Carbon Footprint

Is It Just Me Getting Hot or Is It the World Getting Hot?

Is it hot here? Or is it the world getting hotter? Greenhouse gases are essential to the Earth because it is used to trap heat inside the atmosphere (Global Warming, 2008). With the appropriate amount of these gases, the Earth can be kept warm at the desire temperature for life. Without greenhouse gases, the Earth’s surface would be extremely cold where water will be frozen instantly. However, an excess of carbon dioxide will result an extreme temperature increase. For example, Venus, with 96.5% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, can reach a temperature of 467 degree Celsius (Greenhouse Gases, 2008). Greenhouse gases can keep us warm; however, the excessive amount can cause a global climate change.

Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases. Water vapor, being the most abundant, is essential to life. Other greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. These gases occur naturally in the cycle of life—death. With our development of industry, humans have been releasing a lot of these greenhouses gases into the atmosphere (Global Warming, 2008). Burning fossil fuels gives off most carbon dioxide while cutting down trees eliminate the balance of life. Trees take up carbon dioxide during the day for their food source through a metabolic process called photosynthesis. Without the trees, we don’t seem to find the balance to create a zero net carbon dioxide production. With our current carbon dioxide concentration at 380 parts per million (ppm), we are 100 ppm higher than a 100 years ago (Greenhouse Gases, 2008). Drilling the one of the Arctic ice, we found the carbon dioxide level is the highest in the last 650,000 years (Global Warming, 2008).

There are many consequences if we don’t stop the damage of global warming through human activities. Some predictions predict the sea level will rise in some areas. Weather patterns will be changed dramatically. Some areas might experience extreme drought while others will experience torrential rain, causing floods. The yield of the crop will become unpredictable and food shortage. Also, with the increasing temperature, diseases carry organisms such as mosquitoes will spread disease (What is Greenhouse Effect, 2005).
Global climate change would also affect animals and its habitat. A good example is polar bears. On May 14, 2008, the United Sates Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a threaten species under the Endangered Species Act. The increasing levels of greenhouse gas caused the annual sea ice in the Arctic to melt faster in the spring and forming it later in the autumn season. Polar bears, being sea ice hunters, are suffering to look for food to build up fat for the winter (Polar Bears, 2008).

You might find this surprising. Greenhouse gases do not degrade into something less harmful over time. To compare the different greenhouse gases, we will have to take a look at the term called Global Warming Potential (GWP). This is defined as the total impact over time of adding a unit of a greenhouse gas to the atmosphere (Global Warming Potential, 1997). Carbon dioxide, GWP of 1, is irrelatively low GWP compare to other greenhouse gases such as methane, 62 over 20 years, and tetrafluormethane of 5700 over a hundred years (Greenhouse Gases, 2008).

We cannot avoid global warming any longer. With the evidence right in front of us and the damaging facts about greenhouse gases, we need to come up with solutions to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The best way to do is to cut down our carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is a calculation of the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) (Time for Change, 2008). What it means is that for all the daily activities such as driving, taking a shower, watching TV, and even eating a cheeseburger will have a carbon footprint calculation (Time for Change, 2008). Some of these calculations are quite surprising. For example, for each gallon of gasoline fuel consumed, 8.7 kg carbon dioxide is emitted. Each of the following below will contribute 1 kg of carbon dioxide.

• Travel by train of bus with a distance of 7 miles.
• Fly with a plane a distance of 2.2 km or 1.375 miles.
• Use your computer for 32 hours (60 Watt consumption assumed)
• Production of 5 plastic bags
• Production of 2 plastic bottles
• Eating a third of a cheeseburger

This carbon footprint is a demonstration of how we have so much impact in the greenhouse effect. There are many things we can do to lower our carbon footprint. We c can certainly cut down energy consumption, conserving resources, recycle, and do other things such as using renewable energy as our electricity source. We can certainly change our habits in our living to make this effort go without waste.

Work Cited:

We Can Solve it. 2008. Global warming. June, 21, 2008. http://www.wecansolveit.org/content/pages/60?source=YahooSearch&subsource=Yahoo_BrandedMonitor_1x1
Wikipedia. 2008. Greenhouse Gases. June 21, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
About.com. 2008. What is Greenhouse Effect?. June 21, 2008. http://environment.about.com/od/globalwarming/a/greenhouse.htm
WWF. 2008. Polar Bears. June, 21, 2008. http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/item590.html?sc=AWY0807WCG00&searchen=google
Global Warming Potential. 2007. June 21, 2008. http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/gcp/gwpotential/gwpotential_lecture.html
Time for Change. 2008. What Is a Carbon Footprint?. June, 21, 2008. http://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition

Global Warming

Here is just a video taken from the National Geographic Channel. This is the damage we are making and this is why we are here. We are here to slow down the damage. We are here to make a change. This blog is to keep all of us motivated. This is what we need to do to help our future generations. We get all these magnificent, myjestic, and mysterious nature for free. We are responsible to keep it the way it is for the future of human kind.

Got Bottles? Let's Recycle!

Got bottles to recycle? Here are some tips!

Hey it's just a bottle right? No big deal if I don't recycle...

WRONG!

Here is something you should think about before throwing the bottles into the trash can. Sources from the American Chemisty Council.

• Every ton of plastic = 3.8 barrels of oil (42 gallons per barrel, assuming 50% convert to gasoline, so that's about 80 gallons of gasoline.)
• These recycle products can made fabrics, carpets, business suits, etc...
• In most areas, the demand for recycled plastics exceeds the supply. Over 80 perent of the U.S. homes have access to plastic recycling program.
• Plastic recycle business is on the rise. It helps to create more jobs as well.

Messenger bag made from recycled PET http://www.trailspace.com/news/2007/02/19/osprey-launches-recycled-resource-daypacks.html, June 21, 2008

Now we all see the importance on recycling. Here are some tips for recycling plastic. More than 95% of the materials are made from PET and HDPE (Resin Identification Codes 1 and 2). For more information about the Resin Identification Codes, please read my other blog Plastic 101.

These include:

Milk jugs, water bottle, soft drink, juice, beer bottles, shampoo bottles, laundry detergent, household cleaners, cooking oil, peanut butter jar, ketchup bottle etc.

Once you have collected these botles, follow the steps below:

1. Emtpy the content of the bottle.



2. Remove the lid. The lid may not be made from the same plastic.



3. Rinse the bottle throughly.



4. Carefully crush the bottle for more room in the recycle bin.

Easy enough? I thought so!

To find more locations and items to be recycled, please visit Earth911.

Another website provides a list for private and public sector buyers to purchase recycled plastic products. Recycled Products Directory.

Tricoslan Soap? How good is it?

I am a germ-o-phobe. That’s right! Knowing bacteria are everywhere, I usually carry some hand sanitizers with me at all times. I also use “anti-bacterial” soap so that I can clean my hands and strip out all the bacteria before I eat. Recently, I have been looking at articles about how efficient these soaps are. It turns out that soaps that contains tricoslan is susceptible in contributing to the rise of drug-resistance bacteria. Most soap that are labeled "anti-bacterial" contain tricoslan. Long exposure to tricoslan can damage organs and disrupt hormones. The worst thing is that tricoslan can form complex that are not biodegradable! And when react to tap water waste, it forms chloroform, a toxic chemical that ended up in the ocean.

Maybe I will eat some germs so my body can make itself fight off bacteria and preventing the waterways to become polluted by triclosan. If you want triclosan-free soap, you can try out the Method brand you can get from Target. It costs $4 a bottle, but I think it’s worth it.

Here is the link. http://www.methodhome.com/ It also provides you ingredients and where you can buy. It's worth a try.

Renewable Resources? Low Carbon Tech?

Electricity is generated from many different sources. Department of Energy estimated 40% of our total demands come from oil (Oil, 2008). Another great energy source comes from coal. One-fourth of the coal reserve belongs to the United States. More than half of the electricity consumed by Americans is made by burning coal (Coal, 2008). Even though coal is abundant, we must address the emissions from coal-fired power plants. Burning coal produces carbon dioxide, a major contributor to the green house effect. Scientists and environmentalists are working together to come up with technologies that can harvest from renewable resources. These renewable recourses capture natural energy and turn into useful energy. Many of us are quite familiar with the natural energy such as solar power and wind power. But how many of us are really aware of the actual benefits to our environment?

Solar Power

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200704/r139061_476078.jpg, June 21, 2008

About 70% of the energy is being absorbed by Earth while the remaining 30 % is reflected back into space. The amount of energy given off to earth is about 174 PetaWatts or 174,000,000,000,000,000 Watts at the upper atmosphere (Solar Energy, 2008). How much is that? An average home requires about 1000 Watts (Power Consumption of a Home, 2004). With this substantial amount of energy, solar thermal electric power plants can convert the radiation from sun into heat and then drives turbines to generate electricity. This renewable resource sounds promising. However, at the current capital costs, it is very expensive to build solar panels and set up plants capturing the solar energy. Even though installing large solar panels around our homes and office buildings are way out of our budget, it’s promising to see road signs have solar power panel installed. We can definitely use this as a stepping stone to this promising and free energy from the sun.

Wind Power

http://www.ourworldfoundation.org.uk/sol-nof.htm, June 19, 2008

Wind, caused by movement of the air, is the fastest growing technology in the world. This free energy can generate energy through kinetic energy to generate electricity. Wind power can be called a clean source because it does not produce any greenhouse gases. In 2007, wind industry in the U.S. grew by 45%, with half being contributed by Texas. The state of Texas, now the current leader, produces electricity equivalent to power more than one million homes in Texas (Texas Wind Energy, 2008). A lot of Texans are renting out their farm land to install windmills. It’s another great way to make profits for farmers and beneficial to the environment.

Landfill Gas

http://www.methanetomarkets.org/landfills/landfills-bkgrd.htm, June 21, 2008

I’m sure everyone is horrified by these smells when material decomposes. These smelly gases contain carbon dioxide and methane. Besides cows, landfill is one of the major contributors to methane gas. Methane, a damaging greenhouse gas, as well as a combustible gas, must be controlled near landfill areas. Instead of burning them into the atmosphere, why not capture them to become useful energy? EPA estimated as of December 2007, 445 operational facilities are installed in United States. These facilities prevented more than 28 million metric tons of carbon equivalents into the atmosphere in the past 13 years. In year 2007, 21 million metric tons of carbon equivalent has been controlled. This is equivalent to having 14 million passenger vehicles on the road. This also prevents Carbon Dioxide emissions from the consumption of about 182 million barrels of oil or from burring more than 408,000 railcars of coal (Landfill Methane Outreach Program, 2008). Who says trash is useless? These are only a few renewable energy sources. They are free and contribute minimal pollutions to the environment. Until then, turn off the light if you are not using them. Conserving energy is the best remedy for abusing our resources.

Work Cited:

Department of Energy. 2008. Oil. June 19, 2008. http://www.doe.gov/energysources/oil.htm Department of Energy. 2008. Coal. June 19, 2008. http://www.doe.gov/energysources/coal.htm Wikipedia. 2008. Solar Energy. June 19, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy
Power Consumption of a Home. 2003. Power Consumption of a Home. June 19, 2008 http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/BoiLu.shtml
State Energy Conservation Office. 2008. Texas Wind Energy. June 19, 2008. http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_wind.htm
Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. Landfill Methane Outreach Program. June 19, 2008 http://www.epa.gov/lmop/accomplish.htm

Plastic 101

Resin Identification Code. Taken from http://www.packaging.org.nz/images/clip_image002.gif, June 21, 2008

Plastics, made from synthetic materials, are made by a process called polymerization, composed of organic or synthetic monomers. With these wide selections basic ingredients, they can turn into different structures and gives out a range of physical characteristics such as durability, texture, and strength. These great characteristics give rise to many plastic products such as bottles, food trays, coatings, toys, and other materials to replace metals. Recently, The Daily Show on April 9th 2008 stated the code is about the toxicity of the plastic. Bisphenol-A (BPA) found in some polycarbonate plastic bottles, has been discussed a lot due to possible health effect. The Daily Show claimed that the resin code is determined by the toxicity of the chemicals inside the plastic. Therefore, I think it's time to do my own research to find out what the number really means.

As I found out, these numbers are called the resin identification codes, and they indicate the types of plastic it is used. These codes were form through the Society of Plastic Industry, Inc., in 1988. The code is made because local communities want to know about whether the plastic can be recycled (Resin Identification Code, 2007).

These codes are only designed for identification purpose. Here is a video made from the American Chemical Council. To know more information about Bisphenol-A, visit http://www.factsonplastic.com/.

Depending on your community and your recycle bin, make sure they recycle the plastic by the code labeled underneath the bottle (Plastic Packaging Resin, 2007).

Group 1 PET/PETE (Polyethylene Terephthalate)
Common uses: Also known as polyester. Used in beverage bottles and other food and nonfood containers
Second life: Carpet fiber, textiles, fleece jackets, new containers

Group 2 HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene)
Common uses: Milk, bleach, shampoo, detergent, and household cleaning containers, as well as grocery bags and cereal box liners

Second life: Nonfood containers, decking, fencing, flowerpots

Group 3 PVC/VINYL (Polyvinyl Chloride)
Common uses: Packaging (shrink wrap), construction (pipe, siding, window frames), medical tubing, cable insulation

Second life: Pipe, gutters, carpet backing, packaging

Group 4 Other (All other types or a mix of plastics)
Common uses: Bottles, oven-baking bags, packaging
Second life: Can sometimes be made into bottles or plastic lumber

Group 5 LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene)
Common uses: Flexible container lids, beverage container coatings, bread bags
Second life: Shipping envelopes, trash bags, compost bins

Group 6 PP (Polypropylene)

Common uses: Molded automotive parts, food containers such as yogurt cups and takeout packaging, medicine bottles, bottle caps
Second life: Rakes, storage bins, shipping pallets

Group 7 PS (Polystyrene)
Common uses: Protective packaging, bottles, food contains, bowl, CD cases, coat hangers.
Second life: Light-switch plates, desk trays, protective packaging

Work Cited:

American Chemistry Council. 2007. Resin Identification Codes. June 20, 2008. http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/doc.asp?CID=1102&DID=4644

American Chemistry Council. March 2007. Plastic Packaing Resin. June 20, 2008. http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_plastics/bin.asp?CID=1102&DID=4645&DOC=FILE.PDF, June 21, 2008

Green Cleaner?

Have you wonder how much chemical we dumped into the drain everyday at our house? These chemicals can be dangerous to our health and our environment. Also, many of these chemicals are not biodegradable. When they accumulate, they can turn into toxic and can damage our body.

Some of these dangers stay around your house without knowing it. The most common danger is solvents. Solvents, used to dissolve fats, oils, and grease, can be found in paint, cleaners, and furniture polishes. Another other common compound is called formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can be found in carpet, cushions, furniture, and even bed sheets. These Volatile Organic Compound, or VOC, can be dangerous to our health causing skin, lung, and eye irritation. Because they are derived from petroleum and coal tars, long term exposure can cause long term health problems such as asthma and cancer. A simplest way to detect if you have inhaled VOCs is if you have a headache. Make sure you open the window for ventilation and stop using these chemicals.

What is the solution to prevent us from smelling hazardous chemical? The answer is simple. To treat oganic matter, we should use organic matter. For thousands of years, we use natural ingredients to clean our home. Maybe we can pick up that trend again in the 21st centry and make some homemade cleaner to prevent us from polluting the environment and is also good to our health.

Here are some nautural ingredients I found useful.

• Distilled white vinegar. Vinegar disinfect all types of surfaces. It can also be used to remove grease and fabric softener.
• Hydrogen peroxide. Not only it can wash away blood, it can be a bleach and also deodorizes.
• Hot water + lemons, + sunlight. Lemon and sunlight can sanitize clothes and surfaces. Lemon can also cut grease and smells.
• Baking soda. A good detergent. It removes odor.

If you want to know more about green cleaning. This site can help you. It has instructions on how to make cleaners for different types of surfaces. But make sure to be careful when mixing abrasive materials. Always use cautions! I have made the glass cleaner from this website and I think it works great. I didn't have to spend anything extra to buy all my ingredients because I already have them at my house. The bottle? I use my old hairspay bottle. I saved a bottle's life as much as saving a trip to buy hazardous chemicals to clean my window!

How to be Green at Work?

Many of you are probably wondering what you can do to make your workplace a greener place. Ideally, we would want to work for companies that use all energy-saving appliances, solar power panels around the buildings, or reimburse us for buying hybrid cars. Because most companies does not provide 100% green effort due to many reasons and before this ideal gets too complicated and unrealistic, we need to focus on what we can do on our end to make our office a greener place.

Paper
Electronic files are convenient and useful in storing documents at work. However, we still make frequent trips to the copy room to make paper copies. Here is what we can do. We can print double-sided copies, use scrap paper to take notes of print drafts, and be conscious of our printing behavior. We definitely want to make sure it is something we must have in paper form and make sure to proofread before the “oops” comes in. Also, choosing papers can help with the recycling effort. Choose papers that have high post-consumer recycled content would be the best because the materials used for the paper can be recycled and therefore, eliminating the path to landfill.

Electronics and Computers
Electronic appliances take up enormous amount of energy to operate. Choosing the right appliances will help lower the energy needed. If your office is looking for upgrading current appliances, look for the ones with the ENERGY STAR label. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy to help us save money and protect the environment using the efficient products. These products can also provide settings where the machine will go into a sleeping mode when not in use.

With the fast pace technology, parts become obsolete just as fast as we install new ones. If your company provides recycling program, it is best to use old parts whenever possible. Computers can really drain out the power when using unnecessary programs. Use programs that require less power and internal memory to operate. For example, use TextEdit instead of Microsoft Word. In other words, to make your computer run efficiently, adjust the power options to lower your power consumption. You can do this by adjusting he power options in your control panel to energy-saving settings. Screen savers seem harmless, but it takes up energy more than being idled. So when you are away, it is best to make your computer go to sleep than letting the screen saver comes up.

At the end of the day, it is best to turn off all electronic devices including lights in the office area. A good way to do so is to put most of the electronic devices on a power strip. Even though the machines are in sleeping mode, they require about some energy to keeps the machine running. Therefore, it is best to put all the devices into a power strip and turn off the power switch on the power strip to cut off all energy required by the sleeping machines.

Indoor Plants

Office area looks dull most of the time. It is nice to give your office area a homey feeling. Small plants can be decorations for the office; also it can be a good natural device to clean up the air inside the office. Most offices have air conditioning. It can be toxic sometimes because air is being recycled through the system. Plants will be great because most plants will absorb carbon dioxide (CO­2) and release oxygen (O2­) during photosynthesis, a biological process for plants. Having a plant in your office can be appealing to the eye and also cleans your air around you. NASA has conducted research on plants and their ability to clean air. These plants have shown excellent result in cleaning the air and other possible toxins found in indoor air such as benzene, formaldehyde, and carbon monoxide. These plants include: English Ivey, Chinese Evergreen, and Bamboo Palm. For more inforamtion, visit http://www.plant-care.com/indoor-plants-clean-air-1.html.

Conclusion

Here are some ways to do at work to provide go green effort. Even though your work might not be an ideal environment where it can change every appliance to the most efficient, but little steps help in turning our office into a vibrant green office. Who says going green at work is hard?

Is Hybrid Theory = Mix Feelings?

Many of us have experienced the effects of soaring gas prices. For most of us who are conventional gas engines owners are really struggling with the gas prices because we are paying at least 50 dollars for gas every 10 days or so. As the technology advances and the gas prices going sky high, hybrid cars have become popular in the last several years. This trend seems to be going to the direction that might give us some relief at the gas pump because many people have claimed that they will consider buying a hybrid in the next couple years.

Basically, the way a hybrid car works is that it combines an internal combustion engine and an electric motor powered by batteries for the car to run one of the other depending on the road condition. Because the battery will be operated at some point, it decreases the time the conventioanl engine runs, therefore, cutting down the gas. When the two are combined, this interface would give the ability to drive long distance without charging the battery or stopping at a gas station.

I think the hybrid theory is a great solution for pushing us away from gas usage. And of course, the hybrids are supposed to cleaner, leaving a trail of clean air. However, the rising popularity has several things we need to address before we pay over $ 20,000 on a match box size car that runs on batteries half of the time.

There are some pros and cons of driving a hybrid. As we all know, hybrid cars are environmentally friendlier than conventional gas engines, and of course, have lower emissions. Nowadays, manufacturer gives an 8-year warranty on the hybrid, which is slightly longer than the traditional car. The hybrid is best when the route has frequent stopping and slow traffic speeds. And in some cities, a hybrid car is allowed to drive in the HOV lane even with one passenger. That might get you to places faster.

On the other hand, there are some bad things about hybrid. If you are driving long distance at high speeds, then you are not going to see much difference with a hybrid. For example, a Toyota 2008 Prius, the gas mileage in city is 48 MPG while the gas mileage in highway is 46 MPG. They are both great numbers in terms of gas efficiency, however, there isn't much imporvement, actually worse driving in the highway. The maintenance of the hybrid can be doubled in price because not every mechanic around the area is certified to fix the car. And lastly, here is the catch for be the first one to own a hybrid. Even though you might save money using “less gas”, gas prices won’t go down unless everyone drives a hybrid. The demand for gasoline is just as high with or without hybrid. So future buyers might as well wait for a little longer.

This information is taken from http://www.carbuyingtips.com/hybrid-cars.htm.

I believe it is more important for people to be conscious about their driving habits more so than buying a hybrid car. Even though the idea is very good for our problems and to make us more independent in oil, we need to make sure the outcome is really going to save us all in the end.

To know more about hybrid cars. and the nomenclature of the hybrid family, go to http://www.hybridcenter.org/hybrid-center-how-hybrid-cars-work-under-the-hood.html.

Staying at Home Doesn't Mean We Are Environmentally Friendly

We spend most of our time at our home. This automatically increases our energy demand. We turn on our TV, turn on the lights, heating water, and keep our house cool or hot requires energy. From the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, about 20 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions in the United States come from energy used in home.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Sector. http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/facts_and_figures/us_emissions/usghgemsector.cfm, June 21, 2008

A lot of you might ask why is that we are contributing 20 percent of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere? This is because most of our electricity is generated by natural gas, coal, and oil.
Here is another pie chart that shows you the horrifying usage of an average home. We spend almost half on heating and cooling. We spent 10 percent on lighting and 13 percent on heating water. What are we doing here?

Energy Usage at Home. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_pie , June 21, 2008.




Indoor Water Usage, http://www.epa.gov/watersense/pubs/indoor.htm, June 22, 2008

Not only we are having problems with our electricity usage. We are also struggling with our water. EPA estimated we spend more than 25% on toilet and almost 14% on lealks. Leaks? Can you believe it? Those little droplets dripping down from our sink, shower, or toilet, is taking a significant amount of water we use.

Want to do something? Here is what you can do.

Change the Lighting
Change the lighting of your house to Compact Fluorescent Light uses about one third of the energy of tradition bulbs and can last up to ten times longer. Another alteranative lighting is LEDs. LED bulbs reduces energy consumption up to 90% and will last about a 100000 hours.

Air Conditioning
Come on. Almost half of the energy is used on air conditioning. to save money, turn the thermostat up a couple degrees. To make it better, use less air conditioning and use more fan. Fan can keep the space cool or warm by circulating air. However, since they don’t lower the temperature much, it is better to turn it off when you’re not in the room.

What about heating your home? Heat transfer is from higher temperature to lower temperature. Therefore, make sure the gaps around windows and door are sealed properly. This will stop the heat loss to the outside when it’s cold outside. If you are a fireplace person, make sure the thermostat is lower to prevent the heating system to replace warm air being lost to the chimney.

Conserving Water

The average family of four uses about 400 gallons of water a day. That is a lot of water. We can make sure we take shorter showers. And we can also change our shower head to aerating shower heads that combine air with water. For the water heaters, turn down the thermostat to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit (Hill and O'Neill 128).

Dishwaher or handwash? Acutally dishwasher is better, when it is completely full. Most of the dishwashers are ENERGY STAR appliances and it sets up a fixed amount of water for the entire cycle. Some of the dishewashers nowadays can run as low as 4 gallons per cyclee.

Toilets. You can change the flushing mechanism by changing the handle for a quick release. If you have to change out the whole flushing system, dual-flush systems are available for both solid and liquid waste. Also, you can change the amount of water stored in the tank by putting heavy objects such as a piece of brick inside the tank. You can save a lot of water over time.

One thing we can all focus on to save water. And I can't stress that enough. Fix the leaks! If you have leaks, fix it as soon as possible. With the 26% contribution, I think we see the emergency on that. A good way to detect toilet leaks is to put food coloring in the tank and wait for 15 minutes. If there are food coloring in the bowl, you have a leak!

Other tips
Install solar power garden lights in your lawn can also lower the cost of electricity. Solar power light absorbs sunlight and store up energy enough to be lid up at night.
Buy a jacket for your hot water heater. This will prevent excessive heat loss.
Don’t plant your refrigerator near a stove, dishwasher, or heating vent.
Clean the air filter every three months for a more efficient central air-conditioning.
Choose natural gas rather than electricity. Natural gas are cleaner and produce less carbon dioxide.
Make a habit of washing laundry and dishes only when full.
Install motion sensors and timers on lights

Tips taken from Hill, Graham, and O'Neill Meaghan, Ready, Set, Green. New York: Villard, 2008.

Not So Innocent Fluorescent Bulb

Fluorsecent light bulbs have a new spotlight on them since they are well known for the energy saving. If each American household will replace one bulb to these fluoresecnet bulbs, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs (Energy Star, 2008). Since many of us are aware of the benefits of fluorescent light bulbs because they are longer-lasting and cut down your energy bill at your home. Few, however, are volunteering to properly recycle these “innocent” fluorescent light bulbs despite officials and others say the potential health and environmental hazard if hundreds of millions of light bulbs are simply broken and tossed into general trash that will end up in landfills.

The actual “evil” behind these light bulbs are fine mercury-containing powder that can evaporate based on its volatility and it is difficult to clean up once in the air. Mercury, a neurotoxin, is responsible for damaging brain development on fetuses, babies, and small children (CFL Bulbs, 2007). For these health hazards, the broken light bulb should be treated properly. If broken, open the window for good ventilation to lower mercury concentration and handle the mercury-containing powder with care. Pick up the mercury powder with sticky tape and paper and never use a vacuum preventing mercury dust from releasing into the air. (Mercury, 2008)

With the popularity of these light bulbs on the rise, the recycling effort is not enough in many areas. Manufacturers and governments are working hand in hand and trying to come up with recycling facilities for proper mercury disposal such as developing recycling programs similar to ink cartridge. Researchers are also trying to come up with a substitute synthetic chemical that can replace the mercury inside these light bulbs. So far researchers have no luck.

Until the newly design fluorescent light bulb is successfully developed in the future, we can simply take our fluorescent light bulb to local recycling facilities. For more information on local recycling facilities, you can visit the following websites below. www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/univwast/lamps/live.htm, www.recycleabulb.com/locations/index.aspx,
www.lamprecycling.com/?ilbcode=584&gclid=CKrr3ci7iJQCFQWVFQodm1ekWA

Work Cited:

Work Cited: Energy Star. 2008. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs, June 1, 2008. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls
NPR. February 15, 2007. CFL Bulbs Have One Hitch: Toxic Mercury. May 30, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7431198 EPA. May 28, 2008. Merucry-Spills, Disposal, and Site Cleanup. May 30, 2008. http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm

Travel Green

It’s summer time! Many of us are going on vacations. Whether you are climbing a snow mountain or going to a sunny beach, it is important to remember things we can do to be green while we are on the road. I have compiled some of the tips I gained from travelling and things I do to go while you on the go.
Trust me. It is easy to do!

• If your area has public transportation, use them wisely. I don’t see why saving your gas would be a bad idea with the gas prices on the rise.
• Before you leave home, adjust your heating or cooling system to prevent excess usage when no one is home. This also applies to turning down the thermostat in the hot-water heater. Also, to prevent electrical hazard as well as saving energy, unplug all electronic devices. These little gadgets run on electricity even the little digital clock is operating.
• At hotels, try to change your towels and sheets only when needed. This will save a lot of energy and water for washing relatively clean fabrics.
• Instead of buying travel size shampoo, I buy a small reusable plastic bottle to refill my shampoo when needed.
• Turn off the air conditioning, lights, and TV when leaving the hotel room.
• Take free brochures and maps only when necessary. This eliminates paper waste.
• Travel with a reusable bottle for your water if you can.

Here are some tips I found useful when travelling. It’s important to enjoy the “Get Away” in your own paradise. But if you can do this while you are away, you are making the world a greener place!

Doing Laundry

I am sure everyone loves doing laundry especially if you are college student. I remember when I try to procrastinate to do my laundry until Irun out of clothes. Doing laundry is never a decent experience. Trying to carry the whole wardrobe in a laundry basket to the Laundromat was quite painful. Well here is the thing; I used to bring a small plastic bottle to carry the exact amount of liquid detergent I need so I don't have to put extra weight on myself. However, I think there is something in the market now that can provide the same benefits, and also saving the environment.

Recently I have tried the Tide Coldwater, a liquid detergent designed to be energy and money saving. Based on the website from Tide, the detergent is designed to remove stains effectively in cold water, even for whites clothes. Because cold water is used, therefore, lowering the heating bills and save energy. In addition to the Coldwater product line, there is an additional product called the Tide Coldwater Ultra. This is a concentrated form. Therefore, the packaging bottle is smaller and easier to carry. Not only this detergent can save our energy by using cold water, we can decrease the materials needed to make the bottle. We can save space in our landfill! Isn't this great?

http://www.tide.com/en_US/tidecoldwater/productinformation.jsp, June 20, 2008

Talking about doing laundry, there are many efficient ways to do laundry. This is what I learned from my mom. I guessed she is right in these things.

• Do laundry only when needed.
• Heavily soiled clothes can be separated from light soiled clothes. Presoak heavily soiled garments to avoid using multiple washing cycles.
• Make sure the dryer is clear of lint accumulation. This can prevent the dust from catching on fire and increase the efficiency of the dryer.

Now this will keep me motivated to do my laundry. With the newest detergent, I have all the reasons in the world to procrastinate in doing my laundry!

Welcome to My Blog!

Welcome to my blog! I am very excited to start a blog that has everything to do with making the world a greener place. As an environmental affair co-op in a chemical company, I have dealt with a lot of environmental issues around the plant and outside the plant. With this experience I had, I realized a lot of us are not quite familiar with the actual solutions to this rising problem. As we all know, global warming is something we can no longer avoid. Theories and solutions are available, but most of us know very little on this issue. The main focus for this blog is to provide all of you a learning experience and get ourselves familiar with the environmental efforts all over the world. Blog topics will include many useful tips to reduce carbon footprint, and hopefully, lower your energy bill at the same home. Also, blog posts will provide updates on the newest technology updates on environmental protection effort that are currently available.
The blog will be updated frequently. Comments are welcome and discussion board will be posted as soon as possible. Because it’s your blog, I want to make your experience a decent one. Please feel free to leave any comments and suggestions you may have for improving this blog. Thank you and once again, welcome to “One Step Closer to the World of Green”.