Things you can do to decrease your energy footprint - a case study from Regine

Here is an interesting chart. A few weeks ago I came across a utility bill from the time just before I moved in with Tim. I laughed when I saw the electricity consumption of the previous 12 months.

Tim was intrigued and asked the utility company to send him the data - he turned it into a chart and I added the comments - and here it is!  Regine

 

 

 

Clothes Drying Options

Drying clothes on a balcony in Italy

Some months ago, I purchased the parts to install a clothesline from my deck to my potting bench in my steep yard.   It included pullies to allow the line to rotate clothes out over an area of my yard far below my deck.  Unfortunately, I never got around to installing it because it involved a ladder and I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing. 

A recent trip to Italy and Poland sent me in a different direction.  The European washing machines were small and weird, and no one had dryers. Homes were also not heated on cool nights, nor air conditioned during the day. It made me ashamed of our profligate use of energy for our comfort and convenience. 

I was soon convinced that hanging clothes outside doesn't have to be so complicated.  Every place we visited had either a permanent clothes drying rack on a balcony or deck, or folding "gull wing" clothes racks.   I discovered that an entire load of clothes can be hung on such racks. 

A soon as I returned home, I did a little research and ordered a drying rack.   I have dried my first load of clothes on it (from a large US washing machine, and I had plenty of room to spare).  I'm a convert.  It also provides space for flat drying, and drying shoes.  I ordered a separate hanging rack with pins for small items such as socks and underwear.  I also found that I could put many of the clothes on hangers about halfway through drying to eliminate hanging lines, and when they were dry they could go directly to the closet. How convenient is that? Interested?   Find these items:  Large rack; small rack. There are also many other styles available to suit your particular situation.


My new clothes drying rack
 

A full oad of clothes, and room to spare - Excuse me for airing my clean laundry



It folds up and slides right in beside my washer.  Couldn't be simpler

Gasland II Screening at the IMAX Challenger Learning Center, October 6

The oil and gas companies have set their sights on Florida and are proposing new, high-volume wells for fracking all across the state. Come learn what these new wells would mean for Florida. Join Food & Water Watch, Physicians for Social Responsibility and our partners for a special screening of Gasland II and a discussion on fracking!, Sunday, October 6, 2013, at 3:00 p.m.  RSVP necessary as space is limited. 

Just Give Up and Adapt?

A recent AP article reports that efforts in Washington to cut carbon emissions and slow down global warming have shifted to 'managing the unavoidable.'  Rather than make any real (difficult) decisions designed to change our ways with regulations to back them up, apparently governmental officials are throwing up their hands and preparing to throw money at the problem by building levees to contain rising water.  It appears we will continue to burn petroleum products as fast as we can until they are all gone, and the crisis which then ensues will be left to future generations. 

Fiddling While the Planet Burns

No decision is a decision--and apparently that's what the current governor and legislature in Florida have decided about preparing our state for the effects of climate change--nothing.  This is one more reason we can't wait for "the Government" to do something about energy, environmental changes, planning ahead.  It has to start with us.  Read the Op-Ed by FSU professor Andy Opel published in the Tallahassee Democrat today, and watch the video report "Finding Nero:  Fiddling While the Planet Burns," produced by his students. 

Is the Oil Crisis Solved?

As reported on NPR, the International Energy Agency recently announced that American oil production is transforming the global market.  AP in an article published in the Tallahassee Democrat highlighting the IEA report states:  "The threat of chronic oil shortages is all but gone, . . ."  Nowhere in this and other articles reviewed in a variety of publications does it mention the damage to the environment by extraction fracking, nor the Peak Oil problem.  See also the Time article on what this means for global climate policy.  And certainly not everyone agrees that the oil problem has been solved.  Oil scarcity may be delayed briefly, but it is inevitable.  This report and the spin by the oil industry and news agencies will only encourage our oil-hungry population to continue wasting this non-renewable resource.  Oil descent is indeed on a slippery slope.