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How do I keep ants and spiders out of my home?
 Posted 4/23/2010 9:45:00 AM
Every spring I get little black ants in my basement, then spiders. Can you recommend a Green exterminator? My children play down there!
Chris – Dogtown
Dear Chris
So you want to spray pesticides where your children play? You’re missing the whole point of Green! If you’re serious about sustainable choices, you need to observe the situation and respond to its natural rules, not just hire somebody to spray stuff – so please stick with me here.
If you’re dealing with tiny black ants, these creatures pose no threat to people or property. Ants come into our homes in spring when their colonies revive from their winter state of torpor. They’re seeking two things they need to reproduce and thrive: warmth and food. Even with the heat turned efficiently low, our homes provide that needed warmth – there’s not much we can do about this factor. Ant food supplies, however, ...
Rain Barrels - How do they work and where can I get one?
Posted 3/3/2010 10:01:00 AM
How do rain barrels work, and where can I get one? I’d like to make use of rainwater in my garden this spring.
Patty Mae – Affton
Dear Ms. Mae
This is the perfect time to set up a rainwater harvesting system. Spring rains will be falling soon and the Metropolitan Sewer District is about to launch a second annual sale of rain barrels for MSD customers.
A rain barrel collects and stores rainwater from your roof. It’s an inexpensive, low-tech, convenient way to help reduce the strain on our region’s storm sewer system and to tap a free source of good water for your home landscape. This water would normally run off the roof into your gutters and downspout and eventually into the storm drain.
Rain barrels help protect water quality by reducing storm water runoff, which carries pollutants like sediment, oil, grease, bacteria and excess nutrients into the ...
Kitchen Worm Bin
Posted 1/22/2010 3:05:00 PM
My wife wants to start composting and we don’t have space for an outdoor compost pile, so I am going to get her a kitchen worm bin for Valentine’s Day. Thought you might have some bin recommendations and shopping tips. What are the best websites?
Rick - Clayton
Dear Rick:
You are quite the romancer, giving your true love the Worm Bin Of Her Dreams!
And you are taking a practical, low-maintenance approach to composting when space is an issue. Vermicomposting – using a compact, indoor bin with red wiggler worms as your decomposing workforce – will quietly turn your kitchen and house plant scraps into super-charged plant food, with minimal demands on you.
Worm bin for a kitchen: Your BEST BET is the Can-O-Worms. There are a bunch of options for price, shipping, new/used bins etc. The Can looks like a round black plastic coffee table on legs, about ...
Holiday Light Recycling
Posted 1/8/2010 12:53:00 PM
I love my super-bright new strings of energy-saving new LED holiday lights, but now I have all these strings of regular-bulb lights – including the ones that are burned out. What’s the Green Thing to do with my old bulbs?
Dionne – St. Ann
Dear Dionne:
Be sure to compare your electric bill from this time last year when your December bill comes in – you’ll get a New Year’s gift for sure! St. Louis Green’s new light-string recycling program is one of the hits of the season – extended through January 15 at the Kirkwood Recycling Depository – has recycled over 2.65 tons of old lights as of Winter Solstice – now that’s a bright idea!
What happens to the lights St. Louisans are recycling? St. Louis Green has partnered with a specialty recycling company with equipment to shred the strings and separately recover the copper and plastic, materials ...
Holiday Tree Recycling
Posted 1/8/2010 12:44:00 PM
I hate to see those trees-in-bags by the sides of streets after the holidays. Isn’t there something GREENER we can do with the Christmas tree after taking it down?
Holly in Collinsville
Dear Jolly Green Holly:
THANKS for your efforts to make the best use of Christmas trees! There is still a lot of very useful life remaining in that Auld Tannenbaum when you stow your decorations back in the basement. You can:
REUSE your Christmas tree outside your home by standing it in your backyard as a bird feeder and sanctuary. Fresh orange slices or strung popcorn will attract the birds, and they can sit in the branches for shelter. Make sure you remove all decorations, hooks, lights, garland, and tinsel strands before placing it in your yard.
Plan to REDUCE the demand for cut trees next year, by planning to purchase a rooted (ball and burlapped or containerized) ...
A guide to Green Scents for the Holidays
Posted 12/4/2009 11:28:00 AM
With the holidays approaching, I’d like to get some festive scents wafting through my home. What do you recommend to keep the air quality “green” – and is there anything I should absolutely avoid?
A Lover of Good Scents, Edwardsville
Dear Good Scents:
Smells do make strong connections to our feelings and memories! Thinking about your question, I imagine smelling tangerines, balsam needles, anything baking – and wet wool socks. Ah, the winter holidays!
The healthiest way to use scents is to bring the real source of festive smells into your home. Evergreen sprays, potpourri made with citrus peels and cinnamon sticks, oranges studded with whole cloves – and soggy footwear, if you share my emotional taste in smells. Natural materials won’t scent your space indefinitely, but they’re great combinations for parties or part of the festive season – they are so pretty too.
If you want to enhance the ...
What is Energy Star and where does it come from?
Posted 11/13/2009 11:10:00 AM
We are seeing ENERGY STAR so much. It’s on product packages, on billboards, even on some real estate advertising. What exactly is ENERGY STAR and where does it come from?
An Energy-Saving History Fan – St. Peters
Dear Fan of Two Things I Value Too:
ENERGY STAR is a national consumer standard of energy efficiency. It provides credible, objective information so we don't have to invest time and money researching the energy efficiency of things we intend to buy – and how many of us would do this homework before running to the store, hmmm?
This star-power product evaluation and marketing program is prompting individuals and businesses to look for, ask for and choose appliances, light fixtures and bulbs, HVAC equipment, home and office electronics – even whole homes, as you have observed – on the basis of their energy-saving performance. The distinctive blue logo identifies these products at-a-glance, covering ...
Back to School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies
Posted 9/2/2009 12:00:00 AM
I’ve heard about a report concerning toxic substances in children’s school supplies. What’s the story? And what are safer alternatives to any hazardous products?
A Green Mom – North St. Louis County
Dear Mom:
I believe you're asking about concerns with the plastic PVC and a report recently released by the non-profit Center for Health, Environment and Justice, along with a 2nd annual edition of their Back to School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies.
The plastic PVC (polyvinyl chloride, or vinyl for short) contains dangerous chemical additives used to soften or stabilize it. These chemicals include phthalates, lead, cadmium and / or organotins. Federal law has banned the use of phthalates in children's toys - but not in children's school supplies.
This toxic plastic is found in both name brand and generic products. Lunch boxes, binders, vinyl backpacks and even art supplies are frequently made out of PVC. Some PVC ...
Do the Items We "Recycle" Actually Just Get Trashed?
Posted 8/5/2009 12:24:00 PM
What really happens with the stuff we recycle? Doesn't it end up in landfills anyway?
A Skeptical Recycler - O'Fallon Illinois
Dear Skeptic:
This is the most persistent myth the recycling industry has to debunk. The materials you take the trouble to drop in your recycling bin are resources - they are not trash! There's still plenty of useful energy embodied in the paper and cardboard items and the plastic, glass and metal containers collected in household recycling programs.
After they're picked up from your home, school or business, these materials are sorted, baled, brokered and shipped to manufacturers that make new products with post-consumer recycled content.
You can make paper from paper 4-5 times, so high-grade copier and printer paper may become an ingredient in newsprint, along with old magazines and junk mail. Lower grade fibers, that have been used in recycled-content products a couple of times, are the ...
Concerns about Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Posted 7/20/2009 1:05:00 AM
Don't disposal issues outweigh the benefits of using compact fluorescent light bulbs? I know that "CFL" bulbs are more efficient, but I'm concerned about the mercury hazards I've heard about. Aren't we dumping mercury into landfills when we throw them away?
Cautious – St. Louis County
Dear Cautious:
Yes, it's true – there is mercury in your energy-saving bulbs. Mercury is a necessary part of the mix of gases in the glass tube that converts electrons into light. Today's CFL bulbs contain an average of 4 milligrams of mercury, an amount that would just cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, an old-style fever thermometer contains about 500 milligrams of mercury, the equivalent of 125 CFLs.
Mercury is a naturally occurring element that harms humans when we ingest it, or breathe it, or absorb it through our skin. It's a substance to treat with great respect. Plus it ...
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