Planet now
Tea and conversation
It’s only natural when considering the phrase "green drinks" to conjure up cocktails with weird names that only weird people order, or some sort of juice that sun-dazed tourists buy at roadside stands in Hawaii. But, in fact, "Green Drinks" is the term for informal get-togethers of folks who work in the environmental field to discuss and debate issues, and meet new friends. The concept began in the U.K. in 1989, and, according to greendrinks.org, has now stretched to 245 cities worldwide, from Finland to Switzerland to New Zealand to Japan.
Sounds like a Charlottesville kind of thing, right? Sure enough, Downtown’s Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar now hosts "Green Drinks" the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm.
If "the environmental field" sounds too narrow, Scott Kyle of the James River Green Building Council offers up a broader picture: "It is basically a social get-together with (preferably) no sales or spiels or structure, just people with similar interests learning from one another and building momentum for a sustainable future. At each get-together, the backgrounds move from architect to contractor to landscaper to civil servant."
Oh, and you can drink anything you want, regardless of its color.—Doug Nordfors
Water down
Free City kits help you save H2O
If you buy your water from the City, that’s your money going down the toilet bowl. Leaky fixtures can waste 6,000-7,000 cubic feet of water a month and add a mysterious $30-$50 to your water bill, so a bit of sleuthing and maintenance is well worth the effort. The rubber flaps inside the tank need replacing every few years. If the water is constantly running, it’s probably either worn out flaps or an overflow tube that won’t stay in place.
You can pick up two free water saving kits from City Hall, one for indoors and one for outdoors. The former includes the charmingly named Yankee Clipper, which keeps the tube in place; leak detectors; a device to displace water in the tank (remember bricks?) and a low-flow head for the shower. For outdoors, there’s a hose repair kit, a rain gauge and a water saving nozzle. You’d pay about $15.00 retail for the combined items in each kit.
The City also offers a rebate of $100 for replacing old 5-gallon-per-flush guzzlers with more up-to-date 1.6-gallon-per-flush toilets. That goes for up to three toilets per water meter.
Now get off the pot and get going!—Cathy Clary
A free pass for chems
Bring your most unsavory trash to amnesty day
Have containers upon containers of pesticides and household cleaners under the sink or in the garage? Come into a ton of unused paint, solvents or both after a move? Get ready to mark a date on your calendar, because the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (RSWA) only sponsors two days during the year to properly dispose of these items in an environmentally friendly way. October 6 from 9am to 2pm, the RSWA will host another Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day at the Ivy Materials Utilization Center. Contractor Care Environmental will be on hand to transport these items to facilities that will ensure that your household waste is recycled appropriately.
Got hazardous waste? You have two options: Take it to a twice-yearly amnesty day (and feel right virtuous), or cap and toss it any old time (and feel like a moron).
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While most household hazardous waste can only be brought to the Ivy location on the two designated "amnesty days," certain items also considered to be in that category can be disposed of at the facility every day. Antifreeze, motor oil, household batteries, fluorescent lights, and oil-based and latex paint can be dropped off anytime. It should be noted that if you don’t wish to wait for the amnesty days, all household hazardous waste can legally be disposed of in the trash as long as all liquid items are in sealed contains. RSWA officials, however, say they don’t like to emphasize that point, undoubtedly because it’s simply not the planet-friendly thing to do.—David Moltz
Cool out
 In an overheating world, mini is in. Could you downsize your fridge? |
Got a mammoth fridge stuffed with all manner of eatables? You may be refrigerating more than you need to—and if that’s the case, you could consider downsizing your fridge to reap significant energy savings. (Also worth a thought: the look of cheerful abundance that comes from storing food on your countertops.) Here are some items that will be just fine, and in some cases better, if you leave them out of the icebox:
Produce: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, bananas, avocados, tomatoes, hard squash, pineapple, unripe fruit
Staples: Peanut butter, oils (except nut oils, which are prone to going rancid), honey, dry goods
Condiments: Salty ones like soy sauce, vinegar-based ones like ketchup
Chocolate and baked goods are two more of our favorites that can stay out of the cold.—Erika Howsare
By the Numbers
"81.4 percent of respondents indicated they support the use of tax dollars to purchase rural development rights if it would permanently protect the land with conservation easements."
— Charlottesville Tomorrow Survey of Albemarle County voters