From Green Right Now Reports

Just in time for spring planting season, Urban Harvest of Houston has organized a Food for Thought series of panel discussions set for the third Wednesday of each month at the University of Houston.

The seminars will feature experts speaking about how to grow food and eat locally. The next one, on growing gourmet vegetables, will be Wednesday, March 17, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Oberholtzer Residence Hall.

[Read more →]

By Chris Reinolds

Composting can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. From piling green and brown things in a corner of the yard

Compost bins need aeration, like this metal mesh enclosure. (Photo: Bureau of Environmental Services, Howard County, Md.)

to buying that perfect compost bin, you’ll generate the same end result. Those of us who turn and nurture our piles can expect more compost in a faster time period, but regardless our gardens will benefit from a little or a lot.

[Read more →]

From Green Right Now Reports

PECO, FirstEnergy and PPL Utilities are working together on an environmental project that will help Pennsylvania residents lower their energy usage — and get rid of clunker appliances.

[Read more →]

The EPA says homes use half the water in the U.S.

By Kate Nolan
Green Right Now

If you want to save something, try water. It’s going fast. Depletion of the U.S. water supply isn’t something you can argue about. It’s visible, measurable and predictable. Since 2005, every U.S. region has been short on water, and use increases annually. Even New York City has experienced drought in recent years.

[Read more →]

From Green Right Now Reports

Get your pipe fittings ready, next week is Fix a Leak week, starting March 15.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsors the annual five-day blitz to promote repair of leaks and replacing appliances with those that have WaterSense labels, the EPA’s designation for low water use products. Did you even know that some faucets are engineering to use less water without a reduction in flow. That’s how they get the WaterSense label, and you can find products and models at the WaterSense website.

[Read more →]

By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now

Not so long ago, Mr. Clean and company were considered the good guys, the go-to-gang for a deep house cleaning. But in the past several years, alarms have been sounding about chemicals used in conventional household products.

Be they phosphates, sulfates, bleach, ammonia or phenols, certain ingredients are causing strong concerns among consumer-protection groups, federal and state governments, and even a few manufacturers. Conventional wisdom now asserts that many household cleaners contain compounds that pose environmental risks and can lead to health conditions such as asthma and nerve damage, even cancer. (See our GRN guide below)

[Read more →]

Editor’s note: This is the first of a periodic guide series called “What You Need to Know.” These stories will give you a quick overview of key topics related to sustainable living.

By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now

For most folks, the arrival of the electric bill is not among the month’s highlight moments. Even families who work on conserving energy by turning off lights, unplugging appliances and easing up on heating and cooling, can only do so much. Ultimately, it’s still pretty expensive to keep a household adequately powered up.

How can we avoid sending so much of our monthly income to the local utility company? There are plenty of options, each of which has its good and bad aspects.

Here’s a look at some ways you can take powering your home into your own hands:

[Read more →]

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

As you get ready for the annual war on weeds in your front lawn this spring, you can choose to load up on conventional weed-and-feed and launch a chemical offensive, or you can call the local lawn service to begin the assault on your behalf.

Clean Air truck with solar panels charging lawn mowers (Photo: Clean Air Lawn Care.)

Or…you can skip the harsh chemicals and the usual services and find an organic lawn service.

[Read more →]

From Green Right Now Reports

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa today confirmed earlier reports that the city will partner with RecycleBank to launch an incentive program that will reward households for Blue Bin recycling. Initially, a pilot program will serve 15,000 single family homes along selected routes in the West Valley and North Central sections of the city.

The program is designed to encourage additional Blue Bin recycling.

The mayor said the program is designed to encourage additional Blue Bin recycling, increase recycling rates and put meaningful savings in the pockets of participating residents.

“The City of Los Angeles has worked tirelessly to ensure that recycling is accessible to every single resident. Los Angeles’ ambitious environmental agenda is one of the reasons why we already recycle more than any other big city in America and why we will be the cleanest, greenest big city in America,” Mayor Villaraigosa said in a statement. “To reach our goal of zero waste, we are building innovative partnerships that will employ outside resources. We are proud to be the biggest city to work with RecycleBank, since the program will motivate residents to recycle more and will pump money directly back into the local economy.”

RecycleBank measures the amount of material recycled in a community and converts that amount into points that can be redeemed for rewards at hundreds of local and national RecycleBank Reward Partners. Rewards come in the form of groceries, gift cards, school supplies, restaurants, among other choices. RecycleBank works to involve local merchants so residents can enjoy savings while helping the local economy.

There also is an option to donate reward points to local schools through the RecycleBank Green Schools Program. National RecycleBank partners include retailers and brands such as Kraft Foods, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ruby Tuesday and CVS/pharmacy.

The goal of the pilot program is to elevate environmental stewardship, personal responsibility and volunteer action in recycling on a community wide basis. Residents in the pilot areas must sign up for their personal RecycleBank account, either online or by phone, to begin earning reward points.

[Read more →]

By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now

Lately, it seems, just about everyone is taking an interest in helping you manage your home energy consumption.

Hohm is Microsoft's attempt to get into home energy management. (Image: microsoft.com)

Microsoft weighed in with its Hohm offering last summer. Google touts its PowerMeter service. Apple is patenting a system to optimize the powering of your network of iPods, laptops, and electronic gadgets. Intel has added an energy component to its Home Dashboard Concept.

Small wonder. According to a December, 2009, report from Pike Research, the market for home energy management systems and energy information displays (EIDs) will include 28.1 million users worldwide by 2015.

[Read more →]

Green Right Now Reports

A new Harris Poll finds that Americans are still acting cautiously when it comes to weathering the sour economy.

And some of the money-saving steps they are taking qualify as green behaviors, though whether or not this has been intentional was not addressed in the poll of 2,576 adults surveyed online between January 18 and 25, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

The poll found, for instance, that:

• 34 percent of Americans polled said they had switched to using refillable water bottles instead of purchasing pre-bottled water.

• 22 percent said they had cut down on dry cleaning

• 14 percent said they had begun carpooling or using mass transit

[Read more →]

By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now

A sudden cold snap created a spike in consumption. Christmas lights were fun at the time, but they, too, kept that meter running. Kids routinely leave electronics on, even when they’re not in the room.

Advanced Metering System

Sure, you try to do all those little things that, in a perfect world, can help keep cost and environmental impact down. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world, and a big number on that electric bill each month can come as a shock to both the system and the budget.

But what if your world was just a little more perfect? What if you could log on to your computer and check consumption down to, say, a 15-minute period? What if you could figure out that your teenager is running the TV, stereo, a game player (or two) and every light in his room — all despite the fact that he’s spending the night at a friend’s house?

[Read more →]