Green Nay Sayers: I Don't Get 'Em

Cleveland Clinic - my employer - is a founding member of a new organization, The Cleveland Carbon Fund, which hopes to reduce carbon emissions in Cleveland. Unlike most carbon-emission offsetting companies, Terra Pass, etc., The Cleveland Carbon Fund will use donations to invest in local carbon reduction projects - such as planting trees, switching out traditional light bulbs for CFLs, etc.

The new organization was announced in The Plain Dealer, Cleveland's newspaper. While comments to news stories tend to be about 60 percent negative, I swear that Clevelanders are 99 percent negative (it may have something to do with our weather!)

The story about The Cleveland Carbon Fund was just posted this morning, http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/01/community_carbon_reduction_fun.html, so only three comments have come in. However, all three are from nay sayers of the green movement. I've mentioned before that I'm a self-proclaimed greenie; however, I'm no extremist. The Carbon Fund isn't taxing organizations or communities for polluting. Rather, it's giving our community and beyond the option to donate to a great cause.

If these nay sayers had the opportunity to see new trees go up in their neighborhoods, or were given free CFLs or free home weatherization, I bet they would suddenly have a change in heart. (Well, except for those who probably drive Hummers, and have never recycled a thing.)

My point is that everyone is passionate about something. What's so bad about a group of people coming together for the betterment of the environment? We're not forcing our beliefs on you, so keep your negative opinions to yourself.

Oberlin College a Green Leader

Oberlin College is know nationally (and possibly internationally) as a green leader. It's Center for Environment Studies (left) is an amazing - and georgous - building that operates on three fundamental principles of nature:

- waste equals food

- use current solar income

- respect diversity.

Building designer William McDonough led a workshop that I attended at Cleveland Clinic last year and presented this building as a best practice in green facilities.

From what I've read, the key to Oberlin College's success is its students. They are committed to making a positive impact on the environment. For example, the SEED House (Student Experiment in Ecological Design) is the home to eight sudents to strive to be environmentally conscious by using vermicomposting, timing their showers, sharing refrigerators and more.

The New York Times wrote a wonderful story and video about the house. To read the story, click here.

To find out how you can adopt some of the practices in use by the SEED House, click here.

A Halloween Tip: Reduce "Vampire" Electronic Waste

Appliances, cell-phone chargers and electronics consume energy even when they’re not in use. This flaw has earned these items the nickname “vampire” sources, because they are believed to contribute to as much as 10 percent of a household’s energy use. And not only does this wasted energy cost you money, but it contributes to our pollution problem. Unplugging items that are not in use is the best way to control this unnecessary waste and cut costs. New “smart” power strips on the market also help reduce energy waste via a variety of techniques, but ultimately, your electronics turn on when they’re needed and don’t use energy when they’re turned off.

Find out more at http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/12/smart_power_str.php

**This tip is produced as part of my role as a member of Cleveland Clinic's Office for a Healthy Environment. As the editor of our weekly newsletter for employees, I often include information about our Office for a Healthy Environment. I'm also a member of our green team, which is working to make healthy changes for our employees, patients and environment.

The Tragedy that is the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"

Texas - it's a pretty big state, right? The second largest in the United States and the equivalent size of the country Spain.

Imagine a floating mass of plastic trash twice the size of Texas. Unfortunately this isn't a hypothetical - it's what has been named the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

The enormous stew of trash - which consists of 80 percent plastics and weighs about 3.5 million tons, say oceanographers - floats where few people ever travel, between San Francisco and Hawaii. Plastic is the main contributor and most commonly ends up in the garbage patch one of two ways: litter on land goes down a sewer and ends up in the water stream; or, boats dumping into the ocean.

As you can imagine, the impact on marine species is devastating. Sea turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish. Birds swoop down and swallow indigestible shards of plastic. The petroleum-based plastics take decades to break down, and as long as they float on the ocean's surface, they can appear as feeding grounds. Animals die when plastic fills their stomach, and Greenpeace found that at least 267 marine species suffer from ingestion or entanglement with marine debris.

As our marine ecosystem continues to become more frail and more species are added to the endangered list each day, we must work to end plastic and other trash from finding its final resting place in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Unfortunately, in a story I read, experts say that there's not much they can do it clean the mass up. What's there now will stay there till it biodegrades - releasing toxic chemicals into the ocean, creating a toxic sludge.

But, environmentalists say that there are ways to prevent more trash from causing the garbage patch to grow:

- Use a reusable shopping bag when possible, and limit your use of plastic bags.

- Take trash with you when you leave the beach.

- Buy products in bulk to reduce packaging.

- Use reusable containers and drinking bottles whenever possible.

- Most obvious: DON'T LITTER; DO RECYCLE!

To find out more, visit http://www.greatgarbagepatch.org/

Time to Brag...

My parents are huge fans of gardening, and I picked up the green thumb when I moved out on my own. Last year's garden was in a different location. This year's garden is in the place of the above-ground pool our house had when we moved in. After lots of TLC, the soil turned out great. We added top soil, contents from our compost pile and nearly 20 bags of manure (my Dad did that part!)

Below are pics of the garden and our first crop from a few weeks ago. The garden is in full swing now. Last night I canned about 30 Hungarian hot peppers. We also have eggplant; green, yellow and red bell peppers; zucchini; cucumbers; butternut squash; green beans; and TONS of tomatoes (we have about 30 tomato plants).

This is Morris (on the left) and Zoe, our new dogs. They are too cute for words, so I needed to upload a picture of them, too!

An Answer to the Great Phone Book Question

I've wondering for years why there are separate phone book recycling centers and phone book round-up days. Did you know that you can't recycle phone books with regular paper recycling? Neither did I!

According to one of my favorite green websites, http://www.earth911.com/ : Make sure you keep phone books separate from other paper recycling, because these books have shorter fibers and are recycled differently than the rest of your paper. You don’t want to contaminate your recycling by mixing them together.

I had no idea. For years, I've been contaminating my recycling. Now I know - and you know, too.

Is it Time to Moo-ve Over to Organic Beef and Dairy?

I don't know about you, but salmonella, E. coli and mad cow disease freak me out! I don't eat beef (and haven't for more than 10 years), but I often get asked about buying organic beef and dairy products.

I've done some research, and here are some highlights on all things cow:
- Buying organic beef eliminates mad cow disease, which is a result of cows eating other cows. The disease causes brain damage and nervous system damage in cows and can be transmitted to humans.
- Organic beef and dairy are antibiotic- and hormone-free. Animals raised organically are not allowed to be fed antibiotics, the bovine human growth hormone (rbGH), or other artificial drugs. The animals are raised in a healthier environment, fed organic feed and often eat a wider range of nutrients than those raised in factory farms.
- You CAN buy non-organic beef and dairy products that are antibiotic- and hormone-free. Just check the packaging.
- Free-range and pasture-grazing animals are treated more ethically. Again, if you don't care about the treatment of animals, this may not be important to you. However, animals that live a more natural lifestyle and aren't cooped up in cages or pens are healthier. You're eating them. You decide if you want to put an unhealthy animal into your body.

So what's the verdict? Risk of mad cow or E. coli is probably low in both organic and conventional meat. Organic may be worth buying if you are concerned about antibiotic use. If you are concerned about growth hormones, there may be cheaper alternatives to organic - read the label.