Fresh AIRE

Green Inspiration from Arlington Families

Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what to do if you're trying to live "greener" unless you see and hear details from someone else who's actually already gone greener. Know what I mean?

Arlington's AIRE website has lots of stories about Arlingtonians who are making real changes to save energy and reduce emissions. Read about how one family went solar ... how the Gannett family's electric meter runs backward ... how the Millers downsized to one car ... how the Jenks added square footage while cutting energy costs ... how the Kane family cultivated an ecological habit.

Check out their stories!

Rule of Thumb #4 - Ignore Advice

You've heard the advice about compact-fluorescent (CFL) bulbs: replace your frequently used lights with these, and you'll save money, energy and reduce global warming pollutants.

Well, I'm going to tell you to stop taking this advice. Instead, replace all your lights with CFLs.

In the old days when they cost $15, the original advice was fine. Now that you can purchase them for as little as $2 or $3 apiece, that advice no longer holds. It now makes more sense to replace them all.

“But they woe-on’t last as lo-onng,” you’ll hear people whine. Let’s do the numbers.

Assume that you have a 60-watt light that you switch on five times a day for two minutes each time (ten minutes total per day). You replace it with a 15-watt CFL that costs $3. Because of frequent switching, let’s assume its lifetime is hugely reduced by 75% to 2000 hours instead of 8000.

Your annual return on investment for that bulb is 5%-15% depending on your electricity rates and, dang, it will only last you for 33 years before you have to replace it. It might not be the 50% return you’ll get from some of your other fixtures, but it’s still a no-brainer. For a couple hundred dollars you can probably change out your whole house (a little more if you buy more expensive dimmables and 3-ways; visit www.efi.org for a good selection of bulbs). What are you waiting for? The climate to change?

--------------------------------------------------
Steve Offutt, Arlington resident and Director - Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE), Transportation Projects

Greening My Condo

Quick! Think of an “environmentally-friendly home.” What image came to your mind – a single-famiy house with lots of trees, right? Well, sure, but as I learned last night, we condo dwellers are already environmentally-friendly, just by living in denser quarters, with shared resources and almost always near transit. And since 61% of Arlingtonhomes are multi-family (vs. 28% single-family detached), it makes sense for Arlington and AIRE to reach out to condo residents.

As a fairly recent condo convert (2 years ago), my husband and I feel pretty good about how our move has reduced our environmental impact: we’ve eliminated two cars; adopted bike riding for pleasure and errands; begun walking to work; begun walking to the grocery store, post office, pharmacy, and coffee shop.

And inside our condo unit, we’ve swapped out almost all the light bulbs for CFLs; wrapped an insulating “blanket” on our hot water heater; recycled everything we’re able to, including the ubiquitous plastic bag; stopped buying bottled water; and adjusted our thermostat.

But last night, at AIRE’s “Greening Your Condo Association” seminar, I learned that each of us has a responsibility – and a voice – to ensure that our buildings are as green as they can be. Environmentally-friendly actions benefit the bottom line and can help keep condo fees lower. For example: installing CFLs in hallways and common areas; encouraging the planting of drought-resistant and native plants; educating and encouraging residents on recycling of appropriate items.

In fact, some condo and apartment residents have the opportunity to positively influence the “greener” landscaping on a much larger piece of land – some up to 20+ acres! – than an individual house. The photo shows a “bird-friendly” garden planted at The Arlington condos near Shirlington.

To make an even bigger impact, residents can encourage the condo association to get an energy audit or make some investments into energy efficiencies, e.g., replacing a common boiler or furnace with an energy-efficient model. One participant last night spoke about making his condo building’s needed new roof more energy efficient or perhaps even a “green roof.”

It was great to see so many condo residents at the session last night – I’d say there were at least 50-60 in attendance – and folks are very enthusiastic and eager to do what they can to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints. For the AIRE team, this was just the beginning of an environmental dialogue with the condo community.

-------------------------
Diana Sun
Director of Communications, Arlington County

18 Seconds

I recently heard about a cool, new website: www.18seconds.org. Arlington County Chairman Paul Ferguson mentioned it in his comments at a recent board meeting. "Change a Bulb, Change Everything" is the tagline on the website

One of the neatest things that appears on the site is a HUGE running number of CFLs that are being purchased in the Unites States. And it also shows the dollars saved (in total), number of equivalent cars this takes off the road, and the pounds of coal saved. At the time of this post, it was 58,331,943 -- that number will probably be larger when you go to the website!

Man, it makes me want to go out this weekend and finish putting CFLs throughout out house! Oh yeas, you can also find out how "enlightened" our country is (and this region in particular). Be sure to check it out.

--------------------------
Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington,
Arlington County communications mgr. (& AIRE blog manager)

Things that annoy the citizenry, part deux

A couple weeks ago, I mused aloud on things that peeve the citizenry, citing retailers that prop doors open in the summertime letting all their expensive air conditioned coolth spill onto the sidewalk. I'm encouraged that the County may soon have a pro-business response to that.

Unfortunately, most of us are guilty once in a while of the next thing that annoys many: vehicles idling.  County staff get many complaints about trucks and buses idling, and, as a matter of fact, it is illegal for commercial vehicles to idle more than 3 minutes if they are not using the engine to power auxiliary equipment (like a backhoe or bucket lift), with a couple exceptions: tour buses may idle for up to 10 minutes in hot weather to maintain power to the air conditioner, and diesel vehicles may idle up to 10 minutes to prevent restart problems.

But how about us in our cars?  Let's try to minimize (or stop!) idling at the Kiss-and-Ride, at the Hospital, and anywhere else we find ourselves idling away.

Reverse Commute Reverses Plans

Back in January, I wrote on this very blog about my plans to sell my car.

But as a certain Canadian crooner once sang, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.

I got an unbelievable job offer -- to go work for the National Wildlife Federation in Reston.  Considering I'm already a board member of Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment and an environmental blogger at The Green Miles, it's the perfect fit.

The one down side -- instead of being able to Metro to McPherson Square, I need to get to Reston.  The drive is actually not bad -- it's only 15 miles, taking about half an hour in the morning and up to 45 minutes in the evening.  But I'm burning $3 worth of gas every day, and that one gallon of gas turns into 19 pounds of carbon in the atmosphere.  Tack on $3 worth of tolls, and 30 miles of wear & tear on the car.

You'd think the drive would be smooth since it's a reverse commute, but traffic on I66 is actually lighter on the other side.  Why?  The other side is HOV-2, but my lanes are unrestricted, so it's at least 90% single-occupant vehicles.  I actually wish I66 was HOV-2 BOTH ways.  Much like I395's slug lines, it would make it easier to find carpooling partners.

The biggest drawback of the drive?  Looking at the other drivers while sitting in traffic.  They're not even road raging.  They look resigned to their fates, like a caged dog who's realized barking won't do any good.  It couldn't be more depressing.

So I've done my best to avoid driving alone.  I joined NuRide, but didn't find a match for my commute (did I mention I wish carpooling was mandatory?), but the NWF's human resources department helped me find a coworker who lives in Rosslyn.  We carpool one day a week, alternating who picks up who.

At least one day a week, I Metro to the NWF's DC office and work from there.  And I Metro to Reston at least one other day.  I Metro to West Falls Church, then take the Fairfax Connector bus, then walk about 10 minutes from the bus stop to my office.  It takes 50 minutes and while it sounded like a schlep at first, compared to that 45 minute crawl in traffic on I66, it's really not bad.  And on Metro, I get to read.

So the old Saturn will sit in my driveway for a while longer, but I'm doing what I can to make sure I'm using it as efficiently as possible, both economically and environmentally.  And that's what alternative transportation means to me.  It's not about never driving anywhere. We all have to drive sometimes. Alternative transportation is about making good transportation choices to maximize convenience and cost savings while minimizing environmental impact.  And no matter where my office ends up, I can manage that!

Miles Grant
Board Member, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment

It's a nice day for a GREEN wedding...

When you are planning a wedding it’s hard not to get sucked into the hype “YES we really do need 200 of these cute little doves filled with candy!”   But being an environmentalist I decided to try to “go green” and keep things more simple for our wedding.  I found some beautiful invitations made from recycled and tree-free papers from InviteSite.  We found a great location in Arlington where you can have the ceremony outdoors (of course it drizzled a bit on our wedding day but that’s good luck right?)   We were able take the pictures outside at least!   

When the caterer discussed using some disposable cups and plates for the appetizers, I quickly requested that we use real plates to avoid unnecessary waste.  Growing Wild Floral in Alexandria   created some beautiful flower arrangements, which the guests were able to take home and enjoy after the event.   

I kept the seating open at the tables, which avoided the need for 100 place card labels and place card holders, which probably wouldn’t get used again.   I reserved some rooms for guests at a hotel near the Rosslyn metro, so if they wanted to go downtown and see the sites in DC they could take the Metro and wouldn’t need to rent a car.  We also hired a shuttle to take them from the hotel to the wedding location.   We didn’t bother buying champagne glasses or a cake cutting set just for the wedding, and I found a lovely book with a handmade paper cover that someone had given me that we were able to use as the guestbook.

As for favors, I debated not having any favors at all. But then I thought it might be fun to share some environmental spirit with the guests, so we bought some CFL bulbs and wrapped them in some leftover paper from the invites as favors!   I attached a note explaining why the bulbs were good for the environment.   The guests loved the favors and we got a lot of appreciative comments.  There are other “environmental” options out there as well, including giving out small trees or pretty cards filled with flower seeds.

So it is possible to go green even on your wedding day!  If you are planning a wedding, check out these magazines and web sites popping up with information on eco-friendly weddings!

$20,000 Reason to Buy Green -- and Clean

I wrote a bit about this in a past blog...but it's so good, it's worth hitting the topic again. So the Smith Family is thinking (really, we're on the fence) about getting a second car in the fall. IF we get a new car, we've got a great incentive for buying a hybrid. The Arlington County Board approved vehicle tax relief for clean fuel vehicles (as designated by the DMV) assessed at a value below $20,000. The County wants to encourage the purchase of such vehicles, which help lower greenhouse gas emissions. The tax relief applies to calendar year 2007 (unless the board passes it again next year as part of its budget process).

Here's a Simple Example: If we had bought a $24,000 Toyota Prius (the leading hybrid vehicle out there, it seems) in December 2006, we'd "save" nearly $600 in vehicle tax in 2007. If you want more details, contact Richard Stephenson, who works for Arlington County, at 703-228-3412.

And while I'm on the topic, the www.fueleconomy.gov website is a GREAT resource for making all kinds of comparisons on all kinds of vehicles ("green" vehicles and "regular" vehicles). The site also have information on federal tax credits for hybrids.

--------------------------
Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington,
Arlington County communications mgr. (& AIRE blog manager)

Walking the Unwalkable Dog

My dog is crazy. I love him, but he's crazy. Not crazy in a bad way, just a little excitable. When he sees me pulling out the leash, the poop bags, and the old tennis ball, he knows we're going to the park, and he gets a little too excited.

The dog park is about 1/2 mile from my house, maybe a little less. That's a short walk, but when you've got a crazy dog panting and dragging you to the park, that becomes a long walk.

And for that reason, I confess, I used to put the dog in the car, and drive to the park. I'm guilty - very bad environmental practice, I know, but I just couldn't find another alternative ...

Until recently that is. So, I don't want to plug a particular product or place to sh op, but if you've got a dog like mine, go to your local pet store and ask them about one of the gentle leader harnesses (I think that's what they are called). It's a a harness, but you attach the leash to the front. Then when the dog starts to pull, it just starts to turn them around - it's very gentle, and there is no fight at all to it.

So now when we go to the dog park, I just put that harness on and we walk to the park ... I feel much less guilty (I know, there should be a better reason than guilt driving my environmental decisions, but sometimes it's the one that works) and it's much better for the environment. You know all those "simple things you can do to save the earth" lists ... almost all of them suggest eliminating one car trip a week. Now, I'm eliminating 5 car trips a week. And bonus, I don't have to constantly vacuum all the dog hair out of my car. And especially on the nice days, it's really nicer to walk anyway - I see my neighbors and it's just generally pleasant.

I guess the moral of my story is sometimes taking the car may seem like the easiest solution, but if you put your mind to it, you can find an equally easy solution that is better for the environment too!

Eric, What's Up Arlington!