During a discussion with someone I recently met, somehow, the conversation turned to light bulbs. “Oh those awful light bulbs that OBAMA wants us to use”, she said. I was confused thinking there was some new technology that I hadn’t heard of, but finally I asked “Do you mean CFL bulbs?”

“Yes, those awful curly ones”, she continued. “I can’t stand them. I refuse to use them.”

I tried to delicately add to the conversation, pointing out that incandescent bulbs are being phased out and we are all moving to CFL bulbs, that they use 10% of the energy of regular bulbs, and that all these things were in place long before Obama even took office. But, at some point (which was about ten seconds in), I think she stopped listening.

Then, just a few days later on Facebook, a high school acquaintance posted a whole long status update with a bunch of arguments against electric cars. He offered up a lot of math that didn’t really add up, then added “And OBAMA thinks this is the answer.”

I attempted to reply intelligently, using math and reasoning. My comment, as you can imagine, was not well received. It was met with conservative replies, including how my truck-driving high school buddies (hmmm, last time I saw them twenty years ago, they were driving gas-guzzling raised trucks so it seems like not much has changed) could fit my Prius in the back of their truck and tow me to the next charging station - not that I have the electric Prius, it’s a hybrid. But anyway, none of this mattered (the whole factual, math type of stuff). Obama was for it, and I was a liberal-socialist (by the way, I'm not) and they wouldn't consider any of it.

What struck me about both of these interactions is that it really had nothing to do with the fact that these people had tried and had bad experiences with CFL bulbs or had done a lot of homework and calculations analyzing the value of electric cars. It was just that they associated these items with the democratic administration, and therefore, they were having none of it.

And then suddenly, overwhelmingly, it hit me like a ton of bricks - conserving energy has become political. If you are on one side of the fence, energy conservation is an important goal. If you are on the other, it is the liberal, democratic agenda that must be stopped.

After that realization, I think I went into a mini-depression. I put myself on self-imposed, social media timeout. I couldn’t take it anymore. I felt hopeless.

But then, I had a realization. I can make a change. I can speak up. And maybe, just maybe it will make a difference. And even if it doesn’t, it’s better than doing nothing. I can’t just sit by and do nothing.

Because conserving our finite resources and protecting our environment is not a political agenda. It’s a human agenda.

As we head into this political season, it’s going to get ugly I am sure. But in all of the rhetoric, please, please - do not throw out ideas like energy conservation, “green” technology, and renewable energy because you think they are associated with a certain political party.

It has nothing to do with the candidate you punch on your ballot. We all live on this planet. We all have a vested interest in keeping our air clean, our oceans clear of trash, and our environment healthy for generations to come. And now is the time we must act.

So please try to ignore the political rhetoric and focus of the facts. All the math and science point to the fact that, well, it's a fact. Our environment is in trouble and we need to start cleaning it up.

And the small changes you make do make a difference, they do add up to much greater change.

And the politicians on both side of the aisle need to hear that we care about our planet and will vote accordingly.

Whether you are blue or red, please make going green a universal goal that we can all agree on.

Learn more about Allison. You can find her on twitter ocgreenmama.

Single cup coffee makers are everywhere right now. They are easy and convenient, perfect for single people or solo coffee drinkers in a home. But, their popularity is causing some big problems - namely lots of landfill waste.

Check out this CNBC story, "Spent Keurig K-Cups Filling up Landfills" for more on the problem.

As the video demonstrates, the problem with single use coffee pods is that they are filling up the landfills fast - and they are not recyclable. Sure, the individuals components of the pod are recyclable (plastic, paper and aluminum), but as soon as those components are combined into one unit, it's a recycling nightmare. Coffee pod landfill waste is become such a big issue, that manufacturers of these single-use systems are looking for solutions.

Luckily, there is an simple solution to this problem that exists right now - the reusable coffee pod filter.

I do own a Keurig machine. Most mornings, I am the only coffee drinker in the house. Making a pot of coffee so I can have one cup just didn't make sense. I found myself dumping out many half-full pots of coffee at the end of the day. So for Christmas a couple years ago, my husband bought me the Keurig.

But (and this is a big but), I do not use the disposable K-cups. Instead, I use the reusable container and filter that came with my unit. Many coffee pod systems come with both the holder for the disposable pods and a reusable cartridge and coffee filters to use with your own grounds. If your maker did not come with the reusable cartridge and filter, they are inexpensive and available to purchase separately online, or at lots of retail locations.

My Keurig came with the grey reusable container in the picture and one reusable filter. I bought a couple more of the reusable filters (they come in a two-pack) at Bed, Bath and Beyond. That way, if we want to brew a few cups in the morning, we aren't washing out filters in between each cup. And by brewing my own grounds, I can create my own custom blends - half decaf and half regular, or half french roast and half morning blend (a little bolder but not quite so dark). All at a fraction of the cost of disposable K-cups.

The reusable filters combine the convenience of the K-cups, at a fraction of the price with none of the waste.

We don't have to wait for manufacturers to find a better solution. It may be years if at all. Your single-cup coffee maker can be convenient, cost-effective and green right now. What are you waiting for?

Learn more about Allison. You can find her on twitter ocgreenmama.

It's almost that time of year again. Yes, almost, (you hear that neighbor down the street with all your holiday lights on already), I said almost.

Almost that time for twinkling lights, decorating, shopping, entertaining, gift giving...and batteries...lots and lots of batteries.

This year, make the switch to reusable batteries and save money and resources. Less money. Less waste.

Reusable batteries do cost more initially, but more than make up for their initial cost in the longer term.

And reusable batteries have come a long way since they entered the market in 1992. Today's batteries hold a charge longer, can recharge more times, and cost less than earlier versions.

I've tried many types of reusable batteries in the last fifteen years or so, and for sure the best one I've found is Sanyo's eneloop rechargeable.

The reason I love these so much (which has nothing to do with getting anything free from eneloop - I purchased these batteries for full price at Costco a few years ago) is that they come pre-charged, so you can use them right out of the package.

And not only that, but once you use them and recharge them at home, they hold a charge. In fact, if they start fully charged, they will still be at 75% capacity after three years. So you can keep some extra fully-charged batteries stored in a drawer and just replace your used batteries immediately, with no down time for recharging.

With eneloop batteries I can use reusable batteries for virtually everything in my home, including mouse and keyboard batteries, remote batteries - all those devices that we may not want to have any break in battery use for recharging.
And Sanyo just announced a new and improved version of eneloop that is in stores now.

Far and away, the best prices for Sanyo eneloop that I have found is at Costco. When you can find it, they have an eneloop kit that comes with 8 AA, 4 AAA batteries, the C and D converters, a charger and a holding case for about $27). It's a bargain and it looks like this:

However, I just went down my local store and they don't have this kit right now. But they do have a 10-pack of AA eneloop batteries for $19.99. In addition to those batteries, you will need an eneloop charger. I found one at reusit.com for $22.95.

So for comparison purposes, I'll use the example of the 10-pack of eneloop at Costco and charger found online versus a 48 pack of AA Kirkland Signature batteries I also saw at Costco today.

The total cost of the charger and batteries is $42.98 for 10 AA batteries. Initially, $4.29 per battery seems like a lot. First, keep in mind that you only have to buy the charger once. All batteries after that don't need to have that cost built in.

Also consider that each eneloop battery can be charged 1000-1500 times and the math really changes. Even when you factor in utility costs for recharging the battery each time, Sanyo estimates a cost under $.04 per charge. I did my own calculations and came up with $.024 per charge, but we will go with the higher number.

Compare that to disposable batteries. The Costco 48 pack at $11.99 (pretty much the least expensive batteries found anywhere), works out to be about $.25 per battery in the pack. But at a one-time use, that's $.25 per use.

So while initially, disposable batteries cost less, in the long run, reusable batteries are just a fraction of the cost. It's no contest really - $.25 per use for one-time use batteries versus $.04 for the reusables.

And, that doesn't even factor in the cost of battery manufacturing and distribution and the hassle of battery disposal. Remember, all batteries are considered hazardous waste. So they can not be placed in the regular trash can. You must take them to a hazardous waste facility.
At 1000 uses per reusable eneloop battery, that's 999 fewer batteries to manufacture, package, distribute and dispose of. Reusable batteries are the clear winner here as well.

Unfortunately, only a small fraction of consumers choose reusable batteries. With the cost savings and all the resource savings, I really can not understand why.

So this year, as you purchase those video games, portable devices, and annoying beeping, light-up, talking toys, load up on reusable batteries as well.

Give a gift to yourself with money back in your pocket and give a gift to the environment with fewer batteries manufactured, packaged, sold and eventually disposed of in the hazardous waste facility.

For many of us, pets are a big part of the family. But if you are using flea and tick control products on them, you are unknowingly exposing your furry friends to chemicals that are toxic to their nervous system and can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, wheezing, and tearing eyes. And in the worst cases, an overdose of these products can cause muscle twitching, seizures, respiratory paralysis and even death.

Even scarier, we are also exposing our families to these chemicals when they come in contact with the pets. Young children are particularly sensitive because their nervous system is still developing and their ability to metabolize these chemicals is weaker than that of adults. Because children often put their hands in their mouths after petting an animal, they are far more likely to ingest the hazardous residues left by flea and tick control products.

Not only are these products toxic to our pets and our families, they aren't even necessary to stop fleas and ticks from infesting our homes and our pets. Dousing our pets with chemicals and exposing our family to potential toxicants is not the only way. There are plenty of natural solutions to ward off fleas and ticks this summer. Here is a great post outlining five solutions for natural flea prevention, including essential oils, yeast, vinegar and lemon.

At our house, we use Apple Cider Vinegar. A little added to the dogs' food or water, regular grooming, and frequent vacuuming are all we need to keep these doggies happy and the fleas and ticks at bay.

In the interest of total honesty, I have to fess up that we found one tick on our small dog recently. Considering the amount of time this little guy is actually outdoors, I was shocked. But a quick pull on the little bugger with some fine-tip tweezers and I was able to pull the tick out, and totally impress/gross out my kids at the same time. To me, avoiding this one tick is not worth dousing my dogs with chemicals and exposing my family to toxicants.

If you already have a flea or tick infestation, and you really feel like you need a chemical solution, check out the GreenPaws Flea and Tick Product Directory to find safer alternatives before heading down to the pet store. GreenPaws has an easy-to-use rating system for most flea and tick products found in stores (and natural remedies too), ranging from one paw for use only when necessary to three paws for avoid use. They also disclose what chemicals are in each products and what side effects those chemicals may cause.

Enjoy a summer free of fleas, ticks, and chemicals with more natural solutions that are healthier and better for pets, kids, and pet parents too.

Learn more about Allison. You can find her on twitter ocgreenmama.

Maybe it was because it was a tough morning. My 11-year-old had raging hormones, had a meltdown over a pair of shorts, and missed her morning carpool. I drove her to school in my pajamas, there was no parking, and she wouldn’t get out of the car. While trying to reason with her to get her out of the car and up the stairs to class (which may have involved tears - and not just hers), I spilled my full cup of coffee in the cup holder of the car, which wouldn’t be that bad except my iPhone was in it.

Dead iPhone, daughter alive and off to school. Doing okay considering. Got home just in time for a phone call from my son. He forgot his lunch in the car. Only he was ready in time for the carpool this morning, so he left his lunch in my neighbors car. Call my neighbor, get the lunch, head back to school.

Safely back at home, with my kids at school and not in danger of eating a “school-bought lunch” (the horror), I decided to go on a run to clear my head and reduce my stress level.

The sunshine, fresh air and exercise seemed to do the trick. But then right at the end of my run, two plastic bags stuck to the bushes, blowing in the breeze caught my attention. I quickly decided to try a little experiment. I picked up the bags and spent the last quarter mile of my run placing any trash I ran across into them.

I didn’t have to work very hard. Here is what I collected in under five minutes, just on one side of the street (no searching through bushes, only what was immediately noticeable) - coming up the entrance to my neighborhood in a nice, relatively clean community of South Orange County.

I thought to myself, “What am I doing? I’m trying to get people to compost, eat less meat, buy organic, and conserve energy, but we live in a world where people think it’s okay to throw all this trash out their car window.”

And so, when I got home, I tweeted this:

I half-way meant it. I feel sometimes like just giving up.

Then, on the way back to school for afternoon pick up, teenagers racing in two cars cut me off and then (as if mocking me) one tossed his drink out the window of his car right in front of me. It was about then, I was at the end of my rope and ready to give up. After ranting on Twitter again, some Twitter friends talked me off the ledge a bit and reminded me that there really are good people left and we haven’t lost all hope. Thank you Twitterverse.

So I’ve had some time to think about it, and I’ve changed my mind a little. I don’t totally give up, but I am frustrated. I just don’t know what it’s going to take for people to, I don’t know...well that day it was “give a sh...”, but today, I’m changing it to “care”, - to care about other people, to care about animals, to care about our oceans and beaches, to care about our environment.

My mom points out that the situation has actually improved a lot in the last, oh 50 years. She says that when she was a kid, the roadways were littered with trash. Then Lady Bird Johnson came along, with her “Beautification Campaign” to clean up the highways of America, and...well, the story goes on for awhile (as my mom's stories often do) but you get the point and can click on the link to check out the rest.

So, maybe it is getting better and I am just not seeing it right now. But, what I really want is not just “better”, I want us to live in a world where no one would dream of throwing beer bottles, fast food wrappers, cigarette butts, or anything else out the window. I want people to think about how all that stuff ends up in our storm drains, goes out to the ocean, and either ends up washed up on the beach, or floating away to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

But, unfortunately, that’s unrealistic, So if I want that for us, I know that the only thing I can do is do like Ghandi said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” I just wish I knew what to do to help get us there. For now, I’ll keep spreading my green message and hope that someone out there is listening and it does make a difference.

Well, I’ll do that, and get a new iPhone, so I can continue taking pictures of trash, Tweeting my frustrating about trash, and writing notes for stories about beach clean ups. Now, that part of it, I know I can do.

Learn more about Allison. You can find her on twitter ocgreenmama.