Mild November

We had the heat on for a few days in October, but turned it off again and it's still not back on. The apartment is about 63° F. Not bad.

Earth Aid- what's your experience?

I recently heard about a program called Earth Aid where you sign up and track your utility bills, then get credits for reducing your energy use based on the previous year's use. The way they do this is by bundling and selling your reduction in emissions (based on your energy savings). This sounds like a fantastic idea and a great way to incentivize energy savings.

But... I'm a bit wary of signing up because I can't find any reviews yet of actual users. I read the fine print ("individual member agreement"). The individual member agreement states that it lasts three years and then automatically renews (unless you request otherwise).

This is the part that I'm especially wary of (emphasis mine):

"I understand that the Program is supported in part by advertising revenue and that
Earth Aid may use my Member Information to (a) improve the Earth Aid Program; (b) deliver targeted banner or other advertisements on the Earth Aid website; and (c)
send me advertisements for third-party products via email or other mechanisms."

I really, really do not want to sign up for this if I don't have a way to opt-out of unwanted emails or "other mechanisms" (which sounds to me like it could be snail mail)... for 3 years.

Also, I rent my apartment and my landlord pays the water bill. I never even see it. I'm not sure if people who don't have all three utilities (electric, gas, and water) in their name are eligible.

Lastly, can I even participate in Chicago yet? Earth Aid Enterprises is based in DC and it's the only city mentioned so far. I didn't actually try to sign up yet (because of my concern stated above) so I'm not sure if it would let me.

So, I'm eager to hear from you if you are a member of Earth Aid.

Wii power

We've had a Wii for more than a year now, and I've loathed that little yellow light that is always on. The Wii stays warm even when it's "off" and we are just about to rearrange our tv, stereo, etc so I ordered us a power strip that allows you to switch off each plug independently.* I want to cut the Wii power off at the source.

While doing some power strip research, I read about the Wii just to check if anyone had problems as a result of turning the power source on and off. Lo and behold, there is a way to turn your Wii to a lower power "off" (I should really call it standby) setting! On standby yellow, the Wii uses about 10 watts of power. If you hold the power button down for several seconds, it first thinks you're going to turn it on ("green") but then if you keep holding it goes to "red." On Red mode it uses about 1 watt. That's a huge difference! I'm kicking myself for not looking this up earlier.

Apparently, the default is to go to standby "yellow" rather than "red" when you have the Connect 24 feature on which allows your Miis to travel to friends' systems, checks the news, and is generally always connected to the internet (hence "connect 24"). You can read more about the different settings here to find the best option for you.

* In my exerience, it is the norm in many other countries for power strips to have independent switches for each outlet. Many countries also have switches on the wall outlets themselves, which is much easier than unplugging things all the time if you don't need them on. I'm not sure why we don't do this here. Anyways, here is another less expensive power strip with several independent outlet switches.

Air Conditioner Cycling program

I was going to sign us up for ComEd's Central AC Cycling program, but it turns out you have to own, not rent. That's too bad. Basically signing up for the program would allow ComEd to turn off your AC for certain intervals of time when electricity demand is very high. You get a $5 or $10 credit during the summer months for participation. Reducing demand for electricity during peak usage times like that reduces the need for utilities to power up extra generators (likely to be some on the dirtiest).

Maybe soon I'll blog more about ComEd's Real Time Pricing option. We're not signed up yet because I'm still reading about it but I think it's a great idea.

turning on the thermostat

We'd been putting it off, but we finally turned on the heat yesterday for the first time. It was 59° F in our apartment and we decided that was cold enough. We installed a new programmable thermostat just in time. I've got pictures and I'll try to blog about it soon, but I have a big deadline next week and I still don't have my new computer so no photos until then.

Apple goes gold

I'm still here and I really will blog more! I have a lot of pictures to post, but as I think I've mentioned before my poor little computer's hard drive is soooooooo full. However, I am about to get a new laptop and then I'll be able to download pictures from my camera to my heart's content because the new hard drive will be more than 10 times as large! So, until I get my new computer, I thought I should write about it.

Earlier this week Apple released their new MacBooks and MacBook Pros which have some major improvements that make them much more environmentally friendly. They have reduced the amount of heavy metals used in production, used materials that are more easily recycled (aluminum and glass), made the computers more energy efficient, and reduced the product packaging.

The new Apple laptops have been rated Gold by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT). You can see other Gold rated laptops and see the critera used to rate them.

I'm buying the best MacBook I can get right now with the intention that it will last me for the duration of my Ph.D. (4-5 more years). My computer isn't dead yet, so I'll definitely be finding it a new home to extend its useful life for as long as possible. It is so important to keep computers and other electronic waste out of landfills- and to recycle them in a way that doesn't put human health at risk.

Smart Home at MSI

If you haven't been already, you should definitely go check out the Smart Home at the Museum of Science and Industry! We finally went to see it last weekend after months of intentions to see it. They showcase amazing innovations in eco-friendly technology. One of my favorites was the indoor composter.

My dream house (unfortunately not my current apartment) has a lot in common with the Smart Home, such as

• native/edible landscaping
• solar energy (passive & photovoltaic)
• radiant subfloor heating
• greywater toilet flushing
• rainwater collection system
  

Check out the exhibit website for much better photos, but here are a few that I took.

Swiss chard comes in such nice colors, and you can eat it too.
The rain barrel has a screen on top to keep mosquitos from breeding in it while letting water in from the downspout.

The Smart Home is to the left of this beautiful oak tree.

You can visit the Smart Home until early January 2009. According to our tour guide, it will be reopened later in 2009 to showcase another set of eco-friendly options.

Planning our 'green' wedding

School hasn't gotten any less busy for me as the semester pushes on, but I'm trying to keep up on the blog. Matt and I are also planning our wedding for spring 2009. Last weekend I was working on our wedding website and our registry. We've been living together for a few years now so we have most of the typical housewares. We have always tried to find things that we needed second-hand at yard sales and thrift stores (and craigslist!), or we've done without. We're trying to decide what things we want to put on our registry. Since we don't really need a new set of dishes, pots, or silverware, we didn't think it made sense to register at one of the typical stores if we only need a few items. Also, there are some things we'd like to ask for that you can't put on a normal registry (e.g. pottery from a specific potter that we like or non-material gifts such as assistance with flower arranging).

Thankfully, we aren't the only people in the world who have ever had this dilemma and the Center for a New American Dream created an excellent solution- the Alternative Gift Registry. It encourages second-hand or non-material gifts in addition to more traditional gifts by allowing you to put it all in gift registry format. You can use it for weddings, baby showers, pets, or whatever! I think this is a great way to encourage people to use resources wisely and think creatively about what others may have to offer them. Go check it out!

Yellow Pages opt out

In the past year I've lived in Chicago, we've received enormous phone books at least twice. They get delivered to buildings where no one lives, can get soaked by rain and snow before getting picked up, and most seem to sit on the sidewalk for several days before ending up in the garbage. We have no need for a phone book (and apparently neither did anyone else in our building since they never brought them inside) so we recycled most of them.

Yellow Pages Goes Green is an organization committed to reducing the distribution of unwanted phone books. Ideally, the Yellow and White Pages should be delivered to people and businesses that request them. You can sign up to opt-out of the Yellow and White pages (there's still a possibility you'll get one anyways). The organization is trying to spread the word, so tell everyone you know to opt out! They won't share your information with anyone but the Yellow Pages to ask them to stop sending you phone books. It takes 30 seconds to sign up! What are you waiting for?

Walk Score your neighborhood

I just learned about this great website called Walk Score. You type in an address, and it gives it a score of 0-100 based on how many amenities are within easy walking distance. My apartment scores 91- walker's paradise. The Lower West Side averages 85. The Loop is the highest scoring neighborhood in Chicago with 98, followed by the Near North Side with 97. Check out all the Chicago neighborhoods.

I love Walk Score because it draws attention to the need for our communities to be pedestrian friendly. This is important for reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, staying healthy, and getting to know our neighbors.

There are plenty of things Walk Score doesn't currently take into consideration, such as bodies of water, and it calculates distances as the crow flies, but this is a great tool for exploring cities and neighborhoods where you might want to live. Check it out!

Could I put a rain barrel on my balcony?

I keep Googling things like "chickens on my balcony" and "rain barrel on my balcony" to no avail. I'm awfully excited about the south-facing balcony we'll have in our new place. The other day I noticed that it might be possible to divert water from one of the downspouts to a rain barrel because the downspout is located at the corner where the building meets the balcony.

At this point this is mostly a daydream since rain barrels start around $100 and the ones I like best are $130-$200. I think one important consideration before putting a rain barrel on a balcony is how much weight the balcony is designed to hold. If you've got a rain barrel, chances are you'll have some plants too, and it would be terrible for the thing to collapse when you have some friends over. I don't think weight would be a problem for our balcony, since my landlady told me that some previous tenants had a very large fish tank up there (she had a very large water bill to pay because of it)!

Do you have a rain barrel on your balcony? Do share.

Making Yogurt

I eat a lot of yogurt. Typically I eat a quart a week. I eat plain yogurt for breakfast and add jam, fresh fruit, or honey to sweeten it. I don't make much money as a grad student and I like the store-brand plain yogurt which is half the price of Stonyfield or other organic yogurts, so although I like supporting organic producers I don't usually buy organic yogurt at the store.

Yogurt containers of all sizes are typically made from plastic #5, which is more difficult to recycle. Since you can't recycle #5 in Chicago's blue bags, we've been saving the yogurt containers to reuse. We have all kinds of things stored in them in the cupboards (raisins, quinoa, sunflower seeds...) and use them for storing leftovers and home made salsa. But adding one tub a week meant we were quickly overrun with yogurt containers. I wanted to find a way to stop our plastic container buildup, and it occurred to me to make my own yogurt.

I tried making yogurt once a few years ago but it didn't work at all. In New Zealand it was relatively common to make your own yogurt using supplies from this Kiwi company, and although we never tried it, it planted an idea in my head. I decided to use powdered milk to make yogurt because we don't keep a lot of milk in the house, but I always have powdered milk on hand for when a recipe calls for milk.

In the past I'd always bought the typical store-brand instant powdered milk, but I wanted to try a non-instant milk because the flavor is better. There were basically no other powdered milk options at the local stores (even Whole Foods), and surprisingly few powdered milk options online. After much searching and researching, I decided to buy Bob's Red Mill Powdered Dry Milk from Amazon.

Here's how I make my yogurt.

Materials needed:
-2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill Powdered Milk (the amount you use will vary- read the reconstitution directions for your milk. Use the amount for making one quart plus 1/8-1/4 cup extra).
-3 1/2 cups water
-2-3 tablespoons of plain yogurt from the store (this is your starter culture)
-blender for mixing dry milk
-double boiler (preferable to a regular pot because it keeps the milk from scalding)
-candy thermometer (about $5 at the grocery)
-clean spoon
-clean quart-size container with clean lid
-a warm place to let the yogurt set for 8-24 hours
-hot water bottle for keeping warm place warm (optional)

1. Reconstitute your dry milk in the blender to make 1 quart of milk. The blender is the best way to get the lumps out, especially for non-instant powdered milk.
2. Put water in the bottom of the double boiler and put the milk in the top.

Double boiler

The basic setup

3. Heat on medium and clip the candy thermometer to the edge of the double boiler to take the temperature of the milk.
4. Stir occasionally and watch the thermometer. When it gets to 180° F, remove the double boiler from heat and allow to cool.

5. Stir every few minutes to prevent skin from forming on top of the cooling milk. When the temperature falls to 115° F, stir in the store-bought yogurt.




6. Transfer the milk/yogurt mixture to the clean quart container and put the lid on.

I reuse the yogurt containers from the store. We have so many of them!

7. Set your container in a warm place.

My warm place is a down sleeping bag in a closet with a bottle of hot water.

8. Check on it every 8 hours until it is in the consistency you prefer (longer usually results in thicker yogurt in my experience).

Notes and tips
-My warm place is a down sleeping bag in a closet. I also pour boiling water into a Nalgene bottle as an improvised hot water bottle.
-Bob's Red Mill Powdered Milk gets very frothy when you mix it in the blender. All of the foam on top of the milk keeps it warm and it can take a very long time to cool from 180° F to 115° F. If you're getting impatient, try scooping off the foam.
-To eliminate the foam problem above, mix up your milk a day or more before you plan to use it and keep it in the fridge. This gives the bubbles time to go away.
-If you don't have a double boiler (I don't think many people do), you can just use a normal sauce pan but you'll have to be careful with the heat so it doesn't scald you milk on the bottom of the pan.
-It's best to use store-bought yogurt as a starter rather than using your own home-made yogurt because 'second-generation' yogurt is a bit less predictable in flavor and texture.
-You can freeze store-bought yogurt in icecube trays or popsicle makers and thaw some when you make yogurt.

I use these popsicle makers to freeze store bought yogurt for my starter.

Do you make your own yogurt? What tips do you have?

Bokashi

My friends in New Zealand introduced me to bokashi, a system of composting food waste that has been used in Japan for a long time. It's not very common here, so I had a hard time finding bokashi and ended up ordering it online from sdcworld.net. The bokashi that you buy (or make) is made from wheat bran innoculated with microbes. You throw your food vegetable scraps in a bucket and put a handful of the bokashi on top. When the bucket is full, you wait a couple of weeks and then bury the contents of the bucket in your garden.

This is a really easy system... if you have a yard. However, my apartment is surrounded completely by concrete- there isn't a single bit of green space on the lot. What could I do with the bokashi?

I'm going to feed it to red worms for vermicomposting. I searched and search but didn't find any examples online of people in apartments feeding their bokashi to their worms, but I'm going to give it a shot.

First I'll tell you how I set up the bokashi buckets. You can buy a specially made bokashi composter that looks nice on your counter, but it's also $50-90. I wanted a more economical option. My friend in New Zealand said we could use nested buckets instead, so I set about acquiring buckets.

Sometimes you can get free buckets from the grocery store, particularly the bakery. After a few weeks of asking at my local grocery, I found out that an employee there takes them home so I was likely to be waiting for a while. I decided to buy some buckets, but if you can reuse buckets for this purpose good on ya.

I bought four ?-gallon buckets and two bucket lids from Home Depot. I think it all cost under $10 total. I drilled holes in the bottom of two of the buckets and nested them inside the two buckets without holes. The holes on the top bucket allow the excess water from the food and bokashi to drain. I set it up in early March.

I keep one pair of buckets under the kitchen sink and add vegetable scraps with a handful of bokashi. I've decided to avoid putting in citrus and banana peels for the time being since they take longer to break down. If I find out later that my system can handle it I'll start composting those too.

In the winter we don't have much produce so it took us several weeks to fill the first bucket (especially since we were excluding citrus). Soon I'll be transfering the full bucket of bokashi to my worm bin and we'll see what they think of it!