August 2008
Myth: Doing it yourself is a much more environmentally-friendly way to wash your car.
Fact: When you visit a commercial car wash, you use 45 gallons of water per wash, versus 80 to 140 gallons of water per home wash. (The average garden hose flows at 12 gallons per minute!) And if you go to a car wash that uses recycled water, you can conserve even more water. But there are things you can do to conserve resources and reduce environmental impacts if you prefer to wash your car at home.
Energy Tip for the Month
Look for either one of these two water-saving add-ons: A water-saving hose nozzle allows you to choose how much water is released, setting it from a full-force spray to a light mist. You can also find organic, non-toxic cleaners that dissolve dirt, so it either slides or wipes off with no water required. You can find this at organic grocery stores or major hardware stores nationwide.
Another good tip is to use a bucket instead of simply using the hose to clean and rinse.
Finally, the best way to save water: Leave your car outside and let the rain rinse it!
July 2008
Myth: It’s fine to take a break from worrying about saving energy for the summer, and while you’re on vacation. You can worry about that during the rest of the year. Besides, there isn’t much you can do.
Fact: While we understand that integrating having fun and saving energy can be a challenge, there are lots of simple things you can do to make sure you’re minimizing that carbon footprint. Next month’s energy tip will focus on travel and where you can save some carbon. This energy tip will focus on the food we eat, and it should help you prepare for your Fourth of July celebrations. Most of what you have in your fridge and pantry has traveled an average of 1,500 miles. VermontLocalvore.org says that food transported from coast to coast requires 17 times more petroleum to get it to market than does food grown and consumed within your home region. There are also savings to be had in thinking about the packaging and disposal of the food you consume.
Energy Food Tips for the Month:
Courtesy of Backpacker Magazine. For more carbon-cutting tips, plus reviews of green gear and ideas for sustainable travel, go to www.backpacker.com/greenguide.
- Going hiking or preparing some snacks for a long day of travel? Buy bulk food and package it yourself in reusable containers. Saves you money and 0.2 pounds of CO2 per year.
- Skip the lighter fluid and start your charcoal with an electric igniter or chimney starter. Saves 6 pounds of CO2 per year.
- Drink tap water instead of bottled. Plastic bottles require energy to make, fill, and ship, and half-liter sizes generates emissions at twice the rate of gallon jugs. Faucet water needs energy only to pump. Saves 52 pounds of CO2, or 2 pounds per gallon jug per year.
- Tote your groceries in reusable bags. Saves 5 pounds of CO2 annually.
- Support local farmers by buying a community-supported agriculture (CSA) share. You’ll receive fresh produce every week, and reduce your carbon emissions generated by shipping it thousands of miles. Saves 67 pounds of CO2 annually.
- Compost food scraps and yard waste so you can skip synthetic garden fertilizers, which pollute water and are energy-intensive to produce. Saves 0.7 pounds of CO2.
- Buy local and organic food direct from the farmer whenever possible, and keep dollars in your local economy. The biggest possible savings are realized in eliminating transportation. Saves 200 pounds of CO annually.
June 2008
Myth: While gas prices are on the rise, there's nothing I can do to keep my costs down, except drive less.
Fact: It's true that the best way, by far, to spend less on gasoline is to drive less, something that we here at AMC have long advocated, more due to the environmental impacts of driving than because of the impact on your wallet. But we have also been combining our energy saving tips with money saving tips. This month, in recognition that the average price for a gallon of regular gas is almost $4.00, we pass along these money saving tips, courtesy of the Green Hotel Association for when you have to drive and need to fill up at the tank.
Energy-related Money Saving Tips for the Month:
1. Only buy or fill up your vehicle in the early morning when the ground is still cold - The colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline. When it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening means your gallon is not exactly a gallon.
2. When you are filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to the fast mode - The trigger has three modes: low, middle and high. In the slow mode, you'll be minimizing the vapors that are created from agitating the gas while pumping. All hoses have a vapor return at the pump. If you are pumping on the fast mode, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank, so you are getting less for your money.
3. Fill your gas tank when it’s is half full - The more gas you have in your tank, the less air occupies empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Less air means less evaporation.
4. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you want to buy gas, come back later - Most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered and the dirt and sediment on the bottom of the tank will be stirred up. You do not want any of that dirt and sediment in your gas tank.
5. The folks at UPS changed all their routes to minimize making left turns – Left turns burn more fuel than right turns because you have to idle longer while you wait for on-coming traffic to pass. UPS shaved 30 million miles off their deliveries and that means a savings of 3 million gallons of gas. With a more fuel efficient fleet, they'd save even more gas (and money). You could also make small changes to any common routes you travel to reduce the number of left turns you make and save just a bit more gas (and emissions)!
April 2008
Myth: The only real savings you can get when thinking about your car require that you go out and buy a hybrid or hydrogen car.
Fact: While hybrids and new technology cars are making amazing strides in burning less carbon dioxide, there are lots of things you can do before you have to buy a new car. In fact, buying a second car when you don't need one or throwing away a perfectly functional car is a very bad use of resources. Not only are you adding to the demand for cars, which, even at their most efficient, generate more carbon dioxide, but the plastics and material in the car also fill up landfills.
Energy Saving Tips for the Month:
Courtesy of Backpacker Magazine. For more carbon-cutting tips, plus reviews of green gear and ideas for sustainable travel, go to www.backpacker.com/greenguide.
- Accelerate gradually. It keeps your car from using more gas than necessary, which cuts back on carbon dioxide emitted and helps you save gas. Saves 100 pounds of CO2 per year.
- Use cruise control on the highway to keep your speed constant and decrease the need to use the accelerator unnecessarily. Saves 100 pounds of co2 per year.
- Keep your tires inflated to the manufacture's recommended pressure, noted on the sidewall. Saves 100 pounds of CO2 per year.
- Check your air filter monthly and replace it when it looks dirty. Saves 800 pounds of CO2 per year.
- Don't idle for more than 10 seconds in traffic or at a drive-through; instead, turn off your engine. Saves 500 pounds of CO2 for every 10 minutes of idling you don't do.
- Remove your roof rack when you’re not using it; a rack can reduce fuel efficiency by 5%. Saves 250 pounds of CO2 per year.
March 2008
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!
Tip:
- 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
February 2008
Myth: Hot water is the best way to clean my clothes.
Fact: Using hot water is incredibly energy intensive, since something has to heat up your water. Washing your clothes in hot water not only uses unnecessary energy, but using hot water increases the chances that clothes will shrink or colors bleed. Hot water also breaks down the fibers in clothes faster, so that they don’t last as long.
Tip: You can save a huge amount of carbon dioxide by thinking more about your hot water usage. If you switch from hot water to warm or cold water when washing your clothes, you’ll save 500 pounds of CO2 per year. In addition, wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket. That saves 1000 pounds of CO2 annually. For an additional boost in CO2 savings, set your water heater’s temperature to a maximum of 120 degrees Fahrenheit. That saves another 550 pounds of CO2 a year. Not only will you be doing your best to reduce your personal CO2 output, but you’ll be saving money at the same time!
January 2008
Myth: The only impact the holiday season has on your energy output occurs before and on the holidays.
Fact: While driving around for presents, using regular lights for the Christmas tree, and buying gilded, shiny wrapping paper for your presents all increase the energy impact of your holidays, there are still plenty of chances to watch your energy output and start your New Year with some energy savings.
Tip:
Garbage Dissection: Take a closer look at your wrapping leftovers. Maybe it’s not all trash after all. Do you have nice gift bags worth saving for reuse next year? Cardboard boxes you could break down and store for reuse? Wrapping paper that’s still intact? A few sturdy ribbons? Here’s a grinch-stat for you: according to a study by Robert Lilienfeld, co-author of Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are: If every family in the United States reused just 2 feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of material saved could tie a bow around the entire world.
Count Cards: Salvage the front sides of greeting cards you’ve received. Chances are, the giver only wrote on the inside right half, so cut the card down the middle and use the front as a flat card or gift tag next year. Be sure to recycle the back of the card.
Evergreen: No one likes taking down the Christmas tree, but there’s an easy way to do something good with your tree when the season’s over: Mulch it. Mulch is that great, crunchy, wood-chip stuff you see around green spaces in towns and cities. It can even be used to prevent erosion at watersheds. Check your local paper or call your town or city hall to find out where and when you should leave your tree for mulch pickup. Most towns and cities have designated drop-off spots, or will collect your tree right from your doorstep. Or, look online at Earth 911’s website - just enter your ZIP code, and they’ll search their database of more than 3,800 drop-off spots nationwide to find the one nearest you.
Returns: Gather up any gifts you want to return or exchange, and try to take care of the lot in one big trip, rather than lots of little (fuel-wasting) trips.
Make an event of it: Carpool to the mall or downtown shops with neighbors and friends who also have gifts to return or exchange for even more carbon savings.
Re-Gifting: If you received any gifts you don’t want or don’t plan to keep, give them to charity rather than letting them clutter up your basement, or worse, throwing them away.
December 2007
It is the holiday season, the season of fun, family, and gift-giving. It is also the season of parties and presents, which increases Americans average garbage output by 25% in the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. That makes for a total of more than 25 million tons of garbage! When you think about it, there’s lots of garbage associated with holiday shopping and gift giving (manufacturing, boxing, and wrapping), plus more from getting our purchases home and then getting them to our loved ones. Not to mention the extra energy used to light up our homes for the season.
So, this holiday season take a moment to think about your habits and take a look at the following tips to see where it makes sense for you to cut back on your carbon output!
Tip:
• Consider the benefits of buying locally made goods, which aren't transported over long distances to get to you. Or could you buy antiques as presents? They're all about recycling and reuse.
• Consider also gifts such as tickets to a play or concert, a museum membership, or art classes. They don't come with boxes and wrapping (and won't get shoved on the back of a shelf). Check out TreeHugger's roundup of holiday gift certificates.
• Could you reduce the number of holiday shopping trips you make, to save on gas? Could you bring reusable shopping bags? Most paper bags are made from virgin paper. Plastic ones are less CO2 intensive to make, but they're still made with petroleum and take hundreds of years to decompose in the landfill.
• Could you reduce the number of holiday shopping trips you make, to save on gas? Could you bring reusable shopping bags? Most paper bags are made from virgin paper. Plastic ones are less CO2 intensive to make, but they're still made with petroleum and take hundreds of years to decompose in the landfill.
• Replace conventional incandescent holiday string lights with their light-emitting diode counterparts. These energy-efficient strings use up to 95 percent less electricity, last up to 10 times longer, and are safer since they produce very little heat. LED lights are more expensive, but you'll shave a few dollars off your electricity bill and pounds off your carbon weight. And unlike conventional light strings, if one bulb goes bad on an LED string, the rest will still work. No matter what type of lights you use, limit yourself to keeping them on for four or five hours a day, and turn them off at night.
• If you're decorating with candles, choose the ones made from soy wax or beeswax. Both are renewable resources, as opposed to regular paraffin candles, which are made from petroleum.
• For holiday parties, rent real plates, glasses, and silverware (or use your own) instead of using the disposable kind.
• Consider staying close to home rather than blowing your CO2 budget on high-emissions travel to faraway places.
November 2007
Myth: Junk mail is an unavoidable part of modern day life and, while annoying, has nothing to do with energy consumption or the environment.
Fact: The environmental impact of junk mail has garnered more interest and attention in recent years due in part to the following statistics: More than 8 million tons of trees are consumed annually in the production of paper catalogues alone; deforestation contributes between 20% and 25% of all carbon pollution; and, the average adult in the U.S. receives 41 pounds of junk mail a year.
Tip: There are a number of services provided to help you stop receiving junk mail. To stop the mailing of paper catalogues for free, go to www.catalogchoice.org. To stop junk mail coming to your home, check out www.greendimes.com, www.41pounds.org, and/or www.stopthejunkmail.com. Each offers a slightly different service, cost, and set of benefits.
October 2007
Myth: Screen savers save energy.
Fact: Typical screen savers use 42 watts. 3-D screen savers consume up to 144.5 watts. They don't save anything! Screen savers were developed to prevent the permanent etching of a pattern on older monochrome monitors. Screen savers would prevent this by either blanking out the screen entirely or by displaying a constantly moving image. Modern display screens do not suffer so much from this problem so screen savers are used for entertainment.
Tip: All computers these days come with a power management option available in the control panel. Go to the
Energy Star Power Management FAQ to read more about how to calculate your savings using power management and how to turn on the feature on your computer.
July 2007
Myth: Energy-saving appliances are the best way to conserve energy.
Fact: While energy-saving appliances, such as Energy Star-certified products, are a great way to cut back on the amount of energy you use when using energy is a must, we should not forget that our personal choices can make a difference in the world. Thinking carefully about how much energy you need and making an effort to not turn on an appliance if possible is the best way to reduce your energy demand.
Tip: In our continuing effort to bring you new ideas about ways to decrease your personal carbon footprint, we wanted to mention a new website, Project Laundry List, which was started to promote the idea that our consumption patterns create a demand for energy, and small changes we make, like hanging up our laundry to air dry rather than using a dryer, can make a huge difference in the size of each of our personal carbon footprints. Using an energy-saving appliance, and using it sparingly, is one of the best ways to reduce your personal energy demand.
June 2007
Myth: It's more efficient to leave the air conditioner running than to shut it off and have to re-cool the house later.
Fact: You begin saving as soon as you shut off your air conditioner. If your house is tight and well insulated, it may stay cool all day. This will only work if you keep your house closed up all day. Opening the windows not only heats up the house, but also allows the humidity back in that your air conditioner worked hard to remove.
Tip: Fans are the least expensive cooling equipment you can use. Use a fan to draw in cool air at night and circulate daytime air. (Of course, always keep windows closed if you have an air conditioner running.) Open windows on the breezy side of the house at the bottom, and open windows on the other side of the house at the top. This creates a cooling cross-current of air. A ceiling fan can provide constant breezes for increased comfort. Use a fan in conjunction with air conditioners to avoid having to set the air conditioning too low.
May 2007
Myth: Compact fluorescent light bulbs are impractical because they take a long time to turn on, you can’t use them everywhere, and they provide harsh, cold light that makes everyone look terrible.
Fact: Energy Star-certified bulbs are guaranteed to turn on in less than a second and to have reached at least 80% brightness within 3 minutes. Some bulbs use "instant-on" technology, which means the bulbs turn on as quickly as incandescents. ENERGY STAR bulbs are also made in many sizes, wattages, and colors. Certain ENERGY STAR-certified bulbs can even be used in dimmers and three-way lamps! All ENERGY STAR bulbs are marked with their color, ranging from soft white (yellowish, warm color) to daylight (bright white light). If you are concerned with creating consistent lighting in your home, look at the correlated color temperature (CCT) on the packaging: 2,700K, 3,000K, 5,100K, etc. Lower CCT numbers mean the light will be warmer white (yellowish), while higher numbers mean it will be cooler light (bluish). Matching these numbers gets you consistent color.
Tip: Replace the incandescent bulbs in your home with compact fluorescents. Make sure to read the packaging of the bulbs you are considering buying for the color and the places the lights can be used. If you are unsure of the kinds of bulbs you need, go to www.energystar.gov and research available types, colors, and wattages.
April 2007
Myth: Compact fluorescent light bulbs are worse for the environment than incandescent bulbs because they contain mercury.
Fact: Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use about one-third the energy while lasting 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. While (CFLs) do contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing, there are correct disposal methods for CFLs. To find out what to do with your old bulbs, check www.earth911.org where you can find disposal options by entering your ZIP code. Or, call 1-(877) EARTH-911 for local disposal options. Another option is to check directly with your local waste management agency for recycling options and disposal guidelines in your community. Additional information is available at www.lamprecycle.org. Finally, IKEA stores take back used CFLs, and other retailers are currently exploring take-back programs.
Tip: Switch to energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, especially as the warmer months are approaching. Since CFLs generate much less heat than incandescents, they will also help save on your cooling bill.
March 2007
Myth: It requires more energy to make recycled paper than new paper.
Fact: If we look at the papermaking process alone, then it does, indeed, normally take more energy to make paper from waste paper than from pulp because of the extra cleaning involved. But, if we include all the other energy expended in turning wood chips into pulp, the making of recycled paper leads to energy savings.
Tip: Use and purchase recycled paper whenever and wherever possible. Use second-side paper whenever feasible.
January 2007
Myth: Leaving lights, computers, and other appliances on uses less energy than turning them off and on repeatedly, and makes them last longer.
Fact: The small surge of power created when some devices are turned on is vastly smaller than the energy used by running the device when it's not needed. While it used to be the case that cycling appliances and lighting on and off significantly reduced their useful lifetimes, these problems have been largely overcome through better design.
Tip: Turn off the lights when you leave a room, and use the power-management software that cmes with your computer and monitor. Turn them off if you will not be using them for a while or put them into hibernation mode, rather than leaving the screen saver up.
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