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Kicking the Carbon Habit: How to Reduce Your Dependence on Oil and Other Fossil Fuels

In these times of unnatural disasters—such as BP’s oil-hemorrhaging drill “spill,” as well as extreme weather events caused by increasing climate volatility—more people are seeking ways to reduce their carbon footprint: i.e., their consumption of fossil fuels (petroleum, coal, and natural gas). We are all essentially junkies—or oiloholics—who don’t know how to live without these substances.

Power plants (especially those that burn coal), transportation (particularly emissions from cars, trucks, and jets), and energy use for homes and buildings (e.g., for heating and cooling) are the primary sources of carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases, such as nitrous oxide and methane. [For detailed information on the percentage of emissions from different sectors, see the U.S. Energy Information Administration: Emissions of Greenhouse Gases Report and Architecture 2030’s data analysis.]

Until government and industry help shift our infrastructure and economy away from dinosaur fuels and into clean, renewable energy sources, we’ll never be able to get really “clean”—so we should all be pushing for government to end the huge subsidies and tax breaks for dirty energy industries and to support cleaner energy sources (e.g., local solar, wind, tidal power, biomass, and some types of biofuels—a topic for a future post). But we can also do a lot right now, in our everyday lives, to start weaning ourselves off the junk.

In addition to the most obvious steps that can be taken to reduce our direct use of fossil fuels and electricity generated by fossil fuels — such as driving as little as possible and conserving energy and water at home/work/school— there are lots of other ways that each of us can lessen our dependence on filthy fuels. You can do so in every area of your life, from choices you make for your home and household and yard and garden, to your vehicle/transportation, travel, food, and other consumer choices. For example, plastics and many household products (such as common cleaning products and personal care products) contain petrochemicals, most of which are toxic to humans and other animals, so it’s best to choose alternatives to such products (e.g., glass instead of plastic bottles/containers, and natural rather than synthetic chemical ingredients for household/personal products).

I’ve compiled this compendium of several online resources that list specific ways that we can start tackling our individual and collective carbon addiction, to gain a decent measure of independence from dirty energy sources:

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July 6, 2010
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Low-Cost, High-Payoff Green Home Improvements and Retrofits

Homeowners (and renters) are increasingly interested in making green home improvements, and they’re particularly interested in knowing which improvements have a low cost and a clear payback—i.e., a decent Return on Investment, or ROI. Here are some commonly agreed upon suggestions for relatively easy and economical projects that reap surefire savings (in energy, water, and dollars):

  1. Switch to LED and/or compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs. (Note: When buying CFLs, look for low-mercury products. Also, because CFLs contain mercury, they cannot be thrown in the trash; they must be recycled by a hazardous waste facility. Some stores, such as Home Depot, collect used CFLs. You can find other places near you that take used CFLs on Earth911.com.)
  2. Switch to WaterSense plumbing fixtures (e.g., dual-flush or other high-efficiency toilets, and ultra-low-flow faucets and showerheads). [MORE INFO here.]
  3. Switch to Energy Star appliances and electronic equipment when it’s time to replace old units. Install an Energy Star ceiling fan(s), to reduce or eliminate your use of air conditioning.
  4. Insulate your hot water pipes and water heater; and add insulation to your attic (and/or walls and basement).
  5. Have a home energy audit done to check for air leaks and identify other inefficiencies; a home performance contractor should then make the needed improvements. More and more companies are springing up to offer these services. (One of the first companies on the scene was Recurve, formerly called Sustainable Spaces.) You can search here for a contractor near you who has been accredited by the Building Performance Institute. If you live in California, check out the information provided by Energy Upgrade California.

For other ideas and helpful cost/benefit assessments, check out this new book: Green Sense for the Home: Rating the Real Payoff from 50 Green Home Projects, by Eric Corey Freed and Kevin Daum (Taunton Press, April 2010). Here’s the publisher’s description of the book: “When does a green home project make financial sense? The authors of this book provide the answer to this and other questions relating to the cost (and relative value) of environmentally friendly home improvements. They evaluate a wide array of projects, including insulating pipes, weatherizing doors and windows, composting and recycling trash, installing a solar hot water heater, installing green countertops, upgrading appliances, building with reclaimed materials, and installing radiant heat.”

Other recent books include Green Home Improvement: 65 Projects That Will Cut Utility Bills, Protect Your Health & Help the Environment by Daniel Chiras, PhD (RS Means) and This Green House: Home Improvements for the Eco-Smart, the Thrifty, and the Do-It-Yourselfer by Joshua Piven (Abrams).

A number of federal, state, and local tax credits, rebates, and other financial incentives are available for installing energy-efficient equipment or renewable energy (e.g., solar) technologies at your residence.

For additional information and tips on green home improvements and retrofits, these are some useful online articles and websites, most of which feature lists of cost-effective improvements:

If you’d like assistance with choosing and implementing your green home improvements or remodeling strategies, I am a green advisor who can provide this type of assistance through email consultations (or phone or in-person consultations). Click here for more info.

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May 6, 2010
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Flea and Tick Treatments That Won’t Poison Your Pet

Fleas and ticks (and mosquitos) can bring severe itching, discomfort, and even serious diseases to your pets, so it’s important to protect your pets from them. However, studies have found that many common flea and tick treatments—the kinds that are readily available at stores and have been recommended by most vets—aren’t just harmful to fleas and ticks; they can actually poison and even kill pets, and some are also dangerous to humans and other animals.

Many conventional flea and tick treatments (particularly the topical, spot-on treatments that are applied directly onto pets’ skin, but also many flea collars, powders, and sprays) contain highly toxic pesticides, some of which have been shown to cause a range of serious reactions in pets, from skin problems, vomiting, and excessive drooling to neurological problems (e.g., seizures or uncontrollable shaking), heart attacks, and death.  So, horrifically, some pesticides end up serving as pet-icides…

The Center for Public Integrity did a study in 2008, and found that at least 1,600 pet deaths related to spot-on treatments were reported to the EPA over the past five years. According to the NRDC, cats may be more susceptible to adverse reactions than dogs, since they are more likely to lick the treatments off of their fur and they often lack enzymes for metabolizing or detoxifying the pesticides. Many of these pesticides are toxic to humans, as well, and children are especially vulnerable to exposure.

Avoid products that contain pyrethroid, pyrethrin, or permethrin pesticides, organophosphate insecticides (such as tetrachlorvinphos/TCVP; chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, diazinon, and malathion), carbamates (e.g., propoxur, fenoxycarb, and carbaryl), or Amitraz. (This list was updated on May 26, 2010.) Many common flea/tick control products contain at least one of these ingredients.

It’s sickening to me that so many of us have been unwittingly poisoning our beloved animals (and probably shortening their lives) by using these products, at the recommendation of our veterinarians, who trusted the manufacturers’ assurances of the products’ safety. It’s yet another example of how you can’t trust that a product is safe just because it’s been allowed into the marketplace. According to the Humane Society, the EPA did not start reviewing pet products for safety until 1996, and there is still a backlog of products that need to be tested. However, the overarching problem is that ingredients that the EPA had deemed “safe” clearly are not. This message seems to have finally gotten through. The EPA recently announced that it will be developing stricter testing and evaluation requirements and will be placing new restrictions on flea and tick products, including possible changes in their formulas.

Fortunately, there’s no need to wait for those changes to take effect. Safe and natural alternative products and methods for controlling fleas and ticks already exist. Here is some guidance from the NRDC on ways to prevent flea problems. And when treatments are necessary, some pet supply stores and many online sites (see links below) now carry flea and tick products that are made up of plant-based ingredients, such as peppermint oil, citrus oil, clove oil, or Neem, which is a natural insecticide that comes from a tree. (See the NRDC’s Flea and Tick Product Directory to look up the ingredients and risks of specific products.) Also, there are some very inexpensive, low-tech solutions to consider. Like vampires, fleas and ticks are repelled by garlic—and they’re also repelled by rosemary and lavender. So to ward off the bugs, you can add a little smidgen of chopped or crushed garlic to your pet’s food once or twice a week (having too much garlic is bad for them). Or you can tuck sprigs of rosemary or lavender under your pet’s bed cover, or boil one of the herbs in water and pour the cooled water onto your pet, rubbing it into their coat. (Note: Even herbal or “natural” ingredients can cause allergic reactions in some animals. Be sure to test any treatment in a small dose first; and always apply treatments sparingly and only as needed. Also, never use pet products that contain pennyroyal oil, which is toxic to animals.)

Natural Flea Remedy for Dogs and CatsThe following are a few online stores that specialize in natural and non-toxic pet supplies. (Note: This list does not constitute an endorsement of any of these companies):

Resources for More Information:

Click here to sign NRDC’s petition to PETCO and PetSmart, asking them to stop selling flea control products that contain highly toxic pesticides, to protect pets and people. Talk to your vet and your local stores about this, as well.

Related Post: Selecting Safe and Healthy Pet Foods

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April 7, 2010
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Words of the Wise: On Progress and Action

Progress tends to take longer than we’d like. Change is almost always incremental: it happens through a series of steps, because many people are fearful of or resistant to change. However, small steps can gradually lead to larger strides. Individual actions can have a ripple effect. And small changes made by growing numbers of people can add up to a big impact. We shouldn’t let ourselves get paralyzed into inaction because we feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of a problem or we think our actions won’t make a difference.

Doing something constructive to address a problem is better than doing nothing. Wise thinkers throughout history—from Euripides to Lily Tomlin—have come to this conclusion, and they have articulated it in a variety of ways:

“Slight not what’s near, when aiming at what’s far.” — Euripides

“Nobody made a bigger mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke

“The perfect is the enemy of the good.” — Voltaire

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” — Lao Tzu

“Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.” — Jonathan Kozol

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.” — Chinese proverb

“We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.” — Marian Wright Edelman

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” — William James

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

“Big problems are rarely solved with commensurately big solutions. Instead, they are most often solved by a sequence of small solutions.” — Chip Heath and Dan Heath (This statement is excerpted from their book, Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.)

“I always wondered why somebody doesn’t do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody.” — Lily Tomlin

For other words of wisdom, check out the Quotations page, and please feel free to add your own favorites in the Comments section.

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March 12, 2010
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Tip of the Month: Greener Rental Cars and Taxis

1350649521_4ec38cb442_m_travisisaacsThe next time you find yourself renting a car or calling for a cab, ask whether a hybrid or other low-emissions vehicle is available. Increasingly, rental car companies and taxi services are providing such vehicles in their fleets, and some offer exclusively green options. Consider it an opportunity to take a hybrid (or other eco-vehicle) for a test drive. If you can’t find one that’s available where you are, at least make sure to get a compact car (or whatever size is adequate for the number of people in your group). There’s generally no need to get a gas-guzzling SUV, van, or limo if you’re shuttling around fewer than 5 people. If you’re renting a car and the representative offers you a larger vehicle for the same base price, keep in mind that you’d pay more for gas to run the larger vehicle, you’d be producing more air pollution, AND it would be harder to park.

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September 30, 2009
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