This weeks Eco-Challenge was to take inventory of everything we have in the house that uses batteries and what size they require. We could then make decisions on what kind of rechargeable to get.

We already have a charger that will handle up to 4AA batteries. From looking at what we have in the house I think that this will be enough. We mostly have things powered by AA batteries. We just need to get more rechargeable batteries that will work with our charger. Right now we have 8 AA batteries that are rechargeable.

We currently use: 26 AA, 10 C, 2 D, 1 watch battery, 9 equipment specific batteries (already rechargeable).

I am actually kind of surprised. I did not think that we had 26AA in use in the house. Some things we use daily and others maybe once or twice a year but still 26 is a lot. I don't think we will be buying another 18 rechargeable AA batteries but I think we will invest in another 8 to cover off all the items that we use on a regular basis.

In the meantime we will be be collecting the batteries as they die and then taking all of them to the hazardous waste facility when they have household hazardous waste day in the spring.

Related Posts - Check them out
Weekly Eco-Challenge: Waste Streams
e-Waste
Weekly Eco-Challenge: Standby Power

I will never understand why recycling isn't consistent between municipalities. We used to live in the Halton Region and could recycle just about everything. When we moved to the Waterloo Region I was surprised at the number of things we couldn't recycle.

I know that recycling plants are built and set up differently and therefore can handle different items but it just seems that there are too many differences. It is too bad that it isn't consistent so that people don't get confused and frustrated when they move to a new region. When we first moved here we got lots of those lovely little sticky notes on our recycling bin. Styrofoam - sorry we don't take that (but if you want to drive to our recycling plant we will take it off your hands). Tinfoil - I don't think so. Why not roll it into balls and let your cat play with it. Although I now see that we can recycle tinfoil - wonder when that happened.

I will take a sticky note over what happened a few months ago when we put out some cardboard. We had followed the rules and broken the boxes down. The recycling truck decided not to take it and left it at our curb. I watched as the garbage truck pulled up and threw the cardboard in the back. I didn't make it outside in time (I was 41 weeks pregnant) to tell them not to take it. Why not leave a note for the cardboard?

I totally understand why people get so confused and just give up recycling all together. Let's just wait and see how the confusion grows when the green box program is rolled out.

Do you remember when the names for colours were simple? Red, blue, green, yellow. Now we have indian summer, ocean surf, olive juice and rustic corn. Okay I don't know if those are real names of colours or not but I bet you thought they were!

GM has opened up a contest for fans of the new Volt to name the first colour that will be made available.

Check out this site for more information on the contest and for the pictures of the colour that needs a name. To enter your name email me and I will enter it on your behalf ;) No seriously, just go to the Volt site and enter in your name suggestion.

Here are some bigger things you can do to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions you and your family are producing.


Hybrid Car
Do you ever think about buying a hybrid to reduce your carbon footprint? I know I do. Our next vehicle will most definitly be one. I would get one now but it doesn't make sense to buy one when our current vehicle is still relatively new and in fantastic condition. Really when you think about it, that would be worse for the environment because we would be getting rid of a perfectly good car and having all the energy expended to make a new one for us. So we will wait...and I will continue to hope that Mazda will get their act together and design a hybrid otherwise Toyota here we come.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling
One day we would like to buy a piece of property and build a house. If we do I would love to install geothermal heating and cooling. It is expensive and the pay back is ridiculously long but I believe it would be worth it. If you haven't heard of geothermal heating and cooling before check it out.

Solar Heating
We have talked about putting a pool in. If (or as Joe says when) we do we will also be installing solar panels to heat it. My dad did this on their pool when we were kids and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I had no idea that it would end up being trendy. If your roof is the right size and pitch for solar panels it is a great way to save some money and also heat a pool or even power part or all of your house.

There is a new board on the Nest called Green Living. When it first started up I popped over to read what was going on. I have posted a few times but find that I just can not relate to a lot of the posts. Lately it has had me questioning how green I really am. I use shampoo, I wash my face and use a moisturizer. I don't make my own deodorant, I use Colgate and for the love of all things holy I do not use the Diva Cup.

Does this make me a bad environmentalist? I don't think so, and I hope others don't think so. I pick my battles, I put my effort into the area's that are important to me. For some making their own deodrant and using cloth instead of toilet paper is where their priorities are but for me it lays in reducing our energy consumption, planting native landscaping, buying locally and using green building products.

I guess my job plays a role in this as well. I looked back on what I have done in my career and the impact I have had. I know I have made a difference, I know the programs I have implemented have resulted in the reduction of emissions and waste from my employers facilities and the products they are making. Those aren't things that people who I don't work with can see. When someone asks what I do to reduce my impact on the environment my answer wouldn't be that I have helped a manufacturing plant find an alternative use for their waste product thereby diverting it from the waste stream and making it a raw material for someone else. My answer is always "oh we compost, buy from the farmers market, use EF cleaners". For me this just does not seem to even start to explain why I consider myself to be green.

So....my name is Jen and I have made a difference. I have helped companies reduce their waste generation and air emissions by thousands of metric tonnes. I have turned waste into raw materials. I have opened people's eyes to the real impact a company can have and that it can save money by investing in environmental technologies. Oh and I also have a backyard composter, an organic mattress in our son's crib, a truck that runs on ethanol and a tankless water heater.

Don't base what you do for the environment based on what others do. Do what is your passion, do what makes you happy and know that using paper towels does not make you the devil.

Is not the number of bowls of cereal I have eaten this week. It is not the number of dirty diapers we use in a month. It is the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. We are getting dangerously close to that number, to being past the point of no return.

Today is Blog Action Day. It is a chance to spread the word about the impact we are having on our atmosphere and make plans to start to change the way we live. On October 24th people all over the world will be taking action to stop climate change.




Think about what you can do on the 24th to a make difference. To get the word out that something needs to be done. Make sure you continue to check back as I will be talking about ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and what Joe and I will be doing on the 24th.

I know that I have not been the most consistent blogger. I go through phases where I am all bloggy blog blog and then the dust bunnies roll through. I have made the decision to put a lot more effort into Go Green and documenting what Joe and I are doing to reduce our impact on our environment and make this world a better place for B.

So over the next several weeks you will notice some changes in the format and the look of Go Green. I'll be gentle, I promise :)

If you have any suggestions on what you would like just flip me an email. I would love to hear your ideas!

Batteries batteries everywhere. Why does every baby product require batteries? We have a recharger for AA batteries but not for the sizes that all these new products require. I hate buying so many of them and not being able to reuse them.

This week we will focus on finding out what we have in the house that requires batteries, how often we go through the batteries and what size is required. With this information we can figure out if we need more rechargables and what kind of recharger to get.

We will also look at how to properly dispose of the used batteries we currently have. I keep them in a ziplock bag in a cupboard and since the bag is full I think it is time to get rid of them.

Well at least if you do it on a plane.

In the news this week the airlines asked passengers to use the washroom before getting onto a plane in order to cut down on gas consumption and thereby reducing emissions. Who know that passengers pee and poop weigh enough to make a big enough difference in fuel consumption.

I have no doubt that while they spun this to make it look like it is for environmental reasons it is really all about the money money. I guess it is only a matter of time before we have to pay to use the washrooms on planes. $2 for #1, $5 for #2. Please have exact change. Maybe they will create combo's where you can get headphones, 2 #1's, 1#2 and a bottle of wine for $20.

I think I will just travel with my Sh*t box from now on.

Since B was born we have tried 4 types of diapers with mixed result. We were looking for diapers that had a minimal impact on the environment, were economical, were available locally and worked for B. It is funny how you can think you will 100% use on product and then when you try it you realize that it just doesn't work for you. That is what happened to us.

Huggies Pure and Natural Disposables
We tried these out when B first came home from the hospital. We were not impressed. They leaked all the time and that resulted in not only using more diapers but always having to change his clothes. These aren't biodegradable and intesting enough when I asked some friends about them they all thought that they were. I don't know if this is a result of fancy marketing or if it is just assumptions when you see 'naturals' in the product name.

Rating - 1 dirty diaper out of 5

Cloth Diapers
We were set on using a cloth diaper service and we did try it out for a bit. The issue was that he developed a rash while wearing them and we were having to change him more than once an hour. Call me lazy if you want but with everything that comes with adjusting to having a newborn the last thing I wanted to be doing was changing a diaper (and his clothes) every 45 minutes. We haven't sworn them off completely we just won't be using them while he is still so little. Perhaps when he is a bit older and not pee'ing as much.

Rating - 2 dirty diapers out of 5

Nature Babycare Disposables
My niece gave us a package of Nature Babycare diapers for our shower. I am so glad that she did! They are biodegradable and organic! However they are hard to find in Canada so when I am in the area where they are sold I stock up. They are not as soft as Pamper and Huggies but they are not irritating to B's skin at all. You can add these to your regions compost system (call first to ensure they take them) or your home composter (but you have to add extra nitrogen).

Rating - 5 dirty diapers out of 5

7th Generation Disposables
When cloth didn't work out for us I looked into 7th Generation and was pleased to see that you can now buy them at groceries stores in Canada (you can get them at SuperStore/Zehrs etc. in ON). The price isn't that bad either - $17.99 for 44. What did surprise me is that they aren't biodegradable. For some reason when I saw the name 7th Generation I automatically thought that they were. Overall the diapers were good and B liked them. I did not however like that they were not biodegradable. We decided that we will use this brand if we run out of our normal brand (that is not available in our town).

Rating - 3 dirty diapers out of 5