Cutting consumption

Saturday, 9:33 am

By KateC

My electric bill arrived a few days ago. It said that we’d consumed 917 kWh last month, which, I think, is way too much. Although less than last year at this time, with the prices of energy skyrocketing, it’s time to trim the sails again.

Part of the cost was the air conditioning during the first part of September. I’m not going to quibble over that. Life without AC in this house is unbearable. I’m trying to grow shade trees as fast as I can, but I can encourage them to grow only so much in a year. So, what to do?

Teaching a teenager to turn lights off after he leaves a room is a start. Turning the televisions and radios off when they’re not being used is another good start. Turning computers off at night is a must. I sat the lad down and showed him the electric bill. And we discussed various ways we could cut consumption. Because—the more I spend on utilities is that much less I have to spend on other more enjoyable things. He agreed and got right into the spirit of it.

We’re taking daily readings on the electric meter to see how we’re doing. And we’re doing a rather amazing job.

One of the big changes we made was switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs. They’ve come a long way since they first arrived on the market. Most of them give off a warm steady light now that’s indistinguishable from incandescent. And they are small enough to fit in every light fixture in the house.

A couple of days ago we visited Home Depot and gathered up enough bulbs to outfit all the rest of the fixtures and lamps that didn’t have compact fluorescents already. The prices have come way down so that each bulb is about $2.50 now. And they last for years.

So. After having replaced all the incandescent bulbs, I added up their wattage and the total wattage of the fluorescent bulbs. We cut wattage down from 1254 watts to 284 watts. That’s pretty significant.

And the daily readings on the electric meter have gone from about 27 kilowatt hours per day down to 16. I’d say we’re making good progress, but we’ll continue to look for ways to trim consumption.

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For anyone living in Vermont, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island, the public utilities in those states have a deal with Energy Star Lights. You can purchase fluorescent bulbs in a wide range of styles and sizes at super discounted prices. From their online catalog. Or you can ask for their mail order catalog. I’ve ordered from them in the past to outfit fixtures/lamps that have dimmer switches and 3-way bulbs. They carry several kinds of specialty bulbs.

EPA Gag Order

Monday, 8:41 am

By KateC

EPA issues pre-election Gag Order to staff. Just lovely! I had mistakenly thought the EPA was our environmental protection agency, working for us, with full and open accountability to us. My head entertains the silliest ideas.

Oxymoron, apparently

Tuesday, 1:44 pm

By KateC

Why is conservation viewed as a liberal word? Conservation: An occurrence of improvement by virtue of preventing loss or injury or other change. Conservative: Resistant to change, avoiding excess, moderate, cautious.  What could be more conservative than conservation? Conservative conservationist should be a redundancy, not an oxymoron.

Roadless Forest Conservation Rule endangered

Tuesday, 12:39 pm

By KateC

Call to action by environmentalists. Reported, September 8, by the BushGreenwatch newsletter, to which I have subscribed for some time. It is an invaluable source of activist information regarding our environment and ongoing political shenanigans.

Soon after the Bush administration took office, it promised to uphold the Clinton administration’s Roadless Area Conservation Rule, enacted in 2001 to protect some 58.5 million acres of America’s last unspoiled National Forests from logging, mining and drilling.

But this summer President Bush flip-flopped. The administration’s U.S. Forest Service announced it is repealing the rule, which was designed to protect vital sources of clean water and wildlife habitat. Since the year 2000, the timber industry alone has given $25 million to the Bush administration and its Congressional allies.

The Bush reversal has set off a torrent of protests by the conservation community, which is calling on Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth to extend the public comment period beyond the current expiration date set for next Tuesday, September 14th. The environmental community is calling for a 45-day extension.

Conservationists feel especially betrayed not only by the Bush flip-flop, but also because the rule was enacted by the Clinton administration only after three full years of open public dialogue and extensive scientific analysis. Over 600 public hearings were held nationwide. A record 1.5 million comments were submitted, with over 95% supporting the Roadless Rule. Yet the Bush administration is now portraying the rule as a last-minute process.

According to a recent study by the Campaign to Protect America’s Lands (CPAL), the Bush repeal not only endangers the nation’s few remaining unspoiled forests, but also threatens 23 nearby national parks and monuments in 16 states. [1] Among them are Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Olympic National Parks. The 23 sites are visited by some 40 million Americans every year.

As CPAL Director Peter Altman told BushGreenwatch, “The parks will suffer from the collateral damage of timber clearcuts, destroyed wildlife habitats and migratory corridors, streams destroyed by sediment, and the noise and stench of industrial development."

Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees spokesperson Bill Wade called on Interior Secretary Gale Norton to oppose the action by the Forest Service, which is part of the Department of Agriculture. “No Interior Secretary worth his or her salt would stand by and allow this indirect attack on our national parks to go unchallenged,” said Wade.

Owing to an outpouring of citizen protest, BushGreenwatch was able to announce, on Friday (9/10):

NOTE: Thanks to an outpouring of citizen protests (BushGreenwatch, Sept. 8), the U.S. Forest Service announced on Wednesday that it will extend the public comment period to November 15 on its plan to rescind the Roadless Forest Conservation Rule. The rule calls for 58.5 million acres of America’s National Forests to be protected from logging, mining and drilling. The Service had earlier set a deadline of September 14 for public comments. Comments may be sent to: http://ga1.org/campaign/roadless?source=hp.

Please click the above link and add your voice and opinion before the public comment period ends in November.