Clorox Green Works has a money back guarantee on their Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent.  $3 off greenworks coupon. The products show a Sierra Club logo that was paid for.

Green Works openly list their ingredients unlike most Clorox products:

Water, plant-based cleaning agents (methyl ester sulfonate, alkyl polyglucoside, cocodimethyl amine oxide), glycerine, water softener (sodium citrate), plant-derived soap (oleic acid), enzyme stabilizer (boric acid), natural enzymes, alkalinity builder (sodium hydroxide), fragrance with essential oils, salt, calcium chloride, biodegradable preservative, blue & yellow colorant. Contains no phosphate or bleach.

Their MSDS (Material Safety Document Sheet) document shows several hazardous ingredients and petroleum-derived ingredients.  Clorox Green Works products are not perfect, but a step in the green, eco friendly direction.  Clorox has wide distribution so they will allow more mainstream customers to access greener cleaning products. We prefer the slightly more green Method or Seventh Generation products ourselves as they  do not  have petroleum derived products.

A recent article pointed out millions of gallons of sewage or partially treated sewage spilled out into San Francisco Bay during the big storms of January 17 to 23, 2010.  They had a picture of people fishing near one of the worst spill areas.  You would expect terrible fish out of a polluted stream in China but in the middle of California. Pretty depressing.  Clearly the various municipal water districts need to do a lot of work and we need to keep pressing them.

Some tips to do your share during storms:

• Minimize water use. Wait before doing dishes, washing clothes, flushing toilet
• Do not dump fats, oils, toxic chemicals, car wash soap down the drain
• Make sure your sewer line does not have cracks or roots intruding (Using toxic root killer is not very green)
• Make sure your sewer cap is secure and tight. If you have a back up problem, you can purchase from Home Depot a special cap with a ball that allows sewage backup to spew out.

photo credit: Abri_Beluga

Solar water heaters are placed on roofs and absorb the sun’s energy to heat water, which is then stored in a water tank for later use.  Some include a gas heating system for backup. Unobstructed Southern sky exposure is most optimal. Sometimes the units need to be tilted to face the sky, making for some unsightly installations.

California utility regulators have recently approved rebates of $350 million over the next 8 years to encourage the use of solar water heaters. The $1500 rebates could reduce the cost of these expensive solar water heater by 15% to 25%. Average systems cost from $6500 to $8000.  Rebates are retroactive to August 2009, so apply if you already had a system put in. Many other states have similar rebates.

Multifamily and commercial buildings are also eligible for special rebates up to $500,000. The goal is to add solar water heating to reduce natural gas use by about 200,000 single-family homes.

Local utility companies administer the rebate, so check with your local utility company. PGE has a page outlining the program that also covers San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE) or Southern California Gas (SoCalGas). California’s rebate is in additional to the Federal Energy Tax Rebate.

The payback of a Solar Water Heater occur over a long period. Water heating bills should drop 50%–80%, making payback times at least 10 years after rebates. Systems should last for 25+ years. Gas rates many rise in the future, helping to shorten payback times. SEIA.org has a dealer locater.

It is early January and it looks a possible drought year for the San Francisco Bay area again.  Thoughts turn to capturing any rain we get to reduce our need for water and commensurately our water bill. Amazon even sells Rain Water Barrels.

You can get started with an easy barrel or bucket under areas where rain comes off the roof.  You could easily make a downspout feed into a barrel.  Every 100 square feet of roof can yield 55 to 60 gallons of water per inch of rainfall.

HarvestH20.com is a site with lots of tips on capturing rainwater.  Several interesting videos too.

ARCSA – American rainwater catchment system association has a link page with many useful resources and examples of what others have done.

Got sick on an airplane flight?  It could have been the water.

The EPA has just published the Aircraft Drinking Water Rule (ADWR) to ensure that safe and reliable drinking water is provided to airline passengers and crew.  What prompted this was that in 2004, the EPA found all aircraft water systems to be out of compliance with the national primary drinking water regulations (NPDWRs).  According to the air carriers, it is not feasible for them to comply with all of the monitoring that is required in the existing regulations.

Subsequently, EPA tested 327 aircraft of which 15 percent tested positive for total coliform.  EPA considers this to be a high percentage of positive samples.  In response to these findings, EPA embarked on an accelerated process to tailor the existing regulations for aircraft public water systems.  In the interim, EPA placed 45 air carriers under Administrative Orders on Consent (AOCs). Until the final ADWR compliance dates, air carriers remain subject to the existing NPDWRs and AOCs where applicable.

It is great they are beefing up the system.  You can play safe by bringing an empty water bottle with you.  Fill it at the airport at water fountains located after security.