http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers RSS Feed for Inq Col Sandy Bauers en-us Mon, 14 May 2012 14:44:43 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120514_Want_to_cut_your_carbon_footprint__Here_rsquo_s_how.html If you’re driving your SUV to the farmer’s market to buy local asparagus — and thinking you’re making a difference for the planet — not so fast. You’re focused on a detail and ignoring the gas-hogging elephant in the room. Likewise, if you’re badgering your kids to turn out the lights and the bulbs are still incandescent, you could make more progress — and probably add harmony to your household — if you replaced those old energy-sucking bulbs with efficient ones. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120416__lsquo_Plarn_rsquo___mdash__plastic_bag_yarn__mdash__puts_those_ubiquitous_bags_back_to_work.html At long last, people who care about the environment have something nice to say about those ubiquitous, fossil fuel-based, all-too-disposable plastic bags. Apparently, they make great eco-art. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/145240375.html These days, I can't imagine why I planted that bank of hydrangeas along a sunny back wall, except that their puffy blue flowers are gorgeous and they remind me of my grandmother. After hearing a talk by Doug Tallamy - and realizing how little my nonnative hydrangeas do for the insects and birds in my yard - I regret the ample real estate I gave them. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120319_GreenSpace_.html I made a few stops on the way home the other night, which meant my car's engine had to warm up several times and my gas mileage for the trip was down a bit - 55.2 miles a gallon. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120305_GreenSpace__Save_a_watt__Be_an_off-peak_energy_user.html My clothes washing machine has a feature that allows me to feel marvelously virtuous. It's a timer. My routine is to load the machine in the evening, have it run in the wee hours, and then hang the clothes in the morning. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120220_GreenSpace__Labeling_the_modified_foods.html Ninety percent of the corn, canola, soybeans, and sugar beets grown in the United States today have been fiddled with. 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?