Advice
Earth to Philly is glad to welcome back the Energy Coordinating Agency, which will be guest-posting here on a monthly basis throughout 2013. Here's the first installment:
Thank goodness we didn’t go over the cliff, but we will all feel a pinch as our payroll tax deduction goes back to the pre-2011 level. If you’re looking for a proven way to save money in 2013, look at your energy bills. Savings abound:
1. The biggest opportunity is to save energy.
The EnergyWorks program has already helped more than 1,100 homeowners throughout the 5 county Philadelphia region to save money by saving energy. Whether you want to save money, increase your comfort, or do more to save the planet, improving your home’s energy efficiency is your best bet. Thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, a typical home energy audit through EnergyWorks costs only $150. EnergyWorks now will also install a
programmable thermostat for FREE. Programmable thermostats can save approximately $ 200 in heating and another $150 in air conditioning costs every year! Financing as low as 0.99% is available through the Keystone HELP Loan.
Saving money on energy bills provides home owners the best return on investment!
Call: 215-609-1052 or www.energyworksnow.com.
Here it is Earth Day, kicking off what this year might be called "Earth Weekend," which happens to coincide with Easter Weekend. We'll skip any tips on how to do Easter in a green way, though, and keep the tone more ecumenical for the planet.
With the caveat that the most sustainable approach is always to reduce your buying of new stuff, here, on the premise that you're going to buy some stuff anyway, are some options that can replace some of the less earth-friendly choices out there.
For instance, if you're repsonsible for a car, you're probably going to need motor oil. Valvoline wants you to know (to the point of sending out unsolicited samples of not just oil but a huge plastic emergency gas can) that it now offers motor oil that is 50% recycled and the company's web site has a mail-in offer where you can try it for free. Calling it "NextGen," Valvoline says the oil is "better for the environment and great for your engine." We'll take them at their word for that: If nothing else, Valvoline was the only auto-product company that seems to have a done a big Earth-Day-related PR blitz, so they have that in their corner.
Question: Dr. Green, one of my New Years’ resolutions is to save money,but it’s getting tougher with the price of electricity going up. I want to shop for electricity, but I don’t quite understand what to do. What does it even mean to switch electricity suppliers? What benefit do I get from shopping?
Answer: Shopping for electricity is actually pretty easy once you understand the basics. The good news is that very real savings of 10% to 20% are available to all PECO customers.
The first step is to understand how electricity is sold. Electricity services are divided into three parts: distribution, transmission, and generation: distribution includes the delivery of power to the user; transmission connects the local network to the power plants, and generation is the production of electricity. For years, PECO has done all three. PECO would generate the electricity, transmit it to the local level, and then deliver it to the user.
It's a given that New Year's resolutions to "eat healthy" usually fail within the first month. A lot of times it's because a dieter's wish to do the right thing isn't accompanied by enough information on how and motivation to stick to it. But an initiative from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine looks to help participants keep the momentum up with a constant barrage of information and motivation from celebrity coaches in addition to vast Web-based resources.
The 21-Day Vegan Kickstart is up and running in various cities including Philly, and with even the Associated Press reporting the mainstreaming of veganism, many people are trying it on for size. The PCRM program - similar to our home-grown Vegan Pledge we told you about last year, which is going again this year with another spur in Phoenixville - showers those trying out veganism with recipes, testimonials and one-on-one advice from nutrition experts about the transition.
Every day a new celebrity coach provides a message for further motivation. On Tuesday, Jan. 11, participants will hear from Marilu Henner, the TV/Movie/Stage actress unforgettable as Elaine Nardo in 'Taxi.'
In our last post we tipped you to a few potential stocking-stuffers for the eco-minded on your list. Those were all oriented around technology. Here's one you can give to anybody who's trying to keep up with the New Rules of Environmental Consciousness, but especially those who are parents.
As you might have gleaned from its cheeky title, Paige Wolf's Spit That Out! The Overly Informed Parent's Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt is too wry to be a straightforward how-to guide, yet it does have plenty of good tips on maintaining our sanity in a world where we're supposed to keep track of our impact in every possible direction - a task that becomes even crazier when you add raising children into the mix (she's a new mother herself). It's important to remember, she says, that while "perfect" is impossible, we can all do "better."
Earth to Philly attended Paige Wolf's launch party - or at least, I did, as an authorized Earth to Philly representative - at Arcadia Boutique in Northern Liberties and took a couple minutes for a recorded chat, which we've turned into this 5-minute podcast.
Tis the season for blog posts about eco-friendly gift ideas, and who are we to argue? Rather than trying for the definitive all-encompassing guide, we'll just mention three products that their PR firms were good enough to send to Earth to Philly for testing. These are all things that would be appropriate for your "green"-oriented friends, or for tech geeks, or preferably for both.
Freeloader Pico - This is a phone charger that's called "freeloader" because it gets its power from the sun (and "Pico" because it's the small unit in this line, I guess). Yes, a solar-powered charger. Great to have with you on the go, in case of emergencies or whatever - though you need to plan ahead to a certain extent as it takes 10 hours of full sun to fully charge, and then 10 minutes to charge your phone (or similar small electronic device).
I was never able to get the ideal conditions to charge this for 10 straight hours, but it did indeed charge up my phone from the exposure I was able to give it, and it's very lightweight and easy to stash somewhere to bring along. Find out about the Freeloader Pico, available for around $26, at freeloaderpico.com
A heavily tabbed binder nearly bursting out of its three rings: this is the unpretentious foundation of a LEED for Homes rating. We just placed the one labeled “822 Cherry Street” on our shelf for completed projects, having awarded Habitat for Humanity Montgomery County their first LEED certification.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED, stated simply, is a long checklist for building a green home. The more “credits,” or points, received, the higher the rating.
The construction industry leaves a tremendous carbon footprint. It was ECA's job, as the third-party rater, to provide technical assistance as well as verification for all the steps Habitat took to make the rehab and occupancy of 822 Cherry St. as resource-unintensive as possible.
Highlighted excerpts from emails in the binder read, for example, “SS2. What is the total area of the lot minus the footprint of the house? You should provide a list of plants.” That “SS” stands for “Sustainable Sites”; it's one of seven categories of credits required to achieve a rating. Here, LEED awards you for being stingy with asphalt. The more unpaved area in your lot, the easier it is for rainwater to infiltrate the earth, rather than overwhelm the sewer system.
Points are also awarded for local and draught-resistant plants. And just like filing taxes, all must be documented!
Flip to the “Energy and Atmosphere” category's tab, and the first page will make any non-engineer glaze over. “Form J1, Abridged Version of Manual J,” is a complex spreadsheet (though far less complex than the non-abridged version, used for commercial buildings) which asks the user to input all the materials which create the building shell. Not only must you know the number and size of the windows, but their insulation rating and the direction they face; not only the type of insulation, but the spacing of framing and the type of interior and exterior wall finishes.
We don't have to wait for a sustainability czar to turn Philadelphia green... one zip code at a time. Check out this press release about a new series of confabs to improve 19103...
Greening Neighborhoods, Celebrating Community
Sustainable 19103 BYO
Where:
Trinity Memorial Church
2212 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
When:
Thursday November 18, 2010 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Dear Friends,
In collaboration with Judy Wicks and Evolve Strategies, we are launching Sustainable 19103 BYO, a new series of action-oriented gatherings featuring a panel offering practical advice for bringing sustainable practices to your household and community. The focus of our first event:
Rain Water Management: what we can do to reduce our water bills and pollution in our rivers
Our panelists include:
Howard Neukrug, Director, Phila. Water Dept.
Mario Zentil, Shift Space Design
Juliet Geidi, Architect, North Street Design, LLC
Rob Stuart, Evolve Strategies
October plays host to a variety of events: playoff baseball, Columbus Day, Halloween, and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. But one side of October often escapes the public eye. October is Energy Awareness Month. Who knew?
- Significant savings of $250 to $700 per year every year
- Improved comfort
- Elimination of health and safety problems in the home: high carbon monoxide, gas leaks, moisture, mildew, etc..
- Higher home value
- Local job creation
- Lower greenhouse gas emissions permanently
The experts at Philadelphia's Energy Coordinating Agency answer your energy questions in our regular feature Stay Warm, Stay Green. Send in your question or questions to energy@phillynews.com.
Look for Jenice Armstrong to supply tips on green living as well as occasional columns on the subject of Green. She also blogs at Hey Jen.
Becky Batcha stays tuned for the here-and-now practical side of conservation, alternative energy, organic foods, etc. - stuff you can do at home now. Plus odds and ends.
Laurie Conrad recycles from her ever-growing e-mailbag to pass along the latest travel deals, fashion statements, household strategies, gadgets, cool local events and other nuggets of interest to those who appreciate a clean, green world.
Vance Lehmkuhl looks at topics like eco-conscious eating, public transportation and fuel-efficient driving from his perspective as a vegetarian, a daily SEPTA bus rider and a hybrid driver, as well as noting the occasional wacky trend or product. Contact Vance with your 'green' news.
Ronnie Polaneczky sees the green movement through the eyes of her 12-year-old daughter, who calls her on every scrap of paper or glass bottle that Ronnie neglects to toss into the house recycling bins. Ronnie will blog about new or unexpected ways to go green. She also blogs at So, What Happened Was...
Sandra Shea and the DN editorial board opine on any green-related legislation or policy. And we'll pass along some of the opeds on the subject that people send us.
Jonathan Takiff will be blogging mainly about consumer electronics - those things that we love to use and that suck too much energy. He'll spotlight green-conscious gizmos made in a responsible fashion, both in terms of materials used and the energy it takes to run them.
Signe Wilkinson draws the comic strip Family Tree, which follows the Tree family as they try to live green in the face of nattering neighbors, plastic-wrapped consumer products, and the primal teenage urge to spend vast quantities of money on hair care products of dubious organic quality.
In addition to these updates from our newsroom bloggers, watch for an occasional feature, Dumpster Diver Dispatches, from Philadelphia's original "green" community of artists, the Dumpster Divers. You'll learn about creative ways to reuse and recycle while you reduce, and about the artists who are making little masterpieces from what others throw out.
Sept. 17: A head start on cold season
Oct. 8: Help with fuel bills
Oct. 29: Last-minute ways to winterize
Nov. 19: Budgeting for the big bite
