water-wise gadget: can you take a 5-minute shower?

I can. When I use my 5-minute shower timer.

I got this Shower Coach from my city, at an event related to water conservation. It’s great.

I stuck it to the shower wall with the suction cup.
I flip the sand timer when I start my shower.
Keep an eye on the time as I shower. Even with my poor near-sighted vision, [...]

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dimmable CFLs: not for romantic dinners

Imagine, lowering the glaring overhead light, in an attempt to create a more moody, romantic ambiance. Bright light..fading… medium…fading…out! What happened?
That’s my experience with the 15W dimmable flood bulb that replaced the 65W bulb over the dining table.
It had been the lone Watt-hog in the house.
(We had switched almost all the other bulbs in the house [...]

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water wise

Typical single-family home water use
From Santa Clara Valley Water District brochure for Water-Wise House Calls (www.valleywater.org)
52% outdoors
10% toilets
10% shower
9.5% laundry
9% leaks
8% faucets
1% baths
0.5% dishwashers

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moving house: sustainably and (somewhat) sanely

I’ve had every intention to continue writing about observations and experiences in India, but I’ve been busy moving house. Which brings up a lot of material for thinking about sustainability.
How do I minimize using resources to pack?

I used canvas bags, shoe boxes and rescued cardboard boxes I rescued from the recycling area in my apartment [...]

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newsflash: Brita will take back filters

Great news!
Beginning in January 2009, Brita pitcher filters can be dropped off at participating Whole Foods Market stores or mailed to Preserve, who will recycle 100 percent of each Brita plastic pitcher filter casing collected for use in its line of recyclable household goods.
Read more about it here:
http://www.takebackthefilter.org/2008/11/brita-and-preserve-announce-filter.html

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how are your dollar$ voting?

Like many, I am obsessed with the upcoming election. 4 more days! However, I tend to think of voting as something I do in the polls–once every 2 or 4 years–and forget that we vote with our dollars, too.

The Good Guide Company Political Contributions chart shows the political contributions of large consumer product and service companies.
I’m not [...]

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why does online shopping = wasteful packaging?

I am an all-around shopping minimalist, but I live with a prolific online shopper who asserts that it’s better than driving to the store.  This is debatable, especially since we live within walking distance of some of the discount stores he frequents online.
But shopping online is not my beef, since I know it can be useful, and [...]

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beauty + function = cool bikeracks

The New York City CITYRACKS Design Competition (sponsored by The Department of Transportation, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Google and Transportation Alternatives) applies design to basic function.  (Thanks to the SFBC newsletter for alerting me to this.)
This video lets you see the ten finalist bikerack designs, including interviews with some of the designers. 
I’m curious to see which one [...]

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stop phone books: YellowPagesGoesGreen.org

Every time a phone book shows up in front of my door, my first thoughts are, “Not again.  Now how am I going to recycle this?”
I have used a paper phone book maybe five times in the last ten years.  What a waste.  All that paper and energy to manufacture and deliver over 500 million phone books annually.  And then [...]

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stop credit card offers: OptOutPrescreen

The other day, I looked at different ways to stop unwanted mail.
I used the OptOutPrescreen service to stop preapproved credit card offers.
If you do it online, it requires you to fill in your social security number.  I didn’t want to fill out my SS#, so I called the toll-free number. 
The phone service also asks for your SS#.  [...]

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