My favorite holiday is almost over, but the effects of the candy, decorations and other festive items will continue to leave their mark. Proper pumpkin disposal is one of the easiest things you can do to minimize your impact this Halloween. To read my story on it from this week’s The Green Life, click here.
And while it may be too late for this year, keep these tips in mind when you plan next year’s fright fest 
Photo from The Press Democrat
In a story that has fascinated me to no end (read about it here and here and here and here), a happy green ending is coming to the story of the 70-foot blue whale that was killed off the coast near Fort Bragg and washed up on shore, becoming quite the odoriferous irritation to neighbors.
Humboldt State students are helping in the removal endeavor, which I admit makes me a little jealous I didn’t choose to major in marine biology. The steep cliffs made it difficult to remove the whale, which was dissected into pieces to be shipped around the world for research. Dead blue whales in such good condition are quite a rare find, or so we’re told.
The skeleton will be carted off into an undisclosed forest location where bugs and Mother Nature will pick it clean and leach away the stinky oils so that it can be put on display several years down the road. But what to do with all that blubber? The fatty insulation was starting to get a little putrid but aside from a landfill there was no place to put it. Federal law prohibits use of marine mammal parts for commercial purposes.Someone offered to turn it into biodiesel, but that was turned down, too.Why it couldn’t be carted back into the ocean from whence it came is beyond me.
Finally, a Potter Valley composter said he would turn the blubber into compost and then donate an equivalent amount of compost to schools and senior garden projects. Blubber problem solved, landfill space saved and the whale will go back into the earth. What an awesome closed loop.
What will they come up with next?
One of the latest envirotech inventions aims to help the enviroconscious quench their thirst. It’s one thing to have a reusable bottle and try to use it whenever possible, but when drinking fountains and other water sources are in short supply and you’re parched like the Mojave on a summer day, what do you do?
Turn to TapIt, an organization that started in New York City but now is helping the thirsty by tuning them in to cafes, shops and restaurants who offer drinking water available to the general public so they don’t have to bite the evil bullet and buy a plastic bottle of H20. I couldn’t find the iTunes app online (it supposedly exists), but you can also check out the Web site or print out TapIt’s city maps.
Now, Yuba City is not on the list. BUT IT COULD BE! Businesses can sign up to be a partner on the site. Not only are you a friend to the environment by helping people take back the tap but it will draw in some extra foot traffic to your business.
Who knew hydration could be so fun?
The Feather River Air Quality Management District is providing $500 vouchers to Yuba-Sutter residents who want to upgrade their fireplaces and wood stoves into something less polluting.
To qualify, wood stoves must be older than 1990, be uncertified and in a home in Yuba or Sutter counties. Replacements can be bought from a participating retailer and installed professionally, using a $500 voucher from the air district. The old stove would be destroyed.
Residents can opt for a new stove or gas insert, depending on what they have now. Vouchers will be available beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, and can be obtained through filling out a form on the district’s Web site.
Driving over the Benicia-Martinez Bridge a a few weeks ago, I gazed out over the water for a glance at the Mothball Fleet, a rusty, aging group of battleships tied together and doing little more than leaching toxins into Suisun Bay. I wondered why the government doesn’t do something with them, like recycle the metal. Well, POOF! My dream was granted.
Federal officials announced the plan today, but it will take several years to carry out. The 70+ obsolete vessels will be cleaned in dry-dock to get rid of any invasive species clinging to their hulls before getting towed to Texas to be broken apart.
Years ago, recyclers likely would have paid for the rights to get rid of the ships in trade for the steel they contain. But prices are so low today, the government is paying $2 million to get the ships to Texas and another $500,000 each for the dry-docking process. But, “It is worth it in environmental terms to do it the right way,” one official said. And I agree.
Chris Kaufman/Appeal-Democrat Braiden Morrison, 2, of Marysville plays with the leaves in Plaza Park near the Bok Kai Temple in Marysville.
Green tip of the week! Consider the environment when dealing with leaves.
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The red, orange, yellow, green and brown leaves that drown every lawn and clog every gutter are so beautiful and make the most wonderful rustling sounds under your feet – and they provide another opportunity to go green. Here’s three tips:
• Trade your leaf blower for a rake. It’s a good workout and has none of the noise and air pollution associated with most electric/gas-powered blowers.
• Don’t burn your leaves. The smoke pollutes the air and the burning can release particulates and toxic compounds.
• Compost or mulch the leaves. If your trash company doesn’t offer yard waste pickup, designate a backyard spot for a compost pile and let the leaves turn back into earth.
Happy Fall !!!
Green tip: Pay your bills online. 
It doesn’t just save trees, but it saves the energy used to print and deliver the bills. If you like saving the bill details for your files, you can view them online, save them on your computer as pdfs, and if you have to, print them on recycled paper. Going paperless also saves you money on stamps. Not to mention less chance of paper cuts and death by stamp licking.
Most of your bills should be available paperless (with the exception of Yuba City water/sewer). And those that aren’t, well, call them up and tell them you want them to be – and that it would save the company money, too!
The first two months of New Zealand’s imposed 5-cent fee on plastic bags not only garnered $50,000 in funding toward heritage projects through the Department of Conservation, but it also cut single-use plastic bag usage by 60 percent. And New Zealand is not the only one. A 15-cent tax in Ireland in 2002 reduced usage by 90 percent. That kind of impact really rocks my socks, and I would love to see it happen here.
But… Americans do love their conveniences. ABC asked readers if a tax would make them kick the single-use bag habit. The answers were from all ends of the spectrum.
Now, I’m a penny pincher, known to clip coupons and lambaste friends who literally throw away my little copper friends. I also smile with glee for every 5-cent refund I get with each reusable bag I use when grocery shopping. But for some people, *ahem penny discarders* money back is just not enough. It’s doubtful a nickel makes a difference either way, and some people will doubtfully write any fee off as more government intrusion.
Me? I think it’s one of the best sin taxes there is. Not to mention the money it could raise to boost conservation efforts and eventually cut back on usage itself. What do you think? Would 5 cents make a difference to you?
Rio de Janeiro won the bid for the 2016 Olympics. My vote was originally for Tokyo, because of its plans to reuse buildings from the ‘64 Olympics and make the stadium solar powered. But Rio has a few green twists of its own, which I’m elated to see.
They’ve already planted 3,580 trees to offset all the carbon emitted during the bid and plan to stage a “totally green competition.” that includes the planting of about three million more trees in strategic parts of the Tijuca Forest. They also are doing a massive clean up of lake Lago Rodrigo de Freitas.
“Rio 2016 environmental proposals are focused on four areas: water conservation; renewable energy; carbon-neutral Games; and waste management and social responsibility. One of the city’s most picturesque landmarks, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas plays host to practitioners of many sports, including rowing, canoeing and sailing. Cleaning up the lake is one of the highlights of Rio 2016’s plans,” commented Rio 2016 president, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.
China’s embrace of environmental technology might soon place it in front of the United States. Applied Materials Inc, is opening a solar energy research and development center all the way in Xian, China. Instead of getting bogged down in energy bill legislation and other paperwork, China is already investing $60 billion annually into alternative energy. We toss a lot of green at going green, too, but it’s about putting our money where our mouth is.
“If the U.S. doesn’t get serious, China’s going to own this industry,” said Applied Materials spokesman David Miller.
Analysts are already predicting that in not even two years, China might be the world’s biggest consumer of solar energy. And why? Because they realize that is where the future and the money is. The United States better hop to it, otherwise we are going to start losing other businesses, as if we could afford it. The irony? Producing green technology/products/etc. is most environmentally conscious when it’s in our own backyard, so why are we letting it slip away?
