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Happy Holidays dear readers!
With the on-coming holidays and seasonal weather, its a good time to investigate some green options that we may not normally get to think about:
- Shrink-wrap your windows for added insulation! You can purchase indoor window insulator kits at most hardware stores for less than $20. These kits come with double-sided tape that allows you to apply a plastic film over your windows. Apply your hair dryer and the plastic shrinks to fit. Low cosmetic impact for a dramatic improvement in insulation. Not sure what I mean? Try google.
- Try manual garden tools! Eliminate a snow blower by using a wheeled snow shovel. See the Sno Wovel for one example
- Solar powered christmas lights! Now I’ll admit, I haven’t had the chance to use my Kill-a-watt on christmas lights before, so I have no idea what the actual energy savings are. However, if you are looking to free yourself from the restrictions of an electrical cord in the great outdoors, this is one way to do it!
- Give a green gift! If you aren’t sure what to get for the person who has everything, how about an environmental donation instead? Sierra Club has a selection of Gift Sponserships starting at $20. At the $25 level, all come with a cute stuffed animal, but there is also a virtual gift option for those of you who don’t need the extra fluff.
Note* For all you shoppers looking to buy environmentally friendly fabrics, please beware of products claiming to be made from bamboo. This past October, the FTC finalized a settlement with clothing manufacturer Bamboosa who had falsly claimed their products were made from bamboo. Other companies with similar violations are Sami Designs/Jonano, CSE/Mad Mod, and Pure Bamboo. Read the FTC press release here.
Just a reminder, being conscious of your actions is a great start to living a greener lifestyle.
The holiday season is approaching and retailers are beginning the ramp up for sales. With all the purchasing that is coming up, let us also keep in mind that there is also going to be some purging. So to help you with the hardest part of that (once you convince yourself to let that old PC go), here are a couple of links that may be of interest when it comes to getting rid of old electronics:
- Earth911.com : Aside from the pro-environmental information, this site features a fantastic search tool for locating recycling facilities in your area. Not only can you find electronics recyclers, but places to dispose of auto parts/fluids, batteries, and garden refuse.
- gazelle.com : This website offers people money for their old electronics based on the condition and then resells or disposes of them as appropriate
Its rather sad to see a list of only two items, so if you’ve got any suggestions or you’ve actually used gazelle.com, let us know in the comments!
Compact Flourescent Light (CFL) bulbs are one of the more ubiquitous signs of the green movement. They save energy, money, and Home Depot gave them away for free on the most recent Earth Day. What’s not to love about CFLs? Well, for some people, its the mercury in them. You may or may not recall a news article in 2007 about a homeowner who was told it would take $2,000 to hire an environmental cleanup firm to remove a broken CFL bulb from a bedroom. This incident, while being alarmist, highlighted the fact that, like batteries, CFLs require a little additional handling when being disposed of.
According to snopes.com, a CFL contains about 4 to 5 milligrams of mercury (which is about 125 times less than an old style thermometer). Human exposure to mercury has resulted in negative consequences such as tremors, reduced cognitive ability, and insomnia. Even though there is a relatively small amount of mercury in a CFL, they should not be thrown in the regular trash. Most states have a CFL collection program, about which can you read more at the EPA site.
In the event that you have a broken CFL in your home, the EPA recommends a series of actions which appear to be designed to minimize the spread of mercury powder and vapor. What follows next is an abbreviated listing; you can read the full recommendation here:
- Clear the area of traffic (people, pets, etc…)
- Turn off any central air
- Open a window to vent the room for 15 minutes.
- Scoop up as much of the breakage as possible, using sticky tape if necessary. Do not use your hands.
- If you must vacuum, clean out the canister afterwards.
- Place all breakage and cleaning materials in a sealed plastic bag.
- Dispose of the trash as recommended for hazardous waste in your area. This may mean taking it to a recycling center.
- When vacuuming in the future, turn off the central air and air out the room afterwards.
Of course, if you are of the mind that any amount of mercury is too much, then you may be interested in the following. A company named ClearLite is planning on releasing a product called the ArmorLite. It is a CFL that has a safety coating around the bulb. In the event that the bulb breaks, ClearLite claims that the safety coating helps capture broken class and mercury, “providing an extra level of safety between you and the toxins”. ClearLite projects availability of the ArmorLite in December 2010.
If you have friends or family in Colorado, then you might have already heard of companies like SunRun. SunRun is a California-based home solar-service company that recently expanded its market to serve Colorado. Already providing service in Arizona, California, and Massachusetts, SunRun allows home-owners to lease solar panels for as low as $1,000 down. When you consider that the costs of installing your own home solar panel system can costs tens of thousands of dollars, a plan like that is worth thinking about. In this case, SunRun installs, owns, and maintains the solar panels, while the homeowner pays for using the solar electricity generated by the panels. The company offers a couple of different plans, but one thing to watch out for is the length of the service agreement. With SunTrust, the agreement can run from 18 to 20 years, with the only option for early release being a buyout. At least they provide the option for the homeowner to eventually purchase the system, adding some green value to the home.
So far there only appears to be one other company offering an alternative to building your own solar panel system. SolarCity, who provides service in Arizona, California, and Oregon, also allows residential customers to lease systems.
So let’s home this is a trend that continues to spread!
CEATEC, the largest consumer electronics show in Japan, concluded this weekend. Galleries of innovative new products can be found at various places on the internet, but the one thing that caught my eye were the OLED panels.
An Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) is named as such because the substances used to generate light are organic. What makes them ‘green’ (and of interest to us) is that they use significantly less power than LCD panels. You might have seen one already. Because of their low power use and bright color displays, they are often used to provide the small screens in portable electronics, such as cell phones like the Sony Ericsson Z610i and digital cameras like the Nikon S70.
OLEDs allow displays to be thinner and lighter which can lead to some interesting presentations such as flexible screens. At CEATEC, Sony presented concept models of an eBook reader and Walkman here. Mitsubishi presented a 155-inch modular OLED display which they claimed could be expanded to an even larger size.
Companies Sony, LG, Mitsubishi, and Samsung have been trying to market large OLED screens that can be used as monitors. The problem is that the start up costs are significant; the larger screens would require new production equipment. With consumer spending down in the current economy, apparently no one wants to take the plunge with a potentially expensive new product. So let’s give it a few years, and maybe we’ll be seeing a whole new line of displays that use less power and provide a great picture.
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