http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers RSS Feed for Inq Col Sandy Bauers en-us Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:26:56 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120206_GreenSpace__Building_a_better_thermostat.html Harvey Sachs has worked on energy efficiency in buildings for three decades. His wife is a systems engineer with an advanced degree. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120123_GreenSpace__Green_giveaway__clothes_of_all_colors.html The two women were meeting for coffee. One did a double take as she saw the other's backpack. "Funny," she said, "I once had a backpack that looked just like that." http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120109_GreenSpace__Shedding_light_on_the_bevy_of_new_lightbulbs.html People are going bonkers about bulbs. As my bulging voice mail and in-box attest after a Jan. 1 story about new efficiency standards for U.S. lighting, there's confusion aplenty. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20111226_GreenSpace__Responsible_e-waste_recycling_is_getting_easier.html Happy with all those new electronic devices you got for Christmas? Not so fast, Bucko: What about the old ones? You are going to recycle them, right? http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20111212_GreenSpace__Plastic-bag_recycling_as_a_stop-gap_measure.html My friend, visiting from Denmark, was horrified. We were in a small grocery, and the clerk had packed everything into a plastic sack. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20111128_GreenSpace__A_winning_idea_for_a_water_bottle.html It was late at night in the spring of 2009. A new water bottle, and a new social venture, were about to be born. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20111114_GreenSpace__A_bright_idea__Energy-saving_apps.html It's possible that Tanya Morris has become something of a pest. And she delights in it. Wherever she goes, she's likely to whip out her iPad and open her favorite app: the Light Bulb Finder. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20111017_GreenSpace__The_day_Earth_has_had_enough.html Sept. 27 was Earth Overshoot Day, designated by the Global Footprint Network as the time when the planet's humans surpassed "nature's budget" for the year. Oct. 31, give or take, is the day the United Nations expects the world population to reach seven billion. Say what you will about climate change, who's at fault and how fast it's progressing. Clearly, we can't keep this up. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20111003_GreenSpace___quot_Seeing_Trees_quot__an_appreciation_of_nature_s_great_gifts.html The other morning, Nancy Ross Hugo was in her Virginia backyard, contemplating a white oak she recently planted and thinking how it could outlive her by 500 years. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20110919_GreenSpace__At_Drexel_and_Temple__pedaling_produces_electrical_power.html As four women stepped onto exercise machines and began their workouts at Drexel University's recreation center, a small neon sign nearby began to glow.