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How to Save Energy in Your Home

March 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Saving energy isn’t just good for the environment. It’s also good for your finances. Energy can be expensive and using a lot of it can be a real financial strain when the bill comes. Your money and the environment – those are good enough reasons to want to save energy in your home, right? Here’s how.

Home heating and cooling are two big energy consumers. Replace furnace filters regularly and keep the furnace clean. A properly maintained furnace will work more efficiently and use less energy to heat the home. A furnace that has to fight against a lot of dust will have to work harder to circulate air and use more energy. Also, turn down the thermostat a degree or two. It’ll use less energy and, at only a degree or two, you might not even feel the difference.

Seal leaks or drafts in your home. Cool air can leak in during cold months and keep the heater going. Air can leak in (or out) around windows and door frames. Keep curtains closed or use sealants, caulk, or something to block or seal the drafts. You could also invest in some insulation to block whatever heat may be escaping through the walls and roof.

Not using it? Unplug it. As long as it’s plugged in, an electronic device draws energy whether it’s on and being used or not. Unplug things when you’re not using them or plug things into a power strip that can be turned off. Turns lights off when you’re not in the room.

Consider a supplemental energy source. A solar panel or two on the roof could pay for itself in the money is saves you from your regular energy supplier.

And shop around for a cheaper energy supplier. Using less energy will save you money and can help the environment, but energy that costs less already is even better.

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What You Can Do to Help the Environment

March 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s been said that the Earth is not something we pass on to our children, but something we borrow from them. It’s theirs – the next generation’s – and when in our care, we should take care of it. Earth’s a big girl, she can generally take care of herself, but here are some things we can do to help.

Recycle / Reuse

This isn’t going to save the planet or usher in some sort of green utopia. Recycling and reusing is simply a responsible use of resources. If you’re done with something, recycle it. Aluminum cans, motor oil, printer cartridges, batteries, glass, telephone books – most anything can be recycled. Even if there isn’t curbside pickup in your area, there’s always recycle drop-offs somewhere nearby. Or you could sell your metals to a local buyer and get a little money.

Consider reusing some of the things you would throw away or recycle. Reuse plastic bags, pie tins, glass bottles or other stuff before getting rid of them. If you’re done with some article of clothing, consider how you can reuse it. Alter it and make it into something new or, if it’s not too raggedy, donate it so someone else can use it.

Conserve

We use a lot of water – toilets, showers, washing stuff, watering stuff or just wasting it. Time your showers, turn the faucet off while brushing your teeth, use less water when watering plants. Perhaps consider a low-flush toilet.

Keep an eye on energy usage. Turn off lights or electronics when not being used. Plug leaks in your home that reduce the efficiency of heating/cooling. Lower thermostat temps.

Avoid polluting

Walk when you could drive. Don’t throw your gum wrappers or gum or butts or whatever out the window. Don’t dump chemical-laden liquids outside.

If it’s true, that we borrow the planet from our children, then we need to be responsible with it.

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Nuclear Energy

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

After World War II, nuclear energy was going to fuel the future. It was going to power our homes, toast our bread, and tuck our children in at night after reading them a story. But something happened. Nuclear energy somehow went from the fuel of the future to a sort of energy boogeyman.

It wasn’t the Chernobyl disaster or partial meltdown on Three Mile Island that turned many against nuclear energy. These, and other much smaller incidents, certainly contributed, but anti-nuclear sentiment started years before – maybe as far back as the mid-40s. Scientists – some disturbed by what they had built – and diplomats pressured the military and government to stop nuclear testing. Larger-scale movements against nuclear technology seemed to rise in the late 70s – probably due to the connection between nuclear power and nuclear weaponry.

Dangerous nuclear power accidents are rare. The US Navy has been powering their ships with reactors for over 50 years and hasn’t had nuclear accidents. France safely gets most of its electricity from nuclear reactors and Japan gets nearly a third of its own power from nuclear.

Nuclear energy can be beneficial as an energy source for the future. Oil could run out some time in the next century or – more likely – become to expensive to continue using on a large scale. Other energy sources like solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, and wind powers all have a variety of pros and cons. So, of course, does nuclear power. It’s not fully sustainable, but can more than meet our foreseeable energy requirements for a few centuries. It also produces waste that can be difficult to dispose of.

Nuclear power can be generated safely. Properly maintained reactors and properly disposed-of waste are not likely to cause any problems. Nuclear energy can still be a part of the mosaic of energy sources that will power our future.

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Three Energies of the Future

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

As gas and coal and other fossil fuels fall out of use, other cleaner, more renewable energy sources have begun to rise. These energy sources aren’t exactly new. Many have been used for power or in industry in one way or another, on a small scale, for a very long time. Currently, they are considered “alternate” forms of energy, but that will likely change as they become more commonplace.

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectric power is derived from the flow of water. The potential energy of dammed water or the kinetic energy of tides or other moving water is used to move some sort of turbine and generator.

  • Pros – it’s renewable, has little to no emissions, and low operating costs
  • Cons – hydroelectric power stations require large reservoirs that damage and disrupt the surrounding ecosystems and submerge large areas of land. Dam failures can be disastrous.

Geothermal electricity

Deep (around two miles) geothermal heat is used to heat water to a boil and the steam moves turbines to generate electricity. The water can be naturally present or injected to reach desired steam-levels.

  • Pros – it’s sustainable. Some experts believe that, with proper technology, geothermal energy can meet all the world’s present energy needs for several thousand years.
  • Cons – the fluids drawn out of the Earth contain greenhouse gases that can affect the environment. Geothermal power plant production has been known to affect ground stability and even trigger earthquakes.

Wind power

Where hydroelectricity uses the flow of water and geothermal electricity uses steam under pressure, wind power uses wind to move turbines and generate electricity.

  • Pros – it’s renewable, plentiful, and clean. Produces no greenhouses gasses and has low operating costs.
  • Cons – minimal, when compared to other energy sources, but include aesthetic concerns, noise, and the tendency to swat birds and bats out of the sky.
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The Problems with Compact Fluorescent (CFL) Bulbs

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

CFL bulbs are often hailed as the green replacement of the older incandescent bulbs. CFLs use less energy and can have a lifespan of around ten times that of incandescents if not turned on and off repeatedly over short periods of time. These are all well and good, but there are some drawbacks to the CFLs that people should know about before making the switch.

Mercury content

Like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain a small amount of vaporized mercury. Mercury is poisonous even in small amounts. If a bulb is broken, then there is the risk being exposed to dangerous mercury vapors. Though the bulbs are meant to be recycled, many are almost certain to end up in landfills and dumps – polluting the grounds, air, and water with small amounts of the poisonous substance.

CFLs put out little heat

This not only prevents little kids from using a CFL in their Easy-Bake Ovens, but it can also contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Incandescent bulbs contribute slightly to the heat in a house and in some colder climates, where house heating may be provided by natural gas, incandescents reduce the amount of natural gas needed to heat the home. Large-scale use of CFLs in colder climates would increase the amount of natural gas being burned to heat homes.

Light sensitivity

Fluorescent bulbs flicker at a normally unnoticeable frequency. This flickering can cause problems for people with light sensitivity and can induce migraines, eyestrain, and – rarely – seizures. An article in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry even suggested that fluorescent lamps can alter a person’s perceptions and worsen depersonalization disorders. Evidence for this is limited though.

UV light

CFLs emit ultraviolet light that can aggravate symptoms in people with existing skin disorders. Long, close exposure to UV radiation can also lead to skin and retinal damage.

This isn’t to say that CFLs are horrible. They’re not. But might the cons possibly outweigh the pros?

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Pros and Cons of Alternative Fuels

March 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Gasoline has its share of problems. It pollutes. It can be expensive. Most of it seems to come from people who don’t like us too much. And consistent ridicule of oil and oil companies serves to further taboo-ize (no, it’s not a real word) gasoline. There are a number of great, rising alternatives to gasoline that could possibly fuel our future. But, unfortunately, they have their own problems. Here’s a simple little list of some pros and cons of a few gasoline alternatives.

Ethanol

  • Pros – it burns cleaner and cooler than gas and has a higher octane rating. It takes less energy to turn crops into ethanol than petroleum into gasoline.
  • Cons – ethanol can be corrosive and will eat away at much of the metals and plastics that make up fuel tanks, hoses, machine parts, tankers and more. Further, turning corn to ethanol is an expensive process and putting so much corn into ethanol production means less corn for food production.

Biodiesel

  • Pros – burning biodiesel produces more energy than gasoline and petrodiesel. It also produces fewer emissions.
  • Cons – it’s pricey right now, but with rising gas prices, biodiesel prices could turn into a pro. Cooler temperatures can turn biodiesel into a semi-solid gel that will clog an engine.

Hydrogen

  • Pros – …it’s not gas. And the only emission of a hydrogen fuel cell powered electric car is water.
  • Cons – the technology and industry is not in place to widely distribute hydrogen as a viable large-scale fuel source. It’s also expensive and energy-intensive to make.

Natural Gas

  • Pros – it has a high octane rating and is fuel efficient. It produces far less emissions than gasoline.
  • Cons – like petroleum, it is a limited, nonrenewable resource. It takes energy to make, but doesn’t produce much energy when compared to something like gasoline.
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