The most common usage of spring cleaning refers to the yearly act of cleaning a house from top to bottom which would take place in the first warm days of the year typically in spring, hence the name. However it has also come to be synonymous with any kind of heavy duty cleaning or organizing enterprise. A person who gets their affairs in order before an audit or inspection could be said to be doing some spring cleaning.

Green cleaning is a term that describes a growing trend in favor of using cleaning methods with environmentally-friendly ingredients and chemicals to preserve human health and environmental quality. Green cleaning techniques and products avoid the use of chemically-reactive and toxic cleaning products which contain various toxic chemicals, some of which emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) causing respiratory and dermatological problems among other adverse effects. Green cleaning can also describe the way residential and industrial cleaning products are manufactured, packaged and distributed. If the manufacturing process is environmentally-friendly and the products are biodegradable, then the term “green” or “eco-friendly” may apply.

Harmful chemicals are prevalent not only in general consumer cleaning products but also in foods, cosmetics, home construction, clothing and many industries. In the average American home, around 63 synthetic chemical products can be found. This equates to approximately 10 gallons of hazardous chemicals.  By using more ecologically-friendly products, including green cleaning formulations and products, consumers may be able to reduce human health risks by reducing exposure to these and other harmful chemicals.
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So when you are working on your Green Spring Cleaning, you may want to donate your excess to charity.  There is a website called excessaccess.com that matches you to local charities that will come and pick up your donations and the website will give you a receipt that can be used at tax time.  Also if you go on to the EPA.gov website and click on ecycling they will advise you on how to recycle those old computers and cell phones.

For Green Spring Cleaning your home office,  think paperless and go to Billeo.com that will let you download a software tool that stores all your passwords and connects you to your vendors that you pay online. 

If you have baby clothes or baby items that you want to trade or give away to others who need them, go to zwaggle.com where you can join a “swapmeet” where you get points for your trade to use for other things you need.

Here on Green Earth Friend we have a recycling widget where you plug in your item and zip code and it will tell you where you can bring your item to be recycled.  Check it out at the end of the far right column on this website.

Good luck to everyone with your Green Spring Cleaning and I hope all these tips help everyone to keep their spring cleaning eco-friendly and green.

China has also over taken the United States for being the largest emitter of carbon dioxide on the planet.
Greenpeace said the top 10 companies, which provided almost 60% of China’s total electricity last year, burned 20% of China’s coal — 590m tonnes — and emitted the equivalent of 1.44 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

“China is suffering the pains of extreme weather events such as droughts, heat waves, typhoons and floods, worsened by climate change. These power companies can and must help China to prevent climate disaster by rapidly increasing efficiency and the share of renewable energy such as wind and solar,” said Yang Ailun, Greenpeace’s climate campaign manager, at the launch in Beijing of the Greenpeace report, Polluting Power: Ranking China’s Biggest Power Companies.

Greenpeace urged the Chinese government to impose energy and environment taxes on coal, encouraging increased efficiency and a move to renewable sources. It also called for a doubling of the national renewable energy target to 30% by 2020 and for stricter efficiency standards for coal-fired power stations.

The State Council, China’s cabinet, is currently drawing up plans for a massive “new energy” programme to cut emissions and ensure energy security. Reports in the domestic media and from foreign diplomats suggest the next decade could see between 1.4 trillion (US$200 bn) and 4.5 trillion yuan (US$600bn) investment in projects ranging from nuclear power, low carbon transport and clean coal technology to super-efficient electric grids.  Let’s see what happens!

At first it even seemed as though it might be a small project. In fact it started with a single fruit; an Asian pear my wife had brought home from the local oriental store. After eating the fruit, I found 8 seeds that looked just like apple seeds inside. “I should plant these” I thought to myself, “I’ve never seen an Asian pear tree before, so I wonder what it looks like.”  Then I bought a couple of mangos, and decided to grow them as well.  Now I have grown mangos from seeds before, though they won’t overwinter outside here, they make good potted trees to bring in during the winter as long as you keep them pruned. So I knew it was not only possible, but fairly easy to grow at least some trees from seeds.

To get started I bought about $20 worth of potting soil from the store (I still have more than half left) as well as a bag of popsicle sticks from the craft store.  I used the popsicle sticks to mark what kind of seed was planted in each pot. For the pots, I punched a hole in the bottom of some yogurt cups I had been saving just for seed planting. So I got to reuse the yogurt cups, and I got to reuse what few popsicle sticks I got from the popsicles I ate this year.  The rest of the popsicle sticks cost me around $2.50 at the craft store for a pack of 200. Then I simply went to work filling the pots with soil and dropping a seed in each one.  I didn’t do anything special to prepare the seeds, though it should be noted that if you’re impatient and want them to grow quickly after planting them, there are some seeds that you’ll want to refrigerate for up to 60 days before planting. For my project however, I am content to wait until winter turns my garage into a natural refrigerator.

I started out planting just 8 seeds, but every day I added between 3 and 15 more and the project quickly grew into something much bigger than I ever anticipated. Today, six of the eight original Asian pear seeds have sprouted and there are an additional 200+ planted seeds in my garage that I’m just waiting to come up.  I only live on a third of an acre property, but I am constantly finding new ways to work more trees into my property. I already have 10 fruit trees on my little sliver of land, and I have got 5 more on order in the fall. That’s in addition to the large willow and Japanese maple trees already growing here. So I expect to be able to work in a few more before the property gets tree-crowded, but it goes without saying that I won’t have room for all 200 if they all come up.

Even after the trees that do germinate begin to grow, it will still be several years before they begin bearing fruit. Then there’s no guarantee that they will all bear good fruit. While some trees like peach trees will generally grow true to their parent from seed, other trees like apple trees do not grow true to the parent, so it’s a toss-up whether you’ll get good fruit from it or not. That’s ok though because even if most of the resulting trees don’t produce good fruit, they’ll still produce fruit that the local wildlife will thrive on. Furthermore whether or not the trees produce any fruit at all, they will still flower, which provides food for pollinating insects and birds.

Some of you might be wondering what I’m going to do with hundreds of fruit trees that may or may not produce good fruit. Well the first thing I’ll do is offer free trees to all my neighbors in the neighborhood. After that I’ll place an ad offering free trees to anyone living within my zip code. If I still have trees left after that I’ll plant them on some undeveloped property near me. The reason I want these trees near me is that they’ll provide food for my bees, food for local wildlife, pretty flowers in the springtime, and for those trees that do bear good fruit, they will reduce the carbon footprint of the local food economy by bringing the food source closer to home for the people who eat the fruit. They will also help cushion the area against the effects of possible food shortages in the future.

Sometime around planting the 150th tree seed I decided that this was a full-scale major project and therefore it deserved a proper name. I dubbed this ‘The John Chapman Project’ in honor of John Chapman whom you may better recognize as Johnny Appleseed. I thought it only fitting since he did much the same thing as he wandered the countryside planting apple seeds wherever he went and starting several hundred apple orchards and having planted literally millions of apple trees. Though my project seems minuscule compared to his, and I intend to plant fruit tree seeds of all types, I still thought it fitting to pay homage to such a man after my own heart. By the way, there is an apple tree known to have been planted by Johnny Appleseed that’s still alive in an Ohio orchard.  It’s getting close to being 200 years old.

For now I will keep plugging away planting seed after seed, and in the next few years I hope to convince at least a few teachers to try a project like this with their classrooms. It is an excellent learning opportunity where you can teach the kids about American history via Johnny Appleseed, about botany, and about the environment and the sun or rain cycles, even about nutrition. I can think of no other classroom projects that would cost a total of under $20 and would tie into so many different lessons. Plus there is a high likelihood that many of the tree seedlings going home with the children will get planted somewhere because how can a parent bring themselves to destroy something their kid brings home and is proud of completing.  Even if nothing else were to come from it, the trees will help remove at least some of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Apple Tree that is 3 years old below:

Asian Pear Trees Below:

In many countries where agriculture is difficult due to regional climate and other factors, fish is often a main staple in the diet of that region. Here in the USA, although we typically eat around 20 kilograms of fish a year, that is still not a major component of our diet. Most of the fish consumed in the US either comes from the ocean or commercial fish farms. But we have a vast and relatively untapped resource of fish in our freshwater lakes and rivers that can help supplement our diets and make up some of the shortfall in food. But to tap this resource, we need to do it in a much more eco-friendly manner than we have with other resources in the past.

To fish in a more eco-friendly manner, I propose we take a five-step approach to eco-fishing.

1. Pack out everything you pack in, and more… trash that is. Trash, specifically plastic or Styrofoam trash is clogging our lakes. It doesn’t take long to find a Styrofoam cooler lid that flew off someone else’s cooler while they were motoring along… or bait can lid, or a wrapper of some kind. So the number one rule of eco-fishing is to take out at least one piece of trash that wasn’t yours. It’s not hard and you’ll leave the lake, or ocean a better place for it.

2. Only keep fish from invasive or overpopulated species. Many lakes in the USA are overpopulated by certain types of fish which causes the stunting of growth of all species of fish. Most commonly this will be Bluegill. Also invasive species of fish such as regular Carp, Drum, or that new Asian Silver Carp. These fish have no natural predators in the area and consume so much of the waterway’s food that native fish are often displaced.

3. Use every part of the fish you keep. This doesn’t mean you have to learn how to make sewing needles out of the bones, but if you’re not going to eat it, bury it in the garden. Decomposing fish give off vital nutrients that plants just love, so unless you have dogs in the area, don’t even worry about burying them more than a foot deep. You want them to be shallow enough for the plant roots of whatever is planted over them to reach the remains. Then you won’t have to worry about amending the soil they are buried under with nutrients for about 5 years.

4. If you use a boat make sure it’s properly maintained so that you’re not dumping any gas or oil overboard.

5. Use 100% lead-free tackle.

If we are all mindful enough to remember these five steps then we’ll leave our waterways healthier, we’ll have some delicious extra food, and we’ll have fun with the whole family.

The Recovery Act was signed into law by President Obama on February 17th, 2009. It is an unprecedented effort to jump start our economy, create or save millions of jobs, and put a down payment on addressing long-neglected challenges so our country can thrive in the 21st century. The Act is an extraordinary response to a crisis unlike any since the Great Depression, and includes measures to modernize our nation’s infrastructure, enhance energy independence, expand educational opportunities, preserve and improve affordable health care, provide tax relief, and protect those in greatest need. Learn more on recovery.gov.

Implementing the Recovery Act

The Recovery Act specifically includes $7.22 billion for projects and programs administered by EPA. These programs will protect and promote both “green” jobs and a healthier environment. These environmental areas include:

• Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund:$4 billion for assistance to help communities with water quality and wastewater infrastructure needs and $2 billion for drinking water infrastructure needs. A portion of the funding will be targeted toward green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency, and environmentally innovative projects. View general information about the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving fund
• Brownfields:$100 million for competitive grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial sites. View general information about the Brownfields program.
• Diesel Emissions Reduction: $300 million for grants and loans to help regional, state and local governments, tribal agencies, and non-profit organizations with projects that reduce diesel emissions. View general information about diesel emissions reductions achieved through the National Clean Diesel Campaign.
• Superfund Hazardous Waste Cleanup: $600 million for the cleanup of hazardous sites. View general information about the Superfund program.
• Leaking Underground Storage Tanks: $200 million for cleanup of petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks. View general information about the underground storage tank program.

The new law is geared for performance and unprecedented transparency. EPA plans to award both the designated funds to states and the competitive grants as quickly as possible. All funding will be monitored by the agency’s Inspector General, which will receive $20 million for oversight and review. Announcements of grants will be posted on recovery.gov to ensure transparency.

Learn more about EPA programs that implement the Recovery Act, and about the major actions EPA has taken to implement the Act.

Here are some of the green highlights of the last 100 days:

January 20: Only hours after Obama takes the oath of office, the White House issues a memo staying a number of Bush’s “midnight regulations”. The regulations, issued in the final hours of the Bush administration, had sought to do away with a generation of environmental protections imposed on polluters from factory farms to the burning of hazardous waste and oil shales development. Obama orders a review of the measures, which had been deplored by conservationists.

January 26: The president signs a pair of executive orders intended to set stricter limits on car exhaust emissions. Obama directs the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its refusal, under George Bush, to allow California to cut car exhaust by 30%. The president also calls on the Transportation Department to draw up new fuel 35 MPG fuel standard for all cars rolling off the assembly lines from 2012.

February 17: Obama signs a $787bn economic recovery plan. The rescue package contained historic levels of green investment – well over $100bn by some estimates. There were billions for refitting existing buildings to make them more energy efficiency, high-speed rail lines and commuter transit and updating the electric grid.

“In a lot of respects the stimulus package was a gigantic climate and energy bill by itself in a very positive way,” said David Gardiner, a senior adviser at the Energy Future Coalition. “We have never had a president who has focused on this … with [that] intensity.”

March 19: He pledges $2.4bn for the development of hybrid cars and advanced batteries.

March 20: Michelle Obama digs up a patch of ground behind the White House to plant the first presidential vegetable garden since the second world war. The Obama’s plan to put in lettuce, spinach, herbs such as coriander, and hot peppers – but no beets because the president does not like them.

March 30: Obama sets aside 2m acres of public land spread across nine states as wilderness, from California’s Sierra Nevada to Virginia’s Jefferson forest, shielding it from mining, logging and other operations. Another provision protects 1,000 miles of river.

April 17: The Environmental Protection Agency formally declares that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases are a danger to public health and welfare. The so-called endangerment finding is a first step towards regulating coal-fired power plants and to forcing US car manufacturers to make cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles.

April 27: The US hosts a two-day forum for 17 of the world’s most polluting economies to try to get closer to a deal before the international climate change summit at Copenhagen in December. The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, declares the US, after eight years of going missing under George Bush, is now committed to helping lead the world towards a planet-saving deal. She also makes a direct pitch to India and China, saying that a move towards a greener economy will not hold back development, but could help them reach greater prosperity.

What a productive first 100 green days! Let’s hope it continues for the next 100 days and beyond.

When constructing the HGTV Green Home, the walls were made from ICFs lego like walls. ICF stands for Insulated Concrete Forms and is a good energy saving product that makes the walls 6 inch thick  in reinforced concrete.  It has an R-value of 32 which is the insulation’s effectiveness.  The “R” stands for “resistance” to heat-flow, or cool airflow.

Part of the roof is a Green “Living” roof with special ground mats under the soil that both retains water and drains water as needed.  It makes a good eco-friendly use of a space that you can plant vegetables and herbs on for your use.  There is alsoa rainbarrel to collect the water to use on your plants.

The wood floor is an eco-friendly floor by Shaw Floors.  It is an innovative floor that uses 50% recycled content which means that every part of the tree is used. Also the area rugs are recyclable and the tiles are made from 40% recycled material and they are made in the USA.

Energy Star appliances are used throughout the home with an efficient washer and dryer. Also there is a re-circulating water system and an aerator used by the faucets which pumps air through them to use less water.

This is a wonderful green home in the Port St. Lucie area of Florida. Check out the full project on HGTV Green Home and don’t forget to register to win on this site or directly on HGTV.  You can register once a day until June 5, 2009.  Good Luck to all our weblog readers at Green Earth Friend!

The bikes are stored in massive racks next to the train station. It costs 30 euros a year to get access to the bikes. You receive a card that looks like a credit card called an RFID-card. You swipe the card in a certain area of the control for each rack and it will tell you which bike to take. Bicycles can be used for the first 30 minutes with no extra cost, with subsequent half hour blocks (up to 2 hours) costing 0.50 euros each. Use of a bicycle for more than 2 hours at a time is discouraged with a penalty rate of 3 euros per hour, but also with the possibility of having your membership cancelled after a certain number of uses in excess of 2 hours.

To return a bicycle one simply places the bike in a spare slot at a Bicing station.  The bike is recognised automatically and is locked into place (as indicated by the small light at the slot turning red), so one does not need to swipe the RFID-card to return the bike.  3000 bikes are used throughout the system and the system is paid for through parking tickets in the city. There are a reported 90,000 registered members in the couple of years that the system has operated. That is 90,000 people that reduced their carbon footprint in a big way.  And 90,000 green earth friends.

Tax Credits for Consumers:
Home Improvements

Tax credits are now available for home improvements:

* must be “placed in service” from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010
* must be for taxpayer’s principal residence
* $1,500 is the maximum total amount that can be claimed for all products placed in service in 2009 & 2010 for most home improvements, EXCEPT for geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, fuel cells, and windmills which are not subject to this cap, and are in effect through 2016
* must have a Manufacturer Certification Statement3 to qualify
* for record keeping, save your receipts and the Manufacturer Certification Statement3
* improvements made in 2009 will be claimed on your 2009 taxes (filed by April 15, 2010) — use IRS Tax Form 5695 (2009 version) — it will be available late 2009 or early 2010
* If you are building a new home, you can qualify for the tax credit for geothermal heat pumps, photovoltaics, solar water heaters, small wind systems and fuel cells, but not the tax credits for windows, doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, or non-solar water heaters. More.

SUMMARY OF TAX CREDITS FOR HOMEOWNERS:

Water Heaters Gas, Oil, Propane Water Heater Energy Factor >= 0.82
or a thermal efficiency of at least 90%. 30% of cost, up to $1,5002

Not all ENERGY STAR gas storage and gas condensing water heaters will qualify for the tax credit. All ENERGY STAR gas tankless models will qualify.

All ENERGY STAR gas tankless water heaters will qualify.

View ENERGY STAR criteria.

For a partial list of qualifying products go to the Air Conditioning, Heating, and refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Exit ENERGY STAR
Electric Heat Pump Water Heater Same criteria as ENERGY STAR: Energy Factor >= 2.0 30% of cost, up to $1,5002

All ENERGY STAR electric heat pump water heaters qualify for the tax credit.

Biomass Stove:

Stove which burns biomass fuel to heat a home or heat water.

Thermal efficiency rating of at least 75% as measured using a lower heating value.
30% of cost, up to $1,5002

Geo-Thermal Heat Pump:

Same criteria as ENERGY STAR:

Closed Loop:
EER >= 14.1
COP >= 3.3

Open Loop:
EER >= 16.2
COP >= 3.6

Direct Expansion:
EER >= 15
COP >= 3.5
30% of the cost

All ENERGY STAR geo-thermal heat pumps qualify for the tax credit.

Use IRS Form 5695 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR

Must be “placed into service” before December 31, 2016.

Solar Energy Systems & Solar Water Heating:

At least half of the energy generated by the “qualifying property” must come from the sun. Homeowners may only claim spending on the solar water heating system property, not the entire water heating system of the household.

The credit is not available for expenses for swimming pools or hot tubs.

The water must be used in the dwelling.

The system must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC).
30% of cost

All ENERGY STAR solar water heaters qualify for the tax credit.

Use IRS Form 5695 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR

Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016.
Photovoltaic Systems Photovoltaic systems must provide electricity for the residence, and must meet applicable fire and electrical code requirement. 30% of cost

Use IRS Form 5695 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR

Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016.

Small Wind Energy Systems Residential & Small Wind Energy Systems 30% of cost:

Use IRS Form 5695 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR

Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016.

Fuel Cells Residential & Fuel Cell and microturbine system:

Efficiency of at least 30% and must have a capacity of at least 0.5 kW.
30% of the cost, up to $1500 per .5 kW of power capacity

Use IRS Form 5695 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR

Must be placed in service before December 31, 2016.
Cars Hybrid gasoline-electric, diesel, battery-electric, alternative fuel, and fuel cell vehicles Based on a formula determined by vehicle weight, technology, and fuel economy compared to base year models

There is a 60,000 vehicle limit per manufacturer before a phase-out period begins. Toyota and Honda have already been phased out. Credit is still available for Ford, GM and Nissan.

For more information visit: Fueleconomy.gov Exit ENERGY STAR

Use IRS Form 8910 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR for hybrid vehicles purchased for personal use.

Use IRS Form 3800 PDF Exit ENERGY STAR for hybrid vehicles purchased for business purposes.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles $2,500–$7,500:

The first 250,000 vehicles sold get the full tax credit (then it phases out like the hybrid vehicle tax credits).

Effective January 1, 2009.

¹Either the 2001 Supplement of the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code or the 2004 Supplement of the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code.

²Subject to a $1,500 maximum per homeowner for all improvements combined.

³A Manufacturer’s Certification is a signed statement from the manufacturer certifying that the product or component qualifies for the tax credit. The IRS encourages manufacturers to provide these Certifications on their website to facilitate identification of qualified products. Taxpayers must keep a copy of the certification statement for their records, but do not have to submit a copy with their tax return.

⁴Additional information on exterior window features may be viewed at Anatomy of an Energy Efficient Window.

⁵Biomass Fuel means any plant-derived fuel available on a renewable or recurring basis, including agricultural crops and trees, wood and wood waste and residues (including wood pellets), plants (including aquatic plants), grasses, residues, and fibers.

The IRS defines “placed in service” as when the property is ready and available for use.

Efficient Cars:

Starting January 1, 2009, there is a new tax credit for Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, starting at $2,500 and capped at $7,500 for cars and trucks (the credit is based on the capacity of the battery system). The first 250,000 vehicles sold get the full tax credit (then it phases out like the hybrid vehicle tax credits).

Tax credits are available to buyers of hybrid gasoline-electric, diesel, battery-electric, alternative fuel, and fuel cell vehicles. The tax credit amount is based on a formula determined by vehicle weight, technology, and fuel economy compared to base year models. These credits are available for vehicles placed in service starting January 1, 2006. For hybrid and diesel vehicles made by each manufacturer, the credit will be phased out over 15 months starting after that manufacturer has sold 60,000 eligible vehicles. For vehicles made by manufacturers that have not reached the end of the phase-out, the credits will end for vehicles placed in service after December 31, 2010. See the IRS Website for updated information.

Eligible contractors need to fill out IRS Form 8908 to get the tax credit. The IRS has provided the following guidance regarding the tax credits for constructing energy efficient new homes available under the Energy Policy Act of 2005:

• IRS Notice 2006–27 provides guidance for the credit for building energy efficient homes other than manufactured homes.
• IRS Notice 2006–28 provides guidance for the credit for building energy efficient manufactured homes.

Home builders are eligible for a $2,000 tax credit for a new energy efficient home that achieves 50% energy savings for heating and cooling over the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and supplements. At least 1/5 of the energy savings must come from building envelope improvements. This credit also applies to contractors of manufactured homes conforming to Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards.

There is also a $1,000 tax credit to the producer of a new manufactured home achieving 30% energy savings for heating and cooling over the 2004 IECC and supplements (at least 1/3 of the savings must come from building envelope improvements), or a manufactured home meeting the requirements established by EPA under the ENERGY STAR program.

Please note that, with the exception of the tax credit for an ENERGY STAR qualified manufactured home, these tax credits are not directly linked to ENERGY STAR. Therefore, a builder of an ENERGY STAR qualified home may be eligible for a tax credit but it is not guaranteed.

These tax credits apply to new homes located in the United States whose construction is substantially completed after August 8, 2005 and that are acquired from the eligible contractor for use as a residence from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2009.

Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings:

A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Partial deductions of up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures affecting any one of three building systems: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems “placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013.