This Earth Day, I could pass along “green” tips on how to save energy and reduce your carbon footprint, but I will save that for another time. Instead, let me make a suggestion: go OUTSIDE this weekend! Take your dog for a walk, plant a vegetable garden, play outdoor games with your children, visit a local park, take a hike and look for wildlife, or just sit in the sun and appreciate its warmth (with appropriate sunscreen, of course).
Gas prices are on the rise again... The world's supply of fossil fuel is limited and will eventually be exhausted. Production is becoming more difficult and more expensive. Many Americans are turning to renewable energy. What exactly is renewable energy? Can you name 5 renewable energy sources?
As gas approaches $4 per gallon, we are all looking for ways to save. Lots of advice is circulating around, but which tips will actually save fuel? Let’s separate fact from fiction:
Fact: Slow down.
If you lowered the thermostat on your water heater by one degree this year, you could save enough energy to microwave 207 bags of popcorn or power a fish tank for 19 days.
If 1000 people joined you, we could power 10 homes for 30 days or power a hospital for 4 days.
More energy facts at the Energy Generator:
http://www.willyoujoinus.com/usingenergywisely/energygenerator/?gclid=CKOi6rTRjagCFcPd4AodWDCxDQ
This image made available from Tokyo Electric Power Co.
via Kyodo News, shows the damaged No. 4 unit of the
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in Okumamachi,
northeastern Japan, on March 15, 2011.
White smoke billows from the No. 3 unit.
Credit: AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co. via Kyodo News
Suppose you are going on vacation and want to save on your heating bill. Which will save more - turning off your heat completely (assuming your pipes won't freeze) or just setting the thermostat to a lower temperature?
In other words, does it cost more to heat the house up from a very cold temperature than it would to keep it at a more moderate temperature while you are gone?
What would have to happen for energy not to be a bigger and bigger focal point in our lives? The world’s population continues to grow, now projected to hit 9 billion by 2050. (It sometimes seems like the bulk of this commutes in from Short Pump on many weekdays.) The standard of living expectations for more and more of us continue to go higher. If residents of developing nations have access to "CSI: Fort Wayne, Indiana" showing improved living conditions around the world, why shouldn’t they also aspire to this quality of life?
