green dwelling seattle december newsletter

2
Every week between Thanksgiving and New Years, the U.S. creates 1 million TONS of additional waste. That is the equivalent of 100,000 garbage trucks each carrying 20,000 pounds of garbage. Every week. This represents a 25% increase in waste during the holidays. 600 Million pounds a week of this waste is simply the packaging that these products came in. Pretty amazing! There are so many steps we can take to help reduce these staggering numbers. Maybe too many to know where to start. This month I wanted to share just a few that I thought you might enjoy giving...and getting. Better yet, each one of them you can get from where you are right this very minute. Increased driving during the holidays is responsible for over 3.25 Billion pounds of COemissions. If just 30% of us would stay home and shop online we could save 1,000,000,000 pounds of COemissions. That is the same as 557 homes with an average carbon footprint of 1,794,385 pounds each. Take a look and see what you think about giving a different kind of gift this year. There are local ideas and ideas that span the globe. On the subject of COemissions I am also throwing in some things we can do around the house to help save a few tons as well. There won’t be a green home tour this month, but we will be back in January with a great 4star built green home. Thank you for all of your interest over the course of the last year. There are some very exciting things coming in 2009…...Stay Tuned. Happy Holidays Matt Muhsam Source: www.epa.gov GreenDwellingSeattle It’s Not Just Where You Live, But How You Live December Newsletter Cool Gift Ideas From Around the Globe Carbon Neutral and Climate Friendly gifts Adventure Travel, Hiking Trips, Bike Tours Micro LoansLoans that Change Lives Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth Reduce What you Can, Offset What you Can’t Gifts That Do Good And From Our Own Backyard Give the Gift of Great LOCAL food Give Experiences Instead of Stuff The Gift of Action

Upload: mmuhsam

Post on 16-Jul-2015

480 views

Category:

Business


1 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Green Dwelling Seattle December Newsletter

  Every week between Thanksgiving and New Years, the U.S. creates 1 million TONS of addi‐tional waste.  That is the equivalent of 100,000 garbage trucks each carrying 20,000 pounds of garbage.  Every week.      This represents a 25% increase in waste dur‐ing the holidays.  600 Million pounds a week of this waste is simply the packaging that these products came in.  Pretty amazing!      There are so many steps we can take to help reduce these staggering numbers.  Maybe too many to know where to start.  This month I wanted to share just a few that I thought you might enjoy giving...and getting.  Better yet, each one of them you can get from where you are right this very minute.    Increased driving during the holidays is re‐sponsible for over 3.25 Billion pounds of CO₂ emissions.  If just 30% of us would stay home and shop online we could save 1,000,000,000 pounds of CO₂ emissions.  That is the same as 557 homes with an average carbon footprint of 1,794,385 pounds each.     Take a look and see what you think about giving a different kind of gift this year.  There are local ideas and ideas that span the globe.   On the subject of CO₂ emissions I am also throwing in some things we can do around the house to help save a few tons as well.      There won’t be a green home tour this month, but we will be back in January with a great 4‐star built green home.  Thank you for all of your interest over the course of the last year.   There are some very exciting things coming in 2009…...Stay Tuned.  

Happy Holidays  ‐Matt Muhsam 

Source:  www.epa.gov 

GreenDwellingSeattle It’s Not Just Where You Live, But How You Live

    December Newsletter  

Cool Gift Ideas From Around the Globe 

                                                            Carbon Neutral and Climate Friendly gifts   

  Adventure Travel, Hiking Trips, Bike Tours   

      Micro Loans‐Loans that Change Lives   

  Ending Hunger, Caring for the Earth   

    Reduce What you Can,     Offset What you Can’t   

       Gifts That Do Good    

And From Our Own Backyard  

   Give the Gift of Great LOCAL food   

   Give Experiences      Instead of Stuff   

    The Gift of Action 

Page 2: Green Dwelling Seattle December Newsletter

CALENDAR OF EVENTS  

 

12/3 Inside Green Event at ecoHAUS 

12/5 Confronting the Food Crisis Teach‐In 

12/6 Polar Bear Plunge 

12/9 December Greendrinks 

12/11 Sustainable Kirkland Monthly Meeting 

12/13‐14 Piper’s Creek Salmon Watching 

12/20 Green Seattle Partnership 

Year Round Farmers Market Schedule 

Household CO₂CO₂CO₂CO₂CO₂ Emissions  Do It!...If you can      Save 

Install Low‐flow fixtures      325# Swap for 10 Energy Star CFL’s    1,000# Thermostat Down 5°F at Night    231#   Drive 83 Miles Less/Month    1,000# Install Energy Star Furnace/Boiler  3,011# Use a Clothesline        700# Reduce Garbage by 10%      1,200# Clean your Furnace Air Filter    350# Buy an Energy Star Refrigerator  521# Improve Gas Mileage by 3 MPG  3,000#  Source: www.epa.gov, www.climatecrisis.net 

Just a couple more things I wanted to say about this last year and GreenDwellingSeattle.  It is such a satisfying and rewarding experience to meet and talk with everyone and I hope that the information you are getting is interesting and helpful.  If you have questions about any‐thing relating to green building or the greater green community please don’t hesitate to ask.  This is intended to be an interactive resource and your participation is key to all of our suc‐cess.  Secondly, Seattle’s markets have suffered along with the rest of the country and the Real Estate market is no exception.  Green builders are working hard to make better homes and I want to do what I can to promote  their work.  If you have an interest and would like to know more about many of the great green projects coming down the road, let me know.  I would be happy to help.  Also, check out this new web page from  King County Ecoconsumer.  Very cool for the remodelers out there.  

  

And It Seems a Perfect Time For: