A Press Democrat Blog

Living Green

Saving time and resources

Biking The World Up Close – With Kameel Nasr

Wednesday, at 11:29 by

Sunday, December 18, 2011, 3pm, free Community Bikes, 4009 Sebastopol Rd, Santa Rosa Come meet a world-class long-distance bicyclist and author of:  Bicycle Touring International: The Complete Book On Adventure Cycling Cycling The Mediterranean: Bicycle Tours In Spain, France, Italy, Greece And Beyond The World Up Close: A Cyclist’s Adventures On Five Continents Community Bikes is proud to present Kameel Nasr giving a talk on his world travels. Kameel has cycled in over 75 countries in his two times bicycling… Read More »

My Favorite Recycling Center: The Legacy

Wednesday, at 12:10 by

Whenever I am in south Sebastopol, I take few minutes to see what’s happening at The Legacy. A volunteer based arts and crafts reuse center in the Southpoint Shopping Center near McDonald’s, they accept and resell fabric – by the pound!, as well as sewing notions, yarn, hobby supplies and books. Kid friendly, it is a great way to introduce children to low cost do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. My idea of heaven! It’s also a great spot for presents – for yourself… Read More »

American Idol Pulls Plug On Plastic Pollution PSA

Friday, at 2:05 by

UNDER PRESSURE FROM SPONSOR, AMERICAN IDOL PULLS PLUG ON PLASTIC PSA, Forbes Magazine, 11/8/11, Forbes reports that 11 contestants of American Idol Season 10 want you to REFUSE disposable plastic. A big time Idol sponsor – possibly Coca Cola, is objecting to the YouTube PSA. The two minute  short film created by Producer/Director Kate Miller with Mirror Films has a bit of song, a bit of humor and a big request for action – they are trying to raise $50,000. The… Read More »

Disposable Reading Pleasures, Part 2 – Magazines

Tuesday, at 9:30 by

Though I get a lot of pleasure from my big time reading habit, I seriously object to the large amount of waste the publishing industry and their advertisers create. Imagine if every periodical carried the following footer: “Please share and recycle!” and utilized recycled content paper and low impact inks. In particular, the magazine industry really gets my ire up. My 88-year old mom’s ever growing subscription list currently includes more than15 glossies – ladies magazines, health guides and cooking journals… Read More »

Disposable Reading Pleasures, Part I

Monday, at 2:41 by

Paper makes up 17.3% of California’s and 16.3% of Sonoma County’s discard stream. Much of it is single use reading materials – newspapers, magazines and books. We all take this mountain of short-term gratification for granted – but it doesn’t have to be so… mountainous. With a little effort we all can substantially reduce the impact of our reading pleasure – without reading less! Obviously the more readers per copy benefits the environment – but not the publishing industry. If… Read More »

Class: Summer in the Edible Garden

Tuesday, at 5:49 by

Learn the essentials of summer garden care which will lead to successful harvests and satisfied gardeners! Energy and enthusiasm for planting the garden can be high, and with good systems for on-going care, you can keep gardening fun while enriching your understanding of the garden ecosystem. This class will include strategies for irrigation, crop fertility, pest, disease and weed control, as well as information on training and pruning, harvesting, food preservation, and seed saving.… Read More »

Still Getting Credit Card Offers?

Friday, at 9:00 by

Opt out by visiting OptOutPrescreen.com, a centralized service that accepts and processes requests to “Opt-In” or “Opt-Out” of firm offers of credit or insurance. You can also call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). They will ask for your name, address, social security number and date of birth. If you are looking for a better credit card, take advantage of the credit card rating services like Credit.com. You can also do a web search on “credit card reviews” and “credit card comparisons” but read the fine print carefully.… Read More »

Eyeglass Reuse – Santa Rosa

Thursday, at 6:05 by

First, ask your eye care provider if they take part in an eyeglass reuse and recycling program. If the answer is no, ask why. There is no reason why undamaged eyeglasses should end up in the trash! If need be, you can mail them to Lions In Sight, 1404 Lemon St, Vallejo, CA 94590. The list below was snipped from our fabulous Sonoma County Recycling Guide which is located in the AT&T Yellow Pages under “R” and at www.recyclenow.org: Santa Rosa G&G Supermarkets,… Read More »

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Welcomes New ED

Wednesday, at 9:00 by

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition welcomes new Executive Director, Gary Helfrich (snipped from www.bikesonoma.org) Gary has been involved with bicycles since crashing into the garage in 1961 after his grandfather launched him down the driveway shouting, “training wheels are for sissies!” Despite this early setback, he became involved in the bicycle industry as an adult, spending nearly 25 years as a framebuilder and industry consultant. Gary began as a welder at Fat City Cycles and later founded Merlin Metalworks. After leaving… Read More »