Do an Emissions Test – Online!

There is a cool Department of Energy website that personalizes your car’s fuel efficiency and carbon/petroleum footprint.  If you go to the “Compare Side-by-Side” link, you can choose your car’s make and model and find out the following: fuel costs per year, gas mileage, barrels of oil your car consumes per year, and tons of CO2 emitted per year.  The visuals are quite effective.  I did it for my car at home, a 1998 Honda Civic, which uses 12 barrels of oil, emits 6.6 tons of CO2, and costs me $1400 a year! Luckily, I take the bus to my internship.  I compared it to a Prius, which uses 7 barrels of oil a year, and gets 50 mpg  instead of 30 mpg.

Even if you don’t have an extremely fuel efficient car, there are still a few easy things you can do to lower your fuel costs and carbon emissions. First, drive safely.  This is obvious, hopefully, but if you avoid sudden accelerating and braking, and if you don’t speed, you can increase your fuel efficiency by 33% on the highway!  Also, don’t drive faster than 60 mph.  Why?

You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.

That’s almost a quarter more for every 5 mph over 60!  If you want to keep that money in your pocket, also get rid of excess boxes or stuff in the back of your car, and use the cruise control on long trips.  You can keep an extra dime if you keep your tires properly inflated.

Now that you know, update your Energy Challenge pledge to reflect your new knowledge about driving and fuel efficiency.

:: Dept. of Energy

Energy Efficiency or Lower Electricity Costs?

You wouldn’t think that coal companies would be interested in energy efficiency.  That would mean that they would be selling less electricity to customers, and therefore making less money, right?  This seems like sound logic, but here in Minnesota, utilities need to decrease their energy output by 1.5% per year, leading to an overall reduction of 24% by 2025.  Now utilities should be pretty interested  in energy efficient homes.

Glenn English, the head of an organization that unites almost 1,000 non-profit coal companies, believes that it is more important to give people energy efficiency than cheaper electricity.  Because our fossil fuel sources, like coal, are running out, energy prices will only keep increasing, as well as population and demand.  But with more energy efficient homes, electricity prices may continue to increase, but electricity bills will decrease. Superficially keeping energy prices low could mask the real amount and cost of energy available.  Also problematic would be to raise costs of electricity for consumers.

Making improvements to your home energy efficiency are beneficial for many reasons:  you will, of course, save money on your energy bills, but also become less dependent on the power company.  The changes you make, from as simple as lowering your thermostat by two degrees, to bigger changes like insulating your house, will last forever.  This will raise the property value of your home!  What’s better than doing something that will put money in your pocket not just once, but all the time?   I have to admit I agree with the coal guy.

:: Grist

400th Blog Post!

Happy Friday, indeed.  I can’t believe this is the 400th post for the Minnesota Energy Challenge blog! We talk about a lot of different things on this blog – local events, new gadgets and gizmos that can help you save energy in your home, funny videos and, of course, all the ways that we can save money and stay comfortable in our homes.  Here are a few of the most popular posts in this blog’s history:

Wasted, Wasted Energy (April 7, 2008)

A lot of readers keep coming back to this blog post about a New York Times article that found that over HALF of the energy produced in the United States is wasted before anyone can ever use it.

Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb FAQ (October 10, 2007)

People still have a lot of questions about compact fluorescent light bulbs – their color, their disposal, the different kinds and where they can be used…no surprise that our frequently asked questions section has stayed at the top of the popular posts lists since it was published over two years ago!

Challenge Intro/FAQ (September 25, 2007)

What is this “Energy Challenge” thing, anyway?  This FAQ has been pretty popular, but it’s about to change drastically.  There are some very neat changes coming to the Minnesota Energy Challenge in the coming months, so keep your eyes peeled for the latest news.

Green Flooring

If you are looking to install new flooring in your house, check out this guide for all the pros and cons of certain types of flooring and their environmental impacts.  The guide includes the traditional options of wood and carpet to newer types of popular flooring, like concrete.  Bamboo is also gaining in popularity because it is actually a grass which can harvested after four years, and is grown without any pesticides.  Other interesting flooring options to think about are carpet tiles, which you can replace individually, and rammed earth (to figure out what this one is, think literally).

But if you are too attached to your soft, warm carpet, then try to donate it to a recycling facility.  When you are buying new carpet, look into carpet made from recycled bottles or jute packing.  Carpet is produced using a lot of petroleum, and can release toxic chemicals into the air, so be careful.

If you are looking into doing other home improvements, also consider getting your house insulated.  This will save you about $500 a year on heating costs, and will give you bragging rights when you tell your neighbor about your savings through your Minnesota Energy Challenge pledges.

:: PlanetGreen

DayLight Savings

This past weekend we had an unusually wonderful Sunday because we got an extra hour of sun.  But with the changing seasons, (and by that I mean winter is coming!), it means that we will have even less precious Minnesota sunshine or daylight.

Now is the time to be extra aware of the light and heat in your house.  Take advantage of the free solar energy beaming in through your windows. During the day, keep your shades open to let the natural light in to heat your home.  Once it gets dark, close the shades and try turning your thermostat to 68 degrees.  These small actions will save quite a bit of energy and money, and still keep you comfortable and warm in your home.  And the best part is these actions are free!

Labels for Light Bulbs?

Federal Trade Commission

I think I speak for many of us when I say – ABOUT TIME.  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is finally considering putting labels on light bulbs to help us figure out which bulbs are worth buying!

“It’s a big deal,” said Mitch Katz, an agency spokesman. “It’s like a food label for light bulbs.”

Of all the actions that we here at the Minnesota Energy Challenge talk about, none gets more questions that light bulbs.  What bulbs are best?  What kind should I buy?  What kind of use will I get out of them?  Now it seems we might get some consistent labeling on every single bulb sold that shows us the estimated brightness (in lumens), how much using the bulb will cost us, how long it should last and the color of the light.  AMAZING!

Honestly, I can’t believe it’s taken this long to get this kind of resource out there.  But I’m glad it’s coming!

:: Green, Inc. Blog

Happy Halloween!

Hopefully the weather will be a-ok for all you trick-or-treaters tomorrow night – and here are some tips to help you save money and stay efficient this Halloween!

• Remember to bring your reusable bag for all your loot.
• If you’re planning on trick-or-treating in a few neighborhoods, see if you can get a group of folks together to carpool and cut down on the amount of driving.
• Need a last minute costume?  Instead of heading to big box Halloween stores, try Savers or Goodwill – plenty of ideas and WAY cheaper.
• Hitting the town?  Get a group together for a taxi or take the bus – and be safe!

Have fun doing the Monster Mash this weekend!

(r)e-cycling your e-waste

Do you have a pile of old cellphones on your desk?  Or maybe an old laptop? Well, now is the time to recycle or donate them properly.  Engadget makes this easy by compiling a list of every large manufacturer and their recycling policies and donation programs.

It is extremely important to recycle old electronics properly because if they go into your trashcan, and subsequently to a landfill, we will not be able to reuse the precious metals, copper, and plastics that took so much energy to mine and manufacture in the first place.  Additionally, toxic chemicals like lead and mercury can leach out of landfills into our groundwater from old televisions and other electronics.  According to the EPA’s “Plug into e-cycling guide”,

Recycling one million cell phones saves enough energy to power more than 185 US households with electricity for a year!

Canon, Apple, Dell, Verizon, and Dyson, just to name a few, offer FREE recycling of cell phones, computers, iPods, cameras, and vacuums.  There are mail-in options (many companies will email you a shipping label to print out) or you can drop off your electronics at several stores!

:: Engadget, EPA

What does 350 mean?

This Saturday, October 24, is International Day of Climate Action.  This has also been dubbed 350 day.  What is the meaning of 350 you might wonder? Well, it is the amount of carbon dioxide, in parts per million, or ppm, that is the highest upper limit that we can have in our atmosphere and still be safe from drastic effects of climate change.  It’s too bad we’ve already surpassed that limit (right now we are at 389 ppm), but don’t get worried!  There is a lot we can do to lower that number back to 350, and there are over 3,000 events happening in 160 countries today that are rallying for this cause!

Some local events in the Twin Cities include a bike ride to the capitol for a climate rally and a walk to worship weekend. Check out the 350 website for more events in Minnesota and around the world – join in an action or start your own. Get creative- you can draw the number 350 on sidewalks with your children or hang up 350 pairs of underwear, like one university did!

If you are looking for a simple action to do, engage in a bit of social outreach and ask a friend to take the Minnesota Energy Challenge -  and agree to update your own commitments too!  Small actions make a difference.

:: 350

Free Stuff at Farmer’s Market Tomorrow!

This Saturday, October 24th, the Midtown Farmer’s Market will be hosted by the Metro Clean Energy Resource Team, Do It Green! Minnesota and the Minnesota Energy Challenge!  Saturday is Day 350: International Day of Action on Climate Change, so there will be a lot of great activities to help you lower your carbon footprint.

Not only will you be able to shop for wonderful local food, you can learn how to stop overspending on your utility bills and save energy in your home!  Energy experts will be available to answer questions and put on energy efficiency demonstrations.  You’ll also get a chance to take the Energy Challenge on the spot AND take your picture with the CFL light-bulb hat!  All that AAAND FREE compact fluorescent light bulbs ($10 value) and tote bags!

So come over to the Midtown Farmer’s Market at Lake Street and 22nd Ave between 8am and 1pm for food, fun and free stuff.

:: Midtown Farmer’s Market