Five tips for better vehicle maintenance

The longevity of your car has a lot to do with how you take care of it. But what if you aren't sure which checks you should be performing on a regular basis? What steps can you take to keep your vehicle fully operational for decades to come? Here are just a few tips for better automobile maintenance.

1. Know Your Car

You should understand everything that goes on under the hood. You should know all about emissions, gas mileage and powertrain components. Take some time to learn more if your car knowledge isn't what it could be. If you aren't familiar with the inner workings of your vehicle, it'll be that much harder to recognize a problem when it appears.

2. Change The Oil

It may sound like an obvious suggestion, but you'd be surprised how many drivers are surprised when they realize how long it's been since their last oil change. Put it on your calendar so you won't forget. Your engine will thank you.

3. Wash It Regularly

Not only will it improve the shine of your car's exterior, but by hosing off all the salt, dirt and congealed nastiness from your underbelly, you'll also help to prevent damage and decrease aerodynamic drag. This in turn will boost your fuel economy.

4. Inspect Your Tires

Your wheels should be firm, tough and free of any accumulated debris. You'll also want to make a habit of greasing your wheel bearings so they stay lubricated enough to prevent wear down the line. Grease is cheap, but replacement spindles aren't.

5. Check Your Readings

You should be glancing at your dashboard every time you climb in the driver's seat. Are your brake lights blinking? Did you forget the all-important oil? Don't ignore any warnings given to you by your car. This is the kind of procrastination that leads to expensive repairs when the problems can't be brushed aside anymore.


If you're hoping to keep your car around for a long time, use these tips to boost performance and prevent malfunctions. Your vehicle is one of the most valuable things you own, so take care of it properly!

One of the key points to Our Daily Green's philosophy is less consumption and taking care of what we already own. We are so grateful to today's sponsor for these helpful hints to care for our car. 

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is actually an idea that has been around the United States since the mid-1980s. As the local food movement grows, more and more folks are looking for ways to eat seasonal, local vegetables and fruits. Yet only 2% of the population actively farms. While Our Daily Green has a small garden with some of our favorite vegetables and herbs, we lack the space and time to grow all our own food. This is where CSAs come in. From the USDA publication library:

In basic terms, CSA consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or spiritually, the community's farm... Typically, members or "share-holders" of the farm or garden pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer's salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm's bounty throughout the growing season... Members also share in the risks of farming, including poor harvests due to unfavorable weather or pests. By direct sales to community members, who have provided the farmer with working capital in advance, growers receive better prices for their crops, gain some financial security, and are relieved of much of the burden of marketing.

This is the first year Our Daily Green has joined our local CSA and we've recently received our first week's share. In the past we would haphazardly find farm markets, pick and choose a handful of items but rarely try anything new or different. We spent the weekend searching for recipes and realized that this would make a great weekly feature, how we used our share. This summer, each Monday, be sure to check out Our Daily Green for recipes from our produce share and share any ideas of your own.

In the future, we will feature step by step photographs. Since the idea came this week as we were washing our last dish, you'll have to imagine how delicious everything looked.

Here are the foods that came in this week's share and how we have used it so far:

• Swiss Chard: Swiss Chard & Feta Tart from Jamie Oliver's recipes.  
• Green Leaf Lettuce: Wilted lettuce with bacon & onion dressing 
• Strawberries: just washed and devoured-- SO delicious this time of year -- heading back to same farm for Pick My Own later this week to make jam & strawberry ice cream 
• Lettuce Mix: fresh salad
• Bok Choy: stir fried with teriyaki, onion, and wasabi.       
• Asparagus: haven't used it yet, but love asparagus on the grill, broiled or in a quiche 
• Hinona Kabu Turnip: never had seen or heard of these before, but they are an heirloom vegetable. As you know, I used the greens in my pesto, but the turnips tasted something like a very mild radish and cabbage. Reminded me somewhat of kohlrabi. I decided to experiment with lacto-fermentation (which worked beautifully for my pickles last summer). Will let you know in a few weeks how this went.  
• Garlic Scapes: Originally thought to make pesto but only received 4 scapes, which would make about a tablespoon... then I glanced at the fluffy green turnip tops and VOILA! our pesto was saved. We'd made pesto with radish tops before. Pesto actually will work with any most leafy greens. Don't let them go to waste. Turnip green & garlic scape pesto, with olive oil, pine nuts, a pinch of salt, and Parmesan cheese. Whirl in a food processor and enjoy over pasta or served on crusty bread. 

Stay tuned every Monday for our CSA report. If you want to join a CSA in your community, just search Local Harvest by zipcode for the one nearest you.

What to do with dead batteries (guest post)

Some rights reserved by JohnSeb

I used to think it was illegal to put batteries in regular trash, but that is exactly what New York instructs its residents to do. Except in California, D-cell and smaller alkaline batteries are not considered hazardous waste for trash disposal purposes. (The Environmental Protection Agency includes batteries in its list of hazardous household waste.)

 All batteries combine two metals and an electrolyte. Alkaline batteries use zinc, manganese, and for the electrolyte, either potassium hydroxide or  sodium hydroxide.

These electrolytes leak out of damaged batteries. They are corrosive,  reactive, and unstable when exposed to water. They cause severe burns if they come in contact with skin or eyes. They are definitely considered hazardous in large quantities, but legally at least, the amount of either metals or electrolytes in batteries is considered to pose no environmental or health risks.

photo from: Mathieu BOIS  via Wikimedia Commons

Just because something is legal does not make it right. No responsible chemistry teacher would ever allow students to conduct the crazy experiment that takes place in modern landfills. Chemicals that ought to be kept separate mingle there.

The water that percolates through the landfill soaks every battery discarded there, where the electrolytes combine with bleach, ammonia, and countless other chemicals that necessitate elaborate and expensive leachate collection systems. Rechargeable batteries, which contain mercury, and lithium batteries make their own additional contributions to this toxic broth.

Legal recognition of hazardous household wastes has come only fairly recently. These include paints, cleaners, oils, pesticides, and electronic wastes. It is illegal to put any recognized hazardous household waste in the trash.

Consider dead batteries hazardous household wastes even if they do not meet the legal definition in your jurisdiction. And don't forget rechargeable appliances with non-removeable batteries. What to do with hazardous substances depends on where you live.

Some communities, and I hope all medium-sized to large cities and suburban areas, have hazardous household waste drop off centers that are open year-round. Other communities designate certain days when residents can drop their hazardous wastes. A few communities might not offer any collection of hazardous household wastes at all.

If your community does not have a drop off center, or if you don't know where yours is, visit Earth911.com or phone them at 1-800-CLEANUP (1-800-253-2687).  You can also purchase a mailing box from The Big Green Box™ and mail your batteries to them. The price of the box includes all postage, handling, and disposal fees.

Thank you for today's post from writer David Guion who publishes the blog Sustaining Our World and has written multiple e-books on sustainability.