Archive for the ‘Living’ category

Two Basic Commands That Could Save Your Puppy’s Life

June 4th, 2010
A Japanese Chin puppy.
Image via Wikipedia

You may not be the type of dog owner who spends a lot of time training your barker . It’s rather alright (most puppy owners do not have the time). However, there are two basic commands that could literally save your puppy ‘s life and only takes a few minutes each day to instruct .

Teaching your puppy the “leave it” and “drop it” commands can keep your youngster from doing something unsafe, such as eating rat poison, icky food and other repelling stuff, or running into the path of a speeding bus .

Leave It

With your puppy on a leash, walk by a tempting item, such as food or a toy (you can pre-place items for this exercise). When your puppy tries to pick up the item, give a short quick tug on the leash and say, “Leave it.”

Enthusiastically praise your puppy for obeying (“Good Sparky !”). You can offer a cookie at this time if you prefer, but praise and a pat on the head work just as well. Repeat this routine at home.

Here’s another way you can use to teach your puppy the “leave it” command: Hold a food treat in your closed fist. When your puppy noses your hand, say “Leave it,” and keep your fist closed. When your pup stops nosing your hand, reward with praise, then give a verbal release command (such as “okay”) and let your puppy have the treat. Continue working like this until your puppy will sit quietly without touching a nearby treat until you give the release command.

Drop It

When your puppy picks up a forbidden object, say, “Drop it!” and walk over to your puppy. If your pup won’t release the item, offer it a tempting treat as a trade for the item. When your puppy drops it, offer praise and a safe substitute – preferably one that’s more tantalizing than the forbidden item.

If your puppy runs away from you, don’t chase it – it’ll think you’re performing a game. alternatively, ignore your little one and get yourself a treat from the kitchen (something you know your puppy likes). Take the treat to a puppy-accessible area and start to eat it (or pretend to eat it, if it’s a dog goodie).

Be dramatic about how yummy it is. Call your puppy over, then give the drop it command and trade the treat for the forbidden item. (Be sure to praise your youngster for obeying.) After your puppy finishes the treat, offer an satisfactory toy.

Whenever you take your dog out for a walk, don’t forget to take your biodegradable dog poop bags.

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Posted in Living, Pet Waste Bags, training

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The Real Deal : Miami’s First True Green House

May 13th, 2010

Last weekend I spent an afternoon at Albert Harum-Alvarez’s home.  He’s running for County Commissioner in District 8 in Miami-Dade County.  His home is known as the Green House in these neck of the woods for it’s truly sustainable building practices.   It’s generated so much buzz that he now hosts weekly open houses for residents to see how anyone of us can make a home sustainable and economical it we just think a little bit more about our surroundings.

The home took one year to build and 7 YEARS TO PERMIT!  The fundamental idea was to ‘plant’ a house and integrate it with the natural surroundings.  However, when you try to do things slightly different, even if different means logical and responsible, it’s an uphill battle from the beginning.  I won’t go into the tragic details of that ordeal, suffice to say there is still a lot of work to be done with our building codes.    I will however highlight some of the more compelling aspects of this beautiful home and show you how everyone can have a sustainable domicile.

The house was build east to west length wise so the south side is pretty open & the east and west sides are shaded.  This way the house is full of light for the bulk of the day – rises southeast, sets southwest.  It’s also built out of concrete with reduced their windstorm insurance dramatically.  Where would we be without our Florida hurricanes???

The following photos are only a fraction of the work and planning that went into building this home.  All in all his energy bills are a fraction of the average condo, let alone house.

7 types of grass were planted on the premises. Yes, that’s right, SEVEN.  The logic was to let them fight it out until the strongest, or perhaps a few of the stronger ones survive in different areas depending on sunlight and moisture.  That way they won’t have to be nursed year round and drain water supplies or require fertilizer.

The pool!  Heated with solar panels and a manageable size that doesn’t require huge amounts of energy to heat.

This is a computer powered toilet.  Why you might ask…low flow water to start and it’s also the shoot to a compost under the house that collects the waste and makes it useful fertilizer!

The pump house where all the water comes from typically hold water around  80-86 degrees because to the heat that is removed from the house.  The well is roughly 85 ft below ground.

Stunning cypress tree (I believe) that towered over everyone and probably has equally as impressive roots.  Provides great shade and absorbs a lot of water through the trunk and branches.  There are maple lychee, and cherry trees in the back yard.

A gargoyle in the ‘basement’ is area under the house…..just because.

Following the ‘cracker’ style of building (really, that’s what it’s called), vents are placed at the top of the rooms to ventilate the hot air out.  Air stacks up at 3 different levels, so even the windows are tall to let the hot air our and cool air in.  Very popular design from Key West and other areas that didn’t have ac back in the day.

East side of the house with a lovely patio and a path into the garden and pool. Delightful!

Wonderful afternoon with some truly remarkable people.  If he is this consciousnesses  about his home imagine what he’d be like as a commissioner!

Please check out his website and help Albert fight the good fight against over development and wasteful building/living practices that drain our very, very limited natural resources.

http://facebook.com/electAlbert
http://electAlbert.com

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Posted in Activism, Building, Government, Living, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, energy

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Measure Your Energy

April 26th, 2010

There are so many ways we can make changes in our energy usage. One way is to utilize products such as our biodegradable bags. This of course can use recyclable resources and has the to key added benefits of biodegrading over time and release methane which is now captured by landfills as energy. That’s great, but how can the  typical home user get into the act beyond the obvious biodegradable products?

An interesting place to start is with home energy usage. Home energy savings occurs with newer energy efficient appliances, maybe shutting down your home computer at night, unplugging power adapters which continue to suck energy all the time when not in use, using less air conditioning, and more. all this helps but how much? If you cant measure it does it really happen? the energy management and measurement market will be exploding over the next few years. If people can track the differences in the costs or savings with biodegradable products and energy efficient products, I think we will see definite shifts in usage.

What is a good start in engaging consumers to make changes? Cool appliances are great and most cities have some form of rebate to use energy efficient devices (although participation rates in most energy-efficiency programs are typically less than 5%). smaller appliances have not really hit the market yet but should be here in the next few years. that includes smart appliances that can “talk” to you. the measurement of the devices is another interesting place to start. Here are a couple of companies working on devices for the home energy consumption market.

Google PowerMeter (www.google.com/powermeter)- Google PowerMeter is a free energy monitoring tool that helps you save energy and money. Using energy information provided by utility smart meters and energy monitoring devices, Google PowerMeter enables you to view your home’s energy consumption from anywhere online.

Opower (www.opower.com) – What they do is compare neighboring households use of energy and report bsck to energy companies and users. Their customer-engagement approach leverages cutting-edge behavioral science, customer data analytics and the latest software to engage millions of utilities customers and gets customers to reduce energy consuption.

EcoFactor (www.ecofactor.com) – they use a communicating thermostat that managed the HVAC. Their residential energy management solution delivers both double-digit energy savings and significantly enhanced demand response, achieving true integrated demand-side management using only a two-way communicating thermostat.


Tendril – Their platform can manage energy using smart technologies. The Tendril Vision lets consumers manage their energy consumption in a familiar, easy to use design that keeps them engaged and participating in energy management programs. The Vision can also provide real time pricing information which motivates customers to reduce consumption even more.

There are many ways consumers can reduce energy and these choices will only expand over the next few years. We just have to take the steps to change our usage patterns.


EcoAdetps Team
www.ecoadepts.com
www.greendoggiebags.com
twitter.com/greendoggiebags
info@ecoadepts.com

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Posted in Living, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, energy

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Life and times at landfills

March 29th, 2010

Ok, obviously not what your were expecting me to lead with today, but it’s true.  Last week I go to spend the day at South Florida’s largest landfill owned and operated by Waste Management.  I wanted to see first hand how landfills actually operate and if my preconceived (misconceived) assumptions about landfills were actually remotely accurate.   I’ll start by saying this- it didn’t smell!  Unbelievable, I know, but true.  Maybe it would have been worse on a hot day, but if you couldn’t see the rectangular grassy hills, you wouldn’t know where you were.

Landfills today are very high tech, sophisticated, efficient operations.  They line the landfills so that nothing seeps into our water supply, only have one cell open at a time, harvest the methane, incinerate whatever possible, and clean the fumes so they never enter our atmosphere.  Moreover, the people who work there are very serious about protecting the environment and the safety of their fellow co-workers.

All that being said, these landfills are huge and that’s our fault.  We as a country produce such an obscene amount of garbage it’s truly baffling where it’s all going to go.  The landfills are brilliant, but things end up there because we haven’t found a better solution.  I’m glad our bags are going to help chip away at the problem.

I could go on and on, but her are a few shots from my excellent field trip…

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Posted in Landfills, Living, Sustainability, Waste, energy

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No More Wire Hangers?

March 17th, 2010
sock blockers

Image by Solange C via Flickr

Don’t you hate when you go to the cleaners and you get the hanger marks in your clothes?  Well in Canada they are moving away from that with biodegradable hangers.  As a way to help promote green jobs and promote green awareness, a company in Canada is providing these recycled paper hangers free of charge to dry cleaners, hotels, retail stores and fitness centers. (http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/50998/)

Once again, this everyday used item is another small movement to slowly helping in conserving our natural resources, but will business use this source of advertising to help this company survive.  The concept is a great concept but with the economic downturn, businesses are not spending advertising dollars.  Something so little can make a huge impact on reducing the carbon footprint by just the elimination of 1 wire hanger.

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Posted in Biodegradable Cleaners, Living, Sustainability

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Can You “Carbon Fast”?

February 16th, 2010

Who says religion is behind the times?   Turns out prominent Anglican British bishops are taking Lent into the 21 century.  Gone are the days of giving up alcohol and meat, time to give up your iPhone!  These bishops want Christians to consider their carbon footprint for Lent.  By restricting the amount of electricity used, one can reduce the amount of CO2 poured into our precious atmosphere.

Bishop of London Rev. Richard Chartres underscored the importance of trimming our CO2 output by stating that the poorest people in developing countries are most effected by climate change created by wealthy, developed countries.

What do you think you’ll do for Lent?  We’re thinking easy steps are not keeping your computer or phone chargers plugged round the clock is an easy one.  Even if nothing is charging, they are still drawing energy from the plug.  On that note, turning off  the lights off, cable box, and computer monitors are all simple, painless ways to be religious in a practical, 2010 sense of the word.  So go ahead and have another cocktail with your steak!  This Lent let’s focus on the greater good.

Origional article:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/16/carbon-fast-bishops-urge-_n_463918.html

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Am I Green or a Hoarder?

February 16th, 2010

I’ve asked myself that question many times recently and found that it’s really difficult to give myself a straight answer.  I have certainly made a few small changes in my life that some would say make me “eco-aware” or “eco-conscious”. I’m recycling at home and in the office, I’ve ceased taking baths and only take showers, I reuse plastic bags I receive at the grocery store and printed paper as scrap paper. I’m definitely more aware of the footprint I leave behind and even try to drive my car at a more consistent speed to minimize my use of fuel. I feel as if I am leaving a smaller footprint than I was 5 years and 10 years ago but how much am I really helping my environment? I know I am no Ed Begley Jr. but I’m also not driving a Hummer, idling in traffic or wasting water and paper.

I feel like my possessions have increased as a direct result of my being green. I hold onto anything that could be possibly re-used. Printed manuals and materials I always think can be repurposed, boxes are piling-up in my storage unit and home and my desk at work has small piles of papers I’m waiting to jot notes on memo phone calls. Bigger items have been much easier to find homes. Working electronics can always be recycled at local-run recycling drives or given away or sold. If you buy a new mattress or a new computer, most retailers will remove the old one regardless of whether or not it still works. However, there are dozens of items that definitely fall into the category “I should reuse but I have too much of this crap”.

I used to reuse my supermarket shopping bags as pet waste bags but quickly realized I am helping no one that way. So what do I do with the bags I have already put aside? How about that stacks of paper that I can definitely use for scrap? Who writes anymore? I send everything electronically because it means I have a record of it somewhere. I can only take so many phone messages and write them down on paper. What else can I do with it?

Now that I have been so very honest, please do not start sending me links and articles for the wealth of info out there. The truth is, I am already aware but there truly is a wealth of info to go through. My favorite thus far is guide National Geographic produces called the Green Guide. (http://www.thegreenguide.com/) There’s also an app on Facebook called “I am Green” (http://www.facebook.com/iamgreen) that puts you in touch with other FB users that are also attempting to green-up their lives.

All in all, I do my best everyday to be greened than I was the day before. I don’t know if I am officially green yet but I am trying to get there.

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Posted in Biodegradable Bags, Living

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Locally Grown Produce Comes to an iPhone Near You

February 14th, 2010

We stumbled on this cool article about an iPhone app that lets consumers know where their produce was grown built by AUG/Living.  Educated consumers are becoming more discerning and know locally grown food uses less fossil fuels in transportation, supports local farmers, and brings speciality fruits and vegetables to the market.

It’s got a great “Producers” directory that lets you see exactly where each your produce comes from and detailed info about their farming methods, like what pesticides were used (hopefully none)!

Congrats AUG/Living for being one of 18 Green Gadgets finalists!

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