Unsought Input

I find in interesting that Seattle is planning on banning bottled water.  Recently we had a post on prescription drugs in the tap water which featured a video from Penn and Teller that told how ridiculous bottled water is.  I mean, you spend 8 dollars a gallon for bottled water, which to any normal person bitching about 3.50 at the gas pumps should seem relatively ridiculous.

Seattle decided to ban bottled water for it’s city workers as a branching off from the banning the use of plastic bags in the city.   I really wish this whole thing would catch on.  Obviously people are too stupid to think that paying 8.00 a gallon for bottled water (most of it just tap water repackaged or water that does not even meet tap water regulations) is a bad thing for them, much less for the environment.

Here is the deal.  Buy reusable bags.  Buy a water bottle and drink the tap water you already pay for by paying taxes.  Save the environment.  Save yourself some money.  It’s a win-win situation.  It just makes sense, don’t you think?

In the past we’ve talked about some things that you can do to make your house more energy efficient. Some things are easy, like putting in Compact Florescent light bulbs, while others are on their way in the near future, like your own personal wind turbine.

There’s only so much you can do at home, though, and many of us live in large, air-conditioned office buildings. How could a glass-covered skyscraper possibly use less power for cooling in the summer? If you live in Toronto, it’s easy - just tie into the Deep Lake Water Cooling System.

The system, by Enwave, draws water from Lake Ontario, deep below the surface where it’s always a chilly 4 degrees Celsius. The water runs through huge heat exchangers before making its way into the city’s normal water supply. A separate cooling loop transports water chilled by the incoming lake water to various buildings in the financial district where it is used in the air conditioning system. Here’s a diagram of the system at work.

(more…)

Earlier one of our writers stumbled on a report that claimed gas-guzzling Hummers were better for the environment than hybrids like the Toyota Prius. This is one of those great stories that everyone loves - where the conventional wisdom is wrong, and we can all have a good laugh knocking someone or something off it’s high horse.

This story has been passed furiously around the Internet for a week or so, by email and blog, featured on Digg and Slashdot. It’s a good anecdote about unintended consequences and a little boost to Hummer owners who are sometimes criticized for their very conspicuous consumption.

It’s also pretty much a load of crap.

(more…)

I’m always on the lookout for ways to make my house more energy-efficient. I’m also always buying things online and having them shipped to my house. This leads to a problem - a bevy of boxes, and a plethora of packing peanuts.

Boxes can be broken down, folded up, and recycled. What to do about the packing peanuts? Could I kill two birds with one stone, and use them as fill to insulate my attic?

(more…)

I am sure that most people out there don’t really care if their car puts out a lot of carbon dioxide or whatever other bad gasses and liquids that leak from their choice mode of transit. I am sure, though, that most people care if they are getting really good gas mileage. Or if they don’t care about the mileage, yes I am talking to you Hummer and other SUV owners out there (and don’t tell me it’s for car pooling! I never seen more than two people in a SUV ever), they do care about saving money. Which buying gas less often can do for you.

Recently I have seen what GM has been experimenting with in the saving the world with better designed cars venture. I know that it will not acutally become a real car but the concept is really interesting. It’s refreshing to see that car companies still know how to be creative, and it touches my tree-hugging hippie heart that they still care about the environment. Or, at least they noticed the sales of hybrid cars and decided they needed something fresh and innovative. Let’s think about what could be cooler than a hybrid car. Something eyecatching and easy to remember. Something special. Something kinda rediculous and not manly at all. So, what am I talking about, you wonder? None other than the Hummer O2. (more…)

It turns out electric lawn mowers are better for the environment and would take some hassle from my schedule.

I have a small yard, with a lot of shade – depending on the weather, I only really need to mow every two to three weeks. When I bought the house, it seemed silly to buy a new lawn mower for such a small yard, so I accepted a hand-me-down instead. The hand-me-down has always been hard to start, and now no amount of cord pulling seems to help.

What could be wrong? Simple. It could be bad gas, old gas, water in the gas tank, sediment in the fuel filter or the bottom of the tank, a gummed up carburetor, not enough air, too much air, a dirty (or just dead) spark plug, a problem in the ignition system, or it could need an oil change. Of course I should have done more regular oil changes, changed the filters, and drained the gas before last winter.

(more…)

I’m a big fan of wind power. No, it’s not a magical solution to all energy problems. Wind turbines are a worthwhile component of a cleaner, more efficient energy grid.

As large-scale wind turbines become more popular, cost is going down and efficiency is going up. As far as I can tell, the main argument against the big windmills is that they despoil the landscape. It turns out they don’t really kill that many birds.

After seeing a few in action in Mackinaw, Michigan and on a trip to New York, I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. They’re actually pretty graceful – the new ones are so large that they don’t need to spin like a propeller to generate a lot of power.

(more…)

Are you one of those people who cares about things like energy efficiency and global warming, but you don’t go around hugging trees? If so, you’re in a tough spot – other than opting for a reasonably-sized car, there are very few things you can do to personally make an impact.

Add compact fluorescent (CF) light bulbs to the list of ways you can make the world a better place. Fast Company recently had a great article about how if every household in the United States replaced just one regular bulb with a CF bulb, we’d save enough power to run a city of 1.5 million people. Slashdot followed with some great commentary.

There are two really big problems that make it hard to be an environmentalist right now:

• Associating yourself with knee-jerk, pseudo-scientific “environmentalistsâ€? who believe in healing crystals and other claptrap, and
• Finding things you can actually do that don’t do more harm than good or require a huge, expensive sacrifice.

This is the real deal. I’ve been using CF bulbs since I got my own place a few years ago. They plug right in like regular light bulbs, most of the time you can’t tell the difference, and the prices have gone down too. They’re available at all the major retailers, and your power company has probably been recommending them in that literature they send along in your bill. But surprisingly few people seem to be using them. (more…)