Forward Thinking

Is your summer hot enough for you? It’s only just begun, you know. Around here, we’ve already experience way too many days of record highs, and that was in June. I can only imagine how July and August will play out.

So, now, scientists are saying that this summer there will be no ice on the North Pole. How’s that for a turnaround? The ice will melt completely, which will impact how much snow mass there is in relation to how much water will be around the pole. Would you like to continue driving that gas hog? Would you like to continue using incandescent bulbs? Would you like to continue manufacturing and polluting the atmosphere? Would you like to continue releasing chemicals and gases into the atmosphere that warm the globe? Go ahead.

Thank you for bringing on what could be the beginning of a new ice age. Eventually, it will happen, and we only have ourselves to blame. It’s an issue that’s bigger than just taking the plastic shopping bags back to Walmart for recycling. It’s an issue that means we need to drastically rethink how we are living and how we are consuming the earth’s resources, and how we are tossing away the only environment we have every time we take a load to the landfill for burning and burial.

Learn to set your thermostat lower in the winter and higher in the summer. You won’t surely die if you get a little sweat on your upper lip, and you will survive if you have to put on another sweater. Really.

Learn to reduce your trips into town. Gasoline consumption needs to be reduced not only for your budget but for the environment as a whole. Emissions need to be brought down to the lowest levels feasible. I know we all depend on transportation in this age, but we can find ways to make it more efficient.

Get those compact fluorescent bulbs! Every light fixture in my house has them. They are a bit costly at the beginning, but they save you money every month on your electric bill. One month’s savings will pay for them all, plus some! They also have lower carbon emissions, which is good for the earth.

Get reusable shopping bags. Walmart has them for only $1 each. It’s a cheap price for something that reduces the amount of plastics produced and the amount sent to landfills or dotting the roadways.

Do all your cooking once a week or once a month. Doing this means you won’t be using your stove daily, which will help with your electric or gas bill and will help with emissions, whether your stove is gas or electric. You can actually use your oven for an hour or so, one day a week, and cook everything you need at one time. Long cooking meals can be cooked in a crock pot, which uses far less electricity than your stove. Invest in several of them for your once a week or once a month cooking sessions.

Start a small garden in your yard. Growing some of your own vegetables in your yard of even in your flower bed or in flower pots helps to safeguard you from contaminants that may affect commercially grown food. It also saves you money. Most of all, if you are growing at least some of your own produce, it means less produce will need to be trucked to the local supermarket. This translates into less fuel used and fewer emissions. It won’t happen overnight, but if we all begin this process, we can make a difference.

It may not be feasible for everyone to go completely off grid and use only solar energy or other alternative energy sources, but we can all reduce our consumption of our own energy and the energy required to meet our needs from outside sources.

Technorati Tags: summer, North Pole, Walmart, Gasoline, transportation, compact fluorescent bulbs, carbon emissions, off grid, solar energy, alternative energy

Recent rising gas prices have been attributed to what’s called “flat production”. This simply means that although demand has increased, production by oil companies has not. It has remained the same. This leads to ever higher prices for the gas we buy at the pump.

I’m not opposed to companies making a profit. That’s why they’re in business. After all, they aren’t charity organizations. However, Big Oil seems to be gaming the system to the detriment of consumers. We are paying the windfall profits out of our own pockets. Some in Congress are proposing a “windfall profits tax” bill for Big Oil. This could be a double-edged sword. It could encourage Big Oil to open up more production and lower prices so they don’t have to pay billions in windfall profits taxes. On the other hand, it could cause them to raise prices even further to cover any additional taxes they may have to pay. Folks, that means it hurts us every day.

And, what would be done with the money from these taxes? It could be used for the public good, but most likely will be given to some program that doesn’t affect most consumers. It just lines the pockets of others. I’d love to see it put to use in development of alternative energy that consumers could use immediately. Not some pie in the sky, 40 years in the future program, but something we can get our hands on immediately.

If the tax passes, I propose the funds should be used to purchase and distribute whole house solar panels to benefit consumers. I also propose that a tax break be given to oil companies that vigorously pursue the rapid development of affordable, alternative energy.

Technorati Tags: gas prices, oil companies, Big Oil, windfall profits tax, alternative energy

It’s been quite rainy and stormy here today. Lots of thunder and lightening, and there are storm and flood warnings right now. This house is all electric, which means that when the power goes out, there are no lights and no cooking, and in the winter time, no heat. I’m going to have to secure some supplemental heating and power sources so that we aren’t left cold and in the dark next winter.

I have the summer to be researching the best solutions for this. I don’t want to supplement heat and power in a way that’s harmful to the environment. Most likely, I’ll want to get some solar panels that will at least support a small cabin. Then, I could just use that power source in a portion of the house for things like the fridge and some lights.

Heating poses a unique problem, though, and right now the only thing I can think of is a kerosene heater. If you have any ideas, please let me know in comments!

Technorati Tags: electric, heating, solar panels

This house we’ve moved into is a good candidate for solar panels on the roof. The slant is south-facing and has plenty of exposure to the sun for many hours a day. If I didn’t do anything but power the lighting fixtures in here, I’d be miles ahead on energy consumption. I’ve already changed most of them over to compact fluorescents - just a couple more to go. That will help with my energy bill a lot.

I’m being very conservative with the central air unit, which is a heat pump. However, Son’s bedroom upstairs gets pretty hot so we have to try to keep it cooled down some. We would add a little window AC unit we have, but there’s no window in his room that opens. Just the floor-to-ceiling glass pane windows. They don’t open at all. I’ve got to put in some kind of window treatments for the west facing windows so the hot afternoon sun doesn’t heat the house up too much.

Technorati Tags: solar panels, energy, heat pump

Even in this high-tech age, the laundry monster must still be subdued. For me, it is especially a challenge now because I don’t have the appliances I need to get the laundry done. So, I’ve resorted to something more primitive - washing my clothes by hand.

It’s not that hard and I have done this before. My main problem is wringing them out enough so they aren’t dripping wet when I hang them up to dry. Truth is, I just can’t get the water wrung out of the clothes sufficiently to prevent this. It occurs to me that I need a wringer. Really, I need a washing machine, but for now, if I had a wringer I could do a little better.

I have some clothes hanging in the bathroom now. After my shower, I washed a few items and put them on hangers in the bathroom, over the tub. It’s supposed to be rainy Wednesday, which means I don’t want them hanging outside just getting wetter. Besides, I have to have a couple of the items for work in the morning!

I suppose I could say I’m living “green” by hand washing my clothes, and that does make me feel better.

Technorati Tags: laundry, appliances

Yesterday evening we headed over to Older Daughter’s house to give her the first month’s rent on the house. She mentioned that the electric bill there seems rather high. I think I can keep it low with a couple of little tricks.

One is to put the compact fluorescent bulbs all through the house. Those cut at least $75 off my light bill at the old place. I’ll also make sure I have curtains I can close over the windows when the sun is shining in. This will reduce the heat in the house. As much as I love the look of the huge windows and the view out of them, I want to save that electric bill as much as possible.

I’ll set the thermostat on the heat pump so it’s comfortable, but neither too cool in the summer nor too hot in the winter. I’ll also make good use of the ceiling fans in the house to create breezes and reduce the need for air conditioning.

I want to keep the utility bills as low as possible all around. I will be getting a compact washer and dryer pair. Low water usage and low power usage combined will help keep the utilities at a bare minimum. This will make it a lot more pleasant when they arrive in the mailbox!

The floors in the kitchen and living room are linoleum tile, which is cool underfoot in the summer but too chilly in the winter. I’ll get area rugs to place around in the traffic areas. This way, I can put them away during the summer and put them back down during the winter, when I’ll really need them.

I’ve got great solar driveway lights that I can really put to good use outside now. Also, the solar flood lights will be great aimed at the front deck and steps so we can see when we go in or out at night.

Technorati Tags: electric bill, compact fluorescent bulbs, thermostat, solar driveway lights, solar flood lights

While I still haven’t heard the final word on the home purchase, thoughts of reducing my own pull on electrical and other power sources still occupy my mind. After reading Zero Energy House Award Winning Design, it occurs to me that a lot of people may be thinking that off-grid living is for those hearty souls who want to live in cabins out in the woods, with no modern conveniences.

That couldn’t be further from the truth. You don’t have to sacrifice to the point that you are carrying water in buckets from a stream or reading by candlelight to live off grid. The whole point of this movement is to find and utilize energy resources that are sustainable, renewable, and green while at least partly eliminating dependence on fossil fuels.

It wasn’t until the 20th century that people began to really depend on fossil fuel for energy needs. Then the race was on to see how many ways these sources could be discovered, pumped, piped, trucked, and sold in as profitable and quick a manner as possible. No thought was given to their limits or to the impact on the environment as a whole. I suppose it was assumed they were in endless supply and that since they came from the earth, they couldn’t hurt the earth.

Today, competition is high to get the most dollars from every barrel of oil and every truckload of coal that’s produced. And we, the consumers, are the ones really paying to line the pockets of those who deliver these energy products. Yes, I know. We will also pay to line the pockets of those who produce alternative energy equipment. However, once produced those aren’t things we have to replenish daily, weekly, or monthly.

If and when solar energy, biodiesel, wind power, and hydro-power begin becoming more in demand, the prices will drop significantly and the competition in our free market economy will be on go. This is always good for consumers. We get to pay less for things we want, simply put, when there is spirited competition among producers of consumer goods.

To bring this competition to the front means consumers must be more demanding. It’s up to us - you and me - to insist on renewable energy sources and to turn away more and more from fossil fuels. There are a few pioneers out there doing their part. What are you and I doing?

Technorati Tags: off grid, energy resources, fossil fuels, environment, alternative energy, solar energy, biodiesel, wind power, hydro-power, renewable energy sources

Saving some money on your utilities by using alternative energy sources and developing more conservative habits probably won’t make you suddenly rich. However, you will have a little more left in your pocketbook and the satisfaction that you are part of the solution to environmental concerns. You can be satisfied that through these efforts and better budgeting, you may even be able to give more to those you love. Things like energy saving electronics or even luxury watches will be within your financial reach if you are willing to reduce your unnecessary spending in other areas.

Concerning the big picture, you can also be satisfied that you are preserving resources and reducing your global impact so that your children and grandchildren will have clean air, clean water, and sustainable fuel sources in their futures as well.

Technorati Tags: alternative energy, energy saving electronics, resources

Keeping your global thoughts in line will benefit you financially and will benefit the planet you live on. Reducing the amount of waste you generate, reducing the use of fossil fuels, and shopping green will help your budget and your peace of mind.

When making new purchases, keep an eye out for the energy usage and opt for appliances and cars that use less fuel or electricity. Just as you wouldn’t take a flight without checking out travel health insurance first, keep the planet health at the front of your thoughts when buying appliances, cars, and other energy users.

Technorati Tags: waste, fossil fuels, budget

Right now, I feel somewhat helpless to reduce my energy consumption. I’m not currently living in my own home and this home doesn’t have compact fluorescent bulbs installed. There also isn’t a way to use solar power at this location because it’s a rented house. However, most of us can make a lighter global footprint even in circumstances like this one.

WeCanSolveIt.org gives you lots of tips about ways to reduce your energy consumption, some of which are applicable even for renters. No one can reduce greenhouse gases or global warming on their own. If we all work together, it can be done, though, and we can preserve our planet and the atmosphere over the long run.

I’ve added my name to their updates list so I can stay alert to changes that are being made in legislation and world governments, as well as impacts of the efforts others make. I’ve also found a community on the site and though the membership is low right now, I expect it to grow and I’ll be encouraging others in my area to join it.

Technorati Tags: energy consumption, solar power, WeCanSolveIt.org