EnergyStar Home Advisor launched!

ENERGY STAR Launches Home Advisor, Energy Tips

EPA’s new ENERGY STAR Home Advisor online tool, launched on October 24,
2007, offers customized recommendations for homeowners to cut energy use
and save money. Users enter their ZIP code, household heating and cooling
methods, and water heater type, and the tool provides recommendations for
energy efficiency improvements. It also provides a summary of estimated
savings (in total energy, electricity, fuel use, and carbon emissions)
associated with the recommended measures, based on the typical energy use
of homes in the user’s area.

Typical recommendations include sealing air leaks, adding insulation,
replacing old heating and cooling equipment, installing a high-efficiency
water heater, installing a programmable thermostat, and replacing lights
and appliances with ENERGY STAR models.

The ENERGY STAR Home Advisor is available at:

http://www.energystar.gov/homeadvisor

ENERGY STAR has also published a new round of home energy-saving tips for
the winter heating season, including tips for renters, a virtual room-by-
room tour of energy-saving improvements, and feature stories of homeowners
who have saved money through energy efficiency projects.

The tips are available at:

http://energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.es_at_home

National Climate Action Day - Nov 3rd

On Saturday, November 3^rd, people in hundreds of communities nationwide are coming together to ask their public officials and candidates for real leadership on global warming, with three bold and simple initiatives:

1. Green jobs now

2. Cut climate pollution 80% by 2050

3. No new coal plants.

The Nashua rally will take place in front of City Hall, 229 Main Street from noon to 2:00 PM, with funky music by Soul ‘N’ Roll band Melodeego, and speeches by Mayoral Candidates Donnalee Lozeau & Jim Tollner; Paul Hodes, US Congressman, NH District 2; Jeanne Shaheen and Jay Buckey, Candidates for US Senate; and Suzanne Harvey, State Rep, Nashua.

Happy Green Halloween!

Tricks and Treats for Halloween

Halloween should give you some good scares, not actually anything to worry about. For a safe and ecofriendly holiday, try these tips:

Set a spooky mood with soy or beeswax candles, not those made from petroleum-based paraffin. If you like scented candles, look for ones with fragrances derived from essential oils rather than synthetic chemicals.

Invest creativity instead of cash in your costume. Dig into the back of the closet (yours or a friend's) or hit the thrift store to find wacky clothes and accessories instead of buying plastic costumes. Need inspiration? The Green Guide and Care2 have clever DIY ideas that can be great projects for adults and kids. (You can make your own decorations too.)

Avoid masks made out of vinyl. Latex ones are safer, unless you're allergic to the material.
Whether you're going glamorous or ghoulish, use natural makeup to avoid chemical exposure.

Hand out fair trade or organic chocolates, organic hard candy, fruit snacks, or other ecofriendly edibles to all those cute trick-or-treaters. Global Exchange evens sells a Fair Trade Trick or Treat Action Kit that includes individually wrapped chocolates along with Halloween-themed informational postcards.

Worried about rotting those little monsters' teeth? Fun nonfood alternative treats include nontoxic crayons, coloring books, stickers, or even small change.

Whether for dressing up or handing out, avoid costume jewelry, especially glossy, fake painted pearls and toys from vending machines, both of which may contain lead. There were almost 30 recalls of lead-containing children’s products this year, so use a LeadCheck kit if you're unsure about a toy your child already owns.

Look up some recipes for pumpkin pie, soup, or curry so your decoration doesn't go to waste after Halloween. (Not much of a chef? Compost that jack-o-lantern, at least.)

Don't forget a reusable shopping bag to carry your trick-or-treating haul!

Tips to Warm Your Hearth - GreenTips for October 07

With fall in the air, it’s time to ensure your home is properly insulated. Insulation prevents heat from leaking out of your home in winter and into your home in summer, making it more comfortable year-round and reducing your energy consumption, global warming pollution, and heating and air conditioning costs.
The many options on the market today include fiberglass rolls, spray foam, rigid foam, and loose-fill cellulose made from old newspapers. To determine the best fit for your needs, consider these factors:

R-value. This number represents an insulation’s ability to resist heat; the higher the R-value, the more effective the insulation. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends specific R-values for different areas of your home, based on where you live and what heating fuel you use (see the related links). If space is limited, choose the option with the highest R-value for the given thickness you need.

Target spaces. Attics and cathedral ceilings are great places to start to get the most bang for your insulation bucks. Next in line should be walls, floors, crawl spaces, and basements.
Raw materials. Insulation made from non-petroleum resources, with a high recycled content, requires less energy to process, reduces waste, and uses fewer natural resources. Bear in mind, however, that the environmental impact of insulation manufacturing pales in comparison with the long-term reductions in pollution and energy use you can achieve by choosing any type of insulation that has a higher R-value.

Installation. Foam insulation has traditionally been sprayed onto walls using chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)—chlorine-based chemicals that deplete the ozone layer. But it is now possible to apply foam insulation using chlorine-free agents such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), carbon dioxide (CO2), and even water. If airborne dust or fibers from insulating materials are a concern during insulation, choose products covered in a protective wrap.

Disposal. In addition to choosing insulation with a high recycled content, consider whether it can be recycled at the end of its useful life. For example, some types of insulation can be chopped into smaller pieces and used as loose-fill insulation. If you are hiring a contractor to install new insulation, have the old material recycled if possible.

The most important factor in your purchasing decision should be the insulation’s R-value; use the other criteria to narrow your options. Choosing the most effective insulator that fits within your budget is the best way to minimize your contribution to global warming while keeping you warm and cozy.

Related Links:
BuildingGreen.com—Summary of Environmental and Health Impacts
BuildingGreen.com—Insulation materials: Environmental Comparisons
U.S. Department of Energy—Insulation

Change a Light - and then Recycle it when you're done!

As you know by now, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

But we need to recycle CFLs properly, as they contain a small amount of mercury.
IKEA, the world's largest home furnishings retailer, understands the value of CFL lights, as well as the need for recycling them. The company offers a simple solution: a 'Free Take Back' program offering recycle bins for CFLs in all IKEA stores. Just take your used CFLs to IKEA for proper disposal.

We obviously don't all live around an IKEI, however. For other locations visit:
http://earth911.org and search for for florescent lamps by your zip code.

For more information regarding mercury in CFLs, including proper disposal options and what to do if a bulb breaks, click here for the PDF report from Energystar.gov.

Solar Energy benefits from flat panel technology

This is the crux of why capitalism actually works. Applied Materials a supplier of flat panel LCD screens for computer monitors and more recently high-definition TVs has discovered that the technology used to create those panels can also be used to create thin-film silicon solar cells and at a much cheaper cost than current solar technology.

So, go ahead, buy that 46" LCD high-def TV your helping to drive solar technology!