Saving More Than Money

We hear mostly bad news about the energy production side of things – nuclear radiation, oil spills, fracking, gas explosions, grid crashes, and respiratory diseases. Well, if we could reduce demand, the frequency of these bad events would also be reduced.

If we could also increase efficiency, we could reduce the negative impact of energy production even more. In many cases, all we have to do is what others are already doing.

Lester Brown writes in his book, World on the Edge, “If the 40 least-efficient U.S. states copied the 10 most-efficient ones, U.S. electricity use would be cut by one third. That would close the equivalent of 62 per cent of all U.S. coal-fired power plants.”

The Ontario Power Authority cites two mistaken ideas about energy use and how to correct them:

Mistaken Idea #1: It takes less energy to keep my thermostat at a comfortable temperature while I’m away than it does to turn the heat back up when I get home.

If you are away from home for more than a few hours, it is more cost-effective to turn down your heat.  They recommend that you set your thermostat to 20°C while at home and 18°C while sleeping. A properly set programmable thermostat can reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 10%.

Mistaken Idea #2: Electronics such as my TV, game console, computer, and cell phone charger stop drawing power when they are turned off.

Even when turned off, most modern electronics use electricity when plugged in. This is known as phantom power and is used to run clocks, timers, displays, and give you that “instant on.” Electronics and appliances purchased 10 or more years ago will likely consume even more phantom power than a newer product. Phantom power is good at spiriting money out of your wallet, too.

Use power strips to switch off televisions, chargers, home theater equipment and stereos when you're not using them. Even when you think these products are off, their "standby" consumption adds up to a 75 or 100 watt light bulb running continuously.

By unplugging appliances or using a power bar with a timer or auto-shut off, you can reduce phantom power and help save up to 15% of your electricity.  Set your computer to hibernate or sleep while not in use throughout the day, but be sure to check operating instructions before unplugging items such as satellite receivers and set-top boxes.

While you are at it, reconsider buying that plasma TV. A 42-inch plasma TV can use as much energy as a refrigerator and cost you $200 extra per year.

Here’s my contribution to this list of common mistaken ideas.

Mistaken Idea #3: I really need that beer fridge in the basement, and it keeps us from opening the kitchen fridge so often.

Well, that basement beer fridge could be your home’s biggest energy pig. It is likely old and inefficient, the coils are dirty, and it is straining to chill that brew. That is why Hydro One will pick it up and dispose of it for free. Just contact Fridge and Freezer Pickup.

Here are some other ideas that can really pay off.

Control the Temperature

Your kitchen refrigerator probably accounts for about 20% of your total electricity use. Use a thermometer to set your fridge temperature as close to 3°C and your freezer as close to -16°C as you can. Make sure that energy saver switches are turned on. Does your fridge seem to be running most of the time? Maybe it is. Check the gaskets around your refrigerator/freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly. Vacuum the condenser coils at the back or underneath your fridge and freezer because accumulated dust reduces their efficiency by up to 25% and adds that cost to your electricity bill.

Avoid putting uncovered liquids or hot cooked food into the fridge. Their evaporation and heat will make your fridge work harder. Defrost frozen food in the fridge since this helps to cool the fridge. Keeping a fridge or freezer only half full is inefficient, so be sure they are sized to your daily needs.

Turn down your water heater. Thermostats are often set to 60°C when 48°C is usually fine. Check to see if you have a cold-water mixing valve on top of your water heater. If you do, why are you heating water so hot that it has to be mixed with cold so it doesn’t scald you? Shut off the mixing valve and adjust your water heater to suit your preferred shower temperature. Also, consider taking fewer showers; daily showers dry your skin and waste water.

Set your clothes washer to the cold water setting, and use warm only when needed.

Control Your Appliances

Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket, and use less hot water by installing low-flow shower heads.

Make sure your dishwasher is full when you run it and use the shortest cycle possible. Set an egg timer so you can open the door when it is done to let the dishes air dry. This is especially good for your house in the dry winters. Not using heat in the drying cycle can save 20% of your dishwasher's total electricity use.

Rather than turn the oven on for a few potatoes, use the stovetop, microwave, or toaster oven. The mega-users of power are appliances that create heat, especially a large oven.

Only use your clothes dryer in emergencies. A clothesline outside in the summer and inside in the winter is much more sensible. Here is a photo of our living room on a winter laundry day. We find this great for balancing our household moisture while feeling like pioneers.

Clean or replace air filters as recommended. It costs about 5% more energy when air conditioners and hot-air furnaces have to work harder to draw air through dirty filters.

Only buy energy-efficient ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances. They are way cheaper in the long run.

Control Your Lighting

The only reason to leave your outdoor lights on all night is to help the raccoons see what they are eating out of your garbage.

Replace all your incandescents with energy-efficient compact fluorescent or LED bulbs. Only 10% of the energy consumed by a normal light bulb generates light. The rest just makes the bulb hot. Good if you are keeping the chickens warm, not so good if all you need is light.

So, are you complaining about power plants, wind and solar farms, or the cost of electricity? Then use less.

Low VOC Finishes

Last time I wrote about the dangers of furniture, floor, and wall finishes containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can produce a number of physical problems, including eye and skin irritation, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, muscle weakness, and liver and kidney damage. VOC levels can be 10 times higher indoors than outdoors, with numbers rising up to 1,000 times higher immediately following application of a new coat of finish.

So what can we use without killing ourselves? Let’s look at the commonly available products.

Varnish

In today’s common usage, “varnish” means a mix of drying oil and a natural or artificial resin that is cooked (often with an inert metal catalyst) to make a clear finish that is typically used indoors. Varnish cures by chemical reaction and is known for good resistance to heat, solvents, and water. Alkyd and polyurethane varnishes, however, may contain high VOCs. Water-based varnishes using polyurethane or acrylic polymers have been developed that emit lower VOCs, so water-based polyurethane is probably your best bet here.

Water-based finishes offer minimal solvent fumes, easy cleanup, and good scuff resistance, but they may raise raw wood grain. I’ve used water-based urethane on our dining room table and it seems impervious to most spills. The first time I used it, I thought something was wrong with it because it looks milky on application, but it dries clear.

Shellac

In its pure form, shellac is a natural resin secreted by the lac insect, found mostly in India and Thailand. Shellac cures as its solvent – alcohol - evaporates. Although it creates a brilliant shine, shellac’s uses are limited because of its susceptibility to damage from liquids and heat. However, shellac is useful for any surfaces that won’t need to be washed and for touch-ups because it bonds well to most other finishes. Because it is a mostly natural product, shellac is also a good choice.

Shellac is one of the few historically appropriate finishes (including casein paint, spar varnishes, boiled linseed oil and lacquer) for early 20th-century hardwood floors, and wooden wall and ceiling paneling. Shellac is non-toxic when it is dry according to the A.F. Suter Co. (one of the world leaders in shellac production) and is used in candy and fruit coatings and by pharmaceutical companies as a pill coating.

Lacquer

Lacquer is a clear finish best suited for accenting wood grain. Lacquer thinner is a blend of solvents, which may include ketones and esters, alcohols, and fast-evaporating toxic hydrocarbons such as toluene or xylene. Like shellac, lacquer cures by evaporation. Without a clear protective coating, it is easily scratched and susceptible to water damage. Lacquer gives that super glossy coating but, because it makes wood look like it is encased in plastic, is best applied with a spray, and is toxic, I don’t use it.




Natural Oils

Tung and linseed oils are penetrating finishes that cure by absorbing oxygen from the air, a process that strengthens the finish. Tung oil is derived from the nuts of trees that are native to Asia, and it is believed to have originated in ancient China and appears in the writings of Confucius from about 400 B.C. When applied in many fine coats over wood, tung oil slowly cures to a satin "wetted wood" look with a slight golden tint. It resists water better than any other pure oil finish, though it still provides little protection against scratches.

Tung oil has become popular as an environmentally friendly wood finish, but it should be noted that many products labeled as "tung oil finishes" are deceptively labeled: polymerized oils, wiping varnishes, and oil/varnish blends have all been known to be sold as tung oil finishes (sometimes containing no tung oil at all), and all the above contain solvents and/or chemical driers. Product packaging will usually clearly state if it is pure tung oil, so there is a good chance you will be buying something else if the sales literature is vague.

Linseed oil, extracted from flax seeds, is a common carrier used in oil paint, but can be used as finish on its own. When used as a wood finish, linseed oil dries slowly. It does not cover the surface as varnish does, but soaks into the pores, leaving a low-gloss finish that shows off the grain of the wood. A linseed oil finish is easily repaired, but it provides no significant barrier against scratching. Water will penetrate a linseed oil finish in minutes, so it should not be used outdoors. Garden furniture treated with linseed oil may develop mildew.

Today, most products labeled as "boiled linseed oil" are a combination of raw linseed oil, petroleum-based solvent, and metallic dryers (catalysts to accelerate drying). The use of these metallic dryers makes boiled linseed oil inedible.

A pile of rags soaked with linseed oil is a severe fire hazard because they may oxidize and eventually become hot enough to spontaneously burst into flame. This is not something you want in your basement or storage room.

Wood Stains

More and more homeowners, builders, and architects are turning to penetrating stains instead of paints, especially for exterior use. Unlike paints that form a film on the surface, these stains soak into the wood, accenting the wood grain rather than hiding it. Stains become part of the wood, which helps to prevent the cracking, peeling, chipping, or blistering that commonly occurs with paints.

Interior stains, used for furniture and woodwork, come in either pigmented or dye categories. Both can have an oil, synthetic, or water base. Pigmented stains are designed to change the color of a surface without concealing the grain pattern or surface texture, and they can range in color from almost clear to semi-transparent. They are easily applied with a brush or a rag, and are then wiped off to control the depth of the stain. An oil or polyurethane finish is often mixed with the stain, so the do-it-yourselfer can complete the staining and finishing job in one step.

Remember, though, that the more the product is touted as “fast drying” or “one-step application,” the more likely it is to contain chemicals.

Our house contains fir beams and a pine ceiling. We tried many different products, but ended up with boiled linseed oil. It is easy to apply, you can start and stop anywhere at any time, it is less toxic, provides a warm tone, and beautifully highlights grain. However, it is not a protective coating.

If you want to maintain a perfectly pristine interior, you have no choice but to hold your breath and encase everything in plastic and chemicals.

Volatile Finishes

Whether you are working on siding, furniture, or interior trim, a nice finish coat can make a lot of difference. And what you use as a finish coat makes a difference, too. For exterior finishes, the primary characteristics we usually look for are durability and ease of application. For interior finishes, though, we have to be a lot more careful because we will be breathing in chemicals from some of those products as long as we live in our home.

According to The Whole Building Design Guide (www.wbdg.org), a program of the U.S. National Institute of Building Sciences, there are two kinds of finishes, surface and penetrating.

Surface finishes cure hard, can be built up in layers, and include shellac, alkyd and polyurethane varnishes, lacquer, water-based and latex-based semitransparent stains, and solid-colour stains. Penetrating finishes are oil-based and don’t cure to a hard film. These include oil finishes, such as tung and linseed oil, and oil-based stains.

Generally speaking, the surface finishes contain more chemicals. For centuries, varnish (a catch-all term for clear wood finishes) was made from resins collected from natural products such as tree saps or insect secretions and mixed with linseed or other natural oils. To create the final product, the mixture was thinned with turpentine. More recently, synthetic resins derived from coal tar and petroleum began to replace the natural resins, and petroleum distillates became the most commonly used solvents. The petroleum-based products in the synthetic resins helped increase durability.

But, beginning in the 1970s, there were increased concerns over the impact of surface finish chemicals on human health and the environment.

Resins and Solvents and Driers: Oh My!

Pigments or dyes add colour and hide flaws. Resins, or binders, are the natural or synthetic film-forming component, and can include acrylics, vinyls, alkyds, cellulosics, epoxies, polyurethanes, and oils. The particular type of resin determines the finish’s hardness, flexibility, and resistance to stains, solvents, and water. But, resins are hard and dry, and you need them to be liquid to apply them.

This is why solvents and/or thinners are added to liquefy the resins so you can brush them on. Solvent-based coatings typically use organic solvents such as alcohols, ketones, glycol ethers, petroleum distillates (mineral spirits, kerosene, toluene, xylene, benzene and naphtha), and turpentine. These products, particularly benzene, toluene, and xylene have toxic effects, primarily on the respiratory system.

You also need a chemical to kick the solvent out of the liquid quickly so your finish isn’t sticky for days. So, cue the driers. A drier is a substance that accelerates the drying of oil-based paints, varnishes and inks. Metallic salts of manganese, cerium, lead, chromium, iron, and zinc, are common and effective driers. These heavy metal compounds are toxic when ingested or inhaled. There are clear health risks for those who manufacture them; in use they are considered a health risk only in long-term exposure, but the studies that accurately test long-term exposure in homes are few and far between.

What are Volatile Organic Compounds?

O.K. When I lose my temper, my wife claims I am a volatile organic compound but, according to Health Canada, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have boiling points roughly in the range of 50 to 250 °C. This includes the solvents and driers in some finishes and, as they evaporate during the drying/curing process, VOCs are released into the air, affecting indoor and outdoor air quality.

The American Lung Association reports that VOCs and their byproducts can produce a number of physical problems, including eye and skin irritation, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, muscle weakness, and liver and kidney damage. VOC levels can be 10 times higher indoors than outdoors, with numbers rising up to 1,000 times higher immediately following application of a new coat of finish.

Outside, VOCs released into the atmosphere can combine with each other, or with other substances in the air, to create new chemical compounds, such as ground-level ozone. Ozone is a major component of smog, which causes negative health and environmental impacts when present in high concentrations at ground level. VOCs are considered air pollutants, and the amount that can be released for a given amount of solids is now regulated in many areas.

It may not be a good idea to automatically reach for products containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). There are so many products that use glues and finishes containing VOCs now that you really have to read the label.

A second test for VOCs is “if it smells strong or smells like a chemical, it probably is.” A third test is whether the label suggests a respirator, long-handled tongs, and a hazmat suit during application.

So what can you use?

There are many alternatives: low VOC finishes, milk and whey-based finishes, natural finishes like shellac and spar varnish, and penetrating oils like linseed oil, which we used on all the B.C. fir beams in our underground home.

I will finish with a discussion of these finishes next time.

Painting a Healthy Picture

It seems that we have always wanted to decorate our surroundings. Cave paintings may have been made by early Homo sapiens as long as 40,000 years ago, using ochre (yellow), iron oxide (red), manganese oxide (brown), and charcoal (black).

When it comes time for you to spruce up your cave a bit, you should consider what you are putting on your walls, and what your family is breathing in.

Most wall paint has four components: pigment, binder, solvent, and additives.


1. Pigments make colour, of course, but they can also provide toughness, texture, special properties or lower cost. They can be natural from plants, sands, and different soil types, (various clays, calcium carbonate, mica, silicas, and talcs) or synthetic (calcined clays, blanc fixe, precipitated calcium carbonate, and synthetic silicas).

2. Binders carry the pigment, and it provides stickiness, binds the pigments together, and strongly influences such properties as gloss potential, exterior durability, flexibility, and toughness. An early binder was made from egg and called “tempera.” When it dried, it hardened and stuck onto the painted surface. Egg tempera was used in early Egyptian sarcophagi decorations. Prominent egg tempera artists include nearly every painter of the Italian Renaissance before 1500 AD. Then it was superseded by the invention of oil painting.

3. Solvents control curing properties, flow, application properties, and the stability of the paint while liquid. These volatile solvents impart their properties temporarily—once the solvent has evaporated or disintegrated, the remaining paint is fixed to the surface.

4. Additives can modify surface tension, improve flow properties, improve the finished appearance, increase wet edge, improve pigment stability, impart antifreeze properties, control foaming, control skinning, and act as catalysts, thickeners, stabilizers, emulsifiers, texturizers, adhesion promoters, UV stabilizers, flatteners (de-glossing agents), and biocides to fight bacterial growth. They are everywhere.

Solvents and additives are often volatile organic compounds (VOCs), organic chemicals that easily evaporate at room-temperature conditions. VOCs include both man-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds, and many are dangerous to human health or cause harm to the environment. VOCs are typically not acutely toxic, but instead have compounding long-term health effects. Because the concentrations are usually low and the symptoms slow to develop, research into VOCs and their effects is difficult.

Since people today spend most of their time at home or in an office, long-term exposure to VOCs can contribute to sick building syndrome. In offices, VOCs result from paint, new furnishings, carpeting, wall coverings, and office equipment such as photocopy machines, which can off-gas VOCs into the air, even after the smell is gone. Studies show that leukemia and lymphoma can increase through prolonged exposure to VOCs in the indoor environment.

You can buy paint without any VOCs, and one brand is Mythic paint (www.mythicpaint.com). They report that, in 2007, a leading, independent laboratory service performed side-by-side tests comparing Mythic paint and other leading paint brands – both their eco-friendly and premium lines. Tests focused on subjective performance including thickness, sheen, sag resistance, flow and leveling. Mythic paint was found to be equal to, if not better than competitors’ paint. Then they tested for resistance and durability with the ‘Scrub Test’ – the industry’s gold standard in paint performance testing.

Mythic paint substantially outperformed in these tests by 1.5 to 8 times the durability of the competitors. However, it is not appropriate for metal or damp basements.



Two other non-VOC paint manufacturers are American Formulating and Manufacturing (www.afmsafecoat.com) and BioShield (www.bioshieldpaint.com). BioShield has distributors in Canada.







There is also Boomerang recycled paint (www.boomerangpaint.com), which is what we used in our house and loved it. Laurentide Inc., the Quebec-based manufacturer, has been making its paint from the dribs and drabs left at the bottom of paint cans for the last 12 years.


Boomerang latex paint (low-VOC, in 16 colours) is a top quality product that can be used in most rooms wherever a durable, washable, low-luster finish is desired. The colours are beautiful, and it is the best paint to apply that we have ever used. Plus, it is about half the price of chemically laden paint.

So, when you have the urge to redecorate your cave, be mindful of the impact on your health and the environment and look for non-VOC or low-VOC recycled paint.

Floored

When we realized the complexity of choosing a good indoor walking surface for our house we were, in a word, floored. Of course, we wanted to use a sustainable material and we were surprised about what was sustainable and what was not.

We started with some common-sense guidelines. A sustainable floor should not

• Take a long time to grow or produce. We think of renewable materials as being sustainable, but conventional wood flooring, such as oak and maple, contribute to the degradation of our forests because they take an inefficient amount of time to regrow to a mature size.

• Be heavy to transport or come from a distant location because transportation usually uses fossil fuels. This is a drawback of marble, stone, terrazzo, and terra cotta unless you already have them available in your backyard.

• Be manufactured from petroleum – that eliminates vinyl. In addition, burning vinyl can release dioxins and other hazardous chemicals. Harmful additives such as phthalates and heavy metals can leach out of the estimated 150,000 metric tons of vinyl discarded each year in Canada.

So what’s left?


Well, some hardwood flooring is acceptable if it is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada certified, an international certification system supported by WWF Canada, Greenpeace, and the David Suzuki Foundation. They certify every step of the industry from the forests to the supplier, providing a chain of documentation for the buyer. The increasing popularity of FSC certified wood has brought the cost to only 0-15% higher than non-certified market prices, creating an affordable environmental choice for concerned consumers. Do your research, because other certification systems are industry or government backed and do not provide legitimate proof that their wood is actually from sustainable sources. Re-used wood flooring is clearly the best idea if you can find it nearby.

Sealed concrete floors are popular for industrial and commercial areas. They are cheap, durable, and easy to maintain, but concrete is extremely energy intensive to make and transport, and produces a significant amount of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Geopolymer concrete uses "fly ash," an industrial by-product, as a substitute for Portland cement, the most widely produced man-made material on earth. So geopolymer concrete may be worth considering.

Laminate is a floor covering that looks similar to hardwood but is made with a plywood or medium density fiberboard (MDF) core with a plastic laminate top layer. HDF laminate consists of high density fiberboard topped by one or more layers of decorative paper and a transparent protective layer. Laminate may be more durable than hardwood, but is often made of melamine resin, a compound made with formaldehyde. There has been increasing concern about indoor air quality from releases of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials made with formaldehyde.


Recycled rubber flooring is incredibly tough and good looking. Typically made from recycled tires, this flooring is generally considered a "low-impact," environmentally friendly building material. Flooring that contains recycled rubber is a cheaper and more durable choice than synthetic or virgin rubber with less environmental impact. However, this flooring does emit some volatile organic compounds, but they are minimal and it does not contain polyvinyl chloride or formaldehyde.

Along with FSC certified wood, bamboo is a renewable resource. It typically stops growing and falls down after six years, so it might as well be used. A bamboo floor is beautiful and harder than an oak floor, but recent demand has flooded the market with manufacturers that are producing poor quality flooring made with toxic adhesives. Typically, newer manufacturers are choosing premature bamboo stalks and not kiln drying their bamboo enough. In addition, some are using poorly operated mills so the production of bamboo flooring has social impacts on labour, requires transit energy, contains little to no recycled material, can negatively impact ecosystems, and can have a negative effect on indoor air quality. To date, bamboo forests have not replaced natural forest areas but they do create a monoculture which has less biodiversity.

Cork is harvested from the bark of the cork oak tree every nine to eleven years, allowing the tree to live its full life expectancy of 150 to 250 years. Cork is colourful and very beautiful but it might accumulate small nicks and gouges if you have young children. Its unique cellular structure has natural thermal and acoustic insulation, creating a warm and quiet surface to walk on. Cork, with its 100 million prism-shaped air-filled cells per cubic inch, creates a low impact surface that is great for the back, feet, and joints. It is naturally antimicrobial, and it creates a comfortable atmosphere for those living and playing closer to the ground.

Natural linoleum is made primarily from linseed oil, rosin, sawdust, corkdust, limestone, and jute. It is natural, available in a wide range of styles and colors, reasonably priced, durable, and easy to install and clean. However, it may curl over time, wear out if thin, or be somewhat difficult to repair. It also has a slight odour so sensitive people will want to test a sample to be certain they are not bothered by the smell. The quality of the flooring can make a big difference in its wearability, so choose a well-known brand with a good warranty.

Carpets, whether made from natural or artificial ingredients, accumulate dust, mites, molds, bacteria and other pollutants that can affect health. After installation, off-gassing can occur for weeks or months requiring increased ventilation. Carpet backings are made up of a polypropylene mesh or jute with a latex bonding agent that may have high VOC’s. Most carpets are also treated for stain and fire resistance, and these treatments can also be a source of emissions.

Seagrass carpet comes from a grass grown in the paddy fields of China. After sea water is used to flood the fields, the grass is harvested, dried, spun into a durable yarn, and woven into carpet. Coir carpet is made from coconut husks that are soaked for many months, beaten, washed, and dried. The resulting pale fibers are then spun into a type of yarn. Because it is susceptible to water damage, coir carpet should not be installed in kitchens and baths, but it is a durable, tough floor covering.

So those are just some of the choices. What did we choose? Cork. Even though it travelled from Portugal, no trees were cut to make our cork flooring. It is beautiful, resilient, durable, easy to maintain, and warm. Perfect for an in-floor heating system and just what we wanted on our floors.

Gardening Without Watering

When we moved to our earth-sheltered home from the farm, one of our goals was to reduce our required maintenance. We enjoyed the farm routine, but sheep, pigs, cattle, chickens and horses, not to mention the pastures they lived on, all had their own requirements and timetables. So we’ve gone completely in the other direction. We gave away our lawn mower, sold the tractor and implements with the farm, and now we don’t even own a household pet.

It worked. Our required maintenance is at a minimum (except for cutting firewood for the winter), but we still enjoy working outside when we want to. We have a vegetable garden, are building a scree garden and soon will be planning a butterfly garden.

Now most people can recognize a vegetable or a butterfly, but what is “scree”? Technically, it is an accumulation of weathered rock fragments at the foot of a cliff or hillside, often forming a sloping heap, and is sometimes called talus. Well, we don’t plan on gardening in that, so our scree garden is on a much smaller scale with much finer rock.

We are planting a beautiful perennial scree garden that requires no watering, no fertilizing and very little weeding.

A scree garden is a form of xeriscaping, a portmanteau of xeros (Greek for “dry”) and landscaping. As you can imagine, xeriscaping refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use. We first found out about it from Keith Squires from The Country Squires Garden in Campbellville, who gave an evening talk at our local library.



Scree gardening begins with the base, a minimum 45 cm-deep bed of Granular A road gravel. That’s right, the gravel that is used as a base under all roads in Ontario. Granular A is sand and crushed gravel with particles all under 2.5 cm in size. It is a strong base material used as an untreated road surface or for driveways and paths to provide strength while maintaining good drainage.

Will plants grow in this stuff? Keith Squires has been doing it for decades; you just need the right plants. These aren’t the pampered pansies that need mulch, organic material, loam, topsoil, fertilizing and daily watering. These are the tough, hardy, independent, beautifully flowering plants that naturally grow in many places in Ontario. In fact, for our garden, we are only using species native to Ontario.

Because the plants are adapted to these conditions, you don’t need to water them. Their roots plunge through the scree and into the soil below. You also don’t need to weed much, since most weed seeds that blow in are fried by the sun on the surface of the scree. An hour a week is all the time you have to spend, but I’ll bet you end up spending a lot more because:

· By lowering your consumption of water, you make more water available for other domestic and community uses and the environment.

· With less time needed for general maintenance, you can (if you wish) shape, prune, pluck and do the fine tuning that makes a garden look spectacular, even up close.

· You will have more time to enjoy your garden; a scree garden is simpler and less stressful. It will be slower growing than a soil garden but, by the second and third years, it will fill in nicely.

Planning is the key. Choose a site, mark its boundaries and excavate the area to a depth of at least 45 cm, then fill it with gravel. Select your plants carefully; below is a list of what we have planted so far, but there are so many to choose from.

I’ll just talk about the two that I am most pleased with so far: Little Bluestem and Prickly Pear Cactus. They’re associated with other locales, but both are native to Ontario.

Little Bluestem was the anchor of the tallgrass prairie, and fed bison, horses and cattle. Reliably perennial, Little Bluestem grows to a typical height of one metre. Although it has a blue tint in the spring, it is more reddish in the fall and throughout winter into spring. Nice to have a bit of prairie in our front yard for any bison that happen to be passing by.

Prickly Pear Cactus is native to certain areas of Southern Ontario. The fruit of prickly pears — commonly called cactus fruit, cactus fig, Indian fig or tuna (in Spanish) — is edible, although it has to be peeled carefully to remove the small spines on the outer skin. Indian Fig Opuntia might have a reducing effect on alcohol hangovers by inhibiting the production of inflammatory mediators. Some studies have witnessed significant reductions in nausea, dry mouth and loss of appetite, as well as less risk of a severe hangover. In any event, the gel-like sap of prickly pears can be used as hair conditioner.

Prickly Pear is also used as the intoxicant that produces the hangover in the first place, in dyes, and in plaster and stucco. The native varieties we planted are just a few inches tall, so watch your step!

Inside the circle of rocks in our front yard is our bed of scree and the common names of what we’ve planted so far are: Yarrow, Sweet Sage, Harebell, Sundrops, Fragile Prickly Pear, Eastern Prickly Pear, Hairy Beardtongue, Little Bluestem, Purple Love Grass, Nodding Wild Onion, Butterfly Milkweed, Prairie Smoke, Rough Blazing Star and Hairy Mountain Mint.

We will keep you informed on our progress.

A scree garden is what I think every garden should be: ecologically sensible, beautiful and without the backbreaking work.

Try a wee spot of scree in your yard.

Water Wise

Winter is usually about snow and ice but, as our climate warms, all our seasons will increasingly be about water.

Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.

Those lines from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge describe a possible future for us since the United Nations Development Program reports that there is no longer any unpolluted water on earth.

While it looks like we are in the midst of abundance, we are really in the midst of scarcity.

Steven Solomon, in his book Water, puts it well:

“Only 2.5% of Earth’s water is fresh. But two-thirds of that is locked away from our use in ice caps and glaciers. All but a few drops of the remaining one-third is also inaccessible, or prohibitively expensive to extract, because it lies in rocky, underground aquifers — in effect, isolated underground lakes — many a half mile or more deep inside Earth's bowels. In all, less than 0.3% of total freshwater is in liquid form on the surface.”

An article titled Economics And Technical Change: The Water Resource Conundrum, published by Environment Canada, states, “The average Canadian per capita water use from municipal systems is 350 litres per day, second only to that of the U.S., and over double that of many European countries. Also, of the water pumped in many Canadian municipalities, less that 75% can be accounted for by deliveries to customers. Water use inside the home is excessive. The typical toilet uses 20 litres per flush, and showers use twice the water required for effectiveness.”

One billion of our fellow earthlings, many living in the areas indicated on the map below (http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/water-scarcity-index), have access to five litres of water per day or less, so let’s put our water consumption in their terms.

Activity	Water allowance of 5 litres/day for:
Brush your teeth with a running tap	3.5 people
Flush your toilet	1-6 people
Leaky faucet	8 people
Dishwasher, one cycle	8-11 people
Ten-minute shower	30 people
Take a bath	25-35 people
Wash your clothes	40 people
Wash your car	80 people
Water your lawn for one hour	260 people
Daily use of Tiger Woods Golf Course, Dubai	3,200,000 people

So fix that leaky faucet, and is it really worth the water allowance of 80 people for you to impress your neighbours with a clean car?

The Utilities Kingston Residential Flat Rate for monthly water use is $36.38, so the wise use of water is not so much about saving money as it is about saving water. Their website has some great tips for conserving water in the home, watering tips for lawns and gardens, useful links and information on their rain barrel program at http://www.utilitieskingston.com/Water/Conservation/.

Tips for Conserving Water In and Around Your Home

Toilets (33%of indoor water use)

Those 25-litre guzzlers are wasteful and unnecessary when one billion people have only five litres of water per day.

• Low-flow toilets use only 6 L per flush.
• Ultra low-flow toilets use 4 L per flush or less.
• Checking for leaks can save 1400 L per month.

Baths & Showers (25% of indoor water use)

• Low-flow showerheads save 8 L per minute.
• Shorter showers help conserve water.
• Filling the bath only half full saves 80 L or more per bath.
• Putting a stopper in the tub before starting the water saves 20L per bath.

Washing Machines (24% of indoor use)

• Full loads and shorter cycles save 95 L per load.
• Front loaders use 1/3 to 1/2 as much water as top loaders.
• Washing clothes only when dirty (not every day for teen jeans) reduces the loads.

Faucets (12% of indoor use)

• Turning the faucet off when it is not needed can save 10-40 L per day.
• Installing a flow restrictor or a faucet aerator can save up to 20 L per day.
• Checking for leaks can save 48 L per day (2 L per hour).

Dishwashers (6% of indoor use)

• Full loads on a shorter cycle save 28 L per load.
• Dishwashing by hand and rinsing in a dishpan can save 32-60 L per load.

Lawn/Garden Care (75% of outdoor use)

• Water your lawn only when it needs it. An hour of sprinkling uses 1,300 L of water and since no more than 2.5 cm can be absorbed, watering for longer is no benefit to your lawn. By changing from three hours of watering to one hour, 2,600L of water can be saved.
• Walkways and driveways usually don’t need watering. With the correct positioning of your sprinkler, you can save 10-35 L per minute.
• Choose drought-tolerant plants, less water is required and savings can be 10-35 L per minute.
• A hose with the water running uses 23L/minute; by using a spring-loaded nozzle you can save up to 16 L per minute.
• Water in the cooler parts of the day, so less water is lost to evaporation.
• If you aerate, weed and apply compost to your lawn, less water will be required.

Other Outdoor Water Usage

• Use a bucket of soapy water to wash your car and use the hose only for rinsing. The hose uses 23 L per minute and using a bucket can help you save at least 46 L of water.
• Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks.
• Use water toys and outdoor “kiddy” pools to cool off, instead of the sprinkler. A sprinkler uses 1,300 L per hour, so the savings can be astounding.

Although most water-saving measures come from simple changes in our behaviour, some require the latest technology. So, where do you get low-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, flow restrictors and other useful gadgets in Kingston? They are widely available because most hardware stores, building centres, and plumbing fixture and supply centres carry a full line.

Another great program by Utilities Kingston is their promotion of rain barrels every spring. Rain barrels help protect the environment by reducing the amount of treated lake water used for watering plants and lawns, and diverting significant quantities of rainwater from the sewer system during storms, which reduces overflows. They help conserve energy by reducing the amount of water and waste water that needs to be treated and pumped throughout the city.

Rainwater contains minerals that make it healthier for plants than treated tap water. Finally, rain barrels save you money by lowering your monthly water consumption and reducing the volume of water that the City must build treatment infrastructure to handle.

Watch for the program announcement in the spring. Orders are limited to one barrel per household. Rain barrels will cost $35 including tax, and this charge will be added to your Utilities Kingston bill upon delivery.

We can survive without many things, but water isn’t one of them. Saving water is not only easy, it’s essential, because living next to a big lake makes us think we have far more clean fresh water than we really do