Tag: green energy

People Like Renewable Energy…But Not Paying For It

March 23rd, 2011 by Steve Stillwater

At first glance, a Financial Times/Harris poll taken in late last year in the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom confirmed strong support for renewable energy. The most favored form of renewable energy was windmills. The problem is the poll also showed that no one wants to pay more for renewable energy.

Significant majorities in all six countries favored building more wind farms. The poll was not even close. An amazing 90% in Spain and 87% in the U.S. favored wind-generated electricity. All other counties polled at least 77% support.

Biofuels were also supported strongly. Subsidies to support the development of biofuels were favored by 77% of respondents in Italy, 76% in Spain and 60% in the U.S. Continue reading “People Like Renewable Energy…But Not Paying For It”

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EBook Excerpt: Week 1 – Doing Your Green Home Audit

November 17th, 2010 by Steve Stillwater

Here is the next in our weekly series of excerpts from the EBook, “6 Weeks to a Greener Lifestyle.” See the note at the end of this post for more information. — Paula

How to Get Started

First, look around your home for places where is energy being wasted. You will probably find numerous places where energy is being consumed unnecessarily in your home every day. Most are common sense once you see them, but probably escaped your attention before you looked more closely.

Consider the following three examples:

1) Stop drafts. Drafts around windows and under doors allow heat to escape in the winter and hot air to enter in the summer. These areas can be sealed to reduce those energy losses by purchasing weather stripping at your local hardware store for a few dollars.

2) Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). CFLs use about 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than traditional incandescent light bulbs. CFLs also give off a lot less heat, keeping your rooms cooler in the summer. Continue reading “EBook Excerpt: Week 1 – Doing Your Green Home Audit”

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Benefits of the Virtual Office: Dramatically Lower Energy Consumption & Carbon Emissions

September 15th, 2010 by Steve Stillwater

An estimate of the savings and environmental benefits of working from home or using a home office part-time was profiled in the April edition of Inc. Magazine. The study estimated the effects on energy consumption and carbon emissions if everyone who could work from home-about 40% of the work force-did so half of the time.

  • 100 hours per person not spent commuting
  • 50 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions cut
  • 276 million barrels of oil not needed (about 32% of Middle eastern oil imports)
  • 1,500 lives saved from auto accidents
  • $700 billion in total estimated savings to business, including $200 billion in productivity gains and $190 billion in reduced real estate expenses, utility bills, absenteeism, and employee turnover

Add to those benefits three more: less stress, better health, and more time for family.

For more tips and information on living a greener lifestyle, check out my website.

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Generate Electricity While You Play Soccer

August 23rd, 2010 by Steve Stillwater

The product is called sOccket!

It is a soccer ball that stores the energy from being kicked and bounced around, and then can be used as an electricity source when you take it home. The generated electricity can be used to light an LED lamp or charge a cell phone, for example.

This amazing gadget is the brainchild of a group of Harvard students. It will be a high-end product in Western countries, but profits will go to provide low-cost balls to Third World nations. To see a picture of the socket, go here.

Great way to have fun and save some energy!

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A Quantum of Solace: Five Easy Ways to Save Water at Home

August 4th, 2010 by Steve Stillwater

In the most recent installment of the James Bond movie series (Quantum of Solace), the bad guys were trying to take control of the fresh water supply in a South American country.

This is not such a far-fetched idea for a major crime.

Why? Because fresh water is fast becoming a scarce resource, and it is also going up in cost.

Taking steps to conserve water is an integral part of developing a greener lifestyle. Focusing on just one room in your house – the bathroom – here are five easy things you can do that will conserve water.

1. Fix toilet and faucet leaks immediately. 
A dripping faucet or running toilet waste water 24-7, and the amounts add up quickly.

2. Turn the water off while brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face. There is no need to have the faucet running continuously.

3. Take showers rather than baths and limit your showers to 5 minutes. Showers are more efficient with water than baths. 
And although I love the feeling of hot water running over me as much as anyone else, limiting showers to 5 minutes Continue reading “A Quantum of Solace: Five Easy Ways to Save Water at Home”

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