Puddle Jumping in DC

Saving money through green means: Enjoy the ride

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2.3 percent of commuter trips in Washington DC are by bicycle.  This whoops a truly pathetic national average of 0.55 percent, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

According to Bay Area Bikes bike to work calculator, I

• saved $8.28 by not driving and
  
• saved the earth 19.4 lbs of toxic emissions

over the course of my 20 mile round trip ride from the home to work and back.

Now, I wouldn't have driven if I hadn't biked because both my home and office are very Metro-accessible, but I definitely saved $5.70 in Metro fare.

One of the nice things about my new job is that it is very bike friendly with a secure bicycle room and a locker room with showers. I love that I get a good workout on the way to work and it's a very pretty commute, actually.

There are tons of resources full of ideas and tips on becoming a bike commuter: books, blogs, bulletin boards, and more blogs. Here are a few more tips:

Get your gear in working order. Riding a hand-me-down beater is fine (and smart if you park in unsecured places) but no it's good if the brake pads are worn, the chain is rusted, and the fit is going to leave you sore and uncomfortable.  A functional bike that fits you properly is key. 

Be comfortable.  Figure out a way to get as much stuff off your back as possible: buy bike racks, leave your shower gear at work, heck leave your dress shoes at work. If your shower solution is a gym near the office, see if they can rent you a locker. If you aren't commuting by bike every day, you could even leave spare clothes at work.

Dress for the weather. I've blogged many times about how I enjoy being out in the weather ... if I'm don't get cold and wet.  In the winter, that means a windproof layer over every bit of exposed skin and, if you are going to ride in the rain, a waterproof one as well.

Be visible. Light colored or reflective clothing is good. Lights are required. Lights are first and foremost about making you visible to others. If you are riding on trails or through dark neighborhoods, you will also want to be sure your headlight effectively lights up the pavement in front of you.

Plan ahead. Trying out your commute route on a weekend is an excellent idea.  If the weather turns ugly mid-day or you don't feel up to the return trip for any reason, know your backup plan. Is there a bus or subway route? Can you carpool with a co-worker? 

Enjoy the ride.  

This post is part of the November Green Moms Carnival on saving money through green means.

Waste not, want not: conserving resources across time in time to save the planet

"Wow, and I thought my life was complicated," lamented Mac as we followed Maya off to see the rabbit hutches at Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm one afternoon this past August. We had just sat through a little presentation by one of the farm staff on conserving resources in a late colonial kitchen. While the word recycle was not part of the lexicon, the colonial era farmer put today's environmentalist to shame; nothing was wasted. Whether making cutlery out of a ram's horn, a footstool from deer antlers, or kitchen lamps from the boiled down fat of a possum or other farm pest, the colonial farmer maximized every last bit of resources at her disposal.

SUV love - a symbol of our
ease and waste? by Studiojmm.

Comparatively, we live a life of ease and convenience. We also create a great deal more waste.

This month's Green Moms Carnival on conserving resources will be full of great ideas for reducing our waste stream and its drain on our pocketbooks. Hopefully, we'll also raise some questions and inspire some activism on systemic ways to reduce waste. We certainly could be wasting a lot less energy.

One of our biggest sources of pollution is energy. The New York Times this week covered the water polluting implications of our energy use — pollution from coal mines and coal plants threatens drinking water in hundreds of Appalachian towns. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, coal is responsible for nearly half of electricity generation in the United States. Because electricity demand is expected to grow, even if more renewable energy comes online in the next few years, so will more coal.

Green Moms Carnival assembles impressive eco-schools resource

My Green Moms Carnival: Back to School Edition post on energy and water saving school buildings in the area was one of thirty-one (31!) posts by moms on the interwebs about how to have a more environmentally friendly back to school season. 

Whether you want to negotiate with your daycare provider to use cloth diapers, work with your school board to put solar panels on the school roof, or find truly non-toxic school supplies, you will find resources in this month's Green Moms Carnival.

About the Green Moms Carnival - We are a group of green women bloggers, united by our desire to protect and preserve Mother Earth. Once a month or so, we share our thoughts on a common theme, so that together our environmental messages are heard by more people than we could possibly ever reach on our own. You can read more about us here and you can subscribe to all our blog posts automatically through Twitter at @GreenMoms.

Green Moms Carnival: Back to School Edition

Approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population spends 6 hours of every day in a school building.  As the summer rapidly comes to a close, millions of students are preparing to go back to school.  Some of those students will attend schools with environmentally-friendly features that reduce energy costs to the school district, reduce the pollution and carbon footprint of the schools, and improve learning environments for the kids.

Greg Edmundson, the principle at Maryland’s first certified green school in Germantown, wrote that there is a “powerful culture and social climate that can be built in such a school. Human beings thrive on enthusiasm, motivation and a naturally stimulating physical space in which to work.”

In this video, Lily, a 5th grader at that school, Great Seneca Creek Elementary, talks about what it’s like to learn in a green school.