Madison Green Living

Give your lawn a second life by letting it do what it does naturally: decompose and release nutrients. When organic matter (like grass, leaves, sticks, and food) is put into the landfill, it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. When leaves are put in the street, they wash into storm sewers and into the lakes, where they contribute to nutrient loading and fertilization of the lake weeds. Left in your yard, however, organic matter becomes a solution rather than a problem. Here are a few suggestions for how to handle grass clippings, leftover food, weeds, and those leaves that will be falling in the not-too-distant future:

• Leave your grass clippings on the lawn when you mow. When left on the lawn, clippings release nutrients back into the soil and help lock in moisture. This reduces your need to fertilize or water your lawn while keeping unnecessary waste out of the landfill.

• Build a compost pile in your yard or make arrangements to share with a neighbor. Compost piles allow you to recycle your leaves, grass clippings, food scraps and weeds by turning them into nutrient rich soil. For more information on how to build a compost pile, see the DNR’s compost website: http://www2.dnr.state.wi.us/environmentprotect/ob/alternatives.htm#compost or the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s how-to-compost website: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/compost.html

• Save your leaves and put them on flower and vegetable beds for winter mulch. Mulch limits weed growth, reduces watering needs, and provides nutrients for your soil and plants. If you don’t have enough leaves in your yard for mulch, collect some from your neighbors’ piles for your garden or compost bin.

• Consider starting a brush pile for woody yard debris. The pile can be a source of stakes and fencing, and birds like them too.

For more information and ideas on how to reduce the amount of waste you put into landfills, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here in September for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

Tchk-tchk-tchk-tchk…Sprinklers are a sound and sight of summer. They are also a sign of our dependence on the water resources around us. During the heat of the season it’s especially important to keep water conservation in mind when working in the yard. It is a simple pleasure to work your toes into a deep patch of lush, green grass…but how much do you need to water to get that beautiful lawn? Many of our lawns are over-watered. Here are a few suggestions for how to keep your lawn healthy without draining the aquifer:

• When watering your lawn is necessary, do so during the cooler hours, before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m. Less water will be lost to evaporation in the hot sun. If you use a sprinkler, place it carefully to avoid wasting water on the driveways or sidewalks.

• Install a rain gauge ($2.00) to check if your lawn or garden is getting the minimum of one inch of rain per week. If your lawn is getting an inch or more of water a week, additional watering is unnecessary. Often, even less water is necessary, particularly if you plant native species.

• Mow your lawn at 2-3 inches in height to shade the soil and prevent water loss in hot weather. This also keeps your lawn healthy. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to return moisture and nutrients to the soil and provide thin mulch.

• Automatic landscape irrigation systems are a home’s biggest water use. If you have an automatic system, adjust your irrigation controller at least once a month to account for changes in weather, or install a rain shutoff device or soil moisture sensor.

• Install a rain barrel to catch rainwater for your lawn and garden. Rainwater is better for your plants, and you can save money on water. A rain barrel can be made inexpensively. It can be something as simple as placing a plastic garbage container under the water spout from your gutter, or you can make a more sophisticated one with a lid and spout. For more information, check out http://www.rainbarrelguide.com/

For more information and ideas on how to conserve water, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here every other week throughout the summer for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

Planning a summer vacation? Want it to be as environmentally friendly as possible? Consider the train! Trains and buses are almost always more environmentally friendly than planes and cars. If you have to choose between plane and car, try not to use the plane for less than 600 miles. Take-offs and landings are very heavy on fuel use. This means that short distance air travel results in higher emissions of carbon dioxide per passenger mile. Train transport is more energy efficient and cleaner than aircraft. Train energy consumption is 40 to 70 percent lower and air pollution is up to 85 percent lower. Over short distances (less than 250 miles) and with about 70 percent occupancy, bus and train travel are twice and three times more energy efficient than air transport. Plus, you get to enjoy the scenery. See Amtrak’s wide selection of vacation destinations at www.amtrak.com. Here are a few more tips for reducing the impact of your vacation:

• Inform yourself about the environmental impacts of cruise ships, and consider choosing more sustainable vacation options. For more information, see www.cruisejunkie.com.

• If you are traveling somewhere by airplane, consider using public transportation, walking or bicycling when you arrive instead of renting a car. If you need to rent a car, consider EV Rental Cars. They rent hybrid-electric and natural gas vehicles in certain U.S. cities: www.evrental.com. Better yet, if you are a member of Community Car here, you can check www.carsharing.net to find out if the city you are visiting also has a car sharing program. If they do, you may be able to use their cars during your vacation. Each car share program varies, so contact the company directly.

• When vacationing, choose a hotel with a commitment to the environment. See www.greenhotels.com.

• The most environmentally friendly vacation would be to a destination near your home. The less you travel, the more time you have to play and relax. Consider a Midwest vacation!

For more information and ideas on how to make your vacation an environmentally friendly one, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here in two weeks for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

Do you know where our water comes from? In Dane County, our public water comes from a groundwater supply that is recharged through precipitation. When we pump water out faster than rain and snow refill the aquifer, groundwater levels drop. Hydrologic studies show that our groundwater supply can meet projected water demands indefinitely here in Madison only with appropriate management and conservation. Although city and county governments are responsible for managing our water, it is up to each of us to do our part to conserve water by reducing the amount we use in our homes. Perhaps the most efficient place to do this is in the bathroom, where 75% of household water is used. Here are a few tips on how to conserve water in your toilet:

• Don’t use the toilet as your wastebasket. Flushing tissues, trash tidbits, or squashed bugs uses several gallons of water per flush.

• Find out if your toilet leaks. Put a little food coloring in the tank (as long as it won’t stain the toilet bowl) and wait 15 minutes without flushing. If color appears in the bowl, you have a leak that should be repaired. Toilet leaks are common and could cost you 100 gallons of water each day.

• If your home was built before 1992 and you haven’t replaced your toilets recently, you probably could benefit from installing high-efficiency toilets that use 1.6 gallons or less per flush. A family of four can save 14,000 to 25,000 gallons of water per year by making this change. Installing two-button, dual flush toilets would save even more! These toilets use either 1.28 or 0.8 gallons per flush. See www.caromausa.com for details. Alternatively, you can flush with less water by placing a large plastic bottle full of sand or water in your toilet tank to reduce water consumption every time you flush. (Don’t use bricks).

For more information and ideas on how to conserve water, visit http://www.enactwi.org/. Check back here every other week throughout the summer for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

Happy Almost Fourth of July! As we get ready to celebrate our nation, why not celebrate our environment as well? The food choices that you make for this holiday could reflect your patriotism by supporting the environment and the people who share your neighborhood. For example, you may choose to buy local beef, cheese, or tomatoes from a farmer in Dane County instead of from someone outside the U.S. Local produce travels a short distance to reach our table, thus causing less air pollution and using less fuel for transportation. The tomatoes can be harvested ripe, which means they will taste much better than tomatoes from far away and are often less expensive. The money you use to buy local produce goes directly to the farmer and helps support small family farms and the surrounding local economy. Ensuring that local farmers are profitable will keep our agricultural land in production, maintaining green space in urbanizing areas. If the Dane County farmer uses organic practices, your decision to buy their produce will have additional environmental benefits.

So, go ahead and celebrate the nation, but celebrate your local environment as well. Here are a few tips for purchasing your Fourth of July feast:

• If you’ve decided to have the traditional July 4th BBQ, choose locally-raised meat and poultry, preferably pasture-raised and without antibiotics. These are available at farmers’ markets and grocery stores. Try adding a vegetarian option to your grill, like veggie kebabs or grilled tempeh, or an option of wild game.

• Look for local “BGH-Free” cheeses. Many Wisconsin farmers are no longer using Bovine Growth Hormones (BGH) for health and cost reasons.

• Local beers and wines are also available in most liquor stores.

• Make your BBQ an in-season one by providing the veggies and fruits that are currently available in Dane County. July is a great time to focus on tasty in-season foods.

• Minimize the packaging and waste generated by your party. Purchase produce that is sold loose, use tap (not bottled) water, use reusable plates, cups, and cutlery, and save your leftovers for lunch next week!

For more information on how to eat sustainably in Madison, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here in two weeks for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

Official summer is almost here. As the temperatures continue to heat up, it’s time to consider the many different ways in which you can cool your home without heating up the planet. Here are a few tips for conserving energy while cooling your home:

• Open windows and shades in the cool nighttime hours, and close them during the day. Use fans instead of air conditioning as much as possible. Use a ceiling fan to cool the room you’re using. Some turn off automatically when you leave!

• If you feel that you must use an air conditioner, set the thermostat at 78 degrees for optimal comfort and energy efficiency and when you turn on the air conditioning, decrease the temperature incrementally rather than turning it to a very cold setting immediately. You could also install a timer for your room air conditioning (or use a programmable thermostat if you have central air) and set it to turn off when you are gone. It is also important to clean your air conditioner filters every month, clean outdoor fins annually, and keep your cooling system well tuned (have it professionally maintained).

• A few outside projects can help keep your inside cooler. Planting deciduous trees on the southern and western sides of your house helps provide shade in summer. You could also install shutters, reflective shades or awnings on the southern and western sides of your house to prevent more of the sun’s heat from getting in. Trellises alongside homes are a beautiful way to provide shade and allow for air circulation.

For more information and ideas on how to conserve energy in your home, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here next week for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

We are lucky to live in a place surrounded by fresh water. But beyond enjoying the landscape we live in, we also have the responsibility to protect it. The water we drink originates from a deep sandstone aquifer that naturally filters some pollutants. However, actions we take on the land affect the quality of our lakes and rivers, and eventually the groundwater supply as well. Keep this in mind as you clean up your car after the long winter. Here are a few suggestions to make your care maintenance less harmful to the environment:

• Wash your car on a grassy area so the water and detergents can soak through the soil before reaching the street gutters, and use a biodegradable detergent. Better yet, take your car to a commercial car wash where less water is used and the dirty water goes to a wastewater treatment plant where pollutants are removed.

• Never pour oil down the street gutter (which drains directly to streams and lakes) or pour it on the ground, since it may seep to the groundwater. Used oil can be reprocessed and reused, so take used oil from your car to a recycling center or take your car to an oil-changing business where they will recycle it for you.
• Antifreeze, brake fluid, and windshield wiper fluid can also pollute our water resources. Antifreeze in particular can be extremely poisonous. Never pour these fluids down the storm drain. Instead, check www.danecountycleanweep.com for a list of locations that will recycle them. Alternatively, change your fluids at a service station.
• Return car batteries to the places you bought them. State law requires retailers to accept them. Leaking battery acid can leach through the soil and pollute groundwater.
• Repair leaks in your car as soon as you notice them. Clean up car fluid stains on the driveway or street by using cat litter or other absorbent material and then sweep and dispose of it in a plastic bag in the garbage.

For more information and ideas on how to protect Madison’s water supply, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here in two weeks for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

It’s Memorial Day weekend - the perfect time to get your bikes out of the shed and put your snow-boots in the attic. What better way to celebrate the changing of the seasons than to toss your car keys into your mittens and say goodbye to your car for a few months? Reducing our use of automobiles is one of the most powerful actions we can take to alleviate local and global environmental problems. According to a comprehensive study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, driving cars causes more damage to the environment - in terms of air and water pollution, global warming, and habitat alteration - than any other consumer behavior. So put on your walking shoes and try a few of these suggestions to get your body moving:

• Do an experiment and walk or bike somewhere you have not considered walking or biking to before: a friend’s house, a store, a doctor’s office, or a restaurant, for example. Or, make a commitment to bike or walk whenever the distance you are traveling is less than one or two miles.
• Attach a rack, baskets, or pannier bags to your bicycle. Removing the weight from your back will make biking much more comfortable and you won’t be as sweaty when you arrive at your destination!
• Find a bike buddy in your neighborhood–someone to commute with or go out with. You can support each other in your new habits.
• Make an incentive for yourself: For example, if you live downtown and ride all the way to West Towne Mall, reward yourself with dinner at your favorite restaurant on the way back.

For more information and ideas on how to reduce the use of your car, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here weekly for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.

Many of us try to recycle and be environmentally-conscious while we are at home, but an environmental ethic can be hard to follow once you walk out your front door. Running errands and eating out can result in piles of bags, take-out containers, water bottles and paper towels ending up in the trash can. As the weather warms and we begin to spend more time away from our houses, here are a few simple steps to follow that can lead to less trash being thrown into our local landfills:

• Keep an extra cloth bag with you at work and in your car or bike basket for errands. Hang a few by your front door so that you remember to take them with you. If you are only purchasing a few items, let the cashier know that you don’t need a bag.
• When eating out, bring containers with you to put your leftovers in. Stow reusable silverware, a napkin, and a mug in your glove-box or backpack so that you don’t need to use disposable ware at lunches and events.
• Treat your co-workers to real silverware and a nice soft towel at your work place. Look for inexpensive second-hand utensils at thrift stores and bring them to work. Bring a couple of cloth towels to keep in your workplace bathroom. Be sure to take the towels home for frequent washing.
• Recycle even when you’re away from home. Ask where to find a recycling bin and hold on to your recyclables until you find a place for them.

For more information and ideas on how to reduce solid waste, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here weekly for new tips from EnAct to help you step more lightly on the environment. EnAct, a program of Madison Environmental Group, Inc., encourages sustainable living and strengthens communities by creating Environmental Action Teams in neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.