Welcome to the March 2008 edition of Get Out, Speak Up, the monthly conservation e-newsletter from the Appalachian Mountain Club. In this edition, you will find information on the Plum Creek proposal in Maine, funding for public land conservation in New Hampshire, and our monthly energy tip section.
Plum Creek Update
In December and January, AMC Research and Conservation staff testified before the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) on Plum Creek’s Concept Plan for the Moosehead Lake region. Through cross-examination and questions from the LURC Commissioners and staff, AMC provided recommendations regarding Plum Creek’s concept plan and its impact on recreation and conservation values. Many members turned out for public hearings as well. AMC believes that a planned approach to both development and conservation is the most effective means of ensuring that the Moosehead region retains its unique character for generations to come. The current plan is a significant improvement over earlier versions, but AMC also believes that further improvement is needed for the plan to meet LURC criteria for concept plan approval. More information, including copies of AMC’s testimony, is available on AMC’s Website (http://www.outdoors.org/conservation/wherewework/maine/amc-plum-creek-response.cfm)
Or read more on LURC’s website at: http://www.maine.gov/doc/lurc/reference/resourceplans/moosehead.html
The deadline for public comment is March 15, 2008.
Help Save LCHIP Funding!
Last year the New Hampshire General Court took the important step of including a dedicated revenue source for the Land and Community Heritage Program (LCHIP) in the biennial budget. As signed into law by Governor Lynch, the budget provides $6 million for LCHIP from general funds in the first year of the biennium, and up to $6 million in the second year from a dedicated funding source. This dedicated funding source is a fee assessed on recording of documents at the ten state registries of deeds, and collection of the fee is scheduled to begin July 1, 2008. Unfortunately, this fee proposal is under attack, and bills to repeal it have been introduced in both the House and Senate, even before the fee collection has begun!
In the House, the fee repeal bill, HB 1547, was voted Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) by the Committee on Ways and Means. HB 1547 will come before the full House for a vote on March 12. A floor fight is expected, so we are asking our New Hampshire CAN members to call their state representatives to urge them to support the Committee recommendation of ITL. (To find the contact information for your representative, please click here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx)
(For further information about the status of LCHIP funding, see www.spnhf.org/issues/lchip/)
Thanks for helping to save LCHIP funding!
Monthly Energy Tip
Myth: Water conservation has nothing to do with energy efficiency.
Fact: You've heard of Energy Star, the Environmental Protection Agency's standard for energy-saving appliances. Well, now the EPA is launching a new level of water- and energy-saving certification for bathroom fixtures, too. It's called WaterSense.
Fixtures with the WaterSense certification are far more water efficient than the old standard bathroom fixtures, saving you H20, energy, and money with every use! With a few simple updates to your bathroom fixtures, you can save thousands of gallons of water each year, and lots of energy, too, because you won't require as much to heat all of that extra water you no longer use!
Energy Saving Tips for the Month:
- Each American uses an average of 100 gallons of water a day at home, but 30 percent of that could be reduced by installing water-efficient fixtures.
- Products with the WaterSense label products are 20 percent more water-efficient than the average products in the marketplace. WaterSense-labeled products are independently tested and certified to meet EPA's criteria for both efficiency and performance.
WaterSense Toilets
Toilets are by far the main source of water use in the home, accounting for approximately 30 percent of residential indoor water consumption, and are also the biggest water waster. Americans waste up to $5 billion per year on water utility bills and nearly 900 billion gallons of water flushing old, inefficient toilets.
New WaterSense-labeled toilets use less than 1.3 gallons per flush, but perform as well as or better than today's standard 1.6-gallon toilets and older toilets that use much more water. By replacing an older toilet with a WaterSense-labeled toilet, a family of four could reduce water used for flushing by more than 60 percent and, depending on local water and sewer costs, save more than $90 annually.
If every home replaced existing inefficient toilets made before 1994 with a WaterSense-labeled model, the water savings would be enough to supply almost 10 million additional U.S. households with water for water for their toilets.
WaterSense Faucets/Motion Detector Faucets
Most existing bathroom faucets flow at rates that are much higher than what's actually necessary. WaterSense-labeled faucets and aerators can reduce excessive flow volumes by more than 30 percent, without sacrificing performance.
Using WaterSense-labeled faucets or aerators could reduce a household's faucet water use by more than 500 gallons annually — that's enough water to do 14 loads of laundry. WaterSense-labeled faucets or aerators could also help save 70 kilowatthours of electricity used for heating water annually. That's enough electricity to power a hair dryer for about eight minutes a day for a whole year!
It takes a lot of energy to pump, treat and supply water to your home: American public water and treatment facilities use enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes every year! Letting your faucet run warm water for five minutes uses up about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours.
Water-Saving Shower Heads
The EPA will certify shower heads as WaterSense by 2009, but until then, look for ones that save water by lowering flow.
New water-saving shower heads meet the needs of environmentally conscious builders, consumers and property owners. New designs feature a flow of 1.75 gallons per minute, offering a 30 percent water savings from the industry standard of 2.5 gallons-per-minute shower heads Through innovative design, the flow of water is concentrated, reducing the amount of water used compared to standard shower heads, while still providing a satisfying shower experience. High-efficiency shower heads save, on average, about a half- gallon a minute more than standard water-conserving shower heads. Water-conserving shower heads are rated at 2.5 gallons per minute, while high-efficiency shower heads provide an enjoyable shower at just 2.0 gallons per minute. Many older, nonconserving shower heads still in use are rated at 4 to 5 gallons per minute!
National statistics show that an average shower is about eight minutes in duration, and uses about 12 gallons of water. By switching to a high-efficiency shower head, the average person can easily save 2 gallons of water per shower.
High-efficiency shower heads also save energy, since most of their water savings is hot water. Heating water is often the second-largest residential energy user. Seattle City Light estimates that replacing standard water conserving shower heads with high-efficiency shower heads can save a household 163 kWh annually. Customers with gas water heat will save on their gas bill as well. The EPA Web site for WaterSense is: www.EPA.gov/WaterSense
To find more energy tips, go to AMC’s energy tip archive at: www.outdoors.org/conservation/energy/energy-tips.cfm
For more information on AMC’s energy campaign, please contact Sabrina Parra-Garcia.
Sign up today for the AMC Conservation Action Network (CAN) and receive timely updates on important conservation issues.
