Fresh AIRE

It Happened at the Giant -- No Plastic, Please

This past Saturday, I did it. Oh, I'd been thinking about it for weeks. Then during my weekly grocery shopping trek, it happened. I walked by the end of an aisle at the Giant on Washington Blvd. and I saw the reusable bags for sale. Suddenly, I grabbed four of them and decided on the spot, "It's now or never."

When I went home, ALL our groceries were in the four reusable bags I had just purchased. No plastic bags. (And yes, my husband once again called me "Moonbeam," but he also seemed glad to have an alternative to a drawer full of plastic bags.) I felt a bit sorry for the check-out person; it seemed to take a bit longer for her to organize and place my items in the reusable bags. But that won't stop me from using my reusable bags...and next time I'll help more with that myself.

I was also pleased because more groceries seem to fit in those reusable bags as compared with the plastic bags. Four bags held $135 of groceries vs. the 15+ plastic bags I probably would have had to use. As for cost: they were just 99 cents each -- so it seems worth it.

I may also experiment with getting a few bags from some other stores. For example, I've heard folks say good things about the Whole Foods bags. (You can also find MANY sources for ordering bags online -- just go to Google and search on "Reusable Shopping Bag.") And we need to keep a few bags in the car AND the house -- for those unplanned trip to the CVS, Rite-Aid, Safeway, Westover Market, etc.

Next, I decided to evangelize a bit (with people I knew would forgive me for bugging them!). So, when I got home I called my mom and two sisters and urged them to start using reusable bags when shopping. They actually were a bit more enthusiastic than I thought they might be. And my sister Cindy called a few days later to say she was getting some reusable bags herself. Not only that, she was going to get some bags to give to her card-playing buddies.

Wow, maybe one person -- or a few people -- CAN start making a difference?! Be sure to leave a comment if you have something to share. (And if you're just "lurking" on the blog...be sure to at least read some of interesting comments from other folks.)

P.S. -- Check out these interesting plastic bag facts:

• Some 100 billion shopping bags end up in American landfills each year, according to Worldwatch Institute, an environmental research agency.
• IKEA recently last month began charging U.S. customers 5 cents a bag. As an alternative, the store sells large reusable plastic bags for 59 cents.
• Plastic bags made of polyethylene, which dominate the market, are non-biodegradable and are made from crude oil and natural gas, both nonrenewable resources.
• EPA estimates only 5.2% of the plastic bags and sacks in the municipal waste stream in 2005 were recycled.

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Jennifer K. Smith, 18-year resident of Arlington, AIRE blog manager

Rule of Thumb #5 - Your Couch Doesn't Care

Ceiling fan tip. Ceiling fans do not cool the air. However, they do cool you.  Ceiling fans work by moving air around.  Humans feel more comfortable in the heat when the air is moving. You've probably noted that you can sit outside on your deck in 82-degree weather and feel terrifically comfortable, but 82 degrees inside your house is uncomfortably warm. That's because outside the air is moving, and it makes you feel cooler.

So inside your house you can feel cooler, too, by using fans to move the air. Then you can turn up the thermostat a couple of degrees and save on air conditioning. It does absolutely no good, though, to leave a fan on in a room where there are no people. In fact, it's counterproductive, because the fan is using electricity and providing no benefit. Your couch does not care that the fan is on, and it does not feel any cooler. It's true: I asked it.

So use your ceiling fans to keep you cooler, but turn them off when there are no people around to keep cool.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington resident and Director - Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE), Transportation Projects
Oh, and hey!  If your ceiling fan has lights, change them out for more efficient CFLs too.

Troubled Water - True Costs of Bottled Water

The Green Guide recently had an excellent article all about the problems and environmental impact of bottled water. The article also included good sources for safe reusable water bottles. Some snippets from the article:

• In bottle production alone, the more than 70 million bottles of water consumed each day in the U.S. drain 1.5 million barrels of oil over the course of one year.
• A 1999 Natural Resources Defense Council study found that, with required quarterly testing, tap water may even be of a higher quality than bottled, which is only tested annually.

Read the full article -- it's interesting! Also see the related blog post on this topic, "Water, Water Everywhere..."

Buy Local - Crabcakes, Veggies and More

Man, I LOVE a good lumpy crabcake. And my friend Cindy Olson recently turned me on to delicious crabcakes sold at the Falls Church Farmer's Market. This past Saturday we went and bought several of them (they ARE good), along with lots of fruit and vegetables. Yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, juicy peaches, honeydew melon, tomatoes, and fresh basil -- YUM. This visit reminded me of the many good reasons to go local and shop at the local farmers' markets. (Arlington boasts five different farmers' markets on different days. I usually shop at the Courthouse Plaza Farmers' Market on Saturdays.) Here are two key reasons in my mind:

First, most of the products come from farms and producers from within a 125-mile radius of Arlington. You get fresher produce while supporting local farms and bakers. And buying local also helps the environment. It's more environmentally friendly to eat foods grown or produced close to where you live. Consider this: Food in the U.S. typically travels 1,500 miles and generates five to 17 times more carbon emissions than food grown locally.

Second, you really experience the sense of community on a visit to the farmers' market. I inevitably run into someone I know. Or, I end up making a new friend! It's a down-home, good feeling (and this coming from someone who grew up on a farm...and lived in the small town of Blacksburg).

Pledge to "Go Local"
Also, a colleague of mine (Laura Lucs) told me about a cool website that encourages people to buy local -- it's the Carbon Conscious Consumer site. You can make a pledge to buy at least 1 pound per week through the end of month. I took the pledge, then sent an invite to lots of friends to do the same. How about you? Go for it!
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Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington,
Arlington County communications mgr. (& AIRE blog manager)

Water, water everywhere...

The evils of bottled water have been in the news of late. In June, the Arlington County Board pledged to drink tap water and the San Francisco Mayor banned bottle water from city government offices.

At home and at work, I use a 1-liter bottle that I refill over and over (and yes, occasionally wash). I carry a smaller refillable bottle when I travel, which helps avoid the exorbitant $3/bottle prices -- the going rate in Las Vegas, for example (eek!).

And to support AIRE, we all need to be reducing, reusing and recycling.

All of this is a perfect lead-up to my main point, which is that we are selling awesome water bottles in the Arlington County Store. Here's a photo I snapped moments ago. They are available in fun, hot colors and are just about the best-selling item in the store. At $5.99, they are a bargain -- I'm tellin' ya, Starbuck's is selling the same bottle for $10-12. Come by the store and take a look -- it's located on the ground floor of Courthouse Plaza, our government center, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Across the plaza from the movie theatres and right on top of the Courthouse Metro station. Hours are 8-5, Monday-Friday. Come on by!

Stay hydrated!

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Diana Sun is Director of Communications for Arlington County, a walking commuter, a brand-spanking-new biker, and a happy resident of the urban village of Clarendon.