There are so many beneficial reasons to buy in bulk, so this simple green practice is easy and rewarding to implement. Living an hour away from the nearest grocery store, buying our food and personal products in bulk is a necessity of mountain life. The survivalist in me does not feel comfortable unless my pantry is stocked with staple goods bought in bulk. Not only does buying in bulk make life more convenient by saving trips to the grocery store, it saves money and environmental resources as well. Bulk good prices are cheaper than individually packaged goods, and fewer trips to the store means less fossil fuel burned and more leisure time for you! The following five ideas will help you make the most of buying in bulk.

Don’t limit bulk purchases to food items only!

Buying shampoo, laundry soap, dish soap, toilet paper, etc. is also beneficial to the environment and your wallet. Even if an item is not available in bulk at your local co-op or health food store, buying the largest size possible will give you similar savings financially and environmentally.

Bring your own containers!

When buying from bulk bins, bring your own containers. You can weigh your jars before filling them, in order to subtract the tare weight from the total purchase weigh. In addition, you will always buy the right amount for your containers if you take them along with you to the bulk foods aisle. If you must use plastic bags, try reusing them several times before recycling them.

Start a buying club and share with friends!

You will save a lot more money if you buy your own bulk bags of staple goods, such as rice and flour, directly from a natural foods distributor. Fifteen years ago, we started a buying club with friends through Mountain People’s Warehouse, which would deliver goods once a month to a neighboring town. Several families would take turns picking up the buying club’s order, and we had great fun sharing bulk items we couldn’t use completely or afford alone. By combining our orders, we easily met the minimum required order amount of this natural foods distributor. Even if you don’t want to start a buying club, you can order your own bulk goods through your local health food store for a small price above wholesale.

Buy big amounts, save packaging!

The larger the quantity you buy, the less packaging is involved. Be wary, though, of large warehouse stores that simply sell you cases of prepackaged individual goods; this is not bulk buying! For example, Aveda reports that when you buy liter size bottles of shampoo, you can help prevent waste.

Aveda litres use 40% less plastic and cost 30% less than the equivalent product in regular size bottles. Larger sizes mean we have to produce, and ship, fewer bottles. This means we send out fewer trucks that emit CO2 — the primary cause of global warming — into the atmosphere.

Imagine how much would be saved by buying gallon jugs of shampoo!

Store your bulk items in gallon-sized glass jars!

The safety of plastics used in food storage is questionable, and glass mason jars offer a safe alternative. Many health food distributors also carry gallon glass jars that are perfect for storing bulk food. Many people also use food grade five-gallon buckets for home bulk food storage, but I prefer glass jars.

When you buy in bulk, you tend to eat healthier, as there are less packaged, processed foods on hand in the kitchen. Diving into your staples on a winter day is a great way to eat well and do a little bit to save the environment, too. Save money, time, and resources by following this simple tip.

Holiday season fanfare has already begun, and I am reminded of my holiday motto: No more junk toys! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and/or the Winter Solstice, if you have children, you know what junk toys are. Junk toys are toys that will have little educational value, are usually made of plastic, are overly commercial, and end up in our landfills. Green parents often try to make these toys disappear, but it is better to prevent their buying and giving in the first place.

Four years ago, before America was awash in greenwashing, Mothering Magazine featured a great article title "No More Junk Toys: Rethinking Children’s Gifts" by Judith Rubin. Rubin writes,

Like junk food, junk toys can be fun but are devoid of nutrition. Buying them requires little forethought. They are excessively commercial, and are often linked to cross-marketing schemes. They excite children at first, but that initial flicker doesn’t endure. Also like junk food, junk toys have hidden environmental and social costs for which the consumers pay.

The environmental and social costs of junk toys are huge! Plastic toys are often made in sweatshops, sometimes by children themselves, and many of them send the wrong kind of messages to children. For example, Bratz Dolls sexualize young girls, as well as have unfair labor practices, and Barbie’s proportions are unrealistic. According to Empoweredparents.com,

If she were alive, Barbie would be a woman standing 7 feet tall with a waistline of 18 inches and a bustling of 38-40. In fact, she would need to walk on all fours just to support her peculiar proportions. Yet media advertising, television and Hollywood would reinforce her message, influencing what would become the American ideal of beauty.

Besides the materials and energy used in the production of junk toys, these plastic toys end up in landfills and oceans. Life Magazine reported that there is a swath of plastic garbage twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean. Life reports, "Except for the small amount that has been incinerated — and it’s a very small amount — every bit of plastic made still exists."

The safety of toys made in China has been in question lately with the recent rave of recalls. Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law a ban on toys containing phthalates. The Governator said, "These chemicals threaten the health and safety of our children at critical stages of their development." Phthalates have been linked to cancer and reproductive problems. This follows a ban last year in San Francisco on toys containing BPA and certain levels of phthalates. Despite such legal actions, junk toys still dominate the toy shelves.

How can you tell a junk toy from a good toy? Field naturalist Alicia Daniel offers the following list of questions to ask when selecting toys:

1. Will this toy eventually turn into dirt-i.e., could I compost it? Stones, snowmen, driftwood, and daisies-they will be gone, and we will be gone, and life goes on.
2. Do I know who made this toy? This question leads us to search for the hidden folk artist in each of us.
3. Is this toy beautiful? Have human hands bestowed an awkward grace, a uniqueness lacking in toys cranked out effortlessly by machine?
4. Will this toy capture a child’s imagination?

Every year, I send my family a reminder that we do not want any plastic toys or clothes made from synthetic fibers. I wish I could say that they always followed our wishes, but somehow, the message flies out the window when they see some "adorable" plastic thing they think my children can’t live without. My husband has changed the motto to "No More Toys" this year, but the grandparents have already scoffed at the idea. Perhaps I should try sending my family Alicia Daniel’s list to help them make appropriate gift selections. If we are going to tell our children to reduce, reuse, recycle, shouldn’t our holiday gift giving and receiving reflect this practice?

Cooler than average temperatures have hit northern California, and the reality of heating our homes for winter has set in. In my experience, most people like to keep their homes comfortably warm, so that they are only wearing a light weight clothes while inside; however, there are many benefits to lowering your thermostat and wearing a sweater. Remember, it is almost winter out there!

Our attire should reflect the outside temperature in our region, and thus our homes would not have to kept as warm if we dressed appropriately. According to Live Earth, just lowering your thermostat two degrees will save 4% on your energy bill and prevent 500 pounds of CO2 from entering the atmosphere! Two degrees is hardly noticeable when proper layers are worn. Even for families like mine that heat with wood, conservation is still important, and less word burned is better for our environment too.

I have heard many people complain about making small changes in their lifestyles for the environment, and many people simply write off small changes as not enough. We all need to make small sacrifices to bring about positive climate change, and it is one way to feel empowered as an individual. I may not be able to afford the electric vehicle of my dreams, but I can afford to wear a sweater I already own. I always look forward to the cooler temperatures and wearing layered clothing. If adding an extra layer can help reduce my carbon footprint, then I am ready to bundle up!

I have been living off the grid for 15 years now, and there are certain parts of my daily energy use practices I take for granted as normal. Yet, when I visit friends or relatives living on the grid, I become aware of how differently I use electricity. While watching last week’s PBS NOW program about families living off the grid in Iowa, I began to wonder if the principles of energy use necessary for living off the grid might be beneficial for people living on the power grid. Specifically, I am referring to using only one heavy load appliance at a time, constantly monitoring your power meter, and turning off "phantom" power loads.

Use One Heavy Power Load at a Time

15 years ago, my power system consisted of one solar panel, one golf cart battery, one DC light, and one DC car stereo. Today, I live in a modern off-the-grid home complete with many large energy-using electrical appliances, such as a washing machine, air conditioner, refrigerator, vacuum cleaner, dishwasher, and baseboard heaters. Using these appliances off the grid is only possible by limiting their usage to one at a time, with the exception of the refrigerator (which remains on 24 hours a day). Unlike grid-connected homes, where it is common to see multiple large loads running simultaneously, most people living off the grid cannot run their washing machine while vacuuming, their heaters while washing dishes, etc. Alternative home energy systems are limited to the amount of power stored in the battery bank and what is being currently produced via wind, water, and/or sun for available power.

By only using one large power appliance at a time, these systems can keep up with home power demands. What if grid power users followed a similar model of power usage? What if people only used one large power draw at a time, thus using less power for longer periods of time, rather than using a lot of power over a shorter duration? Living in California, we are constantly reminded of rolling blackouts during peak power usage months. The "Flex Your Power" campaign advises grid users to wait until after 7:00pm, when there is less demand on the grid, to do laundry, wash dishes, etc. They call this "using appliances wisely." If everyone used heavy power loads with caution, perhaps our power grid would be less strained and function at a smaller energy producing capacity.

Monitor Your Meter

One prominent feature in every off the grid home is a meter within the living quarters. These meters often measure amps and volts, and allow the user to know how much power is available to them, and how much power is being used at any given moment. Gazing often at this meter becomes a part of life off the grid. As Dale Kittleson, interviewed on PBS NOW, said, "First thing in the morning, come down the stairs, look out the window, see if the sun is shining, look at the meter and see how far the batteries are from full." I look at my meter first thing in the morning, while using heavy power-using appliances, before I go to bed, etc. How often does someone living on the grid look at his or her meter? I would think that if people could see their meter spinning rapidly during high power usage in their home, they would use electricity more wisely. What if grid-connected houses’ meters were in the living quarters? Having the meter in a convenient location makes monitoring energy usage easy. No one wants to go outside in the rain or snow and gaze at his or her meter 10 times a day!

Kill the Phantoms

This sounds like good Halloween advice: Kill the phantoms! Electrical devices draw phantom loads when they are "off." TVs, computers, printers, etc. draw small loads of power when shut down, and these phantom loads add up. Every person I know living off the grid uses electrical outlet strips for phantom loads. They may not turn them off all of the time, but when the batteries are low, the phantoms are removed from their power source by flipping the power strip switch. If US grid homes turned off their phantom loads, it is estimated that a billion dollars would be saved on energy bills and enough power would be conserved to power Vietnam, Peru, and Greece!

These three simple ideas from living off the grid could help Americans use power more wisely. By using one heavy electrical load at a time, monitoring your meter, and killing phantom loads, grid users can learn from the over 200,000 US homes off the grid how to be more energy efficient. Sometimes, changing a light bulb just isn’t enough.

If you have children, you know that they have boundless amounts of energy. It only makes sense to use this energy to power toys, and Zen Design Group has come up with a line of toys that does just that. These "environmentally friendly," kid-powered SEE Toys will be available online September 15.

SEE Toys has created five different kid-powered toys: Dyancar, Dynatiger, Dynafly, Dynashark, and Dynadolphin. SEE stands for safety, ecology, and economy, and all of the toys are designed for children five years and older. SEE Toys are powered by a dynamo, which is a power-generating motor; children energize by turning a crank. The dynamo charges the rechargeable batteries that make the unbreakable LED lights and sounds emit from the toy. According to Sun Yu, president of Zen Design Group, "The introduction of self-sustainable SEE Toys carries an important message of responsible living to our youth."

Our family tested the Dynafly, which my daughter affectionately called "Buggy." Buggy positively reinforces children with laughing noises when they turn the crank. My six-year-old daughter was so fascinated by this, that we have been unable to truly test the dynamo and batteries to see how long the toy will play before needing a crank. She insisted we take Buggy on a six-hour drive to San Francisco, and the toy held her fascination for the entire drive there and back; however, once we arrived home, Buggy was abandoned for more interactive, creative toys. It doesn’t take long for a six-year-old to get tired of a toy that only lights up and makes noises, even if it is kid-powered. The wings, legs, and antennae are bendable, but this was not enough to sustain my daughter’s attention beyond the car trip. In contrast, I think my three-year-old son would be fascinated by the Dynacar and play with it for many years.

SEE Toys claims to be "The First Environmentally Friendly, Kid-Powered Toy Line," but I question this claim. It is true that the toys do not require disposable (recyclable) batteries that account for 72,000 tons of landfill waste in the United States each year; however, the toys are made from plastic and are manufactured in China. The information provided by SEE Toys did not state whether this plastic comes new materials or is made with post consumer recycled plastic. I applaud Zen Design Group’s efforts; however, I think that it would be more interesting to see a dynamo-powered toy that children will play with for many years, especially when targeting children ages five and up. How about a dynamo-powered ipod or musical keyboard?

In my opinion, just putting a dynamo in a toy does not make it environmentally friendly, especially if it does not sustain the interest of children over time. Many toys end up in landfills just for this reason, and I still believe the most environmentally friendly toys are made from renewable materials, are open-ended, and grow with a child’s imagination. Now that my daughter has lost interest in Buggy, her father can’t wait to take it apart and see how it works. Wouldn’t it be grand if there were kits available for children to make their own dynamo-powered toys? The possiblities are endless, and I thank SEE Toys for moving the toy industry in the right direction. We now have a really cool, dynamo-powered bug flashlight for when our hydro goes down.

If you are in the market for a new computer, an Energy Star-rated laptop is the most energy efficient choice. A laptop uses at least a fifth of the energy of a desktop computer. In addition, the smaller size of laptops means less packaging and more versability for your computer.

A typical laptop computer uses 15 watts of electricity, and it powers down often when not in use. A typical desktop uses 130 watts of electricity, including the monitor. In addition, a laptop is the perfect choice for individuals living off the grid. There have been many times when our power has been low or down, and my laptop’s battery has enabled me to keep working.

Don’t be fooled into thinking your computer’s screen saver saves energy. Unless the screen or backlight on a laptop actually turns off, a screen saver uses as much power as word processing. Also, don’t forget, you can save additional energy by adjusting your computer’s sleep mode to turn on more frequently.

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While stumbling upon the web, I came across the inspiring story of Malawi youth William Kamkwamba on Inhabitat. With all the doom and gloom news of climate change, William Kamkwamba’s ingenuity demonstrates what one person can do to improve their life with green technology. The story also demystifies alternative energy as complex engineering that keeps many Americans from jumping into finding greener methods to power their homes.

Malawi is a democratic, densely populated country in southeastern Africa. The Great Rift Valley runs through the center of the country from north to south. The GDP per capita is $596, and the economy is agricultural, and dependent upon tobacco, sugar, and tea; however, the staple of Malawi’s diet is maize. Many refugees from Mozambique, Rwanda, and Congo have fled to Malawi. One million people in Malawi live with HIV/AIDS. Malawi has been in entertainment news lately, as Madonna has been attempting to permanently adopt a Malawian child. Malawi youth William Kamkwamba’s story deserves media attention, too.

William Kamkwamba has built a windmill to power his home. Having dropped out of school because of a lack of funds, William studied donated books on wind power at his local primary school. Using salvage materials and investing about $16, he built his own windmill through trial and error. The original windmill could power a few light bulbs and a radio, as well as charge a car battery for days when the wind does not blow. According to Inhabitat,

The 12-meter tall windmill (it was originally only 5 meters) is made out of scrap timber. The blades, originally made from PVC, now steel, power a bicycle dynamo, the type that power a bicycle headlamp, which in turn provides electricity to the battery. William uses this energy for his house, as well as to help others recharge their batteries. Just recently, he moved from a car battery to a deep discharge battery, which will help improve with the power storage of his house.

William is now blogging about his experiences. William Kamkwamba’s Malawi Windmill Blog received 113,047 page views in its first month and is now translated to English. On his blog, you can read about his village, how he is spending the money people from the world are donating for his education and improvements for his village and family, his return to school, and the worldwide attention he has received. You can also view pictures of William. To donate to William, visit his blog. A generous donor will match donations of $50 or more.

William offers inspiration of how youth in less-privileged countries can improve their lives with materials on hand, rather than relying on the country’s infrastructure to build coal and oil power plants. William has used his ingenuity to improve his home with green technology. Perhaps he was not thinking of climate change when he set out with his project, but his story demonstrates how individuals can make a difference. I don’t suspect Americans will be erecting homemade windmills in their backyards out of scrap material, yet this story shows what power the youth have to solve our problems.

Often people ask me, what is it like living off the grid with young children? The truth is, I have never not lived off the grid with children, so I am not sure how it differs entirely. However, my children have grown up learning about sources of power and its limitations.

We are fortunate to have a wonderful creek that provides us with power via a turgo wheel (1100 watts), as well as two solar panels (170 watts) for backup. This is ample power for a family of four using CFLs, energy-saving appliances, etc. However, there are times when our power is down: large winter storms that fill the creek with leaves, and push the intake out of the water; creek levels drop in the summer and the dam needs rebuilding, etc. These are the times when my children experience down times from electricity, which is a good thing, depending upon how you spin it.

Several times a year, we are without power due to the aforementioned reasons. During these times, my children actually enjoy the close family time we spend. Sometimes we play a game by candlelight, read a book, snuggle close and tell stories, etc. It is amazing how power outages bring a family closer, and we always have a back-up generator and solar panels for recharging the batteries to keep the refrigerator running.

One thing that is nice about having your own power system is that when it is down, it is within your own power to go and fix. You don’t have to wait for the power company to rescue you. Young children often imitate the behavior of their adult models, and living off the grid provides opportunities for such modeling. When my daughter was two, she would get on her little wooden scooter and tell me she was going to fix the hydro! It was too cute! We have yet to involve our children in the maintenance of our system, as they are too little and the creek is usually big and dangerous when it needs fixing.

Living off the grid does limit some aspects of your power usage which children need to learn. You cannot turn on several big loads at the same time, especially when power supply has dropped, such as when a few leaves are covering the intake. For a two-year-old, it can be hard to understand why she can’t watch her favorite program on TV or listen to her favorite cd, but I also feel like these are good lessons in conservation. My children do not leave rooms without turning off lights, as they have always lived where this can be a necessity.

My six-year-old is just beginning to understand how our power system is better for the Earth, as she questions why there are so many power lines in towns. She has asked me where other people get their power, and she holds the same affinity for our creek that we do. By living off the grid, we are offering our children a unique opportunity to grow up leaving a smaller carbon footprint on our climate.

6.6 Billion and Growing

Today, July 11th, is World Population Day, a day set aside to increase awareness about global population issues and the strain it creates on the environment. In a time when it seems like there is a day set aside for every issue that requires more than one day of action and awareness, World Population Day will not be celebrated with gifts, cards, and flowers. This year, men's role in family planning is the focus.

World Population Day was established by the United Nations Development Program on the day in 1989 when the Earth's human population reached five billion people. Almost 20 years later, we have reached over 6.6 billion humans on this fragile planet with approximately 77 million people added each year. The question that must be asked is when will we no longer be able to support the our global population or have we already reached this point?

Info for Health's Population Report sums up the issue well:

As the century begins, natural resources are under increasing pressure, threatening public health and development. Water shortages, soil exhaustion, loss of forests, air and water pollution, and degradation of coastlines afflict many areas. As the world's population grows, improving living standards without destroying the environment is a global challenge.

Most developed economies currently consume resources much faster than they can regenerate. Most developing countries with rapid population growth face the urgent need to improve living standards. As we humans exploit nature to meet present needs, are we destroying resources needed for the future?

There are so many issues involving global population growth and the controversy surrounding it. Public health, food supply, freshwater, coastlines and oceans, biodiversity, and global climate change are all affected by our increasing population. We may not feel the effects in the United States directly yet, but if we look to developing countries and the natural resources available, it is easy to become alarmed. Of course, there are those people who deny this is a problem and feel human ingenuity will sovle any issue that arises.

If we want to insure a livable future, we must increase our sustainabilty practices, as well as stabilize the human population on Earth. With 1 billion people being added to the planet every 13 years, we must slow this growth to enable us to address sustainability issues and preserve a higher standard of living for all people. Voluntary family planning in all countries should be supported, including eliminating the Global Gag Rule. Even though the United States population grows mostly due to immigration, there are still large families in this country with eight or nine children. However, 99% of the population growth does occurs in developing countries, where two in three people lack clean drinking water. Family planning education that targets both men and women, as well as aid should be a priority as we look to stabilize population growth. As the Sierra Club states, "When women and men can choose the size and spacing of their families, they tend to have smaller, healthier families. This has a ripple effect that benefits communities socially, economically, and environmentally."

There as many ways to save energy when washing your clothes, and many of these topics have already been discussed on Green Options. Energy Star washing machines and dryers are more efficient and often use less water. In fact, our front-loading Maytag Neptune uses less power than my propane clothes dryer, and I can run it off two solar panels when our hydro turbine is down. Washing your clothes in cold-water can save 90% of the energy used in the process and make your clothes last longer. Hanging your clothes on a laundry line outside eliminates the need for a dryer during the summer months. But what if you live in a town that has an ordinance against outdoor clothesline, like the suburb I grew up in, and you don't have room in a basement or garage?

If you find yourself needing to use a clothes dryer, cleaning the lint trap before every load will decrease the energy used by 30%, according to the Sierra Club. Not only will removing lint save you energy, it will also reduce the risk of fire associated with gas dryers and extend the life of the appliance (whether gas or electric). Lint gets in your dryer beyond the trap, so using a lint brush with a flexible handle will help you into the vent. In addition, cleaning your lint trap with warm water, a scrub brush, and mild detergent will further increase the efficiency of your clothes dryer, especially if you use dryer sheets that can leave a waxy build up on the screen.

Ever wonder how your dryer works? A fan pulls fresh air into the dryer over a heating element or gas burner. The heated air is channeled into the tumbling drum containing the wet clothes. The warm air absorbs the moisture from the clothes, which passes through the lint trap and is then vented outside. Fresh air replaces it, and the cycle begins again. When your lint trap is dirty, the warm air cannot pass as easily and efficiently through the trap to the outside vent, and thus drying time increases.

If you must use a clothes dryer, for whatever reason, cleaning the lint trap and vent to the outside will increase the efficiency of the appliance. You can save the lint and use it for a variety of purposes, such as crafts, firestarter, and mulch. Don't forget to periodically wash the lint trap as well, to remove the fine particles and build up (if you use dryer sheets). Of course, hanging the laundry outside is the best option. Sure, it may take more time, leave your clothes a little stiffer, etc., but a little sacrifice to reduce our impact on climate change is worth it.