Reduce, reuse & recycle Here are some really useful ideas to help reduce waste. Recycling Bins – Always have recycling bins available and labeled with the appropriate recycling stickers No More Plastic Grocery Bags – A reusable canvas shopping bag is a great alternative to plastic shopping bags that fill up the landfills. Reusable Water Bottles – Invest in a reusable water bottle and coffee mug. Save money while reducing waste in the landfills. Paperless Reading – Read books, magazines and newspapers on an iPad, Kindle or PC. Save the trees with eBooks and eReading Devices. Rechargeable Batteries – Save money and reduce waste by using rechargeable batteries. Buy Recycled – Buy products made from recycled materials help you to save the planet while shopping Donate Clothing – Never throw out clothing! Donate old clothes to your local thrift stores. Bed Sheets – Use old sheets for drop cloths when painting Crafts – Recycle egg cartons, old Christmas cards and Kleenex boxes for craft supplies. Posted by Gavin S → February 28, 2011 at 10:06 PM under Environment
Fresh (air) is best! Drying your washing in the fresh air is healthier and cheaper too. There are many types of clotheslines and airers to choose from. If you feel that your laundry won’t come out as soft as in the clothes dryer, there are a few ways to solve that problem.. Use a liquid fabric softener in the wash and toss the laundry in the heat of the dryer for the first 10 minutes, then line dry. If you don’t use liquid softener, dry in the clothes dryer for 10 minutes, then remove and hang on the line. The sun has a natural bleaching affect on some fabrics, so if you are concerned about that, leave items turned inside out, or dry in the shade. Clothing hung outside, especially on a breezy day, smell wonderful – you just can’t beat it! Posted by Gary M → February 27, 2011 at 9:48 PM under Clotheslines and Laundry
Green Laundry Tips For Every Household Washers, dryers and dry cleaning make doing laundry easy, but they can be tough on the environment. With a few simple changes, you can reduce your environmental impact and trim your utility bills. If laundry day doesn’t seem like a big deal, consider this: On average, an American household washes almost 400 loads of laundry a year, according to Energy Star. Your laundry days add up, so it’s worth thinking about how you can minimize your household’s impact. The less energy and water you use when washing your clothes, the better. Use your washer’s energy-saver setting if available. Washing your clothes with cold water will both slash energy costs (as you no longer have to pay to get the water hot!) and keep your clothes brighter longer – a double bargain for the earth and for your pocketbook. Also, cleaning your lint tray will keep your dryer working efficiently. When it comes to loading your laundry machines, make sure you’re working with full loads. Filling your washer and dryer with clothes will help laundry day fly by faster and reduce energy use at the same time. Consider not using your clothes dryer and use a clothesline instead. There are many different types of lines available designed to suit every type of home – either indoors or outside. Posted by Erin S → February 26, 2011 at 12:26 AM under Home Living Tips
Atlantic City’s Offshore Wind Farm Might be First in the US to Finish Construction Fisherman’s Energy of New Jersey became the first offshore wind farm in New Jersey to apply for the state’s new renewable energy credit program, making it likely that it will be the first offshore wind farm in the state (and the country) to get on the grid. New Jersey passed a law just last week requiring utility companies to buy credits from offshore wind farms — they already have a similar solar program in place — which will give wind developers the financial means to build their turbines. The program should help to jump start the offshore wind market in New Jersey and sendclean energy soaring through the Garden State’s grid. Posted by Carole K → February 25, 2011 at 12:17 AM under Alternative Energy News and Events
Would You Wear the Same Jeans for a Year Without Washing Them? This sounds pretty disgusting! I hope that they had a good washing machine when the time came to actually wash the jeans. College students are well known for their questionable hygiene, particularly when it comes to clean laundry their first year in. Not yet ready for the world of responsibility University of Alberta student Josh Le wore his tight-fitting raw-denim jeans every day for 15 months and one week, after just one wash. Privy to Le’s “experiment”, one day his professor took bacterial counts from his pants before he threw them into the wash, then sampled the same jeans a couple of weeks later. So was the bacteria count out of control or were the jeans just as fresh as they were straight from the wash? Jump ahead for the results! To read more go to; http://inhabitat.com/would-you-wear-the-same-jeans-for-a-year-without-washing-them-its-not-a-gross-as-you-think/ Posted by Edwin H → February 24, 2011 at 12:06 AM under Home Living Tips
Obama Plans an $8 billion Green Energy Budget for 2012 This looks like a promising move towards less reliance on fossil fuels: President Barack Obama proposed on Monday increasing funds for renewable energy research by 2012 and also reducing subsidies for fossil fuels. The Department of Energy has $29.5 billion available for the fiscal year 2012. About $8 billion would be invested in solar, wind and advanced batteries. “Whomever leads in the global, clean energy economy will also take the lead in creating high-paying, highly skilled jobs for its people,” the administration said about the budget. Novel small-sized nuclear energy technologies, such as modular reactors, will also be funded $853 mln from this budget. To raise funds for clean energy, the White House asked the Congress to withdraw $3.6 billion in oil industry, coal and natural gas subsidies, a move that will lead to the loss of $46.2 billion by these industries over ten years. Many Republicans are opposed cutting subsidies for fossil fuels, claiming that it would affect industries that offer jobs at a time when the economy is still fragile. “Given the broad difference in priorities between House Republicans and the White House on energy issues, we believe that few of the proposed cuts and expansions … will become law,” Whitney Stanco, an energy policy analyst at MF Global, said in a research note Posted by Paul M → February 23, 2011 at 6:33 PM under Alternative Energy Environment News and Events
Scientists convert water into fuel A team of researchers at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have recently set up a new laboratory (the first in Asia) that will be used to convert water into hydrogen fuel. As the scientists said, the development of this technology may reduce the cost of using to the same price as using conventional energy sources. The laboratory will use what is known as “artificial leaf” technology. It is inspired by the way leaves use sunlight to generate electricity.This technique will make possible the separation of water into oxygen and hydrogen. Large quantities of hydrogen can be produced in a clean and sustainable manner. Conventional technologies are not so efficient because they require huge amounts of energy to extract only small amounts of hydrogen from water. The researchers want to test in the lab if cheap substances like titanium dioxide and rust can efficiently capture solar energy to split water. Currently, such extraction technologies are available, but the team wants to find cheaper ways. “We can do this reaction right now. It’s no problem. We can use platinum, or we can use very expensive semi-conductor materials. The challenge is to devise a technology which is cheap, and is robust,” said professor James Barber, a leading expert in this field. Posted by Craig P → February 22, 2011 at 8:35 PM under Alternative Energy Environment
Homeland Security Requires New Wind Turbine Fields to Be Radar-Friendly You just can’t mess with Homeland Security and their radars, even if you’re a state-of-the-art renewable energy entrepreneur who builds huge wind turbine fields for a living. It looks like national security can be affected by badly-posted wind turbines, since they can interfere with radars through the doppler effect they create. But because every issue has its solutions, Analytic Graphics Inc. (AGI), software designer for space, defense and intelligence systems, is teaming with Raytheon Network Centric Systems and Remcom, performing electromagnetic simulations, will approach this one and create improved wind turbine fields. “We are pleased that Raytheon has selected AGI’s precision geometry engine to aid the important mission of allowing our wind farms and radar systems to coexist without hindering national security,” says Peter Sardella, AGI vice president of Services. “Raytheon’s 60-year legacy in the design and manufacture of radar systems strongly qualifies us to provide an innovative solution to the problem,” said Andy Zogg, Raytheon Network Centric Systems vice president of Command and Control Systems. “With the introduction of our highly reliable tool, (Homeland Security) will be able to better manage approvals of wind farm applications, allowing for clean and renewable wind energy resources.” All of the new applicants who will want to place their wind turbine field one place or another will have to pass this kind of approval in the future, so their plan does not interfere with the U.S. national security standards. Posted by Paul M → February 21, 2011 at 8:31 PM under Environment News and Events
Winter clothes drying tips Are you having trouble getting your laundry dry ? Here is a great solution for you to consider. QUIKcloset fold away airer Why not try an indoor airer or clothesline? There are many different designs to suit any situation. An airer will help cut your power bills as you don’t need to use your clothes dryer all the time. Click on the link to find the best one for your home. http://www.urbanclotheslines.com/indoor-airers-and-indoor-clothes-line Posted by Jeanette M → February 20, 2011 at 8:25 PM under Environment
No drying space? Try this! If you are having trouble finding a place to dry your laundry why not try a fold down clothesline? Once your clothes are dry simply fold it down and use the space for other activities. Out of sight out of mind! Using vertical space with a Hills Supa Fold! Click on the link to find the one that’s best for you. Drying this way is easy and just think of the savings when you stop using the clothes dryer all the time. Posted by Nicholas G → February 19, 2011 at 8:13 PM under Environment
