1. Mow Down Emissions
Battery-powered push mowers have been on a roll in 2008. Cut the grass, then plug your mower into a standard wall outlet to recharge it. The emissions savings can be substantial: according to the Environmental Protection Agency, running a typical two-stroke, gasoline-powered push mower for an hour creates as much pollution as driving a typical sedan for four hours.
The area of lawn an electric machine can mow on one charge depends on the height and thickness of the grass, of course. But according to the National Gardening Association, as a general rule machines with 12-volt batteries provide 30 to 40 minutes of mowing time, 24-volt batteries last 40 to 75 minutes, and 36-volt batteries run for up to 90 minutes. The batteries should last five to seven years. Although it may be late in the year for a new lawn mower, an end-of-season sale could be enticing. A few sample models follow:
Black & Decker: 24-volt battery, runs about 1.5 hours on a charge, fully recharges in 10 hours
Neuton: 36-volt battery, 45- to 60-minute run, fully recharges in 8 hours
Remington: 60-volt battery, lasts up to 60 minutes, fully recharges in 10 hours
2. Dead Bulb Depository
Everyone’s rushing to replace old incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which last longer and use far less electricity. The bulbs contain tiny amounts of mercury, however, so tossing them in the garbage when they do finally burn out poses an environmental hazard. Most trash collectors won’t take them. To help, Home Depot is now accepting used CFLs at all its 1,970 building supply stores. A few other retailers such as True Value and IKEA are also taking the dead lamps.
3. Blow Up the Car (Tires)
You’ve heard it before: making sure your car’s tires are properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by up to 3 percent. But when was the last time you actually checked how they were doing? While you’re trying to remember, consider this: if you drive 15,000 miles in a year and get 25 miles per gallon, a 3 percent improvement will save about 17.5 gallons of gasoline, which at four dollars a gallon is $70. And of course, the gain means less oil consumed and fewer greenhouse gases emitted.
While you’re at it, consider getting a tune-up; it can improve mileage by 4 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And the biggest gain of all: replacing a clogged air filter can raise fuel efficiency by as much as 10 percent.
4. Wrap the Heater
Water heaters more than five or six years old may not be as energy-efficient as they could be. How to tell? A tank that feels warm to the touch needs more insulation. A jacket or blanket that wraps around the appliance can be purchased from most home centers for only $10 to $20. The collar will pay for itself in a year and continue saving you 4 to 9 percent in water-heating costs—as well as reducing carbon emissions by the local electric utility. The Department of Energy recommends choosing a blanket with an insulating value of at least R-8.
5. Kid Power
If you have children who might be interested in flexing a little political muscle, tell them about the Energy Action Coalition. The grassroots network, whose slogan is “Youth united for clean and just energy,” has a small staff and a larger council and steering committee that help young people organize rallies and publicity campaigns. The coalition can even coordinate work among youth action groups in different countries. One early success is the Campus Climate Challenge, which organizes university students to get their school’s administrators to commit to making the campus climate-neutral; to date, more than 550 schools have agreed to a plan. The current push is to register 18- and 19-year-olds to vote. The group’s Web site, www.energyactioncoalition.org, also offers standardized letters that children, tweens and teens can send to their elected representatives, asking them to pledge to improve conservation and energy efficiency in their districts.
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5 Comments
Add CommentDriving 65 will not reduce greenhouse gases. Driving 70 will. If you want the same amount of water to flow at a slower rate you must increase the pipe size. From 70mph avg to 65 requires 7 percent more lanes or 7% longer rush hours spent doing 0 to 60 mph, stop and go (not good for gas mileage). Get more public transportation to unload the roads then drop your speed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMOST of the country doesn't live in congestion so the comment of slowing down still works for 95% of the nation. But good points though. Problem is in those congested highways, we can't even drive 55mph........ Time to buy a house closer to work and walk.... : )
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhat?. my low on humidity bottled water is just plain ol tap water? (ha ha ha!), the bottled water is an example of consumer oriented stupidity campaigns, you don't just litter the world with an used PET bottle and pollute the air with dozens of contaminant steps, you also pay an arm and a leg for water you can get for a much lower price by turning a faucet.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisyou said it karl. we are subject to our own stupidity. we buy things we don't need or barely use, we drive vehicles to work when we should take mass transit or walk or ride the bicycle.. we, as americans, are a lazy species.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWrong analogy. Cars on highways do not behave like water in pipes at all. For safety, the distance between the cars increases (or should increase) as the speed goes up to allow for the reaction time of the driver which stays the same. So contrary to common believe a mile of road is occupied by less cars when the speed increases because of the increased distance between the cars.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWater in a pipe does not have to keep any distance at all . Also increasing the pipe size is not the same as speeding up. The water will go faster through the same pipe after higher pressure has been applied at the cost of some energy. Similarly more cars will go by in unit time when they increase their speed and keep the same distance between cars at the cost of more energy (fuel in and CO2 out) and the greater risk of accidents with incalculable costs!!!.
Of course widening the road would have a similar effect as increasing the size of the pipe.
The better rule is that at approximately 55 mph the average car uses less fuel than at 70 miles per hour. The average reaction time is adequate to keep a relatively short distance between the cars. So yes, do slow down and you will emit less CO2 and have less accidents.
If (a big if) all cars (actually drivers) drive at a steady 55 mph then there won't be any stop and go traffic and fuel consumption will decrease even more.
It is erratic driving (speeding up only to slow down again) that causes the enormous waste of fuel on our busy highways.
City driving is even more wasteful and the really good fix there is hybrid vehicles who use the electric motor while stopping and starting because of traffic lights,stop signs, yes even pedestrians and congestion in general.
Of course while taking public transportation your car would not use any gas at all as long as nobody else drives your car in the mean time.