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 Your green lawn may
not be as green as you think!
The next time you mow
your lawn, remember that running a gas mower for
an hour emits the same amount of pollutants as
driving a new car over 400 miles. Typical lawn
and garden equipment is not regulated for
emissions, so our gas-burning tools pollute
worse than cars and power plants, per unit
energy. Collectively, gas powered mowers,
blowers, edgers, etc. contribute about 5% to our
local air pollution... quite a significant
amount just to keep a green lawn! If you're in
the market for new lawn equipment, consider
self-powered equipment (like a push reel mower)
or electric-powered tools for significantly
reducing pollutants. My personal strategy is to
mow less often...
Organic coffee is produced
using methods and materials that have a low
impact on the environment; certification
organizations verify that this is happening. It
is grown in the same areas of the world as
conventional coffee. In the organic
decaffeinated coffee, the caffeine is removed
using a certified organic decaffeination
processes rather than using chemicals to remove
the caffeine. In addition to being good for the
environment, most organic coffee is fair trade,
which means that the farmers receive fair wages
and have good working conditions. To learn more
about organic foods and coffee visit
www.ota.com.
Did you know that 23 percent of the US solid
waste stream is compostable? Yard trimming and
food scraps (from those who still don't eat all
their vegetables) are compostable, meaning that
this waste can be decomposed into useful soil
material. Compost is used in landscaping and
agriculture both as a soil conditioner and
fertilizer. Making compost takes little effort
in your backyard, although your neighbors may
not like the smell!
"If every newspaper
reader in the United States recycled just one
typical Sunday paper, he or she could help
create 212 million pounds of cellulose
insulation—enough to insulate 118,767 Habitat
for Humanity houses. That’s nearly twice as many
houses as all the Habitat homes built in America
so far." [borrowed from Delta-Sky, March 2008]
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You may have seen LED Christmas lights at
stores and wondered, is it worth paying $12 for
a strand of LED lights? These new Christmas
lights use Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) instead
of standard light bulbs. A strand of "mini" LED
lights uses less than 1/4 the power than an
equal strand of standard mini lights and a
greater power reduction when comparing the
larger bulbs. LED Christmas lights do not get
hot, so they are safer for use in trees. LED
lights are housed in plastic, rather than glass,
and they will last for over 20,000 hours -
almost two decades of Christmas seasons. While
LED's will save significant energy, their high
cost might yield a payback time of 1-10
Christmas seasons -- but that all depends on how
long you keep Christmas lights turned on. Is it
worth the higher cost? Going green isn't cheap!
In East Tennessee, like much of the US, our
electric power comes from a variety of fuel
sources. More than 70% comes from burning coal,
oil, and gas. 23% is generated from nuclear
power; 9% is from hydro-electric dams. The
remaining 1%is generated from renewable energy
such as solar and wind power. Consider running
household appliances like dishwashers and
clothes washers/dryers in the early morning or
late evening hours. Generally, the "dirtiest"
fuels are used most during daytime hours and
used less for overnight, early morning, and late
evening periods. Within a few years, you may be
required to pay different prices for using
electricity based on the time of day. Some
electric utilities in other parts of the country
already charge a "time of use" rate.
Squiggly light bulbs save you about 75% off
your lighting costs, compared to standard light
bulbs of equal brightness. These energy
efficient bulbs, called compact fluorescent
lamps (CFLs), will typically pay for themselves
in less than a year. Additionally, CFLs can last
up to ten times longer than standard light
bulbs. At home the EPA recommends replacing your
5 most-used light bulbs with CFLs. However, be
observant what you buy....there are a variety of
light "colors" such as cool white, warm white,
and artificial sunlight that are available. CFLs
also have variations in warm-up time, physical
size, and most are non-dimmable. Who would ever
think that buying a light bulb would be so
complicated?!
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You can relate to
carbon emissions... Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a
gas that is produced when fossil fuels burn – in
automobiles, electric power plants (ones that
burn coal or natural gas), and even campfires.
When this gas is released into the atmosphere,
it is popularly called “carbon emissions.” We
can determine the “carbon footprint” of almost
anything that uses energy. Here’s some examples:
- 1 gallon of gasoline will produce about
20 lbs of CO2 from your tailpipe.
- 1 passenger car will produce about
10,000 lbs of CO2 annually.
- A cable box (plugged in) will produce
about 400 lbs of CO2 annually regardless of
your TV usage.
- A 100 watt light bulb will produce about
1,300 lbs of CO2 if left turned on for one
year.
One degree
can make a difference...For each degree you
raise your thermostat in the summer, you could
save about 6% off your air conditioning costs.
In the winter, for each degree you lower your
thermostat, you will typically save about 3% off
your heating costs (source: average US household
data from EPA). Lower costs mean less energy
used and less carbon emissions! Energy Star
rated thermostats are preprogrammed at 78 deg or
higher for summer cooling and 70 deg or lower
for winter heating... where is your thermostat
set?
Recycling saves...Recycling one
aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for
3 hours. Recycling an entire run of Sunday’s New
York Times would save 75,000 trees. Recycling
plastic saves twice as much energy as burning it
in an incinerator. Find your recycling center
online:
www.cityofknoxville.org/solidwaste/map.asp
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Review
the federal procedures for the disposal of
prescription drugs, issued by the