Energy Savings

Avoid Unnecessary Store Trips

July 25, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image by xcode via Flickr

Going to stores too often can wreak a lot of damage on the environment. For one thing you’re already burning gas just to get there and back. You might also end up having to hit the ATM to get cash if you don’t have a traditional account. Sometimes things happen and such an account may not even be accessible to you.

One way you can save some gas is to order your non-perishables online and use your Reach prepaid card to save yourself some gas. While you might not think this is going to make a significant difference, cars release massive amounts of carbon dioxide every year. While some of that gas is burned because of your commute to work, a lot of it comes about because of your normal errands. Sometimes it even comes when you’re going out for groceries or to shop for clothes.

The things you do every day contribute to the earth’s pollution. When you think about how much unnecessary mileage you put on your car doing things you could have done in more efficient ways like having bulk groceries delivered, you might be able to save more than just a ton of money over time. After all, how useful could money be if we pollute ourselves out of existence? Even little things like saving that extra mile or two you used to go on for the ATM can actually make a difference after awhile. Make every mile you travel count.

Filed Under: Eco-Friendly Lifestyle, Energy Savings Tagged With: Automated teller machine, Carbon dioxide, Grocery store

Energy Saving Tips For Apartment Dwellers

July 23, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image by Claudio Schwarz via Flickr

If you live in an apartment, you may think that you won’t really be able to implement effective energy saving tips. How wrong you are! You can become more energy conscious as well probably saving yourself some money. You can also reduce your usage of resources. Here are a few tips and tricks for those who live in apartments and how they can save energy.

Don’t leave your refrigerator door open. If you keep your refrigerator organized, you will be able to find items quickly. Unless you have a frost-free freezer, defrost your freezer at least once a month to prevent front build up. The freezer temperature should be set a 5 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal energy savings.

When washing clothes, don’t do partial loads — wait until you have a full load. This will conserve water. Also, select the appropriate water level setting. Additionally, you can save energy by washing your clothes in cold water when ever possible. Clean the lint filter of your dryer before each and every load.

Turn off all those lights you are not using. Replace your old bulbs with more energy-efficient models. Consider installing timers and motion sensors so the lights are used only when necessary.

If you have central heating and air, try to keep the thermostat at 68 degrees during the winter months and around 78 degrees during the summer months. If you have a window-unit air conditioner make sure it is properly maintained. If there is water build up it may cause the unit to have to work harder.

Filed Under: Eco-Friendly Lifestyle, Energy Savings, Green at Home Tagged With: Efficient energy use, Energy conservation, Refrigerator

Environmentally Friendly Redecorating Tips

July 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image by chrissatchwell via Flickr

It is not at all difficult to join the growing movement to “go green.” This is the newest environmental push to help protect our planet and there are many ways you can join the effort. For instance, use these great tips for going green during a remodeling or decorating project.

Be gentle to the planet. Unless it is absolutely necessary, try not to purchase new items. Look around for items you can use in your project that are gently used or recyclable. Check out garage sales and thrift shops.

You probably think that if you use recycled items you are stuck with a very bland color palette of browns and tans. Nothing is further from the truth. You can find many items that are very colorful and exciting. Again, if you do have to purchase a decorating item make sure you look for the “green” logo on the packaging that indicates that they contain recycled materials.

The reason it is important to try to use recycled products is that less raw or new materials are used in the production of the item. In addition, you can look for materials such as hemp and cotton that have been grown in a green environment — using no pesticides or other harmful chemicals.

If you are planning on replace or updating your floor covering, look for the new companies that are coming out with flooring made with recycled materials. You will find these materials attractive and easy to install — all without harmful chemical glues.

Filed Under: Energy Savings, Environmental News, Green at Home Tagged With: Environmentalism, Environmentally friendly, Recycling

How to Have an Impact on Society

July 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Many people would like to get involved in the civic affairs on their local area, state or even the at the national level but are unsure where to begin. They can get involved in many ways with these tips for getting started.

One of the primary ways to make a difference in society is to enter politics or work for the government in one of several areas. You can pursue a traditional or online degree in political science at a university, which will prepare you for entering the political arena. You can complement these efforts by volunteering in a political campaign for a candidate you support or by running for your local city council. These will give you experience that will enhance your education.

Those who want to impact their local area or address a specific need in society can volunteer with a number of charitable organizations. Some of these are soup kitchens, disaster relief, organizations fighting against a certain disease and volunteering with a local school. These organizations offer a variety of activities that can match your personal interests and talents. They may require you to fill out an application and go through a background check before working with them.

Whatever route that you choose to take, stop and consider what you have to offer to others. You may have a talent in a particular area that could truly benefit a particular organization, such as Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross or other entity. By getting involved you can make a difference in your own unique way.

Filed Under: Energy Savings, Environment, Environmental News Tagged With: International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Organization, Volunteering

Going Plastic is Sometimes Going Green

July 15, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

If you are constantly on the look out for ways that you can go green or simply reduce your carbon footprint, then one option that you may not yet have considered is using plastic debit cards.

Using a Reloadable Debit Card

The reach prepaid card is an example of a debit card that you can load up with funds and then spend on the go. What are the benefits of this? First and foremost, you do not have to ask for a receipt when you make purchases, because you can easily find out what your last transactions were, and this is going to save paper. By using a recyclable, reusable and reloadable plastic card, you are not worrying about paper or coin money and everything that managing it entails.

Not only is using a prepaid debit card a greener proposition because it is a reloadable card rather than a gift card that you simply throw away, but it also really simplifies the shopping process and makes it possible for you to have a single card that you can use for a myriad of different retailers and service providers. Swiping a single plastic card at your dry cleaner’s, at the doctor’s office and your local grocer really does simplify the process a lot and makes buying the things that you need to buy really easy too. Because you can reload the card as many times as you like, it is as recyclable and reusable as a shopping medium can get. Pair a prepaid debit card with reusable shopping bags and you are good to go.

Filed Under: Eco-Friendly Lifestyle, Energy Savings Tagged With: Debit card, Gift card, Stored-value card

Being a Professional Tree Hugger

July 1, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

There is a lot of static you take when you decide that you want to help the environment as a career. While your friends and family might think you’re throwing away your life using your natural talents to benefit the world you live in, how could you do anything less incredible than literally saving the world little by little?

We live in a a world where a lot of people think only about their next profitable deal. While there’s nothing wrong with making money, a lot of people take it too far. When you consider how much the world revolves around its own condition and how much damage human beings can do accidentally, you start to realize that the world as we know it is very delicate. Can you imagine a world that’s mostly desert? If we aren’t careful this is going to be how things are in the not too distant future.

Of course, this is where you come in. Your education can literally change the world if you get the right kind and you know how to use it. While an online degree is no guarantee of success, you do have the option of building a successful career from it. Now, a successful career isn’t just one where you make tons of money. It also means you’re really doing something to help the world we all have to share. If you can do that, you’re doing a lot more than just being a professional tree hugger.

Filed Under: Energy Savings, Environment, Environmental News Tagged With: Earth, Future, Human

How to Save Energy in Your Home

March 28, 2011 By admin 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.

Filed Under: Energy Savings Tagged With: Efficient energy use, Environment, Solar panel

Nuclear Energy

March 20, 2011 By admin 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.

Filed Under: Energy Savings Tagged With: Energy development, Japan, Nuclear power

Three Energies of the Future

March 16, 2011 By admin 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.

Filed Under: Energy Savings Tagged With: Electricity generation, Energy, Renewable energy

Pros and Cons of Alternative Fuels

March 7, 2011 By admin 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.

Filed Under: Energy Savings Tagged With: Alternative fuel, Energy, Ethanol

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