save your feet, give your floors a new, sustainable look and feel good about letting your two-year old play on cork floorboards!

Crash for Clunkers?

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Eco Rock

Clunker You may be aware of the recent and rather innovative green initiative the Obama administration put forward this summer: the Car Allowance Rebate System (cars), colloquially known as the Cash for Clunkers program, in which owners of old, gas guzzling cars bring their clunkers in and get a rebate on a brand new and more efficient model. The program was meant to run from July 1st through November of this year, 2009, but ran out of funding due to its popularity. Last week, $2 billion of federal incentives were added to the previously $1 billion program. Continue reading →

Babies Dooing it Naturally

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Eco Rock

Over seven months into my first pregnancy, I have many concerns and internal conflicts about how to best raise my baby. Which car seat has the best safety rating? Do I want a bassinet or a hammock or to sleep with baby in my bed? Epidural or not? And as a die-hard green gal, there’s the question of diapers: cloth or disposable. On the one hand, disposable diapers take up precious space in our landfills, are sometimes filled with chemicals that are not good for sensitive baby skin and are costly (resource wise) to produce. Cloth diapers, on the other hand, are reusable, but ultimately one has to wash them which puts more feces into grey and black water, as well as uses an enormous amount of water. Ultimately, it comes down to a few factors. How many diapers does your baby go through? Are you willing to wash poo out of diapers? Which is more finacially feasible? What’s worse, petrified poop trapped in a landfill or contaminating the tiny amount of potable water left on earth’s surface? While normally I would be up to calculating the cost-benefit analysis of each item, I can happily report that I don’t have to! There are plenty of middle-of-the road options for parents who care about the environment and their bank accounts! Here are a few of them:

Chemical free diapers Seventh generation diapers are available at most grocery stores (you may have to look in your health foods aisle) and run at almost the same price as most name-brand diapers, such as Pampers. They come in seven sizes and, most importantly, are chlorine-free, latex-free and completely hypo-allergenic. The down-side to these diapers is that without the chemical AGM, they don’t absorb as well as your name-brand diapers and some people may not like the light brown shade they come in.
Bio-degradable disposable diapers Tushies Disposable Diapers, Nature Babycare Diapers, and Nature Boy and Girl are all happily bio-degradable and free of any harmful chemicals. They’re great for eco-chic parents who have enough money to support their habit. Depending on the brand, these diapers can be up to around twice the price of name-brand diapers and four times the price of your generic (ie Wal-mart) diaper. Another downside is that while these diapers may biodegrade well in your compost-bin, nothing biodegrades easily in an airtight landfill. Continue reading →

Change Your Thermo…Stat!

Posted on January 19, 2009 by Eco Rock

I’m a little embarrassed to say that I have been an irresponsible user of my thermostat. Granted, this is the first year I have used gas heating and that I actually have to pay my own utility bill and have lived in a place where snow sticks to the ground. Still, our invoice this month was a little ridiculous. Recalling my college professor’s numerous lectures on the subjected, I frantically rushed my husband to to the thermostat, which is thankfully programmable, and completely readjusted it. Eager to do this as efficiently as possible, I turned to the EPA’s Energy Star program for guidance. Along with simple table (seen below) and some useful pointers, I feel I am way on my way to utility bill that is at least less than $150!

Setting	Time	Setpoint Temperature (Heat)	Setpoint Temperature (Cool)
Wake	6:00 a.m.	≤ 70° F	≥ 78° F
Day	8:00 a.m.	Setback at least 8° F	Setup at least 7° F
Evening	6:00 p.m.	≤ 70° F	≥ 78° F
Sleep	10:00 p.m.	Setback at least 8° F	Setup at least 4° F

While readjusting your thermostat is probably the easiest and cheapest way to save money on heating this winter there are other options!

Check and change your filters. Air filters should be changed at least once every three months. The dirtier your filters are, the harder your system has to work and it increases the chances of early system failure. (note: the same goes for your fridge’s filter too)
Seal your ducts. A more invasive project, but insulating your ducts and sealing all seams and connections could dramatically increase the efficiency of your heating and cooling system.
Wrap your water heater. Insulating blankets for your water heater cost anywhere from $15 to $40, but increases your energy efficiency by 10%. You’ll probably make back the money in savings in a few months.

If you’re planning on changing your HVAC system system anyway, watch out for the Energy Star logo whether your buying a boiler, a furnace, a heat pump or you’re going solar.

Be a Mean Green Cleaning Machine

Posted on December 25, 2008 by Eco Rock

After the Swiffer Mop and Before the Vinegar

After the vinegar!

So I’m cleaning my apartment for the in-laws’ holiday visit and my kitchen’s tile grout looks filthy. I use my Swiffer mop and then scrub with Clorox (the new Green Works version available in stores) to no avail. In desperation, I seek google’s sound advice. The solution (literally)? One part vinegar one part water or a little baking soda paste. It sounds homey and environmentally friendly and inexpensive, but does it really work? Just look at the before and after pictures above!

When picking out cleaning products I try to moderate between price and environmental efficacy, so I have an assortment of ‘green’ cleaning products in my apartment. Some work, some don’t. But what seems to be most puzzling as peruse my way through all of the cleaning products I own is why have cleaning products in the first place? Nearly everything I clean, as I think about it, could be easily cleaned with three fully biodegradable, non-toxic household items: lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda. The Do-it-yourself website, has a new Going Green topic on its side menu, has a great article called How to Clean Green which lists several recipes for green cleaners. Here are two easy and useful examples:

Carpet Spot Remover
•Cornstarch or baking soda
•Club soda
Blot the spot and apply baking soda or cornstarch immediately. When dry, blot with club soda and vacuum.

Continue reading →

Nurse Your Boo-Boo's Back to Health

Posted on November 16, 2008 by Eco Rock

While doctors have been saying for quite sometime that breastfeeding your baby has a gazillion and one health benefits for your baby, many doctors agree that breastmilk could also help with common ailments – colds, ear infections, scrapes, you name it! According to Dr. Basil Bruno, a pediatrician in New Jersey, breast milk offers cures to several maladies. Feeling a little stuffy lately? Drop two drops of breast milk into each nostril and then blow (or use an aspirator). Have a kid with a scrape? Breast milk is naturally antibacterial and antiviral, so rub it on the abrasion instead of Neosporin. A drop of breast milk in each eye twice a day can even, apparently, alleviate pink eye!

Even patients with more invasive conditions are trying breast milk as a remedy. Some cancer patients drink breast milk regularly to increase their immune system and for its nourishing qualities. “We’re noticing an increase in the number of patients who are adults and children who have a variety of types of cancer who are using human milk,” said Pauline Sakamoto of Mothers’ Milk Bank. Mother’s Milk Bank provides breast milk to over 60 cancer patients, each with a doctor’s prescription. All this milk donated to adults, however, gives some milk donation advocates a startle. According to Dr. Pamela Berens with the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, there is already a shortage of breast milk as it is. Yet another precious, natural resource to be appreciated! Still, before trying breast milk as a remedy, contact your doctor to be sure its the best option for you.

How Ike Saved Cents

Posted on September 23, 2008 by Eco Rock

Out of sight, out of mind

In the height of hurricane season, it seems proper to feel a bit humbled by natural forces. Forces that in spite of our best technologies we are unable to control or even marginally predict. While the damage in comparison to Katrina was minimal, the storm still traveled across ten states and killed over 150 people in the United States and in the Caribbean.

This is all very unfortunate, but was it all bad? Students of all ages were freed from the bounds of school to marvel at amazing weather patterns and to *gasp* play without videogames, movies, and IPods. Maybe they played in puddles or in the breeze. Later, perhaps due to the dark and exhaustion of real outdoor play, they actually went to bed on time! My brother-in-law at Texas A&M and my brother at Westlake High School both experienced cancellations. At Westlake High School, students were released to make room for evacuees from Galveston and Houston who stayed for days in their gymnasiums and auditoriums. What better way to appreciate one’s own home and family then through community service? On a more personal level, I got three days off of work. I got to have purely candle-lit dinners with my husband, and I opened my windows!