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 Unusable Solar Panels: Recycle or Bury Solar Panels have a life span of about 20 to 30 years. They help our environment in that time period by reducing the alternatives which would increase our carbon footprint. However, to prevent dark clouds from forming overhead due to the coming waste management issue with old solar panels that are decommissioned, we need a plan toward an efficient infrastructure to recycle up to tens of millions of solar panels. America has over two million solar installations ranging from roof tops on homes and businesses to rack systems on the ground in solar farms. Many older systems are at the decommissioning stage. Currently, America does not have efficient solar panel recycling policies. The U.S. actually has no national policy. Europe has policies for solar recycling programs because the Dual Systems laws, which have been in place for years have the manufacturers take back their products to recycle. In July of 2014, I wrote a GTG Blog post on this called: eRecycling and eWaste. Here in the U.S. the homeowner is on their own, especially with older systems that do not have monitoring abilities in place to inform the contractor or homeowner when the solar panels need to undergo decommissioning. Solar panels are 99% recyclable since they are made up of glass, aluminum, plastic, copper, lead, gallium, cadmium and silicon. However, the process to recycle solar panels is very involved. Dissembling all parts and separating some of them with melting, lasers, a solvent, cutting or a stream of electrons to selectively break apart components on a surface maybe necessary. Despite all that, great recycling opportunities are coming and an economic upside can come from recycling solar panels. Some estimates state that there will be a 15 Billion dollar business waiting for the new solar recycling industry by 2050. The time to start is now, so we don't find ourselves burying dead solar panels in landfills. Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments! 
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 Homemade Compost/Fertilizer
Fertilizers... To use or not to use? Yes, that is the question.
In William Shakespeare's time there wasn't any conventional fertilizers at a local Garden Nursery. In fact, there weren't any Garden Nursery stores. People back then, made fertilizer from composting. Today, too many people believe that they must apply conventional fertilizers for plant nutrition. After all, once applied, almost immediate satisfying results are seen. The Truth of this matter is the fact that conventional fertilizers do provide a fast level of plant growth at the start. However, when placed head to head with natural high-performance plant care actions, such as using your own custom made compost, store bought fertilizers come in last for the long run. Here is why...
Store bought fertilizers have three ingredients: Nitrogen is number one, phosphorus and potash. Potash is the ingredient many of us are not familiar with compared to nitrogen and phosphorus. Potash is an alkaline potassium compound, from potassium carbonate or hydroxide.
Therefore, store bought fertilizers are mostly electrolytes that increase the electrical conductivity of the soil. This will produce fast plant growth and BURNOUT your soil's microbial community. Thus, in the long run, chemical fertilizers can destroy all the microbial life in the soil and decrease the growth process for healthy plants. 
Free God Made Fertilizer From The Sky
To put this electrical conductivity into an everyday prospective, Lightning storms naturally fertilizes all living plants. The electrical conductivity of a Lightning bolt causes the nitrogen molecules in the air to cling to the oxygen molecules. This bond forms nitrogen oxides. The nitrogen oxides will either fall from the sky, or be collected by the rain drops. That plus all the decaying matter in the soil and microbial life, adds up to dozens of different minerals and trace minerals for the optimal growth of a plant or crop. Have you ever noticed how much better plants and crops look after a thunderstorm? Store bought fertilizer only provides 3 components as previously stated and starts to burnout the additional elements of the living microbial community that help make up all the other necessary factors for long term plant growth. So in several cases, especially for a Homeowner with room in a yard to compost, buying fertilizer is just buying another Bill Of Goods! Peruse my previous GoingTrueGreen blog posts on composting. The category is on the right of this page. Before you know it, we can all be on our way toward a more sustainable life that saves us money and Earth. Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments! 
Check out this Compost Bin for your Backyard at Home Depot...
Easy buy On-Line and home delivery! 
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 70 Year Old Wood Hangers Still Working
I only had one grandfather in my life when growing up. I never knew my grandfather who was killed in an accident on a loading dock for a World War Two supply ship. The other day I thought of both of them as I reviewed my clothes in the closet. I have been Reducing and Reusing over the years and I make sure that a great deal of my clothes are made of 100% cotton or wool. See my previous GTG Blog post called:
All I Want for Christmas is Cotton and Wool This time while going through my closet, I noticed something else I have been reusing: My grandfather's hangers made of wood. The grandfather, that I was fortunate to have in my life when young, was a tailor and worked in New York City's Garment District. When the Garment district started its transition and the demand for my grandfather's talent was replaced with overseas manufacturing, the company he worked for eventually went out of business. When he saw the company throwing away all the suit hangers, he took home as many as he could. These hangers were made in the 1950s and I am still using them. I inherited some of those hangers and I proudly use them instead of any plastic hanger made today which could never perform to the same caliber as my grandfather's hangers that he saved from a landfill.  Curbside Garbage That Is Not Garbage
Sure over the years one or two broke, but I improvised and fixed them. I took the time to think of a way to repair them and spent the time fixing them instead of subscribing to be a member of the "throw away" society. Many times I see items by the curb for garbage pickup that are still in good working order. So many people just don't take the time, 3 to 5 minutes in reality, to make a phone call for someone else to use the items they are throwing away. One phone call to your church, community center or one of the dozens of charities that will pickup items from furniture to dishes, takes but a few minutes and others will be so grateful.
I realize the many faults of my own, even with me having less clothes now, I still have more clothes than my grandfather did. I know, because I remember cleaning out his armoire after he passed-over. I donated his hand-made suits and clothes. However, I kept the wooden hangers he was using and added them to the few he had given me many years before. Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments!  Pontificio Regina Apostolorum With Earth Day's 50th anniversary this year, some of my speaking engagements have me presenting in Rome. I am honored to be invited back to speak at the Athenaeum Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, Institute of Science and Faith for the Masters Diploma program in Rome, Italy. I will be presenting to the Seminarians at Pontificio Regina Apostolorum and also welcome to attend are the Seminarians from Pontifical North American College. Additionally, I have been invited to speak at the Rome campus for the undergraduate program at St. John's University.  Pontifical North American College I will speak on the truth about our multi-level complex environment and Earth Day. I will share data, Earth Day stories from America and suggestions on how, we as one team, are the solutions to a better tomorrow. Each one of us, by living a more "sustainable life" will save a great deal of money, our health, energy, and God's green Earth without making any sacrifices! I have no electric bill for almost 5 years now and made no sacrifices, because there is always another way of doing something. The facts, the trade secrets, and encouraging support, is what the world needs. Each of us as an individual is the solution and I hope to provide each seminarian and student with facts to help them and others in the future. This approach to the truth, the facts, and solutions, provides answers for all of us and for the poor.  St. John's Rome Campus Central Courtyard Pontificio Regina Apostolorum and Pontifical North American College on April 28th and the time 17:10 to 18:40. St. John's University, Roma Campus on April 29th and the time 12:00 (noon) to 13:30 Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments!  This riveting historical novel pieces together intricate revelations to present possibilities not widely discussed, probabilities that may explain why some famous figures were misjudged, misunderstood, or completely ignored. How those who were evil, became good and those who were weak, became strong.  Fresh Organic Blueberries I grew them, I harvested them, and I didn't eat all of them.
Besides sharing my organically grown blueberries with family and friends, I also froze some immediately after picking them. The objective: To have fresh frozen organic home grown blueberries in January! I am writing this GTG blog post just after cooking up some blueberry pancakes all made with healthy ingredients. It is the end of January and a cold wind is gusting outside, but this pancake breakfast started back in early August of last year. First, I placed the fresh picked blueberries into a glass pyrex bowl with a rubber cover. Second, I placed the covered pyrex glass bowl filled with blueberries into a ziplock freezer storage bag. I made sure as much air as possible was expelled from the plastic bag before closing. I labeled the plastic bag with pertinent information, such as date frozen and date to use by. I did all this for better tasting blueberries come the middle of winter. I never place blueberries or any food item directly into a plastic bag. As I have stated in many previous GTG blog posts, only three items do not put carcinogens or contaminants into our food and drink: Glass, Porcelain, and Wax Paper If I was to use another container, I would use cast-iron cookware or steel / tin. All other containers, such as aluminum, viscose, plastic bottles, bags, and wrap, will leach bad tastes, contaminants or carcinogens over time into our food and drink. Especially when there are changes in temperatures, such as being placed into a freezer or leaving a water bottle in a car on a hot summer day. So if you have grown or just purchased fresh organic blueberries in the summer, try freezing some for a cold winter morning early the following year! Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments! Since the middle of last year I have been talking with different organizations, schools, and universities, about presenting for this year's 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. My main purpose is to speak the truth about our multi-level and very complex environment. I wish to share data, stories and suggestions on how, we as Individuals, are the solutions to a better tomorrow. Each one of us, by living a more "sustainable life" will save a great deal of money, our health, energy, and our Earth without making any sacrifices! I know, because I practice what I preach. I have no electric bill and what I have done over the years within my own "budget of time and money" is not rocket science. I made no sacrifices. The facts, the trade secrets and encouraging support, is what the world needs. Each of us as an individual is the solution, not some government, corporation, political party, politician or celebrity. Yes, all of these entities have a role and can assist us in our goals, but only when they have the complete picture, all the facts and not just coffee or tea table chatter.  Chapel Entrance to St. Anthony's HS Nevertheless, I hope to be a positive contributing factor. I have three speaking engagements already confirmed. The first will be at St. Anthony's High School in Huntington. The administration approved my presentation last week and I will be speaking to 500 National Honor Society students. That date is February 5 and my Earth Day talk is scheduled for 5:45 to 7:00pm. Just after Earth Day, on April 28, I am humbled to be invited back to speak in Rome at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum Institute of Science and Faith. I am currently in the process of finalizing additional presentations in both domestic and international venues for this important milestone. I will keep you posted on the dates and locations.
Thank you. Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments!  With the start of 2020, I am honored to share the news we just received about Going True Green's Blog being listed as one of the TOP 100 ENVIRONMENTAL BLOGS by Feedspot. In part, one of the two emails we received from Feedspot stated: Hi Bill, My name is Anuj Agarwal, I'm the Founder of Feedspot. I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Going True Green has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Environment Blogs on the web. I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Environment Blogs on the internet and I'm honored to have you as part of this! I am greatly honored and appreciative of being awarded placement on this list of Top 100 Environmental Blogs. I extend my sincere gratitude to Anuj and the Feedspot panelists for the time they afforded us. Thank you for the consideration of my Going True Green blog and placing us on your list of Top 100 Environmental Blogs. Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments! Happy New Year everyone and with the cold winds of winter blowing down on us, I wish to share some insulation questions I receive each year. Some of these questions have been asked several times over the decades. Below I am sharing some of these questions and concluding with the most popular query. I am thinking of buying an old wood frame house constructed in the 1920s. Would there be insulation in the walls?  1920 Farm House Not unless a previous owner of the house had insulation put into the walls. Houses back then were built without insulation because fuel was very cheap. Your best test would be to drop a small marble from the attic down into the wall. If the marble comes out in the basement you know the walls are empty.
This type of design is not only costly with energy bills, but also outside noise will be louder inside. In addition, this design known as "balloon construction," is a serious fire hazard. The walls would act like a chimney in a fire and the wood frame house would be destroyed. Putting insulation into these walls will address all three of these problems: Costly energy bills, Noise levels and Fire hazard. Is it possible to put insulation in backwards? Yes, and this happens far too often. Many serious problems come about with insulation installed wrong. In most cases the cause of these problems are a mystery to the homeowner. For example, nobody can imagine why a certain wall gets damp or sweats. The Foil or Paper on one side of the insulation is known as a "vapor barrier" and this "vapor barrier" must always face the warmer side of the house. Always! If there is an outside facing wall that is crying or moisture builds up on the inside surface of that wall, odds state that the insulation was installed backwards. Once confirmed, the inside wall needs to be removed, the compromised moisture filled insulation must be discarded and replaced the correct way. Insulating the ceiling in my unfinished basement isn't going to save much, right? This action, in most cases, saves a great deal of money and energy. Put insulation in an unfinished basement ceiling with the "vapor barrier" facing up, because upstairs is the warmer side of the house. However, if you are going to heat or cool your basement, then different rules apply. Also don't let the air from upstairs that has been cooled by air conditioning drop through the floor to your unfinished basement because there is no insulation in the basement ceiling. Cool air dropping into the basement only makes the basement damp and the electric bill higher for the air conditioners working longer on the main floor. "Cold Air drops" that is the rule of mother nature. The other rule mother nature has "Hot Goes To Cold First" then Hot Air Rises! Don't let your heating bills be higher because the heat comes out over a cold floor that is over a cold basement with no insulation in the ceiling. Insulate and save! Reports have shown the savings of several hundred dollars can provide a payback on the cost of insulation and labor as fast as four months. For more information on insulating houses, see my previous GoingTrueGreen blog called: Buying A House? Beware! Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments!  1925 GE Edison bulb When Thomas Edison finally produced a successfully working electrical light bulb, with the help of an amazing team, the world was amazed. Light bulbs became the wonder of the world and a company called GE came up with a great catch phrase to sell their light bulbs after the turn of the century. The catch phrase is the title of this Going True Green blog post. I took the photo of a GE bulb, still in the original package from 1925, when consulting on a job involving energy savings for a house built in 1925. This bulb was in the basement for almost 100 years, as if waiting for me to take a photo. This was surreal, a time warp for me, but this also created a teaching moment.  Lewis Howard Latimer One scientist that became part of Thomas Edison’s team was Lewis Howard Latimer and he was a major contributing factor to the success of the light bulb. Latimer and Joseph Nichols, invented the carbon filament light bulb, which was a tremendous improvement on Thomas Edison’s original filament that would burn out rapidly. After receiving a United States patent for the carbon filament, a second patent was received in 1882 for the process of “Manufacturing Carbons” which was an amazing improvement to the method of producing light bulb carbon filaments. The Edison Electric Light Company in New York City hired Lewis Latimer in 1884 and he supervised the installation of public electric light throughout New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London. Then in 1892, the Edison Electric Light Company merged with the Thomson-Houston Electric Company to become General Electric or as we all know, GE.  "Evening Under the Lamps" by Pierre Bonnard, c. 1903 The future looked so bright, that even famous artists did paintings and photographs featuring the light bulb. So by the 1920s, GE was selling the new improved light bulbs like the one in my photograph above and then in 1928 came the incandescent bulb we all used until compact fluorescent bulbs slowly replaced them. Today and the future seems bright with LED technology leading the way. Some data shows that a 2 or 3 watt LED will soon give off the light level equal to a 75 watt incandescent light bulb.
In April of next year, the world will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and for that event, I am humbled to be invited back to speak in Rome at the Pontifical Regina Apostolorum Institute of Science and Faith. I am currently in the process of finalizing additional presentations in both domestic and international venues for this important milestone. I will keep you posted on the dates and locations. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all. Best wishes for a happy, safe and blessed New Year. Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com Environmental Scientist International Sustainability and Energy Consultant Contribute your comments! |
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