All Your Green Blog

We've shipped a few things that, upon first glance, might look like we have as much regard for the environment as Amazon (who will use a 12x9x4 to ship a cassette tape). Tempting to consider, given that shipping a 12x9x4 box is several dollars cheaper to ship than a smaller box of the same weight! But no! That's not what we're up to.

In actuality, we reuse shipping materials whenever possible. When it's not possible, we try to use shipping materials made from recycled materials. For example, we have never purchased, and will never purchase, those inflated plastic bag thingies, styrofoam peanuts, or otter-skin boxes (ok, I made that up). However, you may receive something from us packed in the peanuts we got from incoming shipments. This is also true for oddly shaped boxes that seem like complete overkill for your order. If we can reuse materials, we'll generally try to. Admittedly, it's better for us, but it's also one less box we had to have manufactured, so it's better for everyone.

In addition, the packing paper we use to stuff boxes (if we're not re-using something else) is 100% recycled content. That's part of the reason we bought it. We're growing quickly, and as we grow, we try to make every change we make a change for the better. So far, we've drastically cut the environmental impact of our operation (which started out pretty good, if I do say so myself) while continuing to increase the number of orders we fulfill!

Thanks to all of you for helping us grow as far as we have in just over a month and a half! We are able to continually add products to the categories, new features to the site, and help more and more people find the green products they're looking for. Who could ask for more?

Whilst researching products, we have found a truly remarkable invention. It goes by the name of the Watercone® and could make a important impact in the lives of more than a billion people worldwide who don't have access to clean water.(WHO/UNICEF 2004)

The Watercone® is a straight forward and simple way to purify water anywhere the sun shines. It is basically a cone shaped piece of plastic that you place over a black tray of dirty water. The sun's energy heats the water inside the cone causing it to evaporate. When the evaporated water vapor hits the walls of the cone, it condenses and runs down the walls to the collection rim at the bottom of the cone. You're left with pure, clean, drinkable water.

If you're having difficulty imagining what a Watercone® looks like check out pictures on their site or check out this video:

This nifty invention can produce 1.0 - 1.5 liters of water per day. Which means that as few of 2-3 of them could produce enough drinking water for the average adult.

There's just one problem with the water cone--they haven't gone it full scale production yet. This urgent message is posted on their website:

"The Watercone® project is looking for investors and companies to initiate mass production tooling and distribution. So the Watercone can be manufactured for a lower price and become affordable to the people in need. Please contact: stephan@augustin.net "

So if you are an investor, producer, manufacturer, distributor, or think you can otherwise help getting the Watercone® to market, I urge you to contact Stephan and lend this worthy cause whatever help you can. All Your Green has already vowed to sell Watercones as soon as we are able. I hope that day comes very soon indeed.

Technorati Profile

A couple months ago, the coordinator of the Chico Velo Cycling Club and local environmental advocate, Ed McLaughlin, was involved in a cycling accident, and has been making a long recovery at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. His progress is updated here regularly.

I've known Ed for several years, who I met as part of an upper division honors class on "altruism" when I was a college student. The students each met regularly with local individuals who were seen by the community as somehow selfless and admirable, charged with the task of figuring out what makes them tick. Ed's efforts as an advocate for cyclists and pedestrians, constantly buzzing in the ears of the city's politics, have been instrumental in maintaining the community's collective perspective.

What were the conclusions I came to, years ago, in that class? Ed worked so hard for the enjoyment of others and the betterment of his community for a simple reason. Things were better if he did, and he was able to enjoy the fruits of his efforts directly. Despite the gratitude of many, he argued for our community's cyclists and environmentalists out of passion, without desire for rewards. For example, I recall him riling (despite the political futility) when the city was going to up the weight limits on our streets, demanding to know how ticketing over-sized SUVs wasn't a better solution than forcing the entire community to pay for the more frequent road repairs required to support hummers and escalades. At the time, he didn't even own a car, and was the most dedicated bicycle commuter I knew. His dry sense of humor, cynical rationality, and unique perspective on community service have been missed during his recovery.

On behalf of All Your Green, and the entire Chico community, we're pulling for Ed. The next time we get a chance to meet downtown and rant about the environmental impact of local politics, the coffee's on me.

Chevron (who I chose to pick on at random) is sure a bunch of swell guys. They spend so much money to protect the environment. They even have a whole section of their website deticated to outlining their "environmental responsibility." It begins with "Using definitions and guidelines established by the American Petroleum Institute..."

Wait, who? That doesn't sound like an institute I'd trust for defining my environmental definitions and guidelines. Well, Chevron spends an amazing $2.2 billion dollars on stuff that this API defines as "environmental spending." Well, I did a quick check on this API to find out just how green they are. Well... do you know what their tagline is on their homepage? "Putting Earnings into Perspective." No really. Now, in some sort of grand way, that could mean "look at how little the earnings are compared to the impact on our planet!" Well, of course that's not the case.

Who is this API? Well, to quote: "They are producers, refiners, suppliers, pipeline operators and marine transporters, as well as service and supply companies that support all segments of the industry." What industry, praytell? Oil and gas. So, basically, the $2.2 Billion dollars Chevron claims in its PR is money spent on what Chevron thinks is environmentally friendly. This includes such incredible charity as "prevention, control, abatement or elimination of hazardous substances and pollutants from operating, closed or divested sites."

If I had a steaming cup of toxic goo, and it cost me a dollar to pour it into another cup, instead of onto the ground, Chevron would claim that dollar as part of their "environmental responsibility." Why not just not make a cup of toxic goo? I'm a devout capitalist. I generally hesitate to interfere in the way companies to business. But there's just no positive side to these kinds of entities. If I needed any motivation to continue improving my environmental footprint, the Chevron Corporate Responsibility Report is all I needed. Just think of how much they spend on such charitable ventures as "costs to remediate previously contaminated sites."

There's a cliche involving a choice regarding the use of one's own back yard as an outhouse... they're doing it wrong.

GM's Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz got taken to task by the blogosphere and even some mainstream media for describing what he sees as fanaticism regarding global warming as a "a total crock of shit." For a company that is trying like mad to gain ground with the increasingly eco-conscious American consumer, this is quite the surly lad.

In addition to refusing to show regret for his comments, he then describes this backlash as also a "crock" in his own posting. He tried to deflect the glare by claiming that his critics should focus on forming opinions on the positive things his company is trying to do, and not on his opinions. He also pulled the ever classic "My thoughts on what has or hasn't been the cause of climate change have nothing to do with the decisions I make to advance the cause of General Motors."

Now, would you trust a vegan butcher? A mechanic who doesn't own a car? I think the stereotypical metaphor is a skinny cook. For a company whose "hugely beneficial" efforts are largely in the field of catching up with their competitors, losing money, and pushing people into retirement, this sure doesn't sound like a beacon of innovative leadership. GM stock is half what it was five years ago, and that was half of what it had been three years prior. In just over eight years, it's fallen 75%. Go figure.

Want to regain the public interest, GM? Try something new. If you want to beat the Prius, be the first American auto-manufacturer to release an economical full-electric commuter. If you got it under $25k, no matter how small and gutless, I'd be in line. You're getting beaten in your current market. Make a slight shift in your focus and hit the market from a different angle and you'll be fine. If you fail, the market will leave you behind. Innovation is rewarded, stagnation is retired. Speaking of retiring employees, why don't you start with executives that can't see the forest for the trees?

References:

• www.freep.com
• www.reuters.com
• thinkprogress.org

We've just stepped out of the cottage, and all around us, we see bright, vibrant colors! Blues and Reds and Golds, Oh my! Our newest line is from Enviro Products, who specialize in water and drinking accessories.

Like our other stainless steel water bottles, these are non-leaching, recyclable, washable reusable delights. At 20 oz., and slightly lighter than our Klean Kanteens, they're great for daily use. In addition, they come with a color-matched mini-caribiner to immediately take advantage of it's loop cap for attaching to backpacks and book bags.

So, how do they stack up to our Klean Kanteens, you ask? Well, we hope they appeal to a slightly different audience, as they carry a slightly different set of features. If they were cars, these would be the sleek, lightweight sports cars with pretty paint jobs. The Klean Kanteens are the Armored Personnel Carrier with class. I personally use a 27 oz. Loop Cap Klean Kanteen, as I like the larger capacity, and don't mind the tiny extra weight for the feel that it might stop a bullet if my beverage were in danger. Others prefer the lighter, more colorful bottles, and correctly point out that they are just as durable under any actually likely use cases. Well, just wait till their water comes under fire! Although I am kinda jealous of the blue ones...

But none to fear... word 'round the campfire is that Klean Kanteen is about to offer ways for small retailers like us to get our hands on their powder-coated lines. I love good competition.

Cheers!

I'm not really one for following instructions. It's a failing of mine, in most cases. I don't take care when told to "Be careful, the beverage you are about to enjoy is extremely hot!" I figure it's just the manufacturer covering themselves versus lawyers.

Well, Klean Kanteen recommends that you NOT put hot liquids in their stainless steel water bottles. They aren't thermoses, after all! But can I take their word for it? Of course not! In the interest of science, and the public good, I felt I needed to put my unburnt self on the line to verify their warnings.

Well, in addition to possibly decreasing the lifespan of the rubber seal on the cap, there is another very good reason to heed this particular warning. The fact is, stainless steel is a good conductor. Heat up one end of a chunk of steel, and the other will get hot too. It transfers heat pretty effectively. What you might not realize when you're groggily figuring out how to transport your morning brew, is that coffee and such is hot. Therefore, if you chose to... say, put hot chocolate into a Klean Kanteen... the Kanteen would itself become quite hot. Could probably burn the living bajeezus out of your hands, for example.

There's a fairly real chance of burning yourself with a bottle full of steaming hot liquid, if you're not paying attention. These are lightweight water bottles, not insulated thermal beverage transport devices. Learn from my experiments! Your fingerprints will thank you.

I received this question recently regarding the Sport Cap 27 oz. Klean Kanteen. Until then I hadn't really considered how I actually use a sports bottle.

On a plastic sport bottle, you can normally squeeze to get water out. With stainless steel, the only thing you can really do is suck on it (which some people did with plastic bottles anyway, and some manufacturers intended based on their mouth-contoured cap). Realizing that the balance of pressure would be a problem, Klean Kanteen added a pressure release nub(the little clear plastic thing next to the mouthpiece), so air can get in to replace the volume of the water you're drinking.

When you're not using the bottle, that release nub is in closed position, mounted so that it's pressed up against the hole it's fit into, sealing it. When the pressure is less on the inside of the bottle than on the outside (when you're drinking), the air pressure pulls that little plug in, allowing air to replace the water volume, and normalizing the pressure. Although, because there is limited real estate on a bottle cap, the pressure release is close to the mouthpiece, if you drink quickly, you may get some bubble feedback.

I encourage any and all questions you have! I love taking things apart and figuring out how and why they work, so no question is too silly or trivial! I will figure it out or die tryi... well that's overly melodramatic, but I'll try real, real hard to provide you with a satisfactory answer.

...Continued from here.

Bad news. This is not a good method for commuting. For the rush of using no gasoline to get to work on two wheels, I'm sticking with a contraption known as a "bicycle." At least for now.

I didn't get as far this time. Even with a real charge, the scooter only got me to the foot of the last bit of the hill. Recall, I use the word "hill" only because it's shorter than "very small increase in elevation over a couple miles". Kilimanjaro, this ain't. And I only got to the start of it. I was two miles from work this time. Pushing that monster that far is an exercise in will power. I was basically wrestling with an oddly shaped 80 pound opponent intent on not letting me get to work, fighting me for every inch of pavement with its magnetically possessed rear tire.

Well, maybe it was just the charge, maybe we hurt the batteries on that first partial charge or something. Maybe it would be fine on the way back. No sir. Half way. Same deal. And this time, I was checking it every couple of hours to make sure the charger still had a sound connection.

What's wrong here? 2.5 miles is so very much not equal to 18. Well, I did some math, and discovered something interesting. Schwinn didn't. Do math, that is. Here's how it breaks down:

The charger is 36 volts at 1.5 amps, or 55 watts. On an 8 hour charge, that's 440 watt-hours assuming it was at maximum current for the entire time (we'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and round up to 500 watt-hours). Now the motor has a peak output of 1000 watts. Now the scooter is actually very inefficient at full throttle, but we'll pretend it's perfectly efficient for ease of estimates. Let's say it goes at full throttle as far as it can. That's 15 mph for as long as 500 watt-hours would last under the draw of a 1000 watt motor. That's a half hour, or 7.5 miles. That's assuming a rider weight roughly zero pounds, on a flat surface, with all the uncertainties biased in favor of the scooter, except the draw from the motor at full throttle.

And what do you get if you feed in real numbers? Why... just about what I was getting out of it! Based on my estimates, the scooter was performing exactly as one should expect it to.

Well, 7.5 is a lot less than 18, so is Schwinn lying? Well, yes and no. The 'no' is because the motor wouldn't likely be drawing the full 1000 watts with a zero pound rider. The 'yes' is because their pants are on fire, and no rider is zero pounds. There are no conceivable real-world scenarios that would produce anything even resembling their claim of 18 miles. None. I'll be calling the manufacturer soon, and we'll pit my amateur physics, electrical engineering, and arithmetic skills against theirs.

But it doesn't really matter in the long run. I never intended to leave this thing stock. I will find a way to use it as a commuter. The "battery pack" is actually three 12 volt lead-acid batteries zip-tied together, so that's the first point of improvement. With new batteries (recycling the old), I'll probably have to build a charger, but I have friends with actual electrical engineering degrees to help with that. And then.... I'll be unstoppable!

Inspired by the Bio-diesel Ambulance of those crazy cats at Ecologic Designs, I decided that we needed a company ride.

After doing some quick research, I found the Schwinn Fusion 1000. This bad mamba-jamba sports a 1000 Watt direct-drive motor, a top speed of 15 mph, and an impressive range of 18 miles! And at a sticker price of $250, I figured we could use it as a platform for satisfying our amateur electrical engineering urges without risking all that much.

Once assembled, we plugged in the charger, all filled with dreams of commuting to work the next day on our eco-friendly hog. I arose early the next day to find the charge light green (wait... was it green last night?), and strapped on my helmet and gear, and set out on my 5 mile trek to the office. With an optimal range of 18 miles, I figured with my less-than-ideal circumstances, I should still be fine. I assume the 18 miles was with a 90 pound rider on a flat surface, maybe with a breeze at their back. Well, I'm about twice that weight, and I have a little incline on the way to the office, but it's only 5 miles. I set off.

At first, I was surprised at how zippy it was. I cruise lazily on a bicycle at about 8 to 10 mph, so the 12 mph or so I was going was a nice pace. I was also careful to not use the throttle too heavily, as I knew this would shorten my range.

I got about half way when the battery life indicator told me I had half of my juice left. "Dandy!" I thought to myself, as that's how much I needed. I started up the long, straight bike path (legal in my state, with an electric) toward the complex where my office sits. This is the slight incline, as well. The whole trip probably gains about 30 vertical feet, so nothing really serious. As I approached the top of the hill for the perfectly flat last mile, the indicator told me I had "LOW" battery. "Splendid!" I thought, as I didn't need much to coast victoriously into the office, just down the road.

Well, I didn't make it. I made it to within a half-mile, and had to push it from there. It's not far, but there is no clutch on a "direct-drive" and the resistance of the solid state magnets in the motor are fighting you all the way. The rear tire would rather skid than roll. Most inconvenient.

After making it less than half way home (that's downhill you may have discerned), I decided something was wrong. When Dan, Allyourgreen's CTO, picked me up and got me back to home base, I started messing with the charger. Turns out, to quote Gir from Invader Zim (a cartoon I'm fond of), "The plug thing! It's not plugged!" The plug on the charger didn't seat properly in the receptor on the bike. With some slight modifications (certainly not involving aluminum foil strips stuck into the receptor), the charger indicator was RED, so it was actually charging.

Well, there's going to be an honest charge tomorrow. Check back for the continuing saga of the Allyourgreen Electric Scooter and Portable Resistance Training Device.

We recently added Green Guru products to our Outdoors and Apparel categories. These tough, high quality additions are manufactured by Ecologic Designs in Boulder, CO. They are positively role models for green companies. They started from a background in hiking, surfing, camping, mountain biking, climbing, etc. Now they have a company that focuses on products for these lifestyles that are made out of recycled materials.

Not only that, but they do road trips to promote their products, hitting bike trails and the like between stops. And what do they drive? Why, none other than a bio-diesel (or even just straight vegetable oil!) powered ambulance! They're like the Ghostbusters of Green.

Check it out here:Ecologic News, July 2006

In addition, they make everything within 15 miles of their location. That means everything is entirely made in the USA. As they described to us, "and pay our sewers about $12/hr, not .50/day." I like their style.

Currently we carry a couple of their wallets, a hemp messenger bag, and a zipper pouch. We've been really amazed by the quality of craftsmanship on these products. In addition, we are really impressed with their company culture, and dedication to conservation and outdoor recreation, and we're happy to be working with them!

We had heard at some point that aluminum can cause Alzheimer's. We also knew that one of the biggest manufacturers of hiking canteens, Sigg, uses aluminum for it's light weight and durable line of products. Well, we don't like the idea of giving any of you Alzheimer's, so we decided early on to stick with stainless steel.

But were we right? Let's take a poll:

• No: USNews Health
  "Various studies have found that groups of people exposed to high levels of aluminum do not have an increased risk."
• Probably Not: www.agr.gc.ca
  "It has not been shown clearly that normal eating or drinking in a healthy individual will cause elevated aluminum levels in the blood."
• Probably Not: Answerbag.com
  "Studies performed on patients have not found a common factor in the development of Alzheimer’s Disease."
• Probably Not: Alzscot.org
  "The evidence linking aluminium in water supplies with Alzheimer's disease is inconclusive."
• No: Only-cookware.com
  "There is no evidence to support the theory that increased consumption of aluminum increases the risk of contracting Alzheimer's."
• No: The Diet Channel
  "There is no reason to fear a problem from the tiny amount of aluminum we get from our cookware and utensils."
• No: Knopps.com
  "These days, most of the top medical experts, from the Mayo Clinic to the Alzheimer's Association, say there really is no reason to panic."

Here's an example of why we can't conclude that aluminum causes Alzheimers. It's a matter of correlation versus causation. Imagine a mideval doctor explaining to you: "See? Bloodletting works! As soon as we were done, he got better!" You'd obviously try to point out that maybe, just maybe, the guy got better because you stopped the bleeding, and he recovered naturally. When it comes down to it, there isn't any evidence that supports the fear of aluminum, and to fear things that haven't been proved to be dangerous would make a very, very long list of phobias.

As it turns out, there are two reasons to question those tests done some 20 years ago that originally turned up the relationship between aluminum and Alzheimer's. First, the samples could have been easily contaminated, so the results were unreliable ("it is extremely difficult to prevent samples from becoming contaminated with aluminium from the environment" from Newscientist.com). Second, the effect that Alzheimer's has on bloodflow could result in Alzheimers causing the aluminum levels in the brain, and not vice versa.

Considering the number of reports and articles that tend to debunk the aluminum myth, and with the linings or treatments put into high quality aluminum water bottles, Allyourgreen.com is abandoning our uninformed and paranoid ban on aluminum products. Should scientific study yeild other results, we will obviously revisit the issue, but for now, it sounds like there's absolutely nothing dangerous about aluminum water bottles.

To us, it's encouraging to remove one bit of paranoia from our minds, and open up a new niche of products we can offer with a clean conscience. Aluminum would be great for specialty outdoors activities like hiking and climbing. We are also excited about how commonplace aluminum recycling is in neighborhoods. As we explore these options, we'd love to get your feedback, critique, and input on what we find.