Converting plastic back into oil

We are surrounded by plastics every single day. But as we drink a soda, use a cell phone or drive our car it's easy to forget that those plastics started their "life cycle" as raw petroleum. Check out this amazing video of a Japanese inventor who found a way to convert plastics back into oil. Just think how different the world would be if plastic garbage was instead seen as a resource to be used again!

Buy Michigan Now!

A couple of months ago, we introduced our readers to the website Buy Michigan Now! Founder of the site, Lisa Diggs, has created a place where you can search for Michigan-made products and information to help promote the struggling economy of our State. Better yet, buying food and other items grown and produced in Michigan has positive effects for the environment as they don't need to travel halfway across the globe on a ship, plane, train or truck before they make it to your doorstep.

When you head to the grocery store, for example, look for Michigan apples, honey, maple syrup, potato chips, soda pop, wine and beer (just to name a few) instead of products and produce from far away. Sure, not everything is grown or made in Michigan (no bananna trees, for example), but many of us doing a little sure helps a lot. When we bought a new mattress recently, for example, my family chose one by Capitol Bedding, made in Lansing.

Enjoy this short video to learn a little more. And next time you're at the store, don't forget to Buy Michigan!

Tiny Houses

There is a lot of talk these days about reducing our "carbon footprint" in a wide variety of ways. The idea is that by each of us taking steps to save energy, waste less, buy local and more fewer fossil fuels will be used up, whose use adds greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, which in turn adds to man-made global warming.

Adding insulation to your home, using solar energy and wind power, driving less and pedaling more are all simple things we can do on a daily basis without greatly affecting the ways we've come accustomed to living.

Some people, however, are taking this REALLY seriously and are reassessing their priorities entirely, selling their homes and joining the Small House Movement. In terms of this discussion, a small house really small, from 65 to 500 square feet in size. Oftentimes, these are placed on wheels and are entirely off the electrical grid. A self-described voice for the movement is the Small House Society whose mission is to "support the research, development, and use of smaller living spaces that foster sustainable living for individuals, families, and communities worldwide."

Here's an excellent video from PBS which explores this idea with another Tiny House champion, Dee Williams, of Olympia, Washington.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

Could you live in a tiny house? What would be the hardest thing to give up? What might you enjoy the most about paring life down to the basic essentials? 

reducing home energy use -- in real life:)

Over the past decade, I have added many electricity-using items to my household, including a cell phone (charger), an electronic game, an electric garage door opener, and a washing machine (Energy Star model, but still a big energy user). I know, I’m going in the wrong direction on reducing my use! But quite intentionally, I have tried to counter all of those additions with energy-saving steps as well. Apparently my efforts have worked, because despite the new items, along with rate increases, my utility bills for electricity and gas are nearly the same today as they were 10 years ago.


I’ve done a few small things, like replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents – but only as the old bulbs burn out. I don’t know how much electricity that has saved me, but I do know that even the CFLs in ceiling fixtures that I often leave on for security are going on eight years of heavy use!

Ok, yes, it took a few miles
of duct tape, but I
managed to get the
water heater blanket to stay on!

I also added a water heater blanket and weather stripping, neither of which went smoothly, but both of which are hopefully helping somewhat. My water heater is in a tiny room, with only an inch to spare between it and the wall. Trying to get the blanket, which is slick on one side and scratchy insulation on the other, and notably thicker than the available one inch of space, all the way around the heater tank -- can only be described as “wrestling.” And based on the 2,398,932 strips of duct tape I used to secure it in place, I’m not really sure if it will ultimately be better or worse for the environment! 

Weather stripping didn’t go much better, and in the end, six inches of it just hang from the door frame over my head. Still, I figure that means it’s 90% effective, and for now, I’ll take it!

Foam insulation on the walls of
my crawl space has greatly reduced
drafts, and made the floor warmer. 

The item that helped the most was, without a doubt, insulating my house. The ceiling was already well-insulated, but I had foam added anyway. The walls had NO insulation, nor did the upper blocks of the crawl space, so adding foam insulation to those has made a huge difference! Drafts are down, the temp in both summer and winter stays stable longer, and my utility bills dropped! An added benefit has been the insulation against outdoor noises.  I'm sorry to lose the bird sounds, but I sure don't miss the lawnmowers or loud cars! 

The price of the insulation was a price-gouger, to be sure, but the payback won’t take many years, and in the meantime, I feel good knowing my energy use has decreased.

purple wind turbines?

Wind power is growing significantly as a source of energy in our country and throughout the world. Although conservation organizations such as the National Audubon Society support wind energy as a greener alternative to fossil fuels (http://policy.audubon.org/wind-power-overview-0), there is definitely a need to make it even greener by reducing the bird and bat kills that occur when these animal fly near the turbines.  (The Audubon Society supports wind energy because despite the fatal collisions involving turbines, the pollution and habitat loss from fossil fuel drilling and burning kills many times more.) 

A recent study out of Britain's Loughborough University has shed some light on how to reduce wildlife mortality at wind turbines (http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9067000/9067721.stm).  Insects have long been known to be attracted to the turbines, and birds and bats are, in turn, attracted to those insects.  The Loughborough study found that the white and gray colors of wind turbines are part of the problem.  (Anyone in mosquito territory already knew this -- wear light-colored clothing and mosquitoes will find you much more quickly than if you wear dark clothing.) They tested different colors, including blue, red and purple, on wind turbines and found those with darker colors attracted far fewer insects.  The least attractive color was purple, so perhaps there will be a bit more color on the landscape one day? 

The researchers are quick to point out that it is too early to just rush out and paint wind turbines purple to "save the day," but this could be an important step in determining how to reduce wildlife collisions with wind turbines. 

Green Living the Canadian Way

Since 1989, when his radio program It's a Matter of Survival premiered in Canada, David Suzuki has been a leader in the Canadian environmental movement. Today, the David Suzuki Foundation continues to be a voice for the environment through many initiatives, including a Climate Change Team and a green tips blog entitled The Queen of Green, which even includes how-to-videos about green living. Dr. Suzuki is also the author of numerous books including a one just published in September, entitled The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for a Sustainable Future.


One initiative of the foundation was to create "David Suzuki's Nature Challenge" which consists of ten simple ways we can all reduce our impact on the Earth. Accept his challenge to adapt three of these in your own life today!

• Reduce home energy use by 10%
• Choose energy-efficient homes & appliances
• Don't use pesticides
• Eat meat-free meals one day a week
• Buy locally grown and produced food
• Choose a fuel-efficient vehicle
• Walk, bike, carpool or take transit
• Choose a home close to work or school
• Support alternative transportation
• Learn more and share with others

The Solar Seventies

The 1970s were interesting times indeed. Disco, crazy fashion trends and pet rocks were all the rage! The modern environmental movement was also born in 1970 with celebration of the first Earth Day. Environmental concerns intensified in 1973 with the onset of an international oil embargo and an energy crisis felt around the world.

In response to the energy crisis, solar energy became much more popular and affordable in the 1970s. A major milestone occurred when research by Dr. Elliot Berman brought the price of solar energy down from $100 per watt to $20 per watt . While still costly for most residential applications, solar cells began powering items such as navigation lights and railroad crossings.

Chippewa Nature Center got into the business of solar 

education in the fall of 1977 with a two-day solar greenhouse workshop. As part of the event, a 200 square-foot solar greenhouse was constructed and plants were grown throughout the winter. Subsequently, an "Alternative Energy Group" was born and education efforts continued over the next five years.

In 1981, CNC constructed a duplex to add additional space for our growing staff. The new building included two solar greenhouses and active solar panel collectors on the roof for the domestic hot water system. Due to maintenance problems over the years, the solar panels and greenhouses were eventually removed. Likewise, cheap fuel in the 1980s led to a fading of the solar energy craze that looked so promising in the 70s.

Fast forward to recent years. Concerns over climate change and our dependence on foreign oil (not to mention the largest oil spill in U.S. history) have put solar and wind power in the forefront once again. In 2009, CNC opened a new Nature Preschool building (see photo below) which includes solar panels on the roof for hot water and electrical energy.

As alternatives to fossil fuels continue to grow, you can bet CNC will be there, providing education and information on these Earth-friendly energy options. There is talk of a solar panel making workshop in our future as well as other program opportunities. If  YOU have an idea of something you'd like to see, be sure to let us know! 

How much space do you really need?

Renewable Energy - For Kids!

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (who even knew there was such a thing?) has put together an excellent website that explains energy for kids of all ages. With categories of biomass, geothermal, hydropower, solar and wind, everyone is sure to learn something new. Also on the site, you can play games, find energy saving tips, and much more! So cozy up to the computer with your kids and check it out together!

Off the Grid With Solar Power

In continuing our theme of Green Energy this month, check out this YouTube video of somebody who went past the "talk" of solar power and is "walking the walk!" His home solar power system shows how an individual can really make a difference when it comes to using green energy!

Dow Corning is Going Green

Dow Corning, based in Midland, is purchasing 28,800 renewable energy certificates for 2010 and 2011. According to a company press release, the certificates purchased are equivalent to the amount of energy projected to be used at Dow Corning's Corporate Headquarters which will help balance the environmental impact of the site's carbon emissions and help build new renewable energy facilities. For a full article from the Midland Daily News about the initiative, click here!

Measure Your Energy Savings

You may have already seen the excellent film, "Kilowatt Ours," which manages in just under an hour to demonstrate the environmental consequences of traditional energy sources such as coal and nuclear, the benefits of clean-energy sources, and most importantly, specific steps that are being taken by homeowners, business owners, and municipalities to save energy.  From energy-efficient schools and LED stoplights to installation of geothermal, solar water heaters, and CFLs, the film gives real-life examples of people who are not only reducing their use, but saving thousands of dollars (or in the case of businesses and towns, tens of thousands of dollars) in the process. 

One of the latest developments on the Kilowatt Ours website is the "Green Energy Stewardship Program."  It is a worksheet that will help you measure the impact of various energy-saving steps you take.  Check out the website, and start saving!

love your planet, eat your beans

We’ve all heard of “win-win” situations, but here’s a triple-win to improve your own health, public health and global health! The factory-and-feedlot production of animals has dire consequences for water, forests, the climate, and our own personal health (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and various cancers are strongly linked to meat consumption.) If the thought of all-out vegetarianism is more than you can stomach, consider taking just two steps – reduce your meat consumption by 20%, and make an effort to purchase only locally-grown meat. How much could you help?

Here are some stats to consider in making your decision:

1) If all Americans reduced meat consumption by only 20%, we would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases equivalent to all of us switching to hybrid vehicles.

2) The production of beef in this country consumes more water than our entire fruit & vegetable crop. Want to reduce your use of water? Either don’t shower for a YEAR, or eat just one less pound of hamburger, because it takes over 2,000 pounds of water to produce one pound of hamburger!

3) 30 percent of the ice-free land on this planet is being used for animal production; 30% of Brazil’s deforestation is for cattle ranching.

4) The Exxon Valdez got a lot of press for dumping 12 million gallons of crude oil. But how many of us heard about the spill of hog waste in North Carolina (not an unusual accident in the animal industry) that released TWICE that amount of feces and urine, and caused 364,000 acres to be closed to shellfishing?

5) And for your personal health, fear not the lack of meat – ALL nutrients, including the 8 essential amino acids, vitamins, iron, magnesium, etc. – can be found in a VARIED plant-based diet. To learn more about how to reduce your meat consumption in a healthy manner, check out the North American Vegetarian Society (http://www.navs-online.org/)  or the Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org/) , or read “The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World” (John Robbins).

A Bright Idea

It's definitely begun. Walk through any grocery store or department store and listen carefully. Holiday music is everywhere! Take a stroll down Main Street and you'll find lights, wreaths, and other decorations just waiting for a cold, white covering of snow.

Drive around town at night, and you'll notice that many people have taken advantage of warm days in November to put up holiday lights on their homes and in their yards. If you're looking for ways to make your holidays a little "greener" (more environmentally-friendly, not more pine-scented), here are a few things to consider:

1. The "greenest" option regarding holiday lights is to not put up any at all. Strands of incandescent lights (especially the big, old-fashioned ones), really suck up the energy and can make your electricity bill climb. Instead, enjoy the light of the moon on a blanket of freshly fallen snow!

2. Perhaps you think the first suggestion is crazy. If so, consider recycling old strands of lights that no longer work instead of throwing them away. One Michigan company, based in Jackson, takes strands of lights for recycling and will send you a 15% discount coupon to purchase their LED version.

3. Especially if you're replacing lights that no longer work, think about an upgrade to LED lights. LEDs typically use only 10% of the electricity it takes to run an incandescent strand of the same length, saving at least $20 or more in energy costs for a 30-day holiday season.

For more about LED lighting, and other ways to make your holiday season a little greener, check out Green Holiday Tips from the Sierra Club by clicking here.

Larderhoarding in the Home

Odds are you are more of a “larderhoarder,” like a Red Squirrel, than a “scatterhoarder,” like the Gray and Fox Squirrels. I say that assuming you store food in only a few locations, probably a refrigerator and nearby cabinets. That concentration is easy to protect, so you would take action against a stranger found pilfering your supplies. Similarly, Red Squirrels cache pine cones in just a few logs or tree cavities, and woe to another squirrel that approaches!

Gray and Fox Squirrels have a different system. Imagine storing soup in the yard, bread under the deck, and milk in the crawl space? Such scatterhoarding is impossible to defend. You might fight off a stranger in the yard, but by then the crawl space is emptied by someone else. Gray and Fox Squirrels bury acorns and nuts individually, but don’t defend them. They simply use their memory and fine sense of smell to search out between 85 – 99 percent of these buried treasures!

Thankfully for all of us human larderhoarders out there, storage has become vastly more energy efficient in recent years. To find out how much energy your fridge uses, check out this nifty database from Home Energy Magazine. If you have a refrigerator that was manufactured before 1993, it might be time to upgrade to an Energy Star model. Then you won't have to feel guilty at all when you visit your horde for that midnight snack!

Plug the Gaps

No doubt about it, fall is well underway. Leaves are rapidly falling off the trees and a crisp breeze has begun to blow. We've had some nice frosts at night already and (whether we like it or not), winter will be here before we know it!

As temperatures turn, it's important to take a look at where we live and work in order to keep the elements at bay. If you've got some money saved up, perhaps it's time to look into extra insulation in the attic or walls. Do it before the end of the year and you might qualify for a Federal Tax Credit. (Click here for more information and also check with your tax advisor.)

If you don't have a mattress stuffed with money to spend, one of the best energy-saving task you can do is plug the gaps around your windows and doors. A small gap between your window pane or door jam is a direct-line conduit to outdoor air, leaking your heat out and letting cold in. Check these tips from the U.S. Department of Energy about sealing air leaks in your home. Time to get out the caulk gun and get busy!

Geothermal

Chippewa Nature Center is growing greener! By now, hopefully you’ve heard about our fantastic new Nature Preschool (see diagram) and upcoming expansion of the Visitor Center. The expansion will add additional space for more classrooms, an auditorium for large groups and enough office space to finally fit our entire staff. During the design of our new facilities, CNC staff worked closely with Kubala-Washatko architects to make our expanded facilities as energy efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.

One way to greatly reduce energy consumption is by using a geothermal heating and cooling system. Geothermal pumps use the stable temperatures of the ground as a heat source to warm buildings in winter and as a heat sink to cool them in summer. If you’ve ever explored a cave or been in a tunnel, you may know that the temperature deep underground stays amazingly stable throughout the year (about 55-60 degrees F). By boring vertical wells underground (typically 100 to 400 feet deep), we’re able to borrow some of this stored energy to use for heating and cooling the building.

A geothermal heat pump doesn't create heat by burning fuel, like a furnace does. Instead, in winter it collects the Earth's natural heat through a series of pipes, called a loop, installed below the surface of the ground. Fluid circulates through the loop and carries the heat to a compressor unit in the building. This electrically-driven device acts as a heat exchanger to concentrate the Earth's energy and release it inside at a higher temperature in winter.

In summer, the system draws heat from the building and transfers it into the earth through the loop. Cool liquid then runs from the Earth back into the building. Inside the newly-constructed portions of the building, plastic pipes will run underneath poured concrete, forming a “water-to-water” radiant slab system. In current portions of the building, a “water-to-air” system will use forced air in order to heat and cool the building.

Geothermal systems aren't just for big places! Many people have discovered the energy-saving benefits of geothermal right in their very own homes. For a great introduction to everything about geothermal energy, check out this Energy Kids Website.

Harnessing the Sun

When thinking about green technology and sustainable design one often envisions rows of solar panels collecting the sun’s energy and generating electricity for use in a home or business. As solar panel efficiency increases and costs come down we’re even increasingly hearing about individuals completely disconnecting from the electrical grid and producing all the power they need from sun and wind. While we’re not making that big of a jump at Chippewa Nature Center, we’re very excited that we will be installing a 10 kilowatt solar panel array on the south roof of the recently completed Nature Preschool thanks, in part, to a grant from the Michigan Energy Office! [photo: solar panels on the uppermost roof provide energy for heating hot water in the building.] How much power will a 10 kilowatt system produce? When operating at full efficiency on a sunny summer day our system will produce more than enough electricity to operate an average size home. In the winter, as the sun’s angle drops, efficiency will decrease, but we will still be producing power from the sun that’s available. Unlike some solar panel systems, we are not installing a battery bank to store excess energy; instead, we’ll use a net-metering system that puts the renewable energy we’re producing back into the grid. The science of solar panels and photovoltaic arrays is fascinating. Solar panels are made up of individual solar cells, manufactured from semiconductors like silicon. The panels work by absorbing photons present in sunlight and in the process generating electricity. Electricity from solar panels is in the form of DC current so it must be converted to AC current through an inverter, allowing it to be used to run standard appliances. The Great Lakes Bay Region of Michigan is on the cutting edge of solar technology through the amazing work of companies like Dow Corning Corporation, The Dow Chemical Company and Hemlock Semiconductor Group. You can learn more about solar panels and other solar technology by visiting the websites of the companies mentioned above and through the U.S. Department of Energy here. We expect to have the solar panel array installed on the Nature Preschool by the end of September so be sure and hike the Arbury Trail and check out our progress. by Dennis Pilaske, Director of Interpretation Chippewa Nature Center

Live Green this Summer!

The Sierra Club is at it again, providing all of us in cyberspace a great collection of Green Living Tips for Summer! Check them out here: Summer Green Tips - Sierra Club and be inspired to make a difference in YOUR life to live lightly on Planet Earth!

The Memory of Stars

One of the things I love most about summer is spending some quality time "Up North" with my family. While we enjoy many different destination, we especially love Mackinac Island (my wife and I met while working for the State Park there in college). Perhaps the most magical time of day on Mackinac is when the last ferry leaves for the night and the throngs of tourists head home. Most people retreat indoors and the only sounds you hear are the clip-clop of horses hooves and the bell ringing on the buoy in the Straits. The best nighttime show, however, is up at Fort Holmes. Here, on the highest point of the Island, you can climb the embankment and lie with your friends on top of the wooden entranceway. On a clear night, the stars are truly astounding! Billions of tiny dots of light twinkle in the dark night sky. Your imagination follows the bright path of the milky way as it spirals through the sky. Falling stars, satellites, and sometimes even the space station all travel across your view. With a pair of binoculars, your view deepens and you can even pick out some of Jupiter's moons. And if you're really lucky, the shifting hues of the Aurora Borealis will put on a spectacular show. When I return to Midland or head to an even larger city, so much of the night sky magic is hidden from view. Lights along streets and in parking lots, office buildings and private homes illuminate our world so completely, we hardly know what it means to walk it the dark. I love attending a Loons game, but the glow from the stadium can be seen for miles around. Technically, all this illumination is called Light Pollution, and it's become a major problem in our modern society. The rhythm of nature (including human nature) depends on cycles of light and dark for feeding, sleep, migration, reproduction and more. Many animals are inexplicably drawn to artificial sources of light and smack into office buildings and cell phone towers. Others scavenge insects under the glow of streetlamps and become easy prey for other animals or automobiles. And all that extra light escaping into the sky is a big waste of energy. This June, the American Medical Association (AMA), issued a series of resolutions in support of energy efficient lighting technology. They read: RESOLVED That our AMA advocate that all future outdoor lighting be of energy efficient designs to reduce waste of energy and production of greenhouse gasses that result from this wasted energy use, and be it further

RESOLVED That our AMA develop and enact a policy that supports light pollution reduction efforts and glare reduction efforts at both the national and state levels; and be it further

RESOLVED That our AMA support that all future streetlights will be of a fully shielded design or similar non-glare design to improve the safety of our roadways for all, but especially vision impaired and older drivers.

For more information about the importance of a more natural night sky, visit the website of the International Dark Sky Association. And when you go to bed, don't forget to turn off the lights!