Going dryer-free

One of the things I am hoping to advocate in my blog is stopping using clothes dryer. Dryer is the second largest energy consuming home appliances only to fridge.

And we already have solution to get rid of it -- use drying racks.

I've wrote some posts about laundry, but those are one of the most unpopular pages in my blog. And I know why - drying rack is time consuming.

But hey, if you are so into renewable energy, why don't you talk about most easily available renewable energy??? It's MANPOWER. Our body is designed to some works anyway. There is no reason why we shouldn't count it toward renewable energy to be greener.

There is another important reason why dryer is not good; it damages textile. In Japan, a lot of mesh bags are offered for washing machine. Some are for under wears (left pic) and some are large enough to hold several clothes (below pic). You can use them to wash your favorite clothes with delicate materials or finish.
Mesh bags also keep your clothes from getting excess lint. When lint collector is part of a dryer, it becomes a problem when you chose not to use a dryer.

You might want to add black or navy clothes in the bag so as they don't end up looking fluffy.

Cutting meat from your dinner table just by 20%

I recently found that IPCC Chair Dr. Pachuari is a strong advocate of eating less meat (or beef more specifically). According to his estimate, if the Americans reduce eating beef by 20%, it will have the same effect as replacing all SUVs in this country with Prius. That is a lot.

And it doesn't require any technologies! (actually, many effective solutions to tackle climate change have nothing to do with advanced technology; it's just changing the way of life.)

For those who have never linked eating meat to global warming, here is how it works:
1) To secure pasture to grow cows, forests need to be destroyed
2) It requires a lot of energy to freeze/transport meat which is currently occurring on a global scale
3) It requires long distribution/consumption path until the meat finally end up in your table or in the restaurant, and it all requires freezing.

Where there are enormous concerns on obesity and its various impacts on life in this country, cutting meat is a great solution both for your health and for earth's health. And it will save some/or dozens or more? cow's lives.

Here is the tip: once you start cutting meat, your body is less and less dependent on meat. I am not a vegan, but I don't eat beef much just because I don't feel like to or I don't feel I need to. Check out Tofu hamburger recipe to start off!

Stay cool! Sensu, Uchiwa and Higasa

Sensu: Japanese old style fan.


World of artisanship.






Uchiwa is also a traditional Japanese fan but much more casual.











Higasa ( parasol) has evolved a lot. Most of today's models cut UV rays.

If you want to mimimize the use of air conditioner, ask people who lived lives without air conditioner! They have so much to offer.

Sensu http://www.kururi.net/SHOP/sensu1.html
Uchiwa http://www.kinuito.com/nshop/feature/uchiwa.php
Higasa http://allabout.co.jp/fashion/fashionitem/closeup/CU20080516A/

Right to say NO to overcooling?

What is the most comfortable indoor temperature in summer?

I often see 78F for air conditioner setting as energy saving threshold. And actually I found that my office is kept at 78F.

Darn it, I feel cold.

I don't use air conditioner when I leave home, so I comfortably wear no-sleeve shirt + skirt+ pair of sandal. (Highest is around 100C these days) But once I am in the office, I am cold! I put socks on and add another layer of cloths when I am alone in my cubicle, even when I know it looks terrible with what I wear! I can't stand freezing feeling. What makes worse, I cannot stand the difference of temperature - I feel tired by going from 100F to 78F, then back to 100F and then back to 78F.......doesn't look like my body is responding well to the fluctuation.

The temperature is even lower in shopping malls, restaurants and a lot other places where they apparently set air conditioner lower than 78F.

I just have to wonder if I am the only one who is freezing at 78F?

Do I have the right to say No to overcooling? It makes me stupid especially when I think I am collectively emitting GHG just to freeze with my sandals on.

Recommended energy saving/GHG emission reducing air conditioning temperature in Japan is 28C (82.4F).

I am very curious to know if there is anyone else who wants indoor temperature higher in summer. I just wonder if we can collectively say NO to overcooling.

Is dish-washer eco-friendly??

I sometimes come across Japanese articles bragging "dish washer is eco-friendly."

In the meantime, I bought "the complete idiot's guide to global warming" out of curiosity. It says that the dishwasher uses as much energy as cloth dryer or freezer. That's a lot.

Are they contradicting?

The reasoning for Japanese articles is because dishwasher only uses about 3 gallons of water/load, which is much less than hand washing. Plus, the machine is energy efficient. Therefore it has overall advantage over hand washing (which assumes hot water requiring energy).

We will need hard numbers to really determine whether the diswasher is truely eco-friendly or not. But there is one obvious difference in determining "what is a dishwasher by the way?": Japanese dishwasher is tiny!

This one is only 1.8'X1.1'X1.8'. Offered by National (domestic brand of Matsushita=Panasonic)

Complete idiots guide recommends using air drying head drying, scraping dishes off....but downsizing can be another easy solution. It doesn't need any cutting-edge technology.

And don't forget about the fridge! Fridges don't have to be as big as what we have.....in my opinion.

Home appliances, go lean!.....and it will probably keep the occupants virtually lean.

I won't compost biodegradable utensils

Very interesting story from one of the major composting operators.
He says he doesn't compost biodegradable plastics at the moment.
Here are some reasons:

1) Plastic utensils are contaminants that are needed to be removed from feedstock before composting. Removing is done manually. Currently there is no way to distinguish biodegradable utensils from plastic ones. To make the operations economically viable, they have to either take all the utensils out or leave them all. His facility takes all out because they can't leave plastic in.
2) It is uncertain how long and to what extent the polymers will biodegrade. I think it means there is no classification on "how biodegradable" the products are. (I need to research this further) Composting is extremely experience/knowledge/skill intensive operation. People working on composting site really know what is the proper temperature/moisture/aeration for what material. It seems like there is not enough information/experience accumulated for biodegradable plastic to make sure the final product is marketable and of good quality.

Well, then if biodegradable utensils end up in landfills, they will produce methane, GHG much more powerful than CO2. (composting produce some methane too, but much less compared to landfill)

There should be pros and cons for these arguments. But anyway, for now, I would need more information to determine that biodegradable plastic is really good for environment.

In the meantime, this solution is definitely environmentally-beneficial: BYOU (bring your own utensil).

Babies have these; why not adults? It shouldn't take much to market them.








Japan's version of BYOU - BYOC (chopstick!).

Soothing children's coughs while sleeping

My son coughs a lot. Probably his respiratory system is sensitive.

When he starts to cough at night, it drags on an on and he has trouble keep sleeping.

I came up with a simple solution.

Wet a towel (but not too much), and place it on the bed head. Add some water in his old baby bathtub and place it near the bed.

It seems like the towel hanging above him is close enough to give enough moisture to soothe coughs.

It doesn't require humidifier or electricity. No medicine if the coughing is not too bad and not accompanied by other symptoms.

It works great.

Calling all drying rack users

I don't use dryer for my laundry primarily in order to reduce my carbon footprint. But I also do it to maintain my clothes in better condition. I think the dryer shrinks and damages the textile pretty bad.

HOWEVER I have a problem in doing so....... FLUFF!!!!!!!

I learnt that here in US, dryers are equipped with a device to collect fluff.......not the washing machine. So, if you skip dryer, your clothes miss opportunity to get rid of whitey fluff. I happened to wash something very fluffy recently, and was shocked with what I got. My clothes all looked miserable.


I am looking for fluff collector for washing machine, but no luck so far. Does anyone know what I can do?

In Japan washing machine has something like this. Or you can attach same quality mesh bag. They nicely collect fluff.

What is macrobiotic diet?

Madonna practises macrobiotic diet. (is her body a product of macrobiotic and yoga? ) Larry King asks her what macrobiotic diet is.

KING: Someone asked me to ask you are a -- do you eat a macrobiotic diet?

MADONNA: Yes, I do.

KING: Which of consists of what? A little rice? Some seeds?

MADONNA: That is not true. Do I look like I've missed any meals?

KING: No, no. No, but you don't look like you're not -- you're not voftig either, you know. What's the number one treat in the macrobiotic diet?

MADONNA: Toast.

KING: Boy, we can't wait for this one!

MADONNA: No, you're not allowed -- well, it's not good to eat toast because it's...

KING: Oh, it's not good to eat toast.

MADONNA: No, that's why when I'm sneaking and I'm having a moment of decadence I eat toast with strawberry jam...

KING: That's decadence. What's a typical quick...

MADONNA: Well, macrobiotic means big life and it means getting the most of life -- most life out of your food. So...

KING: A sample dinner?

MADONNA: Fish. Grains, some kind of grains. Some kind of cooked vegetable. Salad. Simple, but tasty.

KING: Not part of Kabbalah though is it?

MADONNA: No.

KING: No, it's not part of its teaching.

MADONNA: No.

Eeeeerrrrhhhh, so, what is macrobiotic????

It is a diet based on whole cereal grains. Brown rice is most widely available, but macrobiotics is rediscovering many ancient-old grains that modern Japanese cooking forgot. Along with grains, macrobiotic rigorously incorporates vegetable, beans and some fish.

Macrobiotics is increasingly attracting Japanese people, probably because it is considered major component of LOHAS. This is just my perception but macrobiotics really focus on the art of cooking, taste and presentation of the finished meal along with the overall lifestyle that macrobiotic pursue.

Macrobiotics needs some instruction/training to start, but quite some books are available in English. There are many "sects"... some are very strict and authentic, some are more relaxed and easy going. Find your own macrobiotic style!

photo by mac-vegetarian

Charcoal as an alternative for detergent

Charcoal + salt + vinegar can be used as detergent/softener. It completely eliminates the chemical input into laundry system.

I have a friend of mine who uses them for washihg cloths, and she sees no disadvantages in using charcoal compared to using conventional chemical detergents.

I'd like to try.......but I would guess it won't work with "black charcoal". The kind of charcoal that the people in Japan usually use for laundry is called Bincho-tan or white charcoal. High-quality Bincho-tan is steamed at high temperatures therefore pretty solid and hard.

So, even soaked in washing machine, it doesn't crumble. It can be repeatedly used for about three months.

When planting trees become strategical tool to sequester CO2, strategical method to manage/control forest would be needed ever than before.

Producing charcoal detergent from those forests would be one way to close the loop.

(caviat: high quality white charcoal can only be produced from specific kind of trees...)

Tips for Nuno-zori #1

Eco-samurai is moving to a new website! 
Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
In the meantime, enjoy new posts.

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One thing that disturbs me about knitting Nuno-zori.....it hurts my back!

There are some alternatives to using your feet.

Hangers.








Or other types of hangers.



Be creative and please let me know if you found better way to do it!

Need a name! nuno zori, cloths sandal, eco zori, recycled sandal

Eco-samurai is moving to a new website! 
Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
In the meantime, enjoy new posts.
******************

I wrote several posts on "how to make a nuno-zori". Since then, I've been knitting some myself. What I like with this easy-to-make cloths sandal is that next one is always much better than the previous one! Improvement is sooooo obvious!

My previous "wanna-be-sandal"s didn't make it to be worn by me because I wasn't very impressed with the finish. So I am redoing them.

But I can wear this one!

For those who didn't read the previous posts, this sandal is called Nuno-zori. You can make them with your old cloths (T-shirts, towels, pretty much anything you want). It is really between reuse and recycle; EoL cloths change their forms physically, but not biologically or chemically. But probably I should call it "recycled" because the old cloths transformed to something else.

This is very easy to make, and definately revive the old cloths in a very useful way. I think it deserves a nice translation.

Nuno-zori simply means cloths sandal, but it's not just that. It uses recycled cloths and can be easily hand-knitten by anyone. even kids. Keep your room and toes clean. Washable.

Nuno-zori --- eco-zori, eco sandal, recycled hand made sandal, recycled sandal.....

What do you think is a nice translation to the inspiring nuno zori??

Got a broom?

Producing eco-friendly products doesn't always have to be innovative and cutting-edge.

An alternative is to rewind the time till the point where people were living only on renewable energy. In Japan's case, Edo era (1603 - 1868) is often referred as a successful closed-loop & sustainable society.

Check out those brooms (since 1830) that are made of highly-skilled, distinguished broom artisan.

Price ---- $500!!!!!
The price is because it only uses domestically-grown broom materials and is hand-made by the skilled artisans.

Green/LOHAS consumers didn't miss them. The highest price model ($700) is currently out of stock because of the high demand! It is especially nice to hear after the decades where they were almost forgotten.

Going sustainable can mean investing in new technology, alternative energy or innovative concept.

But it can also mean investing in people's knowledge, skills and wisdom that have been quietly accumulated for centuries and centuries. We need to capture them before they quietly die away.

Products by: Shirokiya

mis-eco-mmunication

Like other greenbies, I try to use my reusable grocery bag.

I sometimes go to little local Korean grocery stores in town. They are all very friendly and nice. Unfortunately, they don't know what reusable bag is for.

I place it on the cashier when checking out. Sometimes I get luckey to have someone who asks "what is this?" Then I can explain. But this does not happen often. Today I got someone who was very nice and customer-oriented, but didn't speak English at all. I don't speak Korean at all. I couldn't explain what I wanted.


And this is what happened. As is the case with many Asian countries I guess, service is good. A lot of service is very good. She placed my grocery in so many plastic bags, and then placed them so nicely in my reusable bag.

.........I can't blame her! No I don't want to.

When you are checking out at grocery stores, you don't want to spend 10 minutes to explain what reusable bag is for. You might have so many people standing behind you, or you are with the kids running around, or you are simply in a hurry.

Atop of these, there could be the gap on environmental awareness, coupled with language barrier.

Everybody should remember "I'm not a plastic bag" by Anya Hindmarch.

I wish if someone could come up with self-talking resuable bag; everybody can read what's written on the bag and understand what it is for. And it still can be cool, isn't it?

It will facilitate using reusable bags, and at the same time will educate people who are not aware of what's going on. I guess I'm not the only one who struggle with the checkers who do not know about reusable bags.

What is an energy-efficient room?

In winter, we use heater for our house. In summer, air conditioner. Ordinary central heating system....nothing fancy. But is it just me who feel guilty to keep warming /cooling the rooms that nobody is using?

Typical North-American style home does not have many partitions between rooms. I can't stop feeling guilty to central-heat the house that ends up heating/cooling the space that nobody is occupying.

I don't mind living in rather a small house with doors in each room with localized heating equipments, because it is an easy way to reduce my carbon/ecological footprint. But I have never seen such a house, at least here in California. This idea wouldn't sell, I know.

So......what is the middle ground?

Japanese old style house uses fusuma (pic) and shoji for door/wall. Basically, it is a wall made of 4 to 6 panels that slide on the rail. If you wanted, you can leave 2-4 panels open, or close them all, or take them out all, depending on the weather, and the number of people you are accommodating. (With this old Japanese style, you can take the fusumas out and use two or three rooms altogether for gathering)

Most Japanese no longer live in such a traditional old style house. But I just wonder if this concept of "adjustable wall/door", hand in hand with localized heating/air conditioning system, somehow, can be Incorporated in eco-housing or energy-efficient home design.

Any views from professionals?

photo above by: yo kelley yo
photo below by: yuki yaginuma

Wrap up: How to make Nuno-zori

Eco-samurai is moving to a new website!
Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
In the meantime, enjoy new posts.

I wonder if anyone ever get to make a Nuno-zori.

I have been trying to figure out what went wrong with mine. One of major problems with mine was that the form of sole was pretty ugly.


Obviously, the right hand side is the previous one, the left hand side is the new one. The form is much better with the new one. I realized that the first few rows (toes) are very important.....it really determines the stability of the entire form.

Once you are in the second row, try to widen the widths as much as you can. Unless you quickly expand the widths, you will have trouble allowing enough widths to fit your foot. (That's what happened with my previous one).


Use this technique each and every row; tightly knit horizontally. You might notice that the picture (what I did with my previous sole) shows that the toe was too narrow. It's not a good example. It has to be much wider for the second row and onward.

Compare with the blue/green sole......and what's neat about making Nuno-zori is you can easily improve your skill!

Waste water from kitchen sink

Kitchen sink is the source of waste water.

Waste water from kitchen can include a lot of putrecsibles (small pieces of food, other organics) or any kind of tiny litte garbage that end up being washed away.


Catch whatever you can... and it will make your waste water probably much cleaner.

I found this at local Japanese grocery store. Since the package is in English, it might have already been marketed outside Japan, but I have no idea how much penetration it's earned.

The product is named "Aqua Top" and it says "water tool". Well....I don't know what it means, but.....

Just simply, place it over your drain. When you finish cooking or dish-washing, toss what's caught into the garbage bin. You would be surprised how much it collects at the end of the day.

It is cheap; probably only around $5. Your local Japanese grocery stores mgiht have them.

By the way, this product had Japanese eco-label on it.

How to make a Nuno-zori (cloth sandal): Step 7

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Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
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Step 7: You've got a Nuno zori!

1) Attach the thong to the sole: Remember, the thong looks like Y-shape. Let "I" part of Y go from the front side of the sole to the back. (To determine the point, put your foot on the sole. Probably 4-5th row from the toe-end, but depends. )

2) Finish back of the sole: tie the end of the rope right above the thong strip. Tie the strip tightly over the rope. Cut the excess off. You may want to give some stitches so that the ends are attached to the back sole.

3) Finish the thong: Put your foot on the sole and decide the length of the thong. Let it feel rather tight on your foot at this point. Let the end of the thong go to the back of the sole (1) and then back to the front (2), and then to the back again (3).

4) Finish both ends of the thong. Tie tightly. Then tie the ends together at the back of the sole. Cut the excess off.

Voila!

You've got a Nuno-zori!

Repeat the same process for the other foot!

Mine doen't look great...Next one should be better!

How to make a Nuno-zori (cloth sandal): Step 6

Eco-samurai is moving to a new website! 
Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
In the meantime, enjoy new posts.
***************

Step 6......Finishing the sole

Now.....does yours look like this? I have to say mine is pretty awkward.

1) Loosen the knot on the rope and pull.

2) Pull the rope until there is 1-2 inches rope sticking out on the toe side. Let the end of the strip go around between [1][2] and [3][4]. Tighten the strip, and adjust the shape.

Looking like almost done?

3) Finish the end: Find a stitch one or two rows down and let the end go under it. Cut the rest. You may saw the end to the sole if you'd like to.
All other ends can be finished in the same manner.

4) Wow. Sole is done!

Again, mine is not a good example. White area is not vertically straight. If yours look like mine, go back and try to rectify it.

How to make a Nuno-zori (cloth sandal): Step 5

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Updated version of "How to make nuno-zori" will be added shortly.
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***********

Step 5.....Knitting the sole

You use your feet throughout the knitting process. Assume that the rope is hooked on to your feet as shown in Step 4.

1) Let the right hand side of the strip go under [3], and then over [4].

2) Go over [3], under [2], over [1], make a turn, over [2], under [3].....

Note: we have started from the toe. Please knit the first 2-3-4 rows tight, but then gradually start knitting horizontally loosely (it shouldn't be loose virtically). Compare with your foot to make sure it matchs your size.

Important: the example in the picture is not good. The toe must be much flatter. The second row must be much wider than the first row, and the third row must be much wider than the second row..... Try and re-do as you are satisfied with the shape. Those first several rows are the most important part of the whole process. Have your favorite flip-flop on your side and continuously compare the shape as you go.

3) Keep going until you are almost done. The edge needs to be finished under [2] as shown in the below pic. To virtically tightly knit, use your fingers as shown in the lower left pic.

4) When the first strip is coming to the end, finish in between [2] and [3] (go over [3] and finish under [2]).

New strip should be started under [2] and then over [1]. You may leave 1-2 inches edge.

Then keep knitting until you reaches the heel part. (We started from toes)

5) Once you are close to finishing the sole, tighten the last 3-4 rows so as it makes sole-like shape.

The edge should be finished over [2], and then under [3].