Progressive Wednesday

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

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

.

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.

.

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.

Not “for the birds” but “of the birds.”

Let’s rack this one up as “Not the Dandiest News for Our Avian Friends.” According to Live Science:

The populations of nearly two dozen common American birds – ” the fence-sitting meadowlark, the frenetic Rufous hummingbird and the whippoorwill with its haunting call – ” are half what they were 40 years ago, a new analysis found.

Twenty different common bird species – ” those with populations more than half a million and covering a wide range – ” have seen populations fall at least in half since 1967, according to a study by the National Audubon Society.

And why is this happening? The disapparance of ”grassy habitats” It probaby won’t come as a shock:

Many of the species in decline depend on open grassy habitats that are disappearing because of suburban sprawl. Climate change and invasive species are to blame, too.

But why is this so significant? Birds are central to the homeostasis of our ecosystems. They do all of the following and more:

• Spread the seeds of trees and grasses.
• Pollinate flowers.
• Eat dead animals, essentially cleaning the land.
• Gobble insects.
• Keep down the populations of mice, rabbits, and squirrels.

But aren’t they even more than that? They sing — what better way to wake in the morning? They’re gorgeous in flight, defying the laws of the landlocked, increasing the overall beauty of our already beautiful world. So we owe it to the birds, to the rest of the natural world, and to ourselves, to do something about this problem.

On three previous Wednesdays, we shared ways in which we can all be better stewards of the environment and help reduce our carbon footprints on the earth (see “Saving the Planet from the Comfort of Our Homes,”The Grandeur of Earth Day,” and “I See Trees of Green“). But here are three simple actions we can all take:

1. Plant vegetation native to your area that help common birds. The National Audubon Society has specific suggestions depending on where you live (just click right here).
2. Change your light bulbs. You read that right. Since global climate change is hurting common birds, just change your regular incandescent light bulbs and replace each of them with a compact florescent light bulb. They use 75% less energy than regular bulbs, which therefore reduces carbon emissions released when converting fossil fuels into electricity.
3. Sign this electronic letter to your Senators and Representatives to restore the protections of the Clean Water Act to include wetlands (just click right here). Please consider personalizing the letter a bit as these tend to work a bit better.

Let’s end a bit of interesting wisdom from aviator Charles Lindbergh, shortly before his death: “I realized that if I had to choose, I would rather have birds than airplanes.”

Compact fluorescents, head to head

I stood outside a few nights ago, engaged in a conversation with a fellow progressive about a number of issues, and eventually it turned to the environment and, more specifically, the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).  While seeing eye-to-eye up to this point, we parted ways here. She didn't like the light that they gave out, the fact that they contain a small amount of mercury, or the initial cost of the bulb.

When I got home and did a little reading on this thing they call “the Internet,” I realized that she was probably basing her opinion on the early technology, the first CFLs. As recently as the mid-1990s a single bulb was going for 25 smackers, producing a yellowier light than incandescents, and were even too large to fit many fixtures. Not so, anymore.

As if to slam-dunk my point, alioop-style, this month's Popular Mechanics landed in my mailbox the next day. On the cover was a comparison of the most popular CFLs to one another and to the most popular incandescents. Across the board they found that CFLs were just as bright and in many cases used less energy than was originally stated. In fact, the only thing I found to be slightly misleading was the reported price of the CFLs. In my experience they can easily be found for far less, especially when bought in a multi-pack. You can get the full comparison here.

As for the mercury contained in the bulb, well, yes, there is some, about 5 milligrams per bulb. Most manufacturers now have CFL recycling programs, as well as plans to decrease the amount mercury in the bulbs. Plus, according to the California Energy Commission, the amount of mercury contained in a bulb is more than offset by the amount of mercury saved by reducing the use of energy from coal plants.

I respect the opinions of others. I pride myself on keeping my mind open to the possibility that what I think I know might not be the whole story, that there might be angles I haven't considered. And if someone presents that opposition, I'll research the hell out of it to get the whole story.

So, to the best of ability, there it is, the whole story of compact fluorescent light bulbs.

A pizza place practicing progressive environmentalism

We've asked you to do a lot of things for the environment: use compact fluorescent light bulbs, drive hybrid cars, purchase “green– energy, buy local organic food, recycle, use “green– credit cards. Heck, we even suggested that you change your bank for the environment. But this one tops them all: buy pizza.

That's if you live in Florida. More specifically, if you live in or visit Deerfield Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, or Coral Springs. These are the current locations of Pizza Fusion, an all-organic, earth friendly pizza place, and model small business in southern Florida. Here's their goal, in their own words:

Pizza Fusion was founded in the best interest of the environment and the individual. By serving healthy, organic food with a commitment to the preservation of our fragile ecosystem, we hope to set an example for others to follow.

Here are some of the ways Pizza Fusion is “saving the Earth, one pizza at a time– :

• Their delivery vehicles are all hybrid cars. The Toyota Prius, to be exact.
• They purchase wind energy certificates to offset 100% of their energy use and have plans to soon be completely powered by solar energy.
• Their ingredients are all 100% organic, mostly grown within 60 miles of the restaurants, saving on fuel to get them there.
• All of their menus, napkins, and plates are printed on recycled paper.
• As a bonus they split energy savings with their employees resulting in 20% less energy used.
• Those employees are decked out in 100% organic cotton uniforms.
• They even use Sustainable Websites to host their website, which uses 100% wind energy for its web hosting
• For the kids, they host free classes every Saturday to teach them about increasingly popular organic food and other things they can do for the environment.

Not progressive enough? Chew on this organic info. They also offer health insurance to all employees working more than 20 hours a week and even have deals for their employees at local fitness centers. It's a healthy place to eat and work.

These progressive practices don't seem to be holding them down financially either. For you entrepreneurs, they are currently offering franchise opportunities, with plans to expand across the country. So if you're looking to start a business– ¦ Even if you're not, we could all stand to live our lives and run our businesses a little more like Pizza Fusion.

The TGIF Movie Review: An Inconvenient Truth

To say that global warming is “inconvenient” is the only exaggeration (in this case, understatement) made in this entire film. Early on watching this movie, I got the sense that whether or not we listen to the film's facts will directly determine if anyone will be around to call it a classic or not. (Check out our Wednesday topic for more related videos.)

An Inconvenient Truth opens with gorgeous video of a river and the forest lining it. This simple image makes what follows all the more heartbreaking, as we see the beautiful innocence of our only home being destroyed. In case you're unaware, the documentary is essentially a slide-show presentation that Al Gore has given around the world over 1,000 times, explaining the incontrovertible facts of global warming through the use of imagery, raw data, and tragic current events. He effectively destroys the myth that global warming isn't real and isn't caused by humanity. He does this with information about glaciers, human population, bird migration, the life-cycles of insects, hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, cyclones, drought, temperature rates, soil evaporation, the extinction of species, vectors for emerging infection diseases, and coral reef bleaching. You can't help but be convinced, because to still doubt global warming would be as ridiculous as doubting that the planet exists.

What makes all this even more interesting are vivid videos and photographs, Gore's self-effacing humor, and his light jabs at political rivals. We also learn about Gore's life, both personal and professional, and his upbringing, all of which adds a texture of honesty to the picture.

One of my writing professors in graduate school once told us that “all nature writing is elegy.– Thankfully, An Inconvenient Truth is no fatalistic final words. Instead, it removes the myth that the problem is too big for us to make a change. Doubters, Gore says, tend to go from denial to despair. But we needn't. The film asks viewers to go to ClimateCrisis.net to learn ways to lessen their impact on our already thin and vulnerable atmosphere. To paraphrase a pretty damned famous politico — we have a choice: we are the enemy; we are either for us or we are against us.

I thought about what I'm about to write closely and carefully and frequently since seeing this film for the first time. I'm done thinking about it because I believe my final sentence to be true as the sky is blue. This is the most important film ever made.

Saving the Planet (from the Comfort of Our Homes)

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

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

If you read our post on February 19, then you'll have to forgive our redundancy, but this is that important.  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.