How Hampton Roads is living green

The Pilot's Daily Break asked readers to share the ways they are trying to help the environment. Here’s what  they said:

“We gave up the HRBT commute! In July 2007 we sold our home in York County and bought a smaller home in Norfolk so that we could live a bit greener by saving gas, money and time travelling to and from our jobs every day. Now, instead of a 25 mile one-way commute, both Bill and I work within 3 miles of our new home. Bill is at the Joint Forces Staff College as Dean, Joint Advanced Warfighting School and I’m with WHRO. Smaller house + smaller yard = less energy consumption and smaller utility bills! And we love our new neighborhood, too!”

Debbie Eliason, Norfolk

“We feed a large hidden compost pile with vegetable kitchen scraps, grass clippings and deciduous leaves from nearby properties and streets. We bag copious pine needles for mulch and give some away. We fertilize only with organic products, and either pull weeds or spot-spray hardy types.

We live on a direct watershed to the Elizabeth River’s Western Branch. At least 3 neighbors who abut this former canal employ similar outdoor environment-saving practices.

...We save and reuse the cold water that comes before each shower, limit those to 5 minutes, never leave water running, carry hot water from the laundry tub to the kitchen, seldom use the dishwasher (and skip its dry cycle when we do), and prefer sun/air-dried to electric-dried laundry.”

Barry & Judith Mitchel, Portsmouth

“We have two rain barrels to water our plants with during the summer. A barrel under a downspout can fill up with one good rain. It has a mesh covering over it and we put in a mosquito dunk every month, just to be sure. You can buy commercial barrels or make your own and put it behind your house. It seems like water shortages are here to stay in our area and this is an easy way to 'stay green.’ (You can also flush toilets with this water during an outage or emergency.)”

Tommy and Toby Pennell, Portsmouth

“One of the small changes I’ve made to lessen my impact on the earth is to unplug every appliance in the house that is not in use. From my microwave to the power strip behind my television, I try to avoid 'vampire power’ every opportunity I can. It’s an easy change that also saves me money! I saved $15 on my power bill the first month I diligently unplugged.”

Amanda Mason, Virginia Beach

“One change (among many) that we have made: We had our one acre wooded/lakefront yard certified by the National Wildlife Federation…this makes our land a registered mini-refuge where planning, composting, landscaping, and sustainable gardening come together to provide quality habitat offering food, water, cover and places for wildlife to raise their young...and we recently added a hive of bees...thanks to local beekeeper Michael Coyle. Happy Earth Day.”

 Donna Iona Drozda/Brenda Davidson,  Virginia Beach

“The smallest change my family has made is to use cloth bags for grocery shopping. We keep them in the car so they’re always available.  Plastic bags are wreaking havoc in the environment. ...Kicking the plastic bag habit is an easy way to go 'green.’

The most significant change my family has made is to be vegetarian. The way the world breeds animals for food is by far the greatest threat to our planet. Eating meat contributes to serious land and water pollution and global warming, and requires vast amounts of the earth’s resources.”

Cindy Kube, Virgnia Beach

I have made many changes in my life. Not only do my efforts lower greenhouse gases and pollution, I am able to help with my family’s allergies as well. I replaced my old junky car with a Prius. I love it!  Not much beats 40+ MPG! (city & hwy) I no longer use caustic chemicals to clean with. I only use earth friendly products. ...I changed my regular bulbs to the florescent energy saver bulbs and got rid of my halogen lamp. I keep my thermostat 2-3 degrees higher in the warmer months and 2-3 degrees lower in the colder months. I turn off the power strip at my computer when it’s not in use to save electricity. AND I am finally getting the hang of keeping plants alive, which helps clean the air in our home! I stopped using paper towels. Instead I bought a bunch of wash clothes from Dollar General. ...They can be simply added to a load already in the wash. I also save trees by buying recycled toilet paper. The only recycled brand I like is sold at Office Max because it’s soft and tough enough. ...I also bought 'Green Bags’ from Walgreens. They are sturdy green shopping bags with plastic inserts in the bottom for stability.  I love them!  They were only $1 each!”

Beki Dodd, Virginia Beach

“Christopher Farms Elementary School realized just how much plastic is used around the world each day after participating in a plastic bag recycling contest! We collected over 200,000 bags and pieces of plastic in just one month! The changes many of us are now making are to buy reusable grocery bags and to recycle all our plastic shopping bags!”

Sandra de los Rios, Virginia Beach

“I have a composter in my backyard which I use for garden clippings, fruit and vegetable leftovers from the kitchen. I leave the grass clippings on the lawn when it’s mowed; nutrients are recycled back into the lawn. I recycle paper and plastic grocery and shopping bags. I carry canvas tote bags. They are washable and carry more groceries a lot more comfortably. I return plastic potting pots to garden nurseries. I return wire hangers to the dry cleaners. I recycle unwanted magazines to friends and libraries. I have removed my name from various companies who send me unwanted catalogs. I purchase phosphate-free laundry detergent and automatic dishwasher detergent.”

Diana Etheridge, Chesapeake

“We have made many changes to help our environment in water conservation of our 'Secret Garden’ at Holland Elementary. The Secret Garden is an outdoor science garden center that has been our school’s focal point for interactive and student centered learning since we have created it two years ago with our community’s support and a grant awarded by the Virginia Beach Education Foundation. The children have been involved in many 'Creative Problem Solving’ activities to help create ways to conserve and teach best practices in water conservation. The children devised a plan to add a rain barrel to collect water from the roof of the gym to conserve water after they researched and learned from The Virginian-Pilot that Hampton Roads has had drought conditions. The children also created a reservoir to collect rain water made out of a baby pool, rocks, leaves and soil. The students also brainstormed ideas to use a soaker hose to conserve water.”

Marie T. Culver, gifted resource teacher, Holland Elementary School, Virginia Beach

“Laundry day is every day at my house. I have made a few changes to this daily chore to make a smaller impact on the Earth. I avoid buying any article of clothing that requires dry cleaning. This eliminates dry cleaning chemicals. We wash everything in cold water and wait until there is a full load to run the machine. This saves water and energy. I invested in a clothes line and pins. On sunny days solar energy can dry a load or two. This doesn’t eliminate the dryer but does save some electricity. There is also something satisfying to the soul about the process of hanging clothes on a line. Towels make up a big portion of the laundry. With the warmer beach and sports weather, there will be even more of them. Four out of five members of my family are willing to use the same towel after more than one shower. In our household with teenagers who like to take multiple, long showers every day, this can save on loads of laundry, water and electricity.”

Patti Carr, Virginia Beach