It's Hot, Hot, Hot ...

How is everyone surviving the heat of the summer? I know that in many areas, people are struggling with triple digit temperatures which have gone on for a record number of days. Keeping cool, for some, has become a matter of health ... and not just comfort.

Last summer I wrote a piece that I'd like to share with you again ... it's all about keeping ourselves comfortable in the summer without walking too heavily on the earth. I hope you enjoy it:

Ah summertime ... outdoor activities, sunshine ... and temperatures that sometimes become stifling. It's tempting, as the temperature rises, to make ourselves comfortable by turning on the air conditioner. But wait ... don't touch that dial. Well, at least until you've considered some alternatives.

Where we live, the mornings are usually cool. So we take advantage of the refreshing air by opening all the windows. Within just a few minutes, the temperature of our apartment goes down. We have ceiling fans and they help move the cool air throughout our home. If you don't have ceiling fans, inexpensive oscillating fans work just as well.

As the sun moves around the house, we close the windows and adjust the blinds to block out as much sunlight and heat as possible. Once the sun goes down (along with the temperature), we again open the windows and the cool, night air comes in.

This method has kept our home comfortable without using air conditioning. When the temperatures got close to 90 recently, our apartment stayed nice and cool ... around 77 degrees.

We are also conscious of those sneaky little heat producers ... have you ever touched the top of your computer monitor? And how about light bulbs ... they produce a lot of heat. So, turn off any heat producers when they aren't in use.

For those of you who leave the house early and don't return until late afternoon or evening, these methods still work. Opening the windows in the morning, even for a few minutes will lower the temperature in your house. Leaving the curtains or blinds closed all day will block out a lot of heat. And here's another tip: if you find that your house is still too warm when you get home, put a box fan, or an oscillating fan, next to the window, pointing out. That's right ... turn it so that it blows the hot air from your house, outside. This works amazingly well.

Air conditioning units, even the most efficient ones, use a lot of energy ... much more than ceiling fans or a few, well placed oscillating fans. And my personal belief is that breathing "conditioned" air isn't real healthy ... have you ever noticed how there's a tendency to get congested when the A/C is on?

If, after giving these methods a try, you're still too warm and want to use the A/C, set the thermostat as high as possible ... 78 degrees or warmer.

I hope you'll try these ideas ... and ... "Be Cool, Dude".

As always ... I would love to hear from you!

The year in review ..

I love the news programs on TV that review the year and remind us of all the events that took place in the last 12 months. So, what better time than the last day of the year to update you on some of the green living changes we made and how they worked out. Here are a few of the things that had the biggest impact on our house.

Composting and Recycling

This year we began composting ... something that we thought would be difficult in an Apartment. It has worked surprisingly well. We turned planters, not in use, into compost bins and started tossing raw fruit and vegetable matter into them. We now have three bins "working". There is no smell, no bugs and no "icky" factor. The food scraps are decaying rapidly and hopefully we'll have fertile soil in the spring.

Recycling was another activity that we thought would be difficult in a small space. But ... where there is a will, there is a way. We converted trash cans in our office to "paper only" cans. We also put some boxes in our laundry room, which is right off the kitchen, and now toss all recyclables into them. Every week or so ... we make a run to the local recycling area.

The result of these two actions is that the garbage bin has become our smallest can. And, before tossing anything into any bin, we consider whether or not it can be re-purposed.

Energy Consumption

This year we kicked up our energy saving practices. Out of 12 light bulbs in two bathrooms, we twisted off 8 (no one needs that much light). All electrical devices, with the exception of the VCR, the refrigerator and the stove, were put on power bars and when not in use, the power was completely off ... no phantom power gluttons. Things like cell phone chargers or battery chargers were unplugged until needed and then, they were only plugged in long enough to charge up the device. In the summer, rather than use air conditioning, ceiling fans were employed and we ... well ... opened the windows. Adjusting the curtains throughout the day also helped keep temperatures comfortable. In the winter, we dressed warmer and used blankets while watching TV. If the temperatures dipped too low, we turned on the heat ... but only long enough to warm things up and take the chill out of the air.

By far our biggest energy change was the use of the hot water heater. Rather than leave it on, all the time, we opted for turning it on for 30 minutes a day. Our water heater doesn't have an on/off switch but ... the circuit box is easy to get to so ... we just flipped it on and off as required.

These efforts were rewarded by lowering our electric bill considerably ... from $90.00 at it's highest to $34.00 last month. More importantly, there was an energy savings ... from a high 1054 kWh to the current 320 kWh.

Starting this blog

One of the most important green living changes in my life has been writing this blog. Through it, I have learned so many things. In addition, I've met wonderful people ... people who care about each other ... and the planet. In the beginning, my goal was to create a place where we could share ideas and perhaps, between us, compile a large enough list that everyone could do something. Thanks to all of you, that goal has been met.

Now it's your turn

What green efforts have you made this year? What are the efforts that you are most proud of ... and why? Of the green efforts you began this year, which has had the most impact? And has there been anything that was a bust?

I look forward to 2009 and sharing even more green ideas.

To all of you ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Winter Solstice

"Yule, is when the dark half of the year relinquishes to the light half. Starting the next morning at sunrise, the sun climbs just a little higher and stays a little longer in the sky each day. Known as Solstice Night, or the longest night of the year, much celebration was to be had as the ancestors awaited the rebirth of the Oak King, the Sun King, the Giver of Life that warmed the frozen Earth and made her to bear forth from seeds protected through the fall and winter in her womb. Bonfires were lit in the fields, and crops and trees were "wassailed" with toasts of spiced cider." - Yule Lore

Winter Solstice marks the beginning of longer days ... and the promise of spring. But in most of the U.S. the weather is cold ... and we can expect colder weather for at least the next couple of months. Does colder weather mean we toss out our green living ways in order to stay warm and toasty? Nope! Here are some ideas:

• Every energy saving website on the Internet will tell you to turn down the thermostat in the winter to 68 degrees or lower. The fact is, for every degree you lower your heat in the 60 to 70 degree range, you'll save up to 5 percent on heating costs. But no one likes to be cold. So, to keep frost bite away ... put on some extra clothes. Layering clothing traps in the warm air created by your body. Use cozy "throws" or blankets, to wrap up in, while watching TV. Put on extra socks or use slippers. Got some thermal underwear? They're not just for outdoor activities. Use stocking caps indoors if your ears are cold. I've even been known to use mittens with the fingers cut out to keep my digits warm while typing away on the computer (we're trying not to use any heat at all this winter ... I'll update you in a later post about that). Snuggle with a loved one ... body heat is a great source of warmth (both physically and mentally).

• In the fall we talked about cleaning furnaces and getting them tuned-up for the winter. Now, be sure to replace or clean the filters once a month. Dirty filters restrict airflow and increase energy use.

• Let the sun shine in. Open drapes and let the sun heat your home ... at night, be sure to close them to help insulate.

• Rearrange your rooms. Move your furniture around so you are sitting near interior walls ... the areas near exterior walls and windows are cooler.

• Traditional fireplaces are energy losers - they pull heated air out of the house and up the chimney. When not in use, make sure the damper is closed. One word of caution ... before closing the damper, make sure that there aren't any smoldering embers present. If the fireplace isn't going to be used at all, block off the chimney with a piece of rigid insulation from the hardware store that fits snugly into the space (dampers don't shut fully without some leaking).

• Do you have rooms that aren't being used? Close any heating vents and close the door ... no sense heating rooms that no one goes into to.

• If you live in an apartment, check doors and windows for cool air. Most apartments are built with economy, rather than efficiency, in mind ... and things like insulated windows and seals around doors don't come cheap. To stop the cool air from coming in, use rolled up towels, blankets or rugs along the bottoms of doors and windows.

• Use what you have ... for example: After using an oven to cook a meal, leave the door open so that the left-over heat escapes into the room. While doing laundry, leave the laundry room door open so that heat from the dryer warms the adjacent rooms. The same goes for taking hot showers ... leave the door open and make use of the hot steam. Another shower idea is to put the plug in the tub and, after you've finished your shower, let the water sit there until it's cold ... warmth from the water will slowly escape into the room.

And finally ... I'd like to offer one more piece of advice:

• Do not use a BBQ or camp stove ... or any other equipment which is designed and intended for outdoor use ... as a heating source. Not only are they fire hazards, they can produce high levels of carbon monoxide which has no odor and is deadly.

The weather outside might be frightful ... but using these tips will make your home ... delightful!

As always ... I'd love to hear from you!

Comfort, Convenience and Disposable Items

It has gotten chilly in North Carolina. When I step outside, no matter what time of day or night, I hear heat pumps running. In the summer, it was air conditioning units ... running all the time. It occurred to me that we are a society which loves comfort, convenience and disposable items. Unfortunately, the quest for those things hurts the earth.

Let's consider ...

Comfort - did you know that one of the largest drains of energy in a home is the home heating/cooling system? When we set the thermostat for optimal comfort, we also use a lot of energy. In times past (some call them the good old days), people dressed warmer in the winter and opened windows in the summer. They didn't use central heating or air conditioning. We can take a lesson from the "good old days" and use less energy. "Progress" may offer us absolute comfort ... but it's also hurting the planet.

Convenience - no one would deny that convenience items (fast food, prepackaged meals, etc.) are bad for the environment. What about activities? Activities like driving to the mailbox instead of walking ... or tossing paper into the trash can instead of recycling. These activities may be convenient ... but they aren't kind to the earth.

Disposable Items - this one is easy. Basically, anything which is disposable is probably not environmentally friendly. Here are a few examples: plastic utensils, paper towels, disposable razors, pretreated disposable cleaning cloths.

Not everything that falls into these three categories is bad for the environment. But they serve as indicators to help us live "greener". When considering a purchase or an activity, ask yourself these questions:

1. Does it make us comfortable?
2. Is it a convenience?
3. Is it disposable?

Answering yes to any of these doesn't mean that one shouldn't act ... more, it is a signal that perhaps we need to dig a little deeper and consider whether there is a better choice ... one which helps us reduce our footprint on the earth.

As always ... I would love to hear from you.