13 tips to go green

13 tips to go green

Today, we are helping our customers reduce their carbon-footprint and utility costs at the same time. Our slogan “Go Green & Save Money” says it all.

Our goal is to provide cost-effective energy solutions that make as much sense financially as they do environmentally. Energy Savers is proud to be at the forefront of America’s movement towards sustainability.

1) Turn down the thermostat. Lowering it by just one degree can reduce heating energy costs by about four percent.
2) Use ceiling fans in the summer AND winter. By reversing the direction of the blades, warm air is pushed down, helping to keep rooms warm in winter.
3) Conserve energy by purchasing major appliances with an Energy Star rating. Compared to a 1990 model, an Energy Star-qualified refrigerator would save enough electricity to light a home for more than four and a half months.
4) Repair leaky fixtures: one drop per second from a leaky faucet can waste as mush as 10 gallons of water each week.
5) Install low-flow showerheads, faucets, and toilets. Low-flow faucets reduce water consumption and the cost of heating water by as much as 50 percent; using a low-flow toilet can save Americans 2.1 trillion gallons of water and $11.3 million nationwide every day.
6) Choose carpeting, rugs, window treatments and other textiles made from natural fibers, such as cotton or wool, which are untreated and free of toxins, such as pesticides or chemical cleaners.
7) Ask for flooring products made from rapidly renewable resources, such as bamboo. Bamboo is one of the fasted growing plants in the world, requiring no replanting and little fertilization or pesticides.
8) Select solid woods harvested from sustainably-managed forests, when possible, for furniture or cabinetry, rather than pressed woods or composites that may contain formaldehyde or other chemicals that may be toxic and hazardous to your health.
9) Eliminate waste by choosing products that are biodegradable or recyclable. Consider the “lifecycle” of furnishings and accessories before purchasing: Are they made of materials that can be reused or recycled when the item eventually wears out or is no longer needed?
10) Recycle packing and shipping materials from any newly purchased items, and safely dispose of paint cans and other containers with contents that could potentially contaminate the ground or water supply.
11) Install exterior window shades on Southern and Western exposure windows.
12. Install insulation in attic and crawl space and install attic fans.

13) Speak with a friendly Energy Consultant from Energy Savers and start going green today!

Benefits of Green Roofs

Green roofs are booming in popularity because they bring multiple benefits to buildings and to communities.
These benefits include:
Reducing roof replacement costs. In Minnesota, a typical gravel-ballasted flat roof is expected to perform for 15-20 years before replacement is necessary. Roof membranes deteriorate when exposed to the hot and cold temperature extremes we experience in Minnesota, and also when exposed to UV radiation from sunlight. The components of a green rooftop protect a roof membrane from these aging factors. The membrane under a green rooftop can be expected to perform for 35 – 50 years before replacement is necessary. This means that a building can avoid 1 – 2 roof replacements over a 50-year lifespan. This reduces life cycle costs as well as significantly reducing the volume of roofing materials deposited in our landfills.
Reducing energy costs. Green roofs can reduce heating and cooling demands. During a Minnesota winter, the insulation layer and growing medium of a green roof can add r-value to a building’s roof. In the summer, the impact is more significant. Living plant material evaporating moisture from leaf surfaces will cool the rooftop surface, reducing cooling demand up to 25 percent.
Reducing stormwater management costs. An extensive green roof with four inches of growing medium can be expected to hold a one-inch rainfall event before any water runs off the roof surface. Nearly all the rainfall events we receive in Minnesota are less than one inch. This four-inch green roof can be expected to capture two-thirds of the rain that falls on its surface. With a deeper layer of growing medium or with rainwater or greywater harvesting systems, a green roof can be used to manage a significantly larger volume of water. As a part of a building’s stormwater management infrastructure, a green roof can reduce the cost of other stormwater management systems, and in some cities can reduce monthly stormwater management fees. The City of Minneapolis uses a stormwater utility fee structure that provides incentives for using green roofs to manage stormwater on-site.
Improving urban air quality.. Green space is good for air quality. Green rooftops provide opportunities to increase the amount of green space in densely developed urban areas where green space can be hard to find. A 1998 study by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities developed a model showing that, if six percent of the rooftop surfaces in the City of Toronto were replaced with green rooftops, the additional green space would remove 30 tons of airborne particulate pollution each year.
Mitigating Climate Change and the Urban Heat Island Effect. Urban areas like Minneapolis-Saint Paul are generally 2 – 5 degrees (f) warmer than surrounding rural areas. This is known as the Urban Heat Island effect. On top of that, the USEPA projects a 2 – 7 degree (f) increase in aggregate temperature for our region over the course of the 21st Century. It is projected that a three-degree aggregate temperature increase in Minneapolis would triple annual heat-related deaths from 60 to nearly 200.  By cooling rooftop surfaces and improving air quality, a critical mass of green rooftops can mitigate all of these impacts.
Providing urban green space. Green roofs can provide opportunities for significant green space amenities in urban areas. East Village Apartments in the Elliot Park neighborhood of Minnepaolis features an at-grade green rooftop installed over underground parking. The green space includes picnic tables and provides an amenity to this affordable housing development. The green rooftop at Brit’s Pub on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis can be used for lawn bowling and private parties. And pedestrians using the Loring Greenway in Minneapolis may not even realize that they are walking on green roof surfaces above occupied spaces. Hospital administrators know that patients who can see green space outside their windows can recover more quickly. Nursing home and elder care facilities can use green roofs as part of horticultural therapy programs.

Energy conservation plan

Energy conservation plan

Within the “Business As Usual” scenario, YJay has listed seven substantive challenges:

1. Electricity supply is not keeping up with demand.
2. Energy prices have risen substantially in recent years and this trend is expected to continue.
3. Global Warming and the emission of greenhouse gases are expected to increase.
4. Today, government has much less authority over the supply and price of electricity than it did before the Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act (EDECA) of 1999.

5. Renewable energy development and implementation progress is slow.

6. Electric grid upgrading is imperative

7. Energy storage development must advance and utilized

States will have to be overcome the challenges identified above between 2008 and the year 2021. The “Business As Usual” scenario includes no State action in those intervening years.

The consequence of inaction is an estimated 61% increase in the total cost of energy consumed in 2021, as compared to 2004, totaling in excess of $26 billion. Greenhouse gas emissions in 2021 are predicted to be 14.6% higher than they were in 2006, thus negating many of the benchmarks established by the recently enacted “Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Act”.

The “Alternative Scenario” however, outlines goals to change the way the States conducts its energy affairs. The “Alternative Scenario” lists six objectives, all involving States action:

1. Maximize energy conservation and efficiency.
2. Reduce State’s overall peak electricity demand.
3. Stimulate growth in renewable and alternative energy technologies.
4. Develop low-carbon emitting and more efficient power plants in order to close the gap between electricity supply and demand.
5. Invest in clean energy technologies and businesses to stimulate the industry’s growth within the State.

6. Develop and institute tax breaks for efficiency upgrade.

Develop alternative energy is imperative

Develop alternative energy is imperative

Fearing that today's high oil and gas prices will turn into tomorrow's severe shortages, some people are taking to the hills where they are growing their own food and learning to live without the modern conveniences that resulted from the age of relatively cheap energy. Some are also stocking up on guns and ammo, concerned that anarchy will result when the oil begins to run out. How often have we heard this kind of scenario in modern history? In the 1950s and early 1960s well-stocked bomb shelters were a popular addition to suburban homes. When the Soviet Union, the bitter ideological enemy of the United States, obtained the atomic bomb, many became convinced that a nuclear exchange would follow. This hysteria was repeated when the Cold War heated up in the 1980s. Both superpowers had their massive nuclear arsenals on hair-trigger response, prepared to launch within minutes at the first sign the enemy had begun an attack. Accidental nuclear annihilation became a distinct possibility. So some folks took to the hills in remote areas of the country that were least likely to see the fallout from a nuclear war. As the year 2000 approached, Y2K fear gripped the country. This time the fear centered on concerns that our computer-dependent society would crumble when computers were unable to handle a year date that did not begin with 19. Again some stocked up on supplies and ammunition. After the spectacularly violent terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, some survivalists became convinced that Armageddon was around the corner. Fears of more attacks, of plagues being unleashed and water supplies poisoned, gripped the country. And again, some headed for higher ground. The common theme of all these episodes is that the impulse to flee for survival, though over-reactive, was based in some reality. Fortunately the United States, as a society and a nation, reacted more rationally to the threats. Successive disarmament treaties were approved to try and reduce the chance of nuclear war. And ultimately, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the two nations moved away from their hair-trigger policies. In the wake of 2001, security was stepped up across the nation and efforts made to repair the holes in the intelligence net that made the 9/11 attacks possible. While certainly the threat remains, the rash of attacks that some feared has not materialized. Fear that an energy crisis looms are not irrational. It does appear that oil production has reached a plateau, even as worldwide demand continues to increase. If the current situation goes unaddressed, it is possible, even likely, that shortages will result. But rather than flee for safety, society must again deal with a problem. Every effort must be made to promote and develop alternative forms of energy. Lifestyles need to change to significantly reduce energy use - including development of mass transit, encouraging housing development that allows people to live near their places of work and the use of energy-efficient products and vehicles. This is not a problem that the world can drill its way out of. Putting new oil fields on line will take years and at most will simply offset fields that are in depletion. As a society we need to agree on changing how we live. Stocking up on supplies and guns does not solve problems, and could potentially exacerbate them by causing panic. But ignoring the threat we face is also not the answer. It is time to come to grips with the energy problem, not flee from it.

Runaway Energy Costs – causing inflation and panic

Runaway Energy Costs – causing inflation and panic

Spurred by soaring energy costs, food prices and other goods and services have risen nearly 20 percent or more in the past 20 months — more than double the usual increase.

Commodity prices for corn, wheat, soybeans and other staples have been skyrocketing over the past year to more than double their prices from 2006.

Economists have also pointed toward the growing demand for grains for ethanol and other biofuels, tying the price of corn to the price of oil and increasing the pressure and demand for land use.
“It is important to note the contribution of runaway energy prices to the retail cost of food goods and services. “Transportation, processing and packaging all cost significantly more now than in prior years.”
The snowball effect of soaring energy prices is causing increased prices for all goods and services, from food, medical, construction and other material.
Speculation is often criticized as the cause of surging grain prices. But the current abnormal price increases could not have occurred without firm demand. Indeed, farmers are cultivating cash plants while buyers are seeking cheaper alternatives, forming a chain of price surges.
World food production must rise by 50 percent by 2030 to meet increasing demand.

Biofuels to blame?
The increasing diversion of food and animal feed to produce biofuel, and sharply higher fuel costs have also helped to shoot prices upward, experts say.

The senate and the House should call for expanded funding for weatherization and tax credits for other energy-saving programs, $100 billion for expansion of mass transit systems, $100 billion for renewable energy development and renewable energy projects and $50 billion in bonds for roads, bridges and other transportation projects.
Traders are also at fault

A boom in speculation and trading by investment banks and hedge funds has put our energy markets on steroids. Contract volume in the futures markets has risen by a third in just the last year. Oil closed at a record high of $125.96 a barrel (USO: , , ) on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday. That's double the price two years ago, a difference clearly caused by market manipulation.

This isn't complicated finance. The way traders push up prices is surprisingly simple. They buy in European futures markets, which don't have the limits that U.S. markets do. That drives up U.S. prices where they may already have positions. It's a move to think about next time one of these exchange chiefs talks about all of the benefits of "market globalization."

None of it would matter except that these markets are supposed to be driven by supply and demand. China and other rapidly growing countries may be using more, or will use more resources, but the reality is that demand and supply haven't changed enough to warrant the price of oil doubling in less than three years.

Hedge Funds and Banks driving oil prices
In the most recent sustained run-up in energy prices, large financial institutions, hedge funds, pension funds, and other investors have been pouring billions of dollars into the energy commodities markets to try to take advantage of price changes or hedge against them. Most of this additional investment has not come from producers or consumers of these commodities, but from speculators seeking to take advantage of these price changes. The CFTC defines a speculator as a person who “does not produce or use the commodity, but risks his or her own capital trading futures in that commodity in hopes of making a profit on price changes.”

The large purchases of crude oil futures contracts by speculators have, in effect, created an additional demand for oil, driving up the price of oil for future delivery in the same manner that additional demand for contracts for the delivery of a physical barrel today drives up the price for oil on the spot market. As far as the market is concerned, the demand for a barrel of oil that results from the purchase of a futures contract by a speculator is just as real as the demand for a barrel that results from the purchase of a futures contract by a refiner or other user of petroleum.

Perhaps 60% of oil prices today pure speculation

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley today are the two leading energy trading firms in the United States. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase are major players and fund numerous hedge funds as well who speculate.

In June 2006, oil traded in futures markets at some $60 a barrel and the Senate investigation estimated that some $25 of that was due to pure financial speculation. One analyst estimated in August 2005 that US oil inventory levels suggested WTI crude prices should be around $25 a barrel, and not $60.

That would mean today that at least $50 to $60 or more of today’s $115 a barrel price is due to pure hedge fund and financial institution speculation. However, given the unchanged equilibrium in global oil supply and demand over recent months amid the explosive rise in oil futures prices traded on Nymex and ICE exchanges in New York and London it is more likely that as much as 60% of the today oil price is pure speculation. No one knows officially except the tiny handful of energy trading banks in New York and London and they certainly aren’t talking.

By purchasing large numbers of futures contracts, and thereby pushing up futures prices to even higher levels than current prices, speculators have provided a financial incentive for oil companies to buy even more oil and place it in storage. A refiner will purchase extra oil today, even if it costs $135 per barrel, if the futures price is even higher.

As a result, over the past two years crude oil inventories have been steadily growing,

resulting in US crude oil inventories that are now higher than at any time in the previous eight years. The large influx of speculative investment into oil futures has led to a situation where we have both high supplies of crude oil and high crude oil prices.

Compelling evidence also suggests that the oft-cited geopolitical, economic, and natural factors do not explain the recent rise in energy prices can be seen in the actual data on crude oil supply and demand. Although demand has significantly increased over the past few years, so have supplies.

Over the past couple of years global crude oil production has increased along with the increases in demand; in fact, during this period global supplies have exceeded demand, according to the US Department of Energy. The US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently forecast that in the next few years global surplus production capacity will continue to grow to between 3 and 5 million barrels per day by 2010, thereby “substantially thickening the surplus capacity cushion.”

Compiled by:  YJay Draiman

The Energy Crisis

The Energy Crisis

A bank is a legally instituted body for money transactions and savings and loans, or at least that is one way to interpret what a bank does. The fudging of the lines began when building societies and cooperatives began their acts. Then just a few years ago the cash back on cards started in supermarkets and then the lines got even more hazy when insurances, loans and other types of financial services started to be offered at the shopping point, where transactions are processed.

Not to be outdone the power companies that used to favour pre payment cards, have in their words ‘in trying to crack down on fraud we are now introducing a key card system’, that old scapegoat, heard a lot about it but seen little evidence to back up the claims, do we really believe the trumped up charges in the falling crime rate in Britain. The evidence shows us that banks have been using unscrupulous methods against their own customers. Three days to commit instant electronic transfers where the credit is able to cover the transactions immediately. High risk investors loosing billions, and being allowed to chase bad debts, using clients money to earn interest on unsecured loans and high risk mortgages, selling them off to unsuspecting brokers after they have been re packaged. Throwing good money after bad and still making sure that their shareholders get their profits first and foremost and then robbing the public kitty, in a time when local authorities cannot afford to meat their commitments to public services and are cutting back because they cant afford them. The government in its wisdom will sacrifice refuse collection in favour of lending to the private sector mismanagers that couldn’t handle the money properly when they had it and before they threw it away in speculation, that’s gambling to anyone that need it explained. 

Now into the market in a sneaky bid to directly bill us as they like when they like. The power companies are changing the meters to make remote readings a possibility, even with their previous bad record at guess readings and bad billing practices they think there is nothing wrong with that. With the new key card they can take our money at the source and completely clear any outstanding bill before your payment swill allow you to put credit into the meter. In real terms the defaulter at the moment can arrange to pay five pounds a week to any outstanding bill and still put ten pounds worth in to get power to live off. When the new arrangement is in place that will not be possible.

Having watched my power consumption in the summer and the winter, the electric cost more in the summer when we use less power and after another reading in the autumn the electric last longer and costs less in the winter when we all use more. As far as we are led to believe the costs of generating electricity does not fluctuate so is it a cash flow problem and now it takes a meter reading to be done, but when the new key cards are introduced across the board under the guise of fraud prevention they really will be able to extract cash at source and penalise the unfortunate defaulters.

The new meters will be able to be remotely switched off without having to gain access to the premises. So the judge the jury and the executioner will have total autonomy and can do as they please without having to apply to the eroding legal base for the rights to take some ones life giving energy away from them. They no longer need to seek permission to enter properties, they no longer need to pay meter readers and they can extract the full bill before you are allowed to have any power to live off. They have all proved by their actions that they cannot be trusted with this sort of power and the worst offence is to make it an automatic process by a ‘provider’ now there is a contradiction in terms.

David Davis stood up as one man but I think he will find that fate and public opinion will make him the man of the moment the lynch pin that turned a tide from the impersonal erosion of the law as arbitrator between the corporate machine and the human suffering it will cause as it churns along and forces people to take out litigation to bring them into check. We live in the land of ‘Big Brother’ and that isn’t the TV program and this isn’t entertainment. The voiceless men and women of this society will find that they will only have one course of action left and that will be when the ballot box comes out to solicit our proxy from the potential representatives of our rights at court. The only option left will be a no vote a massive abstention from the poles a country wide vote of no confidence in a system that we fund and pay for that does not serve our needs but is just an enforcement arm for the corporate entity.

After all they have a voting system that incorporated the No vote and the Yes votes and even the abstainers are counted. Yet we have an inclusive only system that ignores the majority of non voters in a so called democratic society that is under the impression that it is electing the majority into power. The silent majority still have the biggest majority and yet they have been ignored for centuries in this one set of rules for the elite and a reduced set for the inferiors. A two tier society and yet they vetoed a two tier vote on the EU. Double those standards and place your bets.

The circumnavigation of civil rights and civil liberties is further compounded by the growing autonomy of the corporate entity and its direct imposition of rules over laws and rights.

Careful who you give your power away to it may just come back to haunt you.

Simple ways to save energy and utility costs

Simple ways to save energy and utility costs

1. Use power strips. With today’s technology we have got more than lights to worry about. At least when you turn a light off, it is off. Not so with your TV, your computer, you’re VCR, fax, copier, stereo and dozens of other appliances. (You can use a gadget called Kill-a-watt to check out you usage – it costs about $25)

Check it out. Wait until your laptop is shut down and check it out. Lights still on, right? And check out the power adapter. Maybe it's warm? That's because it's still using electricity. It's called phantom power, but on your electric bill, it's definitely real -- a few bucks a year per plug. If you have as many electronic gadgets as I do, that adds up fast. To save that money -- and the environment -- use power strips, and turn them off when you're not using what's plugged into them. Utilize energy saving power supplies. Fax/Copy machines, computer and monitors that power down automatically.

2. Buy fluorescent bulbs. (The incandescent is going to be outlawed in the near future) If you have tried fluorescent bulbs before and hated them, it's time to try again. They are also available for flood/spot lights. They are not the huge, clunky, and slow-to-turn-on, like they used to be. The newest ones -- twisted like a soft-serve ice cream cone -- turn on instantly and cast a warm light. Yes, they're more expensive (around $2-$5 each), but they use about a quarter of the electricity of a traditional incandescent bulb and last 10 times as long, so they end up saving you a ton of money.

Replacing just six incandescent bulbs will cut your annual carbon dioxide emissions by 600 pounds and trim your electric bill by as much as $35 each year. Install occupancy sensors indoor and or photocell for outside lighting; utilize solar/photovoltaic light fixtures and or LED for exterior lighting.

3. Buy 'green' energy. Almost every utility company now offers alternative sources of energy -- and some of it is green. (Your local utility will continue to bill you for the power. It will also charge you a per-kilowatt-hour fee for delivering the power. So be sure that when you compare prices, you are comparing the cost of the green power with what your utility is charging for supplying conventional power, not for delivering it.) Many power companies are mandated, to offer clean, emission-free electricity from several different providers. Signing up is a breeze. Our electricity now comes from wind and hydroelectric, and it costs us just a penny or two more per kilowatt hour than traditional power. (Check various economic tariffs available to you by the utility company).

4. Put plastic on your windows and caulk and putty. It can cost a fortune to replace old, leaky windows. But you can save significant amounts of heating oil much less expensively each winter with a simple clear-plastic-and-sticky-tape window insulation kit. If your windows, like mine, are too big for the standard sizes, get a patio door kit.

Once up, the insulation is almost invisible. For a small fraction of the cost of new windows, it will save you about half the energy that new windows would. For even greater savings, buy a programmable thermostat -- and program it. Surprisingly, about two thirds of the people who buy programmable thermostats never actually use the feature. Install ceiling fans. Outside the windows you can install awning or plant trees.

5. Buy polyester. Yes, really. A recent study by some Cambridge University scientists found that -- over their respective lives -- a polyester blouse uses about 45% of the energy of a cotton T-shirt.

True, the study makes some assumptions that may not apply to you: that you drip-dry the blouse and tumble-dry and iron the T-shirt, for instance. But the point is that the obvious environmental choice may not be the best one. Polyester takes a lot more energy than cotton to manufacture, but much less to maintain. When thinking about a product's environmental footprint, you need to look at its entire life cycle, from manufacture to disposal.

6. Put up a clothesline. To drip-dry all that polyester -- and your cotton, too -- try taking a page out of your grandmother's book and hang it on the line. Air-dried fabrics smell wonderful -- and those fresh breezes help to discourage wrinkles.

If you don't have a lot of outdoor space, get an umbrella dryer, which folds up when not in use. You'll save yourself about $85 a year -- and keep more than 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

7. Start a compost heap. Disposing of garbage -- whether by dumping it in landfills or by recycling it --

Takes energy. You can save that energy, and feed your garden, by using it for compost instead. No room in your garden? Or no garden at all? Get a worm composter; it will turn your kitchen scraps and shredded newspapers into rich, dark soil that your houseplants will love. (And no, they don't smell.)

8. Wrap your water heater. Americans spend $18 billion a year to heat water, and some simple measures could save about two-thirds of that cost.

You can cut the amount of fuel you use to heat the water (and save about $30 a year) by insulating your water heater with a simple jacket (available at most hardware stores for around $20). To save further, think about ways of using less hot water: fixing leaks, installing efficient showerheads, washing your clothes in cold water. When replacing water heater, use tankless system – you save energy and calcification of the pipes.

9. Dam your toilet. If you're concerned about the environment, you need to worry about cold water, too, since water itself is becoming an increasingly scarce resource.

Americans are water hogs; we use about 100 gallons a day each. And roughly one-third of that goes straight down the toilet. A toilet dam, which stops some of the water from leaving the tank when you flush, can cut that by as much as 20%, but it's a specialty product.

A more readily available product is called a "tank bank" -- a glorified plastic bottle with a valve that keeps some of the water in your tank from going out when you flush. The goal is to save water by preventing the tank from emptying completely each time you flush. You can even use an old plastic bottle from your recycling bin. Cost: $0. Utilize rainwater and shower waste water to water your lawn.

10. Buy antiques. Any time you buy a used product instead of a new one (especially from a local seller), you're making sure one less product has to be manufactured, packaged and shipped, with all the emissions those processes cause. In most cases, you'll save money as well.

Most manufacturers sell refurbished appliances that work as well as the new ones and cost a lot less. Some even come with the same warranty as a new one. For furniture, try Craigslist. For clothes, check out your local vintage shops. Chances are you'll not just save money, and the earth -- you'll get something with more style, too.

11. Insulate your attic and your HVAC ducts, Install attic fans, humidifiers, dehumidifiers and ERV – Energy Recovery Ventilation (it brings in fresh air and takes out stale polluted air from indoors)

12.  Many utilities and governmental agencies offer incentives, rebates, tax credits and financing for implementing energy efficiency and conservation (some offer free CFL light-bulbs and energy audits). Take advantage of those programs.