Shorten your shower by just 2 minutes.  Turing the shower water off 2 minutes earlier than normal will save 10 gallons of water and that adds up considerably.  You want to make a difference in our planet’s water resources?  If all of us saved just one gallon of [...]]]> Simple things you can do everyday in the home: 

Shorten your shower by just 2 minutes.  Turing the shower water off 2 minutes earlier than normal will save 10 gallons of water and that adds up considerably.  You want to make a difference in our planet’s water resources?  If all of us saved just one gallon of water from our daily shower, in one year it would equal t times the amount of freshwater taken from the Greak Lakes everyday.  The Great Lakes are the world’s largest source of freshwater…now  isn’t that something you’d like to help protect? 

Think Big by forming small habits.

Thermostats

Just One Degree- Up  In the Summer, and Down in the Winter could save nearly $100 per year on heating and cooling costs for your home.  Adjust a bit more, and save more!  How about a 10 billion dollar savings?  If we all just turned the dial down in the winter and up in the summer, we’d still be comfortable with a few clothing adjustments.  

The savings would be so large, to envision it, think of fuel for everyone in a state the size of Iowa for one year, free!

Recycle

We hear this all the time but it’s huge!!  Before you toss it, think about who could use it, or what could it be turned into??  Plus, if we just separated out our paper, plastic and glass from the trash, along with a bin for the aluminum products, the amount of waste sent to landfills would be decreased by 75%.  75%!! 

Right now,  our national waste would fill up the state of Pennsylvania.

 Hey, I’ve got an idea, since Texas is talking recession, maybe we could turn the state into a waste area…sorry, just spouting off about dump grounds, and thought of Texas, Bush, you know how it is.

No?  Well, where do you want your 4.5 pounds of daily trash to go?

We have to do something, folks.  We can’t just ignore the planet. 

Did You Know:  Americans are using at least w times as much water and energy per person as anyone else in the world.  That’s a pretty big problem considering the resources seem to be drying up.  What shall we do when there isn’t enough to go around anymore? 

Talk about a war.

Form [...]]]> We’re all gas usage conscious today!  There are a few important small steps we can take, that can really make a difference in our cost for fuel.  These tips were collected from the “hypermiler” Wayne Gerdes.  He says it will help us save 20% annually on our gasoline costs.  My thinking is anything that helps, helps!!

Form these new habits for fuel efficiency!  Here are some tips on getting the best mileage from your car:

• Take it EASY on the brakes:  Braking is inefficient because it kills your car’s momentum.  I wonder if we could quote Wayne Gerdes as we explain to the cop (that was willing to use his brakes to stop and write us that ticket) how inefficient using our brakes is…

Maybe not.  However, the alternative of “not stopping” could kill you or others, so it goes without saying not to go to the extreme with this.  What we’re talking about is the rushing up behind someone, and then slamming on the brakes; that kind of aggressive start-and-stop driving can increase fuel consumption by 37 percent. Instead, coast to a stop, take althernative routes to avoid stop-and-go-traffic, and time y our driviing to roll through those timed green lights. 

Yeah, I hear ya.  Not always possible, so I’m not so hot on this tip, but I thought I’d pass it on, since it is from the “experts” (“ex” as in ”has been” and “spurt” as in “drip under pressure”).

• Don’t speed:  For every 5 MPH you drive over 60, you lose about 7% fuel efficiency largely because of wind resistance.  To further minimize wind resistance, roll up the windows and remove your roof rack if you’re not using it.
• Inflate your tires:  Remember the flack Obama got with this one?  It works, though!  Keep your tires inflated to the maximum recommended pounds per square inch.  For every two PSI your tires are below that recommendation, you increase your fuel consumption nearly a percentage point. 
• Never idle:  Idling uses gas and gets you nowhere.  Anytime you stop for an extended period of time, for trains, stoplights, gridlocked traffic, turn off your motor.

Well, again, I’m just an average dummy, but I don’t recommend turning off the motor at traffic lights.  What if the car stalls or doesn’t start?  And, in big cities or dark streets, that’s not safe.

I don’t think saving a tiny drop of gas is worth that risk, especially if you hit a lot of lights going to and from work or errands.  But, if you’re in gridlocked traffic, with long waits, turning off the motor may work. 

If you just use one or two of these tips, you can save bucks.  Common sense prevails…happy and safe driving! 

Bonus tip:  Keep a safe distance from the car ahead of you and for gosh sakes, let them turn left of right without honking and tailgating!  That could be me behind you!  Road hog, beware!

The Power of One Bulb

For example, the simple act of changing to compact flurescent light bulbs; just 300 million of us doing that one thing; [...]]]>

Overwhelmed by how to help planet earth?  Don’t know where to begin?  Think it’s complicated to “go green?”  There are plenty of easy things you can do to work against global warming. 

The Power of One Bulb

For example, the simple act of changing to compact flurescent light bulbs; just 300 million of us doing that one thing; swapping just one bulb, would:

• Save more than 8 billion in energy costs.
• Reduce annual CO2 emissions by as much as that sequestered by 3 million acres of trees.
• Keep 2 million cars’ worth of green-house gas emissions from entering the atmosphere

There you have it, the short and sweet of it.  Everyone can do this one thing.

Behind the scenes: You might not think that the little batteries you use in your flashlights, radios or cameras could [...]]]> Did you know?  We use 2 billion disposable batteries every year, enough to run close to a billion toys!  Yikes!  As fast as kids use them, that’s a lot of power and money out of the pocket!

Behind the scenes: You might not think that the little batteries you use in your flashlights, radios or cameras could have any effect on the environment, but household batteries contain heavy metals!  The most common is mercury, a highly toxic substance that has become a major source of contamination at some hazardous waste dumps.  Another damaging source is cadmium. 

Those batteries you are taking out with the garbage end up in the landfill, where they corrode and break apart, releasing mercury or cadmium into the soil.  Batteries that are incinerated with garbage release dangerous mercury or cadmium into the air.

The Danger:

• Long exposure to mercury can not only make people extremely sick, but can also affect behavior.  In the 1600′s hatmakers who used mercury to treat felt and fur began acting strangely.  Since no one knew tht the batters were showing effects of mercury poisoning, it was assumed they were just crazy.  Hence the expression, “mad as a hatter.” 
• Nearly 50% of the mercury and 25% of the cadmium used in the US goes into batteries.
• Almost 75% of all batteries used in the US are the alkaline type, which are 1% mercury.
• The average annual use of mercury in batteries exceeds the federal limits on mercury allowed in garbage by 4 times.

Simple Solutions:

1. Use rechargeable batteries.  They do contain cadmium, they last much longer than alkaline batteries and therefore contribute a little less to our hazardous waste problem.
2. Recycle alkaline batteries.  Not widely available, the technology to extract mercury and other metals from batteries for re-use does exist.  Support it by recycling.

Other Info:  About 40% of all battery sales are made during the Christmas Season.  See if you can reduce that percentage!  Find a battery recycling location here

Did you know?  We produce enough stryofoam cups every year to circle the earth 436 times!

What is that white stuff shaped into a cup?  Styrofoam is actually polystyrene foam.  It’s made from benezene,  [...]]]> Stop!  Go Green by deciding not to purchase anymore white styrofoam cups or plates!  In 500 years they will still be in the dumping ground!

Did you know?  We produce enough stryofoam cups every year to circle the earth 436 times!

What is that white stuff shaped into a cup?  Styrofoam is actually polystyrene foam.  It’s made from benezene,  known carcinogen, converted to styrene, and then injected with gases that make it a foam product.  The gases often used are CFC’s which eat ozone molecules, depleting the Earth’s vital ozone layer.

Don’t ask me why we still make them, they should be outlawed!!  At this time, non-CFC foam only trades one kind of environmental problem for another, there are just no good substitutes. 

The Garbage: 

• Polystyrene foam is completely non-biodegradable; it just won’t go away.  Even 500 years from now, that foam just won’t go away.  Can you imagine your morning’s coffee cup still sitting on the earth’s surface hundreds of years from now?
• All styrofoam, contians large amounts of air and takes up a lot of space for its weight.  This means it wastes enormous amounts of precious space at already full landfills.
• Polystyrene foam is deadly to marine life.  It floats on ocean surfaces, breaks up into pellets resembling food, and is consumed.  When sea turtles eat styrofaom, it’s buoyancy keeps them from diving; and it clogs their systems, starving them to death.

Simple Solutions:

• Just don’t use it.
• Avoid foam packaging in egg cartons, disposable picnic goods, etc.
• Ask for paper cups and plates for your to go foods.

Source:  The Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702 or go online.

What’s the temperature of your hot water tank’s water?  Go Look.  We often don’t.  Most homes water heaters are set at 140 degrees.  Was yours?  The tank is always working, and is the 2nd largest energy-user in our [...]]]> Let’s Go Green!  Check your water tank!  In our homes, water heaters use up about 20% of the energy we use.

What’s the temperature of your hot water tank’s water?  Go Look.  We often don’t.  Most homes water heaters are set at 140 degrees.  Was yours?  The tank is always working, and is the 2nd largest energy-user in our homes.

If your tank is set at 140, it’s hotter than necessary.  Not only does that waste energy by overheating water, but adds to heat loss in the tank and shortens its life.  For every 10 degrees you turn down your water heater, you save 6% of the energy used.

However, since bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s Disease can live in hot water heaters, turn your water heater down to 130.  That is hot enough to kill bacteria and still save energy.

Simple Solutions:

1. Set your water heater on 130F, hot enought to kill bacteria and still be energy-saving.  Most modern heaters have the “energy conservation” setting.  There are also the style that is no tank required, heating the water in the pipes as you use it.
2. Insulate your water heater with a pre-fb “blanket, making sure not to block off the air vents.  This step’s important if it’s in an unheated space.  You can save 7-8% of the energy you’ve been using.
3. Every 2 months, drain about 2 quarts of water from the valve faucet located at the bottom of the tank.  This helps prevent acc7umulation of sediment and improves efficiency and life of the heater.

Note:  The #1 Authority on water heaters