Sustainability Tip of the Week

Week #1 – Be the change you want to see. Volunteer in your community. Countless opportunities are available. Hungry people need to be fed. Children need tutors. A neighborhood needs a clean-up. Invasive ivy needs to be pulled. Money needs to be raised for medical research. By volunteering, you gain experience and leadership skills, make new friends, strengthen the community – and feel the satisfaction of doing something truly sustainable. To learn about some ways to volunteer in Clackamas County, go to http://www.clackamas.us/misc/volunteer.htm

Week # 2 – Eliminate speeding, jackrabbit starts and rapid braking.
Besides being unsafe, these actions lower your gas mileage considerably. Reducing highway speeds to 55-60 mph decrease fuel consumption -- and increase ride time by only two minutes for every 10 miles.

Idling also decreases mileage to 0 per gallon and produces air pollution. It’s not necessary to warm up your car by idling. When waiting in line (at the gas station or drive-through) turn the car off until you need to advance. Finally, consider parking your car instead of using the drive-through. For more fuel efficiency tips, visit www.fueleconomy.gov.

Week # 3 - Avoid wintertime air pollution. A fireplace or a woodstove can help with home heating, but the air pollution caused by burning wood may be a significant respiratory threat. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, wood smoke is fuel from firewood that doesn't burn, and becomes air pollution. The harmful unburned gases and tiny particles produced penetrate deep into the lungs, where they can damage and change the structure of lung tissue.

The DEQ has several fact sheets on the subject of home wood burning and pollution. Woodburning 101, for example, provides information about certified woodstoves and gives wood-burning tips such as using seasoned wood and regularly maintaining woodstoves and fireplaces. It also suggests using "carbon neutral" fire logs, which produce approximately 70 percent less air pollution than firewood. Call the DEQ at 503-229-5359 or go to http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/burning/woodstoves/ for more information.

Week # 4 - Save money and energy in the winter by lowering the indoor temperature to 65-70 degrees. Heating and cooling account for 50 to 70 percent of the energy used in the average American home. During the winter you can save about 2 percent on the heating bill for every degree you lower the temperature and decrease carbon dioxide emissions as well. Lower the thermostat more at night to save even more. To make it automatic and convenient, install a programmable thermostat. For more information, go to http://www.energysavers.gov/.

Week #5 -- Buy Green Power. Green, or renewable, energy comes from the sun, the wind, plants, and moving water, not from inside the earth’s crust. Aside from being non-renewable, coal and oil also are major contributors to pollution and climate change. Natural gas is cleaner, but still non-renewable – and it too produces emissions. Nuclear power creates radioactive waste that must be stored for thousands of years.
When you buy renewable energy (for a few dollars more a month), you change the mix of energy being used. Right now, Oregon gets about 40 percent of its energy from coal, but that is changing, thanks to people who support renewable energy. Locally, PGE offers two renewable power options to its customers - Green Source and Clean Wind - and also offers a Habitat Support option that can be used with either program. For more information, call PGE at 866-765-3342 or go to www.portlandgeneral.com/Renewable.

Week #6 -- Save fuel (and pollute less) by keeping your tires properly inflated. Low tire pressure causes your car to work harder. Correctly inflating tires improves gas mileage by about 3 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. You can save gas and pollute less in many other ways -- combining errands into one trip, turning down the air conditioning, getting a tune-up, avoiding idling, and changing air filters – to name just a few. For more info, go to www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml

Week #7– Planting trees provides a multitude of benefits. To name just a few, trees provide shade in the summer and wind breaks in the winter, reducing energy consumption. A building can stay up to 20 degrees cooler in the summer with the help of tree shade. That means you don’t have to turn on the fan or the air conditioning as frequently.

Trees prevent or reduce soil erosion and help recharge ground water. And, for every ton of new wood that grows, about 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide is removed from the air and 1.07 tons of life-giving oxygen is produced. Trees create 40 percent of the world’s oxygen.

Trees provide human food (nuts, fruit and syrup) as well as habitat for wildlife. They also add beauty and grace to communities, and are a source of public pride. For more reasons to plant trees, go to http://www.treesaregood.com/

Week #8 -- Old fashioned cleaners are cheap, safe and effective. The non-toxic recipes your grandmother used for cleaning the house and doing the laundry were good ones. For example, you can attack mold and mildew with plain old vinegar and water, instead of bleach. You can repel moths with a combination of dried herbs. You can unclog drains with baking soda and boiling water. Find out how to make simple cleaners for a safer home. Get a copy of Metro's Green Cleaners booklet by calling 503-557-6363 or go to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=24199.

Week #9 -- Buy the goods, not the garbage. Packaging makes up at least 20 percent of what goes into our landfill. Avoid buying trash by:
• buying the largest size you can use or buy in bulk whenever possible
• buying handmade items -- in addition to less packaging, a lot of handcrafted items are durable
• given a choice between two similar items, choosing the one with minimal packaging or with packaging that is easy to recycle or reuse
• avoiding individually wrapped items
• skipping the shopping bag and bringing your own reusable bag
For more ways to reduce your trash, http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=526/level=2

Week #10 -- Choose safer gardening products. Lawn and garden products include some of the most hazardous chemicals in the home. Metro's Grow Smart, Grow Safe consumer guide reviews 450 lawn and garden products, including pest controls and fertilizers. Find out the possible health and environmental effects of commonly used lawn and gardening products, and learn which ones are least hazardous to your family. Call 503-557-6363 for a copy or go to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=24199.

Week #11 -- Give a second life to usable discards. Home furnishings, clothing, construction project leftovers in good condition are still useful once you are done with them. By donating items to nonprofit organizations, you may get a tax deduction, in addition to doing a good deed. Broken, torn, stained, worn out or damaged items, or items that require repair or cleaning are not usually accepted. Many charitable organizations accept drop-off and some even pick up donations. Be sure to call first. For a list go to http://www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=1892. Also try the internet exchange site Freecycle - Portland at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycleportland/.

Tips for Weeks 12-43 coming soon!

Week #44 – Cut off the energy vampires in your home!
When you leave some common devices plugged in, you unwittingly waste power. What uses the most so-called ‘vampire’ energy? Basically, any device that has a standby mode, a remote control or a display such as a digital clock sucks up extra power. Chief culprits include computers, cable boxes and DVD players, cell phone chargers, and microwaves and coffee pots that have a built-in clock.

Each year, consumers spend an extra $6 billion and waste an estimated 65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity by leaving electronics in the standby mode, sending more heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. One easy way to fix this is by plugging all such devices into a power strip that can be switched off. Find more helpful tips and listings of energy-efficient devices at the U.S. Department of Energy’s web site: www.energysavers.gov

Week #45 – Clean the driveway with a broom, not a hose.
Instead of hosing down your driveway, sweep it off. By using water to clean it, you not only use up good drinking water, you also send contaminants (oil, fertilizers, pesticides, detergents) into the storm drain. Those contaminants quickly make their way to streams and rivers, harming fish and aquatic life, and increasing the growth of algae. Call 503-742-4461 to request a copy of Metro’s “Natural Gardening” for more information.

Week #46 – Turn your food scraps and leaves into garden food.
Yard trimmings and food scraps constitute a whopping 23% of the country’s waste. Composting puts that waste to good use by creating a dark, crumbly soil additive that is full of nutrients. Compost holds those nutrients and moisture in the soil until plants can use them. This means you don’t need expensive, chemical-laden fertilizers, and you can cut down the amount of waste you pay to send to the landfill. Some composting methods create a nutrient-rich liquid known as tea, which is excellent for lawns and houseplants. Learn the basics of composting at Metro’s composting web page or by calling 503-742-4461 for a copy of Metro’s brochure, It’s easy to make your own compost.

Week #47 – Harvest the rain.
People are discovering the benefits of collecting rain to irrigate their landscaping. Only a fraction of the water on the earth is drinkable. Why use drinking water for plants and shrubs? Water conservation translates into healthier rivers, streams and wetlands, and enough clean water for everyone.

Rainwater harvesting means directing your down spouts to a storage device such as a barrel, tank or garden swale instead of letting it run directly onto the street or into a pipe. Clackamas County’s new Development Services Building in Oregon City captures rainwater in a large cistern to irrigate the Red Soils Campus.

Clackamas River Water Providers has additional water conservation resources at www.clackamasproviders.org. Metro's web site contains a wealth of information about rain gardens, which is another way of harvesting water that would otherwise go down the drain. Go to www.oregonmetro.gov/index.cfm/go/by.web/id=25102

Week #48 – Have you been greenwashed?
Buying green products is a great idea—but be wary of products sold with green language. “Green” as a product claim is being used broadly as companies scramble to improve sales. These days everything under the sun is being advertised as “green.” The term “natural” is also overused and inappropriate in many cases. The Greenwashing Index helps consumers evaluate environmental marketing claims and hold businesses accountable. To find out how to test green marketing claims, read The Seven Sins of Greenwashing.

Week #49 – Shop locally, shop sustainably.
Buying the most sustainable products requires some consideration about where the products you choose are produced. One of the best and easiest things to do is to buy locally-produced goods. Local products also have the advantage of creating less pollution during transportation to market. Locally-owned businesses generate more for the state’s economy than national chain stores. Local companies do business with local banks, manufacturers, accountants and others, so the profits from a local business go directly back to the community.

A recent study concluded that for every dollar spent in a locally-owned bookstore (this one was in San Francisco), 32 cents was re-circulated throughout the local economy (via bookstore employee wages and bookstore expenditures on local goods and services). The same dollar spent at a national chain bookstore re-circulated only 19 cents locally, with more than 80% of the revenue leaving the city. In the same study, it was estimated that for every $1 million in revenue, the local bookstore created 2.14 jobs, while the chain bookstore created 1.27 jobs. (The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study by Civic Economics, May 2007.)

Week #50 – Simplify your life by being a savvy consumer.
Before you buy goods or services, take a moment to think: Do I need this? Could I borrow or rent it? Is it durable and long-lasting or designed to be obsolete? How will I dispose of it and what will happen to it? Is it going to harm the environment? Is it worth the time I worked to pay for it? Is it a fair trade product? Go to www.cof.orst.edu/cof/extended/sustain/imported/consumerism to find out more about consumerism and its impact on society and the environment.

What about holiday shopping? Give yourself a break this holiday season – and eliminate wrapping paper altogether – by purchasing gift certificates, concert and event tickets, and family memberships for the special people on your list. These thoughtful gifts cut down on waste and shipping costs, and provide many happy experiences. You also can create your own personal gift certificates.

Week #51 – Just say ‘no’ to plastic and paper shopping bags.
Leave the plastic vs. paper debate behind. Instead, take your own reusable bag to the store. More than 100 billion plastic shopping bags are used in the U.S. every year, the costs of which get passed down to the public in money ($4 billion annually) and in environmental degradation (picture mountains of plastic bags in the landfill and, even worse, floating around in the ocean).

When you forget your reusable bag and need a paper or plastic bag, be sure to reuse and recycle it. You can find out which stores and recyclers take plastic bags by calling Metro Recycling at 503-234-3000 or by going to www.oregonmetro.gov/findrecycler. For tips on preparing curbside recyclables, call 503-557-6363.

Week #52 – Recycling your old computer or TV is easy —and it’s free! The Oregon E-Cycles program, started Jan. 1, 2009, is available for free to anyone with seven or fewer TVs, computers, monitors or laptops to recycle at one time. Go to www.oregonecycles.org or call 1.888.5.ECYCLE (1-800-532-9253) to find out where you can recycle these items free of charge. Participating recyclers guarantee environmentally sound management practices.

Other electronics such as printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines can be recycled but may or may not be accepted free of charge.