Getting ready for fall

It is August and my thoughts turn to the upcoming fall season. Seems like we just started summer and already fall is in the air. With fall comes some great opportunities to be more green.
Cooler fall evenings can provide a good energy saving opportunity. Simply open the windows instead of keeping that air conditioner running all night. In addition to energy savings, opening windows can provide fresh air

This is a great time to have your heating unit (furnace, boiler, heat pump, wood or pellet stove) checked. Schedule a service visit while the heating contractors are not busy and you could save some money and get ahead of the rush when cold weather starts. You can also change your filters allowing your system to run more efficiently. There are even filters made of recycled materials as well as some that can be washed and reused.

Another good thing to check is your hot water heater. Make sure it is working correctly. I for one don’t want to have to wake up to a cold shower on a cold winter day. If it isn’t insulated it isn’t hard to purchase insulation for water heaters at the local hardware store, wrap the water heater yourself, and save money in the bargain. Be careful not to block air into gas fired water heaters, and never wrap them with combustible materials like old blankets or quilts that could catch fire. If you aren’t sure of what you are doing ask at the hardware store or call a professional. Better safe than sorry, as they say.

You can also perform a do it yourself home energy audit. There are instructions here:
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/energy_audits/index.cfm/mytopic=11170

All of these steps can prepare you for colder weather as well as save you money while greening your life. It’s a win win in my book.
Just think if you do all the prep work now you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy all those great veggies you are harvesting or buying at the store from local farmers and can relax knowing you are ready for whatever fall brings.

Rockhounding Green

Some would say that mining is one of the worst environmental hazards. To me, the old mine sites are treasure sites that rock hounds are cleaning up by hauling out specimens. I agree some of the practices used in mining especially pre-regulation times were bad for the environment and even caused numerous problems. I have seen the landscape changed permanently by mining activity. Piles of rocks were stacked up after the creeks and rivers were dredged for the gold in them and then left there. A big example of horrible mining impact is the Berkley Pit in Butte, Mt. It was formerly the most productive mine in the world and now is a toxic water filled pit that is filling up more and more each day. Although this is a horrible hazard scientists are now looking at some algae that are able to live and even neutralize the toxic water. Perhaps the site could be cleaned up and or used to the advantage of other sites and people. The landscape was scarred and the natural creeks were forever changed or eliminated. Today there are regulations against disturbing waterways, using toxic chemicals to leach out the metals, and requirements for the mining company to reclaim the land after they are finished mining. Unfortunately the larger companies are making a bigger impact on the environment because their activities are on a larger scale. It’s a catch 22 because we use and need the metals they mine in everything from cell phones to jewelry and I’m not optimistic that people will stop using all these materials and force mining operations to stop.
I am all for being eco-friendly and environmentally conscious and I am also a rock/mineral collector. The two are not necessarily exclusive of each other. It may take a different way of looking at things but isn’t that what we are all trying to do to become more environmentally friendly? Most rockhounds I know re purpose items such as empty pill bottles, plastic containers of all sorts, boxes, and anything that will hold rocks. I myself use old pill bottles (like the plastic ones used by pharmacies), plastic tubs like from cottage cheese, and coffee containers among other things, to hold my specimens or put rocks in when I'm out collecting. If you think about it when we collect specimens we are cleaning up mine dumps although it is a bit slower than if the EPA cleaned it up. When we use rocks/minerals for jewelry or art it could be considered repurposing. Ok, so maybe it's a stretch to say that rockhounding can be environmentally friendly but I'd like to think it is since I am a rockhound.
When I'm out collecting I use reusable water containers, clean up after myself, and pick up trash that sometimes is left at the site by former collectors. Even if the old mine sites I visit were harmful to the environment at least I can do my part to be green while collecting.