Residents

Emergency Preparedness Checklist

March 29, 2011 – 7:25 am

Active Volcano, Mt. Saint Helens, Washington State

No one wants to focus on all the horrible things that can happen to us, which is probably why we neglect efforts at disaster preparedness. Unfortunately, as Japan’s triple disaster vividly illustrates, the worst possible scenarios can and do happen. Coal mining, oil well exploration, deep water drilling, nuclear reactor operation and aggressive urbanization and development of critically sensitive eco-systems also contribute to a planet that has its own brand of geological and weather volatility.

As scientists admit these events are a partial consequence of our actions, they also suggest we brace ourselves for more. In fact, 2010 was a record year. The Université Catholique de Louvain in Brussels recently completed a study that determined 296,800 people died last year during natural disasters. That number included 50,000 Russians who succumbed during a summer heat wave and 222,000 Haitians who perished in the January 2010 earthquake. The human cost was completely horrific, although none of the economic losses have exceeded those of Katrina, Rita and Wilma, the 2005 hurricanes.

New Orleans 9th Ward homes a block behind the collapsed canal

It would be nice if we could breathe a sigh of relief and be thankful 2005 and 2010 are over, but Margareta Wahlstrom, the U.N. special envoy for disasters, warns that these types of weather events are expected to accelerate. The World Meteorological Organization(WMO) also agrees. The WMO has indicated our most recent extreme and volatile weather patterns are caused by La Nina and El Nino weather conditions. The WMO predicts these patterns will continue for the next 25 years. Meteorologists and other climate scientists blame unplanned urbanization, environmental degradation and climate change as big contributors to these problems as well. Simply translated, humans are making big weather even messier.

A toppled Tsunami warning sign

We may be unable to predict or prevent disasters, but property managers are in a unique position to reduce potential suffering. Being prepared to help residents survive until rescuers and emergency response teams can reach them will reduce the impact of these disasters. Some residents may have supplies, but properly storing essentials on-site can improve resident safety, comfort and outcomes.

The Property Manager’s Emergency Checklist:

√ Potable Water is the biggest need people have during emergencies and disasters. As the average person needs at least a gallon a day, storing three days worth of water for every resident is the ideal. Although cisterns and hot water heaters can be sources, in the event of a quake or flood, these may become compromised. We are big fans of general recycling, but skip the plastic milk containers. They are not designed for water storage and eventually leak making plastic water bottles the best choice. Even if there are water sources like rain, creeks, rivers, etc., use these natural waters with caution as they can become contaminated during a natural or man-made disaster.

√ Sterilization Broken sewer lines or flood waters mixed with untreated sewage will contain bacteria and parasites. Small children or those with compromised immune systems are most at risk if they drink contaminated water. Chlorine drops can be used in non-chlorinated drinking water – and if left for 24 hours the chlorine evaporates – but this method is not always sufficient. Boiling water is the quickest and best technique to assure harmful bacteria are destroyed.

√ Cooking Sources Access to a camp stove is helpful as long as gas lines are turned off in the immediate area. The same concern should be used with regard to outdoor barbecues or open fires. That said, keeping a few small camp stoves and sufficient fuel for shared use could make a big difference to residents.

√ Radios and Batteries Crank operated or battery-operated radios may be the only source of outside communication if the electricity blows, satellite connections are lost and mobile phones lose service. Wireless devices will not help, obviously, so having that old-style radio is a lifesaver. Of course, car radios can also work, but they will run down the vehicle’s battery in the process.

√ Land Lines are connected separately from the electrical grid, so it is wise to have at least one in the office. That way it is possible to have telephone service even when the grid fails.

√ Flashlights, Batteries and Glow Sticks are critical and much safer than candles mainly because of the potential fire and gas hazards. Also, candle life is so short – given the bright lighting to which we are accustomed – that candles alone are impractical. Children are also safer without a live flame.

√ Food Supplies stored for emergencies should be dried or canned and accompanied by a couple of manual can openers. Canned prepared foods like tuna fish and soups along with dried foods like rice, legumes and pasta are all good survival choices.

√ Pet food is also a critical part of any food storage effort.

√ First Aid Kits are notoriously under-equipped, so give yours extra thought. A bunch of different sized Band-Aids may seem like enough, but consider stocking a couple pairs of scissors, a knife, sterile needles and surgical thread, plenty of large sterile gauze pads and dressings, tweezers for removing splinters, a tourniquet, antibacterial soap, sterilization solutions like hydrogen peroxide and iodine, ipecac to induce vomiting in case of accidental poisoning, over-the-counter medicines like aspirin and Tylenol, et cetera.

√ Emergency Gas and Water Shut Off Tool This incredibly helpful tool is sold at most hardware stores and is used specifically for shutting off gas lines and water mains. The manager can also use the tool as a pick to remove meter covers. As most but not all water systems are standardized, it is important to verify the correct size needed. Your local utility company should be happy to guide you on which tool to buy.

Emergency Gas and Water Shut Off Tool

√ General Tools and Supplies for the types of weather events and disasters in your area will differ. Gold Mylar blankets, for instance, are highly visible in a snowy area. Here are some general suggestions:

Gold/silver reversible Mylar emergency blankets
A master pass key to all apartments
A diagram of the building for rescuers
A small supply of essentials like toilet paper, baby formula, diapers
A shovel, ax, hammer, wrench, nails, tarps, rope, rope ladder and other tools
A gas generator and stored gas (replace gas on schedule as it degrades over time)
Gas for your vehicles for emergency use
Cash in small denominations

There is no better way to protect and serve your residents than by being able to deliver critical help during an emergency. It may take some extra effort and expense, but there is no downside to being prepared.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Also posted in Business, Energy, Products, Tools, Water | Tagged batteries and glow sticks, battery-operated radios, camp stoves, cooking sources, crank radios, emergency first aid kits, Emergency Preparedness Checklist, emergency water and gas shut off tool, flashlights, gas generators, general tools and emergency supplies, gold and silver reversible Mylar emergency blankets, green managers, green tenants, Katrina, La Nina and El Nino, Margareta Wahlstrom, Potable water, Property manager checklist for disasters, Resident Emergency Preparedness, Rita and Wilma, sterilization, telephone land lines, the 2005 hurricanes, the U.N. special envoy, Université Catholique de Louvain in Brussels, WMO, World Meteorological Organization | Comments (0)

Cross Selling and Techie Behaviors at What Psychic Cost?

March 21, 2011 – 7:30 am

As paperless operations trump conventional ones we are big on-line fans, but property managers need to put some thought into how best to use the industry’s newest tools. Yesterday’s managers had it a lot easier as their roles were very defined. They were not expected to manage all aspects of the property from systems maintenance to marketing. For instance, when they generated good publicity, everybody was grateful as this was not an assigned responsibility.

Conversely, today’s professionals are expected to be fully versed in marketing, promotion and media management while they cross-sell everybody including their grandmother.

This potential power-of-persuasion hype can also garner unrealistic expectations by owners. We all recognize there is a limit to what managers can accomplish with a social media fan page and an on-line leasing button. However, as these sites have millions of members we gave gigantic expectations, even if we are not sure exactly for whom they have value. Hopefully we can agree that it takes truly effective promotion and marketing to create a lasting impact. Professional marketing also requires real skills and expert planning for any reliable result. In addition, with exponential growth on-line and planned distraction incorporated on many sites, it is almost a miracle when prospective residents land anywhere near your site. A property’s reputation has also become as critical to healthy operations as the use of green products, sustainable materials and chemical-free landscaping. One bed bug posting and it can take years to recover.

The old way of marketing was time-intensive and required lots of face-to-face and voice-to-voice contact. Publicity and promotion were tools used to get the phone to ring because that gave the salesman an opportunity to sell. Today’s marketers are also dealing with a much more callous public often sporting at least one jaundiced eye. People no longer naively respond to the Madison Avenue siren call. Combined with the dip in consumerism, this seems to have created marketing hysteria. Any casual contact is now considered a new opportunity to sell something else. This boiler room mentality is not only tiresome, but it seems to grind up everybody on both sides of the equation. And in many cases, such as tenant retention, it is an inappropriate tactic.

On the other hand, the cover article for the National Apartment Association’s UNITS Magazine this month read, “Texting Residents Gets a Thumbs Up”. This was the opinion of the managers who were trying to reach Generation Y-ers for overdue rent. Of course, the way many of us keep our phones out in front of us, text messages can be inadvertently read by others. Frankly, I cringed over imagining sending or getting that message. Certainly, a text message can be a last resort for some managers, but it seems to me more like a violation of privacy. Then again, my children might feel differently as they respond to text messages long before emails or phone calls.

When trying to lease apartments or improve our multifamily communities’, what if a portion of the energy focused on exploiting the seemingly boundless opportunities of social media, tech and cross-selling were redirected? The same time could be invested in a more practical marketing plan with targeted results. It is flattering to have a bunch of on-line friends and supporters, of course, but property managers don’t see that kind of activity on their pages. People are sick of the pushing employees are required to foist on them whether they are prospects or existing customers. If a busy property manager sees no value in these promotions or sites, he or she will also act accordingly. A poorly delivered robotic offer of services or badly maintained fan or website make a bad first and last impression. Here are a few examples of cross-selling and other less-than-respectful on-line practices within my recent experience:

Tenant: “No matter how many times I diplomatically said I already had phone, cable and internet service, my manager kept insisting I should bundle everything through him. I was so annoyed I forgot to give him the rent check, so I waited until after hours and slipped it under the door.”

Bank employee: “Every conversation I have with a customer has to include cross-selling. I can’t hand a person a dollar without pressing them to sign up for another visa card or something else they clearly don’t want. I hate it but I do it because I can’t afford to lose my job and my manager is watching me.”

Business Associate: “My friend and I told the waiter we were ready to order, but he avoided eye contact and barged ahead offering us additional appetizers, side orders, expensive ‘one time a year’ lobsterfest specials and a plethora of fattening desserts. After waiting for a table for 45 minutes, we were short on time, extremely hungry and both felt like slapping him by the time he finished. We’ll eat someplace else next time.”

This Writer: “While doing research on the company, I signed up for a coupon site. The next morning I got an email from my daughter with a mysterious link. Sure it was a joke, I clicked and discovered I could make $17,000 a month working from home. Of course, I immediately tried to put everything into spam. Before my system complied, however, the auto-response asked if I wanted to unsubscribe from Groupon which was the coupon site. Obviously, their system had hacked my address book.”

My point is that spamming your prospects, tricking them into links or using them to pump up your visitor numbers - whether you do it with annoying face-to-face encounters or on-line - is just plain stupid. The mistrust around Internet advertising – particularly the undocumentable pay-per-clicks route – will certainly continue, but customers wise up quickly. If you use these tactics on your website or fan pages you will find your site abandoned rather quickly.

A social media presence may have become the way to manage free publicity, but frankly, superficial connections – no matter how deep we would like to think they are – are just that. Of course, whether we approve or disapprove of social media no longer matters. These entities are as embedded in our culture as cell phones, which is why it is important to remember that it is a mistake to turn a fan page into a slick advertisement or the equivalent of a robo-call. Here are a few tips to maximize good publicity and maintain a healthy off and on-line media presence:

Write press releases for the local daily/weekly newspapers, neighborhood newsletters and blogsites when something great or newsworthy happens like you saved an urban chicken, added solar roof panels or instituted allergen-free management practices for a tenant.
Keep a maximum ‘two clicks’ policy for practical website navigation.
Eliminate ’mysterious’ links intended to lure prospects for the infamous cross-sale maneuver.
Don’t email or text without resident permission.
Prominently post important info like up-coming maintenance schedules but keep the fluff (like the dog biscuit recipe) way down on the newsletter.
Provide attractive property info on the website, but don’t slow site navigation with gigabytes of graphics.
Tell the truth and nothing but the truth and do not exaggerate!
Offer local vendors and retailers’ coupons - they are always a hit - but remove them by the expiration date.
Present useful information on your site and in your emails like local cultural events, new neighborhood services and local school news.
Offer website hot-buttons with options for paying rent on-line, ordering repairs and referring friends.
Post staff bios with photos, who has responsibility for what, emergency telephone numbers and business hours.
Highlight your management’s community involvement in your e-newsletters and on your social sites.

An attractive website or Fan page is important, but the driving principle should always be to make these sites informational and useful. On the cross-selling? If it’s mandatory, keep track of the contacts and results – good and bad – and try to refine it. If it isn’t, use restraint. If your communications are frequent and meaningful to residents, simple reminders of available services with plenty of hot links will suffice.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Also posted in Business | Tagged bad selling, blowing it with tenants, Business, down with cross selling, effective promotion, exploiting sales opportunities, good publicity, green landladies, green landloards, green management, green renters, healthy selling, marketing and promotion, paperless operations, persuasive tactics and cross selling, providing services to residents, Social Media Management, too much selling | Comments (0)

Leases, Crime Prevention and Eviction

March 17, 2011 – 7:24 am

Property managers are on the front lines of social problems because they work with entire communities. People are generally wonderful, of course, but a few seem to make a habit of spoiling it for the rest of us. What has this got to do with sustainability and green property management? Actually, quite a lot. Criminal activity is often the first sign that a multifamily property is beginning a decline. A few criminal incidents and residents and management can become discouraged or distracted. The resources that could be directed toward more sustainable property management by necessity are re-focused into security and related issues.

Safety in our homes should be something we can all agree creates a healthier, better community, but reducing a criminal element while respecting the privacy laws of residents can be a challenge. The success of efforts to keep gangs, drugs and crime out of multifamily housing can benefit from state-of-the-art professional help.

Although criminals can be violent in their own homes, they are less likely to risk the chance of getting caught by committing certain other types of felonies on home ground. For instance, those stealing personal property would be disinclined to steal a neighbor’s mountain bike or lawn mower for their personal use as the property could be identified. It is difficult for property managers with suspicions to identify criminals with absolute certainty. This has kept ’transient’ criminal activity under their usual radar and left them with few tools to ban or evict residents who intentionally or inadvertently assist criminal behavior.

The International Crime Free Association (ICFA) intends to change this. The organization offers its police department members a comprehensive program developed to train local property managers in basic crime prevention. The program uses the managers to assist the police department with resident education and performs property inspections. The training also provides best grounds and maintenance procedures and outlines lease addendums that can speed legitimate evictions. Managers are also given access to certain types of police data and other tools intended to discourage criminal opportunity within their multifamily communities.

The newest ICFA member in the U.S. will be the Orlando, Florida Police Department (OFPD). The OFPD announced that the program will make it easier for landlords to evict problem tenants and their visitors who commit crimes. There are three aspects to the educational program, which the organization claims has reduced police calls in some complexes by 70%. Certification in the program requires:

I. Property managers receive training through the police department which includes:

Crime Prevention Theory
CPTED Theory (Physical Security)
Benefits of Resident Screening
Lease Agreements and Eviction Issues
Crime Free Lease Addendum
Key Control and Master Key Use
On-Going Security Management Monitoring and Responding to Criminal Activity
Gangs, Drugs Activity, and Crime Prevention
Legal Warnings, Notices & Evictions
Working Smarter With the Police
Fire and Life Safety Training
Community Awareness

To prevent the ”Wild Bill Mentality”, the property manager is required to undergo training before the police department commits to any further program involvement. After the crime prevention and awareness training, property managers receive certification as an instructor and a 100 page manual with additional reference handouts for residents.

The sample lease addendum the ICFA provides is intended to create a legal agreement between the tenant and the landlord that allows for eviction if there are any criminal activities by the tenant or guests. Before use the addendum should be reviewed by an attorney as state rules vary somewhat, but the general theory of using a legal contract to forbid illegal activity is valid. These agreements have been in many lease contracts with regard to other forbidden uses – like manufacturing illegal substances or having five dogs – but this particular lease addendum specifically outlines the eviction consequence.

If tenants, or their friends and family, commit crimes that become part of the police department’s record, the lease agreement triggers the eviction process. Of course, managers can use discretion, but at least they have a legal tool. In some cases where there is a continuing problem the resident has been intimidated by the criminal or the resident is colluding with the criminal.

II. After the property manager is certified as an instructor, the police department will perform a property survey to ensure:

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Survey (CPTED)
Minimum door, window, and lock standards compliance inspection
Minimum exterior lighting standards evaluation
Key Control procedures evaluation
Landscape maintenance standards compliance

Each property is unique, but correcting lighting, pruning shrubs and reinforcing doors and windows can eliminate many problems. Creating open, visible entryways and the use of occupancy sensors to fully light alleys and parking areas are just a few areas that can be inexpensively and quickly improved.

III. The final step in the ICFA program involves an educational program provided to the residents in community awareness. Led by the manager and the police department, residents are taught how to prevent crime and given practical information. There are many groups like Neighborhood Watch that are citizen-run and effective, but property managers can have unique authority and additional credibility with their residents. This authority is reinforced by residents awareness that their manager has sanctioned access to police department information.

Certainly peaceful enjoyment of one’s home is an ideal, but the cooperation of committed property managers, police and residents can help protect our communities. Beyond personal satisfaction, the payback is more than a safer community. Other positive outcomes will include lower maintenance costs, higher occupancy rates and better tenant retention.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Also posted in Business | Tagged CPTED Theory, crime free lease addendum key control and master key use, crime prevention education, crime prevention theory, crime versus sustainability, crime-free multifamily communities, criminals and lease agreements, eviction, Florida, International Crime Free Association, lease agreemnts and eviction issues, OFPD, Orlando, Orlando Police Department, Physical Security Theory, Police assistance with crime prevention, Police statistics, Resident screening | Comments (1)

The Committed Green Renter

March 17, 2011 – 6:54 am

Prospective renters may have less bargaining power than they did a year ago, but a smart property manager will always recognize and cater to reasonable requests from a well-qualified prospect or existing tenant. Renters can and should broach the subject of green living with property managers and communicate which improvements matter to them.

A more sustainable lifestyle requires a thoughtful approach overall. Space requirements, location and means can present challenges, but renters should keep the basics in mind.

A reasonably-sized apartment will be one that meets but does not exceed space needs.
Rarely used rooms still need heat and cooling and waste energy.

For instance, homes with added value are:

Within walking distance of a workplace
An apartment close to public transit – generally considered 1/4 mile
Sited in a walkable neighborhood with easy access to shops, schools and services

Greater density streamlines delivery of services and lowers transport expenses, which helps make multifamiling living one of the most sustainable lifestyles. Individual buildings have different properties, however, so taking a more systematic approach to comparing rentals is wise.

Some states now require owners to disclose utility expenses to prospective tenants, but even if they do not, many property managers are happy to provide additional information. Here are a few ideas:

Verify utility expenses when possible even if they are included in the rent – as when utility costs rise, rents will rise proportionately.
Check the unit for drafts and holes or gaps around windows and doors – and ask for caulking and weatherizing when required.
Particularly in an older building it can be more expensive to condition the air, so if you love that ’40’s look identify the heating system and check for good cross-ventilization.
Check the source of heat and cooling and ask about the age of the system.
Inquire about the age of appliances and whether they have EnergyStar certification – older equipment is generally less efficient.
Check the hot water heater for age and leaks.

Although renters may have less control over the building envelope, they can request many things that can lower utility costs and their property manager’s expenses such as:

Access to on-line rent payment and paperless communication
A programmable thermostat for the heating or cooling system
Insulation around the hot water heater
Low flow showerheads and faucet aerators
Full recycling options
Resetting of the temperature to 120 degrees Farenheit on the hot water heater

The greenest apartment may offer far more sustainable living overall, but residents can improve any home’s performance. Here are a few ideas:

During the winter, open south-facing drapes and blinds to allow passive solar heating.
Take shorter showers, run the dishwasher only with full loads and turn off the water while brushing teeth, hand-washing dishes, etc.
Do not block cooling and heating vents so conditioned air can flow easily.
Turn the thermostat up or down a few degrees and wear appropriate clothing.
Remember to use ‘natural’ ventilation by opening doors and windows when weather allows.
Use environmentally friendly cleaning products, detergents and pest control methods.
Avoid the disposable mentality by reusing, repairing and recycling
Dispose of used CFLs and hazardous waste at designated recyling and disposal centers.

Living more sustainably works best when it is a collaborative process embraced by the entire community. For more tips and suggestions on living a more sustainable lifestyle, check out the Environmental Protection Agency’s website.

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Also posted in Energy | Tagged cooling and heating vents, Energy Star, energy tips, Environmental Protection Agency, faucet aerators, green cleaning, green clothing principles, green lifestyles, green management, green management/tenant partnerships, green renters, insulated water heaters, Low flow showerheads, Low Income Energy Assistance Program, natural ventilation, on-line rent payment, paperless management, programmable thermastats, solar passive heat, tips for green renters | Comments (0)

Aquaponics and Apartments… oh yes!

February 7, 2011 – 8:29 am

Photo Courstey: AquaBundance Aquaponics System $1295 retail

With more people moving into apartments from single-family residences, property managers have begun to encounter resident hobbies and behaviors that can be challenging. One of these is the practice of aquaponics, or raising fish and plants together in a tank and plant medium system.

How does it work? A very organic process recycles the fish excrement into plant fertilizer and as the plants grow they reciprocate by purifying the fish tank water. (Goldfish owners take note.) System owners must feed the baby fish, of course, but they can eventually eat some of them along with the fruits and vegetables produced.

Some proponents believe the system’s simplicity, synergy and efficiency place it on the list of top technological solutions that can eliminate world hunger. For those naysayers who think aquaponics is for old hippies, naturist communities or weird old men with a fish fetish, think again. To our surprise at Green Landlady, an article last year on aquaponics has retained a consistent third or fourth position as a top landing site on our website. Alas, fish tanks are a lot less fragile than waterbeds used to be, so property managers can relax.

For those of you interested in aquaponic gardening, a community site aptly titled AquaponicsCommunity.com will have the basics and sells supplies like the system pictured above. We should point out that although the systems are synergistically designed, there is some technical management necessary. Here are a few highlights:

Fish are living things and need a certain amount of oxygen in the water to keep from dying. Ergo, for beginners, it is critical that the water quality be monitored and corrected occasionally, similar to swimming pools. Of course, little kits are sold and easy to use.
If your tank water is warm, overstocked, mechanically aerated, etc., even a short power outage could result in suffocated, e.g., dead fish.
Water management monitors nitrate, ammonia and oxygen levels.
Correct ratios of fish to water to plants are critical for a healthy operating system.
A system’s circulation, filtration and aeration must be adequate to support the fish and support the plants. Just as too many fish can overload a system, too few can underload it.

There are also some legal restrictions on aquaponics, as municipalities may not allow the non-commercial raising of some kinds of fish without special permits. Generally all fish are suitable for aquaponics systems, but those that are legal generally and recommended include smallmouth bass, Chinese catfish, tilapia, koi, crappie and bluegill. If you are going to invest in fish, make sure you investigate your county’s regulations.

Of course, if this is more than a passing fancy and you learn best in a Caribbean setting, you may want to take the short course offered by the University of the Virgin Islands. After flying to Kingshill, for another $870 you can be one of 63 students who master Aquaponics and Talapia Aquaculture at the Agriculture Experiment Station. If this all sounds a little too fantastic – even in February – here are the basics from an article in OnMilwaukee.com about Sweet Water Organics, a for-profit startup that uses aquaponics:

The basics are this. Water from the channel is pumped upwards into two levels of pea gravel. The water then flows across the pea gravel where hard-working bacteria break down extra food and ammonia from fish wastes, converting it into nitrates that plants can absorb.

In the middle bed this nutrient-rich water is filtered by tiny watercress plants, and in the top bed it fertilizes potted herbs, sprouts, and vegetables. Then the naturally cleaned water pours back down to the fish channels.

If all this commercial-sized symbiosis is too much for you, how about a countertop system? Friendly Aquaponics, Inc. offers DIY plans for $49.95 to build an apartment-sized 2.5 sq.ft. countertop system at a materials cost of about $65. The plans also include instructions for a larger 32 square foot grow bed model at about $250 for required materials. For indoor systems with limited space they suggest:

Indoors: These systems are appropriate for anyone who is limited to growing indoors, or for those who only have limited space outdoors. They are perfect for getting your fingers wet in aquaponics without spending a lot (pun intended!). They can easily be set up in an apartment or condo, on a balcony, inside a garage or outbuilding, inside a spare room, or even a closet. You can use them for the centerpiece of a living room or family room to show off to your friends. Best of all, they produce food! If you have light and heat you can grow vegetables and fish!

If it is sounding as if these DIY aquaponic kits are going mainstream, they probably are. With an estimated 13.3 million US families owning 171.7 pet freshwater fish and another 700,000 families owning an additional 11.2 million saltwater fish, there is a ready-made marketing opportunity.

Of course, never assume the municipal water supply can be used for an aquaponics venture without pre-treatment to remove chlorine or chloramines. Many public water utilities have switched from chlorine bacteria-killing disinfectants to chloramines. Why? Unlike chlorine, the toxins will not dissipate naturally through evaporation from tap water. In fact, chloramines accumulate in water and are fatal for fish or other animals, such as amphibians, that absorb water directly into their bloodstream. Some water utilities in Massachusetts and other states have been using chloramines for decades and some have recently made the switch.

If all chloramines – and chlorine in higher concentrations - are not removed, the result is unfortunately dead fish. The good news is that chloramines can be removed from drinking water with charcoal filters.

As the great-granddaughter of a mariner and fisherman, however, I would offer some final advice. If you intend to eat your system’s fish, avoid feeding them by hand, responding to their attempts to gain your attention or naming them. In other words, don’t make them pets for your own sake, if not theirs.

Other Articles of Interest:

Permaculture: Refined for Apartment Living

How Compatible are Window Farms, Aquaponics & Apartments?

Can Apartment Culture Embrace Urban Agriculture?

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Also posted in Business, Energy, Water | Tagged ammonia and oxygen levels in aquaponics, apartments and aquaponics, aquaponic advice, aquaponic farming, aquaponic gardening, aquaponics, AquaponicsCommunity.com, how to set up an aquaponic system, kits for water testing, monitoring nitrate, OnMilwaukee.com, raising fish at home, ratios of fish to water to plants, suitable aquaponic fish, Sweet Water Organics | Comments (0)

Mold and Immortality

January 31, 2011 – 8:01 am

Right about now everybody in the northwest thinks, “I should have replaced the roof last summer.” Once winter winds hit - including a rare tornado a few weeks ago - the eye automatically gives the roof repeated if peripheral checks. A property manager or resident may want to do the same and identify emerging problems quickly as mold takes no more than 72 hours to begin to form in wet, warm spaces of buildings.

Here are a few trouble signs:

Small dark spots have appeared in the sheet rock or odd-looking spots in the corners of the ceiling.
There is water or condensation collecting in your interior covered or domed light fixtures.
A recently painted wall or trim area keeps turning gray in the same stubborn spot.
Wallpaper is peeling away from the wall or ceiling.
The wall or ceiling feels damp or cold in a spot.
Rain, snow and more rain have been unusually plentiful.
Check incomplete basements if the ground water is saturated. Water is a problem because it takes the path of least resistance and will go around or into something if that is the easiest way to flow.
There is a moldy smell indoors or in cellars, crawl spaces or attics.
The HVAC system ducts smell musty and moldy whenever the unit turns on.

We discovered a few years ago that a perfectly maintained roof can develop a problem almost spontaneously. A tennis ball popped into one of our main gutters soundly blocking the drain entrance. We have no idea how long it was there, as it was a perfect fit and not visible until you climbed a ladder. Redirected by the tennis ball, the water split around it, half continued into the gutter while the other half spewed through one of the attic vents underneath the overhang. When it soaked through enough to make a palm-sized ceiling stain, we luckily noticed and corrected the problem.

Rain is not the only issue with roofs and gutters. Most of us think of snow as being rather benign, but it has a lot of weight and height and can reach areas without flashing. If it melts slowly, great. If not, it can leak through poorly sealed skylights (aren’t they all in this category?) or saturate the area above any flashing meant to direct water away from the skylight.

Our advice? Pre-season hire a professional roofer or property manager to do a check of caulking, sealing and flashing. You will pay a lot less for repairs than the spontaneous fellow who waits until there is a leak. Off-season it is easier to make roof repairs as there is less danger of falling or sliding.

Of course, during rainy periods dripping will be evident in the crawl space or attic area and easy to diagnose. If there is evidence of rotting wood or insect infestation, these are also signs that there has been some water damage. Incidentally, pests like carpenter ants only enter damaged or rotting wood, so if you have these critters moving in, water damage may be the real problem.

One serious long term outcome from an undiagnosed water event is often that it creates a luscious environment for mold growth. Yes, it’s not often you see those words in the same sentence, but mold in a warm, wet location spreads quickly. To prevent mold:

Dry wet spots within 24 to 48 hours.
Reduce sources of condensation and reduce humidity.
Vent clothes dryers, stoves, and kerosene heaters to the outside where possible. (Combustion appliances produce water vapor and increase humidity unless vented outside.)
Use air conditioners and/or de-humidifiers.
Shower with the fan on or the window open.
Turn on the exhaust fans or open windows when running the dishwasher, clothes washer or dish washing.
Turn on the exhaust fan when cooking or using the oven.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not regulate or test for molds as part of its work, however, it does recommend tenants notify their property managers of any water problems and leaks as quickly as possible.

Hidden Mold

After a water event, reports by residents of health problems are generally the first sign most property managers have that hidden mold may be growing in the building. As so much of our American building stock contains materials with cellulose, mold can grow almost anywhere. The surfaces of these areas generally dry quickly, but mold can develop in several trouble spots like the back sides of paneling, wallpaper, dry wall; the undersides of carpets, wood flooring, linoleum and carpet pads; inside ductwork, in the roof materials above ceiling tiles and around pipes in walls. The problem with mold is that once it catches hold it needs to be completely removed. Even the disruption caused by investigating for mold can distribute mold spores throughout a room without precautions.

Cautions about Mold Exposure

Because it is a complex procedure, mold analysis, remediation and removal should always follow professional guidelines. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and other professional organizations have many protocols and offer them on their websites. Remediation work should include a final cleaning to remove all mold spores. Dead mold can still cause health events and problems in susceptible people, so it is necessary to kill and remove the mold.

Exposure to mold and mold spores should be strictly limited. For a DIY project, the EPA recommends:

Avoid breathing in mold or mold spores. Wear an N-95 respirator, available at many hardware stores and from companies that advertise on the Internet. (They cost about $12 to $25.) Some N-95 respirators resemble a paper dust mask with a nozzle on the front, others are made primarily of plastic or rubber and have removable cartridges that trap most of the mold spores from entering. In order to be effective, the respirator or mask must fit properly, so carefully follow the instructions supplied with the respirator.
Wear gloves. Long gloves that extend to the middle of the forearm are recommended. When working with water and a mild detergent, ordinary household rubber gloves may be used. If you are using a disinfectant, a biocide such as chlorine bleach, or a strong cleaning solution, you should select gloves made from natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile, polyurethane, or PVC. Avoid touching mold or moldy items with your bare hands.
Wear goggles. Goggles that do not have ventilation holes are recommended. Avoid getting mold or mold spores in your eyes.

This may sound like overkill, but as the old saying goes? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Other Articles of Interest:

Preventing Sick Green Buildings

17 Ways to Reduce Pollution & Toxic Exposure at Home

Winterizing Your Attitude and Apartment

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Also posted in Business, Water | Tagged cellulose and mold, condensation and mold, EPA, hidden mold, humidity and mold, mold and allergies, mold and immortality, mold damage, mold in ductwork, mold in heating ducts, mold protection, mold remediation, mold removal, mold under carpet, mold under paneling and wallpaper, moldy smells in cellars, people susceptible to mold allergens, saturated ground water and basements, tenants and mold, water damaged buildings, water events, water leaks, wet weather and mold | Comments (0)

Recipes (with Great Taste) for Holiday Rehab

January 4, 2011 – 7:00 am

Immediately after the holidays most of us start on some sort of rehab. I know we are a little early, but at Greenlandlady we thought… why not provide some recipes to our readers that are nutrition packed and delicious? After all, we’re not just about smart faucets, heat pumps and LEDs.

Most of us are crazed from all the sugars we’ve consumed lately, so a few of these recipes are hearty and filling. Some are easy to prepare and others are worth investing the time. If you are lucky enough to have a winter farmer’s market in your neighborhood, take advantage of it. If you don’t have a clue where to look, LocalHarvest.org is a searchable site by city and state which also provides a small description of the farmer’s market. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is surely the best way to recover from the rich, high-fat and high calorie dishes we’ve all been scarfing. (Please don’t pretend you didn’t.)

On the other hand, this chicken recipe, courtesy of P.F. Chang’s, will meet your expectations and help you slowly come off that sugar high. It should serve two, but, just in case, you may want to double it. Okay, so maybe we are not getting off on the right foot, but who cares? Implementing New Year’s resolutions are best started ‘tomorrow’ anyway.

P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Courtesy Photo: Bergy

P. F. Chang’s Chicken Wraps Recipe (Courtesy Food.com)

No one understands the allure of chicken wraps until they taste one that has been hand-prepared from this recipe. Originally posted in 2001, it is ageless. It feels complicated, but it only takes about 25 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients for filling

3 tablespoons oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water chestnut
2/3 cup mushroom
3 tablespoons chopped onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 -5 leaves iceberg lettuce

Special Sauce

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon hot mustard
2 teaspoons water
1 -2 teaspoon garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Preparation:

Make the special sauce by dissolving sugar in water in a small bowl.
Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, sesame oil.
Mix well and refrigerate sauce until ready to serve.
Combine the hot water with the hot mustard and set this aside as well.
Eventually add your desired measurement of mustard and garlic chili sauce to the special sauce mixture to pour over the wraps.
Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
Saute chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes per side or done.
Remove chicken from the pan and cool.
Keep oil in the pan, keep hot.
As chicken cools mince water chestnuts and mushrooms to pea size.
Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
When chicken is cool, mince to size of mushrooms, water chestnuts.
With the pan still on high heat, add another Tbsp of vegetable oil.
Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce”cups”.
Top with”Special Sauce”.

Homemade Chicken Broth with Mushrooms

Many cultures serve a light soup course before meals, which is an excellent way to create that satiated feeling without huge caloric consumption. Give the broth 15 or 20 minutes in your tummy and you’ll eat less of your entree. A very nice and light Mexican broth is made by cutting up every piece of a whole chicken – including the neck, feet and giblets. (If you use the feet, please remember to peel them first.) Combine all these ingredients in a stock pot:

1 hole chicken, cut up
1 carrot
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
10 whole peppercorns
2 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt
5 celery leaves
enough water to cover everything

Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 3.5 hours. After the ingredients have cooled in the broth, remove them and strain the broth. Reserve the chicken and vegetables for another use. Refrigerate the broth until it is cold and the fat rises to the surface. Skim off the fat carefully and discard it. When you are ready to serve the broth, re-heat it to bubbling.

You can serve the broth as is or add mushrooms to it. For this you will need 20 small mushrooms and 2 tablespoons butter.

Slice the fresh mushrooms and sautee them in butter until they are slightly browned. Heat the broth to bubbling and just before serving, add two tablespoons of mushrooms to each bowl and garnish with a tiny sprig of epazote. This is a wonderful light soup for that New Year’s Day brunch or a mid-day pick-me-up.

For a variation with a heavier protein content, skip the epazote and add an egg. While the broth is bubbling – while quickly stirring in one direction - drizzle a beaten egg into the broth. Add the mushrooms to the broth after the egg is fully cooked – about 1.5 minutes. Makes about 10 cups of broth.

Jicama & Orange Salad

Although many Americans are only familiar with ‘border food’ like tacos, burritos and enchiladas, there are many light-calorie dishes Mexican families regularly serve. For adventurous chefs I would heartily recommend Diana Kennedy’s Mexican cookbooks. (My personal favorite is The Cuisines of Mexico.) This recipe, however, is one my husband taught me. The secret is to make sure the jicama is fresh (and juicy when you cut into it) and the oranges are sweet. Otherwise the result will be disappointing.

Ingredients

1 large jicama, peeled and cut into small chunks or long strips
3 large, juicy navel oranges, white pulp and membranes removed and sections separated
juice of three green limes
1/2 teaspoon of Pico de Gallo seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of white sugar
Cilantro leaves, whole (optional)

As jicama takes on the flavor of other ingredients around it, it is important to give this salad enough time to set. Mix all the ingredients together except the Pico de Gallo (and cilantro if used) and then cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Mix the ingredients a few times more if possible before serving. For children, skip the Pico de Gallo seasoning, as it is hot. Adults can sprinkle their own serving as desired along with the cilantro leaves. Cilantro is one of those ingredients that has a very distinctive flavor which some despise, so it is wise to keep it separate. Makes about 4 cups of salad.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

This next recipe is flexible and can be adjusted to individual tastes quite easily and also to availability. The key is to have fresh ingredients that haven’t been sitting in some truck for the last two weeks.

I generally pick my ingredients by the ones that make me think, yum, when I am at the farmer’s market, but pick your favorites from the following vegetables in any combination:

Onions • Garlic • Leeks • Carrots • Potatoes • Daikon Radish • Yams • Winter Squash • Turnips • Parsnips • Beets • Potatoes • Shallots • Rutabagas

The beauty of this dish is that you can vary it any time by changing the vegetable choices or one of these seasoning combinations:

Basil & oregano • curry • garam masala • thyme & sage • cumin & garlic powder • rosemary & parsley • garlic & red pepper flakes

Preparation:

For the most fiber, leave the peels on the vegetables. Then slice or chop them into pieces about the same thickness for consistent cooking.
Drizzle olive oil on them and sprinkle on the spices, mixing them well until all the vegetables are consistently covered.
Place them in flat, glass casseroles in single layers so that they will cook evenly.
Bake in an oven preheated to 375 degree Fahrenheit for 45 minutes to one hour.
They are done when they have browned slightly on the top.

Cauliflower & Leek Soup

Leeks are perhaps one of the most elegant ways to give soups great taste without caloric weight. Cook them too long, however, and they become the equivalent of slug trails. Incidentally, although you would normally discard the hard green portion of the leek, it can be used to flavor broths, wrap fillings or as part of a bouquet garni.

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp. freshly ground white pepper
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 red pepper
1 stalk celery, chopped
6 medium or 3 large leeks — tough green parts discarded, the remainder thinly sliced and thoroughly rinsed
1 to 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small head of cauliflower (1.5 lbs.), separated florets only
1 to 2 tablespoons Knorr Suiza Caldo de Pollo (or bouillion cubes)
2 quarts organic chicken stock (or homemade – see below)
1 can non-fat evaporated milk

Preparation:

Bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the Knorr Suiza seasoning, white pepper, potatoes and cauliflower and cook, uncovered on medium high, for 15 minutes. Place the cauliflower and potatoes in a food processor and set aside. Reserve the broth.
Meanwhile, in a saute pan, warm the butter. Add the leeks and stir to coat and cook until very tender, 8 to 10 minutes, but do not brown them. Add the leeks to the cauliflower/potato mixture and set aside. Saute the celery and red pepper until softened. Transfer them to the food processor too. Using some of the stock, puree all the vegetables until smooth. Add the puree to the stock in the pot.
Add the evaporated milk to the puree and bring the mixture to a high simmer. While stirring occasionally, let the soup gently simmer for about 15 minutes. Correct the seasoning to taste. Serves 6 to 8.

Heuvos Rancheros

Nutritionists have gone round and round about eggs, but they are a wonderful and inexpensive source of high quality protein. When you really need to give up bacon and hollandaise sauce at breakfast but want something with impact, heuvos rancheros are a delicious idea. They can stand on their own, or serve them with some black beans or fresh fruit.

Ingredients

4 corn tortillas
4 fresh eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup prepared mild red Mexican salsa (Herdez or Tostito brands)
1/2 chile pasilla (dried and sometimes called ‘chile ancho’)
4 tablespoons Cotija cheese

Preparation

De-seed and de-vein the chile pasilla. Cut it in half, reserving one-half for another use. Pour boiling water over the chile and soak it for 15 minutes.
Drain the chile then blend it with the salsa until pureed. Warm in a sauce pan with 1/2 teaspoon of the olive oil while you make the eggs.
Lightly fry the tortillas in olive oil in one pan while frying eggs in another pan. To reduce calories, don’t fry the tortillas but heat them by wrapping them in saran wrap, two at a time, and cooking on high for 23 seconds.)
Place two warmed tortillas on each plate, top each with an egg and drizzle 1/4 of the sauce across the middle of each egg.
If you like cheese, sprinkle a tablespoon of Cotija on top.

Incidentally, the pasilla chile will not give much heat to the sauce but rather an amazing earthy flavor you cannot compare to anything else. This recipe serves two.

An Apple Swan

Now I know you probably are sick and tired of entertaining, but this little swan made from an apple is so, so cool, I am attaching the link for the ‘how to’ video. What will you need? An apple – the chef used a Gala – a sharp knife and some lemon juice to spritz the apple flesh to keep it from turning brown. I just thought this was incredibly cool, so keep the bandaids handy and watch Chef John Mitzewich demonstrate the Art of Apply Carving!

Happy New Year!

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Tagged beautiful eggs, carrots, cauliflower and leek soup, Chef John Mitzewich, daikon radish, farmers' markets, heuvos rancheros, homemade chicken broth, How to make an Apple Swan, huevos rancheros recipe, jicama and orange salad, jicama and organge salad recipe, leeks, mushrooms, onions, parsnips, pasilla chiles, pico de gallo, post holiday rehab, potatoes, roasted root vegetables recipe, turnips, USDA, winter squash, yams | Comments (0)

New Year’s Resolution #1: Contemplate New Housing

December 29, 2010 – 7:00 am

Year end is often a time when many of us reconsider lifestyle choices. This year many Americans will be considering moving into communities that allow them to substantially lower their monthly cost of living. If you are one of these people, here are a few things to consider.

Price: Single-family living in the suburbs and ex-urbs of major metropolitan areas can lack the easy access to mass transit, employment centers, medical services, farmer’s markets, shopping areas and entertainment. Although it may seem less expensive to live in outlying areas, a family’s transportation budget often uses up the savings with automobile expenses.

Neighborhood: If a particular neighborhood or school district is what matters to you, don’t assume it is always better to purchase a home rather than rent.

Rent Ratio: Experts use a ‘rent ratio’ to analyze the benefits of renting or buying during a particular market. They determine this number by dividing the house price by the cost of renting the house over a year. In other words, if a home costs $300,000, and $1600 a month to rent it, the rent ratio would be 15.63%. ($300,000 divided by $19,200, which is 12 months rent.) If a home costs $500,000, and to rent it is $2200 a month, the rent ratio would be 18.94%. According to David Leonhardt’s blog in the New York Times, these were the ratios in descending order during 2010 in the following metro areas:

Metro Area & Ratio: East Bay (CA) 35.9, Honolulu 34.4, San Jose (CA) 32.7, San Francisco 27.9, Seattle 27.3, Charlotte, N.C. 27, Orange County (CA) 27, New York (Manhattan) 26.7, Raleigh (NC) 26.2, Portland (OR) 25.9, North-Central New Jersey 25.2, Nashville 24, Denver 22.6, San Diego 22.1, Long Island (NY) 21.4, Los Angeles 15.4, Kansas City (KAN) 15.3.

If the ratio is below 15, it is considered a good market and time to buy. Between 15 and 20, renting would probably be wiser. Above 20, renting is most practical.

Security: Apartment living and higher density housing can provide additional security, particularly for people who live alone. With neighbors who are close by and more eyes paying attention, the community benefits.

Employment Options: There are many benefits to living close to employment centers and not having to commute. Most of us think of driving to work as something we have to do, but inclement weather can make commuting very inconvenient. If a family has children in school, it can create some very difficult situations for parents too. The biggest benefit of living close in is probably the time saved between the job and home.

Our Carbon Footprint: With so many other things that concern us today, it seems like we are piling it on when we bring up climate change, but there is no getting around it. Without some radical behavior changes in all our lives, our planet is going to get sicker and so are we. Anything we can collectively do to reduce our energy use will help slow down environmental change. Moving closer to employment and services is one way all of us can cut down our energy use

Not moving is also another way to go. Often we think the ‘geographical cure’ is going to make our lives easier, but as we bring ourselves with us nothing really changes. If you don’t need to move, try to think about why you want to do so. If there is a problem with your current home or rental, is it fixable? If so, it might be less expensive to stay put. Either way, happy new year!

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Tagged automobile expenses, Carbon Footprint, commuting expenses, cost of living, David Leonhardt's blog, employment centers, Green Lifestyle, lifestyle, neighborhood benefits, new housing, New York Times, price of housing, rent versus buy, single family suburban living | Comments (0)

The Spirit and Ethics of Re-Gifting

December 27, 2010 – 7:10 am

Problem: Great Aunt Mignonne, an avid deer hunter, never accepted your vegetarian lifestyle. She adored you, however, and willed you her guns and a collection of 100-year-old, handmade deerskin clothing.

Solution: Your police department and/or local historical society or museum.

Problem: Your best friend loves country “kitsch”. You adore her and would not hurt her for the world, but she has given you enough wreaths, garden plaks and cutesy wall hangings to stock a boutique. With your minimalist taste you have begun to dread seeing her.

Solution: Hope she has children to whom you can re-gift these incredibly ’sentimental’ gifts.

Problem: You simply don’t need a thing and certainly don’t have room for anything either.

Solution: Start a new tradition with your friends and family. Rather than gift exchanges, ask them to assist you in finding a family that really needs help. Every priest, minister, rabbi or imam knows several - and some may be your neighbors. Pool your resources and anonymously lift that family up with what you would have spent on gifts.

Problem: Your office mates. There are ten of them, nobody received a raise these last few years and a third have unemployed spouses. Nobody can afford anything worth gifting, but it has been a tradition.

Solution: Insist they bring something they already have (a White Elephant gift) and make a game out of the exchange. Each person brings one wrapped gift and will pick a number out of a hat. Then going in a circle, everyone has to make up, read (or tell a real holiday story) that includes the words ‘left’ and ‘right’. (These can be prepared ahead of time or spontaneously created.) Each time either word is said, the gifts are passed in that direction. The host should end the game with driving directions from her house to the office. Guests can also trade gifts if they like.

Problem: Your mother, a flamboyant artist, again makes you something which you ungraciously shove in the closet after you drop her at the airport. You feel completely justified as it is not your taste and you live in a cozy apartment without a lot of storage space.

Solution: This is not okay, so knock it off and grow up. She’s your mother.

Reclaim, recycle, reuse, restore and now regift? The latter is a time-honored if often surreptitious practice. Long-term etiquette queen Emily Post, however, expresses reservations. She insists re-gifts must meet each of the following rules:

You’re certain that the gift is something the recipient would really like to receive.
The gift is brand new (no cast-offs allowed) and comes with its original box and instructions.
The gift isn’t one that the original giver took great care to select or make.

Sorry, Emily, but sustainability principles need to trump social etiquette. During any time of the year ’re-gifts’ should not be restricted to wine aerators or espresso machines received as duplicate wedding or anniversary gifts. In fact, regifting used items is one of the most important strategies we can employ to preserve our essential resources and slow climate change.

Forget identifying people by the ’shoes’ they wear. Just go right to the person’s closet or garage. If these are overflowing, born here or not, they have become Americans. Add in the one in ten households estimated to be renting a self-storage unit (Self Storage Demand Study – 2007 published by the SSA) and that’s a whole lotta stuff we are frankly hoarding without justification. Certainly I understand a full pantry as emergency preparedness, but tons of material goods deteriorating in attics makes no sense in today’s world.

Other than the obvious, the hidden value of re-gifting is the lightness of its carbon footprint. The intended re-gift has already been manufactured - a replacement will not use materials excavated from the ground or further deplete our forests – and it will keep waste out of landfills. There is an enormous amount of embodied energy in manufactured goods just on the transportation side. Looking at our electronics – which contain rare earth minerals and metals – according to Greenpeace:

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that as much as three quarters of the computers sold in the US are stockpiled in garages and closets. When thrown away, they end up in landfills or incinerators or, more recently, are exported to Asia.

E-waste is routinely exported by developed countries to developing ones, often in violation of the international law. Inspections of 18 European seaports in 2005 found as much as 47 percent of waste destined for export, including e-waste, was illegal. In the UK alone, at least 23,000 metric tonnes of undeclared or ‘grey’ market electronic waste was illegally shipped in 2003 to the Far East, India, Africa and China. In the US, it is estimated that 50-80 percent of the waste collected for recycling is being exported in this way. This practice is legal because the US has not ratified the Basel Convention.

A gift is a lovely thing, of course, but it should never come with a life sentence. A great rule of thumb is if you haven’t used it in a year, you don’t need it.

Other Articles of Interest:

Gifts that Help You Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

Gifts Without Guilt!

Gifts of Art, Recycle Materials and Heirlooms

Green Gifts for Humanity

By Elizabeth Madrigal | Tagged conservation, e-waste, party gifts, rare earth minerals, Re-gifting, reclaiming, recycling, regifting, restoring, rethinking giving, reusing | Comments (0)

Tips for Staying Healthy Over the Holidays

December 23, 2010 – 7:00 am

“Momona” is a beautiful Hawaiian word but without an exact translation in English. Those studying the language discover it is often used to describe heavier people. Unlike the English words ‘chubby’ and ‘fat’, however, this word does connote a positive quality. I was recently told by a Native Hawaiian that the descriptive adjective is more along the lines of ’robust’. Other than describing people, it is most often used to imply ”sweet” in conjunction with something like ripe (fat) fruit.

So whether our personal shape tends toward the apple, pear bottom or the luscious mîkana momona [sweet papaya], holding our ground over the holidays presents many challenges. Add in dietary limitations of elders and children, and we have a lot to consider.

The majority of Americans being rather momona already- myself included – we thought a few strategies for staying healthy over the holidays might be helpful. We extrapolated advice from some popular experts and even threw in an opposing opinion off the Internet. So here goes.

Don’t Flake Out!

To get the least enticing advice out of the way first, here is what Julian Michaels (celebrity fitness trainer) suggests:

Stay on your fitness program over the holidays, plan your workouts and don’t fall into the low standards and expectations of others.

Snap! Wow. I think she is related to my husband, aka fitness miracle man and the bane of any commissioned life insurance policy salesmen. So if you don’t get enough great advice like this from your loved ones, this link will get you to Julian’s take-no-prisoners website.

Eat a Good Breakfast

Here is what Dr. Oz Garcia recommends in his Holiday Eating Tips:

Eat a good breakfast everyday and make sure you are drinking plenty of water before and during meals. Eat healthy snacks like fruit or nuts in moderation and even several micro-meals throughout the day to keep you from over-indulging at parties.

Dr. Oz also echoes Julian’s advice about exercise, but he seems to accept human nature. He assumes some will over-indulge and suggests we increase our usual workout to compensate for any dalliances. Oh, and he recommends we stick with red wine when we drink.

Hummus & Fat Free Evaporated Milk

The American Heart Association estimates half of our annual weight gain occurs between Thanksgiving and New Years. This is of particular concern to them, our doctors and should be to us too. Here are tips from their free Holiday Healthy Eating Tips & Recipes, which also contains some terrific recipe alternatives:

Choose assorted unsalted nuts, fiber-rich crackers and raw vegetables with low-fat dressing or hummus for quick snacks or appetizers at a holiday party as great alternatives to a typical cheese platter.
Buy low-fat or fat-free eggnog to cut down on calories and fat. Mulled apple cider is an even better choice.
Select fat-free evaporated milk to make mashed potatoes creamy. Use low-sodium chicken broth to give them a little more flavor.
Make your stuffing colorful and heart healthy by mixing in dried cranberries, raisins and apricots instead of meat.
Skip the prepackaged gravy mixes and make your own. Low-sodium broth and skim milk make delicious, healthier gravy.
Avoid pre-packaged pumpkin pies as the crusts are typically filled with saturated fats.
Look for lean meat cuts – the healthiest cuts always include the words “round,” “loin” or “chuck.” The word “prime” in the name means high in fat. [Why did this surprise me?]
Foods high in insoluble fiber are heart healthy. Try adding some of these to your holiday menu: whole-wheat breads, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips or cauliflower.
Eat something before going to a holiday party or event.

Tejal Parekh, R.D., a registered dietician, a guest of Dr. Dean Edell, suggests we start in the kitchen by eliminating many of the high-calorie, fat-laden foods. She gave this advice a few years ago, but it is so right-on, we felt compelled to include it:

Boycott the butter. [Editor's note: Arrrrgggh!]

Toss and bake veggies in a light vinaigrette.

Use fat-free broth to cream mashed potatoes.

Throw in some garlic.

Use broth instead of oil to sauté onions and celery.

Nix the fatty green bean casserole, and opt for beans covered in balsamic vinegar instead.

Watch the alcohol as it is jam-packed with calories but also increases our appetites.

Make fresh cider with a handful of spices as an alcohol substitute. [Editor's note: A crockpot works fabulously for this and your house will smell like Heaven.]

Angel food cake is a great dessert [rich in protein and lower in calories than most] so add [dark] chocolate and berries to the top to make it festive.

Be forewarned that this last tip from Parekh shows absolutely no mercy, but you know it will work better than all the rest:

Wear pants that are a slightly snugger fit. This way you won’t be able to eat so much. [Make elastic waist bands a privilege not a right.]

Wine, Tea or Water?

Discovery News posted the results of what we will call the “Swiss Fondue” study. The researchers assigned either tea or alcohol to the study participants and served them bread and fondue. The alcohol consisted of wine and Schnapps. They found:

Drinking alcohol with a rich meal slows digestion by as much as 50 percent.
By slowing digestion, alcohol can also make you feel fuller longer, though it’s not clear what that means for nutrient absorption or weight gain.
If you are prone to stomach distress, it might be best to go with water or tea instead.

Digestion slowed along with the first sip whether the research subjects drank wine or schnapps. I’m going to use this quote from one of the researchers as a visual and inspiration to help me put my fork down and push away from the table:

“There’s something we call ‘cheese baby syndrome,’” Fox said. “You just feel like you’re pregnant, like these big lumps of cheese are still sitting in your stomach.”

At Greenlandlady we have some superb chefs and will struggle along with you, but we have a few tips too:

Pick the smallest plate, serve yourself, sit as far away from the table as you can and ignore the skinny people clogging their arteries.
If you cannot resist eggnog – standard prepared has 343 calories a cup – use a tall, slender glass (rather than a short, fat one), and you will drink less.
Take your time eating. Savor each bite as if you were the ingenue in a romantic drama and the leading man was sensuously feeding you a bite at a time. In other words, no gobbling, turkey-girl.
If you can trust yourself, eat a bite or two of something rather than a whole piece or serving. If a bite won’t be enough, skip “it” completely.
Alcohol slows the metabolism by depressing the central nervous system. A British study found that when it was added to a high-fat, high-calorie meal, less dietary fat was burned off and more was stored.
Finally, if you are the host, don’t let yourself get bored. If you do, you will hit the leftovers. When you find yourself cruising into the kitchen, take a ‘dance/joy break’, read a book, sing karaoke [impossible to simultaneously eat] or simply bundle up and go for a winter walk. Your dog will go, even if no one else will.

Of course we want you to do all these healthy things but still enjoy yourself, so if none of this clicks with you, here is advice we received this year in an email but also found it posted on the internet:

Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.
Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It’s rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something.
If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat. (Link to the rest.)

Oh, and so sorry about the butter, but somebody had to tell the truth. Of course, Greenlandlady is passing this information along as a public service, but if you really want to have fun? Delete this post and whatever you do, keep these experts off your party list! After we all renew our gym memberships in January we can meet up at Weight Watchers.

Other Articles of Interest:

Start at Abundance

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A Smoke Alarm Retirement Party

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