Green Guru
Advice for the eco-minded.
By Starre Vartan
 

Craig Cutler

What are the five easiest changes I can make in my home to reduce my household carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming?
James Crooks, Chicago, IL

Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, are burned. Americans produce more CO2 than any other nation in the world—almost twice as much of the global warming gas per capita as Western Europeans. Our homes are major culprits, belching 21 percent of the nation’s energy-related carbon emissions. Here are five simple changes you can make to reduce your home’s so-called carbon footprint. As a bonus, you’ll save money, too.

Get an energy audit. Most utility companies provide this service at low or no cost; the summer is a great time to schedule an appointment, since utilities are less busy, and you’ll have time to implement their suggestions before winter. Change your bulbs. If every U.S. household replaced just one 75-watt incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent, the emissions saved would be the equivalent of taking 6.3 million cars off the road, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. The newer compact fluorescent bulbs fit lamp fixtures better and give a warmer glow similar to incandescents, so give them a second chance if you previously disliked their shape or light quality. Buy a blankie for your water heater. At a cost of about $20, the extra layers of insulation will yield energy savings year-round. Turn your water heater temperature setting down a few degrees and save more. Let gadgets remember for you. Install a digital thermostat and set it so that it’s either warmer in the summer or cooler in the winter when you’re away and asleep. You’ll then return to or wake up to a comfortable house that uses less energy. If you (or your kids) always forget to turn off the lights, add a motion sensor. Lights will automatically click off when the room is empty. Buy green power through your local utility. You’ll be supporting solar, wind, small hydropower, biofuel, and geothermal power producers. (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers an easy way to find your local provider: http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/locator/index.htm.)
Back to Top

I’m afraid of someone in my family getting Lyme disease. How bad are the pesticides used to keep ticks off my lawn, and are there alternatives?
Mary Anne Shaeffer, Greenwich, CT

Lyme disease is scary stuff. Transmitted by the deer tick, it can result in persistent fatigue, chronic pain, arthritis, and neurological disorders. Unfortunately, the pesticides commonly used to keep deer ticks off your property are made up of chemicals that may affect your health and threaten other insects and animals. Many commercial anti-tick pesticides contain permethrin, a possible carcinogen and a suspected endocrine disruptor. Amphibians, fish, aquatic plants, and mollusks exposed to the pesticide via runoff from treated lawns show inhibited reproduction and abnormal development. The greatest risks of exposure to these pesticides are for pets and children. Use a nontoxic means of controlling pests instead.

Simple changes to your landscaping can discourage ticks and their hosts. Ticks like cool, moist environments, so get rid of brush and leaf litter, and if your property adjoins a wooded area, keep a buffer clear of low bushes. Densely planted beds should be thinned in areas near the house and your lawn trimmed to three inches or lower. Place bird feeders away from the house and try to keep pets and kids out of places where you know deer, mice, and birds (all hosts for deer ticks) spend time. You can also try using diatomaceous earth, a naturally occurring, chalklike powder made from a sedimentary rock that dehydrates—then kills—insects that walk on it, or nontoxic tick repellents in areas the bloodsuckers frequent. Finally, always check yourself, children, and pets after spending time outside. Studies show deer ticks must be attached to the skin for about 36 hours before they transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, but it’s best to remove them as quickly as possible. 
Back to Top

George D. Lepp/Corbis

My neighbor just got rid of her lawn and has planted native bushes, grasses, and trees. What are the advantages of giving your backyard a natural makeover?
Rhonda George, Santa Fe, NM

More than 20 million acres of the United States that was once woodlands, tallgrass prairie, swamp, and even high-mountain desert—is now lawn. And that bland blanket of green isn’t as innocuous as its pretty tint suggests. In fact, more than 70 million pounds of pesticides and herbicides, 30 to 60 percent of local water, water-polluting fertilizers, and buckets of time and money are showered on lawns each year. And while these spaces may look green, they are virtual dead zones for beneficial bugs and wildlife, which are increasingly pushed to the margins as more land becomes developed for human habitation. Replacing your boring square of green with native plants will not only sustain local fauna, it will also cut down or eliminate mowing chores. Since lawnmowers and other gas-powered lawn tools produce 5 percent of the nation’s air pollution, you’ll save time when you retire your mower and you’ll help clear the air.

Start by deciding whether you want to eliminate your lawn, minimize it, or replace it. If you have limited funds, a step-wise process over several years will allow you to learn about what native plants will work best in your yard. Easy additions include fruit- and nut-bearing trees, which will attract local wild bird populations, and native grasses and ground covers. They will offer nesting and resting places and help you eliminate watering, mowing, and fertilizing. Adding access to fresh, clean water is key for birds, and can be as simple as an attractive birdbath or a small fountain. For more turf-transforming tips, visit http://www.audubon.org/bird/at_home/Healthy_Yard.html.
Back to Top

Send your most vexing questions to greenguru@audubon.org