STAR GAZING NOTES

Michael Beckage, one of our local astronomers, has some notes to share:

Greetings and Happy 2008.

This week there are two wonderful opportunities to have fun with planets.

Mercury, the planet closest to the sun, is about as visible as it ever gets this week. It's orbit is only about 1/3 the diameter of Earth's and so it never appears very far from the sun from our vantage point. Mercury is simply lost in the glare of 'ol sol most of the time. This week, however, Mercury appears far enough East of the sun that you can find it easily IF you have a clear view of the Western horizon. To see Mercury go to a place where your Western (actually a little South of due West) horizon is unobstructed. At about 5:40 to 5:45 start looking for a bright, star-like object just above the horizon. Hopefully you will find Mercury and be one of the relatively few people on Earth to know that you are seeing Mercury, then amaze your friends when you point it out to them!

Mars is high and bright all month long. On Saturday evening, Mars and the nearly full moon will be exceptionally close together in what we call a conjunction. Moon-planet conjunctions are some of the coolest celestial occurrences because anyone can find the moon, and if you find the moon on Saturday night, you will find Mars too!

Here is a link to the Griffith Observatory Sky report for a little more information about planets: Griffith Observatory Sky Report

In about a month we have a special treat coming. There will be a total eclipse of the moon on the evening of February 20. Unlike the last one in August eclipse happens between the very respectable hours 6 and 9 PM. I will have more details on this great event in another update.--Michael Beckage

Discover the Stars website

COSTCO STEPS ON THE EMERALD PATH

Angi Carelli, with Pore Baby Organics, sent this message to me yesterday. Here it is:

Costco has a new program to recycle your old electronics -- computers, cameras, etc. --any age. They will send you a prepaid shipping label to send in your item, thus shipping is free. If it's of any value, they may send you a cash card to use at Costco. Also, they have a zero tolerance landfill policy meaning that none of the components of the recycled item will end up in a landfill -- all of it is utilized!
Learn more about Costco's recycling program

Angi M. Carelli, Long Beach
Independent Representative
Pore Baby Organics
World's 1st Certified Organic Skin Care Line
email: info@porebabyorganics.com
phone: 562.438.7686

SATURDAY EVENTS

A Few Reminders:

Tomorrow Justin Rudd will be having a community event:

1) "Say Cheese" Photo Exhibit in front of WAMU bank from 12-5 p.m.
Learn more: Say Cheese web page

Photos from top to bottom taken by the following people:
Jeff Harris
Lonnie Dean
Florent Blanc

2) Christmas Tree Recycling Reminder:
Put out those trees by early tomorrow morning for pick-up by the City of Long Beach recycling trucks.

3) Community E-Waste Drive
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Parking lot on the NE corner of Long Beach Blvd. and Broadway. Located across the street from the Bank of America.
Description: Bring all your unused computers, TVs, cell phones, electronic devices, etc. to be disposed of properly.
Sponsor: Goodwill and 2nd District Council Office

GREEN SPEED--PLEASE READ!!!

Hello folks,

Well, the Grunion Gazette has done it again! Today an article came out about the Long Beach Green Drinks monthly gathering, and this coverage has now officially brought Green Drinks out of the closet and into the public eye. Thanks to Jenny Caronna, of FundraisingGreen.com, L.B. has a way for people to meet each other in an informal venue--and with wine and food. Read the Grunion's article:
Gazette Green Drinks article
Visit the Fundraising Green website

The other BIG news is this:

LongBeachGreenGuide.com and OCGreenGuide.com have created an alliance and we are now affiliate sites. Founder Casey Cochran and I, through our websites, hope to help green (and "greening"--meaning in the process of becoming...) companies, businesses, organizations, groups and so on, by providing them with a way to be listed--and found--online.
Visit Casey's site:
OC Green Guide

Last, but not least, LBGG has an articles blog as of today. Check in regularly for new articles, interviews and eco-tips:
LongBeachGreenGuide Articles Blog

As I often say, "many ideas brewing..."

NEWS AND UPDATES

Much is happening behind the scenes here at LongBeachGreenGuide.com and I have a few things to share:

***Aimee Wyatt's green housecleaning business, called I'm Cleanin' Green, now has a website and it's live. Let's support our two local businesses who are leading our community away from chemical-based housecleaning services to ones which are plant-based. What a boost for our city--and for our homes!
Cleanin' Green website

***Long Beach's very own "Eco-Friendly Bicycling Photographer," Russ Roca, is now listed on the LBGG site. Read more about Roca's pedaling ways in an article which appears in the January issue of Whole Life Times:
Life Can Be So Car-Free

***Rent-a-Green Box (listed on LBGG under "Moving Supplies"), has a short video on YouTube. Here's the link:
RentaGreenBox on YouTube
Earth Friendly Moving website
Learn about the RecoPack

***Community reminder: The City of Long Beach will be picking up Christmas trees on Sat. Jan. 12th. If you have one that is now tinder material, please put it out on the curb by early Sat. morning.

New Listings on LongBeachGreenGuide.com

Thanks to an article in the Grunion Gazette last week, interest in the LBGG site has piqued. Over the past few days I've heard from some green business owners in our community and they are now listed in various categories on LongBeachGreenGuide.com.

Here they are, along with some other recent listings:

1) Native Plant/Xeriscaping Consultant, Mike Letteriello
See listings on these pages:
NATIVE PLANTS/CONSULTANTS
XERISCAPING/CONSULTANTS

2) The Green Recruiter
Elizabeth Kiely
EMPLOYMENT RECRUITERS/GREEN
The Green Recruiter website

3) Soylar Candles
Irene Guoz, President
Soylar Candles is taking orders starting today!
Soylar Candles

4) SalvageLIfe.com
Beth Giles, owner
Web-based business (Long Beach) promoting sustainable living through careful selection of vintage pieces that are relevant to current trends. SalvageLife.com's goal is to reduce the use of new resources by creating an easy and fun shopping environment that helps the earth and its people without sacrificing style.
SalvageLife.com
LBGG CLOTHING/VINTAGE

5) Aromaids, "Finally...cleaning meets well-being"
Aromaids, Inc.
Long Beach-based eco-friendly housecleaning business.
(888) 641-8865
Aromaids.com
LBGG HOUSECLEANING SERVICES

6) Going Green Carpet Clean, Inc.
Long Beach
(562)439-5309
Residential, commercial and marine non-toxic carpet cleaning services.
GOING GREEN CARPET CLEAN
LBGG CARPET CLEANING


Coming soon...
Alchemy Design + Architecture
Russ Roca, "The Eco-Friendly Bicycling Photographer"

SOLAR INSTALLED!

Big news...

After months of planning, my home now has a solar system thanks to AMECO, a local solar company based out of Signal Hill. AMECO installed a 3.75 kilowatt system on our roof, Dec. 27th and 28th--just in time to end 2007 with a green "bang!" What a thrill to see this project come to fruition and to be producing energy from the sun.

I learned a lot on this journey, including how to decipher my electric bill. Thanks to Todd Fanady at AMECO, I now understand the different tiers and why our bills were so high (pool pump, no insulation on our roof, electric heater, A/C etc.). In a future posting I will write a piece called "How to Read an Electric Bill." Many folks aren't aware of the high costs they incur when they're in the high tiers. Getting into the lower ones does take effort (finding the electric hogs), but it is possible.

Pictures of our installation coming soon...

Happy New Year!

Ameco Solar website