Conservation 101: the Compete to Conserve Blog

The Compete to Conserve team would like to thank you for participating on our Beta site and for sharing your feedback! We’re currently refocusing our efforts, and this includes a massive overhaul of the website. Effective immediately, we will be closing CompeteToConserve.com. We are working hard to bring you a new and improved service to help you track and reduce your personal consumption. We think you’ll like it and hope to see you around when we launch.

If you have any questions or if you need access to anything you’ve posted on CompeteToConserve.com, let us know by emailing info at competetoconserve.com.

Thanks again for your support. We’ll see you around real soon!

- The CtoC team

  At Compete to Conserve we are challenging ourselves to be a paperless business.  As an internet based company, with staff all over the place, we are on our computers all day.  Keeping digital files makes sense, plus it does not require any extra energy use since our computers are usually on.

  I first realized that we could run an almost-paperless business when my office printer broke about a month ago. Instead of fixing it, I looked at is as a blessing and used it as an opportunity to re-train myself.  To be completely honest with you, I haven’t missed my printer at all.(Well, almost never, I did need my friend to print out some movie tickets the other day)

  Transitioning to paperless was easy considering all the choices we have with today’s technology. It’s sooooo, last year to use paper.  For example, we(CtoC team) started exchanging information by passing flash drives back and forth.  We also us Google Docs much more to share and edit documents between us.  We are rarely in the same room, though when we get together we still use digital formats.  It helps that we are all nerds and feel much more comfortable with our computers in front of us. Laptops make a much better shield then a piece on paper.

Join us and challenge yourself and others to go paperless or simply join the conversation with our community.

Go paperless on all billing 

Green your office

Create your own challenge

photo credit: wili_hybrid

Hiram Warren Johnson, California’s governor between 1911 and 1917, championed for the State’s initiative, referendum and recall laws.  Johnson served as the leader of the nation’s Progressive movement until August 6, 1945, the same day the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

In the past 20 years, Johnson’s legacy extended to the rise and fall of California’s 25th Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird, the State’s love/hate relationship with the death penalty, the decision to make English the official language of California, and the recall of Governor Joseph Graham “Gray” Davis, Jr. in 2003.  Most recently, Johnson and the Progressive movement established the framework for Proposition 8.

Whether or not you liked Governor Davis, in many ways the decision to recall him from office revealed an unfortunate flaw in California’s political system.  At its core and without getting into the substantive issues, Proposition 8 showed the nation just how antiquated and dangerous California’s proposition system can be.  In an earlier posting on this Website, I questioned whether California had outgrown its operating instructions.  Now, I wonder if California can sustain itself and still hold tight to the 100-year old system that still houses its progressive ideals.

The principles of progressivism — the desire to remove corruption and undue influence from government, the desire to include more people in politics, and the idea that government plays a critical role in solving social inequities — are just as important today as they were during Hiram Johnson’s leadership.  The rising population of California, however (3,426,861 in 1920 and an estimated 38,000,000 in 2010), may render these noble causes obsolete.

At Compete to Conserve, we’ve been working hard since last year’s launch continually to improve our website while staying the course, eco-wise.  Well into the first month of the new year, we have been challenging our community to think hard about doing more, getting involved, and being more green.  We want our members to understand that everyone can make small changes every day that add up to create real impact, and we like to remind everyone that you don’t have to be an environmentalist to save energy and natural resources.

In today’s political climate, it is important to know that individual actions really do make a difference, especially when some of the traditional notions of progressivism seem to falter as our population grows.  That’s why we like to remind ourselves that people, not politics, will inherit the earth.  These same people — our community — can work together toward the goal of a sustainable 2009.

The holiday season has come to a close and so has the Compete to Conserve Give More & Use Less Holiday Competition. We were really impressed with the ideas our members shared for how to have a more sustainable holiday season. Entries ranged from  making reindeer ornaments out of wine corks to adopting families in need to sharing a little technical know-how by backing up loved ones’ data.

The winner is gcrush whose entry warmed our hearts by reminding us what the holiday season is really about: spending time with people you love and sharing yourself with them. Here are some of gcrush’s ideas to Give More by Giving Less:

• Spend quality time with your lover.
• A gift of time and love goes a lot farther and longer than any purchase.
• Be present (that’s a present all in itself).
• Love had you like never loved before!

This is our give more by giving less, and we like to spread this all year long! - georgette (and shone)

We couldn’t agree more, Georgette! We’re happy to welcome you to the Compete to Conserve community.

Ultimate Green Your House Gift Bag $125.00 value

As the winner of our Give More & Use Less Holiday Competition, gcrush will receive our Ultimate Green Your House Gift Bag! Way to go, gcrush! 

For your chance to win prizes, check our Competition page where we regularly post new contests for our members!

photo credit: Velo Steve

In August, we wrote about a California Audubon report that said lead poisoning from spent hunting ammunition is killing the last California condors — birds that, thanks to two decades of human intervention, were brought back from the brink of extinction. The report also noted that this costly recovery effort is unrealistic and unsustainable unless lead is banned from hunting ammunition.

Now the Los Angeles Times reports that: “A ban on hunting with lead ammunition within the California condor’s 2,385-square-mile range will be expanded to prohibit its use in the shooting of small nuisance animals [such as squirrels and rabbits].”

Good News for California Condors

The majestic birds with wingspans up to 9 1/2 feet are scavengers, like vultures, which means they ingest lead while eating the carcasses of hunted animals and gut piles.

The California Condor Preservation Act had already banned lead ammunition from hunting large games such as deer and antelope (presumably an easier sell to hunters because people don’t want to ingest lead from game they’ve hunted either). This will be the first time the act applies to small animals, which are more likely to be left behind, and thus more likely to be eaten by California condors.

Read the complete story at: http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-condors4-2008dec04,0,1706424.story

photo credit: waving at you

Compete to Conserve finished some improvements and opened its doors a little wider this week, as the prospect of greening the nation’s economy seemed to grow somewhat bleaker because of the current crisis.

Many religions and cultures throughout antiquity had a slightly different spin on the idea of self-renewal and self-regeneration, especially in desperate times.  We like to keep things simple, so let’s just say we’re looking  for some lemons to make lemonade.

The nation’s economy has seen better days.  Stuck in the middle of a mortgage crisis, an insurance crisis, a credit crisis, a stock market free fall, and an estimated 500,000 individuals joining the ranks of unemployed last month, most of us would embrace some good financial news.

Now is the ideal time for a greener economy to rise out of the ashes of the financial crisis, paving the road toward sustainability on all fronts.  Some argue that “biomimicry” — nature inspiring design — can offer an economic model to save our economy. Academia across the nation is calling for an entirely new economic model, and some argue “[t]he wreckage of an unsustainable financial system could turn out to be the best catalyst for a more sustainable alternative.”

Without arguing the cause or solution, it seems like financial recovery may take some time.  Well we have good news at Compete to Conserve, because we have some time.  We believe that you don’t have to be an environmentalist or an expert to conserve resources, and our website is designed to help you make small everyday changes that add up to create real impact.

Since our July 22 launch, we’ve been working hard to improve our website while staying the course, eco-wise. If you haven’t been around lately, please take a look.  Sign up if you like and we can, collectively, work on making a daily difference.  We can let that mythological bird make the statement.

photo credit: krisdecurtis

Our weekly round-up is back - just in time for the holiday madness that is upon us.  Check out these cool ideas out in the green blogosphere to help you celebrate an eco-friendly holiday season.

• Holiday Cards - Ecopreneurist.com suggests six green holiday card options, from ecards to Hallmark’s link of green holiday cards.
• Holiday Shopping - Ecofabulous.com released their list of top ten holiday shopping sites for green gifts.
• Christmas Decorations - Yahoo! Green’s “The Conscious Consumer” shares crafty ideas for decorating your sustainable Christmas tree this year.
• Holiday Deals - Lime.com reveals a few cool ways to save money as you employ your eco-friendly decorating techniques.
• Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping - Try out the Furoshiki Japanese gift-wrapping technique.  Watch and learn from this video, courtesy of RecycleNow.com.

Download Video

photo credit: _sarchi

For those of you who read my September 19th posting, “The Brita Filter Dilemma,” I have good news to report.  Clorox, the parent company of Brita in the U.S.,  has recently announced a Filter Recycling Program in partnership with Preserve — a manufacturer of household consumer goods made completely out of recycled materials. 

Here are the details of the program as described in a press release from Clorox:

Each Filter Recycled

Preserve will recycle 100 percent of each Brita plastic pitcher filter casing collected. The No. 5 polypropylene plastic from the casing will be used by Preserve in their line of products. The filter ingredients – activated carbon for creating great-tasting water and additional ion-exchange resin that reduces lead, mercury, copper, cadmium and zinc that might be found in tap water – will be regenerated for alternative use or converted into energy.

Drop Off or Mail Options for Recycling

Consumers can drop off their used, dry Brita pitcher filters at participating Whole Foods Market stores or mail them directly to Preserve. Full details and instructions on both options, including a complete list of Gimme 5 stores, will be available at www.brita.com in early January 2009.

• Drop off: Through the Preserve Gimme 5 program, select Whole Foods Market stores will begin

collecting No. 5 plastics and used Brita pitcher filters.

• Mail in: Consumers who wish to mail in used Brita pitcher filters are encouraged to package the filter in a small, used box and send it via ground shipping. The box will also be recycled by Preserve.

 For more information, visit www.FilterForGood.com.

Every year, even in flush economic times, my family says we’ll pull back on holiday spending — there’s nothing we really need. We all like the idea of giving to charity, but it’s still nice to have something to unwrap Christmas morning, especially for the kids. So here’s a list of five conservation-minded charities the staff of Compete to Conserve thinks make great gifts:

© Davide R. Schrichte. All rights reserved. A manatee nurses her calf.

For just $25, you can adopt the manatee of your choice and keep tabs on your adoptee throughout the year. An adoption includes:

• A photo of your manatee (we have our manatees’ photos framed on our wall at home)
• Your manatee’s biography
• An adoption certificate
• A membership handbook
• Four newsletters throughout the year with updated reports on your adoptee

The club also sells children’s books and plush manatees that make great gifts for kids. Money raised from the club goes toward protecting endangered manatees and their habitat, much of it in Florida.

Adopt a manatee at: http://www.savethemanatee.org/adoptpag.htm

photo credit: Lord Biro

Defenders of Wildlife

We’ve got a soft spot for penguins, but you can also adopt other animals, including wolves, polar bears, snow leopards, sea turtles, and beluga whales. Most of the adoptions start at $25 and include a small plush toy, photo, and fact sheet.

Money raised goes toward protecting imperiled wildlife and wild lands through education, outreach, and political and legal action.

Adopt the animal of your choice at: https://secure.defenders.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=wagc_homepage#AllAnimals

Surfrider Foundation

photo credit: mikebaird

Who doesn’t love the beach and think our coastal waters should be protected for all to enjoy? Even non-surfers can support the Surfrider Foundation’s mission to educate the public about threats to our coasts and to encourage grassroots activism.

For $44, you can give the gift of a membership to the Surfrider Foundation, which includes:

• An organic Limited Edition Surfrider Foundation t-shirt or all-purpose tote bag
• Six issues of the Making Waves newsletter
• A sticker to show your support

Purchase a membership at: https://www.surfrider.org/membership/gift_membership3.cfm?specialGift=holiday

photo credit: nojhan

Heifer International

Heifer International aims to stamp out world hunger through community involvement and sustainable development. Donors may fund a specific project, such as natural resource management in Tanzania, or pay to provide an impoverished family with livestock.

Buy livestock for a family at: http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/
Fund a project at: http://www.heifer.org/site/?c=edJRKQNiFiG&b=3538797&msource=pcb07

Register for the charities you want to support.

Think of it as the philanthropist’s gift card. Changing the present allows you to register for charities, in the same way a bride registers for gifts. If you’re serious about not getting gifts this holiday (or Valentine’s Day, birthday, wedding, any event at all), this is a great way to let friends and family get you something you want — and let them get a tax deduction, too.

Register at: http://www.changingthepresent.org/registries

photo credit: colmsurf

The surfing community may be split but the new rule is clear: as of March 1, 2009, tow-in surfing will be allowed during high surf advisory days at Mavericks, California’s most famous big-wave spot, just off the coast of Half Moon Bay.

Finally, a Compromise

The Los Angeles Times reports that surf traditionalists, who prefer to paddle on boards to catch waves, object to the noise, polluting exhaust, and surf-chopping wakes that personal motorized watercraft create. (It’s worth noting that the craft disturb marine wildlife, too.) But a new generation of big wave surfers depend on the crafts to take them to catch enormous waves that surf photographers and spectators love. It’s taken seven years for federal officials, after listening to extensive public comments, to reach a compromise that will satisfy both camps, at least some of the time.

The new rules ban personal motorized watercraft — lifeguards excepted — from three designated and newly expanded marine sanctuaries along California’s northern and central coasts. The vehicles will be allowed high surf advisory days, so that tow in surfers can take advantage of the coast’s highest waves, typically December through March.

No More Chumming and Dumping Untreated Sewage

Additional new rules include a ban on chumming for great white sharks around San Francisco’s Farallon Islands so that tourists in dive cages can get up close to the fish (yikes!), and a ban in protected areas on dumping partially treated sewage water from ocean liners.

Read the plans in full at: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/jointplan/