It’s January, and that means that it’s hibernation time! In the Pacific Northwest, the weather is getting truly blustery, the trees have nearly finished dropping their leaves, and the unchained barbecues are bashing against the sliding doors in the storm. The salmon are arriving to lay their eggs, and migratory birds like the Swainson’s Thrush have long since gone. It’s time for humans to think about winter too, and this involves more than putting the snow tires on the car, if you have one.

How can you keep the heat in this winter and keep the heating bills down? I’m proud to say that every year, our heating and electricity bills have been just a little lower than the year before. We’ve done this through a combination of behavior changes and new gadgets for the home. What can you do to keep your heating bills low too?

Do a fall furnace cleaning. While we’re supposed to clean our furnace filters regularly, many of us don’t. While you’re at it, get your home air ducts cleaned too. Cleaning out a furnace can result in better air quality in the home and a higher efficiency furnace.

Get a new furnace. Now, if your old furnace is perfectly serviceable, don’t go out and buy a new one. But if it’s time, then choose a furnace that’s high efficiency. These furnaces will save vast quantities of money and energy on heating bills because they are so much more efficient than the ancient beasts many of us have in our homes.

Give your water heater a blankie. Unless you have a tankless or on demand hot water heater, you likely have a lot of water standing around getting heated all day. Winter is a time when we love to have hot baths and showers. Keep that energy in the water, not in the air of your basement by getting a water heater insulating blanket.

Go on a search for leaks around the home. If possible, get a professional to do this with a blower door test. This will reveal hidden sources of leaks, and the professional will often recommend the best ways to fix the problems and the easiest and least expensive problems to fix. Common quirks include inadequate insulation behind

Put a roof on it! Some of our attics are so poorly insulated that it’s as if you have a giant hole in your roof. It’s often very worthwhile to add insulation up there so that the heat that heats your home is not heating the air above your home as well.

Turn down the heat, sneaky-style. Use a programmable thermostat that turns the heat down when you sleep. Invest in a good quilt, some warm jammies, and snuggle up with those you love, whether human or animal companions.

House train yourself. Think of the cold air that flies in the door every time you open those doors. It’s easy to leave the door open when you’re chatting with a neighbor or taking out the garbage. Break the habit, and your furnace and your heat bills will thank you.
Get a wool sweater. Now, you don’t need to wear a thick scarf and mittens in the house, but winter is time for sweaters. Instead of walking around in a tank top and shorts at home, dress up and watch your energy savings grow!

Cuddle up for the winter in a cozy home, with some energy conservation flair. By winter-proofing a home and winter-proofing your energy conservation habits, you can save both money and energy this winter.
 

You’ve heard of compact cars, but have you heard of The Compact? The idea was created by a group of friends in San Francisco who came up with the not-so-crazy notion that it would be possible to live off of the refuse of modern society for a year. Aside from food, underwear and toiletries, they would only buy used items for a year. This concept has spawned a yahoo group and a number of compact-oriented blogs.

At our house, we tend to consume very little that is new. I just received a load of extruded foam insulation off Freecycle and a table off Craigslist, and I’m using them to insulate our worm bins. Freecycle is a fabulous resource for those who seek to buy used: it’s an email group that is regional in nature, where people post wanted and offered ads by the dozens. You generally need to pick up the materials that you ask for or request. The items that people want to get rid of are endless. In the past, we’ve gotten a jogging stroller off Freecycle that led me through training for a marathon. The used and free sections of Craigslist are a similar wellspring of used goodies.

In my somewhat younger years, I was a devotee of The Tightwad Gazette. I liked it not just for its emphasis on frugality but for its emphasis on creativity. Finding and using secondhand objects is an inherently creative process. There’s the thrill of the hunt, the joy of the find, and the wondering how you’re ever going to make this into something usable. Then there’s the pride in knowing that you have an old headboard standing sideways in your vegetable patch. At least, there is for me.

Why am I a little nervous about buying into The Compact? For one thing, I am a bit concerned about the useful objects that I planned to invest in during the new year. I am hoping to get some dimmable compact florescent light bulbs or new dimmable LEDs to replace the incandescent bulbs in our dimmers. Until relatively recently, we could only use energy-wasting bulbs in these fixtures, but that’s going to change. I might be able to find them used, but chances are I will get them new. The energy savings are worth it. Some investments in our home are hard to get used, yet they will pay back in energy and water savings. They’re an investment in conservation, even though they don’t follow the “buy used” rule.

I am also striving to go car-free for a couple of months in the new year. For many years, I purposefully had no driver’s license until I realized that people were making two round trips to pick me up, and that sometimes it would make more ecological sense for me to drive myself. At the moment, I am the proverbial lady who drives to church on Sunday, I use a car only on the weekend, and we’re striving to carpool to church in the new year. The problem? Generally Sundays are also my free and used stuff run, when I pick up used needful things on my way to or from our other errands. So I’ll need to think of other, more creative ways to get my used stuff; maybe I’ll find ways not to need it at all.

This new year, I’m looking at ways to make our life more compact; to use less and to use what we need and adapt what we have. Here’s to a Compact new year, whatever your iteration of it. Whether you’re planning to reduce your car usage, eat locally, buy used, or get clever at adapting what you already have, here’s to some compactness in your life, whatever form that might take.

The busy holiday season is a big traveling time for many folks. If you’re worried about the environmental impact of your travel and want to reduce your carbon emissions, considering taking the train!

Train = Reduced CO2

It’s obvious by now that any mode of transport (other than walking and biking, pretty much) will result in increased carbon emissions, but the train has proved to be the lesser of environmental evils when compared to the automobile or plane. There are several calculators out there that will give you side-by-side comparisons to make the picture clearer.

Fact is, the train is the best choice for the ecologically-minded traveler. Here in the US, passenger train travel is provided by Amtrak. Unfortunately, the US rail system is quite underdeveloped compared to those of other countries (Japan, and all over Europe), but most major cities are served by Amtrak. Check out Amtrak’s website for route information and price details. They typically have special deals advertised on their website, so you may find that your travel is discounted, as well.

Other train travel benefits

Despite how much longer it takes to get anywhere on the train, there are many benefits to train travel other than reduced carbon emissions. When was the last time you took a plane and it actually departed on time? Do you look forward to the tedious security before even getting near the airplane? The train is an overall much more pleasant traveling experience with its lack of frequent delays and overbearing security. Do you suffer from jet lag? Although the train is slow, you have time to relax and adjust to changing time zones. Not only that, you get a great view of the countryside during your journey.

Every winter, I take the train from Illinois to New York to visit family. It is a two day journey. However, I never worry if my train is going to be delayed, or if I will be harassed by security officials. When I sit on the train, I can sleep and relax, and watch the sights. The whole experience is incredibly less tense than taking a flight. (Did I mention the seats are roomier on a train, too?)

Ultimately, the choice is yours. Perhaps you’d like to do something different and take the train this holiday seasons. Consider the smaller carbon footprint you’ll have as a result!

November 15th is “America Recycles Day,” and what could be a more inspiring way to reduce waste in your household than to encourage your children to recycle trash materials and objects into art?

Plenty of modern and contemporary artists use unusual materials and objects in their art creations. You’ll find all kinds of scrap materials and useful objects that can be reused in art projects, if you look around your house. Junk mail, kitchen containers, scraps of gift-wrap or wallpaper, old magazines, and all kinds of other objects will come in useful.

Artist’s Principles

As an artist, your materials should be treated with respect. Save scrap materials in large boxes, making sure they are clean and dry before storing. In the same way that you would respect and value materials that you bought from an art store, you should value the scrap materials and trash objects that you are going to incorporate into your art.

When you work with any materials, including trash, keep your art creativity environment clean and tidy. Wash your tools when needed, and have a good supply of paper towels for cleaning up as you work.

Creativity can be just as much about discovering new and different ways to use and incorporate novel materials into your art as about the end result. Encourage your child to enjoy the process of making his or her artistic creations. There is no “right” or “wrong” way to make art, and while your child may enjoy following instructions in order to create something designed by someone else, encourage out-of-the-box thinking and teach your child to value his own ideas as much as any ideas he finds in a book or on a website.

Creating Art Collages

Incorporating collage techniques into art paintings is a great introduction for young children to the idea of using different materials. Most children are familiar with drawing using crayons, and painting with poster paints, and creating art collages is a wonderful new approach that can build on your child’s existing experience.

Your child will be in good company when using art collage techniques! Early users of modern art collage in paintings included Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Braque started by pasting pieces of rough wallpaper onto his charcoal drawings, and Picasso incorporated oilcloth and other fabrics into his paintings. Picasso also produced a series of musical artworks using music sheet paper, cloth, newspaper, and other scraps, often cut into the shapes of musical instruments.

Why not introduce your child to Picasso’s art in the form of his music collage art paintings, provide some large pieces of cardboard, glue, paints, and scraps of material, and see where your child’s artist inspiration takes him?

Make Your Own Art Prints

Polystyrene is used as packaging for all kinds of products, particularly foodstuffs, and can be used in art projects to make prints – a much more creative and positive use than sending it straight to the landfill site.

A really simple way to start out printing with kids is to make art stamps using old Styrofoam trays. You’ll need:
Old Styrofoam trays (if you use ones that were used in raw meat packaging, be sure to wash them carefully with soap and hot water)
Large plastic bottle caps – the bigger the better
Glue
Paintbrush or roller
Sharp scissors
Water-based inks or thick poster paints
Pencil
Paper

Cut circles out of Styrofoam to fit onto the tops of the bottle caps, then stick the circles onto the caps and allow to dry.

Use the pencil to create a drawing or pattern on the Styrofoam. Press firmly, as you need to make the grooves quite deep.

Carefully coat the stamp sparingly with your chosen ink or paint, using a brush or roller. The idea is for the ink to cover the flat part of the stamp without going into the grooves that make up your pattern.

Press the stamp firmly onto the paper and see your printed art pattern!

An Art Hobby for Your Child?

Once you have introduced your children to the idea of using trash for art, you may well find that they are inspired to continue with new and more ambitious art projects. To help them on their artistic road, here are some final tips:
Provide your child with a space to work. A large desk in a quiet part of the house is ideal. The kitchen table may be your only option, but if at all possible, a dedicated place where your child can leave his tools and materials easily accessible is the best option.
Save plenty of boxes and other containers for storing art materials and scraps.
Encourage your child to think of new and interesting ways to incorporate trash and scraps into his art, paintings, collages, and craft projects.
Always praise your child’s efforts and remember that it is the enjoyment of the process that is the most important part of art!

Use less, and buy it locally: these are two of the mantras of the movement towards a lower-carbon life. For those who strive for a more local and less consumer-driven Christmas, social enterprise can create a meaningful connection between employees, gift givers, and recipients. In Vancouver’s downtown eastside, an organization called Emerging Hope fuses local, ethical consumption with handcrafted Christmas gifts.

A look in my closet would reveal that I’m a gift-a-holic. Summer thrift store finds and relics from fall craft fairs are secreted away in The Gift Closet, ready for Christmas. I try to temper my obsession with gifts with my desire to buy ethically and to buy less. We have an abundance of material wealth in our society, and often at Christmas I feel overwhelmed by this abundance. Even the children have so much. The elders in our family love to receive gifts, too, but they don’t need “stuff.”

Yet at Christmas we’re called to give, and give again: to charities, as a volunteer, to family. For the past five years, our family has supported a local organization called Emerging Hope, a landscaping company that is also a social enterprise. It’s a simple but innovative concept: hire people who have barriers to employment and link them to the rush for Christmas gifts in a meaningful and beautiful way.

Emerging Hope is located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, the poorest postal code in Canada. The area has an amazing history – it has been a center of the logging industry, a thriving Japan town and China town, and it is now a slowly gentrifying and very diverse cultural and economic community that arcs along the side of Vancouver’s central business and tourist district. The town that is to be the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics is known for its mountains, its oceans and for the variable reputation of the downtown core, as portrayed in television shows like The DaVinci Code.

Into this scene comes the organization Emerging Hope, a social enterprise with a simple, beautiful, and very fragrant mission. For those who are struggling with multiple employment barriers, it can be difficult to find and keep a job. Addiction, mental health, and a history of homelessness all pose challenges to reentering the workforce. There’s a need for detox centers, retraining programs, and so much more. The need can feel overwhelming. While Emerging Hope is a small enterprise, it has become an inspiring example. Every year, the organization provides over 1300 hours of paid work for people on the Downtown Eastside. In the spring, employees make planter boxes. In the fall, they go on an annual Cone Quest to harvest the bounty of the pine trees for Christmas wreathes.

The wreaths from Emerging Hope are large and fragrant and delivered several weeks before Christmas, ready to bestow seasonal scents on those who enter each home. They’re a perfect fusion of nature, art, and ethics, and it’s locally-created, not imported. However, it’s the personal connection with an organization that makes these wreaths special. At Emerging Hope, the creator of the wreath signs her creation, and the wreaths are hand-delivered by volunteers who chat with those who receive the gift. While the wreath may be a way to support local, ethical business, the true gift is the human connection: the heart behind the organization and the participation of its employees and volunteers in recreating a meaningful Christmas.