The Green Athlete

Road Trip to California 70.3

Making the road trip down to California Ironman 70.3 down in Oceanside California. We started our trip from the Green Athlete headquarters in Danville, California. We are driving down in the Green Machine - my new Ford E350 conversion. It is a stock van that has been converted to 4x4 and with all the amenities of home. Sleeps 4, has a kitchen, fridge, microwave, great stereo, and it is all run on solar and BioDiesel. It makes a road trip very comfortable. I am actually writing this blog from the back bed as we pass Buttonwillow on the I-5. The solar is set up by Sungevity, who you will see soon at www.sungevity.com. They specialize in setting up your home with solar power which is very easy and very affordable. We have my Trek bikes on the racks and plan on riding most places when we set up camp. 1 World 2 Wheels is a program set up by Trek to build awareness of how easy it is and how good it is for the environment to just ride your bike to run short errands and to get around. We will be stopping by the K-Swiss headquarters on our way down to see the facility and say hi to the gang. They are excited to see the new Green Athlete van and to be a part of our shoe recycling drive for Soles 4 Souls program, where we collect used shoes to donate to the needy and to recycle to build tracks and playground flooring. Come by and see us at the expo at the race this weekend and check out the van. Look forward to seeing you there.

REUSE

REUSE is the second of the 3 R's. I talked a little about Reduce and now about Reuse. It is all first about Reducing what we use, then reusing what you can to eliminate more waste and last will be recycle.

You can "reuse" materials in their original form instead of throwing them away, or pass those materials on to others who could use them too! Remember, one man's trash is another man's treasure! Here are some examples of reuse ...

1. Take along washable cups or travel mugs instead of disposables; a lot of restaurants and convenient stores will be glad to fill or refill your own mug. When you hit Starbucks everyday try to not use a new cup that ends up in the garbage, bring your own mug each day. That little step if everyone did it would save an enormous amount of trash.

2. When you do use disposables like plastic cups, plates, utensils, and plastic food storage bags, don't throw them away! Wash and reuse them -- most of them will last for a long time with many uses. They may not cost much to replace, but it doesn't make any more sense to throw away those things than it does to throw away your bicycle after one use.

3. When you do decide to replace something large and "reusable", be sure to donate the old one to charitable outlets like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Vietnam Veterans, and the many others that are probably in your area. Most of the time the item can be repaired by those groups, and then redistributed into other homes rather than landfills.

4. Hold a yard sale or give-away. And ask your neighbors to join in too -- this shares the work and increases the number of unused things that can find new homes and new uses. And your local recycling/solid waste office may run a "swap shop" at a recycling centers --

5. When you go to the grocery store bring your own bags. There is no sense in using the plastic or paper bags they supply there. Bring your own cloth bags that you can use over and over again.

These are just a couple simple and easy ways you can make a big difference. When you really think about it these things would not take much effort or energy out of your day, but can save a lot of waste to our environment.

Recycling Car Batteries: It adds up!

One car battery translates into quite a substantial amount of waste: 3 pounds of plastic, 21 pounds of lead and 1 gallon of lead. Don't just get rid of that old worn out battery, recycle it. Over the past seven years, AAA has recycled over two million batteries through their Great Battery Roundup Program. In honor of Earth Day (April 22nd), AAA will recycle your car batteries for free from April 9 through April 19. To find a site near you, call (800) 903-2227 or visit:
www.batteryroundup.com

Carbon Footprint Calculator

Unfortunately, our daily activities contribute to climate change. Greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide) blanket the earth and warm the planet. Virtually any time we utilize a conventional source of energy or drive our cars, we are contributing to this warming effect and affecting climate changes.

Your "carbon footprint" is a measure of your impact on the environment, in terms of the carbon dioxide emitted as a result of your daily activity. Use the calculator on this site to see how you measure up.

http://www.pge.com/about/environment/calculator/