Pledge to do at least 2 of the actions below (or use the comments to propose your own) through March 2012. Tell us who you are, circle your actions, and then scan/copy/print/cut out this pledge and send it to us. We are asking you to use paper here. The back of something, a scrap, recycled paper — it’s all acceptable. We’re doing this because writing pledges down make them more likely to succeed.
- By email
- Or snail mail:
Ann Arbor 350 / Ecology Center
339 E. Liberty St, Suite 300
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
- Click here if you absolutely must have an online form for the pledge
Download the pledge here.
I, ______________________, pledge to do the following climate-mitigating activities through March 2010:
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
After March 2012, I will do my best to maintain and increase my personal climate-mitigating activities.
Signature: ___________________________________________________ Date: ___________
Contact info: _____________________________________________________________________
HOME
TRANSPORT
FOOD
What are the actual numbers?
Unless otherwise attributed, the information below is from the 2010 Ann Arbor Energy Challenge Booklet, written by Kim Wolske with contributions by Nate Geisler. The full booklet will soon be available at a2energy.org.
HOME
Add eco-friendly insulation to your walls & attic
Improving your attic insulation can save 84 pounds of carbon dioxide each month by decreasing the amount of hot and cold air that escapes through your roof in the winter and summer. Insulating your walls is a bit more challenging, but it saves a whopping 395 pounds of carbon dioxide each month. Sierra Club’s Green Home website provides a lot of helpful information about what you should look for in insulation.
Install a low-flow showerhead
Save 105 pounds of carbon dioxide per month. Select a shower head with a flow rate of less than 2.5 gpm. This will allow you to use less HOT water — meaning you use less water AND less energy (to heat that water). Here’s a recommendation from our friend Matt at Greenovation.TV:
Bricor – ultra-high efficiency shower head with flow rate of only 1 gallon per minute (gpm). A standard shower head has a flow rate of 2.5 gpm. So, this shower head will save a family of three about 16,000 gallons of HOT water every year. It’s a huge energy saver as well as a water saver. Learn more about what Matt’s done to his house here.
Install faucet aerators
The aerator—the screw-on tip of the faucet—ultimately determines the maximum flow rate of a faucet. Typically, new kitchen faucets come equipped with aerators that restrict flow rates to 2.2 gpm, while new bathroom faucets have ones that restrict flow rates from 1.5 to 0.5 gpm.
Aerators are inexpensive to replace and they can be one of the most cost-effective water conservation measures. For maximum water efficiency, purchase aerators that have flow rates of no more than 1.0 gpm. Some aerators even come with shut-off valves that allow you to stop the flow of water without affecting the temperature. When replacing an aerator, bring the one you’re replacing to the store with you to ensure a proper fit.
Wash laundry in cold water with a full load
This saves 57 lbs CO2 per month. The folks at TreeHugger figured this one out years ago and wrote a lovely article about it:
When you use cold water to wash, you just use energy to run the machine — about .24 kWh — without using any energy to heat the water. That .24 kWh translates to about .41 pounds of CO2 per year. That’s about 8 gallons of gas, or 164 miles of driving. Compare that to the 3595 miles of driving that the top end of the emissions scale (washing in hot/warm, using a top-loading machine and water heated with an electric water heater), and pressing that cold/cold button starts to make a sizable difference.
Use LED holiday lights
The estimated household savings of LED holiday lights is 47 pounds CO2/month.
Starting in 2007, the Ann Arbor DDA began using LED (light-emitting diode) holiday lights, 114,000 LED bulbs to be exact, on trees throughout most of the downtown (coincidentally equaling one bulb per city resident – isn’t that an interesting fact!). This is one of the largest LED holiday lighting displays in the country, and attracted NBC national news.
This technology requires 80 percent less energy than traditional lights: 100 LED holiday lights draw 8.8 watts, while 100 regular, mini holiday lights draw 44 watts. Ann Arbor’s 114,000 bulbs equate to an annual energy savings of $7,000, (71,468 KWh) and 70 tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 12 cars off the road. LED lights also last much longer as well, with a 40-year life expectancy before they burn out, which translates to a maintenance savings, as well.
TRANSPORTATION
Don’t let vehicle(s) idle!
If you turn off your car instead of idling, you can save up to 24 pounds of CO2 per month. Each time your car idles for 5 minutes, you waste 1 pound of CO2. There are also an incredible number of myths out there that keep people idling, but — rest assured — idling is NOT better for your car.
If you’ll be parked for more than 10 seconds, turn off the car. Restarting uses less fuel than letting the car idle – and contrary to popular belief – will not damage modern engines. Even in cold weather, modern cars need no more than 30 seconds to warm up. You’ll actually heat the engine twice as fast by driving rather than idling in place.
Replace 1 vehicle commute by walking or cycling
Save about 20 lbs CO2 per month. Consider walking or biking for short-distance trips. In congested areas, riding a bike can actually be faster than taking a car. Even at a casual pace, a one mile trip can take only 5 minutes on a bike or 20 minutes on foot. Each mile you power by foot – instead of your car – prevents nearly 1lb. of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.
Inflate tires once a month
Save 29 lbs CO2 each month. Looks can be deceiving – half of the vehicles in the U.S. have at least one tire that is underinflated. Under normal driving conditions, your tires naturally lose 1-2 psi per month. Since underinflated tires have more contact with the road, they require more energy – and gasoline – to move and maintain speed. By inflating your tires to the recommended level each month, you can save up to 18 gallons of gas each year. The proper tire pressure for your vehicle can be found on a sticker in the driver’s side door jamb or in your owner’s manual.
FOOD
Compost your food scraps
When you toss banana peels, coffee grounds, and other organic matter into the trash, they end up in landfill where it produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more harmful than CO2. Instead, consider returning your food scraps to the earth. You’ll save up to 28 lbs of CO2 each month, halve the number of times you have to take out the trash each week, and generate a nutrient- rich medium for gardening. A number of commercial compost bins are available or you can start a pile in a corner of the backyard.
Go vegan for just 1 meal per week
Vegans are responsible for 1.5 fewer TONS of CO2 emissions each year than meat-eaters. The math is a bit tricky here because most of the calculations have been done for vegetarian meals, but you’ll likely save 11 pounds of CO2 per month if you replace 4 meat meals with vegan meals.
From UNA-USA:
The University of Chicago reports that going vegan is 50% more effective than switching to a hybrid car in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.
Bring your own grocery bag
The global warming impact of using a single disposable bag is small. But each year Americans use over 100 billion plastic bags and 10 billion paper bags. The typical shopper uses 9 bags per week, at a cost of 6 lbs. of CO2 per month. The next time a cashier gives you the choice of paper or plastic, take pride in providing your own reusable bag instead. Reusable bags hold up better and can even earn you some cash. Many grocery stores provide a cash rebate – up to 10 cents per bag, every time you check out.
Eat 1 local meal per week
Save 4 lbs CO2 per month. The average meal travels between 1,200 to 1,500 miles from the producer to your plate. Aside from arriving short on flavor, high mileage foods also take a serious toll on the climate. After harvest or processing, they’re loaded into an assortment of energy-guzzling transports – freight trains and ships, semi-trucks, and even airplanes. Buying food from local farmers saves transportation-related emissions and puts money in your local economy. If local offerings are sparse, try to pick in-season food that traveled the shortest distance. Many produce labels will indicate the state or country of origin.
 350.org is an international campaign that’s building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis–the solutions that science and justice demand. 350 is the most important number in the world! Scientists say 350ppm is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Find out more on the global site, 350.org.
 Ann Arbor 350 is your link into doing something about climate change here in Washtenaw County! This site is gathering into one place a “Cookbook” of simple but powerful step-by-step recipes for taking community action. Our featured recipe is below, but you can explore them all in the Recipes for Community Action section.
On Friday, the Union of Concerned Scientists and UM’s Erb Institute are partnering to bring a Town Hall, Cures for Climate Confusion, to Ann Arbor.
In attendance will be many innovative thinkers and experienced leaders from the media, academic institutions, religious centers, the private sector, and other fields. Opening remarks from former U.S. Representative Robert Inglis, Republican from South Carolina.
The Town Hall takes place this Friday, January 20th from 6:30pm – 8pm at Blau Auditorium in the Ross School of Business. For more information about the Town Hall, including how to participate via live streaming, click here.
After you’ve attended, visit our Facebook page to start a discussion about the topics covered!
A cool new interactive feature from the New York Times features semi-vegan recipes.
We’re looking to test of few of these ourselves in the next few weeks, and hope some of our readers will give them a try, too. If you do make any of these dishes, could you please send us a photo and your own notes on the recipe? We’ll share your comments with our other supporters in a future newsletter.
The Union of Concerned Scientists and U-M’s Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise are hosting a town-hall discussion on ways to increase public understanding of the climate change debate at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, in Blau Auditorium at the U-M Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan Street.
“The town hall, “Increasing Public Understanding of Climate Risks and Choices,” represents a unique opportunity to participate in a major gathering of the most innovative thinkers and leaders in the climate change debate,” according to a statement from the conference organizers. “Opening remarks will be presented by leading representatives from government, religious groups, business, academia and the non-profit sectors.”
The public is welcome to participate in person (no registration required) or to submit questions to climatetownhall@gmail.com.
 A series of four presentations on “Sustainable Ann Arbor” kicks off at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, at the the Ann Arbor District Library main branch at 343 S. Fifth Ave. The series will continue on the second Thursday each month through April. The Sustainable Ann Arbor Forums will help guide the city’s sustainability planning efforts.
The first program will focus on resource management, including regional planning, natural areas, waste reduction, recycling, compost, urban forestry, water and air quality.
The following sessions are:
• Feb. 9- Land Use and Access, including transportation designs, infrastructure, land uses, built environments, and public spaces.
• March 8- Climate and Energy, including an overview of Ann Arbor’s climate action plan, climate impacts, renewable and alternative energy, energy efficiency and conservation.
• April 12- Community, including housing, public safety, recreation, outreach, civic engagement, and stewardship of community resources.
More information on the sustainability framework and the Sustainable Ann Arbor Forums is available at www.a2gov.org/sustainability and on the State of Our Environment Report webpage at www.a2gov.org/soe.
This winter, sign up to take some simple, easy steps to reduce your personal carbon footprint. Ann Arbor 350 is signing folks up to sign the Winter Climate Pledge and take a few easy household, transportation, and food-related actions that have the potential to make a huge difference.
Download the pledge here.
For instance, installing a low-flow showerhead can save 105 pounds of carbon dioxide per month, and you’ll still get plenty of hot water to rinse your hair. Or wash your clothes in on the cold cycle and use only 13.5 pounds of carbon dioxide per month instead of the 200 pounds of CO2 used for the hot/warm cycle. And your clothes will be just as clean. (It’s the detergent and the agitation that cleans the clothes, not the temperature of the water.)
If one person completes all of the Climate Pledge actions for a year, they will save 4.9 tons of carbon dioxide.
Just pick a few actions, write them down, and send them to us. We’ll check in on you to help you meet our goals, and also to celebrate our accomplishments. To assist in achieving these important goals, we will also make sure that we as a community are ready to rally together to add our voices to the roar that will be needed to get the attention of our politicians.
Remember — it doesn’t end with the Climate Pledge; it starts there. This journey will be more fun — and more fruitful — if we take it together.
The Winter Climate Pledge goes through the end of April. The data we collect and assemble will be used for our big next step: demanding systemic political change to address the climate crisis.
For a paper copy of the Climate Pledge, pick up a copy of the local Crazy Wisdom Community Journal and flip to page 11 (full story on page 29). Or just visit our homepage!
Food Day is on Monday, October 24th and we’re celebrating by holding a screening of the film Urban Roots. Urban Roots explores the urban farming phenomenon in Detroit, highlighting what has become of collapsed industrial towns and their need to forge a sustainable and prosperous future.
We are paying Tree Media Group a screening fee for this opportunity to help keep what they do sustainable. Due to this, we are suggesting a $5 donation to attend the screening. We’ll have a jar … and won’t ask lots of questions.
 Even Michael Pollan thinks you should participate in Food Day. See? —->
Here’s an important blurb for you to consider about gardening:
Lasagna gardening is a no-dig, no-till organic gardening method that results in rich, fluffy soil with very little work from the gardener. The name “lasagna gardening” has nothing to do with what you’ll be growing in this garden. It refers to the method of building the garden, which is, essentially, adding layers of organic materials that will “cook down” over time, resulting in rich, fluffy soil that will help your plants thrive. Also known as “sheet composting,” lasagna gardening is great for the environment, because you’re using your yard and kitchen waste and essentially composting it in place to make a new garden.
- Source: About.com
 Order your Growing Hope raised bed kit today! Why is this so important? Because it allows you to have a fertile bed to plant your veggies in with NO DIGGING and by using up kitchen scraps, LEAVES, grass clippings and newspapers.
There’s no better time for “lasagna gardening” than Fall. This is great news because we have more Growing Hope raised bed kits that you can buy. It shouldn’t take you more than a couple of hours to assemble and fill them, and be ready for seedlings next Spring. We’re happy to help if you need it — just schedule an appointment with us on Saturday, October 22 and we’ll arrange a team of people to come out and help you. We’ll bring you a kit ($35) and help you collect the newspaper and compost scraps (FREE!). Contact us for more information.
All set with your 2012 gardening needs? Sign up to join a work crew:
Few things put as many ants in your pants as that heavy, New Orleans funk. So it was the other day
that I had The Meters’ Soul Island in my head, inspiring me to throw together some Tofu Creole.
Cajun and Creole cuisines are notoriously heavy with flesh and it can be extraordinarily difficult to
replicate the flavors in vegetarian recipes. I’ve managed to convert two dishes – Shrimp Creole and
Gumbo – into meat-free versions that capture the soul of all things N’ahlens.
Creole is one of the few dishes from the region that doesn’t start with a roux. Its thickness comes from
a long simmer – the longer, the better. However, if you are like me and don’t start thinking about
making dinner until well after 5 pm, you can save time by adding cornstarch. If you want to let it simmer
for an hour or two to thicken up, then skip the cornstarch step.
I throw in a couple tablespoons of sugar to cut through that tomato edge, but only after I’ve tasted it
first to see how tomato-ey the dish is. This is typically dependent on the brand of tomatoes you use – in
mine, I use locally packaged Eden tomatoes. Some folks think adding sugar is sacrilege, but hey, I think it
tastes better. Skip the sugar step if you like – definitely don’t add it until after you’ve tasted everything
else put together.
Leave the Tabasco on the grocer’s shelf – Clancy’s is made right here in Ann Arbor, and tastes much
better.
Substitute oil for the butter and make this a vegan dish.
Tofu Creole
Serves 4
2 tbsps butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
½ large green pepper, chopped
1 block extra-firm tofu, cut into chunks
4 tbsps Creole seasoning (recipe follows)
2 tbsps cornstarch
¼ cup full-bodied red wine, such as Bordeaux
1 large can Eden Foods crushed tomatoes, no salt added
1 small can Eden Foods diced tomatoes, no salt added
A few drops of Clancy’s, to taste
2 tbsps vegan cane sugar
2 cups rice, cooked according to package directions
In a soup pot, sauté the onion, celery, green peppers and tofu for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add
creole seasoning, stir, and cook for one minute more. Add cornstarch and stir in thoroughly. Deglaze
the vegetables and tofu with the wine, and cook until the wine has evaporated. Add both cans of
tomatoes and Clancy’s and stir well. Taste and add sugar, salt, additional creole seasoning, or more
Clancy’s if necessary. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve warm over rice.
Creole Seasoning
From Mr. B’s Bistro, New Orleans
1/3 cup paprika
3 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon granulated onion
4 teaspoons dried thyme
4 teaspoons granulated garlic
Mix all ingredients well and keep in an airtight bowl.
 Few things put as many ants in your pants as that heavy, New Orleans funk. So it was the other day that I had The Meters’ Soul Island in my head, inspiring me to throw together some Tofu Creole.
Cajun and Creole cuisines are notoriously heavy with flesh and it can be extraordinarily difficult to replicate the flavors in vegetarian recipes. I’ve managed to convert two dishes – Shrimp Creole and Gumbo – into meat-free versions that capture the soul of all things N’ahlens.
Creole is one of the few dishes from the region that doesn’t start with a roux. Its thickness comes from a long simmer – the longer, the better. However, if you are like me and don’t start thinking about making dinner until well after 5 pm, you can save time by adding cornstarch. If you want to let it simmer for an hour or two to thicken up, then skip the cornstarch step.
I throw in a couple tablespoons of sugar to cut through that tomato edge, but only after I’ve tasted it first to see how tomato-ey the dish is. This is typically dependent on the brand of tomatoes you use – in mine, I use locally packaged Eden tomatoes. Some folks think adding sugar is sacrilege, but hey, I think it tastes better. Skip the sugar step if you like – definitely don’t add it until after you’ve tasted everything else put together.
Leave the Tabasco on the grocer’s shelf – Clancy’s is made right here in Ann Arbor, and tastes much better.
Substitute oil for the butter and make this a vegan dish.
 Mel's Tofu Creole Tofu Creole
Serves 4
2 tbsps butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
½ large green pepper, chopped
1 block extra-firm tofu, cut into chunks
4 tbsps Creole seasoning (recipe follows)
2 tbsps cornstarch
¼ cup full-bodied red wine, such as Bordeaux
1 large can Eden Foods crushed tomatoes, no salt added
1 small can Eden Foods diced tomatoes, no salt added
A few drops of Clancy’s, to taste
2 tbsps vegan cane sugar
2 cups rice, cooked according to package directions
In a soup pot, sauté the onion, celery, green peppers and tofu for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add creole seasoning, stir, and cook for one minute more. Add cornstarch and stir in thoroughly. Deglaze the vegetables and tofu with the wine, and cook until the wine has evaporated. Add both cans of tomatoes and Clancy’s and stir well. Taste and add sugar, salt, additional creole seasoning, or more Clancy’s if necessary. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve warm over rice.
Creole Seasoning
From Mr. B’s Bistro, New Orleans
1/3 cup paprika
3 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried basil
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon granulated onion
4 teaspoons dried thyme
4 teaspoons granulated garlic
Mix all ingredients well and keep in an airtight bowl.
The action for 350.org’s Moving Planet Day in our community happened on Sunday, September 25th at Liberty Plaza. Over 70 of us gathered together to share our vision of how to move our area away from fossil fuels.
Here’s a look at our vision and proposed action items by issue area (feel free to contribute in the Comments section below):
Overarching questions
- What is our vision for the future of our region re issue area?
- What progress is already happening?
- What steps can we take to achieve our vision?
- What is one thing we can ask our leaders over the coming year?
Housing
- Vision: equality, justice, efficiency, equal access to core resources, self/local sustainability
- Needs:
- vibrant, centralized community areas for gathering
- inclusionary zoning – put core (food, water, energy, housing) services in high density areas
- neighborhood bases services: farming, food, markets, bike repair
- co-ops for: power/energy, food production
- rolling art festivals
- more DIY Home energy improvements and weatherization
Transportation
- Vision: efficient + reliable systems that:
- Reduce need for individual vehicle ownership
- Reduce/eliminate dependence on fossil fuels (also: booming Michigan economy)
- Needs:
- Mechanisms to protect bicycles from vehicles:
- own lanes, barrier walls
- Extensive, interconnected, efficient high speed rail or other public transportation
- Create roadways for non-vehicular traffic only
- Develop walking/bicycling (school) buses
- Public transit
- Maintain downtown transit center
- Make biking safer – more bike lanes!
- More people will bike!
- Culture of calming traffic
- Pedestrian safety signs
- (keep off vegetation)
- More in-city housing
- Relocation assistance for long-distance commuters
- Extend bus lines
- High Line on Huron
Food/Gardens
- Vision: beautiful high density areas that support bountiful local food economy and healthier people.
- Specific: Walk into park, yards, anywhere and not have any fear of toxins
- Needs:
- Centralized community areas for restaurants + groceries
- Neighborhood units that share:
- Garden work, seeds, skills, tools, processing + preservation
- Support cottage food industry
- Passive irrigation training & infrastructure
- Share skills
- Spreading idea of permaculture
- Email group, public demo of it, tours of them
- Teaching about “weeds” and native plants
- Hold a reskilling of food
- Policy: protect water & soul as part of healthy ecosystem (include this as a filter for any decision)
- Allow chicken coops in neighborhoods
- Require them to be safe from dogs, raccoons, etc.
- Buy and eat locally grown food when possible
Education
- Vision: an education system that nurtures community and reaches all levels/types of students and closes the education gap
- Needs:
- Investment in schools/teachers
- Mechanisms for community to support schools + vice versa
- Walking & bicycling “bus” system
- Plus other ways for community members to aid students and get both outdoors
- School gardens, teaching kids about healthy foods, seeing, tasting, and producing the differences
Water
- Vision: Clean drinking water for al in county, ability to swim/recreate in all parts of Huron river
- Needs:
- Invest in WATER ACCESS research
- Build passive irrigation systems
- Ban use of drinking water for toilets, landscaping, etc.
- Invest in water technology research
- Stop the use of herbicides and pesticides that contaminate our water supply.
- more water fountains
- to test our water regularly, find what healing property of the water we have like minerals and also testing level of radiation, what bacteria are there
- Minerals in water can be healing (sulfur), or can make one sick (lead)
- Chemical level, chemical in H2O are linked to Cancer (i.e. lymphoma)
Energy
- Vision: reduced use/reliance on fossil fuels + clean air, less light pollution (see Milky Way from A2)
- Needs:
- Phase out 2-stroke engines (leaf blowers)
- Energy-focused building code (residential and commercial)
- Tax credits/Low interest loans for EE/RE Upgrades
- Local power co-ops
- Neighborhood-scale re-installations
- Increase use of heat pumps — For heating and cooling
- Geothermal — is this the same thing?
- NG Service Stations for larger vehicles
- Transportation = HUGE
- Mass transit w/ community input, land use planning
- Weatherization
- For rental housing programs
- Updating building code to reflect today’s circs (e.g. 2×6 walls)
- *carbon tax- other levelers of playing field
- Strong Dist/Gen, net metering policies
- Promote solar currents at residential scale
- Community adv. to neighborhood scale installment, energy co-ops
- Communicate EE the way we do bond return (% savings per year)
- Buses: investigate technologies
- Assess county land for solar capacity
- Invest in energy storage infrastructure
- Hydro? Is it a low hanging fruit?
- Wiring regs. in building code – examine these for efficiency
- Solar hot water was not cost effective for 7 bldg. condo last year
- How to make it so?
- Create opportunities for large scale residential or muni-owned installations/improvements
- Make LED at carports do-able
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