Progressive Wednesday

This Wednesday: Saving the Planet (from the Comfort of our Homes)

November 26th, 2007 by Progressive Wednesday

Problem:

The first time I heard about global warming was in the mid 1990’s, walking through my college’s Student Union, table after table offering me great rates on student credit cards and buy-one-get-one-free deals at the campus pizzeria. At a table on my left was a student handing out literature encouraging us to help “Save the Planet.” I walked over with a credit card brochure in one hand and a piece of pepperoni pizza in the other, took a quick look, refused the pamphlet that she offered, and walked out with a smirk and a roll of the eyes.

Not a day goes by now without my regretting what I did that day. And not because of the enormous credit card debt that I have been fruitlessly trying to chip away at ever since, nor the extra couple of gallons of “water weight” that has been with me like a loyal dog rescued during my college days. No, I’m embarrassed by my apathy and ignorance. I point this out not to pretend that I’m now a white-wigged, gavel-wielding, high-horse-riding model citizen, but instead to point out that I’m not, never have been, and never will be. We can all do more to protect our environment.

It’s more than a decade later now and global warming has become an increasingly hot topic (no pun intended). Much has been written/said/filmed/read about it and one thing is clear; the solution isn’t easy. We all need to drive our cars to get to work and the factories aren’t going to shut down overnight. But today we’re not going to talk about that.

Instead we’re going to talk about one of the greatest and yet least talked about contributors to the problem, home energy use. As a nation we spend more than $160 billion a year to power our homes, representing about 21 percent of the total energy consumed. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest area for the average person to “get a little greener,” while saving a little green at the same time.

Make Progress:

There are so many things that can be done to improve home energy use that we can’t possibly touch on all of them in a single Wednesday. But we can get the eco-ball rolling with a list of the easiest steps that can make the greatest impact.

• Watch
• Replace
• Turn (off, up, or down) and unplug
• Install
• Switch

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Watch:

At this year’s Oscars you saw former Veep, Al Gore saunter up on stage at the Kodak Theatre to collect an Oscar for his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. (Watch the trailer)While we’re not big fans of the title (it could depict a little more urgency), We are big, I’m talking 1800’s Arctic Ice Cap-sized, fans of the flick itself. It’s so important to understand the crisis that we face and An Inconvenient Truth combines a genuine passion and moral imperative with cold, hard science to make an irrebuttable case for global warming and the role mankind has played in it. You can rent it online or in-store, but we recommend purchasing. Why? 100% of Al Gore’s proceeds from the film and its print companion go to The Alliance for Climate Protection.

If this year’s “Best Documentary” isn’t enough to convince you to make progress, take a gander at the documentary from the good people over at PBS, Global Warming: The Signs and Science. This picture features Alanis Morissette narrating, and spends a great deal of time focusing on the impact of global warming on average citizens and communities and the actions they are taking to correct the problem. Unfortunately, this film is no longer available to view online, but you can catch the trailer here. Then rent it or buy it from PBS.org to support PBS’ progressive programming.

So you’ve put those two movies in your queue, but you want to know more right now. Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental organization has put together this three-minute internet movie that concentrates more on our oil addiction but is still a very informative global warming quickie. Give it look now, and then get ready to do something about it. And maybe we can save a little moolah in the process.

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Replace:

There are many things in your house that contribute to not only greater energy use, but higher energy bills, and they are easy and cheap to fix. Here’s a helpful little list of items that can be replaced in your home that are an inexpensive initial investment and save a lot of money and energy in the longer run.

1. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Those light bulbs that you’ve had in your house since Edison won his patent in court are wasting up to 95% of the energy they use in the form of heat. Replace them with compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs. They’re the spiral-shaped ones that are on the shelf right next to the incandescents. These lights use about one-fifth of the electricity to give off the same amount of light, are much cooler when lit, and last up to ten times longer. When it’s all added up, you save an average of $30 over the life of each bulb. If you have ten bulbs in your house… you get the idea. You can find a local dealer here, or pick them up at most local hardware or even grocery stores.

2. Air Filter

You’ve probably heard about the CFLs before, but here’s a bit o’savings that might have slipped through the pleated woven fiberglass media. Heating and cooling accounts for nearly half of the energy used in the home and a dirty air filter can seriously slow down airflow. This makes your system work harder to do the same thing. Energystar.gov recommends that you check your filter monthly and replace as necessary, but at least once every three months. Plus, isn’t it great to breathe in clean air.

3. Insulation

Get out that ladder and climb into the attic. What does that insulation say? Chances are it doesn’t have a high enough R-rating and heat (money) is escaping all the time. Do you get icicle buildup every winter? That’s why. Replacing insulation can be a bit tricky so here’s a list of reputable contractors that can help. Can’t afford it? Not so fast. Insulation usually pays for itself in a few years plus there are new tax incentives for adding the proper insulation to new or existing homes. Check it out here.

4. Household Appliances

Go out and buy all new energy efficient appliances. Go ahead. Okay, maybe that’s not within your grasp right now but we hope to have raised your eyebrows enough that next time you’re in the market for a new refrigerator you’ll look for the EnergyStar label.

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Turn (off, up, or down) and unplug:

hese are the easiest things we’ll ask you to do in the name of Mama Earth. They require little to no monetary investment. They’re small dogs with big bite.

1. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Duh.
2. Turn down the thermostat in the winter 2 degrees. For every degree you lower it you can save 3% of your total heating energy and 1000 pounds of carbon dioxide. Besides, you never wear that sweater your grandmother knitted you. Turn it down even further at night. Hey, now you have an extra reason to cuddle up and get cozy. (Please keep in mind your newborn or that tropical bird, though.)
3. On the other side of the coin, turn that thermostat up in the summer. Hey, we’re from Buffalo. We love the cold and hate the heat. But if we can all turn that A/C down in the summer months that’ll be energy well-saved. Think of it this way: the less we use A/C now, the less we’ll need it later.
4. This one knocked our organically-grown cotton socks off when we read it, so here it is according to the Alliance to Save Energy:

   Many idle electronics – TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, cordless phones, microwaves – use energy even when switched off to keep display clocks lit and memory chips and remote controls working. Nationally, these energy “vampires” use 5 percent of our domestic energy and cost consumers more than $4 billion annually.

Five percent! We suggest tackling this problem with a power strip or surge protector. Just plug those electronics into a single strip and flip it off (no, not the finger) when you’re done. Quick, easy, and efficient.

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Install:

Here are a couple of things that can be added to your home to help reduce the amount of energy your home uses and maybe even put a little energy back where you got it.

Programmable Thermostat

Having a programmable thermostat in the house allows you to automatically adjust the temperature for different times of the day. During the winter months you can lower the temperature during the hours when you are away from home or sleeping, and it will automatically start heating the house again by the time you get home. Along with reducing your carbon impact, this little genie can save you more than a hundred dollars a year. It makes your home comfortable when comfort’s important and efficient when it’s not.

Water Heater Blanket

Each time you turn on the shower in the morning you’re greeted by a steaming hot rush of water. But it’s usually eight hours since you last used hot water. That means your heater has to heat and reheat the water that’s in there. Installing an insulated blanket around the tank can reduce that standby heat loss by up to 45%, save up to 9% on your bill and release 1000 fewer pounds of carbon gases into the atmosphere yearly. They only cost around $10-$20 at your appliance store and will pay for themselves in about a year. Some utility companies even offer rebates, discounts, and/or free installation, so give’em a buzz. Oh, and while you’re downstairs installing the blanket, turn the temperature in the tank down a few degrees.

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Switch

Each year the average American household uses about 9,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. That averages out to about 750 kW-h per month. The cost per kW-h ranges throughout the country from just under 6 cents to almost 15 cents. 57 percent of this energy comes from coal plants and, according to powerscorecard.org:

Coal power plants are responsible for 93 percent of the sulfur dioxide and 80 percent of the nitrogen oxide emissions generated by the electric utility industry.

Few people know that they can get every watt from clean, renewable energy. Many utility companies offer renewable energy to their customers, and there are other national programs, like Utility Green Pricing and Renewable Energy Certificates, for those who buy from a company that doesn’t. To see if your utility company offers renewable power, click here.

The cost of buying green power ranges from 3/4 of a penny to about three cents per kW-h, with most programs at about 1 cent per kW-h. For the average American that means about an extra $7/month. That’s about the price of a movie or half of a pizza. This is the only thing we’ve asked you to do that does not immediately benefit you financially. But if you do only one thing, do this.

Why? The baby girl in the picture is my daughter. Do it for her. Do it for the polar bears who have just been added to the endangered species list. Do it for the people of New Orleans who were shown with unprecedented violence what effect the warming of the Gulf can have on their lives. And do it for the coral reefs, 16 percent dead in a single year, bleached by the warmer waters. Do it for my children and yours, for me and for you. Do it because it’s right.