Something Big: Stormwater Runoff

 Today we are talking about stormwater runoff and pollution because the cities around Mobile Bay suffer from litter and water pollution problems in a big way. Stormwater pollution is such a large issue because it is what we call “non-point source pollution.” This means that pollution comes from numerous discrete sources, making it difficult to quantify and difficult to eliminate. In addition to explaining what stormwater runoff is and what causes it, we will also share ways that you can make a difference stormwater-wise.

What is stormwater runoff? 

Stormwater runoff occurs when rain from storms flows over the ground. Impervious (non-absorbant) surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, and streets prevent stormwater runoff from naturally soaking into the ground. Litter and contaminants that have been left on the ground are swept along with rainwater into our storm drains. Stormdrains direct rainwater to the nearest waterway; this water does not go to a treatment plants or pump station. Eventually, the pollution finds its way into our many waterways, Mobile Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Simply put, stormwater runoff is important because it impacts our waterways and environments in many ways. Everything that lives in the water, feeds from the water, or drinks the water can be impacted by stormwater pollution. This adversely impacts our health, the environment, and our economy.

Problematic Pollutants 

–  Litter on roads and in parking lots and parks 

–  Cigarette butts

–  Untreated wastewater from failed septic systems

–  Oil and antifreeze from leaking cars

–  Garden and lawn chemicals

–  Household cleaners and chemicals that are disposed of improperly

–  Construction site runoff

–  Pet and livestock waste

–  Mardi Gras parade debris

Who causes stormwater pollution? 

We all do. Stormwater pollution is the result of industrial activity, our personal everyday actions, and our local land use policies. Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to make a difference regarding our stormwater quality.

Some Things You Can Do

1. Pick up pet waste and deposit it in garbage cans, flush it down the toilet, or bury it in your yard. 

2. Wash your car in the yard instead of the driveway, or go to a carwash that properly handles its wastewater.

3. Divert down spouts to grassy areas instead of driveways and sidewalks. May we also suggest a rain garden?

4. Use natural fertilizers on your lawn and garden only when necessary and always apply according to package instructions.

5. Don’t put anything down a storm drain – Remember, storm drains lead directly to our Bay!

6. Sweep sidewalks and driveways instead of hosing them down.

7. Use native plants in your garden – they require less watering and maintenance. 

8. Help pick up litter and dispose of it properly. 

9. Harvest rainwater for watering your plants through the use of a rain barrel. 

10. Participate in clean-ups or stormwater education programs.

Great American Clean-Up

This week is the Great American Clean-Up, an effort of the part of Keep America Beautiful and countless other organizations to keep our communities and our environment clean and healthy. In Mobile, AL, you can participate in a clean-up event TOMORROW (Saturday, April 28^th) from 8am-noon at the Springdale Mall on Airport Blvd.  Join the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Partners for Environmental Progress, Keep Mobile Beautiful, Mobile Baykeeper, and others this Saturday to clean up the Dog River watershed. Meet at Burlington Coat Factory at the Springdale Mall. Register as a team or as individuals through HandsOn South Alabama or by calling Keep Mobile Beautiful at (251) 208-6029.

Weekend Project: Patio Container Gardening

A few weeks ago Elyse, Development Director at Mobile Baykeeper, shared the story of how she got started composting. Today she invites us into her backyard again to share her “container garden” farm. Make sure to read our post about windowsill gardening too!

My husband affectionately refers to my collection of pots on our deck as “the farm.”  I started “the farm” as a way to help my two grandsons understand that fruits and vegetables have to be cared for and do not just appear in the grocery store.  I wasn’t ambitious enough to want to care for a real garden plot so I started my farm in a variety of buckets, pots and containers.

I have had the most luck with tomatoes, potatoes, corn, green beans, Rainbow kale, lettuce, strawberries, Myer Lemon, and various herbs.

I have attempted several times to grow cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash and have finally given up.  Every year I will have beautiful blossoms and then some insect bores into the stem and everything dies.  Last year I planted all three in a large upside-down tomato planter, and I had a little better luck with my cucumbers. I still only got a few zucchini before the boring critter destroyed the plants, and didn’t get any yellow squash.  That is one group of vegetables that I will purchase locally.

The most fun have been the potatoes.  In fact, as you read this, I should be uncovering my Yukon Golds.  It will be fun to see how many I have this time around.  I was lucky enough to receive a potato grow bag but potatoes can be grown in black heavy-duty leaf bags or the bag that your growing mix (potting soil) came in as long as it has plenty of drainage slits.

Home-Grown Potato, in Potato Grow Bag

The Potato Grow Bag, from Gardener’s Supply, has made growing potatoes very easy.  Place the bag in a sunny spot where it will get 6 or more hours of sun each day.  Roll the sides down so the container is about 8” deep; fill with 4” of good potting soil; place 5 seed potatoes on soil and cover with 3” of soil.  Seed potatoes should be about the size of a lime and can be cut in half if very large.

When the potato foliage has grown to about 8”, unroll the turned over edge of the bag and add about 4 more inches of soil.  It is OK if some of the foliage is covered.  Repeat process until bag is full.

The joy of using the porous Grow Bag is that it is hard to over water.  The soil should be moist but not soggy and in the hottest part of the summer, you may need to water everyday.

Through last summer I watered, watched for beetles, and did nothing else.  I am glad I was warned that toward the end of the growing cycle that the foliage would wilt, turn yellow, and look terrible.  At this point, stop watering, wait another two weeks and then dig out your potatoes!!!  You can dump out the dirt and find your potatoes but watching my two grandboys dig for them is more fun.

Do you have the urge to become a container gardener? If so, I hope you’ll join me! The experience has been so fun, rewarding, and delicious.

Check out these resources to learn more and get started:

Little House in the Suburbs: Guide to Alternative Gardening

How to Plant an Outdoor Potter Herb Garden

Container Gardening For Food

Let us know in comments what’s growing on your patio! Make a difference!

 

UPDATE:

Check out the potatoes Elyse unearthed! The one next to the glove is the biggest one she has ever grown. The smallest one is about the size of her thumb. Congratulations, Elyse!

Yukon Gold Potato Harvest

Water Wednesday: 10 Ways to Conserve at Home

Usually we talk about ways to keep our water clean on Water Wednesday. This week we are talking about 10 super simple ways to cut down on your water use at home.

(1) Fix leaky faucets (and toilets!).

(2) Take shorter showers, or try showering one time less a week.

{Reducing a 10-minute shower to 5 minutes saves 12.5 gallons of water if the showerhead has a flow rate of 2.5 gallons per minute–even more if the showerhead has a higher flow rate.} www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org

(3) Collect rainwater to water your flowers or houseplants. You can do this with a rain barrel or on a smaller scale with buckets.

(4) Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, shaving, or lathering your hands.

{Turn off the water while brushing your teeth and save 25 gallons a month.} http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/

(5) Empty your water bottle or glass in a houseplant instead of pouring it down the drain.

(6) Load up the dishwasher instead of hand-washing. Also, when it comes time to replace your dishwasher, invest in a high-efficiency model. This will save water, energy, and money.

{When comparing only the water used inside the dishwasher, handwashing uses an average of 23 gallons more per session (Stamminger, et. al., 2004, European Comparison of Cleaning Dishes by Hand, Univ. of Bonn) or up to five times that of a new dishwasher.} www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org

(7) When washing dishes, turn off the tap when you’re not using it.

(8) Don’t run the garbage disposal; compost food waste instead.

(9) Only run the washing machine when you have a full load.

{Conventional washers built before 2011 typically use about 40 gallons per load; resource-efficient washers may use as little as 15 gallons per load.} www.allianceforwaterefficiency.org

(10) Insulate water pipes so that hot water heats up faster, reducing the time the tap has to run.

These are only a few ways to save water at home. How else do you conserve water?

For more ideas, check out these resources:

Residential Water-Saving Tips, from the Alliance for Water Efficiency

100 Ways to Conserve, from wateruseitwisely.org

25 Ways to Conserve Water in the Home and Yard, by eartheasy.com

Take-Action: Spring Cleaning and Giving Things Away

Spring is a time of renewal, a time to clear out the old and bring in the new. After all, it’s not called Spring Cleaning for nothing. But many of us, myself included, get bogged down in the idea of cleaning out our house. Sometimes we wait so long that we feel overwhelmed with the task before us. Questions like, What should I get rid of? What if I need it later? What do I do with all of this stuff? keep us from taking that step of clearing our home so we can have an uncluttered living space.

Today I will answer a few of those questions. This Take-Action Tuesday is about taking the needed steps to clear out the excess stuff in your house and hopefully make a difference in someone else’s life in the process. Some things you may already know and some may open your eyes to several great opportunities to help others while clearing out what you no longer need.

 

Sorting

You are probably familiar with the general “rules” for sorting the stuff you go through. One pile is for keeping, one is for giving away, and the last pile is the trash can. If you have not done this for a while, it can be daunting to know where to start. I have stood in front of my closet staring at my clothes with the best intentions, but remain frozen with indecision. If this happens to you (phew…I’m not alone!), take it slow. You don’t have to get it all done in one day.

A few tricks include finding the stuff you haven’t used in the past couple of years. If you haven’t worn it in the past year, you most likely won’t wear it in the future. In full disclosure, I have a red silk Chinese shirt that I refuse to part ways with. I remember last wearing it in 2002, but I am convinced I will wear it again. If you find yourself in this situation, move onto something else you can get rid of. Once you start, the process gets easier, I promise. You will soon find yourself motivated by the empty space before you. Another trick is to put these items in a box under your bed or high in the closet. Out of sight, out of mind. If you don’t miss them after 6 months, let them go.

If you need a little push to get motivated, these women have some great guides on their blogs about getting organized in your closet and throughout the rest of your house:

Spring Cleaning Wardrobe Detox

High Straightenence

 

Give Away

Once you have your “keep” stuff back in its proper closet, shelf, or cabinet, and the trash is outside, what do you do with the giveaway pile? There are many options available, but the key is to do it fast before items find their way back into your home.

 

Donations to Charities

You can make donations of gently-used items to thrift stores like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. You can also find local charities with attached thrift stores. In Mobile, try Seconds on Sage, Penelope’s Closet, and Mobile SPCA Second Chance Retail Shop, to name a few. There are many others out there—look online or contact your favorite charity to see if they have a store or if they can use donated items. Some organizations may not have a storefront, but they may hold rummage sales to raise money. These are great places to donate gently-used clothes, toys, movies, and appliances.

Donations to Shelters

Also consider charities that help high-risk populations like homeless shelters and women’s shelters. Many of their clients come in with the clothes on their backs and need many items that we might take for granted. Most of the charities around town have wish lists on their websites that you can use as a guide. For example, many shelters can use your collection of shampoos, conditioners, and lotions that you accumulate from various hotels. Many women’s shelters will take your unopened “free with purchase” make-up gifts from department store cosmetic counters.

 

Consignment

If you want to make a little money and your items are in good condition, consider selling your clothes at a consignment shop. Consignment shops sell your items for you and take a small portion of the sales. This is a great option if you are getting rid of fancy clothes, barely-used appliances, or items that have never been opened/worn. There are stand-alone consignment shops and there are also consignment events like the Wee Exchange that lets you sell children’s clothes, toys, and equipment two times a year. This is a great way to make some money for updating your wardrobe, getting that things you’ve been saving for, or just to put in savings for a rainy day.

 

Freecycle

Another option is free-cycling, which is giving away your unwanted items to someone who does want them. There are freecycle websites and yahoo groups in most cities where you can post what you have or what you want (usually smaller items like egg cartons and old magazines). Look for one in your area at freecycle.org.

 

Upcycle

You can also try your hand at upcycling your stuff. While it’s not the same as giving it away, it does transform an item with no use into an item you will use and enjoy. A google search can give you an idea of the possibilities for upcycling a particular item. Pinterest is also a fantastic resource for this kind of thing. You can find tutorials for everything from turning Mardi Gras beads into a chandelier to making a jewelry box out of an old board game. Start your search on our Pinterest page!

 

Good luck on your spring cleaning and finding new homes for your stuff. Perhaps this will be the year that my red silk shirt makes it to someone else’s home!

100 Uses for Baking Soda

Baking Soda: 100s of Household Uses - Diane Sutherland

 

It’s no secret that we love baking soda at Mobile Baykeeper. It is an effective cleaner, odor-neutralizer, and can be used in all sorts of hair and beauty care recipes. As a bonus, it is also much safer to wash down the drain than many of the soaps and chemicals that are traditionally used for cleaning.

Check out this list of 75 Extraordinary Uses for Baking Soda and let us know in comments how many you have tried! As a bonus, tell us in comments other Earth-tastic ways that you use baking soda.

Let’s make a difference!

Earth Day: Our Day of Giving

Sunday is the Day of Giving for Mobile Baykeeper’s “Make a Difference Month”.  Today is even more special because it is the day of celebrating our beautiful Earth and God’s gift to us.  Today, we ask you to think about your gifts to the world. Last Friday at our Helen Wood Park volunteer event, we encountered the most amazing woman with the most wonderful set of friends and family members.  To honor her husband’s passing, the family asked folks to donate to The Nature Conservancy and the 100-1000: Restore Coastal Alabama partnership work in lieu of flowers.  Linda Harman shared an incredibly special letter her daughter wrote to the recently deceased Max Harman – husband of Linda and father to three amazing children.  I asked her to let me post it [on the blog] as an inspiration to each of you who reads this. 100-1000 Letter to Dad 2011-6-7.

The BP Oil Disaster of 2010 – just two short years ago – made many of us realize that our beaches may not just always be there for our children.  I have never had such an eye opening experience as the day my 2 ½ year old son with his big blue eyes and blonde hair asked me, “The beach is over, Mommy?”  At the time, oil was washing ashore regularly and the well hadn’t yet been capped.  He just wanted to go to the beach for the day.  I worried about his ability to spend the summer there as a 12 ½ year old (and beyond) bobbing in the waves by day and floundering at midnight.

So many things are different two years later and we still have tons to do to rectify the BP Oil Disaster and prevent any future disasters, but one thing is sure – we are all a lot smarter about how important the health of our beach is to our happiness (and economy, quality of life, etc.).

In planning for Earth Day, Mobile Baykeeper wanted to give the community something useful, simple, that would give you peace of mind and an ability to create a lasting gift to your families.

We proudly announce The Swim Guide app (www.TheSwimGuide.org) as our gift to the community.  This smartphone app is a fantastic way to give you direct information on the quality of the water at your favorite beach.  The Swim Guide is also a way for YOU to give back to your family by ensuring the beach is safe and healthy before you load up the beach bag, towels and sunscreen.

I want to be the parent Max Harman’s daughter describes to my son Coleman.  This is the least we can give back to future generations and, to be honest, to our parents.  Please use this app, this guide to safe beaches to create beautiful memories for your families.  Instill in your children a longing to be outside in God’s creation, to celebrate and cherish life and nature.

The Swim Guide is an app for iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch® and Android (2.1 or higher) that makes it easy to explore and enjoy our waterways and beaches in Mobile and Baldwin counties.  Mobile Baykeeper, a fifteen-year-old nonprofit environmental organization with over 4,000 members, is the 3^rd organization in the United States to launch this free app, which was developed by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper.

Utilizing bacteriological monitoring data collected by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), Swim Guide is an easy way to check on water safety.  This free app helps you find your closest beach, know at a glance which ones are safe for swimming and share your love of beaches with your friends. Here are the app’s benefits:

• Find your closest beach using list, map, or search tools
• Discover a wide variety of beaches, ranging from city parks to nature preserves
• Identify at a glance which beaches are safe for swimming (Green) and which are unsafe for swimming (Red) in real-time
• Get walking, driving, or transit directions to the beach of your choice
• Bookmark beaches for easy access
• Invite your friends to join you at the beach using Facebook, Twitter, email and SMS text messaging
• Report pollution or environmental concerns

Make a difference this Earth day, for the world, and in the life of a child.

100-1000 Letter to Dad list 2011-6-7

Saturday: Grow Alabama

At Table

Grow Alabama

Originally published in the Mobile Bay Times on April 3, 2012.

By The Clever Cleaver

A box of Alabama delivered right to your door.

Before you begin envisioning Nick Saban standing on your stoop, please allow me to cast the dye of dispersion onto your gaming table. I am speaking of something bigger than that. So big that Coach Bryant himself (yes, I paused to genuflect) would have been proud of this effort of which I am going to share. He was after all, a farm boy and as such never forgot his agrarian roots.

The name of the organization is Grow Alabama and the concept is brilliant in simplicity. Alabama produce (predominantly anyway) harvested each week on Monday or Tuesday and delivered to Lower Alabama on Wednesday. Fresh, enticing, delicious and dedicated to promote the farming of “table crops” in our beloved state.

Founder and President Jerry Spencer began by growing his own veggies on his farm near Birmingham and offered selections to local restaurants and word quickly spread in the community. Jerry did some research and realized that Alabamians were spending about $50,000,000,000.00 annually on farm products grown in other states, harvested, packed and shipped across several states before even being offered in the grocery store.

Jerry envisioned a fresher alternative and a way to keep those agriculture dollars in our state. Hence Grow Alabama was born.

Seasonal crops from farmers all across our state are available for direct delivery to a communal drop off point(s) in a particular community or, for a small fee, delivered right to your door each week.

The ability to draw from the entire state ensures a variety of products and helps to combat problems faced by growers such as weather. Jerry recalls the drought in south Alabama last year that hampered the sweet corn crop.  Grow Alabama customers were fortunate to have corn grown in the northern part of the state.

Geographical boundaries are also overcome as those delicious Chilton County peaches will soon be available here and strawberries grown in abundance here will be shipped to parts north.

Jerry’s philosophy is that if we buy it, they will grow it.

Most table produce is grown on relatively small farms that do not qualify for government subsidies and as such often fall into the scope of larger operations that lease or purchase the land and grow those crops that the government mandates such as feed corn for ethanol, soy beans for non-direct food consumption or other subsidized products.

The vision of Grow Alabama is to increase both the demand and the awareness of the table food farm in our predominantly rural state.

I think you would agree with me that locally grown produce also just tastes better than mass produced dietary staples.

With a bow to the late great Jerry Clower, ‘Put some South in your mouth’ and join me by trying a box of produce packed especially for your family, grown and cultivated by the sun and the sons of Alabama.

Visit www.growalabama.com to learn more or call 205-991-0042 to learn more.

Ward “Cleaver” has been involved with the culinary community in the greater Mobile area for many years. Join him every Sunday morning at 9 a.m. on FM talk 106.5 for Mobile’s only restaurant and food themed radio show –The Epicurious Hour. Have a question or comment? Email ward@epicurioushour.com