Supporting the things we LOVE

• Love Social Networking? Worldwide, people spend three billion minutes a day on Facebook. Go to climatecrossroads.sierraclub.org, the Sierra Club’s new site––a “cool place to connect”––and do a mitzvah while networking. Also check out sierraclubgreenhome.com and makemesustainable.com, the Sierra Club’s other sites, for lots of tips and a carbon footprint calculator.

• Love the Ocean. Waste isn’t just filling up our landfills and littering our highways, it’s building up in the ocean. The “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” a diffuse soup of mostly small bits of plastic floating on or below the surface of the ocean, is at least twice the size of Texas and may be as much as 1 ½ times the area of the U.S. It’s been sighted within 500 miles of the California coast and 200 miles from Japan. The approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic per square mile of ocean kill 100,000 marine mammals and one million birds each year. Keep the “Patch” from growing bigger. Use your own reusable shopping bags and find reusable items to replace throwaway plastic bags, containers, and cutlery at www.reusablebags.com. (As I write this, nearly 37 billion plastic bags have been consumed world-wide this year––and it’s only January 27th!)

• Love the Earth. On Valentine’s Day, love the earth, too. Buy your sweetheart Dagoba® Organic Chocolate at Whole Foods or Pacific Market, and help Dagoba fund reforestation in Costa Rica. Dagoba’s short-term goal is planting 60,000 seedlings (80% cocoa and 20% native species). So far they’ve planted 45,000 trees. Go to www.dagobachocolate.com for more information and to learn about their Seed the Day and Chocolate for Good™ programs. Give Valentine’s cards AND flowers with plantable cards imbedded with wildflower seeds at www.botanicalpaperworks.com.

• Love Clean Water. We’ve had lots of rain, but elsewhere, many people have to go a long way to obtain drinking water, which often is not clean. On April 18th, people around the globe will be joining in the Dow Live Earth Run for Water. They will be running or walking six kilometers­­––the average distance that women and children in many parts of the world walk each day to get water. Currently, the nearest event is in Los Angeles, but that can change. Check it out at liveearth.org/en/home and donate to the Run for Water.

• Love Clean Air. According to the Sierra Club, a study at Harvard and Brigham Young University found that clean air adds five months to life expectancy. Burning coal is responsible for one-third of all C02 emissions in the U.S. Replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is a quick and easy way to burn less coal. It only takes 18 seconds to change a light bulb. In the last three years over $84 million have been saved in the U.S. through switching bulbs, keeping almost 297 million pounds of coal from being burned––equivalent to taking 20,300 cars off the road. Just in Forestville $197,000 have been saved and nearly one million pounds of CO2 kept out of the atmosphere. Go to green.yahoo.com/18seconds to see how much CFLs have saved in your area.

• Love your Neighbor. Last April I wrote about our neighbor, Tracie Skaggs of Guerneville, who needs a kidney. In response, Ramona Crinella wrote Vesta that her son Karl was waiting for a kidney, too. On Jan. 14th he received a kidney from his sister, Teri. Both of them are doing well, but Tracie Skaggs is still waiting for a kidney. Find out more about donation at www.ucsfhealth.org/kidneytransplant/?gclid=CK_y6L6r3JkCFRwwawodjSVyWA or call 1-800-482-7389. Although Tracie needs a donor with type O blood, paired donation programs mean you could help her even if you have a different blood type. Leave Tracie a message at 707-695-7591 if you’re interested in being a possible donor.

• Love the Stranger. An estimated 200,000 people have died in the Haitian earthquake and one million are homeless. So many organizations are helping in Haiti, it’s hard to know where to donate. The following are efficient, well run, “no b.s.” grassroots organizations able to leverage minimal resources and assist in smart ways to make an enormous impact: www.care.org, www.doctorswithoutborders.org, and www.watermissions.org, which lets you create your own online fundraising page to help. All are rated four stars by Charity Navigator.

Read article »

Mitzvah Moments - Give to the Needy this Holiday

“Think outside the box.” Give someone the gift of giving to someone else. Here are some ideas.

• Blood Bank of the Redwoods. Give the gift of life - give blood, the need is especially great during the holidays. Call 545-1222 for blood bank hours and blood mobile locations.

• Give the ultimate gift - life to a local woman! Tracie Skaggs, who has lived in Guerneville for more than 30 years, still needs a kidney. Tracie and her husband, Mike, have given so much to the community. Remember her Halloween Haunted House fund raisers and “Elves with Attitudes,” where she and her partner at All About You Beauty Salon adopt several families at the holidays, making sure everyone in the household gets gifts.
Tracie has been on peritoneal dialysis for over a year, making it hard for her to work and continue her community service. She could wait more than seven years for a deceased donor, but a living donor is somewhere in our community. It’s easy to be a living donor––I know, because I am one––and a kidney from a living donor is the best option for Tracie. Please spread the word––may you or someone you know “share your spare.”
Find out more about kidney donation and see “The Gift of Life,” a video, at www.ucsfhealth.org/kidneytransplant/?gclid=CK_y6L6r3JkCFRwwawodjSVyWA or call 1-800-482-7389. www.kidney.org transplantation/livingDonors/info.cfm, is also good. Tracie needs a donor with type O or O- blood, but paired donation programs mean someone with another blood type could still donate. Leave Tracie a message at 707-695-7591 if you’re interested in being a possible donor.

• The Living Room, Santa Rosa’s daytime drop-in shelter for homeless women and children, needs gifts by December 15th––especially items for women (umbrellas, socks, combs & brushes, jewelry (may be used), gloves, wooly scarves & caps, small makeup or manicure kits) and teenage boys (movie passes, M & L sweatshirts, watches, hand-held games). Go to www.thelivingroomsc.org contribute.htm or call 707-579-0138 to donate money.

• The Volunteer Center’s Secret Santa Program delivered over 13,000 gifts in 2008. Adopt a Secret Santa Gift Heart––go to www.volunteernow.org; www.santa09.htm for where you can find them and more information.

• The Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program has many drop-off sites locally. Go to santa-rosa-ca.toysfortots.org/local-coordinator-sites/lco-sites/donate-toys.asp or call 707-584-5886 for locations and more information. You can donate online, too.

• Firefighters’ Toy Drives. Drop off new unwrapped toys at fire stations in Forestville, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol (which also takes used toys in great condition.) Look for Graton firefighters’ donation barrels at the post office and Andy’s Produce.

• Sleep Train’s Secret Santa Toy Drive benefiting the Children's Village of Sonoma County and the Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation ends Dec. 12th. Take any new, unwrapped toy or game to the Santa Rosa store at 2795 Santa Rosa Ave. or donate online at www.sleeptrain.com/page.aspx?nid=151. If you miss this opportunity, their (new) pajama drive is from January 4th to February 21st.

• Help a dad or mom in the service read to their kids. Support the USO’s “United through Reading” program, which has video cameras and libraries at most USOs, both in the US and overseas, so parents can read a bedtime story to their children via web cam. Or donate to help buy phone cards for “Operation Phone Home.” While you can’t specify who will get your gift, you can make it in honor or memory of someone. If you don’t know anyone in the service, check out the wall of honor at the main post office in Santa Rosa for a name or two. Check out other USO programs at www.uso.org or call 1-800-876-7469. If you are an American Airlines frequent flier, you can get 125 miles for every $25 you donate––you have to do this by phone.

Local Food Banks need your help all year, but especially now. See last month’s Gazette and and the website GazExtra! for one near you. Many local charities have benefits during the Holidays. See the Gazette’s calendar for information.

Read article »

Conservation Works! How Sonoma County Can Do Their Part

Conservation really works, but don’t stop now.
As a result of conservation efforts, Lake Mendocino, projected to be dry by now, is actually 1% higher than last year’s low level of 60%. Continued conservation will ensure a high enough lake level to release water into the Russian River for the fall Chinook salmon run as well as for municipal water supplies drawn from the river.

Get free faucets and more.
Local water agencies are offering free low-flow plumbing hardware such as showerheads, faucet aerators, and hose nozzles. Some also offer water surveys and rebates for High Efficiency toilets and washing machines. For offers in your area, click on your local water agency at www.scwa.ca.gov/water_conservation/programs.php.

Keep chemicals from medication out of our waterways.
Don’t flush old prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, and supplements––or put them in the trash. The Safe Medicine Disposal Program has been expanded; pharmacies in most of the county are accepting medications––including liquids, lotions, ointments, and creams––in the original containers (take pill containers home and recycle). For more information, call 707-833-2553 (Russian River Watershed Association), 707-543-4368 (Sebastopol, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, and Cotati), or 707-521-1820 (Guerneville and Sonoma, where the sheriff’s substations are also drop-off sites).

Go Local––Shop Local
Save your local economy…three stores at a time.
Go to http://www.the350project.net/ for more information about saving locally owned businesses. For every $100 spent in an independently owned store, $68 stays in the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures. If you spent that in a national chain, only $43 would stay here, and if you spent it online $0 would remain locally.

Help offset global warming––buy mate beverages locally.
Loss of the rain forest accelerates global warming. Buying Guayakí’s yerba mate products helps reverse that process. Mate, one of the world’s most popular caffeinated drinks, is now part of the North American mainstream beverage market––Guayakí’s projects sales of $12 million this year. This Sebastopol company, which pays the 45 families of the Guayakí tribe for the use of its name, has helped restore 17,000 acres of rainforest by working with farmers, small businesses, and indigenous tribes, to create sustainable development.

National chains can do good things at the local level, too.
• Help Foster Kids
Drop off school supplies for foster kids at Sleep Train® Mattress Center on south Santa Rosa Avenue by September 30th or bring in children’s coats and jackets from September 21st to November 1st to benefit the Children’s Village of Sonoma County and Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation.
• Help Others Find Their Strong Suit
Until September 30th, join the National Suit Drive. Donate gently used suits, sport coats, slacks, dress shirts, ties and belts at your local Men’s Wearhouse––1001 Steele Lane, across from Coddingtown Mall. Providing unemployed men with professional work attire builds their self-esteem and makes a good first impression during job interviews. (And you’ll be reducing landfill, too.) Last year 35,000 men received suits for that all-important interview. Go to www.nationalsuitdrive.com for more information and applications for local non-profit partners.
• A pint for a pint
Baskin-Robbins donates coupons good for a pint of ice cream when you donate a pint of blood at the Blood Bank of the Redwoods on Monday. Call 707-545-1222 for appointments or blood drive locations.
• Easily recycle CFLs responsibly.
We all know how energy efficient and long lasting CFLs (compact fluorescent lights) are. But when they finally wear out, after 10+ years, you can’t put them in the trash, because of their mercury content. Now you can take them to the Customer Service counter at Home Depot, and they’ll recycle them responsibly.
• Buy organic cotton
Cotton, the most pesticide-dependent crop in the world, accounts for 25% of all pesticide use. The USDA estimates cotton uses more than 50,000,000 lbs. of pesticides in the U.S. annually (one T-shirt uses ¼ pound). Besides polluting our soil and waterways, pesticides adversely affect the health of agricultural workers.
Santa Rosa Indigenous Designs (707-571-7811) distributes organic and Fair Trade clothing through Whole Foods and online. Wal-Mart is the world’s largest provider of organic cotton––10,000,000 pounds’ worth in 2006, and J.C. Penney’s Simply Green line, available locally, includes organic cotton as well as other renewable and recyclable products.

Read article »

MITZVAH MOMENTS - Donate Shoes, Electronics…Life!

Donate Shoes, Electronics…Life!
Save WATER and MORE!

A Mitzvah is a good deed
By Tish Levee

Let Your Old Sports Shoes Do a Mitzvah
Sponsored locally by Coddingtown Mall, Congregation Shomrei Torah, and several community partners, the Great Shoe-in collects used athletic shoes––tennis, gym, cross-trainers, running, walking––to be refurbished and given to those who need them. They also take that odd shoe lying around ‘cause the dog ate its mate or the pair you’re sure aren’t any use––they’ll be sent to Nike and the rubber bottoms shredded to make safe playground turf. Last year nearly 2,500 pairs of donated shoes helped people locally and in Africa. Drop off shoes, tied together, at Coddingtown from 10-4 on April 11, 12, 25, and 26, or at the Santa Rosa High School tennis courts from 3-5 Tuesdays through Fridays in April. Find out more at http://www.kzst.com/clubz/SHOES2009color.pdf.

Earth Day is April 22nd
Recycle your electronic waste at Santa Rosa Community Market’s Earth Day Celebration from 10-4 on Saturday, April 18th. Bring broken computer equipment, TV’s, VCR’s and DVD players, cell phones, stereos, cables, fax machines, copiers, and small kitchen and household appliances. No large appliances like washers or refrigerators. Local food vendors will have free samples, and local manufacturers, non-profits, massage, music, and fun are all part of an Eco-Fair from 12-3. Call 707-545-1806 for more information.

April is National Donate Life Month.
If you’re not already registered as an organ donor, do so now at http://www.ctdn.org/. It only takes a minute. Register regardless of your age or health, because more people are eligible than think they are. And let your family know you’ve registered.

Save Lives and Taxpayer Dollars.
The National Kidney Foundation says one in nine Americans has chronic kidney disease (CKD). Millions more have an increased risk of CKD, which can lead to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or a transplant. The growing incidence of CKD has increased the demand for transplanted kidneys, far outstripping the supply.

In the last decade, the number of people waiting for a kidney has grown 86%, but there have only been 31% more transplants. Currently 78,209 people––77% of those waiting for an organ transplant––are waiting for a kidney. The average wait for a kidney is 7 1/2 years; 4,500 people die each year while waiting for a transplant.

Everyone waiting for a kidney could have one from a living donor. One barrier preventing that is the cost of travel and lost wages for living donors. A donor’s medical expenses are covered by the recipient’s insurance, but it can cost a donor thousands of dollars to donate, especially if the recipient lives at a distance. H.R. 218, the Living Organ Donor Tax Credit Act of 2009, introduced in January, provides a non-refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 to offset those expenses. This would make it possible for some people, who could not otherwise afford to do so, to donate a “qualified life-saving organ,” e.g. a kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, intestine, bone marrow, or part of one.

Members of Congress pay the most attention to phone calls, so call Lynn Woolsey at 707-542-7182 or 202-225-5161 and ask her to support and co-sponsor H.R. 218. You can also go to http://capwiz.com/kidney/issues/bills/?bill=12731371 to request her support and for more information on the bill.

It’s Still a Dry Year!
Even with all the rain we’ve gotten, this is another dry year; water conservation remains critical. The toilet is the biggest water user in your home. SelectAFlush can save water without replacing your toilet; it even works with low-flush toilets. This unique dual flush adapter you can easily install is available at http://www.dualflushkit.com/ for $39.95 (4 for $129.95), shipping included. Use the $10 off coupon during April. The website’s water savings’ calculator shows how much you can save, e.g. 49 gal/day for a family of four, that’s 18,000 gal/year––enough to fill a large swimming pool.

Do a Mitzvah Clicking
As readers know, I really like Greater Good Networks’ sites––the hunger site, breast
cancer site, etc. Now you can join their Take Action Today! Campaign. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/takeaction.faces?siteId=2 to find petitions for several causes, e.g. ending commercial seal hunts and keeping humanitarian workers in Sudan. You can add your personal comments and encourage your friends to join you. As petitions meet their goals, new ones, sponsored by various organizations, will replace them.

A Mitzvah is a good deed
Tish Levee
ivrit@sonic.net
© Copyright Tish Levee, 2009. All rights reserved

Read article »

MITZVAH MOMENTS - Wonderful Ways with with Water

And you thought last year was dry! We may be entering the worst drought in California history. After two dry years, Santa Rosa’s rainfall since July is only 42% of normal. January’s rainfall was just 0.61 inches––10% of normal. The depth of the Sierra snow pack (61% of normal) and its water content (76% of normal) will be even less if the unseasonably warm weather we’re having continues.

Rationing’s on the way. Although February is expected to somewhat wetter, it won’t bring the 12 inches of rain needed to bring totals up to normal. On February 2nd, the Sonoma County Water Agency projected water storage to hit new historical low levels and warned that a minimum of 30 to 50% mandatory rationing was likely within weeks. The daily water use per person in a single-family home averages just over 69 gallons, so we may need to reduce that to about 35 to 49 gallons. Switching to more efficient fixtures and regularly stopping leaks can reduce daily use per person to 45 gallons––without significant lifestyle changes. However, simple lifestyle changes can reduce our usage further. We all need to go on “drought watch” right now!

Toilet flushing uses 25-30% of a household’s water––5.8 billion gal/day in the U.S.
• A leaking toilet can use up to 200 gal/day of water. Put 2-3 drops of food coloring in the tank to check. If the water in the bowl changes color within 30 seconds, there’s a leak.
• Replace pre-1992 toilets with low-flush toilets (1.6 gal/flush instead of 3.5 or even 7 gal/flush). Better yet, new high-efficiency toilets (HETs) use 20% less water than low-flush toilets. Several water companies are offering rebates of $150 to make the switch; get information at http://www.scwa.ca.gov/water_conservation/ or call your local water company.
• If you aren’t able to replace your toilet, put a ½ gallon plastic bottle filled with water in the tank and save ½ gallon per flush.
• Don’t flush the toilet unnecessarily and don’t use it as a wastebasket for facial tissue, hair, and etc.

Other water wasters––
• A garbage disposal uses 4 gal/minute of water; to keep it from smelling, the water needs to run for 30-60 seconds after the food scraps are shredded. Try composting instead; go to http://www.recyclenow.org/r_composting_bins.html or call 707-565-3375 for some easy options. • A faucet leaking one drop a minute can waste 2700 gal/year of water. For information on repairs and water saving, go to http://www.h2ouse.net/action/index.cfm.
• Running the tap while brushing your teeth can use 10 gallons of water vs. ½ gallon if you wet the brush and rinse briefly.
• Washing hands or shaving under running water uses 4-19 gallons more water than filling the basin.
• Showering for less than 5 minutes can save 1,000 gal/month. Every extra minute uses 3-7 gallons of water.
• Only watering outside between midnight and 6 AM can save 300 gal/month.
• Not watering when it’s windy can save another 300 gal/month.
• Go to http://www.watersavinghero.com/conservation-tips.html for more water saving tips.
When the economy slows down, so should your speed. In a North Carolina study, economists found that when government revenues dry up, police write more speeding tickets––for every 1% drop in government revenue, the number of traffic tickets per capita the next year increased by 30%. So save yourself money, use less fossil fuel, and reduce global warming by driving slower.

PG&E projects lower heating bills this month. The slowing economy has reduced natural gas use by industry and businesses, so more is available. However, fossil fuel use ties in with global warming, climate change, and water shortages. So it’s still critical to reduce our consumption. PG&E is offering discounts for using less gas. Go to http://www.wintergassavings.com/ to see clever talking “appliance-grams,” with tips on saving natural gas, which you can also send to family and friends.

Here’s a sweet mitzvah for you, your health, and the planet. Eat more chocolate––make that Fair Trade chocolate. Dagoba® Organic Chocolate seeks sustainably grown cacao from producers that reinvest in communities and the environment. Go to www.dagobachocolate.com for more information. Find Dagoba® chocolate at Whole Foods and Pacific Markets. Part of the proceeds from each bar helps to fund tree-planting projects in Costa Rica.

Tish Levee
ivrit@sonic.net
© Copyright Tish Levee, 2009. All rights reserved.

LETTERS from READERS in RESPONSE:

Hi Mitzvah,

I read your blog Wonderful ways with water and would love to part of the solution. I am the inventor so SelectAFlush (www.dualflushkit.com) which is a Dual Flush Conversion kit that fits most toilets. The kit can be purchased on our website for under $40.00 and saves thousands of gallons of water for families. I love the fact that they don't have to throw their toilet in the dump which adds to the green factor. I thought you might want to add use to your blog as another tool in the water savings tool box.

Thank you,
David Bauer
SelectAFlush LLC
"A Little Flush Goes A Long Way"
Dual Flush Conversion Kits
Website: http://www.dualflushkit.com/
Our Product:http://www.dualflushkit.com/ourproduct.php
Blog: http://dualflushkit.com/blog/
E-mail: david@selectaflush.com
772-480-1444

Read article »

MITZVAH MOMENTS - Easy New Year Resolutions

Have trouble keeping New Year’s Resolutions?
Here are some easy ones with great rewards.

• Click daily at www.thehungersite.com and access five other charities. When joined with other people clicking daily, you can make a real difference in less than a minute. Last year clicking––and shopping––provided 72 million cups of food for the hungry, nearly 7600 mammograms for needy women, health care for nearly 1,000,000 children worldwide, over 500,000 books for underprivileged children, nearly 78 million bowls of food for needy animals, and preserved nearly 15,000 acres of land.

• Donate blood regularly. Every three seconds, someone needs blood. Although 5 million Americans need blood annually, less than 10% of those eligible donate. Now while helping save a life, you can improve your own health. A recent long-term study of more than 1,0000,0000 Scandinavian blood donors showed a possible link between donation and a lower risk of certain cancers (liver, lung, stomach, and throat) and a possible reduction in heart disease in men. While there aren’t yet results for women, donating can’t hurt their health––you get a mini-checkup including a blood pressure test each time you donate. Now you can schedule a donation online at either the blood bank or at a mobile blood drive; go to http://www.bbr.org/ or call 707-545-1222.

• When you’re grocery shopping, buy something extra for the Redwood Empire Food Bank’s Winter Food Drive. With the economy in serious trouble, and unemployment rising, more people need the Food Bank’s help. REFB serves 60,000 people monthly, including 22,000 children and 9,000 seniors. Of the 18,8000 households they serve, 7,300 are working families. Drop foods in barrels at G&G Supermarkets, Longs, Lucky, Safeway, and Whole Foods or call 707-523-7900 for other locations. www.refb.org

You can’t separate one from the other. Global warming, water, fuel use, and electricity are all interwoven.

• Save water. We are now into our third drought year. Last spring was the driest in recorded history. From July 1st to January 1st, Sonoma County rainfall was only about 50% of normal. We appear to be in a “la Niña” weather pattern, with another dry spring on the way. Measurements of the water content in the Sierra snow pack are 83% of normal; unseasonably warm weather, an affect of global warming, could evaporate much of that. Drought isn’t the only factor affecting our water supplies. A growing population––partly from people moving here, but mostly from people born here who choose to stay here, new and expanding industries and agriculture, and protecting the salmon and steelhead runs, all mean we’ll need to conserve more water, all year around. With so little rain this winter, gardens still needs watering. Save water when you turn on the hot water tap in the shower or kitchen sink by capturing the cold water and using it to water plants. Start planning ahead for a dry summer––go to http://www.sonoma.watersavingplants.com/ to view the Sonoma County Water Agency’s water saving CD.

• Save gas. The less gas we use, the less global warming, which also means we’ll have more water. Last year gas prices soared to nearly $5/gallon, and Americans responded by driving 100 billion less miles; gas consumption was down 3.2% in 2008. Prices dropped dramatically during the fall, but now they’ve bottomed out. The situation in the Middle East, OPEC reducing its output, a dispute between Russia and the Ukraine, and reduced refinery capacity all contributed to gas prices rising steadily since December. Also, Congress may increase the gasoline tax by 10 cents/gallon to offset the loss of funds for roads. So all the things we learned when gas prices were soaring still apply. And while we’re saving money and fossil fuels, we’re helping to reduce global warming. One idea––take public transit once a week. (See Patricia Dines’ column Ask EcoGirl on public transit experiences in this issue.)

• Save electricity. PGE has to purchase power from non-renewable sources in dry winters and when water supplies are low, because there’s not enough water for hydroelectric generation, so saving electricity means less fossil fuel will have to be burned. Unplug electronics and battery chargers when they’re not in use. If all Californians did this, it would be like taking 120,000 cars off the road. For other energy saving ideas go to www.pge.com/myhome/saveenergymoney.

Read article »