Almost every product and service we rely on today is manufactured with or transported by some amount of fossil fuels. Of course, the most important thing we can do to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is to use less. However, when you do make a purchase, we encourage you to shop for energy-smart products that use less energy.

Here at CEC, we're all about energy-smart products that help us move towards a fossil-free lifestyle and a fossil-free future for Santa Barbara.

Last time, you heard about Christa’s favorite gardening book and today, we're hearing from Megan Birney, CEC's Renewable Energy Specialist.

Favorite eco-product: Detours Toocan Utility Pannier
Price: $57.00
Owned it for: 2 years

When I switched from gas power to pedal power over 3 years ago I began a love affair with my bike.  It gets me where I need to go without much effort, saves a ton of money, actually slices my commute time to work (park and walk vs. pedal to the front door), and is a heck of a lot of fun.

But like every relationship there are ups and downs.  My issue was transporting life’s necessities: groceries, work computer, beach volleyball, and more.  The little basket on the front just wasn’t cutting it.  I found myself hauling a backpack and fearing the basket was going to break while speeding downhill on De La Vina from Trader Joes.

That is when I decided to convert my beach cruiser into a commuter bike.  The secret ingredients?  A rear bike rack and panniers.  As it turns out, it is much easier to pull cargo than to push it!  Not only did this upgrade double my cargo area, it also made it easier to tote my load from anywhere in town.

The rear rack provides a great base, but any old pannier just wouldn’t cut it for my needs.  I needed flexibility and longevity – and it needed to look good.  A survey of local bike shops lead me to the Detours Toocan Utility Pannier.

I love the storage capacity of the pannier, but importantly the design made it practical for almost anything.  With a hard, rubber bottom and an adjustable/removable shoulder strap, the bag stands on its own but is easy to carry. The design works great for the farmers market; it is sturdy enough to protect peaches and avocados and easy to clean. It also comes with a rain cover for those days when you forget to read the weather report and get caught in a downpour. I also love that it comes in a lot of different colors.  I got mine in mint green to match my bike – the “mint julep.”

The Community Environmental Council (CEC) is a small and dedicated non-profit with a very big mission: ending the Santa Barbara region’s dependence on fossil fuels in one generation. It's been a busy year for CEC. After all, moving our region off fossil fuels is no small task. Check out this infographic of our most impressive accomplishments from 2011.

Thank you to everyone who helped us this year: donors, green-minded businesses, Solarize SB participants, Facebook fans, Earth Day attendees...  you all help power the clean energy movement in Santa Barbara. Consider giving back by making a donation to CEC this year.

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Share this infographic on Facebook and Twitter.

Steve Lange works here in Santa Barbara at Magellan’s Travel Supplies as the Web Production Manager. He used to commute to Camarillo, which would take 45 minutes to 1 hour each way. Sitting in his car in all the traffic for such a long commute was stressful and boring at the same time.

He knew he could do better.

When Steve started his current job in Santa Barbara he started biking for every day travel. During the work week, he hops on his Xtracycle – a longtail bike with extra room for cargo and/or his two sons. When he bikes to work, he drops the eldest boy off at elementary school and then bikes in to the office.

Not only does Steve’s family reduce carbon emissions with their bike commute, but they also avoid stressful morning traffic and enjoy the fresh morning air before the day begins.

Biking on the weekends has also become a part of their family’s activities. They love to load up their Xtracycle with camping gear on weekends or bike out to Ellwood for a beach day.

After he made the switch to a bike, he was reminded of the inconvenient aspects of driving his car that he had grown accustomed to. The process of finding the closest parking lot, then waiting in line to park, then finding a spot, and then worrying about how long the car can stay in the lot... It’s nuts.

Like most people, it took a mental leap for Steve to transition out of his drive-everywhere-for-everything mentality. Today he uses whatever mode of transportation is most appropriate for the task. If the trip is under 3-5 miles, he finds it is usually faster to bike than to drive, as bikes can roll right up to a destination without the hassle of parking. While he still uses a car from time to time, he advises “don’t get stuck in one way of thinking. There are many ways to get around – just pick the one that makes the most sense.”

Everything clicked for Steve once he made the switch to an alternative commute: he dropped 40 pounds, he doesn’t have to deal with a car for short trips, and he enjoys Santa Barbara more. He feels like he’s getting away with something, like he’s leading a better life than most people because he bikes for transportation.

Who knew it could be so simple?

Every fall, many parents gear up for the chauffeuring duties that come with the start of the school year. Some of these parents are driving twice a day from as far as Montecito to Dos Pueblos High School – 15 miles x 2 round trips x 5 days adds up to 300 miles and 7-15 hours in the car per week, depending on traffic.

CEC and Traffic Solutions' Walk & Roll program and website provides resources and encouragement for families to carpool, bike, walk or take the bus to school. For example, at Dos Pueblos, we are working with the PTSA Traffic Committee to organize a carpooling registry that will help decrease the school's notorious morning traffic. Families can connect with neighbors and arrange carpools, saving time and gasoline.

The Walk & Roll website also has information on MTD's school booster buses, resources for biking and walking, and news and events. While Walk & Roll primarily works with high school families, COAST's Safe Routes to School has great programming in many of the elementary and junior high schools.

Commit this school year to using alternative transportation to get your kids to school. Try picking one alternative transit day per week and see how it goes. If you already do that, up the ante and add a few more days (or the full week!) to your routine. Driving less saves time, money and gasoline, and reduces traffic, pollution, and stress levels.

Check out www.Walk-Roll.org for more ideas. Share your own ideas and experiences with alternative transit on our Facebook page...

We’re half way through May, which means we’re half way through National Bike Month! It also means we’re well into CycleMAYnia – a month-long celebration of bicycling events in our community. Check out the CycleMAYnia event page for the events going on through the end of the month.

CEC is celebrating by participating in Traffic Solutions’ Bike Challenge -- a friendly competition with five-member teams making round-trips by bike instead of by car. Team members log the days they bike on their online Commute Calendar. Each team must have two “converts” to qualify for prizes (a convert is someone who doesn’t normally bike for transportation). Each team gets a chance to win prizes and the highly sought-after title of Bike Challenge Champs.

This sort of thing is right up CEC’s alley. We gathered 5 CEC staffers to form an unstoppable team – the Clean Energy Crusaders. We’ve got:

• Megan “cute cruiser” Birney [Advocate]
• Michael “I do this for a living” Chiacos [Advocate]
• Eileen “lifelong biker” Daley [Advocate]
• Christa “mighty Mom” Backson [Convert]
• Michelle “I’m new here” Kitson [Convert]

Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with. At the close of week 1, we logged over 100 miles of bike commutes!

If you’re bike commuting to celebrate Bike Month too, check out CEC’s Amazon Store. We’ve packed it full of the type of bike accessories that we love. Plus, if you see something you like and you buy it through CEC’s Amazon site, a percentage of your purchase will come back to CEC – quite an earth friendly purchase.

We’ll see you out in the bike lanes!

During Earth Day this year we launched a text donation campaign to raise money for the Earth Day Festival. Each person who texted a donation was entered into a drawing for a stylin' beach cruiser. In fact, if you were one of the 38,000 people who had a blast at the festival this year you can still text a donation to support it for next year - text "Earth" to 50555 to make a $10 donation.

Now that the Earth Day dust has settled, we randomly drew our lucky winner. Congratulations to Kelly Cote from Montecito! Not only did he support CEC with a text donation but Kelly was also one of our hard-working volunteers at Earth Day this year.

Plus, he is a student at Santa Barbara High School and loves to refill his reusable water bottle at the refilling stations there. Those refilling stations are part of a CEC project called "Rethink the Drink" which aims to reduce consumption of plastic water bottles by 75% during this school year.

Kelly is certainly doing his part - keep it up and enjoy your new cruiser!

Many thanks go out to Isla Vista Bike Boutique who generously donated a bike from their shop.

And most of all, many many thanks go out to all of you who texted a donation this year. The Earth Day Festival would certainly not be possible year after year without your support - Powered by the People!