With the summer holidays just around the corner, another driving season is rapidly approaching. Day-trips, beach outings, and family barbecues—not to mention family vacations—all increase the national demand for gasoline, pushing pump prices up even higher. Already the national average of regular gasoline is $2.73/gallon, up nearly 25 cents from last year. In the long term, the best answer will be to buy the most fuel efficient vehicles from your local car dealer. Fortunately, there are some simpler changes you can make right now to help you save big at the pump, without significantly impacting your lifestyle.

1. Choose the Most Fuel Efficient Vehicle for the Job

The average American household has between 2 and 3 cars, so choosing the right vehicle for the task at hand can make a big difference in your household’s fuel expenses. Odds are one vehicle has a higher MPG than the other, which may have more seating and trunk space. If you’re running an errand by yourself or going a long distance, choose the more fuel-efficient car if it’s available. That SUV may be better suited to dropping off four kids at camp or loading up for a long weekend. For the latest information on vehicle fuel economy, go to FuelEconomy.gov.

2. Plan Your Trips Wisely

Knocking out all your errands in one swing or on your way home can save you both free time and miles. This is simply common sense, but it’s an important thing to remember. Even if you’re just running out because you forgot to get ice for the cooler, maybe you can stop at the ATM on your way home.

3. Know Where You Are Going

Getting lost can eat up your gasoline for no good reason. If your car is already equipped with a GPS, make it a goal to become an expert at using this valuable tool. If your car doesn’t have one, consider investing in a portable navigation system—not only are they convenient, but they can eventually pay for themselves by cutting fuel costs. Another option is to take advantage of online maps, which are now better than ever at finding businesses and stores.

4. Drive at Efficient Speeds

The actions you take behind the wheel can also positively contribute to your fuel economy. Every 5 mph you drive above 60 mph costs about 24 cents more per gallon, so drive at a moderate pace on the highway. If you’re traveling long distances, cruise control can be your best friend. And of course, try to limit the amount of breaking and accelerating you do by driving at the speed limit on country roads as well.

5. Keep Your Car in Shape

Not only is it good for the lifespan of your car and cutting on future repair costs, but regular maintenance can improve your vehicle’s MPG, too. Little things like regular oil changes, inflating your tires, and bringing your car in for a tune-up can add up to big savings. Removing extra weight from the trunk (such as a bag of golf clubs not being used till the weekend) will save you gas as well.

We just joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) group for the first time. We live in New York City and there is a bounty of organic products within 50 miles up the Hudson River Valley. We will get 24 weekly boxes of veggies and fruits (for pickup at the local community center each Monday after work). We’ll keep you posted, but here is some good information on what a CSA is.

Rosamaria Caballero
Green Irene

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief…

Advantages for farmers:

• Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm’s cash flow
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from “their” farm – even veggies they’ve never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

It’s a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it. The government does not track CSAs, so there is no official count of how many CSAs there are in the U.S.. Non-profit LocalHarvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 2,500 listed in their database. In 2008, 557 CSAs signed up with LocalHarvest, and in the first two months of 2009, an additional 300 CSAs joined the site.

To find a CSA near you, visit Local Harvest’s CSA search at http://www.localharvest.org/search-csa.jsp.

We are excited that our customers can now not only save thousands on their electric, natural gas and heating oil bills, but can generate additional savings by verifying their savings by entering their utility bills and selling the resulting carbon credits thru a broker.  There is a big issue of verification of the bills, but a solution will emerge to solve it. It is the sign of things to come!

-Green Irene

US couple take lead on carbon trade by selling their first credit

A Pennsylvania couple has sold the world’s first carbon credit awarded for a reduction in personal carbon emissions. About 1,800 others have signed up to follow suit – underlining the US public’s readiness to press ahead on the issue.

The Wilsons began by getting rid of their son’s heated water bed, turning off power to computers and televisions when not in use, changing to energy-efficient light bulbs, hang-drying their laundry…

Then they signed up on the MyEmissionsExchange.com site to have their energy savings calculated. They found that they had already saved one ton of carbon, which earned them a carbon credit. The exchange sold the credit for $21.50 to Molten Metal Equipment Innovations of Ohio, taking a 20 per cent commission.

“Everybody wants to be environmentally friendly,” said Ms Wilson, 49, a water treatment plant operator. “It takes a trigger point to get people involved. For us it was the announcement of a 30 per cent increase in our electricity bill.”

MyEmissionsExchange.com (http://www.myemissionsexchange.com/Default.aspx) is hoping that other individuals will not only want to be paid for their energy savings but that companies will be keen to buy credits easily verified by comparing a family’s improving power bills.

MyEmissionsExchange began trying to help individuals to enter the carbon market in October 2009. The site, which verifies and sells personal carbon credits, is open to any individual household or business that wants to earn a personal carbon credit by demonstrating it has reduced its electric, natural gas, propane or fuel oil bill compared with the same month a year earlier.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed a great calculator that measures your home energy use against similar homes nationwide.

The calculator only takes a few minutes to complete, though you’ll need either 12 months of utility bills or an annual summary from your utility company on hand. Aside from electricity, you can also enter information for natural gas, fuel oil, propane, and kerosene.

After running the calculator, you’ll receive an estimate of your home’s annual greenhouse gas emissions and a “yardstick” rating that compares you to other households of similar size and composition. You’ll also be able to check out some recommendations for change that could improve your score, as well as an estimate of the potential energy savings these changes would provide. Your local Green Irene Eco-Consultant can help you save money and energy. See our 15 Reasons to get a Green Home Makeover. Please find a local Green Irene Eco-Consultant here.

Decorating for the holidays doesn’t have to make make a big environmental impact. These waste reducing and energy conserving tips from Green Irene will help you save the planet while also reducing your costs, so you’ll have more money for those gifts and holiday parties!

For holiday lighting, go with LEDs. LEDs are more efficient than standard lights (up to a hundred times!), more durable, and much safer and cooler. Operating ten strings of mini-LED lights (as compared to ten strings of wasteful incandescent mini-lights) saves more than $12 in one month. Unplug or use a timer to turn off holiday lights during the day.

Don’t let traditional petroleum-based candles ruin your indoor air quality. Use a Tub-O-Carbon to naturally capture (rather than just cover) odors, and use soy-based candles to fill your home with an earth-friendly scent.

Decorate naturally. Head out to your yard and find tree branches, bush stems loaded with berries, flowers whose seed heads have dried on the stem and flowering grasses to fill tall vases or baskets. It’s more sustainable than buying a plant or flower that may be flown in from South America. You can also create a natural tablescape with natural elements or fresh fruit like pomegranates, pears, and apples.

For those with a Christmas tree, try an organic potted tree from your local nursery that can be replanted after the holidays. A single tree can absorb more than one ton of CO2 over its lifetime, so imagine the impact if we all replanted our trees! A few companies in the U.S. allow you to rent a Christmas tree. They’ll pick it up and replant it after the holidays are over. If you have a cut tree, be sure to look into local recycling options. Many municipalities and some organizations collect the trees to use for mulch and erosion control. This is much better than having your tree end up in a sealed landfill.

For years, many considered the purchase of an artificial tree to be the environmentally friendly choice. However, most artificial trees are made from mainly non-renewable plastics, often containing PVC. They are non-recyclable and non-biodegradable.

Make recycled holiday ornaments from natural materials in the yard or material you find around the house. Not the crafty type? Many stores now offer ornaments made of recycled materials for sale. Another simple option is to string popcorn and cranberries or use hardened gingerbread cookies.

These decorating tips are a great start to reducing your environmental footprint for the holidays. Your local Eco-Consultant is your source for some great holiday products like soy candles and green gift bags, and they can provide you with even more ideas for waste reduction and energy conservation during the holiday season.

Do you have other green decorating ideas? Share them with us in the comments below!

The holiday season can have a big environmental impact: the average American’s trash output goes up 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Take some of the waste (and the stress) out of your holiday shopping with these tips from Green Irene.

Buying online will help to reduce your holiday shopping carbon footprint. When you do want to brave the store crowds, do research online beforehand so that you know which stores carry what you’re looking for – you’ll be able to reduce your driving between stores searching for those perfect gifts, which will save you on gas and on stress. Don’t forget to reduce the number of bags thrown out by bringing reusable bags.

Consider e-cards rather than traditional greeting cards to reduce holiday paper use. When paper cards are more appropriate, make sure to use cards with recycled content. Also don’t forget to recycle any paper cards you receive.

Also consider gifts that help the recipient implement their New Year’s Resolution to live a more sustainable life. Gifts that accomplish that AND save the recipient money are especially thoughtful. A $133 Green Irene Water Conservation Kit for a two bathroom home saves $8,000 and almost 300,000 gallons of water over 7 years.

A $99 Green Home Makeover is another thoughtful gift, as the recipient receives an in-home consultation from a trained local Eco-Consultant, a detailed Report filled with useful recommendations, and three months of unlimited research support to help guide them on their path to living a greener life. See 15 Reasons to Have a Green Home Makeover!

Gifts like concert tickets and gift certificates reduce packaging waste and the need for wrapping material. Charitable donations in the recipients’ name also make great gifts.

Consider the durability of a product before you buy it as a gift. Cheaper, less durable items often wear out quickly. Check product labels to determine an item’s recyclability and whether it is made from recycled materials (buying recycled encourages manufacturers to make more recycled-content products available). Avoid any gifts that may contain toxic ingredients like lead or that off-gas Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

About 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Buy a rechargeable battery kit to accompany your electronic gifts this year. Green Irene’s Rechargeable Battery Savings Calculator, available from your local Green Irene Eco-Consultant, can show you how the new hybrid models can save you thousands of dollars over their life, and keep 3,600 hundred pounds of toxic waste out of landfills. They pay for themselves after just seven recharges out of a lifecycle of 1,500 recharges.

Every home really must have a Carbon Monoxide Detector, and surprisingly many people assume they are covered with just a smoke detector. Bring a Carbon Monoxide Detector, like the one Green Irene recommends, if you are staying at someone’s home for the holidays. It makes a thoughtful gift you can plug in by any combustion appliance (like a gas hot water heater). If they already have one, plug an additional one into an outlet in the bedroom your family is sleeping in.

Contact your local Eco-Consultant for more information on the products mentioned above, and shop their catalog for these practical green gifts! Do you have other green gift and green shopping ideas? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Are you ready for Thanksgiving yet? As you prepare, consider bringing some eco-friendliness to holiday meals with these great tips from Green Irene.

If you’re cooking for the holidays, go local with your food shopping to reduce your carbon footprint. See how much of your meal you can find at your local farmers’ markets. For supermarket purchases, try to choose items with minimal packaging to reduce waste. As always, bring reusable bags to reduce waste from disposable shopping bags. If you’re bringing your food to someone else’s house, pack your dish in a reusable container.

Go organic with your ingredients. Don’t forget to go organic with beverages as well; look for organic and local wines, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks. Fair-trade chocolate, tea, and coffee will also add some green to your holiday table.

Green Irene offers a terrific solution that easily produces sparkling water and soda in seconds, eliminating the need to carry, store and dispose of bottles and cans. The Green Irene Sodamaker uses a carbonator and glass carafe to make dozens of flavors of soda (or just sparkling water) as you need it. Rather than bottled flat water, invest in a great water filter and fill pitchers of water (rather than a cheap pitcher filter, invest in a more effective premium 10 stage filter like the one Green Irene recommends).

Serving turkey? Choose a heritage bird. Prized for their flavor, heritage turkeys may cost more than conventional birds, but they are raised naturally rather than in an industrial setting. Purchasing a pastured local bird or an organic bird from your supermarket are also other possibilities to consider when looking for the best holiday turkey for your family.

Recycle and compost while preparing food. Keep a bin handy for glass, plastic and paper trash you can recycle rather than toss. Add vegetable scraps from cooking and dinner to your compost. Green Irene offers a great automated indoor composter that operates without the hygiene or odor issues that can occur with indoor composting.

Adjust the thermostat down a couple of degrees during holiday gatherings in cooler climates. The heat from cooking and from your guests will keep your home warm.

Disposable plasticware is energy intensive to produce and can take thousands of years to degrade in a landfill. Providing cloth napkins and reusable tableware is the best option, but can make for a lot of cleanup work. When reuse isn’t an option, go green at your holiday parties by using biodegradable tableware. Green Irene offers a line of “bagasse” (sugarcane) tableware and cups that fully biodegrade within 60-90 days, unlike plastic or coated paper products which can take thousands of years to decompose. The sugarcane stalk fibers used in its production are also an easily renewed resource, unlike petroleum or wood used in most paper or plastic tableware.

If you’re traveling to enjoy dinner at someone else’s house, carpool with family, friends, or neighbors. If you need to fly for the holidays, consider purchasing carbon offsets to keep your travel carbon neutral. Green Irene sells a BeGreen Flying Offset card to make this easy.

Use all the food you make. Send guests home with leftovers in glass or stainless steel rather than wrapped in plastic or aluminum foil. Freeze leftovers in easily reheatable portions.

A few of these steps can go a long way in reducing your holiday dinner’s environmental footprint. Your local Eco-Consultant is your source for the great products mentioned above, and they can provide you with even more ideas for waste reduction and greening your holiday table.

Do you have other tips for greening Thanksgiving? Share them with us in the comments below!

RidgeBlade is a wind-power system that can be fitted to buildings with minimum visual impact and maximum energy conversion potential. This micro-generation system employs discreetly housed cylindrical turbines positioned horizontally along the apex of a sloping roof. The slope of the roof naturally channels wind into the turbine chamber, meaning RidgeBlade can “produce electricity under low or variable wind conditions.” This high efficiency means that the system could pay for itself within a few years.

Designed by a former Rolls Royce turbine engineer under the wing of UK-based The Power Collective.

Website: www.thepowercollective.com

To be clear this is just in concept stage now, but it is moving ahead and can bring some wind power to dense urban areas which will not work for wind turbines.  Goes to show that once people start thinking about how to innovate around this crisis, good ideas start to emerge.  I can see local Green Irene Eco-Consultants helping homeowners with all of these innovations as they arise, since no one needs to become an expert in wind power just because they want to use renewable energy for their home.

October is Walk to School month, and some schools are organizing official “walk to school days” for their community. The event’s website talks about the goals for the project:

International Walk to School is more than just getting together with children and going for a walk to school as a special event. This is certainly important, but the event’s greater aim is to bring forth permanent change in communities across the globe. Below are just a few of its goals:

• Encourage physical activity by teaching children the skills to walk safely, how to identify safe routes to school, and the benefits of walking.
• Raise awareness of how walkable a community is and where improvements can be made.
• Raise concern for the environment.
• Reduce crime and take back neighborhoods for people on foot.
• Reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and speed near schools.
• Share valuable time with local community leaders, parents, and children.

Check out the event website for more details at www.iwalktoschool.org. Is your school participating? Let us know in the comments below!

Green Irene likes anything that makes it easy for people to say yes to green choices. There no doubt is a group of people who would consider solar panels but just dont want to go for the panel look.

So does converting to solar energy mean covering a roof in unsightly solar panels? Not necessarily: check out the Solé tile, a roof tile designed to sustainably convert sunlight into electricity without compromising aesthetics. When installed, the system can offset a large proportion of a homeowner’s energy costs—not to mention cleaning their carbon conscience.

The Solé tiles, made from a high-performance polymer often used in car bumpers, are lightweight, unbreakable and recyclable. Flexible solar technology is embedded inside each tile, allowing them to function independently of each other. Meanwhile, the performance of the system as a whole is monitored remotely by their producer (SRS Energy) and US Tile. The dark blue tiles are currently designed to be compatible with the clay roof tiles manufactured by US Tile. SRS Energy hopes to have the tiles available nationwide in 2010.

What’s so attractive about systems like this is that it makes it easy for consumers to make a green choice, without having to settle for a product they find unappealing. The continuing increase in green product choices can help to remove the disincentives from sustainable technology.

Has the appearance of a product ever kept you from making a green change? Let us know your story in the comments below!