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U.S. House Undertakes Energy Savings Measures

While you may be working to go green and work on saving energy to help keep the environment as healthy as possible, you may be wondering why government officials are not doing the same.  Well, recently it was announced that the U.S. House is undertaking some great measures for saving energy. It all starts with Representative Peter Welch, who happens to be a democrat from the state of Vermont.  He is a part of the program called the Green the Capitol program.  He recently came out and discussed some of the changes that he has made within his own offices to help save energy and make a difference.  This program has been developed to work on renovating the buildings in the capital to make them greener and more energy efficient.  They are partnering with a private company that is putting the money into these changes, and later the government will pay the amount of money they save back to the company.  Their goal is to reduce the energy use in the House of Representatives by about 50%. There are many changes that have been made by Representative Welch.  Some of them include going with HVAC efficiencies as well as low flow plumbing.  ...

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What you Need to know about Green Fatigue

It happens to all of us - green fatigue.  You are tired of following the green lifestyle day in and day out.  You find yourself thinking once too often that all your efforts are not worth it in the general scheme of things.  You are fed up with doing all you can while the others go about their own merry way destroying the environment one plastic bottle at a time. There are many people, places and circumstances on which the blame can be laid on like icing on a cake.  You can blame the media for overdoing the whole environmental issue.  You can blame the government for not taking prompt and proper action on environmental issues especially where the corporate giants are concerned. You can blame it on society for its greed for all things related to the accumulation of wealth.  You may blame the confusing and conflicting information about the products and practices related to the green movement. You can blame everybody and anybody for your green fatigue.  But keep in mind that being green means taking responsibility for your own actions.  In fact, you may even be part of the phenomenon!  Read on and find out which of the category you ...

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What you Need to know about - Electricity, Line Loss and Emissions

If you are working to save the environment or you worry about saving money, more than likely you have found many tips to use at home to help save electricity.  This way you keep energy consumption down and any emissions to a minimum that are related to your energy consumption. Line loss is another reason that you should considering cutting back on the amount of electricity that you are using.  If you look at the numbers on the emissions from your household electricity based upon the amount of consumption you see on the electric bill, you may be off.  In fact, they are probably 6-10% higher than you thought, and this is due to something known as line loss. What exactly is line loss anyway?  Well, as electricity goes through the lines for many miles to get to your home, there is some resistance that occurs, and some of the energy is lost along the way.  Usually this is lost as heat.  More electricity gets lost the farther it has to travel to its destination. So, if you think about the high figures, for 10 tons of coal that end up being burned to generate electric, because of line loss, one ton can ...

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Greening Up for the Fourth of July

Often one of the most exciting holidays of the summer happens to be the Fourth of July.  It is a time when family and friends get together and celebrate independence in this country.  This year you need to work on having a celebration that will save the environment.  You don't want to waste items and have a big impact on the environment.  Here is a look at how you can go green this Fourth of July while still having a great time. First, have a party during the daytime.  This way you can use the light of the sun.  You won't have to use electricity to light up your party this way.  If you do have a party that goes into the night, consider going with some nice soy candles.  They will give you light, you won't waste electricity, and they provide a great ambiance for your celebration as well. Another way to go green this Fourth of July is to go outdoors for your celebration.  Instead of renting a big room that you have to decorate, just have the party outside.  The landscaping can be the decor that you need.  Choose an area where there is some shade, put up some ...

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Weekend Project - Repurpose your Fireplace

In many old houses, the fireplace was the central focus on the house where family and friends gathered to enjoy the warmth from the fore as well as the warmth of company.  Aside from its use for old-fashioned central heating, the fireplace also served as the cooking area for the family as well as the decorative center of the room.  Indeed, it served so many purposes that families of old will be excused for their use of such an often inefficient source of energy. Nowadays, fireplaces in modern homes merely serve as decorative touches to the décor.  Central heating is, after all, present in almost all house, thus, making the fireplace lose its practical purpose of the olden days.  Then again, it does have a practical purpose although not in the traditional sense - fireplaces add value to the house in case it is to be sold. If your house still has a fireplace, we strongly suggest repurposing it as soon as possible.  There are many reasons for doing so.  First, the air drafts from the chimney will spread the soot over the room, which makes it more difficult to clean the area.  Second, the wood or the synthetic starter logs used ...

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