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March 21 Take a lessonWe can all take a lesson from a group of Alaskan teens who have come up with a great idea to encourage people to make a difference by making a few very simple changes. The National Wildlife Federation's Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA) has started a petition for Alaskan residents (and all of us) to take the 3-2-1 pledge. Simply put, there are 3 actions that the signers agree to perform. Change 3 incandescent bulbs to compact flourescent bulbs, turn thermostats down 2 degrees in the winter and up 2 degrees in the summer, and unplug 1 appliance when it is not being used (like a VCR, stereo, or microwave).
Whether you believe there is human caused global warming or not, these simple actions also add up to monetary savings for your home. A CFL (compact flourescent lightbulb) replacing a 60 watt bulb will save the homeowner about $8.00 a year in electricity. You also save time because you don't need to change the CFL bulbs as often. You can see CFL savings broken down here (CFL calculator).
By turning you thermostat down you can save about 2% on your heating bill for every degree you lower the heat. Just by turning down the heat 10 degrees at night only, you can save about 7% on you heating bill(source:Southwest Gas). The Department of Energy has some great tips as well to help save money and help your environment.
Finally by unpluging just one of the appliances in your home that displays one of those tiny indicator lights (like on your microwave, VCR/DVD player, or stereo) you can save some money. The total amount saved from this "phantom load" is estimated to be around $74.00 a year (that would include all your appliances that continue to stay on when the switch is turn off). While that might not be a fortune, every bit of savings is money you can spend elsewhere or save for the future.
These teens are taking action to try to make a difference in their world. Why not join them, if not for the sake of preserving the place that we live, then maybe for the sake of saving some money. Sign the petition here if you live in Alaska, and here if you don't. And a big "Way to Go" to those teens in Alaska!
March 17 A sappy story....It is maple syrup time again here in Pennsylvania. Some people began tapping in January because of the warm temperatures, but we waited until the early spring. The trees we had used for the 20 years we've lived here were cut last winter. The trees were not ours, we just borrowed them to make maple syrup. Nearby neighbors who have a small forest offered us their trees, so we were back in "business" again this year. When the weather turns warm in the day but is still below freezing at night, it is time for us to tap the trees.
A hole is bored in a maple tree over a major root about 3 - 4 feet above the ground. The hole is made in the sapwood layer of the tree with a hand drill. The frass (wood shavings) are scraped out and at that time you can begin to see the sap collecting in the hole. We use metal taps, so these are gently hammered into the hole making a tight fit. The sap will almost immediately begin to drip out of the tap. It is sweet and we all take a turn having a sip from the tree.
We place a sap bucket on the tap and cover the bucket to help keep debris out of the sap. On good day, the sap run will fill the buckets twice in one day. We empty the buckets into a container and transport the sap to our house where we boil it in a stainless steel open pan. It takes 40 - 60 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Since we are just a home use operation, we boil down the sap outside, pour it through a filter into a smaller pan, and take it inside to finish it on the stove. A professional operation will use a hydrometer to tell when their syrup is finished. We just check it by looks, filter it one last time, and can it in canning jars.
There is absolutely nothing like homemade maple syrup on waffles or pancakes. If you can get to a maple festival, I would encourage you to go. If nothing else, support your local maple producer (if you are fortunate enough to have one) March 16 Is Pat Sajak gambling with our future?Pat Sajak is apparently unconvinced that humans have anything to do with the warming temperatures we are experiencing. I find this to be true of many people as they are faced with the possiblity that what they do actually effects the world around them. Pat's main concern in his article though is not the argument over whether man is or is not responsible. His main concern is with his observation that the leadership in the country is behaving in a hypocritical way concerning global warming. On the one hand, government officials (and others) are crying loudly that we all must change our lifestyles to stop global warming. While those same people continue to live extravagantly wasteful lives.
I do concede that Pat has a point. Sort of. It is hypocritcal to insist that everyone else change their lifestyles and then do nothing personally to lead in those changes. We really do not see the movie stars and politicians who are loudly promoting change, doing anything notable to change their lifestyle. We don't see these people moving in to smaller more energy efficient houses, walking instead of driving, moving closer to their work so they use less gas, or refusing to fly in private planes to save on fuel. But here is where I do not agree with Pat. I don't think I need to wait for those famous, public people to make changes before I do what I know is right.
I actually don't care if I can or cannot prove that my actions are the cause of global warming. I am not going to "wait and see" because if I do nothing and I am wrong, the damage will be done (maybe permanently). I am not willing to take the chance just so I can keep my lights on in empty rooms. The truth is, we are polluting the very place we live. It is like dumping garbage in your own living room. We are dumping garbage in our own "house" when we pollute the world around us. Just how long does Pat think we can put toxic gases into the air without the air becoming poison? Maybe he is like some of my friends who don't care because they won't be here by that time (or so they think).
Am I also a hypocrite? Probably I am. I am sure there are things I could be doing to cut back on the amount of pollution I cause that I am not doing. However, I have made changes and continue to make them as I am able. I can't afford another car right now, so instead I try to drive less. I can't afford to install alternative energy sources in my house, so instead I keep lights off, things unplugged, and use more efficient lighting. And I will continue to look for ways to lessen my impact on this planet. Maybe being a hypocrite is really another way to describe someone who is making the transition from thoughts and words to actions. March 13 Question to all - Playing outdoorsQuestion: Did you play outdoors when you were little? If you did, what are your memories of playing outside? March 06 A bit of "light" newsNow for a bit of "light" news. First, in Reuters, it is reported that Australia has seen the "light" and decided to make some changes in policy to reflect their new found understanding. Australia is apparently suffering from drought and so climate change has become an issue in the recent election year. Australians (per person) are some of the biggest greenhouse gas producers in the world.
With this in mind, the Australian government has decided to pass legislation that would ban incandescent bulbs by the year 2009 and replace them with fluorescent lighting. This will help cut greenhouse emissions by 800,000 tons by the year 2012 and reduce household lighting costs by 66%. I wouldn't mind reducing my lighting costs by that amount.
That brings me to a new company that will help us all reduce our lighting costs. Bulbme is a company dedicated to providing high quality, efficient lighting solutions. They offer many different types of lighting including compact fluorescent lighting (CFL), fluorescent lighting (linear and U-shaped tubes), light emitting diode (LED) lighting and cold cathode lighting as well as the necessary accessories for each group of products.
In addition to their products, they offer help in determining the correct lighting for you needs. They offer many different services for businesses , homes, and even RV's. When I e-mailed a question about my home lighting, they answered my question quickly and made suggestions to help me chose the right product. Using this energy efficient lighting can save you money and save energy. It seems like a win-win situation to me.
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