Bike Love!

With the rising costs at the gas pump, many people across the country are switching to bikes for their daily commute. Here in Wilmington, one frustration is the lack of safe lanes for bikes on many of the main roads. Luckily, there are steps being taken to remedy the situation.

"...Wilmington transportation planner Joshuah Mello said plans are in the works for new bike lanes and multi-use paths around the city. By the end of the year, construction should be under way on the Cross-City Trail between John D. Barry Drive and the Cameron Art Museum on South 17th Street. It will connect with the path at Halyburton Park.
Also, the Independence Boulevard widening project will include on-road bike lanes from Shipyard Boulevard to Carolina Beach Road, as well as an off-road multi-use path from Barclay Place apartments at Croquet Drive to the Cameron Art Museum. That work is also expected to begin by the end of this year.
There's more. The Randall Parkway widening project, which also might begin later this year, will include on-road bike lanes between Independence and South College Road. The stretch between Independence and Kerr Avenue will have an off-road multi-use path.
And finally, Castle Street and Fifth Avenue in the city are candidates for on-road bike lanes the next time they're repaved or restriped." From Star News July 28, 2008

Let's hope the powers that be continue adding these lanes throughout Wilmington!

As Gas Prices Soar!

With gas prices on the rise, every change you make to cut back on gas will help.

IN THE CAR
Don't fill until the last quarter tank. If you do this, it can extend your gas because you are hauling a lighter load as the tank nears empty. This also allows you to buy gas on low-cost days. Click on link for more details Save Money on Gas.

Roll your windows down while driving around, but if you are going more than 45 mph, turn on your AC. Your car windows provide wind resistance and actually decrease your engine's efficiencies at higher speeds. Click on link for more details Ideal Bite/Car.

AT HOME

Switch off the pilot light on your fireplace or furnace during warm summer months and it will save on natural gas. Click on link to see the benefits and how to do it Ideal Bite/Pilot Light.

Tips provided by WikiHow.com and by IdealBite.com

Don't forget to eat your vegetables!

Everyone knows it's important to eat your veggies (and fruits!), but shopping at the grocery store may not be the best way to get your produce. Why not check out our local Farmers Market? It's a great way to get outside during this beautiful time of year, not to mention the benefits of buying local produce:

*Experts are anticipating an increase in food prices due to the skyrocketing price of oil as summer approaches. By buying locally grown produce, you can counter the effects of rising gas prices on the cost of food.

*Local food tastes better AND is better for you! One food has been harvested, nutrients are lost quickly. Cut down on the time between picking and eating, and your produce will be crisp, flavorful, and packed with nutrients.

*You're helping local farmers AND putting some of your food money back into the local economy. It's a win win situation!

*Buying local food helps to reduce dependence on foreign oil needed to ship food thousands of miles AND cuts back on greenhouse gas emissions.

Products offered at the Downtown Wilmington Farmers Market include fresh fruits and berries, vegetables, plants, herbs, flowers, eggs, cheeses, meats, seafood, honey, baked goods, legumes, pickled items, jams and jellies, wine, art, crafts, and more.

When: Saturdays April 19 - December 20, 2008, 8 am - 12:30 pm

Where: Historic Downtown Riverfront on N. Water St. (between Market St.& Princess St.)

Clean and Green!

If every household in the US replaced just one bottle of 25 oz. petroleum based dishwashing liquid with one 25 oz vegetable based product, we could save 81,000 barrels of oil. Enough to heat and cool 4,600 homes for 1 year.

Not only that, but you'll be keeping nasty chemicals out of your home and out of the drain. And with new green products popping up daily, prices on these "specialized" items are quickly becoming more affordable.

One to try: Seventh Generation- Betty reports back to us that it is available at our local Harris Teeter, and works great on dirty dishes!

Some other green cleaners:

Mrs. Meyers "All of our cleaning supplies are made with natural essential oils, are biodegradable and phosphate-free, and we never test on animals. Whether you use our All Purpose Cleaner (good for just about everything) our Dish Soap (cuts grease like nobody’s business), or any of our other cleaning supplies, you’ll find our products are good for your house, your nose, and the environment."

Method Mission: to create a happy healthy home environment-their line is available at Target

Seventh Generation

Celebrate Earth Day

On April 22, 1970, 20 million people across America celebrated the first Earth Day.
It was a time when cities were buried under their own smog and polluted rivers caught fire. Now Earth Day is celebrated annually around the globe. Through the combined efforts of the U.S. government, grassroots organizations, and citizens like you, what started as a day of national environmental recognition has evolved into a world-wide campaign to protect our global environment.
For more information visit www.EPA.gov

Top 10 Easiest Ways to Green Your Office

Wanna talk more than just gossip next time you're at the water cooler? Think green. If enough of us make a few eco-friendly changes in our daily routines (and spread the word around the office), it'll add up to big benefits for us and the planet.

1. Kick the Bottled Water Habit.
Every year, 1.5 mil barrels of oil go to making plastic water bottles used in the United States, and less than a quarter of those bottles are recycled, so choose a reusable bottle instead.
2. Compute This.
Set computers to enter sleep mode after 5 min of idle time, and you’ll be saving energy during lunchtime and other outings. And shut them down at night – contrary to eco-myth, it’s better for the earth and your computer to shut them off before you head home.
3. Zap Your Phantom Energy Loads.
Plug your office electronics into a power strip so that you can easily turn them all off when you’re not using them - you’ll keep your devices from sapping “phantom” electricity loads when they’re off but plugged in. On average, 40% of the energy used in homes powers turned-off appliances.
4. Purify with Plants.
It doesn’t take a forest to clean the air in your office, only about one plant for every 10 square yards. Plants like philodendrons and peace lilies absorb airborne pollutants, keeping the air you breathe clean and clear.
5. Forgo Bad chems.
Standard keyboard cleaners contain toxins you definitely don’t want to inhale. Just one 10-oz can of chem duster has the same greenhouse gascreating effect as burning 100 gallons of gas. Take CTRL: Just turn your keyboard upside down, give it a little shake, and slide a piece of 2-sided adhesive tape between the keys.
6. Dodge the Drafts.
Printer drafts, that is. Unless you’re printing something superimportant, save ink and paper by tracking your changes in electronic documents. If you absolutely need to print something, print it double-sided. Who could conscientiously object to that?
7. Pay the Piper Online.
You probably already do it at home for convenience, but lessen your paper clutter at the office too by banking and paying bills online. Phone companies alone use 23,280 tons of paper per year just to bill U.S. residential customers for single lines of service.
8. Get Inked.
Ink cartridges can take up to 450 years to decompose. Recycle your old ones, and next time you buy, go with refilled cartridges, which work just like conventional ones and cost up to 75% less than new ones.
9. Safeguard Your Lunch.
Baggies are piling up in landfills quicker than you can say “ziplock,” and toxins in plastics are no picnic. Reduce waste by taking your lunch in reusable, safe containers. Some plastics, like PVC (#3), polystyrene (#6), and polycarbonate (#7) contain hormone disruptors or other nasty chemicals. Stay healthy with plastics #1, 2, 4 or 5.
10. Climb Your Way to Green.
A surefire way to avoid awkward elevator silences and save energy? Take the stairs instead. No surprises here: Climbing stairs burns up to 10 times more calories than standing in an elevator. And, depending on type, capacity, and usage, an elevator’s yearly energy usage can equal the energy used to power seven homes annually.

For more tips on living green visit idealbite.com

Nalgene to phase out hard-plastic bottles

Hard-plastic Nalgene water bottles made with bisphenol A will be pulled from stores over the next few months because of growing consumer concern over whether the chemical poses a health risk.
Nalge Nunc International, a division of Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., said Friday it will substitute its Nalgene Outdoor line of polycarbonate plastic containers with BPA-free alternatives.
“By eliminating containers containing BPA from our consumer product mix, our customers can have confidence that their needs are being met,” Steven Silverman, general manager of the Nalgene business, said in a statement...

For more on this article go to MSNBC News Health

20 Uses for Used Dryer Sheets!

Who would've thought? Here are 20 tips for getting a second use out of your used dryer sheets!

Some of these are a little way-out, but there are some really ingenious ideas:

1. Use it to dust your television screen. The anti-static chemicals in a dryer sheet will help to repel dust and lint.

2. Use old dryer sheets to easily wipe up talcum powder, flour, and other messes of this type.

3. Used sheets usually have enough fragrance in them to freshen up other areas in your home. Stuff them in tennis shoes, place them in closets, in laundry hampers and in pieces of luggage -- anywhere your house needs a little "refreshment."

4. Run a sheet over a piece of thread when you're doing sewing tasks. The thread won't tangle up as easy.

5. Have pet hair on your clothing? Simply wipe it off with a used dryer sheet! Also works great on cloth furniture too!

6. Keep dust and other contaminants off your glass computer screen by carefully wiping it with an old sheet.

7. Did you purchase some old, musty books at a garage sale or thrift shop? Make them smell good again! Simply place the books in a sealed plastic bag with a used dryer sheet. Allow the bag to sit undisturbed for a day or two, then remove the contents. The musty smell will be gone!

8. Got a problem with mice? Find where they are entering your house and stuff the hole shut with a used sheet. Mice won't chew through the smelly material.

9. Place a used dryer sheet in the bag of your vacuum. Sweep your house, and, once you're done, the air will smell as fresh as your clothes do.

10. These wonders of the 70's are also said to repel mosquitoes as well as other annoying, flying insects. Don't rub it on you. Instead, stick a used sheet in your belt loop.

11. You can use dryer sheets to clean and polish the chrome on your vehicles.

12. Is there a build-up of soap scum on your glass shower door? Simply use an old dryer sheet to eliminate the mess.

13. Is the interior of your car or truck smelling a little stale? Forget the pine tree on a string! Place a few used dryer sheets under the seats of your vehicle instead!

14. Use sheets to clean and polish the glass lens of your eye glasses. They're not recommended for plastic lens, though!

15. Is your hair dry and full of static electricity? Gently wipe a used dryer sheet over your head to get rid of it.

16. Dryer sheets make great dusting cloths for your wooden furniture.

17. Help keep dust and other contaminants out of your house. Simply place a used sheet inside every furnace/AC register in your house. Make sure it covers the openings and replace once they are dirty.

18. Keep your window blinds clean longer by wiping them periodically with used dryer sheets. The anti-static properties of the product will actually help to repel dust and dirt.

19. Are your scissors not cutting as smooth as they should? Wipe the blades clean with a used dryer sheet to remedy this problem.

20. Used dryer sheets make great little cloths for quick shine ups in the bathroom and kitchen too. Just use one on each of your chrome faucets and see how brightly they shine!

Do-It-Yourself Cleaners

Whether you're tackling a big spring cleaning project or just going about your weekly cleaning routine, it's important that you use cleaning products safely, especially with young children or pets around your home or apartment.

I found some ideas in Better Homes and Garden magazine in their Living Green section for natural home cleaning products so you don't have to worry about all the chemicals.

You need 3 basic products:

Baking soda

This works best on proteins, grease, and animal messes. Because it's slightly abrasive, it can be used for scouring and, of course, it's a natural deodorizer.

Vinegar

This mild acid works on alkaline substances, dissolving scale, inhibiting mold, and cutting soap

scum. It's terrific for stains such as coffee, rust, and tea.

Soap

Try Castile soap made with olive oil, or vegetable based soap. Both attach to soil at the molecular level, so you can rinse dirt away with water.

THE RECIPES

Soft Scrub - Add enough soap to 1/8 cup baking soda to make a creamy mixture. Apply with sponge to clean; rinse the surface well. Use and discard.

Appliance Cleaner- Dry baking soda shines up small appliances and even removes bread wrappers burned onto the toaster. Try rubbing a teaspoon onto your grubby blender or food processor with a clean flannel cloth.

Toilet Cleaner/Deodorizer - Sprinkle toilet bowl with 1/4 cup baking soda. Drizzle with 1/4 cup vinegar, then scour with a toilet brush.

Oven Cleaner - Sprinkle oven with 1/2 cup baking soda (more if needed) and spray with water. Let sit for several hours or overnight before scraping up stains and spills. Rinse thoroughly with water.

Hardwood Floor Cleaner - In a pail or bucket, mix 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar in one gallon warm water. Mop wood or linoleum floors, then rinse with water, making sure not to leave large pools to dry.

Recipes are from the book Green Clean, by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin

A Few Tips For You

Just by making a few small changes to your daily routine could really make an impact on the environment and could also save you some money.

ELECTRONICS - You know all of those electronics (like your cell phone, iPod, camera) that you can't live without? Keeping all their charges plugged in wastes a ton of energy. A great idea: Plug all of your chargers into one central power strip that can be turned off while you're out and on just when you need them.

CARS - Not only will keeping your car tuned up prevent it from breaking down, but it will also help improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. If 1 percent (yep, that's it) of car owners maintained their cars, almost a billion pounds of carbon dioxide would be kept out of the atmosphere.

CLOTH VS PAPER - Switch to cloth napkins. You can use them again and again before washing them in a full load, which save energy and is less damaging than the tree devastation that happens in order to make the paper kind.

LEAKING FAUCET - You know that drip...drip...drip sound that keeps you up all night long? Besides being really annoying, if the rate is 60 drops per minute, your leaky faucet is wasting as much as 2,700 gallons per year. Luckily, all you'll most likely have to do to fix it is replace the washer.

Excerpts taken from article found in Cosmopolitan Magazine. (May 2007 issue)

Recycling

FIND RECYCLING CENTERS IN YOUR AREA

If you aren't sure about what can be recycled or where to take your recycling then please refer to the link below. You can just enter your city and state and it will advise you on where to go.


There are a lot of sites that can provide this information, but this site seems to be the most comprehensive.

Business Reuse & Recycling Services

Annual Rain Barrel Sale

Annual Rain Barrel Sale
(Orders must be placed before April 12th)

Visit this link to find out the status of the water restrictions. City of Wilmington Water Restrictions

North Carolina is currently experiencing a severe drought with mandatory water restrictions in effect. As a result, Wilmington and other municipalities across the state have restrictions on lawn irrigation and many other activities that require large amounts of water.

Call the number below on how you can order a 65-gallon rain barrel made from 100% recycled material and cost $95. Rain barrels must be pre-ordered before April 12th.

Quantities are limited, so order early.
Brunswick County 253-4448 Ext 3 (New Hanover County ran out of their barrels, but to my knowledge Brunswick county still has some available)

EcoManor

Going green doesn't mean you have to sacrifice style. Featured here is EcoManor- a three story, 6,200 square foot home right here in the good old south. Located in Atlanta, this family home features beautiful details- all of which are either sustainable or recycled/antique. It has some really interesting features- the "Gray Water" system sounds intriguing- it "stores runoff water from the sink and uses it to flush the home's toilets." The property is also a National Wildlife Federation Certified Wildlife Habitat. It's environmentally concious owners have tackled an ambitous project with beautiful results.

Check out the slide show for more great ideas, details, product links, and a link to the video tour.

via Domino Magazine

Some GREEN inspiration

Good Morning!

Here is a fun slideshow of inspiring green ideas in interior decorating: Green Interiors

There are a lot of cool product links too. Take a break and enjoy!!

(from Domino Magazine online)

Tips From Award Winning "Green" Builder

Wilmington's Award Winning "Green" Builders Anne & Bradshaw have offered some tips for you to use at home to save energy costs and improve indoor air quality retroactively.

1) Provide exterior or interior shading (decorative shed roofs work great) for East/West facing windows to prevent heat gain in the summer

2) Add CO (carbon monoxide) alarm in the home (essential for a green certification)

3) Remove carpets and add tile/wood/laminate floors to remove allergans

4) Insulate, Insulate, Insulate - Make sure attic is well insulated and insulate under floors in crawl space (or seal the crawl space for mold control!)

5) Replace old windows with new argon filled low E

6) Check out the hvac system - make sure the ducts are well sealed and the handler/compressor are functioning at max, add programmable thermostat to the system, check that condensation is not creating a mold problem at the intake or vents, and best - insulate the area where ducts run (ie insulate the attic roof if ducts are in the attic, seal and insulate the crawl space if the ducts are in the crawl.)

7) Replace the old water heater with an on demand tankless

8) Use low flow fixtures

Etc.......

Savings could be substantial!

Anne & Bradshaw are available to do an energy consult or help with subcontractors or, of course, help with remodeling!!!

Anne & Bradshaw General Contractors, Inc

P.O. Box 221, Wrightsville Beach, NC 28480

910-232-1474

(Pam Fasse is a CENTURY 21 Sweyer & Associates' agent and owns Anne & Bradshaw along with her husband.)

Clearing out the Clutter in your Home Office

Everyone can always use some tips on how to organize their home office as well as their office at work.

Martha Stewart has a very helpful article on her website on just how to do that.


Click on her site to find out what these topics below cover.
Martha Stewart Tips

Topics Include:
- Centralizing
- Navigating Bills
- Reducing Receipts
- Saving Selectively
- Maintaining Order
- Document Retention Guidelines
- Going Paperless

Sustainable Lifestyle

You've heard the term...Sustainable Lifestyle?
Here's a very informative website The Green Home Guide that gives you some great tips on how to make your lifestyle more sustainable.

The topics cover the following areas:

• Reducing, Reusing & Recycling
• Cleaning
• Transportation
• Personal Practices
• Energy

At home, at work, at the grocery store and everywhere in between, there are many ways you can live a greener life. What’s more, it isn’t hard at all. The key is to ask yourself some basic questions: Am I using more resources than I need? Am I using more energy than I need, and am I using that energy as efficiently as possible? Are my actions making my community a healthier place? These questions can lead to both subtle and dramatic changes in your daily behavior in new and exciting ways.

Ideal Bite for Work

One of my favorite green websites is Ideal Bite. Every morning when I check my email at work, I have an Ideal Bite email waiting for me, and I can't even count how many times I've used their tips.

Finding resources to go green at work on the web can be difficult, but Ideal Bite has a great resource here. These tips are great for use at the office, and most of them carry over to home life, too. One of my favorites tells you how to stop getting so much junk mail.

Going Green 101: What your family can do today!

Even Oprah is going "Green"!

Make saving our planet a part of your daily life with easy changes.
Start today with help from these resources.
Click on the following link to see the tips given on one of Oprahs shows about going green.
http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200704/tows_past_20070420_b.jhtml?promocode=incl20070420BP

Looking for Green products for your home?

Check out Wilmington's premier store featuring exclusively green building & home products.

Sapona

Located at 4113-b Oleander Drive, Wilmington, NC

910-313-6606

http://www.saponagreen.com/

Sustainable products:

- Flooring
- Countertops/tiles/partitions
- Wall Coverings
- Building materials
- Paint
- Low energy water heaters
- Low energy lighting
- Low flow water fixtures
- Cotton insulation
- Non-toxic cleaners
- Window treatments
- Sinks, hardware & lighting

Now you don't have to go too far to make your home a safe environment for your family!

Our Friend the Computer - great tip for work (or home)!

Ahhh, the lovely modern convenience of computers; how did we ever live without them? An integral part of everyone's day to day lives, computers have become standard in homes and offices everywhere. And while they help us tremendously day to day, they are also huge energy-users.

One simple way to cut back on the energy used by our computers is to forego that fancy screensaver (I know, I know, we'll all miss those 3D flying objects!), and instead set your monitor to "sleep" after so many minutes of inactivity. Activating sleep settings on just one computer prevents approximately 300 pounds of CO2 emissions each year.

For detailed instructions for setting this up, check out this link.

Paper Doesn't Grow on Trees...

Here's a little tip to end the day, brought to us by Lisa, via idealbite.com:

The average office worker could save 475 sheets of paper per year by reducing their margins from the default setting of 1 inch to 0.5 inch.

The savings won't help you retire early, but an office of 100 will save about $500 on paper per year. (And we are an office of many more!!)

Getting Started

Hello everyone!

Welcome one and all to our "Sweyer Green Team" blog. For 2008 we have decided to focus on helping our office become more environmentally friendly. This green trend has been around for years, but it has recently been brought much more into the mainstream. With global warming and the energy crisis so much in the news, people are beginning to realize that now is the time to start making changes! We hope to start small, and eventually become a standard in the community.

Remeber, lots of little changes can add up to a big difference! We welcome feedback and ideas, and hope we can work together to reach our goals.

Happy greening!