Getting Started at Home

One of the most important components of our sustainability efforts is to convince you, our loyal guest, associate or vendor, to make some environmentally positive changes at home or at work. We are in the privileged position to be able to reach many people as part of our everyday operations through our newsletter, our e-mail campaigns and our popular website. We call this our "green" outreach. We feel that if some of you are inspired by our efforts the total effect will be magnified.

You may be surprised to hear that, for us, the hard part has been to convince our associates here at the winery to turn off the lights, computers and air conditioners. Old habits die hard. As you embark or continue in your quest toward sustainability in your life, you may find that what initially appears to be easy actually turns out to be quite tricky. As you pursue our listed suggestions, try to figure out which ones will require more than just buying something (like new light bulbs). If the item requires a change in your routine, expect it to be difficult and to require concentration and extra effort.

After some of this "low hanging fruit" is harvested, you'll be ready to tackle some of the more challenging tasks such as getting your friends, neighbors and even your local elected officials to join in our sustainability campaign. We recently read there are similarities between the Civil Rights Movement of the early Sixties and the Sustainability Movement. At first the Civil Rights was almost completely a grass roots effort that eventually became a national issue that ultimately resulted in the whole set of anti-discrimination laws that we are so thankful for today. Many feel something similar will occur with sustainability. We hope you'll join us in the grassroots phase of what will ultimately become a normal way of life for everyone everywhere. We've listed below some of the easiest and most affordable green things you can do at home right now. Have fun browsing and make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page to tell us what you've done at home to go green; we'd love to hear!

• Tell your friends and family. One of the most effective ways you can make an impact on our environment is by talking about what you are doing to go green with your friends and family. Begin sharing ideas, brainstorming new concepts or even starting a friends and family green coalition where you meet once a month to discuss such things.
• Support your local CSA. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In a nutshell your area's local farmers will supply you with a box full of fruits and veggies once a week. It's an awesome way to support your local farmers, to purchase your veggies and fruits local and to save money. Most CSA's are organic and typically cost 10%-20% less than your local grocer. You must become a member of a CSA in your neighborhood first. All fruits and vegetables are selected by the farmer and must be pre-paid through the CSA website. For more information visit www.LocalHarvest.org/csa. If you live local, you can pick up your CSA box here at Ponte Winery on Tuesdays from 3pm-6pm at the Smokehouse Restaurant hostess stand. To sign up for the Inland Empire CSA go to www.InlandEmpireCSA.com.
• Evaluate your ride. Our owner Claudio Ponte just ditched his SUV and purchased a Toyota Prius, saving ridiculous amounts of money in fuel and reducing his family's environmental footprint. If you can't go out and purchase a new car, consider ride sharing with co-workers, utilizing public transportation, riding your bike or try carpooling with your spouse or coworker.
• Change out your light bulbs. We recommend An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). It will save about $30 on your electricity bill over its lifetime. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. A CFL ranges in price from $2-$5.
• Purchase a Smart Strip power cord. When devices, such as computers, are plugged into the control outlet, the power strip is able to 'sense' the flow of electrical current through the strip's control outlet. This unique feature enables the Smart Strip to turn off selected equipment when it's not in use, saving you money and time! These cords cost around $40.
• Ditch plastic bags - use canvas. If you haven't made the switch, now is the time. Most plastic bags take over 400 years to biodegrade. Some figures indicate that plastic bags could take over 1000 years to break down. This means not one plastic bag has ever naturally biodegraded. In addition over 100,000 sea animals die every year for mistakenly consuming plastic bags. Canvas grocery bags can be purchased at your local store for a mere $1 per bag. Use them and then toss them back into your trunk so you don't forget to bring them.
• Lose the lawn. Did you know that by losing your lawn and replacing it with a landscape of drought tolerant plants you could save up to 20% on your water bill?. And that's not all, some water districts are crafting out programs that will pay the customers to plant pre-approved drought tolerant plants or synthetic grass.
• Plant a vegetable garden. Planting a vegetable garden is better than buying local; it is local at its best. We have associates at the winery that are limited on space and have grown an entire garden in containers on the patio of their apartments. On the other hand, we have associates who have cut out all their lawn and replaced with multiple raised beds. Whatever the case, whatever the space, growing a vegetable garden reduces carbon emission, saves you money and is a ton of fun.
• Start a compost pile. A compost pile can reduce the waste in your home by up to 50%. In the back corner of your yard simply start a pile of all your garden clippings and kitchen waste (excluding any animal products). Water it down, mixing often and wait. Within a year or so you will have the richest and darkest soil in the neighborhood.
• Collect rain water. If you have 1,000 square feet of roof on your house, and it rains just 1 inch, you can collect 600 gallons of water to be used in your garden, for washing your car, or just for drop irrigation around your property. There are many rain catchers for sale that range from $50 to $500. We tend to lean towards the wine barrel one.
• Pay attention to your dishwasher. Here are a few tips that will save energy and money.
  1. Use the air dry setting instead of the heat-dry setting. This will save energy and money.
  2. If you have to pre-wash your dishes before loading, fill your sink with cold water and rinse. Try to avoid letting the faucet just run.
  3. Try to wash only full loads, the savings will surprise you.
  4. Use short cycles.
• Air dry your clothes. Air-drying some or all of your wet laundry could save you $135 in energy costs every year, prevent tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, and might result in less wear-and-tear on clothes.
• Shop local Farmers Markets. By buying foods grown and raised closer to where you live, you help maintain farmland and green space in your area, reduce the carbon emission that occurs when shipping produce and you support your local economy.
• Buy in bulk. Less packaging means less energy consumed, less trash and less transportation for shipping or trips to the store.