Is Your Child Telling You Not To Buy That?

At our last meeting, Juli Faiola gave a very informative presentation about household chemicals. Thank you, Juli! There are lots of cleaning products that are on the grocery shelves right now that are not good for you or for the environment. Some have carcinogens and others have chemicals that harm our respiratory system.

Some facts:

1. Chlorine bleach is the #1 household chemical involved in poisonings.

2. Common cleaners emit fumes that can increase the risk of kids developing asthma (1 in 13 school-aged children has asthma - that's increased more than 160% from 1980 to 1994).

3. Average cleaners contain hazardous chemicals like kerosene, lye, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, petroleum distillates, formaldehyde, and ammonia.

Did you know that you can clean with vegetables? More and more, it's easier to find cleaning products that are made from natural surfactants (like from coconut, palm or vegetable oils). These are safe for septic systems, are biodegradable, are non-toxic, don't harm your skin . . . and even clean just as well as the name brand products.

Some of the students asked where their parents can find these safer products. Whole Foods has a good selection as does Trader Joe's. There's also an organic market in Alexandria called MOMS. Brands like: Sun & Earth (www.sunandearth.com), Seventh Generation (www.seventhgeneration.com), and Ecover (www.ecover.com) are easy to find. Another great place to check out is www.shaklee.com. They have a Get Clean kit which has environmentally-friendly cleaning products for all areas of your home. You can also contact Juli at pjfaiola@aol.com for more information.

The goal of this meeting was not to frighten our kids, but instead, to make them aware that just because a product is on the store shelves, doesn't necessarily mean that it's good for us. We need to look at the packaging labels and be informed so that we can make smart decisions for ourselves and our planet.

It's definitely a challenge to change our everyday habits. We have to think about our buying decisions, not just be on autopilot. But we can do it . . . for ourselves and for our children.

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Going Organic

A big 'Thank You' to Mrs. Friedman for talking to our club about organics and organic farming. We all enjoyed looking at her photos of animals and crops from her family's farm. All of us are more aware of the foods we buy and how they may have been grown or processed.

I've found that organic fresh vegetables last longer too. And they taste better. We're looking forward to the Spring when the farmer's markets start up again. Local food is fresher and it's a great thing to support smaller farms.

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A New Coal Plant in Virginia?

Coal is the leading cause of global warming pollution and one of the top causes of respiratory health problems here in Virginia. All coal-fired power plants spew millions of tons of pollutants; from carbon dioxide, sulfur, nitrogen oxides, to cancer causing particulate matter. Coal is by far the dirtiest way to produce power.

Knowing this, you may wonder why Dominion Power wants to build a new coal fired power plant in Wise County, Virginia. If it's built, it would cost $1.6 billion and become one of the state's biggest polluters. And there are lots of renewable energy and efficiency measures that Virginia needs to invest in that will save everyone money and improve the health of all Virginians.

If you'd like to become involved to stop mountain top coal removal and stop the Wise County Plant, there are 3 things that you can do:

1. Sign the No New Coal Petition at www.chesapeakeclimate.org/nonewcoal

2. Contact your elected officials and say no to coal at www.votenocoal.org

3. Come to Richmond on January 8th to fight Dominion Power.
See www.cleanenergyva.org for more info.

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Happy America Recycles Day!

Today is America Recycles Day.

Pat yourself on the back for recycling at school, work and home.

This is a great day for making new recycling goals. Our family's goal is to recycle and compost more than we throw away. That means, we'll only have one trash bag for the entire week and 2 full recycling bins. We'll shop for items that are packaged in recyclable containers or cardboard boxes too.

Is your family making a new recycling goal?

Every little bit makes a difference.

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Fairfax County Students - On Air Radio Ad Contest

I made reference to this contest in an earlier post today and thought that I should list the info about it again (see post on September 21st).

You can print the contest application form at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/recycling/school.htm.

Fairfax County is looking for students to create a script for a 30-second radio advertisement. They want the message to concentrate on why everyone in Fairfax County should recycle mixed paper and cardboard. Use your creativity and see what you come up with.

Not only could your ad be heard on the radio, but you're entered in the America Recycles Day Contest too.

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America Recycles Day Contest

This is the contest that was printed at the bottom of the Fairfax County Students On Air Radio Contest form that came home in the Wednesday folders a week or so ago. It doesn't say where to mail in the entry form, so I did some detective work on the internet and found just what I was looking for. You may have been looking for it too.

If you go to http://www.mwcog.org/environment/recycling/recyclesday/rules.asp, it will tell you how to participate in this contest. Basically, you hand print your full name and address on a scrap piece of paper or the entry card and send it to the address that they have listed under the heading "How to Participate."

There are regional prizes:
One K-12 Student: $300 gift certificate at a bicycle shop AND $500 grant to the local K-12 environmental program/club of choice.
One Adult: $300 gift certificate at a bicycle shop

Send in your entry form (one per person) by November 20, 2007 and see what happens!

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Recycling Online Game

Here's a fun online activity for ya. The National Recycling Coalition has a nifty contraption called the Conversionator. You can play at www.nrc-recycle.org.

Have fun!

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Virginia Recycling Association Contest

Wouldn't it be great to win at a contest?! Even better, wouldn't it be great if the prize was $250 that went to your favorite local environmental charity of your choice?!

The Virginia Recycling Association is having a contest to raise awareness for buying recycled products, recycle what you've used and America Recycles Day which is November 15th. This is a different contest than the one that went out in Wednesday folders a few weeks ago.

Check out http://www.vrarecycles.org/ard.htm and click on the online pledge form. It's easy and a great way to pick up some new recycling ideas and tips.

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As Easy As Changing A Lightbulb

Remember our posting on October 5th? Well, I'm here to tell ya that it's a fantastic deal not to be missed!

I pledged to replace 8 standard lightbulbs in our home and the county emailed me a link. I then printed my coupon and off to Office Depot I went.

The limit for the coupon is 10 CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulbs), but the store only had 8. I bought them out!

The $3 came off of every single one of the bulbs. So, my grand total for 8 CFLs was $12.54! That's just $1.57 a piece! And they'll save us energy when we turn them on . . . and they screw in just like a standard bulb . . . and they'll last 5 years!!

I thanked the salesperson at Office Depot and politely refused the plastic shopping bags she wanted to put them in. I walked out cradling the bulbs in one arm and holding the receipt in the other.

We have posters from the county about this program (just picked them up today), so you'll be seeing them around school.

If you'd like to get in on this great deal, just go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2007/223.htm and click on the link to pledge that you will change at least one of the standard light bulbs in your home to an energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb. After you make the pledge, you will receive a $3 discount coupon toward the energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs at Office Depot or WalMart.

Thank you, Fairfax County, for making it easier for us to Make a Difference and Change a Light!

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And the Winner Is . . .

Check out www.solardecathlon.org for a list of the winners!
(One of the top 3 is very close to us!)

www.blueegg.com has some great videos of the houses and the award ceremony.

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Have You Heard of the Eastern Garbage Patch?

I hadn't. Before viewing the video at the link below, I had read a few weeks ago that oceanographers have found more plastic in the Pacific Ocean than zooplankton. Here's more info.

http://www.blueegg.com/videos/2007/8/14/egg-head-garbage-patch.go

What can we do to cut down on the amount of plastic that we throw away? We can recycle and reuse all that we can. We can also take our own canvas or paper bags when we go shopping and refuse the plastic ones at the store. Another option is to purchase items that are packaged in recyclable plastics and find alternatives for the products that are not.

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It's Easy . . . Really

All of us have developed habits in our everyday lives. Some of these are tough to change, but think about what you do in a typical day.

What can you change to reduce your carbon footprint (the impact you have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced)?

Here are some simple ideas to get you started . . .

- wash clothes in cold water
- line-dry your clothes instead of using the clothes dryer
- only run the dishwasher when it is full
- turn off the water while brushing teeth
- change standard lightbulbs to energy-efficient compact fluorescent ones
- make sure faucets don't leak
- turn off lights when not in room
- unplug chargers, stereos, DVRs & TVs when not in use
- turn off computer, monitor, printer, and speakers when not in use
- don't stand with refrigerator door open
- air-dry dishes instead of using the dishwasher drying cycle
- take short showers
- set hot water heater to 120 degrees F (this can cut energy use up to 25%)
- close fireplace dampers
- check for holes or cracks around walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches and electrical outlets (these are all places where air can leak out of your home)
- use weatherstripping to close up gaps in doors and windows

To check recommended insulation levels and perform a home energy audit, go to www.energysavers.gov.

Although it's more expensive, one of the most cost-effective ways to make your home retain it's proper temperature year-round is to add insulation to your attic. I saw some insulation on Home Depot's web site that is made from recycled paper. They said that you can achieve any R-value that you'd like.

Programmable thermostats are also helpful in cutting energy costs. You can set it for temperature at which the heat or air will come on (maybe it's different for each day of the week) and there's even a vacation mode.

Much of the above information is included in a helpful booklet produced by the U.S. Government. You can download the entire booklet at www.eere.energy.gov/consumers/tips.

One chart in the booklet that I found particularly interesting listed how a typical household uses water:
clothes washing - 32 gallons per use
showering - 20 gallons per use
bathing - 20 gallons per use
automatic dishwashing - 12 gallons per use
preparing food - 5 gallons per use
hand dishwashing - 4 gallons per use

This really gets me to thinking, "How can I use less?"

Conservation. I can do this. And you can too. It's easy, really.

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Great Reads at NFS Library

Here are titles you may be interested in - these are all in your school library!

If you check out some of these books, write a short paragraph about what you learn and bring it to our meeting to share.


F MIL - Dinah For President by Claudia Mills

E LEE - The Great Trash Bash by Loreen Leedy

177.7 RAA - Caring by Lucia Raatma

363.72 DAV - Waste by Kay Davies

363.728 WIL - Trash! by Charlotte Wilcox

363.7282 GIB - Recycle! A Handbook for Kids by Gail Gibbons

363.7285 MAA - Garbage by Robert Maass

VT 363.7282 WHE - Where the Garbage Goes by Fredric Levine (video)

363.73 PAR - Global Warming by Peggy J. Parks

363.738 LIM - Our Warming Planet by Cheng Puay Lim

363.738 HAW - Climate Crisis by Nigel Hawkes

363.73 HOF - Atmosphere by Mary King Hoff

363.72 HAL - Recycling by Eleanor J. Hall

363.72 DON - Recycling by Rhonda Lucas Donald

551.305 ROS - Re-cycles by Michael Elsohn Ross

628.44 SHO - Where Does the Garbage Go? by Paul Showers

631.4 RYB - Environmental Experiments About Land by Thomas R. Rybolt

745.584 FIA - Cups & Cans & Paper Plate Fans: Craft Projects from Recycled Materials by Phyllis Fiarotta

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Solar Decathlon Update

We had a great time at the Solar Decathlon Saturday. It was crowded (we only got to tour 3 homes), which is a good thing. More and more people are interested in solar energy!

The university teams had great ideas for constructing off-grid homes that are functional but at the same time look great. The Georgia Tech team used space-age materials like an aero gel developed by NASA that diffuses light. The aero gel filled the polycarbonate panels of the walls and the ceiling. This gave privacy but let in a soft light inside the home, which would cut down on the need for electric lighting.

All of the household appliances were Energy Star. A couple of the homes had induction stove tops in the kitchen. The glass cooktop stays cool while the pan you are using to cook with heats up. It's faster and more energy efficient than the way we cook now. We also saw a washer/dryer all-in-one. It was compact - and in this one unit, performs all washing and drying settings for your clothes. Toilets were using .8 of a gallon for flushing. One toilet had 2 settings, which you may have seen in stores or commercials. One setting gives you a .8 of a gallon flush and the other is the usual 1.6 gallon flush. I kept looking for the pint-flush toilet but didn't see one. Several of the homes had radiant heating in the floors instead of a furnace. And they had on-demand hot water too.

The Solar Decathlon continues through October 20th and easily accessible from the Smithsonian Metro station. Check out our September 18th blog for the link to the Solar Decathlon site.

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Solar Decathlon This Weekend!

Check out our posting from September 18th for the link and more info about the Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. this weekend. We're going tomorrow and are very excited!

If any of you are also planning on going, let us know at the meeting on Monday which house was your favorite.

Have a sunny weekend!!

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Cool Toys Site

We found some awesome toys at www.speedydog.net. They have robots, solar toys and all kinds of science experiment kits. Their customer service was great too - we will be using one of their solar cars at our meeting Monday, October 15th.

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U.S. Geological Survey Event in November!

Mark November 3rd on your calendars. The U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, VA will be having an Open House that day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission and parking at the event are free. There will be food and beverages for sale.

They'll have exhibits, demonstrations, hands-on activities and live entertainment.

Go to http://www.usgs.gov/homepage/science_features/open_house/ for more detailed information on the exhibits and displays. You can also view a map of how to get to their location and download a flyer and poster for the event.

Explore the wonders of science!

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Colvin Run Mill Event This Sunday

On Sunday, October 14th, from 2-4 p.m., beekeepers will be at Colvin Run Mill to talk about and demonstrate the process of honey harvesting. Visitors will be able to sample honey on cornbread made from the mill's cornmeal. They will have an observation hive with live bees too. This is a free event and gives everyone a chance to learn how important bees are to us.

For more information about the Colvin Run Mill Historic Site, check out www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/crm.

Also, on Sundays in October, they will be grinding grain in the mill. There is a cost to tour the mill - $6 adults, $5 students 16 and up with ID, $4 children (5-15) and seniors (60+).

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Books You'll Want to 'Check Out' at the Library

We've been looking at the Fairfax County Public Library catalog and have found many books you'd probably be interested in (for parents and students):

J513M - Earth Day, Hooray by Stuart J. Murphy

363.7H - One Makes the Difference: Inspiring Actions That Change Our World by Julia Butterfly Hill

J363.728M - Garbage by Robert Maass

363.7282A - Why Do We Recycle: Markets, Values and Public Policy by Frank Ackerman

JR JAC - Follow That Trash! All About Recycling by Francine Jacobs

J363.728H - Garbage and Recycling by Rosie Harlow

JR BUT - Recycling Dump by Andrea Butler

363.7282M - Easy Recycling Handbook: What to Recycle and How to Buy Recycled -- Without All the Garbage by Dee McVicker

J363.728S - Where Does All the Garbage Go? by Paul Showers

J363.7288F - How on Earth Do We Recycle Paper? by Helen Jill Fletcher

J363.7288R - How on Earth Do We Recycle Glass? by Joanna Randolph Rott

J363.7288K - How on Earth Do We Recycle Metal? by Rudy Kouhoupt

J363.7288D - How on Earth Do We Recycle Plastic? by Janet D'Amato

J363.7K - Kid Heroes of the Environment by Earthworks Group (U.S.)

J363.738F - Cartons, Cans, Orange Peels: Where Does Your Garbage Go? by Joanna Foster

J363.7S - Earth Book for Kids: Activities to Help Heal the Environment by Linda Schwartz

J363.7G - A Kids' Guide to How to Save the Planet by Billy Goodman

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Solar Tour - What We Saw

Did any of you go to any of the homes on the Solar Tour this past weekend? If you did, we'd love to hear about it.

We went to one home on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. There were so many great components to each of these homes!

One home in Arlington had solar panels. The owner showed us his thermostat that told him how much energy he was using and how much electricity in $ that he'd saved since April (the panels were installed in April). He now pays about 1/4 of what his electricity bill used to be. He also was cooking brownies for all of the visitors in his solar oven. They were yummy! He mows his lawn with an electric lawn mower (and charges it with a rig he made with solar panels that he bought at Home Depot, a marine battery and an inverter). A rain barrel at the back of his house catches any rain that we get, and he waters his garden with it. They also had a clothesline in their backyard which greatly reduces their energy usage (clothes dryers use a lot of electricity!).

We saw composting in action and insulation made out of recycled blue jeans in the basement of one home.

The owners of a couple homes reused materials from other homes in their construction (purchased at yard sales).

They also planned their home's location according to how the sun shines (southern exposure is best for solar panels), and planted desiduous trees on the south side of the home. These trees keep the home cool in summer (with the shade) and warm in winter (leaves fall off in autumn and provide plenty of space for the sun to shine through).

We even saw a home off of Hwy 123 that has an earthen roof! The owners have to mow their roof! It helps keep the temperature regulated inside the home.

We were definitely inspired by all of the smart an innovative people we visited and came away from this weekend with lots of ideas that we can easily act upon to help the environment - and not for a lot of money.

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Fairfax County's Recycling Info

Our county has a great resource for all kinds of recycling and trash info.

Simply go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/recycling/.

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Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday This Weekend!

Starting today, Friday, Oct. 5th, through Monday, Oct. 8th, Virginia is offering an ENERGY STAR sales tax holiday.

Virginia consumers can visit their local retailer and save both state and local sales tax on ENERGY STAR qualified products of $2,500 or less, including household appliances.

More information on the sales tax holiday can be found at www.dmme.virginia.gov.

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Change a Light, Change the World

Our county (as well as others in the National Association of Counties) has teamed up with Office Depot and the Energy Star Change a Light, Change the World campaign.

Just go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2007/223.htm and click on the link to pledge that you will change at least one of the standard light bulbs in your home to an energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb. After you make the pledge, you will receive a $3 discount coupon toward an energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb at Office Depot.

Compact fluorescent bulbs provide the same light as the old bulbs but use less energy. This means less greenhouse gasses and a lower energy bill for your home.

If every American home replaced just one light with an energy efficient one, every year we would save enough energy to light 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Wow! We CAN make a difference!

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Cool Counties Concert & Poetry Slam - Oct. 6th

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax County Park Authority are sponsoring the Cool Counties Concert & Poetry Slam on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m at Mason District Park.

For more info, go to http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/coolcounties.htm.

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EcoVillages

Check out www.ecovillages.com to find out about energy efficient homes, healthy spaces, living sustainably and their mission of "building a community of people living in harmony with the Earth and its inhabitants."

Their house is #21 on the Solar Tour this weekend (October 6th).

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October 1st Meeting

A BIG Thank You to the parents who stayed to help at our October 1st meeting! We really appreciate your time.

Green Knights, you created some fantastic club t-shirts! We can't wait to see you wearing them.

If you had iron-ons applied to your t-shirt, the washing instructions are in another post on this web site, if you need them.

Be thinking about what you'd like your club to accomplish this school year. What kinds of activities would you like to do? Have any ideas for experiments or games? Tell us your ideas.

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Solar Tour This Weekend!

Want to see homes that are actually using solar panels for their electricity? Have you wondered how it all works?

You have a chance this weekend to tour homes that are using solar energy through the 17th Annual Metro Washington, D.C. Tour of Solar Homes and Buildings.

Just go to http://www.solartour.org/ and click on 'Tickets' for the tour. Then, either download the tour guide booklet for free or go to one of the ticket outlets and purchase the guide for $5. You'll need one tour guide booklet per household which will serve as your ticket to tour the solar houses.

I just downloaded my guide and it has maps and descriptions of the houses. It also has advertisements for solar companies and incentives that Maryland, D.C. and Virginia offer.

The EcoVillage house is #21 on the Solar Tour (see the EcoVillage post).

This event as well as the Solar Decathlon (see another post) comes at a great time! We'll be exploring solar with all kinds of activities at our next meeting (Monday, October 15th).

If you attend the Solar Tour, we'd love to hear about it at our next meeting!

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Washington, D.C. Green Festival This Weekend!

There are at least 3 events going on this weekend that would be of interest to our Green Knights!

One is the Green Festival in Washington, D.C. It's this Saturday and Sunday (Oct 6, 7) at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. Check out http://www.greenfestivals.org/content/view/625/280/ for more info.

And here is a link to their Kids' Zone activities http://www.greenfestivals.org/content/view/780/278/.

Looks like a lot of fun!

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T-Shirt Washing Instructions

Here are some steps that will help keep your Green Knights t-shirt looking great:

- Turn the t-shirt inside out before washing.

- Machine wash in cold water with a color-safe detergent. Wash the t-shirt by itself for the first washing. Do not use chlorine bleach.

- Remove the t-shirt promptly from washer.

- Tumble dry low (t-shirt is still inside out).

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Fairfax County Radio Ad Contest

Wouldn't it be cool to be listening to the radio and suddenly hear an ad that you wrote?! Well, it could happen. Go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpwes/recycling/school.htm and download the entry form. Write a script for a 30-second radio advertisement emphasizing the need for everyone in Fairfax County to recycle mixed paper and cardboard (it's required now of all non residential, apartment and condominum properties -- see http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/living/recycling/).

Applications are due by November 1st.

On the bottom half of the entry form is a contest that even parents can enter.

Let us know if you've entered an ad. We'd love to hear your entries at one of our November meetings.

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Cool Counties Concert & Poetry Slam

If you like to write poetry, you'll be interested in this contest. Chairman Connolly is hosting a poetry contest and all entries will be posted on his web site. Poems must have an environmental theme, be a minimum of 14 lines and be no longer than 1 minute when performed. Students may be asked to read their poem at the event.

Submissions are due by October 1st. You may email your entry to Chairman Connolly (chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov) and don't forget to include the following items:
your poem
your name and grade
your address and phone number
your email

The Cool Counties Concert & Poetry Slam will be Saturday, October 6th from noon-3 p.m. at Mason District Park
6621 Columbia Pike
Annandale

The event is free and open to the public, so even if you don't want to enter a poem, it'll be a great day of exploring. Lots of Fairfax County and local environmental organizations will be there providing info about global warming and things that all of us can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Students, if you go to the event, write a few sentences about what you learned and bring it to our October 15th meeting. We'd love to hear what you have to say!

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Reflections

How can you make a difference? That's the theme of this year's PTA Reflections Program. Students are encouraged to enter in any of the six categories: Literature, Music, Visual Arts, Photography, Dance/Choreography, Film/Video Production. Student entry forms can be downloaded at www.fccpta.org. Entries should be placed inside the box in the school library before October 22nd. Think about how you can make a difference and express it with your creativity.

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Solar Decathlon

We have a great opportunity to learn about solar power and see it in action at the 2007 Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It will be October 12-20. This is an event where college and university students have designed and constructed solar-powered houses and will reconstruct them on the Mall. The houses are judged and the winner is announced at the end of the event. It's open to the public and there are even workshops!

Check out http://www.solardecathlon.org/ for more info.

We'd like to get a group of us together and Metro into D.C. - maybe on Saturday, October 13th? Parents will need to come along with your children. Let us know if you're interested in taking this field trip by emailing jimkelzack@earthlink.net.

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Back to School Nights

Look for our table at both Back to School nights - 9/18 and 9/19. We'll be in the school lobby handing out goodies and letting everyone know what we have planned for the Green Knights club. See you there!

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T-Shirts and First 2 Meetings

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We're going to talk about and practice each one of these this year in creative ways. We hope our NFS friends will be excited about exploring our Earth with us.

At our first meeting, we'll talk about recycling. There will be fun facts and activities. But, I don't want to give it all away. Come join us this Monday, September 17th, 12:30-1:30, in the cafeteria.

Our second meeting topic will be resusing. We'd like everyone to bring in a pre-washed t-shirt (white is best). To maximize the "reuse" part of the meeting, it'd be great if the t-shirt is one that you already have. Bring your imagination too. We'll have tools to help you create your one-of-a-kind Green Knights club t-shirt. These will be great to wear on meeting days and at field trips (we'll tell you more about those at the meeting and in future posts). It'll be great to see what everyone comes up with!

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Fairfax County Schools News Release

Great green news about our county's schools - check out this news release:
http://www.fcps.edu/suptapps/newsreleases/newsrelease.cfm?newsid=699

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