Sunday, August 31, 2008

Something Peaceful

Considering everything that is going on, I thought I would share a few flower photos that I've taken over the past year. There is enough bad news and depressing things to read or see. I don't know about you, but I needed a change of pace. I hope you like my photos.



Sunday, August 24, 2008

Getting by with less

I think we can all agree that it has been a tough year. Incomes are either flat or down while costs of stuff is up. Personally, I don't see things getting any better for quite a while. This is an election year, but the people we elect in November won't be able to begin doing anything until next year. Who knows how much time it will take for what they do to actually take affect. Optimistic is not a term I use to describe myself anymore.

Regardless of what else happenes or may happen, I have learned some valuable lessons this year. Perhaps many other Americans have learned this one as well: how to get by with less. I've had to drastically cut my spending just so I could pay my bills. If it's not an absolute essential, I'm not buying it any more. Sure, there are things I miss, but I've discovered that I can get by without them - that I really didn't need them. This is a lesson we all need to learn: how to separate what we need from what we want.

America has been a society of consumers for a long time. A billboard for one of the local "factory outlet" malls near where I live has the slogan: "Shop till you drop". Advertisers show us all the things we need to look good in, smell good wearing, all the stuff we've 'got to have' so that we'll be enticed to go out and buy it. While the money lasted, it was good. But did we really need all that junk?

Did you know that America is the largest consumer of a majority of the natural resources of this planet while not having the largest population? The American Association for the Advancement of Science has this to say: "For many resources, the United States of America is the world's largest consumer in absolute terms. For a list of 20 major traded commodities, it takes the greatest share of 11 of them: corn, coffee, copper, lead, zinc, tin, aluminum, rubber, oil seeds, oil and natural gas. For many more it is the largest per-capita consumer." When it comes to energy consumption we again are the biggest consumers. And when it comes to oil consumption, no one else is even close.

So it might not be such a bad idea for us all to try and get by with less. Sure, some jobs will go away because of this. However, if we were to start doing/building some of the things that we as a nation really need then new jobs will be created. Some ideas: research and develop alternative forms of energy, rebuild our highway infrastructure (remember that bridge that fell in Minneapolis?), and clean up the environment.

I'll end with a link to a post by Frances Ellen on 6 ways to beat the cost of groceries. She's got some excellent suggestions.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Ways to Save Energy Costs Now

My post last week was about alternative ways to produce energy for yourself. While there were many good suggestions there, what do you do if you don’t have the money to purchase one of those systems? Well, whether you rent or own, you can make some simple changes to where to live that can save you hundreds of dollars in energy costs over the year. Let’s take a look at a few of these cost saving measures.

Lighting:
  • Here’s a no-cost solution: turn the light off when you leave the room. Unless you need the light for security reasons, turn off lights when they are not needed.
  • Replace incandescent bulbs with efficient, compact fluorescents. The new compact fluorescents produce the same amount of illumination for a fraction of the energy requirements. My power company posts the following information comparing the energy costs of the two types of bulbs for 10,000 hours of use: incandescent bulbs cost $51 to use while compact fluorescent bulbs cost just $12.75.
  • Don’t need all the illumination all the time? Consider installing dimmer switches (solid-state are best) to save money.
In the kitchen:
  • Match the size of the cooking element to the size of the pan. If the pan is too small for the element you are just heating the air and wasting energy.
  • Use a toaster oven or microwave when cooking/heating just one item instead of your big oven. Save the big oven for when you have a number of items to cook.
  • Let carry-over heat do part of the work. You can turn off a burner, toaster oven, or oven several minutes before the food is done cooking. The existing heat will finish the job for you and you will have saved some energy.
Home laundry:
  • Use cold or warm water to wash clothes. Modern laundry soaps don’t need hot water to get your clothes clean. Unless I’m washing rag cloths, I only use cold water when doing the laundry.
  • Get a clothes drying rack. Not only do you save money by not running the dryer very long, but your clothes last longer and you don’t have to iron as much (save money and time that way!). I put shirts and pants in the dryer for about 10 minutes and then transfer them to the rack. This is a big money saver.
  • Keep the dryer exhaust vent and line clean. Not only will you save money but you reduce the likelihood of a dangerous dryer fire.
Heating & cooling:
  • In the summer just turning the thermostat up a couple of degrees can save a lot of money. If your home has ceiling fans, use them to keep you comfortable. In the winter drop the temperature a few degrees and put on a sweater to save money.
  • Replace the filter on a regular basis. When it gets clogged your heating/cooling system will have to work harder and use more energy.
  • Use the sun to your advantage. In the summer keep curtains closed when the sun is shining to reduce heat. Because I live in the deep south, I’ve installed a solar shade on my west-facing windows; I can still see out, but the heat of the sun is greatly reduced. In the winter let the sun in for some additional heat.
Looking for some more ideas? Check out these Web articles:

Monday, August 11, 2008

Alternative Forms of Energy

Since blogging about our oil problem last week I’ve been thinking about what other sources of energy are available for us today. I’m not talking about all the things you hear about that someone is developing and touting as the salvation of us all. I fear that most of those will just disappear. However, there are other sources out there that we can use – maybe not for everything, but enough to reduce our oil consumption. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Solar power has been around for a long time. One of the simplest forms is to use solar energy to heat water, either for a pool or your home. Here’s a company,
Solar Panels Plus, that has a variety of products for the average home. The U.S. Department of Energy has a site dedicated to information on home solar water heaters. If you live in a warm, southern climate costs for a system like this are very low. Even if you life in a colder, northern climate the total cost savings of a solar water heater over time can make it an excellent investment.

Another form of solar power is electricity generated by photovoltaic cells. Again this is a technology that has been around for quite a while; however, there have been a number of advancements in the last few years which have resulted in lower costs and higher energy production. In some locations it is possible to generate all your electrical needs using solar panels placed on the roof of your home. You might even be able to sell excess energy back to your power company! Check out this
article in Business Week. Don’t want to do that much? Check out this how-to guide on building an inexpensive solar power generator.

Maybe you don’t get a lot of sun where you live but the wind is always blowing. Well, install a home wind turbine to get your energy. The
American Wind Energy Association has some excellent information to get you up and running. Not sure about wind generated power? The Dutch have used wind power to run pumps to keep their land dry for centuries. The earliest reference to a windmill dates back to the 12th century. Something that has been around that long has to be reliable.

There are other sources for energy production; however, most of these are beyond the average homeowner. Water has been used to generate energy for centuries. Hydroelectric power plants are located throughout the world. Geothermal energy is also available in many places around the globe. But let’s get back to what we can do at home. Here are a few Web sites with information on what we can do NOW:

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Will new oil drilling save us?

One way or another we are all feeling the pain because of high prices at the pump. Costs for goods are up, wages down, people aren’t able to buy all the stuff they could last year at this time, sales are down, jobs are being lost. So now that everyone is fixated on the price of gas, a “perfect” solution is being offered: drill everywhere for more oil. Sounds easy, right? Wrong.

Let’s look at a few facts that the oil companies don’t want you to hear about (after all, an informed public is NOT in their best interest):

  • On average, of all the land currently under lease for oil production less than 1/3 of that land is being utilized.
  • In 2007 there were 7,124 drilling permits approved on public lands, but only 5,343 wells were actually drilled. Did you know that Democrats in the House of Representatives tried to pass legislation to require oil companies to develop their existing leases? Guess what, the Republicans and our current administration (rife with oil men) prevented passage of the bill.
  • Everyone has heard of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Have you ever heard of the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA)? This land was originally set aside in 1923 as an oil reserve for the U.S. Navy. Congress transferred management of the land to the Department of the Interior in 1976. Why aren’t we drilling there?
  • Still want to drill in ANWR like the oil companies do? After all, how much space could a few oil wells take up? Check out this site for some facts and a great map showing what the true impact on that fragile wilderness would be. Or check out this documentary about ANWR that won an international award.
  • The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources produced a report in June, 2008, entitled: “The Truth About America’s Energy: Big Oil Stockpiles Supplies and Pockets Profits.” This report starts out by stating: “While the oil industry and some Members of Congress argue that opening more federal lands and waters would lead to lower gasoline prices, the facts prove otherwise. The fact is that the Nation simply cannot drill its way to lower prices at the pump. Other options, from greater energy efficiencies to the development of alternative fuels, are essential to reducing dependency on petroleum fuels and lowering fuel costs.” It is a ten page document in Adobe PDF format. It should be mandatory reading in my opinion. Read it, the facts there are not what you hear on the nightly news shows or read in the papers.
There is an organization called The Apollo Alliance which promotes clean energy, good jobs, and freedom from foreign oil. Here is what they have to say: “Every day, Americans pay more and more at the pump, while oil companies bring in record profits. Now, those same oil companies and their congressional allies are proposing more drilling - even though nearly every energy expert agrees this is one problem America can't drill its way out of. The oil companies say they're doing it to help lower the cost of gas. But scratch the surface, and you'll find it's the oil companies that truly benefit from new offshore drilling. America needs a real, comprehensive solution to America's energy crisis. Let's invest in clean, renewable energy and homegrown fuels, that will create millions of high-quality, green-collar jobs and reduce our dependence on oil.

And it’s not just ‘green’ organizations like The Apollo Alliance that are promoting a change, even oil men are starting to come out in favor of a change. Have you seen T. Boone Pickens advertisement on TV?
Check out his site. I even managed to find a newspaper article from August 2, 2008, in the Star Tribune in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota entitled “Drilling has only tenuous link to lower energy prices.”

During the Cold War the United States and Russia had a space race. That race brought about many advances in science that improved the lives of everyone. Lots of high-paying jobs were created and many new technologies were developed. We need a new race, a race for alternative forms of energy, to spur development, technology, and jobs. We need to get started working on a better future for our children and their children NOW!