Environment, Organics, Fair Trade & Recycling at Big Green Purse

Insulate Now to Reduce High Air Conditioning Costs

Most people don't think about insulating their homes until the fall. With winter looming, consumers know that higher heating costs will hit them right where it hurts - in their pocket books.

But guess what? As climate change increases, it is becoming more expensive to cool your home in the summer than heat it in the winter. Here's a copy of my 2012 electricity bill, which shows how much electricity I use month to month and compares 2012 overall to 2011. (I have an electric heat pump for both heating and cooling). I use almost twice as much energy to cool my home in July and August than to heat it in November and December!

All of which is to say that, as we face another blistering summer, now is a smart time to think about insulating your home to keep hot air out and cooled air in.

The Mark Group, a company based in the United Kingdom but with offices in Philadelphia, Delaware, and New Jersey, is sponsoring this post to let you know what energy-saving options you can take advantage of right now. They include:

Do Your Kids Think Saving Energy Is Important? Enter Contest by May 31.

Team ENERGY STAR, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's program to help kids and families understand why saving energy is important, has launched a contest to encourage kids to tell us in their own worlds why energy efficiency makes a difference.

To enter, all kids need to do is share their stories on the Team ENERGY STAR web page. The "story" can be told in words, pictures, video, slides, animation, drawings...the sky's (almost) the limit! The deadline for entering is May 31.

EPA and ENERGY STAR will recognize those who tell the best, most inspiring stories with a variety of energy-efficient electronic prizes from LG, including:

·      Smart phones

·      Feature phones

·      27 inch LED televisions

·      Computer monitors

·      MP3 Docking Stations

 PLUS: YOUR CHILD'S NAME IN LIGHTS

Winners’ names and photos will be broadcast on LG’s billboard in New York's Times Square in conjunction with a Twitter Party on June 7, #TeamENERGYSTAR.

Go to the Team ENERGY STAR website now to get more details and encourage your kids to share their story! (http://www.energystar.gov/team)

US-China Greener Consumption Forum Lays Groundwork for Future Projects Together

How can the world's two consumer "superpowers"- the U.S. and China - work together to reduce the impact that consumption has on us and our world?

  That was the topic a capacity crowd addressed on March 22 at the U.S. - China Greener Consumption Forum. The event, held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and co-sponsored by Big Green Purse and the International Fund for China's Environment, pulled together scientists, consumer advocates, public policy advocates, and green entrepreneurs to share ideas about strategies to inspire manufacturers to create greener goods -- and get consumers to buy them.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The Forum focused primarily on women because women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the  marketplace – and we’re not just buying cheese doodles and diapers. As I say here on CCTV, the national television network of China, we buy more clothes.  More food.  More cosmetics and personal care products than men. We also buy more electronics, more home furnishings, almost as many tools, just as many cars. Women are spending billions of dollars, day in and day out, year in and year out.

But even with all that clout, we won’t be able to use this power of the purse effectively until we achieve true gender equity worldwide, points that both Ban Li, Deputy Counsel of the Shaanxi Women's Federation, and Liane Shalatek, Associate Director of the Heinrich Boll Foundation North America, made very powerfully.

 Christine Robertson of Earth Day Network facilitated a provocative panel on the impacts consumption has on our health and the health of the planet. Sarah Vogel of Environmental Defense Fund (pictured  right) was peppered with questions after her presentation on the way the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) affects the reproductive systems of men and women alike.

Ping He of the International Fund for China's Environment, the co-sponsor with Big Green Purse of the Forum, moderated the session on barriers to sustainable consumption and solutions that help surmount them. Meaningful eco-labels and standards can make a big difference, pointed out Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Green Seal, especially when those standards are set by an indendent third party (like Green Seal is) whose primary interest is not in selling products, but in helping manufacturers become more sustainable over time.

LISA JACKSON, Former EPA Administrator

 Lisa Jackson's luncheon keynote address was the highlight of the day for many people. As a mom, scientist, and long-time public servant, Lisa has a unique appreciation for the impact consumption has on us as individuals and on society as a whole. She spoke movingly about being the first African-American to serve as head of the EPA and how important it is to bring women as well as people of color and low-income populations into the conversations we're having about pollution and climate change.

Lisa noted that her favorite law is the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act because it empowers people to protect themselves wherever they live. She is also proud of technology EPA has shared with the city of Shanghai to help monitor air pollution there.

Lisa agreed that the way we use both the purse and the pocketbook can inspire manufacturers to reduce pollution and energy consumption.

I am Voting for Barack Obama because We are Greener than We were Four Years Ago.

Are we “greener” than we were four years ago?

 Yes, we are, and Barack Obama deserves a lot of the credit.

 Despite strident anti-environmental opponents on Capitol Hill, President Obama has managed to use the power of his office – deployed primarily through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of the Interior – to make our air and water cleaner, to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, to protect our public lands, and to attack the climate change that causes extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy.

Is his job done? Not by a long shot. But are we making progress? Definitely. I’m supporting the President for a second term because I think he offers our best hope in this election to continue to make progress in the future. 

This all became extremely clear to me earlier this week, as Hurricane Sandy was ripping away part of my roof. While I huddled in my basement listening to the terrifying wind and the torrential rain, I found myself getting mad, not just about what it would cost me to repair the damage, but about the reasons behind this catastrophic storm. Meteorologists, scientists, environmentalists, public health professionals, concerned citizens, and yes, President Obama, have all made the link between burning fossil fuels like coal and oil and extreme weather events like Sandy, let alone Hurricane Katrina and many others. And they’ve tried to throw the weight of their various offices behind solutions that would help wean us from fossil fuels.  

 Meanwhile, conservative forces in Congress and many state houses around the country have blocked legislation that would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and opposed efforts to increase energy efficiency and the development of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Bolstered by their conservative colleagues on Capitol Hill and pressured by Tea Party activists, Republican challenger Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, his running mate, have dismissed climate change, have literally said they “love” coal, and would strive to cripple the EPA if they were elected to office.

 Maybe to some people, this is just “talk.” But as someone who has worked in Washington, D.C. to promote environmental protection during the Carter years, the Reagan years, the Bush 1 years, the Clinton years, the Bush 2 years, and now the last four years of the Obama Administration, I can say, and say unequivocally, that environmental policy consistently fares worse under Republican administrations than under Democratic ones. As Sandy has shown, the planet very much faces a climate change tipping point. Obama is on one side, Romney on the other. For me, siding with Obama is a no brainer.

Has Obama accomplished nearly enough? No.

 Do I wish more change had happened? Of course.

 But we should not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

ENERGY STAR Essay Contest Shines Spotlight on Energy-Saving Kids

Saving energy is not just for grown-ups. As EPA’s Team ENERGY STAR has shown, lots of kids have become devoted to energy efficiency, too. They’re not shy about telling you why, either. In fact, hundreds of kids have entered the Team’s Share Your Story essay contest .  Several of their posts are featured in this special Team ENERGY STAR bloggers carnival. If you’re inspired by what even the youngest children have learned about energy and climate change (and who wouldn’t be?), why not ask your kids to enter the contest, too? The deadline for submissions is September 17.

Anne at Flour Sack Mama reports, “When I gave my elementary-aged kid a chance to enter the Team ENERGY STAR essay contest, explaining that the focus was saving energy, she gravitated, on her own, to telling how much she loves trees. Sure, she learned the connection from the story of the Lorax.  But I think she gets it, on a deeper level, because she plays outdoors….Of course, the new Team ENERGY STAR initiative does a great job of tying one family's household savings into the bigger picture. Less energy used now means a brighter future for our kids and grandkids and for the place they need to call home long after the rest of us are gone.  At our house, it truly is the little things that we focus on, like better habits of turning off those light switches.  We also made sure to purchase the Energy Star model when we needed to replace our dishwasher.”

 Shane at Environmental Booty proudly  posted the amazing video her young daughter made. The video shows a simulated conversation between two very “hip” sisters, one of whom has a lot to learn when it comes to energy efficiency. “My daughter and I, and even her two sisters, really had fun taking part in the Team Energy Star Share Your Story contest.  Sure, it took finding some time in our hectic lives that was certainly hard to find.  But it brought us all together to go green, created some fun memories with my girls, and gave my Lexie one more reason to feel good about herself.” 

Essay Contest Gives Kids a Chance to Show What They Really Know About Saving Energy – and Win Some Prizes, Too.

 

 

 

What do your kids really know about saving energy? Here’s your chance to find out. Team ENERGY STAR, the Environmental Protection Agency’s program to teach kids about energy efficiency, is holding an essay contest for kids. The purpose of the contest is two-fold.  First and foremost, Team ENERGY STAR wants to recognize kids for the wonderful steps they’re taking to use energy more efficiently, and they’ve got all kinds of great prizes to award to show their appreciation. But here’s another important reason: They want to inspire other kids to use energy more efficiently, too.

The Essay Contest: It couldn’t be simpler. Kids who submit an essay to the Share Your Story page and then click on the DoSomething Team ENERGY STAR Challenge immediately become eligible for a number of prizes, including:

• The new Lorax DVD, which will go to the first 100 kids to submit essays
• 25 winners will receive ENERGY STAR certified electronics products donated by LG Electronics, including televisions, computer monitors, smart phones, and mouse scanners
• Top winners will also be featured in Times Square on the LG billboard.
• Plus, some of the winners may have a chance to participate in ENERGY STAR day in October with EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Essays will be judged based on the following:

• Creativity/Ingenuity: How did you use Team ENERGY STAR resources to develop a home energy-saving idea that both worked for your family and saved energy? Make sure you explain the energy-saving approach and its relationship to ENERGY STAR as well as how it fits with your family. For example, where your home energy-saving opportunities are and how your family functions day to day.
• Energy Savings: How effective was your idea in engaging the family to save energy? How much energy was saved? Explain how you and your family implemented your idea. For example, what worked, what didn't, and why you think it was successful. What did you learn from the process and how do you plan to use your ideas and lessons learned to keep saving energy?

The “essay” can be a written story; a photo essay; a video; a slide show; a drawing; or any other way kids want to show what they have learned about energy efficiency, just so long as it can be uploaded to the ENERGY STAR story page here. Kids can submit stories any time between now and September 17.   Prizewinners will be announced by October 10.

My Utility Company Give Me $200 When I Bought My New Refrigerator. Maybe Yours Will, Too.

Refrigerators use more electricity that any other single appliance in your home. Why? Because they're on all the time. There are a few ways you can improve the efficiency of a refrigerator you already own, but if you have an older model, it could make a lot of financial sense to replace it with something new - especially if your utility company, like mine, helps foot the bill.

I held on to my refrigerator for 27 years! But finally, we needed a new one. The seals on the old one were cracked, the drawers were broken, the door handle was chipped, and mold was starting to build up in places I couldn't keep clean. The old fridge still kept my food pretty cold, but it was depressing and unhealthy to use. And being as old as it was, I suspected it was using much more energy than newer models.

As you can imagine, I wasn't wild about spending hundreds or maybe even a thousand dollars or more on a new fridge. I was relieved when I learned that Pepco, my electric utility, would give me a $150 rebate if I bought the most energy-efficient refrigerator available to meet my needs. Pepco would also pay me $50 if I let them recycle my old fridge. With $200 guaranteed off the price of the appliance, I went shopping! I ended up buying this Whirlpool pictured above. Here's how.

Kids Drive Moms' Passion to Save Energy, Join Team ENERGY STAR

Using energy efficiently is the key to many of the health, environmental and even financial crises we face. Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil pollutes our air and water, contributes to asthma and other respiratory problems, and is a major cause of climate change. It's up to all of us to do what we can to make a difference, and most of us try to do our part, especially where our families are concerned. That job has gotten a little easier with the launch of Team ENERGY STAR, a new program to get kids and their parents engaged in simple actions that collectively can have a big impact.

The program has received a strong welcome from many moms who have made the connection between their kids' future and the energy we use. Here are some of the reasons why they care and what they're doing about it.

Tired of Telling Your Kids to Turn Off The Lights? Let Team ENERGY STAR Do It!

Using energy efficiently can be as simple as turning off the lights or computer when they’re not being used. The challenge is getting people – especially kids – to pay heed.  Starting today, the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program is going to make that task much easier, especially for us parents!

ENERGY STAR is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program that helps us save money and protect the environment and our health through energy-efficient products and practices.  In 2011 alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 41 million cars — all while saving $23 billion on their utility bills and reducing the pollution that contributes to heart disease, asthma and allergies.

 As impressive as that is, the job is far from done. Climate change is still rising, and our health and the health of our kids is still at stake.  We can make a difference by teaching our kids to save more energy at home. That’s where Team ENERGY STAR comes in.

 Team ENERGY STAR is EPA’s new initiative to engage and educate American youth and their families about saving energy at home. Team ENERGY STAR gives kids and families knowledge and tools they can use to preserve our environment, help protect the climate and create a healthier world.

 I’ve already joined the team myself. But one person a “team” does not make. We all need to join in and do our part. Here are three important reasons why I think it’s worth your while.

 
First, without question, energy efficiency makes life healthier for our children and family. Climatechange will likely increase the number of people suffering from illness and injury due to more pollution, extreme heat, floods, storms, droughts and fires as well as allergies and infectious disease. The elderly, the very young, the disabled, and the poor alone are especially vulnerable, as are people with heart disease or asthma. Climate change is also expected to cause more severe allergy symptoms because a warmer climate promotes the growth of molds, weeds, grasses and trees that cause allergic reactions. The more efficiently we all use energy, the less likely we are to get sick.

Second, Team ENERGY STAR will make your job explaining energy efficiency to your children easier. I know that sometimes my kids think I’m a broken record, the way I nag them to turn off the lights and their computers. But the activities Team ENERGY STAR has come up with offer a creative and fun way to motivate the whole family to feel like they’re doing their part together to save energy. With Dr. Seuss’ the Lorax as the engaging theme for Team ENERGY STAR, kids can learn and have fun at the same time. 

Finally, joining Team ENERGY STAR will help you save money. The typical household spends more than $2,100 per year on energy. With ENERGY STAR, you can save over one-third, or more than $700, on your household energy bills without sacrificing features, style or comfort. 

 Team ENERGY STAR has already lined up some important and influential partners, like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Do Something, one of the largest organizations in the U.S. for teens and social change. But it’s up to each and every one of us to reach our own kids and families.

Kids can join Team ENERGY STAR by visiting energystar.gov/team where they will get easy-to-download educational and interactive materials, such as a comprehensive Action Kit, the ENERGY STAR Home Check-Up, a Lorax activity booklet and a Lorax mustache-making kit. Kids are also encouraged to come back and share their stories about protecting the environment by saving energy, which will be showcased on energystar.gov/changetheworld and throughout social media.

In fact, Team ENERGY STAR is part of a multi-year EPA campaign, Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR, developed to engage Americans of all ages in saving energy and money and protecting the environment with ENERGY STAR. Millions of people are getting involved, joining their neighbors in this grassroots movement to help protect the climate by saving energy. You can see how people and organizations all over are making a difference with ENERGY STAR by viewing EPA’s ENERGY STARs Across America map.

  You can also attend an event in your area to learn ways to take control of your energy bills while contributing to a cleaner environment. Plus, if you take the ENERGY STAR Pledge at energystar.gov/pledge, you’ll join 2.8 million other Americans who are taking action to protect the climate.

 If every American household took part in the Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR Pledge, we would: save more than 126 billion KWh/yr of electricity, save $18 billion in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions from 20 million cars.

 Get more information and join Team ENERGY STAR here.

Please leave a comment below when you join Team ENERGY STAR.

And please come back on June 12, when Big Green Purse will be hosting a carnival of posts from many bloggers who support energy efficiency and Team ENERGY STAR.

 

Full disclosure: I am a long-time independent advocate of energy-efficiency and the ENERGY STAR program. I am currently working as a paid consultant to introduce Team ENERGY STAR to parents and families.

How To Pick a New Clothes DryerThat Saves Energy and Money

When my 15-year-old clothes dryer conked out recently, I knew I wanted to replace it with the most energy-efficient dryer available that would meet my family of three's laundry needs. We probably do three full loads of laundry a week, plus towels and sheets. It's not as much as when the kids were little and I was washing their cloth diapers at home, but it is still a significant amount of laundry. 

Dryer Alternatives

Rack - In the warm weather, I use this large dryer rack for almost everything except sheets and towels. You can see a variety of other rack options here. The advantage of a dryer rack is that it's absolutely free to operate, since it uses the sun and wind to dry clothes. Where I live, in suburban Washington, D.C., I can use my rack about eight months of the year, from around the middle of March to the middle of October. I just set it up on my sunny back porch; it only takes a couple of hours for most clothes to dry. I could probably use the rack longer if I wanted to use it indoors, but it can take two or three days for my clothes to dry on the rack indoors. Most of the time, that's too long.

Clothesline - I would gladly put up a clothes line if my yard were closer to my laundry room. Many people in my neighborhood use an outdoor clothesline; it's certainly what I grew up with as a kid. But my washer and dryer are on the second floor of my house, and my yard is way below the house. It would be somewhat backbreaking to lug my laundry basket all the way down to a clothesline in the yard.

Gas vs. Electric?

Natural gas dryers are generally more efficient than electric; they also generate fewer climate change  emissions than electricity if the electricity is supplied by burning coal. Unfortunately, I didn't have much choice here, as the old dryer was electric and it would have cost a fortune to run a gas line up to my second floor to power a new dryer.

So my question became, which electric dryer would be most efficient? Normally, I'd compare the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy STAR appliance ratings to help me choose the most energy-efficient option. But unlike for clothes washers, dish washers, refrigerators, and many other electric appliances, there's no Energy STAR rating for this category.

My appliance retailer gave me some wise words of advice. "If you want to save energy," he said, "don't buy a bigger machine than you really need." The bigger the dryer, the more energy it would use. "But don't buy one that's too small, either," he warned. "Otherwise, you'll be running your dryer twice as often to dry the same amount of clothes."

After looking at various options and manufacturers, I chose this General Electric electric dryer. At 6.8 cu.ft., it is sizable but not as large as the 7.5 cu.ft. and even 9.0 cu.ft. models. No matter. It came with all the essentials:

^ An Auto Dry function that monitors air temperatures to set drying times

^ Very simple controls

^ 4 heat selections (Cottons Regular Heat; Easy Care Medium Heat; Air Fuff No Heat; and Delicates to protect heat-sensitive fabrics and lingerie, all of which have proven more than adequate for our drying needs)

^ A humidity detector, which senses when the laundry is dry and will shut off automatically

^ a Dewrinkle cycle if I want to dry the clothes lightly so they end up less wrinkled

The only feature that we might have wanted but didn't get is a "cool down setting" which continues to tumble the clothes but not blow hot air around them.

Another advantage was the price. The machine I bought cost less than $500 installed, which was much cheaper than bigger models with more bells and whistles.

Other Ways to Save Energy Using a Clothes Dryer?

We're pretty happy with this dryer. But we still look for ways we can save energy and money drying our clothes. Here's how:

* Dry drier clothes. The wetter your clothes are when you take them out of the washing machine, the longer it will take to dry them. We use the spin cycle on our machine to get as much water out of our laundry as possible before we toss it in the dryer.

* Use the moisture sensor option, rather than timed dry. This way, the machine shuts off automatically when the clothes are dry.

* Air dry as much as possible. We generally hang shirts, blouses, pants and jeans over the shower rod in the bathroom rather than toss them in the dryer. They dry with fewer wrinkles and don't shrink, so they end up lasting longer than if we tossed them in with everything else.

 

NOTE: You can find a variety of clothes lines and rack dryer options in our Amazon store here.

 

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