Go Greener Tips

pimg src=http://www.ecogeek.org/images/image/GE(3).jpg //ppBack in the fall, we told you that GE was a href=http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/2264/72/testing smart appliances/a for use with their smart meter technology that would allow utilities and household appliances to communicate and improve energy efficiency and grid performance. /ppIn conjunction with Louisiana Gas and Electric Company, GE collected lots of information about customers’ energy use habits and how appliances can fit into a smart grid and, now, armed with this information, the company says that they will have smart appliances available for purchase this summer./ppGE will begin selling a heat pump and water heater that can reportedly halve energy consumption compared to traditional heat pumps. The heat pump has three controllable settings that reduce its temperature or power it down completely during peak hours. Consumers using the smart heat pump will save about $250 annually in energy costs./ppOther smart appliances that will start being introduced by GE and were tested in the trial are washers and dryers, refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers and microwaves. The company is also partnering with Florida utility FPL on a smart grid project that will use their smart appliances./ppvia a href=http://earth2tech.com/2009/05/14/coming-soon-ge-to-sell-smart-dashboard-heat-pump-appliances/Earth2Tech/a/p

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div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=stainless steel compost pail height=230 src=http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/daily_green_cheapskate/daily_green_cheapskate-36121220-1242838337.jpg?ymBlcSBDWGiQ3zbp width=300/br /em(Photo: Clean Air Gardening)/embr /br //divpI fell in love with composting and my bride-to-be at the exact same moment. /ppWhen I met Denise 26 years ago, her amazing smile immediately captured my heart, as did her T-shirt. On the front it read A Rind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste. And on the back, I [heart] Composting./ppComposting is the ultimate act of frugality. Making valuable use of organic material that would otherwise be entombed for eternity in a bio-indestructible plastic garbage bag buried in a landfill, composting is recycling redux, times two. Plus you’ll pay through the nose for compost if you buy it at the local nursery. /ppCompost is super-rich decomposed material, full of humus, carbon, and nitrogen — what ema href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Organic-Gardening-for-Dummies/Ann-Whitman/e/9780764553202 target=_newOrganic Gardening for Dummies/a/em calls the prince of organic matter. Everyone can join rot-fest, even urban pioneers; if done properly, compost is odorless. Here’s how: /pullistrongBuild or buy a compost bin:/strong Square or round, roughly equal height, width, and depth (typically three or four feet). Make one using wire fencing formed into a cylinder, or use pressure-treated lumber for a sturdier bin. Urban gardeners might consider buying a compact, plastic a href=http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=2p=47098cat=2,33140 target=_newRolling Composter/a. If possible, place your bin in a shady location. /libr /listrongAdd brown and green:/strong Rotate layers of brown material, like dried leaves, twigs, straw, pine needles, and wood chips with thinner layers of green organic materials like grass clippings and leaves, fruit and vegetable trimmings, weeds, and manure. Never compost animal or dairy products, pet/human waste, diseased plant materials, or material treated with herbicides or that has already gone to seed. Water each layer thoroughly as you go. Think of it as making lasagna, or not. /libr /listrongStir, cover, and let cook:/strong After a week or two, mix together the layers using a pitchfork or other tool. Then cover with a tarp to retain moisture and heat, and it’ll really start to cook, fast-tracking the decomposition process. Let time and nature do the work. Your compost should be handsomely decayed and ready to use in just two or three months, depending on conditions. /li/ulpSome evenings, as I pad out to my compost pile with the plastic kitchen pail chuck-full of potato peels, apple cores, and coffee grounds, I think about that pretty co-ed with the clever T-shirt that I met 26 years ago. It’s true; some things do get even better with age./ppstrongResources to add to your pile:/strong/ppa href=http://www.howtocompost.org/ target=_new www.howtocompost.org/abr /a href=http://www.compostguide.com/ target=_newwww.compostguide.com/abr /a href=http://www.compost.org/ target=_newwww.compost.org/abr /ema href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Rodale-Book-of-Composting/Grace-Gershuny/e/9780878579914 target=_newThe Rodale Book of Composting/a/em (Rodale Press) br /ema href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Let-It-Rot/Stu-Campbell/e/9781580170239 target=_newLet It Rot!/a/em(Storey Publishing)br /ema href=http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Compost-by-Gosh/Michelle-Eva-Portman/e/9780942256161 target=_newCompost, by Gosh!/a/em(Flower Press) – for young composters/pp /ppstrongMore from The Daily Green/strong/pullia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/organic-gardening-tips-460309?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgHow to Start an Organic Garden in Nine Easy Steps/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/save-money-megaflip?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg30+ Ways to Save Money by Going Green/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/natural-swimming-pools-460908?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg23 Breathtaking Natural Swimming Pools/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/vodka-uses-460424?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg10 Surprising Uses for Vodka/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgThe Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Foods to Eat Organic/a/li/ulpemReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/em/p

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div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=international fuel economy chart border=1 height=360 src=http://l.yimg.com/a/feeds/us/grn/green_daily_news/int-fuel-economy-lg.jpg width=460//divpPresident Obama has won wild praise for brokering a compromise on fuel efficiency standards that pleased not only car makers, but the tough regulators in California and the tough critics in the environmental community. (Even we called it a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fuel-efficient-cars-47102201miracle work/a.) And for good reason: The new fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions standards are the first U.S. regulation of greenhouse gases, and they will boost fuel efficiency of American vehicles by some 40% by 2016./ppBut even then, when U.S. cars get an average of 35.5 mpg, the U.S. will lag behind Chinese efficiency standards today. And U.S. cars won’t even approach the efficiency of European or Japanese cars emtoday/em./ppChina today requires an average fuel efficiency of 35.8 mpg, according to the Center for Biological Diversity — which sounded a note of criticism amid the din of cheers, even as it applauded Obama’s important step forward./ppIn Japan, the efficiency standard is 42.6 mpg and in Europe the standard is yet higher: 43.3 mpg./ppUnder those regulations, only the top a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fuel-efficient-cars-47102201most efficient 2009 car/a would rank above average: The Toyota Prius with its combined 46 mpg. Even the second-most fuel-efficient car sold in the U.S. today, the Honda Civic Hybrid, gets a combined 42 mpg — which would drag down the average fuel economy of a European or Japanese fleet./ppToday, only a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fuel-efficient-cars-4710220114 of the 2009 U.S. models/a (three of them SUVs) even get 30 mpg or better — and only the two mentioned above get better than 35.5 mpg today. So Obama’s new policy will certainly transform the U.S. car industry — but it won’t lead the world./pp /ppstrongMore from The Daily Green/strong/pullia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/chrysler-dealerships-closing-47051403?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgFour Ways to Use Old Car Dealerships/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/automotive-x-prize-contestants-461208?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg22 Cars That Could Get 100 mpg/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/cars-transportation/clean-car-technologies-460908?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgThe Eight Clean Car Technologies Likely to Replace Gas/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fuel-efficient-cars-47040904?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgFive New Fuel-Efficient Cars that Dazzle the Critics/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/save-money-gas-47050902?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgHow to Pay 50 Cents or Less for Gas/a/li/ulpemReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/em/p

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pbIt iis/i easy being green!/b/ppiTeach Yourself Saving Energy in the Home/i offers you straightforward, achievable cost-cutting and energy saving strategies. It gives you various ways to save energy in the home, even if it’s just a rented property, with practical advice on heating, hot and cold water, electricity and appliances, stand-by systems, lighting, cooling systems–even how to manage your teenager’s use of energy. There are chapters on how to save energy in your garden and guidelines on how to generate your own power. The book will also offer practical suggestions for “responsible recreation,” showing you how leisure interests can impact on the environment. It gives advice on green travel, including what make of car and which fuel to choose, and offers tips for saving energy in your workplace./p

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div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=image name height=235 src=http://a323.yahoofs.com/ymg/daily_green_news/daily_green_news-4569740-1242751958.jpg?ymWfHSBDxe1CUy5H width=300/br /em(Photo: Frank van den Bergh / iStockPhoto)/embr /br //divpChlorine, the chemical used to disinfect swimming pools, has already been linked to a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/chlorine-pools-asthma-47093503asthma/a (spend more than an hour per week swimming, indoors or out, and a child’s risk of asthma increases 10-fold)./ppInhaling fumes is only one of the ways chlorine pool chemicals can cause health problems, as a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention a href=http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5818a1.htm?s_cid=mm5818a1_x target=_blankreport/a demonstrates./ppIn the past 20+ years in New York, one of the few states that requires reporting of health incidents at public pools, the vast majority (94%) of reported illnesses were respiratory. Most of these incidents were caused by the mixing of chlorine with an acid, which creates highly hazardous chlorine gas./ppNationally, more than 4,000 cases of pool-chemical illness have been reported annually to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the past decade, with roughly one-third reporting respiratory symptoms and 19% reporting eye irritation. Poison Control Centers receive many more complaints: more than 9,500 in 2007 alone, with two in every five cases involving children under the age of 6./ppThe CDC report emphasizes that these incidents can be prevented with proper storage and handling of chemicals, and with proper education of pool workers and bathers:/pblockquotepThe [New York State Department of Health] reports illustrate that these health events at public aquatic venues can injure a large number of persons and likely are preventable through appropriate education and training (e.g., instructing persons to never mix chlorine products with acid). Previous studies underscore that requiring pool operator training can reduce the number of water-quality violations. Future prevention efforts should require training for all public pool operators. The disproportionate (86%) number of pool chemical-associated health events occurring in settings where pools were not the primary focus (e.g., schools or hotels) specifically calls for emphasizing training efforts in these settings. Additionally, because at least 43% of [hospital emergency department]-treated, pool chemical-associated injuries occurred at a residence, messages about safe chemical handling and storage, particularly the use of personal protective equipment (e.g., safety glasses and appropriate masks), also should target residential pool owners./p/blockquotepThe report’s findings also, however, underscore the inherent toxicity of pool disinfection chemicals./ppIf you’re installing a pool, consider a a href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/natural-swimming-pools-460908 target=_newnatural pool/a./pp /ppstrongMore from The Daily Green/strong/pullia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/natural-swimming-pools-460908?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdg23 Breathtaking Natural Swimming Pools/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/indoor-air-pollution-47020404?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgSix Surprising Sources of Indoor Air Pollution/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/indoor-air-quality-47020101?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgHow to Purify the Air in Your Home/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/5288?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgSchool Bus Pollution: Hidden Danger to Kids/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/green-cleaning-spring-cleaning-460303?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=artmag=tdgDIY Nontoxic Cleaning Recipes/a/li/ulpemReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/em/p

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div class=image style=float:right;padding-left:8px;img alt=rusted car height=200 src=http://l.yimg.com/a/feeds/us/grn/green_driving_directions/edsel-bl.jpg width=400/br /em(The Edsel: Symbol of an indulgent Detroit. br /We may never see its like again. br /(Photo by Bill Barber / Flickr)/embr /br //divpIs there any doubt that the Bush Administration is long gone? The Obama White House is a href=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html title=obama regulates tailpipes target=_blankissuing dramatic new rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks/a. The new standards, to go into full effect by 2016, call for cars to get 39 mpg and trucks 30 mpg — that’s a major improvement over the current, long-outdated standard (27.5 mpg for cars, 24 for trucks)./ppThe auto industry a href=http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/meeting-is-planned-over-obama-directive-on-emissions/?nl=wheelsemc=wheelsa1 title=secret meetings target=_blankhas been meeting privately with officials from the Obama White House and Sacramento/a to try and reach consensus, which has now apparently been achieved. Why was California involved? Because it enacted its own tailpipe greenhouse gas law in 2002, and fought the Bush Administration (which refused to grant a necessary waiver) over its implementation./ppAs I reported back in January, Sources in two environmental groups said that a private meeting will be held in Los Angeles … involving midlevel auto executives, state regulators and environmental leaders, aimed at working out a compromise in the state law (shared by 14 other states and the District of Columbia) that all parties could support. Without such a compromise, automakers, fearful that a tough greenhouse gas law would restrict them to building only small cars, could head to court./ppThe carmakers, represented by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, sued California, claiming they wanted a single, federal standard on fuel economy. But this is a climate standard, isn’t it? Well, to effectively regulate greenhouse gas you have to regulate fuel economy– there’s no other practical way./ppNow they’re getting a federal standard similar to the California law, and presumably they’ll accept the fact that it requires tough choices when it comes to ordering new models. The age of the SUV truly is over./pbr /pstrongMore from The Daily Green/strong/pullia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/micro-cars-mpg-460409?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=blogmag=tdgEight Micro Cars Hitting the American Road/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/electric-bikes-460209?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=blogmag=tdgE-Bikes: 16 Electric Bikes for a Car-Free Commute/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/automotive-x-prize-contestants-461208?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=blogmag=tdgWhich of These Cars Will Achieve 100 mpg?/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fuel-efficient-cars-47040904?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=blogmag=tdgFive Little Fuel-Efficient Cars Dazzling Critics/a/lilia href=http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/alternative-fuel-cars-460509?link=reldom=yah_greensrc=syncon=blogmag=tdgThe Seven Weirdest Car Fuels/a/li/ulpemReprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc/em/p

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By using simple to follow DIY Solar Energy and Wind Power eBook training you can discover How to Slash Your Energy Bills And Help Save The Earth At The Same Time.
Have you noticed that your utility costs are sky rocketing these days? It is often becoming too much to bear for many families. Lets not even to mention the resultant environmental impact our power usage has on the earth!

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Cut Energy Waste To The Bone, Go Green, And Lower Your Utility Bills By Up To 50%. Learn How To Apply Advanced Conservation Methods And Products To Your Existing Home. Makes Solar, Wind, And Other Renewable Energy Systems Cost Half As Much!

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pimg height=183 src=http://l.yimg.com/a/feeds/us/grn/green_ecogeek/epagreenpower.jpg width=468 //ppThe EPA just composed a little list of which corporations are buying the most green power in America and tech companies had a pretty strong showing. Intel topped out the list with 1,301,200,000 kW/h of wind power purchased. Though, that’s only 46% of their total energy use./ppSecond on the list was PepsiCo, which offset 100% of it’s 1,144,773,154 kW/h of electricity./ppAlso making the list was Dell (the only company to buy more green power than they used (158%)), Cisco (40%), Motorola (20%) and Sony (44%.) To see the full list, head to the a href=http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/top50.htmEPA website/a./p

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