2 Slow and steady
Driving slower to save gas Modern life is busy. Not even counting work, you’ve got to take the kids to swimming lessons at the YMCA, visit your favorite aunt’s art display at the Hoogland Center and get to your CrossFit classes at FitClub, all before rounding up the family to bond over dinner together. Considering how rushed we often feel, it may be tempting to drive a bit faster than we’re supposed to – 40 miles per hour instead of 30 on Sangamon Avenue, 55 instead of 45 on Wabash and even 65 instead of 45 on Veterans Parkway. But consider this: besides breaking the law when you speed, you’re wasting gas, which ultimately hurts the environment.
Gas mileage is the key. Depending on your car, for every five miles per hour over 60 you drive, you sacrifice between seven and 23 percent of your fuel efficiency, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In monetary terms, slowing down can mean saving up to 24 cents per gallon. That’s like getting a free gallon of gas for every 12 gallons you
use carefully.
Slowing
down for the environment can have big effects in the long run. Though a
gallon of gas only weighs about six pounds, it creates about 19 pounds
of carbon dioxide when burned and combined with oxygen. For the average
American driver covering 12,000 miles per year, getting 25 miles per
gallon instead of 20 can keep 1.2 tons of CO2 out of the atmosphere each
year. (12,000 miles / X mpg * 20 lbs. of CO2 / 2,000 lbs. = tons of CO2 per driver
per year) The same equation shows that going from 15 mpg to 20 can save
four tons of CO2 each year.
And while you’re at it, stay calm behind the wheel.
Driving aggressively – rapid acceleration and braking – can waste
between five and 33 percent of your fuel efficiency, costing you up to
an estimated 91 cents per gallon. Remember, going easy on the gas means
taking it easy on the planet. –Patrick Yeagle
3 Composting 101
A quick guide to greener gardening
Compost is a great way to feed your garden this spring. Dead leaves, vegetable scraps and other organic waste can be used to make rich, fertile topsoil ideal for plants and flowers. A compost pile can be built on bare ground or inside a bin. If built on the ground (not on asphalt or cement), the pile should be on top of a wooden pallet to allow for proper air circulation. You can also build your own compost bin using concrete blocks, salvaged wood or a garbage can with a secure lid.
Either way, your compost will need four things to thrive: air, water, brown organics (like dead leaves, twigs and manure) and green organics (lawn clippings, weeds, garden refuse and vegetable/food scraps). To build the pile, add a layer of brown organics 6-8 inches thick, followed by a layer of green organics and a third layer of topsoil or a starter material like animal manure.
Repeat this layer once more for appropriate size. Compost piles should be no smaller than a threefoot cube, and no larger than a five-foot cube.
Most compost piles should be turned about once a week, or when new material is added. Once the materials decay enough to form dirt, it’s ready to be added to the landscape. Compost may be added to garden soil in a three- or fourinch layer, and then tilled with existing soil. You can also add a three-inch layer of compost as mulch for flower beds, vegetable gardens or around trees and shrubs. Houseplants can also use compost, when it’s spread in a thin, sifted layer on top of their soil.
The City of Springfield allows backyard composting, but piles must be contained in a free-standing bin no larger than the five-foot cube. Bins must be no less than three feet away from all property lines and structures, and can’t be located in alleyways. No manure can be composted within city limits.
For more information, contact the City of Springfield Division of Waste & Recycling at 217- 789-2327 or online at springfield.il.us/recycling. —Diane Ivey
