Home Depot Sees Green

This article in the NYTimes discussed how Home Depot is starting to add labels to enviro friendly products in its' stores.

Initially this will have 3000 items tagged as being somewhat green and the goal is to have 6000 items tagged by 2009.

"The company said it had asked suppliers to produce Eco Option goods at the same prices as conventional merchandise. But it acknowledged that some products would be more expensive at the cash register, even if consumers are likely to save money over time — as in the case of the energy-efficient light bulbs."

This is encouraging, as HD is the second largest retailer, perhaps their power can be translated into making green options price competitive.

Corn based Ethanol

This article here discusses corn-based ethanol and its various economic effects.
The basic concept is that corn based fuels are not cheap now and will only increase both in cost and other undesirable ripple effects.

One of the initial effects is that increased demand for corn has increased the price of corn which then effects consumers who purchase direct corn based products- tortillas, anyone?

Since corn is going up in price, more land will have corn planted on it, at the cost of other crops. These other crops will have a smaller harvest, so they too will increase in price.

Another effect is that livestock feed that is corn based is increasing in cost, so the end product- meat in the grocery store or at the restaurant will cost more as well.

The government is subsidizing the production of ethanol for a number of reasons- it gets farmer's votes, it is an attempt to address global warming, etc. A car trip last summer to Iowa, showed that ethanol is readily available at many gas stations.

The thing is that is takes a lot of energy to extract the energy from the crop. When it is added to gasoline it is a weaker source of power, so vehicles make less power and have less fuel efficiency (lower MPG). This also increases demand for more ethanol, (more corn) and has a similar effect on price.

An interesting conundrum. Petroleum based fuels are much more efficient for combustion based engines than ethanol blends. There are some other ethanol based products that are more efficient than corn- cellulosic and sugar based ethanol, but they are future alternatives at this time.

It is pretty evident that the solution is not more consumption with corn based alternate fuels, but more sensible use of fossil fuels until a real alternative fuel is found.

Dishwasher-- Save some energy

I have heard that preheating your water before you start the dishwasher should save some heating dollars.

My little house has a gas hot water heater, and this is cheaper than using the electrically powered heater in the dishwasher itself. I can't find any stats to support this online, but I was able to retreive some dishwasher related tips here.

• Wash only full loads.
• Scrape food particles from dishes but do not rinse.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on loading.
• Keep filter screen clean.
• Shut off dishwasher before it goes into the drying cycle; then open the door and let dishes air dry; or use the energy-saver air-dry option if your dishwasher has one.
• Use the proper amount of detergent. Too much or too little detergent reduces efficiency.

I am not sure that I agree with the point above that suggests that rinsing is not necessary. I have always scraped the plates into the trash, then used cold water sparingly to quickly rinse prior to putting them into the machine. I feel that keeping extra food out of the dishwasher should help to keep the dishwasher from clogging its' screen and thus allowing to to work more efficiently.

I think that I will try to open the dishwasher before it goes into dry cycle and see how that works.

Keep your tires inflated

While, I don't drive very much, I do ride bicycles almost everyday- Midwest weather permitting.

A great way to increase efficiency in both modes of transport is to ensure that your tires are properly inflated.

In fact, US The Department of Energy estimates that under inflated tires waste more than two million gallons of gasoline a day. Uneven inflation across your tires can also cause a safety issue as it may pull your vehicle to one side or the other.

For cars, proper inflation info is in either the manual or on a sticker affixed to the inside of the driver's side door. The rule of thumb to fill tires up to 32 lbs, is somewhat a fallacy as evidenced by my little car that has different recommended pressures for the front and rear. This is most likely due to the fact that there is a weight bias towards the front end of the car- so consult your model specific sticker.

Take your handheld pressure gauge, start your car and drive directly to the gas station and check the tire pressure while the tires are cold as this will give you a more accurate reading. Add air as necessary to get to the recommended pressure. Doing this on at least a monthly interval is a good rule of thumb.

With bicycles, it is a good idea to check the pressure before each ride as bike tires can lose air much more quickly in my experience. Also, it is very easy to get puncture while tooling around and it is better to discover that before you get on the bike.

Here, due to the massive amount of variation, just consult the sidewall of each tire on your bike for recommended pressure. I say this as I have at least one bike that has different off road tires on it that runs different pressure on each tires. Inflate as necessary and RIDE!

Having tires inflated will provide a safer, more efficient car ride and a more enjoyable and safe bike ride where more of your pedal stroke is put down to the pavement.

CO2 is now considered a pollutant

The US Govt. just ruled that CO2 is a pollutant. Basically, The Supreme Court has ruled that the EPA can regulate carbon emissions.

This should have a profound effect on both technologies as well as pricing related to the tech. Cars will become smaller and hybrids and other technologies should become more prevalent.

Here is a quote from today's Chicago Tribune:

"For example, the industry is lobbying against a Bush administration proposal to raise the fuel economy standard 4 percent annually. Cars would have to average 34 miles per gallon in the year 2017 under that plan instead of the current 27.5.

Bob Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors Corp. and GM's global product development director, predicted that the cost to consumers to accomplish that fuel-economy goal would be at least $5,000 per vehicle.

In an interview at the New York Auto Show, Lutz also downplayed the expectation that car companies can save the day.

"Anyone who thinks the auto industry can invent something to make CO2 go away is just dreaming," he said." The complete article can be found here. (Requires registration.)

This reminds me of the gas guzzler tax that was enacted on cars that perform under a specified MPG figure back in the 1980s. Ferrari buyers shrugged their shoulders underneath their polo sweaters and just paid the tax. Others bought Mazda GLCs and Rabbit Diesels...

In this case the only ways to reduce CO2 emissions is to use less fuel- ways (that may be painful to America at large) are to either drive less, drive a smaller vehicle, or a combination of the two.

The other obvious route is to take a closer look and spend more development dollars on renewable enery options, like wind and solar power. The prices on both of these sources are coming down, but still are a long way off in totally replacing dependence on fossil fuel.

Cheapo (Free) Note Pad

I am definitely a list person. In order to keep my day and priorities in order I make lists. Over the years, I have used various methods to stay organized- Handspring PDAs, Post-It Notes, various calendars and organizers. I always come back to writing things down.

Here are the main motivators for putting the cheapo pad together:

I always find that I end up writing stuff down, and leaving the list next to my Mac to act as a To Do list.

I work at home and I find that there is a fair amount of paper that comes out of my old HP printer that is not needed and gets sent to the recycler.

Voila! My cheapo (free) memo pad was born. I just flip over my unneeded printer paper, cut into quarters, and then "bind" together with a clip that happens to reside in my desk drawer.

The form factor for the pad is actually pretty good. The clip doesn't get in the way of note taking, and with enough sheets stuffed into the clip, the pad lays flat on the desk betwixt my phone and my Mac.

Fluorescent light bulbs a great idea

This article earlier this year in the NYTimes finally got me to consider plunking down the extra (initial) dollars to pick up a set of these bulbs and to start replacing the incandescent bulbs in my house.

CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) should save you $30 over the life of the bulb. This is due to the increased life of the bulb (15 times as long) and the reduced amount of energy a bulb uses as opposed to a traditional bulb (1/4 less energy used).

Since CFLs last longer, they make a lot of sense for uses that are hard to reach (and replace) such as cathedral ceiling fixtures and outdoor uses.

Wal Mart found that pushing CFLs might both be good for their customers and good for their PR. Whatever, having the walmartian marketing borg behind the proliferation of CFLs only makes them available to more consumers.

I have replaced all of the lamp bulbs (where the fixtures allow), the lights in my basement and also the bathroom lights. I even upgraded the wattage over the existing bulbs, replacing 40 watt incandescent bulbs with "60 Watt" CFLs, which are actually 13 watts.

I really haven't seen any downside to installing these bulbs, I have heard that sometimes there is a delay from turning on the light switch and seeing the light illuminate. I haven't really had that issue. If anything, I have appreciated the extra light from increasing the "wattage."

Next up, I will start replacing the overhead lights that I have in most rooms.