French Rabbit wines from the Languedoc Roussillon Region of France has released a series of good French wines in a convenient and resealable package that is helping save energy

Stylish and Useful

The great thing is the wine tastes good, the package is stylish for gift-giving, and the convenient packaging makes them great for taking them on a picnic. They won’t accidentally break. You can reseal the top, and you don’t need to carry a cork screw with you.

We found these bottles of French Rabbit wines for sale at City Cellars Fine Wines, 908 Race Street downtown Cincinnati. Give Brian Hymel, General Manager, a shout-out from Live Green Cincinnati if you go and buy a bottle there.

Sustainable Packaging

In an effort to make their product more sustainable, French Rabbit has switched to bottling their product in a new take on the old “wine-in-a-box” idea. The Tetra Pak wine container is 3% the weight of a regular bottle of wine and uses 90% less packaging. The result is a 2/3rds reduction in transportation costs. The new packaging also allows them to provide more wine per container, almost 2 glasses more than a bottle.

French Rabbit packages are 100% recyclable, made from paperboard, aluminum and polyethelene. Unfortunately you can’t currently recycle them in Hamilton County. However, it’s just a matter of time before that will begin to change. Check with your local recycling facility to see if you can recycle Tetra Pak cartons in your neightborhood.

Packaging isn’t the only eco-friendly way the French Rabbit brand is meeting their corporate stewardship. For every 4 French rabbit wines sold, the company commits to planting one tree.

Energy Reducing

Don’t be surprised if you start seeing more Tetra Pak cartons on the shelves of your local stores. Because of the way they are made (aseptic packaging), they keep liquids stable without refrigeration until opened. This cuts down on the energy used to refrigerate them during delivery and while on the store shelves. Tetra Pak is a Swedish company product and found most often in Europe.

Find Out More
French Rabbit Website: frenchrabbit.com
Tetra Pak Website: Tetra Pak

Our “I Make Cincinnati Green” feature now turns to green homes. Not building them, but advocating for greener lifestyles and assisting home buyers in finding a place that fits their needs, minimizes their environmental footprint, and uses energy and resources efficiently.

Meet Jami Stutzman. Half of the local Realtor-duo who started ENCORE: Environmentally Conscious Real Estate of Cincinnati.  Another person in the city who is proving that being environmentally responsible is not only the right thing to do, but good business as well.

Do you make Cincinnati green? Let us know.

Been wondering where to recycle your burned-out CFL light bulbs?

Home Depot has started a program to recycle them. You can find out more about the program on the Home Depot web site.

Remember, don’t recycle a broken CFL bulb. If you’ve broken a CFL, follow the EPA guidelines for cleanup and disposal. They contain trace amounts of mercury and should be disposed of properly.

If this all sounds daunting, remember that CFL technology saves you money and is a stop-gap measure until incredibly efficient and long-lasting LED light bulbs become widely available and reasonably priced in a few years. Until then, handle your CFLs with care and save green!

The first project of the recently passed Cincinnati Climate Protection Action Plan is happening this weekend. If the heat is on in your house, this one is meant for you!

Have a crummy older window air conditioning unit? Take it to the Best Buy in Tri-County to trade for a recycled future in exchange for a $50 credit towards an EnergyStar qualified window air conditioner. The program is this weekend only, act now!

Here are the details from the press release:

City of Cincinnati, Duke Energy, and Best Buy Partner to

Offer Energy Efficient Room Air Conditioner Deal

First project from the recently passed Green Cincinnati Plan

Cincinnati - The City of Cincinnati, Duke Energy, and Best Buy are teaming up to offer citizens the opportunity to trade in their old inefficient room air conditioners and receive a $50 rebate instant rebate for a new high efficiency room air conditioner at Best Buy. The trade-in program will be at the Best Buy at Tri-County Mall on Saturday, June 28, and Sunday, June 29. The program is the first example of how the Mayor’s Green Cincinnati Plan will help citizens save money on their utility bills.

“I want to thank Duke Energy and Best Buy for partnering with the City to help people make their homes more energy efficient,” Mayor Mallory said. “The Green Cincinnati Plan will continue to develop partnerships that will help citizens save money and improve the environment.”

To participate, bring your old inefficient air conditioner to the Best Buy at 865 E Kemper Rd, Springdale, OH 45246. The old air conditioners will be collected in the parking lot. Citizens will fill out a rebate form and receive either a $15 gift card to Best Buy or a $50 instant rebate if they choose to buy a new high efficiency ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioner. There is a limit of three recycled air conditioners per household. The promotion runs from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Saturday and 11:00 pm to 6:00 pm on Sunday.

“The Green Cincinnati Plan encourages residents to make their homes more energy efficient because it saves energy, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and saves money,” said Larry Falkin, Director of the Cincinnati Office of Environmental Quality. “Buying EnergyStar appliances is an easy way of knowing that you are making a wise decision, and this trade in program makes it an even better deal.”

Using a high efficiency ENERGY STAR qualified room air conditioner instead of a regular air conditioner will cut your cooling costs by 10 percent. This is equal to about $64 in savings over the lifetime of the unit. Products that have the ENERGY STAR have met strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy and have been tested as the most energy efficient products on the market.

The air conditioner turn-in program is part of Duke Energy’s commitment to increase the use of energy efficiency as an environmentally friendly way to meet the demand for energy from residents and businesses. Duke Energy Ohio’s energy efficiency programs are available to both residential and non-residential customers and include rebates on energy efficient appliances and lighting and other programs to help customers manage their energy use. Sandra Meyer, President of Duke Energy Ohio, was active in helping the City develop the Green Cincinnati Plan as part of the company’s efforts to support sustainable communities.

The turned-in air conditioner will be collected and safely recycled by Rumpke.

The good news is that living in an urban environment rather than a suburban one does cut our per capita (per person) output of carbon dioxide (the gas that contributes to Global Warming).

The bad news is that Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana are the top states for per capita output.

According to a recent CNN article on the subject:

Cities in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana dominated the bottom tier of high carbon emitters.

These urban areas are “kind of a poster child of what high carbon intensive growth looks like,” said Brown. She noted their reliance on coal for electricity and natural gas for heating, a shortage of mass transit, and often older, energy-inefficient buildings.

The positive note here is that they identified 3 areas where Cincinnati citizens can begin to focus on making it better here. Not only do these things make it less healthy and contribute to global warming, but these are also the things that cost us more money in our daily lives.

Let’s fix our issues by looking at the 3 areas of improvement we should all focus on:

1. Encourage alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar
2. Support and use mass transit - buses, streetcars, commuter trains, etc.
3. Put our household renovation money towards better energy efficiency rather than cosmetic changes

These are investments that will repay you in lower transportation costs and energy bills. Not to mention they guarantee that young Cincinnatians will stay here and continue to build their own families here rather than leave for areas of the country that are doing these things better than us. You know that will make grandma happy.

Green Myth #1

Fact or fiction?
When you turn off an electronic device, it’s no longer drawing power.

This is false! Any device or appliance which is plugged in may be drawing power even when it is turned off. The best way to eliminate “phantom energy loads” in your home or office is to use a power strip. Plug your TV and stereo or toaster and coffeemaker into a power strip. When you’re finished using them, turn off the power at the strip to prevent your appliances and devices from using any more power.

You can win a gallon of Mythic Paint, enter here! Everyone who enters will receive a $3 off coupon towards the Purchase of Mythic Paint at Park+Vine.

During a time when the housing market is not quite as strong as it was a few years ago, being assured of the value in your home is important.

Building green and or remodeling to make your abode more energy friendly is a great way to add lasting value to your home - especially with the reduced availability and rising prices of natural resources and fossil fuels we use to heat and cool our homes.

The two largest green home certification methods are LEED-H and EnergyStar. LEED applies a similar set of comprehensive US Green Building Council environmental standards for homes as it does for new construction, existing buildings, and commercial interiors. EnergyStar is centered around the efficiency of your home heating, cooling, and electricity use from appliances and things like lighting.

John Hueber Homes, Potter Hill Homes, and a few other local builders build to EnergyStar and/or LEED standards if it’s requested in new home construction. See this list of builders who care about EnergyStar homes. Many local architects are LEED accredited professionals and can help you during an environmentally friendly remodel. Visit the Green Building Certification Institute for a list of LEED APs in your area.

You can also arrange a visit from a Home Energy Rater to check on the efficiency of and make recommendations for improvements to your existing home’s systems. Some of the area businesses that can provide a home energy checkup are EnergyQue, Emotiv, and Bedrock.

If you want to start free and simple, Duke will also come out to give your home an energy checkup “house call” if you use this form to apply online.

When it comes time to buy or sell, you can use sites like Green Homes for Sale or work with a local realtor who specializes in environmentally friendly living. Veronique Beittel with ReMax is the first certified EcoBroker in Cincinnati.

If you’re buying a green home, you may qualify for an energy efficiency mortgage as well.

Finally, unless you want to be tied to your vehicle, check the walk score of your home. There is increasingly inherent value in being part of a liveable, walkable, working community.

For more information on green building, check out these past Live Green Cincinnati articles:
Cincinnati’s eco-industrial plan for the future

Bigger isn’t greener.
Don’t forget about energy efficiency tax credits.
Northside HOME House project.

Green can be a bold, broad, and big term, but most of the local work happens on a small and individual level. Everything you do to minimize your environmental footprint makes a difference. Green changes affect your lifestyle, and it can be very personal.

In order to put a face to local green, a new feature started this month on Live Green Cincinnati called “I Make Cincinnati Green“.

This section calls on local green minded individuals to tell us a bit about themselves and answer these three questions:

1. Who are you?
2. How do you make Cincinnati green?
3. What’s on your wish list for a greener Cincinnati?

The first two people you will meet are Alice Emmons of the Northside HOME House project and Brent Quebman of EnergyQue.

Do you make Cincinnati green or know someone who does? Check out the bottom of the I Make Cincinnati Green page to submit a recommendation.