Zip Car Rentals on Campus?

A library colleague found this...

Ever thought about renting a car by the hour...or by the day?

California State University, Chico is the second CSU campus to partner with Zipcar – San Francisco State was the first.

The program will help the University reduce demand for parking and support the University’s commitment to sustainability while offering campus and community members a convenient, economical and environmentally friendly alternative to owning a car.

Zipcars are available to all faculty, staff and students and community members 18 years of age and over who are licensed drivers with good driving records. Gas, maintenance, insurance and reserved parking are included in hourly and daily rates.

http://news.csuchico.edu/2009/08/25/csu-chico-launches-zipcar-car-sharing-program/

Exercise is Powerful!

Here's a story that another library colleague found:

Cal State San Bernardino installed 20 elliptical fitness machines in the student recreation and fitness center that generates electricity from exercise to help power the building.

ReRev, a Clearwater, Florida-based company, has installed similar exercise machines in other universities and private fitness centers around the country.

ReRev technology works exclusively with Precor ellipticals to capture energy generated during a workout.

The energy is then sent to a central inverter which converts it from DC to AC power and returns it directly to the electrical grid.

Each machine generates about 100 watts of power per hour. A typical 30-minute workout can light a fluorescent light bulb for about two and a half hours, or a laptop or desktop computer for 30 minutes.

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/articles/lexisnexis.aspx?lnarticleid=1030140697&lntopicid=136030023

Green wine?

A library colleague wrote this post.

Have you noticed that boxed wine is always getting a bad rap?

My family and friends have enjoyed boxed wine for years, and now, after checking its carbon footprint (found right on the side of the box), I found that it's actually more cost and carbon efficient than bottled wine!

According to the winemaker Franzia, their wine is the World's most carbon efficient wine. They claim:

1. Significantly less CO2 emissions in packaging, production and fabrication.

2. Significantly less packaging waste (85% less landfill waste than traditional glass).

3. 50% more carbon efficient than 750ml glass bottles.

4. Lighter than heavy glass bottles resulting in fewer trucks to deliver the same amount of wine resulting in less emissions, less pollution, less cost and less greenhouse gases.

5. Less wine waste (never a problem in my house :-) stays fresher longer than an open bottle of wine.

So, if you're a wine drinker, or know someone who is, all very good reasons to take a look (and taste) of the many boxed wines out there, or fruit juices if you prefer. It's all in the packaging.

Here are a couple of websites to check out for more information on boxed wine:

http://www.aboutboxedwine.com/ (Detailed wine reviews can be found here)

http://www.franzia.com/

Organic or Conventional Produce? Pesticides Clean and Dirty

A library colleague sent this information from CNN Money based on information from the Environmental Working Group (ERG) .

"Differentiate between clean and dirty.

Organic produce costs more than the conventional kind.

Cut your pesticide intake by going organic on the dirtiest produce (apples, lettuce) and conventional on the cleanest (kiwi, tomatoes)."

The Worst Dirty Dozen (Buy these organic)
Peach
Apple
Bell Pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Grapes (Imported)
Carrot
Pear

The Clean 15 (Lowest in Pesticides)
Onion
Avocado
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet Peas
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Papaya
Watermelon
Broccoli
Tomato
Sweet Potato

Here's the full list with 47 entries from the Environmental Working Group Website:
http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

Download the PDF
http://www.foodnews.org/

Sustainability Made Simple

I got the chance to visit the CA Academy of Sciences.

They had booklets titled "Sustainability Made Simple: Everyday Choices You Can Make to Protect the Planet's Future" that was printed on recycled paper.

Here's some examples that I liked:

*Vehicle Maintenance: Keep your tires inflated to their proper pressure. It will increase your gas milage.

*On the Menu: Purchase seafood that has been harvested sustainably from the ocean.
The July 2009 "Seafood Watch" card is paperclipped to the brown pamplet. You can keep it in your wallet and take it to restaurants you frequent to use as a reference for sustainably harvested seafood choices, if you like.

*On the Menu: Eating Out: Bring your own reusable take-out containers from home.
I leave a clean sturdy tupperware container in a small shoulder bag in the trunk of my car. I don't always remember to bring it into the restaurant with me...but I have been known to run out to the car to get it...instead of asking the restaurant for a "to go" stryofoam/plastic box.

This tupperware situation also works if you buy blueberries from the Farmers Market across the street. If I forget the tupperware container, the vendor ends up dumping my blueberries into a plastic bag. I get home with smashed blueberries after carrying them around in the same tote bag with peaches and nectarines.

Here is the link to the booklet:

http://www.calacademy.org/sustainable_future/pdfs/sustainability_made_simple.pdf

Green Sunscreen?

Here's some information that was news to me....from the Green Guide of the National Geographic website. The type of sunscreen you purchase and use has an effect on yourself, as well as ocean life.

Here are some tips about ingredients to look for in sunscreen:

a). Look for mineral ingredients titanium dioxide and zinc oxide that physically block ultraviolet (UV) rays from reaching your skin (sunblock).

b). Also look for "broad-spectrum protection," which means it protects against both types of ultraviolet (some UVA and UVB) rays. Don't just rely on the SPF Number.

c). Try to avoid chemical UV absorbers in sunscreen.
*Many chemical UV absorbers have been found to act like estrogen in the body: benzophenone, oxybenzone, octinoxate (also called octyl methoxycinnamate) and homosalate are all chemical sunscreens to avoid for this reason.

*Avobenzone (also called Parsol 1789) degrades quickly when exposed to sunlight.

*Padimate O, was found to cause breast cancer cells to multiply in test tubes.

*Benzophenone may also cause allergic reactions.

*All of these chemical sunscreen ingredients have been found to increase skin absorption of pesticides on people who were wearing them during pesticide application.

*Seventy-eight million tourists visit areas with coral reefs every year, leaving behind 4,000 to 6,000 tons of sunscreen-and because many sunscreens are petroleum-based, they don't break down quickly in water.

When exposed to benzophenone or cinnamate-based sunscreens, coral developed viral infections that led to bleaching. The same happened when coral were exposed to paraben preservatives.

*Research has shown that some sunscreen compounds suspected to be endocrine disruptors are finding their way into fish tissue. Scientists have said some of these could alter reproductive function and birth weight in fish.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080129-sunscreen-coral.html


http://www.thegreenguide.com/buying-guide/sunscreen/environmental_impact

Reminder: SPF number (sun protection factor) measures the length of time a product protects against skin reddening from UVB (not UVA), compared to how long the skin takes to redden without protection. If it takes 20 minutes without protection to begin reddening, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer -- about 5 hours. (Actually, it may take up to 24 hours after sun exposure for redness to become visible.)

To maintain the SPF, reapply sunscreen every two hours and right after swimming. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends SPF's of at least 15, which block 93 percent of UVB. While SPF's higher than 30 block only 4 percent more UVB, they may be advisable for sun-sensitive individuals, skin cancer patients, and people at high risk of developing skin cancer. They also allow some margin for error if too little sunscreen is applied. (http://www.jaxmed.com/articles/wellness/spf.htm)

Here's the website from National Geographic and they have some brands of sunscreen as examples. My guess is that there could be brands that may combine both mineral and chemical ingredients within their sunscreen/sunblock.
http://www.thegreenguide.com/buying-guide/sunscreen/smart_shoppers_list

Related story: http://www.thegreenguide.com/travel-transportation/pollution-free-beaches

Yahoo! Green

A colleague of mine sent me this Yahoo! Green link, http://green.yahoo.com/.

I really like it and might use it for green tips to share.

SJSU Ecological Footprint Challenge

In October 2009, San Jose State University issued the SJSU Ecological Footprint Challenge ....with the intent to have the participants re-take the challenge in March 2010 to see if their ecological footprint was reduced.

http://www.myfootprint.org/sjsu/

Our library department expressed interest in the "Green Tip of the Week" through email...and some of the entries will be posted here on this blog.