Well, I received a few emails at asgreenasyoucanbe.com requesting a Rain Barrel how-to so here it is.

I have to admit that I was a little nervous to start this because I thought it might not work, or be leaky, but it was simple and doesn’t leak a bit.

The first step is to acquire a barrel, preferably a plastic one.  There are several sources you can get these for very cheap and sometimes even free.  Our local soft drink bottler sells them for $5, but I got mine free from a friend who works at an industrial plant.  You have to be wary about what it was used for. Mine was used for some kind of cleaner, I might not drink out of it but I think its okay for plants.  The barrel I got was bright screaming blue (ugg) so I got some tan spray paint specifically for painting plastic (low VOC of course) and gave it a good coat so it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.  Then, off to the home center!

At the home center I picked up a brass spigot that was threaded on both ends and a brass garden hose female to female adapter.   These were both the same size threads.  I also picked up one of those flexible plastic downspout extenders.

I drilled two 1 inch holes in the sides of the barrel.  One at the top and one at the bottom.  When drilling these holes, try to keep in mind the bottom hole is where the water comes out and the top hole should be directed to where you want the overflow to go. Hopefully the pictures will explain this better.

With the 1″ holes drilled, I threaded the spigot right into the hole.  I was tight but the threads were tapered a bit so they cut right into the plastic and made a water tight seal.  Same thing for the F to F adapter, just thread it in and be done with it.  You may need a wrench, because it was pretty tough to screw it in all the way.  I planned on adding some silicone sealant but it wasn’t necessary, that sucker is tight!

Next you have to cut a hole in the top large enough for the flexible downspout extender to fit in.  I used a jigsaw, but you could use a hacksaw blade or a circular series of drilled holes. This doesn’t have to be exact, but the tighter you get it the less chance you’ll have of foreign material getting in there, like leaves or sticks that can clog up the spigot.

Now you have to give the barrel a nice stable, level place to sit, next to your downspout.  I used a couple of 6×6 cut offs that I had lying around to raise the barrel up a bit so I can get a watering can under the spigot.  In hindsight, I would have raised it up a but more, maybe a foot off the ground.   It is important to dig the ground level under the barrel supports because a 40 gallon barrel full of water will weigh over 350 pounds and you don’t want it sliding off! You can use cinder blocks to raise it as high as you’d like. They are very cheap and easy to come by.

Place the barrel where you want it to go and put one end of the flexible downspout extender into the hole in the top of the barrel.  Now stretch the other end over to the downspout and mark a place on the downspout to cut.  You can easily cut it in place with a hacksaw.  Remove the lower piece of downspout and hook up your flexible downspout, I put a little screw through the plastic to secure it to the metal.

Make sure you close the spigot and wait for the rain!  You can hook up a length of hose to the overflow and direct it where ever you want.  You could even direct the overflow to another rain barrel and have a series of them.  When the first one fills up, it will start filling up the second.  Pretty cool, just make sure you have spigots in them or you won’t be able to get the water out.

There you have it, this is easily done in an afternoon. All you need now is a decent rainstorm and it will fill up very quickly.  Now it wont run a lawn sprinkler but I use a soaker hose or sometimes I just squirt the grass.  We also fill up a watering can when ever the garden needs a drink.

I hope this helps you on your journey to be as green as you can be.

Here are just a few simple things that nearly everyone can do to be a little greener.

Make a Rain Barrel. Its actually very easy to make a rain barrel.  I got my 40 gallon plastic barrel from a local bottling plant for a few dollars and a flexible downspout extender from the home center.  That, combined with about 7 bucks worth of hardware and 1 hour made me a rocking rain barrel.  Now I am thinking about daisy-chaining multiple barrels together to collect more water.  I can water my lawn, garden and flowers with this water, and its FREE!  Its very simple check out my simple How-to on creating a Rain Barrel.

Composting. I have to admit that I haven’t done this yet.  My wife keeps saying we should and she is right, but I just imagined a big, stinky eyesore in our backyard.  With a little research we’ve found that they don’t have to look bad at all.  As soon as we get ours up and running Ill post a few pictures and a how-to. (Edit: check out my new article on Starting a Compost Bin.)

Recycle!!! If you aren’t recycling by now what are you waiting for?!  Our local municipality offers a recycling service. They supply us with a great big container on wheels and they pick it up every week.  The first thing we noticed is that our volume of trash was reduced dramatically.  So much in fact that we are contemplating canceling our trash pickup all together.  Especially once we get into composting! If your trash collection service doesn’t offer a recycling program, do it your self!  Get a couple plastic bins and start collecting glass in one, paper in another and so on.  Click here to find a recycling center in your area, and dump it off. This is easy stuff!

Replace your light bulbs. Come on now, you mean you haven’t done this yet?  That’s the first thing everyone recommends to save money as well as the environment.  Its the easiest way to be as green as you can be!  the bulbs are getting better all the time too.  The first one we bought was very harsh, but we just got some recently that have a nice soft white light. They have a couple different types at The Green Office, go check them out!

Grow your own veggies! I know I know, “but I only have a quarter acre lot, how can I have a garden“.  Its not that hard at all.  Look into raised beds, you be surprised how much you can get out of a small corner of your yard.  Tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, even corn can all be grown in a suburban development backyard, depending on your geographic location.  Its fun too, and your kids will love helping with the garden.

There are many others that Ill touch on in the future but these are just few that you could easily do this weekend.  After all, don’t you want to be as green as you can be?

spec·u·la·tion /ˌspɛkyəˈleɪʃən/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[spek-yuh-ley-shuhn] –noun

1. the contemplation or consideration of some subject: to engage in speculation on humanity’s ultimate destiny.
2. a single instance or process of consideration.
3. a conclusion or opinion reached by such contemplation: These speculations are impossible to verify.
4. conjectural consideration of a matter; conjecture or surmise: a report based on speculation rather than facts.
5. engagement in business transactions involving considerable risk but offering the chance of large gains, esp. trading in commodities, stocks, etc., in the hope of profit from changes in the market price.

You’ve got to be kidding me!

Congress is zeroing in on speculators and the legal loopholes that some lawmakers say are adding as much as $70 to the price of a barrel of oil.

“Energy speculation has become a fine growth industry and it is time for the government to intervene,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell, D-Mich., at hearing on Monday.

Oh My GOD, so we have people guessing what the price of oil should be, and do you think these people are also invested in energy futures?  Isn’t it like the fox guarding the hen house?  Didn’t Pete Rose get in trouble for this?

So, If all goes well, gas prices should lower back down into the $2 range this summer.  Much better than the $5 range that was forecasted!  So a few over-bloated oil companies got even richer.  Wow, what a scam!

Why do we have “Speculators” anyway?  You mean to tell me in 2008 they cant tell how much of a product is available so they take a guess?  Walmart knows when a can of beans is purchased from one of its stores and its automatically reordered from its warehouse.  Our government isn’t as smart as a simple department store.  Apparently its too much for us to expect our economy to be based on facts.

If I’m way off base with this somebody, please, fill me in.  I just don’t see the outrage that I expected.  “They” crank the price of oil up, which increased the price of EVERYTHING and we just mumble a bit and pay it.  Then we find out that the price of oil was really just a guess on what it should be and we just say, Yea! gas prices are coming down. I can’t believe the apathy.

I wonder what the next 4 years have in store.  If you have anything to add please do, I’d love to hear what other people have to say about this issue.  I apologise to my readers for the rant, but this just bugs me to no end.  Be sure to check back in with us to see more article about how you can be as green as you can be.

by Seyth Miersma of www.nextautos.com on Sun, 06/08/2008 – 18:45

Fresh from the field are these first images of Toyota’s potential Smart competitor, the diminutive iQ. Toyota has already shown the production version of its attractive new microcar, but this is the first look we’ve gotten of the vehicle in the wild.

The iQ is said to incorporate an innovative 3+1 seating arrangement that can allow for three grown people and one child-size human to travel together. Toyota has further stretched the utility of the iQ package by giving the car a longer than average wheelbase with virtually no overhang at either end, maximizing the interior space in the process. Other space-saving features are a flat gas tank under the seats, small heater and air conditioning units, and thinner seats.

Attractive, utile, and efficient, we can’t help but have high early hopes for the iQ. It may even be fun to drive if the smiles on the faces of these test drivers are any indication.

Toyota iQ, how smart is that?

First Toyota showed us a concept car of the iQ, then a (very) close to production concept, and now here are the very first spy shots of that new Smart competitor from Japan.

The iQ will offer a new seat concept with 3+1 seats meaning that the iQ is roomier then it looks. Three adults and a child or some luggage should be able to sit comfortably.

Thanks to a long wheelbase and almost no overhangs Toyota got the maximum of space in this little car. Also details like the flat fuel tank under the seats, a smaller heater / air condition unit and slimmer sears helps to extend the room.

Toyota has great expectations for this car and are hoping for sales figures around 100.000 the first year. And with the fuel price rising almost every day now, a small car like the iQ is a smart choice.

Toyota Press Release February 13th, 2008

Toyota to present two new additions to its small car line-up
at Geneva Motor Show

• World premiere of Toyota’s revolutionary new iQ urban car
• European premiere of Toyota’s new small SUV, the Urban Cruiser

At the Geneva Motor Show, Toyota will unveil the production design of its all-new small car – Toyota iQ. First shown as the Concept Car iQ at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, iQ will go into production during late 2008.

iQ represents a break-through in compact urban transportation. For a first, up to three passengers can be comfortably seated in a compact urban vehicle at sub three metres in length, and additionally have enough area to accommodate a child or luggage.

The spaciousness of iQ is a result of its ingenious packaging, which was created by six space-saving but inter-linked engineering innovations that represent a revolution in Toyota’s automotive vehicle development. Infused with Japanese design elements, iQ is a radical change in vehicle design as well as environmentally friendly transportation, and away from the belief that small cars are basic and less safe.

Toyota also uses the Geneva Motor Show to present a new extension of its sports utility vehicle line-up into the small car segment: Toyota Urban Cruiser.
This new Toyota is an environmentally responsible small SUV aimed at the urban all-roader market. It provides an answer to consumer desires for SUVs but with low fuel consumption and low emissions.

In addition, Toyota will also show its latest advances in urban environmental transport solutions, a Plug-in Hybrid prototype as well as two concept cars: the Toyota 1/X Plug-in Hybrid concept in combination with Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) technology, and the i-Real personal mobility concept.

According to statistics compiled by the United Nations, every American, on average, is responsible for 22 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every YEAR!  In contrast, the world average is 6 tons per person per year.
You can save a ton of energy by working from home! Offices light the common areas, hallways, lots of places that people don’t even need light, all day long everyday.  Do you leave every light on in your house all day long? Of course not, but I bet your office does.  Most offices burn lights 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  Can you imagine the cost of that?!  It’s staggering.  Office buildings are notoriously less efficient than even the least insulated home.  You already have the energy efficient florescent bulbs installed, don’t you?  Replacing 3 bulbs will save you $60 a year and if everyone did it, we could keep a TRILLION pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere.

Pack a lunch and save the environment. Face it, going out for lunch 5 days a week not only costs you quite a bit of cash but you also pay more frequently at the gas pump.  You may only be paying $5 for that sandwich and a drink, but you may be paying as much for the gas you used driving to and from the fast food joint.  Buying your groceries for the week or two weeks all at once saves gas, wear and tear on your car, and puts your money into your local businesses. In many cases this helps the local farmers, who desperately need our support.  When you are shopping for your groceries think about where they are coming from.  I just read a statistic that New York State produces more apples than its inhabitants can consume every year, but the majority of apples purchased in that state come from Chili or Washington.  Shipping all those apples 3 thousand or 9 thousand miles wastes a huge amount of fuel and this only happens because people don’t think about buying locally.

Eating at home is also better for you anyway.  I won’t pretend to be a nutritionist here but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize a ham & cheese sandwich made at home is better for you than a triple quarter pounder with cheese.  Even if you do order the diet coke.

This summer has really been a scorcher, but my home office is in my basement.  Being underground makes it much cooler because its insulated by the earth.  I suspect underground offices are a common occurrence in today’s homes, so turning back the air-conditioning during the summer work day shouldn’t really be a comfort issue at all, and you can save the environment as well as a bundle of dough!  Its a win win!

Working from home may not workout for everybody but in the upcoming articles I will show you how you may be able to supplement your income from home and possibly work from home full time.