Photos: Wikipedia & Flickr, CC

Mario & Luigi Would be Proud
Sometimes, discovery is about putting things together in new ways. We know that mushrooms can be great at breaking down pollutants, and we know that disposable diapers are a huge problems, with mountains of the slow-degrading poop-containers filling up landfills… So how about finding a kind of mushrooms that fests on diapers? That what researchers at the Metropolitan University in Mexico City have apparently done. Read on for more…

In an article published in Waste Management (the journal, not the company), Alethia Vázquez-Morillas describes her research:

cultivating the right type of mushroom on soiled nappies can break down 90% of the material they are made of within two months. Within four, they are degraded completely. What is more, she says, despite their unsavoury diet the fungi in question, Pleurotus ostreatus (better known as oyster mushrooms), are safe to eat. To prove the point she has, indeed, eaten them.

The second photo in this article shows what the Oyster mushrooms look like. They are good at this job because they feed on cellulose, the main material used in disposable diapers. In the wild, the Oyster mushrooms grow on dead trees, so they have the enzymes to break down cellulose…

More information/pictures/links -> Mushrooms Can Break……

Home Soda Makers
Simple, sleek and easy to use. No batteries, no electricity and no clean-up. All home soda makers have a two-year warranty and money-back guarantee!

Flavors
Over 20 great-tasting regular, diet and caffeine-free flavors plus energy drink and MyWater all-natural flavor essences. Regular flavors have no high-fructose corn syrup. Diet flavors are sweetened with Splenda^® brand sweetener and contain no aspartame. Each bottle of Sodamix makes 12 liters or about 33 cans.

Reusable Carbonating Bottles
BPA-free reusable bottles come with a special sealing cap to keep soda fresh for much longer than store-bought. No more flat / wasted sparkling water or soda. Available in stainless steel, white, black, and half-liter designs.  For those that prefer glass, SodaStream has introduced the Penguin, which makes and serves sparkling water and soda in elegant cut glass carafes.

http://www.sodastreamusa.com/

So far the rootbeer has come out good, however the mywater flavors used to make sparkling water isn’t that tasty.  I will stick with the soda samples for now.

Sometimes you need a little help to get the point across about something or need some way to quantify what you are doing has an impact or is even needed.  So I picked up the “KINTREX I Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer with Laser Targeting” – which allows me to check the surface temperate of various things. 

My Wife already found it useful to compare the heat produced but a CFL vs. an Incandescent Light – the 60 watt Equivalent CFL – 106 degrees, the 40-watt Incandescent – had a surface temperature of 238 degrees (The 70-watt Equivalent  LED light from EarthLed came in a 80 degrees).

 Anyway I am using Thermometer to check the temperature of hot areas in the house and then determine a way to cool off that area, and measure the impact.  Plus I already demonstrated the surface temperature of the AC units in direct sunlight, and will be working on getting those shaded.

 You can also use it to check the temperature of food (great for grilling)

http://www.amazon.com/IRT0421-Non-Contact-Infrared-Thermometer-Targeting/dp/B0017L9Q9C/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1240244788&sr=8-1

I knew this was true, didn’t know that 98% of the green things were misleading.

We’re all familiar with the prevalence of greenwashing. But the newest statistic is still staggering. According to TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, only 2% of products labeling themselves as green are completely legit in their claims. The remaining 98%, not so much.

Knowing this is, of course, terribly disappointing but also highly useful as we try to create a universal labeling system that not only helps consumers make informed choices, but also holds products to a certain bar.

Within the technology sector alone include such sources as EPEAT, Energy Star, and a company’s own labeling system, such as Canon’s Generation Green and HP’s Eco Highlights. Then there are reference sources like Greenpeace’s Electronics Report, Consumer Reports, or the Green Electronics Council. So just to make an informed decision on buying a new product, consumers have to do some serious research. A standardized green label would go a long way in helping everyone.

UPDATE: While we don’t have a list of the products tested during the survey, and therefore names of who fudges facts about their products, you can still get some pretty detailed product demographic information via TerraChoice’s Report. It’s well worth reading so you know what to keep an eye on.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/98-of-green-labeled-products-are-actually-greenwashed.php

http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/greenwashing-report-2009/

This is kind of cool, I might look into it later as something to try (since I live in Texas and we have a lot of heat).

Instructables has an awesome tutorial on generating energy from waste heat. If you’ve ever been curious about what goes in to being able to charge a gadget like a cell phone with waste heat, you’ve got some easy-access answers.

You can find a video intro on this page:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/using-waste-heat-to-charge-your-cell-phone-video.php

Or all the details on this page:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Charge-Your-Cellphone-Using-Wasted-Heat/

It has been a white since I have grown anything (used to help my Dad with the garden when I was a kid), so this year I decided to build a raise garden bed – since our soil is rocked and mostly good just for grass.  When it comes to growing you quiet often start the seeds inside and then move them outside.  For starting the seeds I thought I would try the growing since my Brother in-law was going to be using Ultimate Growing System from Burpee.

Each complete kit includes:

• Watering tray -72-cell plant tray
• Plant stand -Self-watering mat
• Greenhouse top -72 Burpee Super Growing Cubes ™
• 12 convenient plant markers

Well it sounded nice and my seeds got off to a great start.  First, even though my table was level (I used an actual level to level the table), water still collected more on one side, and this made the far side grow better, but impacted the growing of the beets.  And to the extra moisture in that area, I actually got some mold.   I wasn’t happy, but such is life.

Finally came the day of moving things to the garden, this is where I ran into a big problem, getting the various plants out of the container was a painful, I ripped many roots and probably damaged a few other plants.  Plus when trying to push the plastic up from the bottom (I didn’t want to cut open 72 mini-planters to get the plants out), I had dirt exploding my face.  So I wasn’t happy to say the least.   I guess I lack the special skills to use this thing.  Anyway some things are in the garden, not sure yet if they are going to make it or not.  Next year I am going back to the peat cups, they are easier to use, you just drop them in the garden and more eco friendly.  Now to wait (and water) and see where my garden goes.

http://www.burpee.com/product/seed+starting/eco-friendly+seed+starting+25-cell+greenhouse+kit.do

http://www.burpee.com/category/seed+starting.do

Briefly tried, wasn’t happy and we didn’t like this machine.  Besides the fact it cost a lot, didn’t seem to work that well, still smelled and was easily broken.

Wired magazine’s review:

NatureMill’s Pro edition is an indoor composter we can pretty much dig. Using minimal electricity, a small motor turns a heavy-duty mixing bar, heats the mixing chamber (no sunlight needed) and powers an air pump that works with a carbon air filter to help reduce smell (each filter lasts 4 to 5 years).

Using the NatureMill is unbelievably simple and hassle-free, from set-up to clean-up to soil-ready. Just add starter dirt and sawdust pellets (combats odors), and dump your food scraps in. NatureMill recommends that you cut organic material into four-inch bits before plopping it in. We didn’t, but aside from the motor making some gnarly noises, it didn’t seem to affect compost production. NatureMill’s Pro version also features some automatic activation. We were able to leave ours sitting for weeks without pushing the button even once; it mixed and heated itself just fine. Only thing it didn’t do? Tell us what to plant with our brimming tray of moist, nutrient-rich soil. Amorphophallus, anyone?

TIRED Little to no stench — until top opens (that’s hard to remedy, we know, but burger/fish/salad remnants smell worse than a dead wildebeest doused in Eau D’Bile). Polypropylene housing is light, but may not last forever. Disposable carbon filters reduce smell, but also cut down on the “green” factor. Regular maintenance (scraping the mix chamber walls) isn’t fun. 

http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/pr_kitchen_composter 

Check out the reviews on Amazon, many people not happy and I have to go with them on this one:

http://www.amazon.com/NatureMill-PRO-Automatic-Composter-Silver/dp/B0019CHYS4

This might not be exactly green, as in a solar powered cooker or anything and it takes a bit of time.  However with the smoker I am saving money, cooking stuff for multiple meals, and getting fresh air.

First my smoker, it is a Bradley Digital 4- Rack Smoker, it is well insulated and thus can be used in just about any weather (I haven’t checked the power usage yet with my Kill-A-Watt).  It has a separate timer for smoke and another for heat.  So you can ran the smoke generation for a limited time and then keep on cooking.  You can run the smoker all the way up to 360 degrees, making it easy to cook (almost bake) anything.  The smoker part requires Bradley’s bisquettes, which are pressed wood that come in various types (9 to be exact).  The good news is they are not that expensive, you get a box of 48 (or 120), each bisquette is good for 20 minutes of smoke, plus they are made from pressed wood chips, so no fancy chemicals or chunks of wood.

As for the savings, the last time I went to my favorite BBQ place, I put out a lot of cash.  The normal guideline for ordering there is 1/4 lb of meat for a sandwich or a 1/2 lb per person for a plate.  I ordered 2 1/2lbs of Bisquette, plus  1lb  of turkey, 3 hot links, and then 1 quart of potato salad and a quart of cream corn.  There are 3 adults in my house, plus my daughter (who likes eats some turkey and loves the corn) and I was expecting my brother in-law and his wife to stay for dinner (they live just down the street), they didn’t so we had some leftovers for the next copy of days.  However this order of food (even with a free half loaf of bread one large bottle of BBQ sauce) came to just a bit over $80.

If I pick up my own pork roast, I can get a nice size one for amount $30, which I did for Easter.  The roast provided a meal for 5 adults, plus we had leftovers for the next couple of days, and the meat is good in other dishes, like chopped up with eggs for breakfast, an awesome hamburger helper (use the smoked meat in place of hamburger), or pulse it in the food processor for pulled pork sandwiches.   I have a wireless BBQ Thermometer, in the roast that beeps when it reaches the temperature I want, so I am not running in and out all-day checking the smoker, just the occasion check.

All these things together means a relaxing afternoon of cooking that provides food for half the week.  Plus if I cook the roast myself, I have control over the spices and salt content, so I am saving money and have better control of what I am eating, and I making multiple meals with one roast saving time.  Plus I am cooking outside, so I am not adding extra heat to the house and I get some fresh air in the process. 

The smoker comes with recipes, but I didn’t find them that impressive, I recommend the book Smoke and Spice, which includes recipes for all types of meat and vegetables, I often smoke onions and garlic (which rock) and I share them with my Vegan friends.  Plus I found brining Pork (soaking in 8 cups of water with 1/2 cup of salt) helps a lot with moisture.  To date,  I have cooked pork roast & ribs, some beef, chicken, turkey, fish, and some vegetables and loved every minutes of the process and the food.

Smoker
http://www.amazon.com/Bradley-Digital-4-Rack-Smoker/dp/B000FJZ150/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1239724768&sr=1-14

http://www.bradleysmoker.com/

Wireless Thermometer (one model)
http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-RediChek-Remote-Wireless-Thermometer/dp/B0000DIU49/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1239725342&sr=1-3

Great Smoking Guide
http://www.amazon.com/Smoke-Spice-Cooking-Real-Barbecue/dp/1558322620/ref=pd_sim_hg_4

I am looking into a solar cooker in the future.

Wal-Mart

TerraCycle’s story is one of getting people interested and involved. One of the lessons I have learned over the years, is people have to care about your business to support your efforts. This has helped differentiate TerraCycle from many other companies over the years. After all, how many other companies pay 15,000 schools to recycle? You can believe every one of the those students, teachers and parents is a TerraCycle supporter. Getting Readers to Interact with the Book To help make my book more than a passive activity, and make each reader a participant in my Revolution, I worked with a favorite partner of mine, Bear Naked, who makes incredible organic granola, to create a unique consumer involvement program. We decided to print prepaid postage on the inside cover of my book and instruct people to remove the cover, fill it with used granola bags and return to TerraCycle, free of charge! For every cover returned, Bear Naked is donating 1 dollar to the Arbor Day Foundation to a plant a tree. Since my book is printed on 100% post-consumer paper, our hope is with enough returns we can confidently say that my book helped plant more trees than it helped cut down! Pulling a Business Up by the Bootstraps I’m curious. Have you ever bootstrapped a business? Maybe that’s how you approach life generally (like me, wink). I like the idea of being under-resourced at the beginning, because it requires you to find value where others do not and it deepens your commitment. I’d be interested in any arguments to the contrary. Also, have you formed your work around a single big idea? I’m interested in others’ stories that follow this theme. I believe there are broader lessons here which may have implications beyond business. If you do read my book, I hope you enjoy it; I’ll be interested in your reactions, which you can post here.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/04/revolution-in-a-bottle-how-terracycle-redefines-green-business.php?daylife=1&dcitc=daylife-article

http://www.terracycle.net/

For example, if you have 10 bulbs with a 75 watt output at 15 cents per killowatt hour, you will save $16 a month on your power bill, if you swap those 10 bulbs with CFL bulbs.

http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/lighting.html

A good thing for the environment and your energy bill is to replace your lights bulbs with CFLs (compact Florescent Lights), however I have a bit of a problem with this.  Namely CFLs contain mercury which is toxic, causing birthday defects and problems for fish (to name a few).  The normal argument is that it is a trace amount and the reduction in power out weighs the potential problems.  Nonetheless, I don’t think this is a minor issue, namely lots of CFLs are through out (and if one breaks in your house, you are suppose to ventilate the room and leave it for 15 minutes before double bagging the broken light).

CFLs due lass longer (if you don’t get the keep ones) and they do save power.  So I am replacing the last few bulbs that are hiding out in our house with CFLs.  In high usage areas though I am moving towards LEDs – which use even less power than CFLs, contain no mercury and last several times longer.  The more recent Energy CFLs I picked up can last up to 15,000 hours, however an LED bulb from EarthLED (which makes some of the best around) last 50,000 hours.  The downside though is cost, but if you consider it an investment and due it in stages the return on savings is massive.

(exact from someone else’s chart)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3222967/Incandescent-vs-CFL-vs-LED-Savings?autodown=xls

This shows by switching to an LED light (the most expensive one from EarthLED – you could save $21,000, and only use $162 worth of electricity, for me that is a good reason to make the investment.  When buying LED lights, ignore claims like Equivalent to a 40-watt bulb.  Instead look at the total lumen output, then look it up on a chart that compares Comparison of efficacy by power like on the Wikipedia page for (all of all things) Incandescent light bulb.  There you will find a 40-watt bulb puts out 500 lumens.

Check out this video about LED lights from the Editor-In-Chief of EcoGeek.org

Links and Referrences

http://www.scribd.com/doc/3222967/Incandescent-vs-CFL-vs-LED-Savings?autodown=xls

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb#Electrical_characteristics

http://www.earthled.com/evolux-led-light-bulb.html

http://thewere42.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/should-businesses-be-skipping-cfls-for-greener-led-lighting/

FYI – Cleaning up a broken CFL
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-sharkey/mercury-like-the-planet-g_b_189486.html