My Sweet 16 Bicycle

Isn't she a beauty. My parents gave me this bike on my sixteenth birthday. It was by far, the best bike I had ever owned. I realized immediately that I would have to enter some races and go on some long distance rides. It would be a shame not to. It is a Schwinn Superior with Campy parts - 12 speeds - super light - I love it. I declared then that I would never get rid of this bike. It would be a family heirloom.

This past summer a friend gave my old bike a new purpose. I needed a good commuter bike so we put on new pedals, handle bars and a seat. I have been riding an old 3 speed to work - from Arlington to the Back Bay. On the old bike, it would take me 1.25 hours to get to work. This past Friday I made it to work in 45 minutes. So 23 years after receiving this bike, I'm back on it and loving life.

Quality = Longevity

What a bright Idea

The general public now knows that Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL) are more energy efficient than traditional incandescent lighting. This is old news. CFL's provide more light with less power, less coal is burned and this means less CO2 is going up into the atmosphere.

But D2E has not devoted a blog entry to these little money savers, so here it is. And to the left is a close up of a CFL in Lorelei's apartment. Below you can see a full photo of the über cool lamp that she found on the sidewalk in Cambridge, with the side table that was also found on the Cambridge sidewalks. This lamp has to be circa 1960. Free-cycled furniture and CFL's, how can you go wrong?

Aside from helping the environment we should note that you can also save money. Although some name brand CFL's are somewhat more costly ranging from $7-$20, in the long run they save you money while helping the environment. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

There are those skeptics however, that argue that CFL's are just as bad for the environment because they contain Mercury and become hazardous waste once they have served their purpose. (We like skeptics, by the way. Skeptics help us get to the truth.) The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), suggests that CFLs of 25 watts or less, the equivalent of a 100-watt incandescent bulb — contains no more than 5 milligrams of mercury, the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen. Even though the amount is minimal it is vital that these bulbs be disposed of properly.

You can find a location where you can drop off these CFL's here.

If a CFL breaks do not use a vacuum to clean up the mess, and

1. Ventilate the room by closing all interior doors and opening all exterior doors or windows to the outside.

2. Remove all materials you can by wearing disposable gloves and scooping up the glass and powder with a stiff paper or cardboard. You can then pick up smaller fragments using duct tape. Grab a damp paper towel clean the surface once then clean it again this time adding a dish soap, dry it all up and dispose of the paper towel.

3. You can pick up a mercury-absorbent container linings for broken CFL's, if and when they are available.
   

Not all CFL's are the same, they come in many different shapes and sizes and are used for rooms around the house. With the popularity of CFL's and the growing consciousness of the environment there are even newer light bulbs coming out like electron-stimulated luminescene (ESL), so check out your options. If you don't believe in the benefits of using CFL make your own test. I have, so far I haven't found the need to replace any light bulbs I bought the ones I have in March.

This post is courtesey of our wonderful summer intern, Nathalie. We miss her!

BIG Belly

Last week I grabbed a pizza and headed for Copley Square to enjoy my lunch in front of the park. When I finished my delicious Uppercrust I headed for a trash receptacle and encountered Big Belly!

Big Belly is as friendly as he sounds, being the first Solar Powered Trash Compactor that does exactly that, compresses the garbage thrown into it's belly making room for five times more trash than traditional trash receptacles.

The best part about Big Belly is that he is powered by solar panels when compacting all the trash and he reduces the number of collection trips needed to pick up all trash. This cost effective friendly belly cuts fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.

Next time you see Big Belly be sure to feed him trash that his belly can compress!

B.Y.O.B

Here at Down:2:earth we try to come up with ways in which the average person could become more eco-friendly.

Sustainable Tip of the Week- Bring your own bag

If you haven't heard the facts about the plastic bag issue, it's worth investigating.

• According to the EPA, over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps are consumed in the U.S. each year.
• According to The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. goes through 100 billion plastic shopping bags annually. (Estimated cost to retailers is $4 billion.)
• Plastic bags are made of polyethylene
• Polyethylene is a petroleum product
• Production contributes to air pollution and energy consumption
• Four to five trillion plastic bags are manufactured each year
• Americans use over 380 billion polyethylene bags per year
• Americans throw away approximately 100 billion polyethylene bags per year
• A plastic bag can take between 500 to 1000 years to break down in the environment.
• On average, we use each plastic bag for 12 minutes before discarding it. It then can last in the environment for decades.
• Plastic bag litter is lethal in the marine environment, killing at least 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles every year. After an animal is killed by plastic bags, its body decomposes and the plastic is released back into the environment, where it can kill again.

Until now Germany, Australia, China, and Uganda are some of the countries that have banned, or are working towards banning plastic bags. Although the U.S. has not banned plastic bags yet there are several companies taking a responsible approach to the issue.

What can we do? Say goodbye to plastic bags and say hello to stylish cloth bags...


EcoVixen made in the U.S from recyclable cotton. Left. " You don't want to return as a bag do you"?... Don't mess with Karma. Right. I'm not made in China. Made in the United States...and proud of it.
For a proud and responsible Bostonian. A product of Sea Boston USA made from 100% Cotton Canvas.

ECOBAGS EarthTone Cotton String Bag Set. These colorful cotton string bags are great to store away in your purse, great for your produce.

Verde Bags were created by Gina Sample as a stylish statement against plastic grocery bags.
Happy Bags has a wide variety of bags with fun designs on them, some of them are even made from recycled water bottles.
Mini Maxi Shopper. Lorelei has this one and can vouch for how efficient it is. "I keep it in my purse because it can fold up to be a wallet sized pouch, and when I need it come grocery time, it's there."

This concludes our sustainable tip of the week. Tune in next week for more!

Sustainably yours
Nathalie Zegarra

Paint without Poison

This week we bring sustainability into your home. Today we blog on sustainable paints, what companies are sustainable, where you can find them, and how to get rid of the paint you don’t use.

If you are a homeowner or just renting something we all do is paint our house. Most people think about the color they would like and nothing else. They don’t think about the company they are buying the product from, or how the paint is made, or even what chemicals it may contain, and whether these are harmful to your health.

Sound familiar?

Take for instance Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). These compounds are solvents that are found in most paints and are emitted through fluids such as paints, varnishes, cleaning liquids, disinfectants, which all release organic compounds. These compounds have proven to be a public health hazard, and are a contributing factor to the ozone.

At d2e we think it’s important to question how sustainable your paint products really are, for this reason we have compiled a list of sustainable paint companies for your home.

Old Fashioned Milk Paint




Old Fashioned Milk paint contains only natural ingredients. The milk paint is made from milk protein, clay, earth pigments and lime. It is biodegradable and comes in 20 colors. It contains no VOC’s or harmful toxics whatsoever.







Benjamin Moore Aura Paints

What makes Aura paints eco-friendly is that when it dries, it releases only one third as much in VOC then your regular paints. Aura features something called Colorlock which means it has full washability in all sheens, and has minimal odor, and one hour recoat time. Best part is these are available in 3,300 colors.


Green Planet Paints




This company is run by Meredith Erinson was one of the first companies in the U.S that makes natural clay paints. These paints contain no VOC’s. Sustainability for this company comes for the shared responsibility of choosing premium raw materials to produce a product that does not harm the environment or the household in which it is used.

Green Planet Paints does not contain petroleum, in fact their paints are Soy-based and contain waterborne alkyd resins. Since it is a small company they produce small batches of customized paints so that the waste is minimal.

Yolo Colorhouse

They have paints for both interiors and exteriors, what makes this company sustainable is it’s use of clay paints, milk paint and lime plaster finishes. They have both low VOC, and zero VOC paints. As part of their theme on sustainability they feature natural colors for the home which can be viewed on their website. These paints are Green Seal certified and are a non-profit organization setting standard for environmentally responsible products.

Mythic Paint

All of Mythic Paints are low VOC’s their paint is both sustainable, and still has high performance. Their patented technology is scientifically formulated to offer qualities of water-based paints without the need for toxic solvents. This is what avoids the bad smell. Their paint does not contain lead, mercury, formaldehyde, or other known toxic materials.

Until next week!
Nathalie Zegarra

Home made seltzer!

It is amazing what joy these little bubbles can bring. I try to drink as much water as possible and I avoid sugary drinks all together. So my favorite drink when looking for some flavor is seltzer water with a splash of cranberry or a wedge of lime. However since I became aware of the huge water bottle issue, I feel guilty each time I buy a bottle of seltzer. Living with guilt is such a bummer. But it can be a good motivator to find a better solution.


Enter the Penguin by Soda Club. I have to start off by saying that I love this machine. I love the design and I love the crackling bubbles that it produces. I smile each time I see this penguin on the counter next to my Alessi sugar bowl - the two are quite a hoot.

Just yesterday I made my first bottle of seltzer water. It reminded me of the time I made butter in girl scouts. I stared at the clear bottle with all of the beautiful bubbles rising to the top and I could not help but wonder, where did these bubbles come from? Of course, they came from the CO2 container, but the moment was quite magical.

Details: Assembly was simple for someone like my dear friend Brenda who has no problem reading through an instruction manual and following the steps. It was a bit more challenging for someone like myself who prefers to plow through everything on my sometimes faulty intuition and muscle power. Luckily I am old enough to know my limitations. So when I opened the box and pulled out the parts and the manual, I set it back down and let it wait until I was in the right frame of mind. My husband rolled his eyes, thinking that he could probably assemble it blind folded as it was really only a few parts. But I did not want to damage the machine in haste, which I have done numerous times in the past trying to shove parts together. So I waited.

Yesterday was designated the day of assembly. I did not have any appointments to run to and could focus on the job at hand. My mind was clear, and I did a little seltzer jig to bring good vibes to the room. First I put all of the pieces out on the counter and opened up the manual. I read each stage and followed the directions. I got a bit tripped up trying to figure out how to open up the canister that holds the glass bottle. This is one of those things that just requires "getting the feel" for it. Once you have released the canister it pulls up and opens for you in a cool Star Trek way. After opening and closing the canister a few times I managed to get the feel and now it is easy.

I was a bit freaked out with the CO2 canisters. I do not normally handle things like this, so I had Hollywood driven fears that it would explode in my hand. It did not. I had some trouble trying to take a protective plastic cap off the canister, but my husband easily popped it off by using a butter knife as a lever. Very clever. In Hollywood that would surely have been a disaster, but I guess in real life it is okay.

Once I had everything assembled, the water bottle was filled with Arlington tap water and ready to rip, I pushed down on the penguin's cute little bill to bring on the gas. I was a bit timid at first, again fearing that the Penguin would explode and trigger the pipes in our building to burst and then a tidal wave would engulf the town of Arlington. But my fears soon turned to pure joy when I hit the gas release button and opened the canister to find a bottle of bubbly seltzer ready to enjoy.

Ahhhh.... bliss....

Impact: As always, we need to look at the big picture. What waste does this machine bring and how does that compare with buying seltzer in plastic bottles, or just denying myself of seltzer altogether? Soda Club does a good job talking about the impact of their product and at this point I feel good about it. I can send the empty CO2 canisters back to the company and they will reuse them. Soda Club states that "Empty carbonators are returned to Soda-Club to be cleaned, inspected and refilled with CO2 drawn naturally from the air. Carbonators are reusable as long as they remain in good condition."

So at this point I am feeling good about my penguin. The main impact comes from manufacturing the product and shipping. I used to think shipping was a huge issue, but now I am learning that it is a smaller part of the big picture. This leads me to believe we should look into this subject a bit more and blog about it.

Amazing how one blog always leads to the next.