Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

photo credit: gregor_y

As interest in eating organic grows, the range of what carries the “organic” label increases exponentially. Organic food is now available in nearly every section of the grocery store. But just because something is labeled “organic” doesn’t mean it follows the criteria you may think of as organic.

According to the Organic Trade Association, being certified as organic assures that the crop has been grown according to strict standards that were verified by an authorized third-party organization or the state government. Certification involves “inspections of farm fields and processing facilities, detailed record keeping, and periodic testing of soil and water to ensure that growers and handlers are meeting the standards which have been set.”

But some critics point out that this does not guarantee the items are “sustainably grown,” “cruelty-free,” “worker-friendly,” or “fuel-efficient”—important aspects to many organic product consumers. In fact, many organic operations do not sell “certified organic” items, because some smaller farms cannot reap enough reward from certification to cover the costs of becoming certified.

Sources add that the desire to cash in on the “organic” dollar has extended to the country’s giant food conglomerates. The concern is these big operators have the ability to use lobbyist pressure to get rules bent in their favor, potentially altering the definition of “organic” even further.

While the “certified organic” label may leave some aspects up to question, most sources agree that buying organic is preferable over standard industrial farm products. To find out more about what qualifies as “organic,” check out the Organic Trade Association frequently asked questions here: http://www.ota.com/organic/faq.html

Call me stupid, but when I saw Heirloom tomatoes at the local grocery store, it never dawned on me that these were actual antiques. Or maybe they are more like ancient family recipes, handed down the generations.

Either way, the current debate around the lack of diversity in the global food supply has more people buying heirlooms—both the food and the seeds.

Small groups of local and organic farmers have made it almost an elite practice/underground supply chain/cult following—more than a hobby, not quite an obsession, but possibly something close.

And who could blame them? The idea of a genetic strain of tomato that extends back 50 to 100 years is pretty cool. Though not all heirloom fruit and vegetable varieties go back that far, all have been passed down within a family or community. They are also unique and genetically distinct from commercial options. (more…)

When talking about conserving natural resources, we usually think of energy, gasoline, water…not our food supply. But in reality, the food supply may be one of, if not the most important resources we have. Especially for those of us not currently growing a year’s supply of veggies in our backyards or on our fire escapes.

We have all seen images of poverty and famine from across the globe, and tuned them out over time. But some experts hold that these images could just as easily be from parts of the United States—and the potential threat could be growing. (more…)

My “mother in-law” (for lack of a better term) has diverticulitis. I’ll admit that I’d heard of this ailment, but I didn’t really know what it was. So I looked it up. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, diverticulum are small pouches in the colon “that bulge outward.”

Apparently the condition is pretty common and most likely caused by a lack of fiber in the diet. In other words, someone wasn’t getting enough roughage, which resulted in extra pressure in the colon area, causing bulges and then inflammation and…well, let’s just say I now know more about my in-law’s colon than anyone should.

What interested me about the timing of her illness is that I’ve been reading a lot about buying/eating locally. And this disease was spotted in the US at around the same time that processed foods were introduced (early 1900s). Hard to believe that processed foods are over a century old—some may even have been on the shelf for about that long.

But even if you shun processed food and try to eat “real,” not all food is created equally. Whether it is a backlash against the use of pesticides and hormones, or just a desire to help sustain the local farming community, more of us are considering the benefits of eating organically.

Many sources tout how local, organic food saves on fuel (transportation), preserves the land, and maintains much-needed diversity in food supply—all while providing more nutrients for your buck. And it will take a few of those to walk the organic line. But if it is true that the food is better for you, it could be worth the investment.

Some also argue that the cost difference between organic and industrialized foods is negated by the fact that industrialized organizations get subsidized by our tax dollars. In other words, we pay for their gas, among other resources, via government support, while suffering the nutritional differences in the process.

The recent salmonella and E. coli scares in vegetable supplies have definitely called into question the practices of veggie suppliers—from farm to distributor to grocer.

Living in California, I realize how spoiled I am by having so many food options available in state. I can feed myself (and the family) with local products pretty much year ‘round.

Even our local grocery has choices, and although the organic fruits and veggies take up a smaller section, have fewer options, and cost more overall, you have to weigh in what that cost gets you and your community.

If moving in this direction interests you, and your grocer isn’t as stocked as mine, you still may have options. Most major metropolitan areas have farmers markets at least one day per week. In other regions, roadside stands, “pick your own” options, and buyers clubs may be available. Plus, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscribers receive weekly shares of produce year ‘round. This is a great opportunity to establish a relationship with those whose livelihood depends on producing these foods and selling them to you. As you get to know what’s “in season” at different points of the year, you can make choices around what works for you.

So maybe you aren’t ready to swear off Pop Tarts, and that’s okay. Hey, I love the Pop Tart. Can’t help it. They’re good. But as the “eat organic” movement extends beyond the hippie culture, it’s becoming easier to find the healthier foods you like/need from a variety of sources, providing you with options.

To check out what may be available in your area, here are some helpful resources:

Farmer’s markets (farmer’s market search): www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets

Local harvest (food sources local to you, including CSAs): www.localharvest.org

A recent notice from the local Public Utilities Commission highlighted Food & Water Watch’s Take Back the Tap campaign. While this isn’t the only program of its kind—Corporate Accountability International has a similar campaign called Think Outside the Bottle—the goal of motivating individuals, businesses, campuses and restaurants to give up bottled water is gaining merit and seeing success across the country.

Take Back the Tap has inspired half a dozen San Francisco restaurants to serve tap water only. These include the finer dining experiences of Incanto, Delfina, and Nopa. An impressive list of others have agreed to forgo serving “still” bottled water, including happy-hour hotspot Thirsty Bear and Giants pre-game fav Acme Chophouse.

Think Outside the Bottle notes locations in Philadelphia and New York are doing the same—and provides a map of participating restaurants throughout the nation.

In response to these campaigns, the US Conference of Mayors passed a resolution in June 2008 calling for bottled water to be phased out by municipalities and to redirect tax dollars to other city services, as well as to promote local water sources.

But the International Bottled Water Association feels that bottled water doesn’t deserve the bad rap. They point out that bottled water is a healthy alternative to artificially sweetened or carbonated beverages, not to mention a necessity in times of crisis, such as floods or other natural disasters.

Take Back the Tap contends that the federal government maintains “rigorous and frequent safety testing” of tap water, while many bottled waters pass under the radar. In fact, two of the biggest sellers, Aquafina (by Pepsi) and Dasani (by Coke), both came out in 2007 as being filtered water from municipal sources, rather than from the mountain streams of (insert location here.)

Meanwhile, the cost difference is clear: “$0.002 per gallon for most tap water to a range of $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon for bottled waters.” (Take Back the Tap) And as for the much argued taste factor…on April Fool’s Day 2008, the campaign challenged people to taste the difference. The video of this event is available on their website.

Both Take Back the Tap and Think Outside the Bottle have pledge pages where visitors can sign up and commit to the cause, and pick up schwag like T-shirts and stickers. Since I saw the “I Heart Tap Water” tee featured in a pregnancy mag just this morning, it’s reasonable to assume these campaigns are quickly gaining momentum—and possibly becoming downright trendy. 

For more info, check out: www.takebackthetap.org and/or www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org

Compared to Bounty, this brand from Whole Foods won’t win on performance or softness. But next to other recycled paper towels, 365 Everyday Value is a contender true to its name.

First off, they are pretty inexpensive—two rolls for less than $2.00. Second, they are surprisingly durable. They aren’t going to be able to do any of those neat tricks we used to see on paper towel commercials, but I was able to wet/soap one, clean sticky kid hands, rinse same towel off and use for last wipe on fingers. And they are somewhat absorbent, removing a moderate amount of Grape juice (purple not white) off of the floor in a flash. Not bad for a recycled product.

Another bonus: 100 percent recycled materials, with a minimum 80 percent post-consumer content, and bleached without chlorine—that’s enough to make you feel downright good about yourself.

While they sometimes tear in half when you need them whole, and don’t immediately instill confidence that one, maybe two sheets will do the job, they do pretty well. Still, I may not be completely converted from my beloved Bounty. But this may also be because I don’t live all that close to a Whole Foods. Were there one next door, I may opt for this all the time. For now, I plan to stock up when I’m near Whole Foods and try to rely on Bounty as an option between trips. We’ll see how it goes.

PS- Liking the toilet paper, too. Go Whole Foods!

It is not a new phenomenon. Gas prices climb. The demand for saving increases. Hints, tips, and tricks appear.

In fact, during the gas embargo in the 70s, all sorts of hints came across the wires for saving gas, including riding your bike to work or driving exactly 55 mph (although this may have been more to curb the natural tendencies of Boston drivers.)

Recent news broadcasts have noted similar hints and tips, including making sure the air pressure in your car tires are even at the appropriate level and carpooling.

Either way, the practice of using driving techniques to save gas isn’t a new concept. As gas prices continue upward, many people are noticing that they don’t exactly get the mileage per gallon the dealership sticker promised when they purchased their car.

Enter HyperMiling—a series of techniques to help reduce the gas used in the average day. While most of the tips center around understanding how much mileage your vehicle currently gets, as well as how you tend to drive, some border on the extreme.

Both CBS and CNN have run segments warning that HyperMiling can be dangerous. Techniques like “drafting” (aka—tailgating by most law enforcement agencies) encourage pulling up close behind larger vehicles to cut wind resistance. One scenario showed a passenger car drafting a Semi—a definite Driver’s Ed “Don’t.”

Another technique, nicknamed “pulse and glide,” suggests speeding up to about 50mph, turning off the engine and gliding. The questionable stupidity of this may be obvious, even to those who haven’t seen The World According to Garp. In many vehicle models, turning off the car can eliminate hydraulics connected to important features like power steering or brakes. Not to mention that the steering wheel could lock, or that the technique relies on reaction time to include restarting the ignition…quickly.

But not all HyperMiling sources encourage these practices. The HyperMiling.com website offers a six step how-to for saving gas safely. Check it out for more info, as well as links to articles covering the good and bad of HyperMiling, here:

http://www.hypermiling.com/car-mpg.html

Conserving water in the long term can be a costly endeavor. But with a range of options to choose from, investments can be made as the funds become available. Here are some examples:

1. Install a low-flow showerhead in all of your bathrooms
2. Install a low-flow faucet aerator on all your household faucets
3. Install a smart sprinkler controller
4. Opt for energy efficient/water efficient appliances, like an on-demand hot water system
5. Replace toilet—largest water user— look for low flush or dual flush models
6. Replace clothes washer—second largest water user—for Energy Star-rated one, which have Water Factor at or lower than 9.5
7. Choose climate appropriate plants and proper irrigation for your landscaping
8. Install irrigation controller has rain shutoff device or opt for weather adjusting ET irrigation controller that waters only when plants need
9. Use organic mulch around plants to reduce evaporation
10. Opt for a greywater reuse system
11. Install a rainwater harvesting system as supplementary outdoor water supply
12. Seal water pipes and external taps to prevent bursts in cold weather

Local water providers may offer more information and potential incentives, so don’t hesitate to check out their websites for deals.

List of Resources for More Info on Conserving H2O

• Be Waterwise: www.bewaterwise.com
• California Urban Water Conservation Council: http://www.cuwcc.org/home.html
• Department of Water Resources (Water Conservation and Water Use Efficiency Links): http://watersupplyconditions.water.ca.gov/water_links.cfm
• The Nature Conservancy:http://www.nature.org/tncscience/bigideas/people/art23907.html
• Treehugger.com:www.treehugger.com

Looking to conserve water? Here are some options you can do without spending a penny—and potentially saving a few:

1. Turn water off when brushing teeth, washing dishes, soaping up in the shower, shaving, etc.
2. “Selective flush”—aka “if it’s yellow, let it mellow…”
3. Wash vegetables and fruit in a bowl rather than under a running tap
4. Keep a basin/bucket in your sink/shower to reuse extra water on landscape
5. Shorten showers (even a minute or two could save up to 5 gallons per day)
6. Fill the bathtub only as much as needed—and make sure drain plug works!
7. Use the minimum amount required when boiling water in pans and kettles
8. Reuse bathwater for plants, but watch for high-levels of phosphates, nitrates and boron from soap—could be harmful for some plant types
9. Find and Fix Leaks (faucets and pipes, indoors and outdoors)
10. Wash only full loads of laundry/dishes (and consider air-drying)
11. Water only when/what your plants need (use oven timer when watering manually)
12. Water your yard before 8 a.m.
13. Collect rainwater in bucket and use a watering can instead of a hose
14. Use broom instead of hose to clean driveway/walkway/sidewalk
15. Consider periodically turning off water treatment systems that consume water–such as reverse osmosis systems and some water softeners—or programming the regeneration and cleaning processes for between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m.
16. Wash car using a bucket and sponge, and rinse with a watering can
17. Learn to read your water meter

The California Urban Water Conservation Council also offers a Water Budget Calculator, which could be a great way to get a handle on how much water is flowing in your home, and where you can save.

List of Resources for More Info on Conserving H2O

1. Be Waterwise:www.bewaterwise.com
2. California Urban Water Conservation Council: http://www.cuwcc.org/home.html
3. Department of Water Resources (Water Conservation and Water Use Efficiency Links): http://watersupplyconditions.water.ca.gov/water_links.cfm
4. The Nature Conservancy:http://www.nature.org/tncscience/bigideas/people/art23907.html
5. Treehugger.com:www.treehugger.com

Faced with limited water supplies, many throughout the US are finding themselves forced to adopt new habits for usage and consumption. From the Midwest, where floodwaters have contaminated potable water sources, to parts of California, where residents were told to reduce consumption by 19 percent…or else, water reduction requirements have become more than a suggestion. They are a necessity.

Many conservationists point out that while oil is a much-publicized resource, it is primarily a convenience. Water is essential and irreplaceable.

The “duh” factor is pretty high when it comes to needing water to survive. Yet few actively work toward conserving on a daily basis. Some consumers argue that those who supposedly need the water most—the agricultural industry, for example—are rarely the ones to reduce their usage. Others complain that they have been aiming to conserve all along—making the latest round of restrictions, well, too restrictive.

The question, for some, is how we ended up in this position in the first place.

While rainstorms may not be preventable, failing levees could be. In fact, after Katrina raged ashore alarms sounded throughout the US announcing the need to repair or upgrade various levee-systems. But droughts are a little more complicated.

A Drought is a Drought—Or is it?

According to the Department of Water Resources of the State of California, no universal definition exists for when a drought begins or ends. Unlike most natural disasters, droughts occur gradually, over a period of multiple years. When one begins depends greatly on the impact on water users. Since users have different water suppliers, what constitutes a drought for one area may not be considered a drought for users in another location.

Add to this the fact that individual water suppliers, or local government agencies, may vary drought indicators to determine conditions. Some may use “rainfall/runoff, amount of water in storage, or expected supply from a water wholesaler to define their water supply conditions” (Dept. of Water Resources). But other potential indicators include: “the Palmer Index (a drought-severity index), in stream flows, historical data on the present and anticipated needs for water, the degree of subsidence or saltwater intrusion, the potential for irreversible adverse effects on fish and wildlife, and reservoir or ground-water conditions relative to the number of days of water supply remaining” (USGS).

The effect of a dry year, like 2007, is compounded by any lack of precipitation in the years that follow. The Dept. of Water Resources points out that “statewide precipitation for…2008 is only about 15 percent below average” but overall runoff is reduced by the depletion in soil moisture from 2007. The combined impact is also visible in area reservoirs. All of which led Governor Schwarzenegger to sign Executive Order S-06-08 on June 4. And thus, a statewide drought was proclaimed, which led to voluntary, then mandatory water restrictions. 

Many native Californians remember the long drought from 1987-1992. Some restaurants in San Francisco still practice the “please ask for water” restrictions. (Convenient since they could be requested to do so again in the near future.) As a result of that drought period, the state government California established Drought Emergency Water Banks to oversee the distribution of water to areas in need.

This motion demonstrates how, throughout drought history, governments have been reactive rather than proactive. In fact, according to the USGS, “Most State governments have not passed legislation providing for additional drought planning beyond slight modifications in their water laws.” And local governments are “are not permitted to allocate surface water and groundwater among competing users” (USGS).

Imposing water-conservation measures is not a popular move at any level of government, so officials are reluctant to lay down law, which compounds the need and the problem.

USGS water-supply paper 2375 boils down the obstacles to planning for drought as:

• -Specificity (the need for a clear definition to determine when droughts start/end);
• -Randomness (frequency and severity are unknown, so it almost makes sense for governments to react rather than plan);
• -Drought phenomenon (those really in need during a drought have few options for dealing with water shortages, the action must be collective, when the tendency is for a community to resolve its own needs, “without regard to its neighbors”);
• -Cost of droughts (losses occur over a longer period of time than with other natural disasters, and many are indirect costs, which are difficult to track or quantify);
• -Political considerations (public memory is short, analysis of effect is lacking in public sphere, and political attention shifts quickly, leading public to visage droughts as being “affordable, although inconvenient”—without public support, leaders will not take aggressive action in planning).

Yet, these obstacles haven’t deterred other countries from taking action. England’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs presented a Future Water strategy report to Parliament in February 2008. Recognizing average water use in England to be approximately one ton of water per week, the report calls for consumers to reduce water consumption by 20-30 liters per person by 2030. The report outlines how technological developments, water companies, and the industrial and commercial sectors can come together to provide cost effective measures. It also highlights water saving tips for consumers.

Carmen Revenga, a senior freshwater scientist with the Nature Conservancy’s Center for Global Trend, believes “the next big idea in freshwater conservation is to treat water as an economic good and price it accordingly to reflect its true cost.” Supporters feel the price of water should reflect the cost of supplying, distributing and treating the resource—as well as cover the cost of “sustaining healthy ecosystems and species.” Revenga points out that price increases in Indonesia have reduced consumption by 30 percent.

Opponents to the idea claim that access to water is a fundamental human right, not a commodity. Treating it as such could cause markups out of reach of the poor and marginalized. But, Revenga adds, “This issue can be addressed by implementing subsidies for the poor or a tiered rate structure based on ability to pay that ensures that all have water for their basic needs.”

Since January 2003, Victoria, Australia, has seen an overwhelming response to its water conservation program. This is primarily due to the more than 177,000 rebates already given out and the increasing list of products that fall into the rebate scheme.

Along the same lines, many US water suppliers currently offer rebates on the installation of water saving appliances or systems.

What You Can Do

While some conservation options are relatively cheap, others can get rather costly and not be all that realistic to achieve in the near future. If you happen to be remodeling portions of your home or at the starter’s line of a landscape design project, you are in the position to make choices that can yield long-term benefits. The Virtual House feature on the California Urban Water Conservation Council website demonstrates a range of options for improving water usage throughout the household. But quick fixes are also possible.

For more info, see “Quick Fixes” and “Long Term Changes” for options compiled from various web sources with many common suggestions.