http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers RSS Feed for Inq Col Sandy Bauers en-us Mon, 28 May 2012 13:53:01 GMT 2012-05-28T13:53:01Z en-us http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120528__lsquo_Geek_rsquo__helps_gardeners_find_a_food_bank_for_their_harvest.html Gary Oppenheimer hates waste. And he loves gardening. Mon, 28 May 2012 13:53:01 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120528__lsquo_Geek_rsquo__helps_gardeners_find_a_food_bank_for_their_harvest.html 2012-05-28T13:53:01Z 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. 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 2012-05-14T14:44:43Z 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. Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:04:02 GMT 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 2012-04-16T15:04:02Z 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. Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:23:35 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/145240375.html 2012-04-02T13:23:35Z 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. Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:21:31 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120319_GreenSpace_.html 2012-03-20T03:21:31Z 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. Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:10:54 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120305_GreenSpace__Save_a_watt__Be_an_off-peak_energy_user.html 2012-03-05T15:10:54Z 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. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:36:01 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120220_GreenSpace__Labeling_the_modified_foods.html 2012-02-21T04:36:01Z 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. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:26:56 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120206_GreenSpace__Building_a_better_thermostat.html 2012-02-07T19:26:56Z 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." Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:28:53 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120123_GreenSpace__Green_giveaway__clothes_of_all_colors.html 2012-01-23T19:28:53Z 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. Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:02:13 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/sandy_bauers/20120109_GreenSpace__Shedding_light_on_the_bevy_of_new_lightbulbs.html 2012-01-09T21:02:13Z