Live Green in Plano Volunteers, 
Bagsful of thanks to the 30 enthusiastic volunteers who turned out to make Plano's July 4th parade litter-free! Some carried the banner, others followed with bags to collect trash and recyclables. While the litter-strewn parade routes of some Metroplex cities' made the news during the holiday weekend, Plano is proud of the accomplishments of these volunteers. Kudos to Litter Education Coordinator Casey Eckert for organizing this annual project! Plano's first group of high school interns, the ECO Teens (Environmentally Conscious Organization of Teens), has been meeting and learning about environmental issues since February. Under the leadership of Recycling Education Coordinator Kim Soto, they staffed the 2010 Live Green Expo. This summer, former college intern Aarthi Devanathan has been assisting Kim with fieldtrips: FritoLay Headquarters and Fire Station 12 for examples of green building, Republic's Material Recovery Facility to understand the recycling sorting process, a wetlands project filtering water for North Texans to get the big picture on our water system, Lucky Layla Dairy to experience local farming, REI for a presentation on the Leave No Trace Program and a rock climbing challenge and a local big box store to hunt for a critical thinking exercise on greenwashing advertising. They are currently designing individual projects to benefit the City of Plano.  Be on the look out for many August volunteer opportunities to work on our native plant landscaping and compost demonstration area at the Environmental Education Center (EEC), 4116 W. Plano Parkway, Plano 75093. Mark your calendars now for the first Learn Green to Live Green program this fall. Join us on Thursday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m. for Watch Your Watts: Energy Audits at Davis Library, 7501 N. Independence to learn how to make the most cost-efficient, energy conserving changes in your home. The twelfth Live Green in Plano Volunteer (LGIP) Training session runs Thursday evenings 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. September 30 through November 4. This will be the first class to be held in the new EEC. Contact Deb Bliss to register. As you read on, you'll find proof that many LGIP alumni have been inspired to make conscious changes in greening their lives. Deb Bliss Sustainability Volunteer Coordinator |
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Vacation Destination: Organic Farm by Aubrie Wolff
I recently wrote an article for this newsletter about tips for taking green vacations. It inspired me to walk the walk and put some of my own advice to good use. My vacation was a work opportunity and a chance for me to do something different in my everyday life. I was so used to sitting in an office answering phones and inputting data all day, that I finally decided I needed to get out and participate in something that was of real interest to me. I searched online for volunteer opportunities that would allow me to get out in nature and help out in some way. There were many choices for working in other countries, but for now I decided I needed to stay in the U.S. I did find a different setting and lifestyle! I decided to go to Vermont and help out at an organic vegetable farm.
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Keeping Cool While Staying Green
By Tanis Roelofs  As our temperatures approach record highs this summer, keeping cool becomes a priority. Here are some simple ways to help you stay cool and lower your energy bills.
Energy:
Use a programmable thermostat with your air conditioner to adjust to a warmer setting at night or when no one is home. Don't place appliances that generate heat near your thermostat as they will cause your air conditioner to run longer. Look for the Energy Star ® label. If your air conditioner is old, the new energy efficient models can save you up to 50 percent on your cooling bills.
Caulk and weather-strip leaky spots around the house to keep cool air in during the summer. Add insulation around air conditioning ducts when they are located in un-air conditioned spaces such as attics, crawl spaces and garages. It is a good idea to invest in insulation around the house. It will keep your home cooler in the summer and the heat inside longer in the winter as well. Look for tips at your local hardware store or hire a professional to perform an energy audit. Check your fireplace damper. Is it tightly closed? Running a box fan or ceiling fan is a much greener way to help circulate air in occupied rooms. For dorm or apartment rooms with a window air conditioning unit, put a fan in front of the unit to better circulate the cool air. Click here to read more. |
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On Board Diagnostics: How an Auto Insurance Program Can Improve Gas Mileage
By Kathryn Peters
 With the enrollment into a program called Progressive MyRate, Progressive Insurance Company offers users a rate discount on a six month auto insurance policy, and, depending on the driving habits recorded by the program, a potential discount for the user's renewal rate. Progressive mails participants a small device to plug into the OBD2 (On Board Diagnostic) port in their car. The device records and wirelessly sends the user's daily number of trips, mileage, speed, hard acceleration, hard breaking, and what times of day each trip is taken. The user is able to log onto the Progressive MyRate website and view their statistics for each day, the averages for each week, and compare them to the average statistics for MyRate users throughout the company. At the end of the six month policy, if the user's driving behavior is less frequent and less risky than the average driver in their area, Progressive offers the user a discount on a renewal policy.
When I first enrolled into the MyRate program, I was apprehensive about the Big Brother-like invasion of privacy. However, I discovered the ease with which I could monitor my own driving habits improved them. |
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Back to School: Eco-Style
By Tracy Knight
Who doesn't remember the excitement of back-to-school shopping? But is it really necessary to buy so much new "stuff"? One way to save money and help the environment is to reuse clothes. Consider borrowing or trading clothes with other families. Organize a swap party with your mom's group or church. Garage sales and resale shops are great places to find bargains as well. If your child is unsure of the idea, remind him or her this plan allows them to have more variety for less money. Altering clothes or trying different combinations of old and new pieces or accessories is a great way to have fun before school starts. Let them put on a fashion show for family and friends!
If your child really must have new supplies, don't just toss any older (but still useable) ones! These can be kept in a special study/play area at home. Consider jazzing up old notebooks by making a summer craft out of redecorating them.
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Re-thinking the Family Farm
By Erin Hoffer and Deb Bliss Photos by Susan Whitaker
If you travel up the interstate, over a few county roads and down winding, uneven sandy paths, you will discover a hidden oasis alive with wildlife and redolent with the perfume of summer: Lavender Ridge Farm. On June 19, owners, Jane and Jerry Dane, welcomed 20 Live Green in Plano volunteers and enthusiastically guided everyone through the family property now planted with fragrant Provence lavender. Originally a strawberry and melon farm in the 1920's, the siblings changed the land's focus in 2004 from cotton-farming and horse-grazing to producing crops that promoted agritourism. After much research, they settled on lavender and prepared the land for their first 2,800 plants. Most proved to be hearty survivors of drought and baseball-sized hail but many eventually succumbed to the season's heavy rains. Undaunted, the Danes worked to reduce low spots in the fields and rallied their friends for a planting party to restore their crop of fragrant perennials. |
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A Day in the Life of a Live Green in PlanoVolunteer: A Blog By Liz Aviles
6am Rise and Shine! It's a new day! I walk to the bathroom and pick up my electric toothbrush; I wonder how necessary it is being that it uses electric power. It is always plugged in, always charging; I wonder how many kilowatts that is and how much carbon per year? It's what the dentist recommended though, it must be the right thing to use, or is it?
6:20 As I get ready to make my morning cup of coffee, I realize I have run out of milk. Well, I had gotten up early to drive 6 miles to the gym and back, why don't I just jog to my neighborhood "Big Box-Mart" and walk back, that should give me a good 4 miles of exercise AND I will get my milk and I will pollute the environment less and decrease my carbon footprint, I will save on gas and decrease my car's wear and tear.
7:45 Back from the store with my milk and I managed to work up a sweat! Family is still sleeping. I have time for a quick shower.
7:50 I place a big 5 gallon bucket under the shower head to collect water until it warms up. I will later use that water to pre-rinse my baby's cloth diapers. Wow! That is almost 3 gallons of water before the water warmed up, not counting the drops the bucket did not catch! I think I will try a Navy shower and still time myself with my handy dandy "Shower Coach"- a gift from one of my Live Green in Plano classes.
7:55 Shower done in record time and its time to get ready for the day.
(To be continued in the next issue.)
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