July 8, 2023 VC Star As summer heat soars, some people might think the easy solution to climate change is to turn up the air conditioner. Others instead look for ways to be “eco-cool,” feeling cooler in their homes while also looking stylish as part of the movement for planetary solutions. Window coverings provide one…
VC Star July 2, 2023 Some items are obviously prone to cause clogs in your home’s pipes or downstream in sewers if you flush them down toilets. Last November, the Responsible Flushing Alliance, a nonprofit funded mostly by manufacturers of wipe-related products, sponsored a survey of 1,417 respondents and found 97% of them knew feminine…
June 24, 2023 VC Star We have been invaded! Troops of foreign plants have marched across local hillsides, and this is the season when they probe the defenses of gardens on our very doorsteps. Yellow blooming mustard may create a colorful slope in the distance and may even look cheery on a barren patch in…
June 17, 2023 VC Star What does Earth’s solar system have in common with the recyclability of our solar power systems? They both rank just “one star.” Why are solar panels optimistic? Because they keep their “sunny side up.” All jokes aside, recycling and disposal options for solar panels have been terrible worldwide, but locally,…
June 10, 2023 VC Star I thought the highlight of my Alaskan vacation would be glaciers, but looking back on the past two weeks, what really stands out are the dogs. Since 1972, dog mushing has been the official state sport of Alaska. Visiting kennels, Iditarod training camps and Denali National Park, I learned two…
June 3, 2023 VC Star At a trade show in January 2022, Goodyear displayed an amazing new tire touted as “sustainable.” It is made primarily of soybean oil, rice husks, and pine resin. These items meet the “renewable” standard because they can be grown, unlike petroleum, which comes out of the earth only once. More…
May 25, 2023 VC Reporter At a trade show last January, Goodyear displayed an amazing new tire touted as “sustainable.” It is made primarily of soybean oil, rice husks and pine resin. These items meet the “renewable” standard because they can be grown, unlike petroleum, which comes out of the earth only once. More specifically,…
May 6, 2023 VC Star It is tacky to leave a price tag on a Mother’s Day gift, but some other kinds of tags and labels are useful. Labels printed on the back of Mother’s Day greeting cards might be convenient if you want your mother to know how her card affected the environment. The…
April 29, 2023 VC Star In the Oxnard Costco parking lot last month, I saw someone open his car door, drop a cigarette on the ground and stomp it out while exiting. As he walked away, I said: “Oh, you dropped your cigarette.” He responded: “It’s biodegradable.” He was partially correct. Tobacco and wrapping paper…
April 22, 2023 VC Star A Jacuzzi hot tub sits in a fenced-off section of a parking lot at the Ventura County Government Center. Next to it, in a locked storage container, is an inflatable Zodiac raft. Neither is an employee perk. The tub was rescued from disposal and is used by the Ventura County…