The Environmentally-Friendly Car Wash Method

It is officially summertime. With the nice weather kicking in, the number of car washes drastically increases. Across the country, people park their cars in their driveway or street and drag out the hose and soap. But these methods can have detrimental impacts on our environment. Fortunately, there are easy ways to accomplish your goals of achieving a shiny, clean car while avoiding the harmful effects on the environment and, hence, the community.

The primary, harmful effects of traditional home car washes are two-fold. First, the use of hoses significantly increases the amount of water that is used during the car wash, which leads to an unnecessary waste of our water supply. According to the EPA, using a hose for home car washes results in the use of approximately ten gallons per minute, compared to the few total gallons used with two buckets.

Not only does this waste a valuable natural resource, but it also increase your costs. Water bills around the country go up in the summer time as a result of home car washes.

The second harmful effect of the traditional home car wash has to do with run-off. Run-off from home car washes includes soap, detergents, mud, rubber, and grease. This run-off enters the storm-drains, which emtpy out into lakes, rivers, harbors and oceans.

The EPA recommends using a commercial car wash or, if trying to save money, use buckets without soap at home. If washing at home, the EPA recommends doing it in a grassy area or a driveway that empties into the grass or garden. If neither of these exist, consider asking friends to wash your car at their home, where more suitable conditions might exist.

I have adopted a method over the years that accomplishes these goals. I use two buckets of water and a sponge. I have found that soap is unnecessary. With a sponge, water and a few towels, you can make your car look just as shiny and clean as with soap or detergents.

By making a small change in how you wash your car at home, you can have a tremendous, positive impact on your community by helping preserve the precious water supply and keeping the waterways clean. But if that's not enough, consider the selfish benefit of this approach. The bucket method of water only saves you a tremendous amount of money on your water bills as well as soap/detergent supplies.

For more information and recommendations, check out the following website, which discusses EPA data and recommendations.

Host A Neighborhood Barbeque

Alright.  So you may be asking yourself how hosting a neighborhood barbeque provides a service to the community?  The answer is actually quite simple:  A neighborhood barbeque builds community relationships.  Even if it just involves the neighbors on your immediate block, that's a great start.   Getting to know your neighbors helps keep you informed about what's going on in your area.  Strong neighborhood relationships improve the quality of life for the entire block.  They can lead to formal or informal neighborhood watches.  Sometimes neighbors work together to improve the overall appearance of the block whether that involves picking up litter, improving the landscaping, etc.  Knowing what is going on in the lives of your neighbors can help you become a more supportive neighbor that will likely be reciprocated by your other neighbors.  For example, you might decide to take dinner to a neighbor who has just given birth to a child.  You know they probably have their hands full those first few days home from the hospital.  Making them a warm dinner can often be an amazing gift.  The same goes for elderly neighbors, who might just enjoy your company from time to time.  The bottom line is that community betterment starts with relationships.  So why not take the easy route and start with a barbeque.  The foundation for the above can start with something as simple, easy, and enjoyable as a few beers, some great barbeque and a game or two of horseshoes.

Community Safety: Starting a Neighborhood Watch

Everybody wants to live in a safe neighborhood. Unfortunately, crime knows no boundaries and can strike anywhere and anytime. One simple and great way to help reduce the risk of crime in your neighborhood is to start a neighborhood watch. Neighborhoood Watches can help raise awareness of potential crime problems or opportunties for crime, which you and you neighbors can act on to make your community safer. It helps reduce the risk of crime and may help give you and your family a greater sense of safety where you live.

Starting a neighborhood watch is relatively simple. First, visit the USA On Watch Program at www.usaonwatch.org. This is a program started by the National Sheriffs' Association. Here, you can find out if your neighborhood already has a watch program and, if not, you can create a new program.

USA on Watch explains more about how to start a watch program:

"To begin a NW, merely form a small planning committee of neighbors to discuss the needs of your community, gage the level of interest and potential problems, decide on a date and place for an initial Neighborhood Watch meeting, and contact your local police department or sheriff's office, and notify them of your interest to start a NW. You will then be assigned a crime prevention officer who will attend your first meeting. It's that simple. For more information and educational materials related to starting a Neighborhood Watch or to register your Neighborhood Watch in the National Neighborhood Watch Database, click onto the Register / Start Watch on this website."

Neighborhood Watches are easy to start and have a tremendous benefit to the community that you and your family also benefit from.

Here is what USA on Watch has to say about neighborhood watch programs in general:

"Neighborhood Watch is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most well-known crime prevention programs in history. While the modern day concept of program rose to prominence in the late 1960s in response to an increasing burglary rate, the roots of Neighborhood Watch can actually be traced all the way back to the days of Colonial settlements, when night watchmen patrolled the streets.

The modern version of the Neighborhood Watch Program was developed as a result of the multiple requests from sheriffs and police chiefs around the country who were looking for a crime prevention program that would incorporate citizen involvement and address the increasing number of burglaries taking place, especially in rural and suburban areas. In 1972, the National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) took the concept a step further by seeking funding to make the program a national initiative. Thanks to a grant from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, the National Neighborhood Watch Program was started.

For the first two years, the program was devoted primarily to disseminating information on the nature and volume of burglary and securing residential property and making it less vulnerable to break-ins. From there, it evolved into a program that promoted the establishment of ongoing local neighborhood watch groups that encouraged citizens to partner with their law enforcement agencies in an effort to reduce various types of "neighborhood crime."

Since its beginnings, Neighborhood Watch has grown from an "extra eyes and ears" approach to crime prevention to a much more proactive, community-oriented endeavor providing a unique infrastructure that brings together local officials, law enforcement, and citizens for the protection of their communities. Today's Neighborhood Watch programs incorporate activities that not only address crime prevention issues, but also restore pride and unity to a neighborhood. It is not uncommon to see members of Neighborhood Watch groups participating in community cleanups and other activities that strive to improve the quality of life for community residents.

In addition, the adoption of community policing by local law enforcement agencies has contributed to a resurgence in Watch groups over the years. Neighborhood Watch fits nicely into the framework of law enforcement/community partnerships, and Neighborhood Watch meetings provide a useful forum for airing neighborhood problems and practicing problem-solving techniques.

Furthermore, Neighborhood Watch has become especially practical in our current society, in which two-income families are the norm and many neighborhoods are deserted during the day. While criminals have attempted to use this statistic to their advantage, law enforcement has uncovered an important reality: the communities in which citizens have observed and reported suspicious activity have enjoyed lower crime rates.

As communities throughout the country have adopted the program and reported success, the popularity of the Neighborhood Watch Program has grown, and it continues to still."