May 2010 - Water Water Everywhere

Water, water, everywhere. Here in Ohio water might not seem like a concern so why worry about using less?

First: Using less saves you money. According to the EPA the average American family spends around $500 per year for water and sewage.

Second: It takes a considerable amount of energy to treat and deliver water to your home. American water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours per year – Enough to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year.

Tips to reduce water usage in the home

Easier Fixes
Fix that leak - Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year.

Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day

Install a low-flow showerhead which can reduce water usage 50-70% taking a normal 25 gallon shower down to 10 gallons

Dishwasher vs Hand-washing. Depending on the age of your dishwasher most newer models save water and energy over hand-washing. For more information on how to further decrease energy use follow these tips

Harder Fixes
Upgrade your toilet - Toilets installed before 1994 use around 3.5 gallons per flush while new low flow toilets use 1.6 gallons or less.

Reuse your Graywater - What is Graywater? Graywater is water not contaminated with human waste and makes up 50-80% of household wastewater. There are whole house systems of collected and reusing graywater but these are expensive and probably overkill for Ohio. A smaller simpler system fits under the sink and reuses sink water for flushing the toilet. For more information check out the AQUS System

More Tips and Info:

WaterSense Tips from the EPA

100 Ways to Conserve

April 2010 - Backyard Habitats

This month's green tip deals with how to create a wildlife habitat in your own back yard, regardless of how big or small it might be. One way to do this is to follow the guidelines provided by the National Wildlife Federation as part of their Certified Wildlife Habitat Program.

The 5 main components of a Certified Wildlife Habitat are:

Provide Food for Wildlife
Easy - To start you can simply get a bird feeder.
Harder - As you think about planting new plants try and pick ones that are native to our area and provide food (nectar, pollen, berries, seeds and nuts)
Information on Natives:
A Species list from Marvin Organic Gardens
Habitats Native Plant Nursery

Supply Water for Wildlife
Easy - Install a birdbath (Be sure to change the water 2-3 times per week during warm weather when mosquitoes are breeding)
Harder - Think about areas of your yard where you can put in a water garden/pond. Create a butterfly puddling area by allowing shallow puddles to form in your garden or by burying a shallow bucket to its rim, filling it with gravel, and then pouring water or stale beer in until it forms a shallow puddle at the top. Male butterflies in particular will be attracted as they are seeking minerals and salts as part of the mating cycle.

Create Cover for Wildlife
Easy - Buy a roosting box or keep a pile of brush and logs on the property.
Harder - Convert a portion of your yard to meadow or thicket.

Provide a Place to Raise Young
This one is easy in that it is almost exactly the same as the previous step but has the additional step of providing host plants for caterpillars

Let Your Garden Go Green
Easy - Reduce lawn areas. Every year mow a little less grass and let the yard go wild!
Harder - Remove non-native and invasive species replacing them with native species. Depending on the size of your property this can take a lot of work.