2 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.

com

What’s in this issue ...

Historic
8 preservation
Byhalia bus stop
gets new life as
restaurant

Bella Café is
9 naturally
inclined

Minimize
4 Healthy, green and
doable resolutions
11 wrapping
Start the new year off right waste
by heeding these tips
Nissan Leaf’s
What should you do with all that leftover
champagne? How do you cure a hangover
17 first owner
naturally? Test your knowledge with our New
Year’s quiz. PAGE 6
takes off

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Going Green is a special online publication of
The Commercial Appeal. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Follow Going
Green on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoGreenMemphis.
Editor: Kim Coleman, 529-5243, goinggreen@commercialappeal.com
Community Editor: Emily Adams Keplinger, keplinger@commercialappeal.com
On the cover:Image from istockphoto.com
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 3

The Green Page

Events
Green Cleaning: Join
The Commercial Appeal
columnist Deanna Caswell
for a green cleaning
products class on Jan. 11
from 6:30-8 p.m. at the
Memphis Botanic Garden.
$20 ($15 for MBG
members). Prepayment
due by Jan. 7. Students mix
and take home eight
different household
cleaners to try. These
products are easier on the
planet and the wallet.
Students need to bring
spray bottles and lidded 636-4128 for a list of the to register, and for a supply
containers to class. Call products that will be made, list.

Groups
To find out what other “green” events are
happening around the area, visit the
websites of these organizations:
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park
(CPOP)
overtonparkforever.org
Clean Memphis
cleanmemphis.org
Coalition of Livable Communities
llivablememphis.org/
Friends for Our Riverfront
friendsforourriverfront.org/
Greater Memphis Greenline
greatermemphisgreenline.org/
Lichterman Nature Center
memphismuseums.org/lichterman-
overview/
Memphis Botanic Garden
memphisbotanicgarden.com/
Shelby Farms Park Conservancy
shelbyfarmspark.org
Sierra Club — Chickasaw Group
tennessee.sierraclub.org/
chickasaw/
Strawberry Plains Audubon Center
strawberryplains.audubon.org/
Tennessee Clean Water Network
tcwn.org
Tennessee Ornithological Society
tnbirds.org
tnbirds.org/chapters/Memphis
/Memphis.htm
Tennessee Parks and Greenways
Foundation
tenngreen.org/
Tennessee Trails Association —
Memphis Chapter
tennesseetrails.org/memphis.php
V&E Greenline
vegreenline.org/index.html
Wolf River Conservancy
wolfriver.org
4 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.com

It’s that time of year when we make promises about how we’ll
change in the upcoming new year. We look for ways to make a
change in our lives, hoping for better health or a better job or less
stress. Some are small; others are big.
New Year’s resolutions are often broken, especially if they are
hastily made. But if you take a few moments to think about what
you want for the upcoming year, you’re more likely to choose
realistic commitments.
Going green is a great way to start off the new year, but it’s
such a broad term that the specifics of how you’ll go green could
end up taking a back seat to daily life. Instead of making a broad
generalization, choose a few specific ways to green your life in 2011.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few options.
The Commercial Appeal
General
1. Banish paper and plastic bags from
your life. Always carry at least one reusable
bag with you; it will soon be as routine as
grabbing your keys when you head out.
2. Switch your monthly bills to e-billing.
Even if you print them out at home, you’ll
eliminate the postage carbon footprint and
reduce paper use (no envelopes and
annoying “special offer” inserts).
3. Before you throw anything away, ask
yourself if you can use it in a new way or if
someone else could use it.
4. Recycle everything you can. Even if you
have to drive items to a depot once a month,
it’s worth it to save raw materials.
Home
5. Start composting. It’s simple and you
get free fertilizer.
6. Install a gray water system.
7. Paint only with no-VOC formulas.
8. Switch to an electric kettle for boiling
water. Electric kettles use less energy than
their stove-top counterparts, and there are
stainless steel options available if you’re
wary about boiling water in plastic.
9. If you’re replacing appliances in 2011,
pay a little more for the most efficient
Energy Star models. They’ll save you money
in the long run.
10. Build a rain barrel to get free water for
your garden and other plants.
Transportation
11. Walk more, particularly if your
destination is less than 30 minutes away on
foot. It’s good for your health and the
environment.
12. Take public transit.
13. If you can live without a car, do it. In
most cities, the cost of a transit pass is still
less than you’d shell out for insurance, gas
and maintenance or car payments.
14. If you must take a taxi, call the
company that has a fleet of hybrids or
electric cars.
15. In the market for a new car? Choose a
Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 5
hybrid or electric.
16. Buy a bike, or build one at your local
bike shop. While other people are stuck in
the snarl of rush-hour traffic, you’ll breeze
by and be home much more quickly.
Food
17. Go vegetarian one day a week. The
livestock industry is a huge greenhouse gas
emitter.
18. Eat organic. It may not be nutritionally
superior, but it’s a lot better for the planet.
19. Refuse to buy foods that are
unnecessarily packaged, such as fruits and
vegetables.
20. Annoyed by excessive food
packaging? Tell your grocer or the
manufacturer. Fire off an e-mail or write a
formal letter expressing your concern. (As a
rule, every letter a company receives
represents about 50 people of a like mind.)
21. Grow your own fruits, veggies and herbs.
Fashion and beauty
22. Commit to buying green fashions.
Think organic cotton, bamboo, hemp and
other sustainable, natural fibers, as well as
recycled fabrics.
23. Switch to all-natural cosmetics. A
good rule: If the ingredients list looks like a
lesson in chemistry, steer clear; if you’re
stumbling over Latin, you’re looking at the
names of plants.
24. Switch to a nail polish brand that is
made without toluene, DBP and formaldehyde.
(Piggy Paint, London and American Apparel
Nail Lacquer are a few options.)
25. Shop at secondhand and charity
shops before hitting the mall or your favorite
boutiques. You can usually find some gems.
These are just a few of the ways you can
commit to a more sustainable new year. Just
remember: It can be a challenge as you
adjust to a new way of thinking, but it’s
worth sticking with it. Try one thing at a time
until you get to where you want to be.
Happy New Year!
Source: planetgreen.com
6 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010
Test your New Year’s Eve green knowledge
The Times Square Ball
got an LED makeover
with 32,256 new bulbs
and should use 20%
less energy. The ball is
capable of displaying
16 million colors and
billions of patterns.
1. When was the first year
that the New Year’s ball
in Times Square was lit
entirely with LED bulbs?
A. 2008
B. 2007
C. 2006
D. 2005
2. What ingredient in
eggs is great to cure a
New Year’s party
hangover naturally?
A. Cysteine
B. Magnesium
C. Iron
D. None of the above
commercialappeal.com
6. What does leftover
champagne transform
into after a few weeks?
A. Wine
B. A sweet syrup
C. Vinegar
D. None of the above
3. Which of the following
is not a version of a lucky
New Year’s meal?
A. Black-eyed peas
B. Pork and sauerkraut
C. 12 grapes eaten at the
stroke of midnight
D. Grits and collards 7. Detoxing the body
through liquid juice fasts
or lemonade diets is the
only true way to release
toxins and clean out your
system after the New
Year. True or false?
A. True
B. False
4. If you were to resolve
to buy a programmable
thermostat for 2011, by
how much could it help
reduce your energy bill?
A. 5 percent
B. 10 percent
C. 15 percent
D. 20 percent
5. If you live on the East
Coast, which has a lower
impact?
A. Sparkling wine from
California
B. Champagne from France
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN
Answers
1. C. 2006: Phillips
adorned the New Year’s ball
in Times Square with LED
bulbs. LED lights can save
up to 90 percent in energy
usage and they shine 255
times brighter than
8. What percentage of
New Year’s resolutions traditional lights .
2. A. Cysteine: Eggs are a
get dumped by MLK Day?
A. 60 percent great way to cure a
hangover because they
B. 80 percent
C. 90 percent have a lot of cysteine,
which helps to break down
D. 95 percent
the toxins in the liver. Try
bananas for potassium to
replenish your starved body
of vital nutrients and avoid
the depression that can
accompany a hangover.
Skip the prepackaged pain
killers and try a more
natural means of feeling
like yourself again.
9. Korks 4 Kids will take 3. D. Grits and collards:
all your used New Year’s Black-eyed peas are a lucky
corks for a minimal fee. meal traditional in the
A. True Southern states. Pork and
B. False sauerkraut are a lucky meal
traditional to the
Pennsylvania Dutch
country, and 12 grapes at
midnight are a tradition in
Spain. But no matter what
your tradition, source your
foods from local providers.
4. C. 15 percent: Just by
purchasing a
programmable thermostat,
10. When making your you could reduce your
own cocktails for the energy bill by 15 percent.
New Year’s Eve party, And for every degree that
how long does it take to you turn down your
infuse your own vodka? thermostat in the winter,
A. 2 days you will save 1 percent.
B. 1 week 5. B. Champagne from
C. 2 weeks France: Because shipping
D. 1 month is better than trucking,t,
— From planetgreen.com buying champagne from
7
France is better than
sparkling wine from
California because it is
usually transported via
cargo ship. The quality of
the wine and the packaging
are naturally factors, as well
as choosing sustainably
produced wines.
6. C. Vinegar: Vinegar
actually means sour wine in
French. You can make a
delicious champagne
vinaigrette from New Year’s
leftovers.
7. B. False: Consider a
more natural detox where
you give up caffeine,
alcohol, processed foods,
meat and dairy. You can
still eat plenty of fruits,
vegetables, grains, nuts
and legumes. Make sure to
purchase local foods that
are grown without the use
of pesticides or herbicides.
8. B. 80 percent: This year
resolve to reduce your
carbon footprint, your
water footprint, sell the car
or go vegetarian. Make a
change that truly has long-
term implications.
9. False: Korks 4 Kids
won’t charge you a thing to
take all your used corks
after your New Year’s bash,
just the price of postage.
The program raises funds
for children’s charities
through cork recycling.
10. C. 2 weeks: Don’t
spend tons of money on
expensive infused vodkas
when it’s really easy to
infuse your own. Make your
own lavender honey vodka ,
apple spiced vodka, or use
whatever is available.
8 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.com

FOCUS ❘ HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Among those attending the recent grand opening of the All-American Bus Stop
were Tina Crum (left), Doris Moore, co-owners Ramona and Phillip Nicastro,
Byhalia Mayor Phil Malone, Eugene Wilkerson, Byhalia Alderman James Tunstall,
Pat Woods, Vickie Powers and Byhalia Chamber executive director Sarah Sawyer.

Bus Stop recycled as restaurant

By Sarah Sawyer
Special to Going Green
Following the sentiment that “the
greenest building is the one that’s
already built,” Byhalia Area Chamber of
Commerce, Byhalia officials, customers
and employees recently assisted the All-
American Bus Stop with a ribbon
cutting and grand opening.
The Greyhound bus no longer stops at
the location, but after much remodeling,
the historic building has been turned
into a restaurant. Co-owners Ramona
and Phillip Nicastro are pleased to tout
their historic preservation endeavor as
“the ultimate recycling.”
The restaurant features sandwiches,
Chicago hot dogs and pizza, and a lunch
buffet Monday through Friday. Breakfast
foods, convenience store items and
gasoline are also available. Hours are
Monday through Saturday, from 6 a.m. to
8 p.m., and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Sarah Sawyer is executive director of the
Byhalia Chamber of Commerce.
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 9

Everything says ‘natural’

at Bella Café in Millington
Enjoy fresh
Italian cuisine
when you
visit Bella
Cafe in
Millington.
They offer
100-percent
fruit
smoothies,
spring water
from Tuscany
and a
Caprese
panini
alongside a
homemade
broccoli
salad.

By Felicia Benamon 51 N., their house tea combines ginger,

Special to Going Green
Southerners sure love their sweet tea.
What if that tea were sweetened with a
touch of all-natural pure cane sugar and
consisted of bits of herbs, fruit and
spices instead of aspartame (found in
some sweeteners) in the regular bland
variety of teas on store shelves today?
At Bella Café in Millington, located
inside Open Marketplace at 8235 U.S.
a spice that helps digestion, and peach.
“The peach sweetens it naturally. The
teas we offer are all-natural black tea
blend with unbleached tea bags. Many
people come in and want sweet tea, but
we mention our ginger peach tea; people
try it and love it — the majority of people
like it,” said co-owner Mitch Buckner.
Buckner, who shares ownership of the
cafe with his mother, Donna, said his
passion is to bring fresh Italian eats and
10 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.com

beverages to areas that don’t otherwise

have access to such fare. In addition to
herbal teas, homemade salads and
soups, fresh Italian gelato and Italian
Water Ice, 100 percent fruit smoothies
(no corn syrup added), and much more,
Mitch emphasizes freshness in
everything he touches.
Enjoy leafy green vegetables on a
sandwich with fresh Italian prosciutto,
mortadella, salami, fontina cheese and
the house mayonnaise made from
scratch that includes fire-roasted red
peppers.
The cafe offers Acqua Panna, natural
spring water straight from Tuscany.
Donna Buckner takes it a step further,
sharing her love of natural ingredients
to heal and soothe the body through her
collection of soy soaps, body butter and
candles. The candles double as a
moisturizing agent as they are oil-based
and not wax.
“My candles don’t emit soot. They
don’t put toxins in the air and they have
all-natural wicks,” she said.
Donna said the difference between
regular wax candles and soy is that soy
candles “burn all the way down, they
burn ‘level’ and clean, all the way to the
wick. Regular wax candles don’t. The
soy candles are ‘slow burning’… every
bit of the candle is used so it is very
economical.”
Donna Buckner’s soy products contain
the highest grade of soy and are so
gentle that even babies’ skin will benefit.
“We always try to use natural
ingredients. It helps to keep that higher
quality and better flavor,” said Mitch. Donna Buckner, owner of Bella Cafe
For more information on Bella Café, located inside Open Marketplace in
contact Donna Buckner at 833-5000. Visit Millington, shows off displays of her
Bella Café online at bellacaffecatering.com. unique soy moisturizing candles.
The Commercial Appeal
After presents unwrapped,
here’s how to clean it up
All of the articles I read this year
about having a green Christmas were
about shopping. But I’m going to
assume that like me, you have already
over-bought, the presents are wrapped
with new paper and you
already have the totally
fake or non-organically
grown real tree trimmed
with incandescent
colored lights.
No worries. Once all of
the presents are opened,
DEANNA that’s really the time to
CASWELL go green.
The most
Practically environmentally
Green
appalling thing about
Christmas is the
following garbage day. Your shopping
isn’t going to kill the planet, but your
curb? Possibly.
With three adorable young children,
36 family members and three separate
present-o-ramas, the weight of the stuff
on my curb next Thursday just might
fracture the concrete.
So, let’s talk damage control.
Wrapping cleanup
Grab the cardboard box from your
kid’s biggest present, and fill it with all
of the reusable wrapping supplies for
next year — boxes, gift bags, bows,
folded tissue paper.
Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 11
Break down the rest of your
cardboard for curbside recycling. If you
don’t have that service, gather it for
using as a weed blanket for next year,
composting or burning as kindling.
Stuff a big bag with all the
recyclable wrapping paper, torn tissue
paper and tags. Tie loosely enough to let
air escape, and encourage your children
to drive over it with their new riding
toys until it’s squashed flat. Remove
flattened material and place in the
recycling bin.
Fill another bag with all of the
nonreusable, nonrecyclable garbage, like
ripped foil wrapping paper, glittery gift
bags that someone wrote on instead of
using a tag, and those 700 plastic-
covered twist-ties that held Barbie to the
cardboard insert.
Mealtime cleanup
Let’s admit it. We’re not going to use
real plates and cloth napkins. And all of
those used paper plates, napkins and
paper towels are 100 percent
nonrecyclable. Bummer. Here are a few
options:
Compost them. Shred and stir into
your pile. Or if you’re really lazy and
don’t mind slow decomposition, toss
them in whole and dampen. (Which one
do you think I do?)
Use as weed blanket. Just before
you mulch, deal them out like cards all
12 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010
over your bed. Dampen if it’s
windy. Otherwise, just mulch
right on top. No weeds!
Roast chestnuts. Not really. I
don’t even know how to do that.
But food-contaminated paper
products make great kindling.
Out with the old
You can’t organize clutter. So
before you buy new plastic tubs
to house all those battery-
powered hamsters and their
excessively bright paraphernalia,
you need to get rid of some old
stuff, right?
Take new presents to the
closet that you hope will be their
new home. Bring one large black
bag. No clear bags or open-topped
boxes allowed. (You can’t imagine
the wailing when you toss out that
broken drive-through toy no one
has played with since last June.)
Put all doubles or anything
you haven’t used in 12 months
into the black bag.
Place new possessions in
open spaces and containers.
Place black bag in the
garage.
Wait one month.
If you haven’t missed what’s
in the bag, take it to Goodwill —
without opening it.
Deanna Caswell is a local writer
who blogs at
littlehouseinthesuburbs.com . Her first
book, "First Ballet, " was released
this year by Hyperion. Caswell and
her husband, Jeff, live in Collierville.
She practices eco-friendly living while
raising their three children, along
with pygmy goats and chickens.
commercialappeal.com
DO YOUR PART
Top five items to
recycle this holiday
By Terri Bennett
McClatchy Newspapers
Once Santa’s sleigh has left the neigh-
borhood and the gifts have all been opened,
there are a few important items you’ll want
to make sure you get rid of the right way.
Do your part and recycle these five items
that the holidays are sure to leave behind.
1. Live Christmas trees
Christmas trees are naturally biodegrad-
able and beneficial for the environment
outside our homes. If you purchased a tree
with roots, plant it in your backyard or
donate it to a local school, park or ceme-
tery for planting. For trees without roots,
search Earth911.com for “Christmas Tree”
to check for recyclers in your area. Oth-
erwise, if you have a large backyard, let the
tree decompose naturally in an out-of-the-
way location while it continues to provide
a natural habitat for birds.
2. Used electronics
Chances are some of those new holiday
gifts will be replacing older-model elec-
tronics. Instead of letting them collect
dust, recycle or donate them. Many trade -
in websites can help you with this task, and
may even pay you for the working ones. If
you’d rather skip the hassle of shipping and
handling, bring used electronics to a local
Goodwill collection center where the elec-
tronics will be refurbished or recycled.
3. Packaging materials
Cardboard gift boxes, shipping boxes
The Commercial Appeal
Unsold and used Christmas trees are just one of the things to be recycled this
holiday season.
and other packaging material can be
recycled along with other paper. If the
gift box is still in usable condition, save
it to reuse again next year. Packaging
materials like Styrofoam peanuts are not
recyclable but can be taken back to
shipping stores for reuse.
4. Holiday lights
If your incandescent holiday lights no
longer work, be sure to recycle them.
Large retailers offer holiday light trade-
in or recycling programs as an incentive
to upgrade to LED lights. Holi-
dayLEDS.com will accept your broken or
no longer wanted incandescent lights
any time and they’ll even give you credit
toward your next purchase of LED lights.
5. Holiday greeting cards
For decades St. Jude’s Ranch for Chil-
dren in Boulder City, Nev., has been
collecting Christmas cards that they re-
Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 13
Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal files
purpose and resell to raise funds for the
organization’s mission. Add a new tra-
dition to the end of your holiday season
by donating your stack of holiday cards
to a good cause. Only the fronts of
cards are needed and they should be
clear of writing or other marks on the
back of the front flap.
Wrapping paper is the glaring item
missing from this list. While all wrap-
ping paper should be recyclable, that’s
simply not the case. Many are laminated
or mixed with other nonrecyclable ma-
terials like foil, glitter or plastic. You’re
better off choosing recyclable items or
ones that can be used again such as gift
bags, sheets of paper from magazines or
newspapers, sheet music or even col-
orful scarves.
Visit DoYourPart.com/Columns for more
information.
14 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010
Clean up your act with
a natural laundry
detergent
Some loads of laundry
deserve special attention, not
just the delicate cycle. For
undergarments, feminine
blouses and shouldn’t-have-
spent-that-much pieces, I’m
willing to pay a little extra for a
natural detergent.
Vaska promises not to harm
people or the planet, so I gave it
a spin. The Herbatergent liquid
contains real lavender and
“potent botanical cleaning
agents,” but I used the scent-
free kind. My skin can be on the
sensitive side, so I was glad to
see that it is free of perfumes,
dyes and optical brighteners.
The result? Clean and soft
without any color-bleeding. And
even in the scent-free version,
there is a subtle herbal aroma.
The detergent, $9.99 for 48
ounces (32 loads) and $15.99
for 96 ounces (64 loads), is
available at Target and works in
standard and high-efficiency
washing machines.
For more information, visit
vaskahome.com.
— Jocelyn Jacobson, McClatchy
Newspapers
commercialappeal.com
EARTHTALK
Automatic dishwasher
detergents lose their
phosphates, potency
Dear EarthTalk: What’s up with dish-
washer detergents of late? They’re clearly
not working as well. I hope whatever was
done is helping the environment because
it’s not helping my dishes.
What happened was that in July 2010 a
significant reduction in the amount of
phosphates allowed in automatic dish-
washer detergent went into effect in
Washington state. Similar regulations
were implemented in 14 other states (Illi-
nois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New
Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah,
Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin) for
2009 before Oregon and Washington
added their names to the list this year.
Previously phosphates could constitute
up to 8.7 percent of dishwasher deter-
gent; the new regulations limit them to
0.5 percent.
The main problem with phosphates,
which also come from agricultural and
landscaping activities, is that they get
into natural water bodies and act as fer-
tilizer, accelerating plant and algae
growth. When the plants and algae die, a
feeding frenzy of bacteria consume all the
oxygen dissolved in the water, creating an
environment inhospitable to fish and oth-
er aquatic life. These oxygen-devoid
“dead zones” can occur in freshwater or
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 15

in the ocean. In fact, two of the world’s live in one of the affected states you
largest dead zones are in the Baltic Sea might be getting dishwashing detergent
and the Gulf of Mexico, the result of with a lot less phosphorous as well.
fertilizers running off of farmland. Be- Consumer Reports tested 24 of the
sides phosphates’ negative effect on wa- leading low-phosphate dishwasher de-
ter bodies, their presence in the en- tergents to see which ones got dishes
vironment can also be harmful to cleanest. The top finishers were Cas-
terrestrial wildlife and can trigger skin cade Complete All in 1 pacs (at a cost
and eye irritation and allergies, among of 28 cents per load), Ecover tablets (27
other ill effects, in humans. cents), Finish Powerball Tabs tablets
Environmentalists (22 cents) and Method
and others supportive Smarty Dish tablets (21
of the reduction in cents), but other brands
phosphates claim that and formulations also
the new regulations performed adequately if
will spare wastewater used properly.
treatment systems Consumer Reports al-
from dealing with 10- so provides tips on op-
12 percent of the timizing the perfor-
phosphates previously mance of your
encountered. Wastew- dishwasher and dish-
ater treatment man- washing detergent no
agers in Spokane, matter which brand you
Wash., for example, use. For starters, load
found that a local year- large items at the sides
old ban on phosphates and back of the dish-
in dishwashing deter- Sixteen U.S. states now
washer so they don’t
gent there saved them severely limit the amount of
block water and deter-
from dealing with up- phosphates allowed in
gent from reaching other
wards of 180 pounds automatic dishwasher
dishes. And place the
of phosphates — or detergents. While some do
dirtier side of dishes to-
about 10 percent of the not clean as well as a result, ward the center of the
total load — each and Consumer Reports tested 24 machine to provide more
every day at municipal leading low-phosphate exposure to the sprayer.
wastewater treatment offerings and gave highest
Also, try to prevent dish-
facilities — saving not marks to brands by Cascade, es and utensils from
only money but also Finish, Method and Ecover.
nesting within one an-
the other chemicals other so that the water
used to treat the water. can reach all surfaces.
Given the shift in so many states,
Send questions to EarthTalk., c/o E The
many manufacturers have reformulated Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098,
their entire product lines for markets Westport, CT 06881 or to
across the country, so even if you don’t earthtalk@emagazine.com.
16 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.com

Re-embrace the iron

Wrinkle-free By Siel Ju
Mother Nature Network
clothes
Trying to save energy by ditching the iron and
treated with wearing wrinkle-free shirts? Your new closet’s
sadly not as green as you may have expected.
formaldehyde Why? Formaldehyde’s what keeps your no-iron
can cause clothes unnaturally wrinkle-free. “Formaldehyde
basically keeps the fabric’s fibers in place after a
health spin in the washing machine,” according to The
New York Times. “Without it, the fibers become
problems for wrinkled or creases may fade.”
And that formaldehyde is giving sensitive peo-
people with ple skin problems. If you’ve had contact der-
sensitive skin matitis — which the Times reports “can cause
itchy skin, rashes and blisters” — wrinkle-free
clothing could be to blame.
Most people won’t develop skin problems with
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 17

the low levels of formaldehyde used

in wrinkle-free clothing, but
formaldehyde is a known carcino-
gen. The problem is, f it’s difficult
to avoid. Reports the Times:
“The United States does not reg-
ulate formaldehyde levels in cloth-
ing, most of which is now made
overseas. Nor does any government
agency require manufacturers to
disclose the use of the chemical on
labels. So sensitive consumers may Paul Sakuma/Associated Press
have a hard time avoiding it Olivier Chalouhi holds the keys of his
(though washing the clothes before new electric Nissan Leaf. He is the
wearing them helps).” first customer worldwide to receive
So what’s an eco-fashionista — the all-electric Nissan Leaf.
or simply someone who’s prone to
skin rashes — to do? My sugges-
tions:
1. Don’t buy “wrinkle-free” or
World’s first buyer
“easy care” clothing or linens.
The no-iron stuff most certainly has
formaldehyde in it, so getting to
of all-electric Nissan
know your iron is your first line of
defense.
Leaf drives home
2. Wash clothes before wearing
them. Since labeling isn’t required By Mike Swift
for formaldehyde-treated clothes, San Jose Mercury News
I’d stay on the safe side by washing
any item you buy before putting it Whooshing down Highway 101 to-
on. A lot of the formaldehyde wash- ward his home in Redwood City, Calif.,
es out even after one wash. from San Francisco, Olivier Chalouhi
3. Buy used. Pre-loved fashions was a happy man — the world’s first
can be good for your environmental buyer of the all-electric Nissan Leaf to
health — since they’ve likely shed take possession of his new car.
most of the chemicals they were “It’s great on the highway,” the ex-
treated with on someone else. I still cited new owner said, with the sound of
recommend giving used clothing a wind but not the growl of a gasoline
wash before wearing them, how- engine audible in the background as he
ever, lest you get bedbugs! spoke over a hands-free phone. “When
you accelerate, it sounds like you have a
Siel Ju blogs about health, beauty and jet engine or a turbine under the hood.
life at mnn.com/featured-
blogs/greenliving. You have to hear it — it’s very fu-
18 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.com

turistic.”
Electric car advocates sa-
vored the moment Chalouhi
climbed into his new Leaf at a
Nissan dealership in Petaluma,
Calif., on Dec. 11, as a historic
milestone, the first everyday
consumer to buy an all-electric
car built by a major automaker
that was trying to respond to
consumer demand rather than
a government mandate.
“I think we are looking at
the true takeoff of electric cars
— finally,” said Marc Geller,
the co-founder of Plug In
America, a national advocacy
group for electric cars, who at-
tended Nissan ceremonies in
Petaluma and San Francisco
with journalists from as far
away as Korea.
“The most important part of
this project is getting cars into
the hands of real people, real
consumers. Consumers seem
to be ahead of both the gov-
ernment and the automakers,
in that the demand is outstrip-
ping the supply,” he said.
Nissan is marketing the Leaf Photos by Paul Sakuma/Associated Press
as the world’s first affordable, Olivier Chalouhi smiles as he takes ownership
all-electric car available to the of his new all-electric Nissan Leaf.
mass market. In the next year,
the automaker plans to deliver
50,000 Leafs to buyers in California’s ambitious plan
North America, Europe and An alliance of automakers, utility companies,
around the world, although regulators and clean-air advocates are touting an
some U.S. buyers are discov- ambitious plan to make California a national
ering they may have to wait 10 leader in adopting electric vehicles by making
months or more between plac- charging terminals available in thousands of
ing a first reservation with Nis- homes, office buildings, shopping malls and other
san and actually receiving their convenient locations within the next 10 years.
car.
The Commercial Appeal
The charging panel for the Nissan: the
right charger is for home use and the
left charger is for public charging
terminal stations.
Strong demand
Allen Wood of Palo Alto, Calif., an
electric car enthusiast who placed a
reservation for a Leaf in August, re-
ceived an e-mail from Nissan saying
that “the response to this 100 percent
electric car has been amazing,” and that
while he was on track to be able to
formally order his Leaf in February, de-
livery of the car would not be until four
to seven months later.
“I didn’t expect to get one in Febru-
ary, but I must say the four- to seven-
month wait was longer than I thought,”
Wood said. “I was a little disappointed
in that, but I’ll still be one of the first to
get one.”
A Nissan spokesman insisted that de-
liveries of the Leaf, which has a sug-
gested retail price as low as $25,280
after a $7,500 federal tax credit, have
not been delayed.
“We said long ago that we would start
sales in December, and that is what we
are doing” with the delivery of the first
car to Chalouhi, said the spokesman,
Tim Gallagher. “Most car launches roll
Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 19
vehicles out in phases, and this launch
is quite unique. We will fulfill orders at
an increasingly growing pace as 2011
begins.”
With its zest for technology and en-
vironmental protection, the Bay Area is
expected to be a hot market for electric
cars, and Nissan says it has received
more reservations for the Leaf from the
Bay Area than any other U.S. region.
While Chalouhi, the 31-year old chief
technical officer of a San Mateo digital
media startup called Fanhattan, would
seem to be the ideal example of Nis-
san’s target market, Gallagher said he
was selected to be the world’s first Leaf
buyer only because he was the first
person in line.
Anxious to own
Chalouhi placed his reservation for a
Leaf on April 20, the first day that con-
sumers could plunk down a $99 reser-
vation to buy a car. And he was the first
person to put in his order for a car just
after midnight on Aug. 31, the first day
buyers could formally order their pre-
ferred model and color. This is
Chalouhi’s first electric vehicle, and he
hasn’t even had a car of his own in recent
months, as he and his wife shared a car.
He plans to use his new Leaf to commute
the 10 miles each way to work between
Redwood City and San Mateo, Calif.
“I felt there was too much attention
to me,” Chalouhi said of the electric car
ceremonies, in which he was surround-
ed by a paparazzi-like horde of media,
and which also included a public event
at City Hall in San Francisco. “To my
mind, the car is the real deal today. I’m
just a lucky guy who managed to be the
first one to get one.”
20 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010
The 22.8-year switch:
GE’s Energy Smart LED
As the common household incandescent
bulb marches toward extinction (they’ll be
completely phased out in the U.S. by 2014),
the “battle of the bulb” heats up with CFLs,
LEDs and a new long-lasting contender, the
ESL bulb, vying to take its place and usher in a
new era of energy-efficient lighting.
GE just announced the release of the
Energy Smart LED, a new omni-directional, 9-
watt bulb designed to replace the common
40-watt incandescent bulb used in bedside
and table lamps. According to GE, the life of
the Energy Smart LED is
25,000 hours or 22.8
years (based on three
hour/day usage) and
offers a 77 percent
energy savings when
compared to 40-watt
incandescent bulbs. It’s
also the first A-Line LED
bulb to receive an
EnergyStar rating.
The price? Brace
yourself: The Energy Smart LED sells for $50.
It’s admittedly a daunting price to pay for a
single light bulb that will live (and perhaps
outlive) your bedside lamp, but when you do
the math (which GE has thankfully done for
us:
gelighting.com/na/energysmartLED/math.html)
the dramatic cost becomes easier to swallow.
With an estimated yearly cost of $1.08 versus
$4.82 for a 40-watt incandescent (based on
$.11 per kilowatt hour), a single Energy Smart
LED can save homeowners $85 over the
lifetime over the bulb.
Learn more about this 40-watt substitute at
GE’s Energy Smart LED mini-site,
gelighting.com/na/energysmartLED/home.html,
where you can also purchase the bulb now. Or
wait until January when the Energy Smart LED
hits retail shelves.
Matt Hickman, Mother Nature Network
Matt Hickman blogs at mnn.com/featured-
blogs/greenhome.
commercialappeal.com
App points
toward best
light bulbs
By Thomas Content
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
MILWAUKEE — When it comes
to buying an energy-saving light
bulb, some consumers want to curb
their carbon footprint. Even more
want to save money.
Most light sockets in the country
still use Thomas Edison technology:
the incandescent. What consumers
crave most may be convenience.
With that in mind, Milwaukee sus-
tainability venture EcoHatchery has
introduced a new smart phone app,
the Light Bulb Finder.
“Part of my expectation coming in
was that people, when handed a sim-
ple solution, would immediately grav-
itate to it,” said EcoHatchery co-
founder and chief executive Adam
Borut. “And what we found is it’s
really critical to combine a straight-
forward solution with something you
can do in the moment.”
The new app, which made its de-
but on Android phones and became
available on iPhones earlier this
month, helps guide a homeowner or
renter through the process of figur-
ing out the right bulb to buy and the
The Commercial Appeal
payback the bulb will deliver on utility
bills and carbon dioxide emissions.
The instantaneous information pro-
vided by the app is aimed at over-
coming a variety of hurdles energy ad-
vocates and researchers have found
when it comes to deploying compact
fluorescent light, or CFL, technology.
Barriers include the high up-front cost
of buying new bulbs, as well as con-
sumer complaints about the quality of
the light and concerns about the small
amount of mercury the bulbs contain.
People don’t want to pay more at the
store for bulbs but the economics are
favorable, given that they last eight times
longer and use one-fourth the energy.
“The energy savings are powerful, if
you actually do the math, but we don’t
expect people to be doing math in the
checkout aisle of the store,” he said.
EcoHatchery was launched to provide
software and services, including eco-
starter kits that provide tips on energy
and water use savings that can also help
consumers on utility bills.
Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 21
Adam Borut is a
Milwaukee
entrepreneur
who has
developed a free
energy-saving
light bulb finder
phone app. It
points you to
the proper
compact
fluorescent
bulbs for your
needs.
Tom Lynn
Associated Press files
The eco kits included a paper form
that homeowners would fill out before
entering their information on the Eco-
Hatchery website to find the right bulbs
and the payback information.
“As more and more smart phones
have come out, they are the ideal ve-
hicle for this. You can go through your
home, stand in front of your fixtures,
input the information you need, and see
whether this is a bulb you want to
replace,” Borut said.
Borut and his Los Angeles business
partner opted to go for a free app to
help generate interest. Customers have
the option of e-mailing a light-bulb
shopping list to themselves or buying
directly from EcoHatchery.
The company’s timing may be good:
As the U.S. moves toward a phase-out
of incandescent bulbs over the next four
years, consumers will be searching for
more information about new bulbs.
Online: Light Bulb Finder:
lightbulbfinder.net
22 GOING GREEN | Sunday, December 26, 2010 commercialappeal.com

A “green tent” was set up for pre-game events at University Stadium where
fans were able to recycle old batteries, cell phones and sporting equipment.

ESPN goes green

Sustainability the focus of New Mexico Bowl activities
By Victor R. Martinez
El Paso Times
ALBUQUERQUE — ESPN has
long been known as an innovative
leader in sports coverage with its 24-
hour sports programming.
Now, 31 years after it launched on
Sept. 7, 1979, the total-sports net-
work is leading an environmental
sustainability effort that included ef-
forts in Albuquerque as part of the
2010 New Mexico Bowl.
The New Mexico Bowl, which is
owned and operated by ESPN, is
going green.
The University of Texas at El Paso
fell to Brigham Young University 52-
24 on Dec. 18 at University Stadium.
But that wasn’t the only newswor-
The Commercial Appeal Sunday, December 26, 2010 | GOING GREEN 23

thy story of the day. around it. It makes so much sense,

From the ESPN lanyards with “I and it broadens what we are able to
used to be a soda bottle” printed on do.”
them to the wood-based, com- The New Mexico Bowl was one of
postable key cards used at the team two — the BBVA Compass Bowl is
hotels, ESPN created an awareness the other — to implement the sus-
and educated UTEP and BYU fans tainability project. ESPN’s goal is to
about the efforts necessary for a increase participation every year by
greener future. at least two bowls.
“A waste management company at The MAACO Las Vegas Bowl has
the Phoenix Open put on an event already signed on for 2011.
and talked to us about all the waste
and what we could do in our sta-
diums and universities to improve on
what we are doing,” UTEP coach
Mike Price said.
“I was just dumbfounded by how
much we waste. It was an eye-opener
for me, so I joined this crusade 100
percent.
“We have to wake up a little bit
and smell the roses — just make sure
they’re not plastic.”
A “green tent” was set up at the
pre-game Fan Fest at University Sta-
dium’s north parking area where fans
were able to recycle old batteries, cell
phones and sporting equipment.
There was also a T-shirt recycling Associated Press
program in which fans were encour-
aged to bring a T-shirt or sweatshirt “I was just
from home. They were given the op-
tion to have that shirt “upgraded” dumbfounded by how
with a free new silk-screen image
created with environment-friendly much we waste. It
ink.
“This is just another aspect of the
was an eye-opener
New Mexico Bowl,” said Jeff Siem- for me, so I joined
bieda, the New Mexico Bowl exec-
utive director. this crusade 100
“This event is not all about a foot-
ball game. It’s being able to expand percent.
in what we’re doing and being the
first ESPN event to wrap our arms UTEP COACH MIKE PRICE