I want to start covering clean energy news much more here on Planetsave, but as they say, “so much to do, so little time.” Also, since we cover that extensively on sister site CleanTechnica, I just sort of assume you all can easily pop over there and subscribe to that page for [...]
Sustainability and eco-friendly products are becoming a big seller in today’s economy thanks to the greater demand by a more informed and concerned customer base. But many who want to switch to a greener way of living don’t understand the use of certain information indicators, such as energy stickers and ecolabels.
OK, last roundup of the week! Here's a roundup of some top green living stories of the week, other than the 15 or so we've already covered (click the link above for those... there were some fun ones this week!):
When you’re looking for ways to be more environmentally friendly in your own home, or even just cut costs, one of the first places you should be looking is at your energy bill. It’s no big secret that the better-insulated your home is, the less energy you will have you use to heat [...]
“‘People Power’ behind him” is what made it possible for President Obama to veto the Keystone XL pipeline, according to Bills Moyers on Bill Maher’s HBO talkshow. And this backs up what we here on Planetsave have been promoting for a long time now — direct action [...]
Originally posted on Climate Progress, with only the photo added:
by Zachary Rybarczyk
Developing countries (including China) are expected to account for more than 90% of global energy growth in the next 30 years. The U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) is addressing the urgent need for sustainable, clean economic [...]
A recent story that celebrates spontaneity, cycling, urban wanderlust, and the wonderful wave of sustainable bike-sharing programs is a welcome happiness to all of us wanting more biking freedoms. From an article found on the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) website: “Bike sharing is like a big advertisement [...]
Curriculum in U.S. schools is often a contentious topic, with various interest groups battling over what material is “right” or “useful” for the nation’s children, and concepts like conservation often get lost in the shuffle.
Conservation knowledge is good to have and wise to impart no matter what the political climate or attitude toward [...]
Timber frame houses have a very long history, dating back to Neolithic times and continuing all the way through the present. The craft has been refined over that time, but the principles are the same — using felled trees to their fullest potential to create homes that are durable, economical, sustainable, and beautiful. Unlike [...]
Timber frame houses have a very long history, dating back to Neolithic times and continuing all the way through the present. The craft has been refined over that time, but the principles are the same — using felled trees to their fullest potential to create homes that are durable, economical, sustainable, and beautiful. Unlike [...]
The wide open sky is both an image and a phrase often used to represent freedom, happiness, and a whole host of other positive things. Unfortunately for most of us, we spend the majority of our time under a ceiling instead of under the sky. (Of course, during inclement weather, I’d call that more [...]
This is last week’s news, a bit, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to cover more and haven’t gotten to. So, here’s a quickie on it:
The GOP, in the name of “freedom” tried to kill lightbulb standards established and signed into law under George W. Bush (somewhat sucessfully). The GOP framed it as a ban on incandescent light bulbs and a ban on freedom of choice. However, it was NOT a ban on incandescent bulbs but just a mandate to make them more efficient. Aside from those who want clean air and a livable climate, the GOP’s ridiculous obstructionism on this pissed off the light bulb industry!
More from Politico (a rather conservative politics site):
Big Business usually loves it when the GOP goes to war over federal rules.
This year, House Republicans made it a top priority to roll back regulations they say are too costly for business. Last week, the GOP won a long-fought battle to kill new energy efficiency rules for bulbs when House and Senate negotiators included a rider to block enforcement of the regulations in the $1 trillion-plus, year-end spending bill.
The rider may have advanced GOP talking points about light bulb “freedom of choice,” but it didn’t win them many friends in the industry, who are more interested in their bottom line than political rhetoric.
Big companies like General Electric, Philips and Osram Sylvania spent big bucks preparing for the standards, and the industry is fuming over the GOP bid to undercut them.
After spending four years and millions of dollars prepping for the new rules, businesses say pulling the plug now could cost them. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association has waged a lobbying campaign for more than a year to persuade the GOP to abandon the effort.
Yep, that’s our House GOP (or GOP leaders in general these days), looking out for… no one.
Here’s a good news story — the Department of Energy (DOE) announced last week that it had reached a national target of getting 600,000 U.S. homes weatherized (including over 125,000 multi-family homes, like apartment buildings)… and the target was reached 3 months early!
“The Department reached this major milestone as part of its efforts to save energy and reduce home utility bills for families, while creating jobs in communities throughout the country,” the agency’s website stated.
“Through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, states and territories supported by the Department’s Weatherization Assistance Program set the aggressive goal to reduce energy waste in approximately 600,000 low-income homes with energy efficient upgrades such as insulation, air-sealing, and more efficient heating and cooling systems. The program is helping families save money on their energy bills and creating thousands of jobs locally – putting carpenters, electricians, and others back to work.”
From Green for All, where I ran across the news, has more on home weatherization and a great green jobs program in New York City:
“The video below illustrates how this puts people to work. From our partners at CEC in New York, it describes the scale of impact that weatherizing can have. Featured prominently is Thalia Williams, a single mother who finally found a way into construction through the CEC.”
What a great program, initiative, story, and so on! It gave me a lift!
Have you weatherized your home recently? If not, here are a couple posts on Planetsave on the topic:
A friend of ours and occasional contributor here on Planetsave shared this infographic below with us this week. It’s on home heat loss,.. as you can see. Check it out and save some money by plugging those leaks and containing that heat!
Ever wonder just how much energy the Internet uses? According to a report by CNN, more power is pumped into the maintenance of the Internet than the auto industry. That means the Internet uses more electricity than the entire auto industry’s production of cars and trucks combined.
So, what does that prove exactly? Well, let’s put it this way: If the Internet were a country, it would rank fifth in the world for amount of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. According to Greenpeace, the Internet consumes more power than Russia. That’s an awful lot of energy when you stop and think about it, and it’s not all coming from renewable sources.
A large percentage of the data centers that house computer servers rely on non-renewable energy sources to power their cloud computing. In fact, according to Greenpeace, at least 10 major tech companies (which include Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter) depend on nuclear and coal-powered energy rather than renewable forms of energy such as solar and wind. Greenpeace estimates that, when functioning at full capacity, Google’s eight server farms could use up to 476 megawatts of electricity, enough energy to power all of San Diego.
However, Google has been taking measures to eliminate its carbon footprint by utilizing renewable energy sources such as wind. In fact, Google has invested in a wind farm superhighway (transmission network) involving an undersea cable located off the East Coast of the United States. The wind power potential there could produce 6,000 megawatts of energy, enough electricity to power approximately two million homes. The search giant has invested a ton in several other clean energy projects as well (here’s a top 7 list). Greenpeace has applauded Google for their attempts at utilizing renewable energy sources in which to run their servers from.
Winter is coming quick and, unfortunately, it’s time to prepare for cold, wet, and more cold. But don’t overthink it, preparing your home for winter is simply a step to saving money, not to mention keeping coal from being burnt for energy. No matter how old, drafty, or even new and well-insulated a house is, things can always be done to save more energy.
FrugalDad just has an old, but great, post on winterizing your home that I’m reposting below. Check out these great tips:
Indoor Winterizing Tasks
1. Have chimneys cleaned and inspected. Blockages and buildup in chimneys can lead to dangerous conditions such as fires and inadequate ventilation.
2. Consider a thermal insulating blanket for your hot water heater. Hot water heaters are often the least-efficient appliance in your home. This is especially true if your tank is store in an outdoor storage room or garage (as ours is). When temperatures drop the tank has to work extra hard to keep the contents warm. Consider adding a thermal insulating blanket for your hot water heat to insulate the water from surrounding temperatures.
3. If your windows are not made of newer insulated glass, consider installing storm windows. New, energy-efficient windows often two layers of glass with insulating air in between. Older, single-pane models allow cold air to more easily seep in and make rooms cooler. * If you are on a tight budget, and let’s face it, 99% of us are, check out Window Film, it’s an easy do it yourself project and it saves you some serious money, for more info and instructions on installing it go here.
4. Add insulation to attics and crawlspaces. Inadequate insulation in attics allows heat to rise up and out of your home, forcing heating systems to work harder to keep your home warm.
5. Install a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats allow you to automatically create a heating/cooling schedule for your home. At night you can allow inside temperatures to drop down a bit, but warm things up just before the alarm clock goes off. Similarly, you can allow the temperatures to drop inside your hours when it is empty during the day, but warm things up before you arrive home from work. Here are some thoughts on the ideal thermostat setting for winter.
6. Arrange for a professional inspection of your furnace. Just like automobiles require periodic maintenance, furnaces require servicing by a professional. It’s worth the cost of a service call.
7. If you vacation during the winter months, leave your heat on and set it to 55 degrees. This will help reduce the chance of interior pipes freezing.
8.Install a carbon monoxide detector. Gas-log fireplaces and furnaces can give off toxic carbon monoxide gases. Follow manufacturer recommendations on placement of monitoring device.
9. Install fresh batteries in all smoke alarms. We change the batteries in our smoke alarms twice a year, around daylight savings time changes. It’s a good idea to periodically test alarms to be sure batteries are still working properly.
10. Inspect fire extinguishers and recharge if necessary. Replace any extinguishers older than ten years.
11. Insulate water pipes that may be exposed to freezing temperatures. If water in pipes freeze, chances are the expansion will cause them to burst and you’ll be stuck with a huge bill from a plumber.
Outdoor Winterizing Tasks
12. Caulk around windows to prevent cold air from seeping in around cracks. If you are not sure your windows needed additional caulking, try the candle trick. On a windy day, light a candle and place it near your window with indoor cooling/heating systems turned off. If the flame flickers when a gust of wind picks up it is an indication air is seeping around your windows.
13. Clean gutters. A clogged gutter can lead to a flooded basement when snow melts and the water has no where to run off.
14. Drain garden hoses and turn off any outdoor water faucets. Remove nozzles or sprayers from the end of garden hoses and be sure to drain any water left in the line.
15. Add some antifreeze to the base of portable basketball goals filled with water. During winter months the water in the goal’s base can freeze and expand, cracking the base. Purchase a brand of antifreeze that is safe for kids and animals just in case.
16. Inspect driveways and pathways. Patch cracks with a cement or asphalt kit to prevent water from entering the cracks, freezing, expanding and creating even larger cracks.
17. Make sure you have a snow shovel,rock salt, sand and other tools for dealing with snow and ice on your property.
18. Stock up on firewood. Store it at least 50 feet away from your home to prevent fire and termites from coming too close to your home.
19. Bleed the valves on any hot-water radiators. Open slightly until water appears and close again.
20. Be sure there are no flammable materials stored close to your furnace. This one seems obvious, but many fires are started during the winter months because of flammable items being stored too close to furnaces.
21. Inspect fireplace damper to make sure it is opening and closing properly. One year, in our old home, the damper wasn’t opening properly, but we did not discover it until we lit a fire and the living room filled with smoke.
22. If you installed summer screens on doors and windows, replace them with the glass equivalents stored during the summer. Adding the extra pane of glass back to storm doors will ad a layer of insulation against colder temperatures.
23. Drain gas from lawnmower and store for the winter. It’s also a good idea to store the lawnmower or tractor indoors during extremely cold temperatures.
24. Consider a tune-up on snow blowers and other snow removal equipment. A little preventive maintenance goes a long way for winter equipment.
25. Apply sealant to decks. Sealant helps prevent wood damage from extreme freezing/thawing cycles.
26. Move potted plants inside, or closer to the home to prevent damage from freezing temperatures. The temperature near your home’s exterior walls will be a little warmer than out further in your yard. It also helps to cover outdoor plants with a sheet to insulate them from sub-freezing temperatures.
27. Clean patio furniture and store it away from winter. In some areas winter storms are often accompanied by high winds. During these storms, outdoor furniture can be scattered about your yard (and your neighbor’s yard). Since you won’t likely be using it, look for a place to store it until spring.
28. Check with manufacturer to determine if spare refrigerators or freezers stored in unheated garages are safe to operate at extremely cold temperatures. Extra refrigerators and freezers are great for stockpiling grocery deals, but if the temperature drops below the inside setting of your refrigerator or freezer it can cause the unit to operate inefficiently.
29. Seal areas around dryer vents, cable outlets and mail chutes with a caulking gun. Look for cracks or holes around outdoor fixtures such as vents and outlets as these spaces allow cold air from outside to enter your wall space and make indoor heating less effective.
A few weeks ago we were sorely reminded of the extremism of the majority of the current Republican candidates. Among many other alarming things said, Republicans suggested eliminating or privatizing: FEMA, NASA, the EPA, the Federal Labor Relations Board, Medicaid, and food stamps. Herman Cain promised not to appoint any Muslims who want to kill Americans to his cabinet. Michele Bachmann supports states’ rights on gay marriage, but also supports a constitutional amendment outlawing it. Rick Santorum wants to have “a system of discipline” to “punish” gay soldiers, which suggests that his problem with pornographic Google results is not likely to abate. Tim Pawlenty views Iraq as “one of the shiniest examples of success in the Middle East.”
So let’s see what their records are on environmental protection…
Michelle Bahaman
Voted YES on: opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling, barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, and criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC.
Voted NO on: tax credits for renewable electricity, enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution, with PAYGO offsets, tax incentives for energy production and conservation, tax incentives for renewable energy, investing in homegrown biofuel, removing oil & gas exploration subsidies.
Wants to bar greenhouse gases from Clean Air Act rules. (Jan 2009)
Think cap-and-trade would have no impact on global temperatures. (Jul 2010)
Wants to explore “proven energy reserves” & keep energy prices low (though, it has been shown repeatedly that wouldn’t keep energy prices low, and it certainly wouldn’t address a more costly global warming problem). (Jul 2010)
Herman Cain
Against ethanol subsidies; wants to let markets decide forms of energy (despite inherent externalities markets don’t consider). (May 2011)
Wants to loosen government’s grip; expand domestic dirty energy resources. (May 2011)
Wants to declare and implement a “drill here drill now” strategy. (Apr 2011)
Newt Gingrich
Overstated our supply of gas. FactCheck: US has 110-year supply of gas, not 1,100 years. (Feb 2011)
Wants to apply “Good Samaritan” rules to abandoned mine cleanup. (Aug 2001)
Supports state primacy over water quantity & quality issues. (Aug 2001)
Thad McCotter
Says climate change is pseudo-scientific scare tactic. (Feb 2011)
Voted YES on: opening Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling, barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC, scheduling permitting for new oil refineries, authorizing construction of new oil refineries, passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy, implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy, $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program, protecting free-roaming horses and burros, $9.7B for Amtrak improvements and operation thru 2013, increasing AMTRAK funding by adding $214M to $900M, deauthorizing “critical habitat” for endangered species, speeding up approval of forest thinning projects.
Voted NO on: enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution, tax credits for renewable electricity, with PAYGO offsets, tax incentives for energy production and conservation, tax incentives for renewable energy, investing in homegrown biofuel, removing oil & gas exploration subsidies, keeping moratorium on drilling for oil offshore, environmental education grants for outdoor experiences.
Rated 17% by the CAF, indicating opposition to energy independence. (Dec 2006)
Wants to bar greenhouse gases from Clean Air Act rules. (Jan 2009)
Wants to set goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. (Jan 2007)
Wants to make tax deduction permanent for conservation easements. (Mar 2009)
Wants to strengthen prohibitions against animal fighting. (Jan 2007)
Sarah Palin
Opposed protections for salmon from mining contamination. (Aug 2008)
Sued US government to stop listing polar bear as endangered. (Aug 2008)
Says we must encourage timber, mining, drilling, & fishing. (Jan 2008)
Says wolf predator control is important for subsistence hunters. (Sep 2007)
Says feds shouldn’t list beluga whales as endangered. (Aug 2007)
Wants to provide stability in regulations for developers. (Jan 2007)
Has tried to convince the rest of the nation to open ANWR. (Jan 2007)
Fish platform: “Resource First” philosophy. (Nov 2006)
Said rail provided a critical link for business development. (Nov 2006)
Supports “Roads to Resources”: subsidized access to mines. (Oct 2006)
Doesn’t want to duplicate effort in monitoring cruise ship emissions. (Oct 2006)
Doesn’t want to amend AK constitution for rural subsistence fishing. (Oct 2006)
Said global warming affects Alaska, but is not man-made. (Aug 2008)
Supported goal of 50% of Alaska electric power from renewable sources. (Jan 2009)
“Drill, baby, drill.” (Oct 2008)
Crowning achievement: Alaska Gas Inducement Act. (Sep 2008)
Ron Paul
Voted YES on: scheduling permitting for new oil refineries.
Voted NO on: enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution, tax credits for renewable electricity, with PAYGO offsets, tax incentives for energy production and conservation, tax incentives for renewable energy, criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC, removing oil & gas exploration subsidies, keeping moratorium on drilling for oil offshore, passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy, implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy, raising CAFE standards; incentives for alternative fuels, prohibiting oil drilling & development in ANWR, $9.7B for Amtrak improvements and operation thru 2013, increasing AMTRAK funding by adding $214M to $900M, speeding up approval of forest thinning projects, $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program, protecting free-roaming horses and burros, environmental education grants for outdoor experiences.
Wants to repeal the gas tax. (May 2001)
Wants to bar greenhouse gases from Clean Air Act rules. (Jan 2009)
Doesn’t support EPA regulation of greenhouse gases. (Jan 2011)
Wants to repeal requirements for energy efficient bulbs. (Jan 2011)
Says: Big Oil profits ok; Big Oil subsidies are not. (Jun 2007)
Rick Perry
$5,000 incentive for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles. (Jan 2009)
Does not believe in global warming being caused by humans.(Aug 2011)
Thinks we should give more funding to develop domestic energy supplies. (Sep 2001)
Wanted to use federal funds for nuclear cleanup, with state input. (Sep 2001)
Wanted federal government to share offshore oil development revenue with states. (Sep 2001)
Supported federal tax incentives for energy, with state decisions. (Aug 2001)
Says Big Oil should reinvest profits in oil refineries. (Jun 2007)
Supports Developing alternative energy but also drilling in ANWR. (Dec 2006)
Says can’t become energy independent in a decade, but be on track. (Jan 2006)
Says states should be able to have their own emissions standards. (Jan 2008)
Said clean environment would be a campaign theme. (Mar 2002)
Rick Santorum
Says sagging economy caused by stop sign on oil drilling. (Jun 2011)
Voted YES on: $3.1B for emergency oil assistance for hurricane-hit areas, Bush Administration Energy Policy, targeting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010, drilling ANWR on national security grounds, on terminating CAFE standards within 15 months, preserving budget for ANWR oil drilling, defunding renewable and solar energy, approving a nuclear waste repository, confirming Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior, more funding for forest roads and fish habitat.
Voted NO on: disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska’s ANWR, reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%), banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill, ending discussion of CAFE fuel efficiency standards, including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations, transportation demo projects, reducing funds for road-building in National Forests.
All info used in this article and more can be found at On the Issues.
This is a great site, check up on what your local representatives are doing!
I have spent hours researching how to turn my community green. I suppose I’m a little too anxious to create change. I went directly for who I should contact locally for changing laws and such. Again, I was reminded that all things take time. One of the first things pretty much every site said about community change was that you should form a group. And it’s true, there is great strength in numbers, so here’s how to go about it.
First, look into other environmental groups in your area and make sure there isn’t one with your personal goals that is already in existence, or one that you would like to add your personal goals to. I find Google is great for this. Just type in ‘environmental green group’ and your location, and browse through a few pages. Some don’t have websites of their own, so check out Local Harvest to find a farmers market near you and go and chat with people to see if they know of any groups.
If you can’t find a group, start by posting signs at places such as libraries and churches. Here are some templates for sign-up sheets that you might want to use, and don’t forget, you can edit them anyway you like once you download them for free :D
Whenever community events come up, go and talk to the public, be friendly, and reel them in — the most important thing to remember is that most people would do something to help the earth if they were aware of its condition and if they had guidance.
Also, don’t forget your internet resources, like Craig’s List, Back Page and Ebay-Classifieds (they’re free). In addition, try and Google your county name and ‘post events’ to see if there are any online places you can post activities specific to your area.
One good idea is to start a group that recruits people from around your local area/county and help guide them as to how to reach out to their own towns and promote green living.
So often, it seems like things are impossible. Community change? Changing the way businesses work? That’s a lot to take on, but with a person or a small team in each town, and meetings once a month or every other month, one person can lead many people towards creating important change.
Some goals you could go for:
1. Places you might like to turn green:
Schools
Churches
Libraries
Community Centers
Restaurants
Stores
Businesses
2. Things you would like each facility to do to become greener:
Install energy-saving light bulbs.
Put into effect electricity-saving practices, turn off lights etc., & update appliances.
Start a recycling program including metals, plastics, paper, and cartons.
Purchase local food, humanely raised livestock, chemical free produce.
Purchase environmentally friendly products, recycled and/or biodegradable, and chemical free.
Implement food recovery programs, feed humans, feed animals, or compost.
Implement green energy programs including clean fuel and electricity programs, installing solar or wind power whenever possible.
These are just the basics, more articles are to come.
For now, go and recruit!
I will be doing this in my own community so I am with you every step of the way.
If you have ANY questions, please feel free to ask me in the comments. I would love to help you in any way I can!
Some rights reserved by Mike Licht
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