Though nature has been providing its own waterworks this year, one of the suburban signs of summer is the dedicated car owner, lovingly scrubbing his or her vehicle in the driveway. The sight has always seemed quaint and sort of nice to me, the way any instance of someone taking care of the material objects in their life seems nice. Some things to keep in mind for the next sunny weekend:

• Conserve water. Apparently, washing your car in front of your house is actually pretty wasteful. A typical garden hose will use about the same amount of water as a commercial wash after only 2 minutes. A water-saving nozzle helps, but no matter how skimpy you are with the water at home, commercial washes are more water efficient, especially because they tend to recycle water. Even their recycled water typically mixes 40 to 80 gallons of fresh water for each car that goes through the wash.
• Go waterless. Car washes using no water and environmentally-friendly cleaners are popping up around the country.
• Use responsible detergents. At home and at the car wash, the detergents should be a cause for concern. Phosphates and toxic chemical runoff have a major impact on our water systems, so look for facilities that don’t use ammonium bifluoride and hydrofluoric acid-based cleaning solutions but rather phosphate-free, biodegradable detergents. Another way to ask about this is to request EcoLogo certified products.
• Recipes for homemade car cleaners, including soap, wax, and tire cleaner
• Drain responsibly. It’s recommended that you pour any dirty carwash water into the sink or toilet rather than the storm drain.

Of course, it would be better for the environment to rely on public transit, renting a ZipCar or similar service when necessary. Many Americans don’t have that choice, however, but regular maintenance like proper washing can help make car finishes last longer. Cars are actually threatened by environmental factors like industrial emissions. These deposits along with bugs, tree sap, and bird droppings can get baked on the car surface, causing permanent stains or damage. Making stuff last longer is one way to reduce the amount of stuff we consume.

Let’s face it: some of us are blessed with the gift of fatal attraction. Some people arouse a mere passing interest in mosquitoes. Others of us cause a feeding frenzy. The resulting bites also vary in duration and severity, ranging from a minor itchy bump that lasts a day or so to large inflamed welts that last for days. Since mosquitoes seem to be doing especially well with the whole climate change thing, we’re just going to have to learn to live with them. Living with them doesn’t mean resigning to their bites or using harmful chemicals to keep them away. There are a variety of safe products and recipes that can help keep the bugs at bay.

• Use commercial products that are hypo-allergenic and DEET-free
• Make your own insect repellent using essential oils. I’ve experimented a good bit with these and have found that some might stain and others might have objectionable odors or cause their own share of itching. The mixture that worked well for me was rosemary oil, neem oil, lavender oil, and citronella oil, diluted in water and sprayed through a mister. As long as it was applied before donning clothing, it worked very well. The same oils can be added to a moisturizer or shampoo you already use–if used in the latter the odor (which is what keeps the bugs away) seems to last especially long because you’re not sweating it off.
• Just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s safe for you. Pyrethrum, which is a natural compound derived from the chrysanthemum, is the active ingredient in many treated mosquito nets. It is highly effective but should not be used on clothing, sleeping surfaces, or anything that will be close to your face for a long period of time. People with asthma are particularly sensitive to it, but anyone can develop a reaction to pyrethrum if exposed to it for too long.
• Isolongifolenone, a natural compound found in the South American Tauroniro tree, has been found to be effective against mosquitoes and ticks. This is good news for those concerned about Lyme disease.
• Citronella candles really can be effective for outdoor time–just choose soy candles or some other alternative to paraffin candles, which are derived from petroleum and create soot.
• Some say what you eat can affect how appetizing your blood smells. Test out some of these foods and see if it’s true for you.
• To alleviate mosquito bites, or any insect bite, try neem powder. Made into a plaster and applied to the site it’s a little green and goopy but very good at taking away the itch.
• Lastly, if you’re looking for natural skin products but don’t want to spend a lot, “natural” pet products are often made of the same high-quality ingredients as human formulations, but at a fraction of the cost. There is one such skin product, containing neem oil and cedar, which I’ve found to be effective and refreshing to the skin.

In a previous post I had advocated that the way to prevent the collapse of the oceans was to shift consumption from higher food chain fish like salmon to lower ones like tilapia.  This post drew a comment that stated that this approach would help to fuel the ocean’s demise and the only true way to save the oceans and send a message was to simply stop eating fish.

“I don’t understand your logic. At first you very clearly explain the problem: that we have become so effective at ‘mining’ the oceans for food that we are on track to run out of fish. However, that ‘mining’ is so inefficient that more than half of the catch is considered unusable, or “bycatch.” Often this results in large quantities of dead or dying animals being dumped back into the water, or ground up for agricultural purposes.

You even clearly understand the ridiculousness of Bittman’s job: “…to go around and promote … what had previously been considered “underutilized” species until they became overfished and then … promoting the next species on the list.”

For many of us, this summer’s must-have accessory is….an umbrella. The rain seems to go on and on this year, and while it’s nice not to be suffering from drought, the frequent squalls might be taking their toll on your frequent companion. Like so many things these days, many umbrellas seem to be so poorly made they might as well be disposable. It seems like they should be designed with the possibility of wind in mind, but city streets are often littered with discarded umbrellas that couldn’t make the grade, or their spokes can be seen protruding forlornly out of trash cans. Umbrellas can be a true test of one’s green intentions. After all, what instant gratification could be more justifiable than a nice new umbrella when your old one is all lopsided and sad-looking? You don’t need any extra reason to feel down in the rain, and an umbrella that looks like it’s on its last legs is bound to add an extra tinge of gray to an already murky day.

Hanging on to umbrellas is kind of a point of pride with me precisely because a human and her umbrella are all too soon parted if she’s not careful. In my experience, the more complicated it is, the more likely it is to break, or to stick open or shut at the wrong time. Buying the very cheapest rain gear is also a bad idea, because not only are they very flimsy but they are somehow too small, meaning you’ve traded a couple bucks for wet shoulders. Only the strongest winds can really twist an umbrella completely out of shape….Usually a thin wire or paperclip (to hold together a broken joint) or a needle, thread, and tape can keep your portable shelter going for a very long time.

Here are some tips for more sustainable umbrellas:

• Buy one made out of recycled plastic
• Or one that comes with a lifetime warranty
• Pay a little more for a model that looks sturdy…you can save several inferior models from the trash
• Learn how to repair an umbrella from step by step instructions

Of course, all good things come to an end. If you’re lucky to live in an area where there’s a broken umbrella collection, you can destine your worn-out umbrella to become arts-and-crafts fodder for a creative person. If you want to try your hand at being the craftsperson, see these easy instructions for recycling your spent umbrellas into reusable bags.

Look there beneath the waves it’s a whale! No it’s a shark! Maybe a salmon? Oh wait it can’t be any of them because they’re all dead………..Seriously, though that could really happen by 2050 if predictions of one study reported in Science comes true. Of course this won’t happen because the authors are referring to the worst case, doomsday, do-everything-the-most-harmful-way-possible scenario. Basically, if everything that COULD go wrong DID go wrong, these scientists are predicting the death of our oceans.

I think the valuable lesson here is in showing us that now is the time to change. In humanity’s typical fashion we have waited until the last useful moments to start saving the fish. Like a kid cramming for finals, we’re just making it harder on ourselves and we’re not learning much. Insert Big Yellow Taxi reference here. There was a good article on this issue in the New York Times last week by Mark Bittman. Bittman, a former NOAA staffer-turned-sustainable chef, now writes columns for the New York Times and has a blog called the Minimalist about how to cook and eat sustainably that includes yummy recipes.

The article itself discusses the middle path of sustainable seafood. Several environmental groups like Sea Shepherd argue that there is no such thing as sustainable seafood unless it is a single individual fishing to feed only their immediate family. The article points out how this isn’t the case but that we cannot simply continue our current habits either. His argument is that we can still eat fish just smaller amounts of our current favorites interspersed with the increasingly popular fish like tilapia that are plentiful and can be raised and caught with minimal environmental damage.