LIVE GREEN

Have you been keeping tabs on the Hyperion Energy Center deal in South Dakota? If not, here’s a link to a blog which gives a blow-by-blow of the happenings in the Union County, South Dakota project. Basically, they’re planning to build the first all-new oil refinery on American soil in 30 years. It’s a $10 billion project. Quite an ambitious undertaking for a little-known, privately held firm.

The Pickens Plan is a way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

Building wind-power facilities in the windy area from Texas to North Dakota could produce 20% of the electricity for the USA at a cost of $1 trillion. It would take another $200 billion to build the capacity to transmit that energy to cities and towns.

Sure, it’s pricey, but it’s only a one-time cost. Compared with the $700 billion we spend on foreign oil every year, it’s a drop in the bucket.

Natural gas is currently being used to produce 22% of our electricity. Harnessing wind power to generate electricity will enable us to shift natural gas away from electricity generation and instead use it as a transportation fuel — reducing our dependence on foreign oil by more than 1/3.

Clotheslines make a comeback! Do your Laundry “Online”

With the cost of operating an electric clothes dryer around $100 per year - more in the summer months - many people are turning to “solar dryers” a.k.a. the clothesline.  I enjoy hanging my clothes out there, and I’m thankful for three huge trees in my yard which form the Laundry Triangle. I ran a line around all of them and I can get three loads of wash out there, easy.

Some members of my family don’t like their stiff clothes after they’ve come in off the line. To remedy this, I bring them in when they’re still slightly damp and toss them in the dryer for 5 minutes or so. Problem solved.

Supposedly line drying will make your clothes last and look better longer. Plus, they’ll have fewer wrinkles and no static cling!

If you haven’t already, replace all the bulbs in your house with compact fluorescent ones. Not only do they save energy, they don’t burn as hot as traditional lightbulbs. This will help keep your home cooling costs down.

Baking or laundry should be done after the hottest part of the day.

Wrap your water heater up in an insulating blanket.

Make use of those exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms. They can vent the moisture and heat up out of the house.

Install an attic fan, if you haven’t already done so. You can save a lot on those cooling bills by keeping the attic cooler, and getting all that super-hot air out.

Buy energy-efficient appliances. They conserve energy and release less unwanted heat.

Remember to turn your ceiling fans clockwise for winter and counter-clockwise direction for summer.

With gas prices what they are, more folks are riding bikes. I’m especially into these four-wheel bikes so you can have passengers with you, much like the Flintstone’s car, but powered by pedal action.

 

The award winning Nanosolar Co. has come up with a breakthrough solar coating, produced at an 80 % reduced cost from prior years, which makes them a serious contender for consumer dollars.

Founded in 2002, Nanosolar is building the world’s largest solar cell factory in California and the world’s largest panel-assembly factory near Berlin, Germany.

Way to go, Nano!!!

In an effort to help restore the Florida Everglades, the state of Florida is buying 187,000 acres from a sugar company that will shut down. It’s the biggest conservation purchase in the state’s history. Fresh water from Lake Okeechobee will once again flow into the Everglades.

I was dog-sitting for a friend today and she has recently purchased four large blue rain barrels to collect water from the downspouts on her rain gutters. I’m actually thinking of getting some of these. You never know when the extra water will come in handy. The ones my friend bought have a valve at the bottom where you can hook up a regular or soaker hose for watering your landscape. Pretty cool.

Check out this website for great tips on how to drive your car more efficiently and save on fuel costs.

 

http://www.cleanmpg.com/

On Saturday, March 29, 2008, Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone.