The Cincinnati Zoo is encouraging all visitors to bring their own treat bag for HallZOOween this year. Think pillowcase - gives you more opportunities for goodie collection. That’s just the beginning of a green Halloween: check out this list of suggestions to have an environmentally friendly (as opposed to environmentally spooky) Halloween.
Be Green this Halloween! Halloween can be spooky and fun, but it doesn’t have to be scary for the environment. Here are some tips for having fun this Halloween the green way.
Make costumes out of old clothes, trade last year’s costumes with friends, or purchase your costume at a second-hand shop.
Pass on the vinyl masks—they emit toxic fumes. Paint your face instead using homemade face paint.
Make your jack o’lantern from an organic pumpkin bought at a local farmer’s market and light it up with beeswax or soy candles, which burn cleaner than traditional candles.
Once you’ve finished carving your pumpkin, roast the seeds to make a healthy snack for you, or set them out for wildlife.
Use a reusable cloth trick-or-treat bag, or even just a pillowcase.
Trick-or-treat in a safe neighborhood where you can walk from house to house instead of having to drive.
Light your way from house to house with a flashlight that uses rechargeable batteries, or better yet, one you can crank or shake to light.
Light the path to your front door with luminaries made by nailing holes in empty tin cans.
Switch out your incandescent porch light for an energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb or LED light, or even better, burn candles instead.
Sit on your front porch to hand out treats instead of opening and closing the door, which wastes energy.
Give out organic candy—yes, they make organic lollipops, chocolates, and even gummi bears!—which can be purchased online or at natural food stores, or go with an even healthier option like granola bars or raisins.
Compost your pumpkin instead of throwing it in the trash. Go ahead and smash it first—it will help start the decomposition process.
The Cincinnati Zoo’s Harold C. Schott Center is a US Green Building Council LEED-Silver certified green building. It’s not the newest green building in the area, but it’s very accessible and an incredible learning opportunity. Enjoy some images of the last Live Green Cincinnati visit to the Zoo.
The landscaping around the Schott Center is filled with native and drought-tolerant plants. Switchgrass is also one of the most efficient agricultural products currently being converted to bio-based fuel.
The US Green Building Coucil’s LEED-Silver award is impressive, mounted on a cork-covered wall.
Solar power provides much of the energy needed to run the facility.
FInishes like strawboard, cork, and bamboo are some of the environmentally conscious renewable materials used in the building.
Daylight inside! These plants (and people) thrive in all the natural light they are receiving. You’ll also notice fans near the ceiling to help circulate the air: going one direction in the winter to push hot air down and the other direction in the summer to lift hot air up.
The Cincinnati Zoo also has environmental features like a Green Roof and Rain Garden available for visitors to see. It’s definitely worth the trip to the Zoo for the wildlife and high focus on conservation of all kinds.
Live Green Cincinnati has been connecting you with local green news, inspiration, and ideas for more than 18 months. Thanks to everyone in the Queen City for creating enough environmental buzz to keep our heads spinning with articles and possibilities. Everything that’s happening in Cincinnati is amazing, and so much forward progress has been made in so little time. Yay, everyone!
We are working hard to keep growing, and keep bringing you what you want. Our latest addition is the monthly email newsletter, featuring the GreenED challenge. Your next 30-day challenge starts in early Nov and the only way to get it is through the newsletter. Sign up today for the newsletter. You’ll LOVE what’s coming next!
Just 9 months ago, we began hosting advertisements on the website to help defray the costs of running. This month, we are proud to announce that we are phasing out the generic advertisements and welcoming sponsorship and advertising from local Cincinnati groups and companies!
Please support those who help Live Green Cincinnati bring you the green goods!
A trip to Turpin Farms this weekend for a turn in the Corn Maize was the perfect way to spend an amazing early Autumn day. It also turned up a few interesting green Cincinnati finds.
How about this traditional-looking rain barrel, connected to the downspout of a small shed near one of the green houses? Just add rain and wow - watering the plants just got a whole lot free-er.
Since it’s been so dry lately, you may be looking for a way to keep your plants watered without running the hose or sprinkler constantly. Start at the Civic Garden Center, they regularly offer classes to make your own rain barrels.
This sign on the side of the rain-barrel equipped shed really sums up the Cincinnati green movement.
Want to know more and get inspired? Check out the Turpin Farms website and plan a visit.
Interested in reducing your electricity bill and experiencing more natural daylight in your home or office? First Day Natural Lighting is a local company focusing on indoor natural lighting and a premiere dealer for Solatube innovative daylight systems.
More about First Day Natural Lighting:
Sell and/or install Solatube Daylighting Systems and Solar powered attic fans.
Have a showroom just north of Monroe on Cincinnati Dayton Rd. The Grand Opening of this location was September 5th and 6th, 2008.
Will offer Do-it-Yourself workshops for homeowners and contractors through out the year.
Want to save money and help reduce resource use and reduce carbon in the atmosphere? Try ebilling.
eBilling is the process of paying your bills online electronically.
Online bill payment saves you the cost of stamps and paper checks. Paying your bills online also reduces paper waste and transportation costs, which in turn reduces the carbon footprint of your payment.
As a consumer, paying 12 bills a month, you can save $75 a year in postage and checks by switching to eBilling. The reduced costs for businesses can be much larger.
The real savings comes in making bill payments green. According to the PayItGreen web site, if you pay an average of 12 bills by mail each month, switching to ebilling means in a year:
4.5 pounds of paper saved
43 gallons of wastewater prevented from discharging into lakes, streams and rivers
178 pounds of greenhouse gases avoided
For local consumers, Fifth Third, PNC, US Bank and National City all offer free online bill payment with online banking accounts. Businesses can contact their bank provider for more information on electronic bill payment.
Thanks to those of you who took the Live Green Cincinnati reader survey!
Live Green Cincinnati LLC cut a check last week to the Cincinnati Parks Foundation as promised. 50 cents for every completed survey.
With the economy in a slump, we sometimes forget to make these types of contributions, but we all need to remember that projects like public parks benefit everyone in Greater Cincinnati.
Findlay Market, Ohio’s oldest surviving municipal market house, has proved itself over and over again of it’s historic forward thinking. Case in point: Findlay Market recently installed 114 solar panels on the roof.
Findlay Market is a gem in the city. The perfect mix of past, present, and future.
Findlay Market has taken an exciting step to reduce its carbon footprint by installing 114 solar panels on the south-facing roof of Ohio’s oldest public market. This is the largest photovoltaic installation in Ohio on a building listed on The National Register of Historic Places and, we believe, the second largest in the nation. The panels will generate electricity for use in the market house and route any excess power generated to the utility grid. The solar array has an expected life of at least thirty years. By replacing electricity generated by coal or natural gas, the Findlay Market solar energy system offsets 52,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, or more than 780 tons of CO2 during the life of the array.
The Findlay Market solar energy project is made possible by a generous donation to The Corporation for Findlay Market from Duke Energy Corporation and by a $73,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Development Advanced Energy Fund. The Corporation for Findlay Market also receives significant financial support for operating Findlay Market from the City of Cincinnati, which owns the market. We thank them for helping us be a leader in promoting environmental sustainability.
On Thursday, October 16, 2008, a Findlay Market Solar Energy Project Dedication Ceremony and press conference will take place at 1:00 PM. Sandra Meyer, President of Duke Energy Ohio and Kentucky, Mayor Mark Mallory and other City officials as well as representatives from the Ohio Department of Development, Green Energy of Ohio and other community stakeholders will attend the celebration.
Two housing developments in Over The Rhine are pursuing LEED green building certification. The buildings are part of a pilot program for green building in multi-family, mid-rise residential projects.
The US Green Building Council’s LEED program currently covers these types of projects:
new construction
commercial interiors
existing buildings
core & shell
schools
healthcare
retail
homes
neighborhood development
Green building standard guidelines are constantly expanding to be able to fit into many aspects of and uses for buildings. Contact a LEED Accredited Professional to find out who LEED may guide your next new construction or remodel project into an environmentally friendly one.
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