Happy New Years
I just want to wish everybody a happy New Years. Be sure to be safe and get a designated driver if you need one. Not only will it make sure that you and everybody else are not put at risk, but you will be carpooling and reducing your carbon footprint.
Eliminate Vehicle Idling to Save Gas and Emissions
As winter progresses, I find it more and more difficult to simply get out of bed and jump into my car to go to work everyday. As it progressively is getting colder every day, I try to make sure to warm my car up a little before I can head out on the road. The only problem with this is that the longer I leave my car idle, the more emissions my car emits. The question that most people as well as I have is what is the appropriate time to warm a car up before driving in cold temperatures?
No Starting Necessary?
As much of a surprise as this may seem to many, modern cars do not require any warming at all before driving in cold temperatures. My father always told me to start up my car before I head out onto the road to allow for its oil and other engine lubricants to flow better. This may apply to older cars that are more prone to sludge build up, but modern cars are better suited to handle this. Idling is not the most effective way of heating your car anyways, driving it is. As soon as I begin to drive my car, I always notice that it heats up much more quickly than just sitting their while it idles. Also, allowing it to idle for excessive amounts of time can actually build up more gunk in your engine. On top of that you are just wasting gas and emitting unnecessary carbon emissions.
How about Frost?
It seems like the two main reason most people warm their cars in the cold is either because of frost or for their personal comfort. A better method may be to wear warming clothes into your car and only allow your car to idle for up to 30 seconds. Also, use a scraper instead of warming your car up to get rid of that pesky frost.
Turn Your Engine Off
When you are running into a store for a quick second or stuck in tons of traffic with no movement in sight, it is not always the best idea to let your car running. For every two minutes you let your car idle is equivalent to driving your car 1 mile. The only difference, you are not moving at all. If you are going into a store, there is no reason to leave you car running. You put your car at risk to being stolen as well as wasting gas. This seems like the obvious choice to turn off your car, but most people feel completely different about turning their cars off in traffic. The biggest worry of most is that turning your car off and on can lead to lots of wear on your car. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Restarting your car uses less fuel than leaving your car idle for under 30 seconds. Also, your engine is not negatively affected by frequent restarts and the parts associated with starting a vehicle are inexpensive to replace.
Just remember these facts the next time you go to start your car when it is freezing outside or completely stopped in traffic. There is no need to emit more carbon emissions than we currently already do and it could also save you a little on your fuel expenses.
U.S. Is Now the World’s Wind Power Leader
The U.S. has continued to have high growth rates in its wind industry for the third year in a row at an estimated $18 billion in revenues. With the record growth rates, America’s wind industry is now the largest in the world with a capacity of more than 21,000 Megawatts of energy, passing the prior leader Germany. This was all in the American Wind Energy Association, AWEA, annual report detailing the huge growth numbers and project growth for next year.
That 21,000 megawatts of capacity are expected to generate over 60 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2009, enough to serve over 5.5 million American homes.
Even though this is not a race to who can have the most renewable energy, I like the fact that America has boosted it’s research and development in these areas. Hopefully other countries strive for this recognition and continue to grow their renewable energy industries. One contributing factor to the high growth amid our current economic hardships are the renewable energy tax credits in the $700 billion bailout bill passed a few months ago. I was not fully in support of the bailout bill, but I am really glad these tax credits made their way in. They are already make a huge difference and hopefully continue to help grow our wind, solar and geothermal industries.
Happy Holidays
I just want to wish everybody has a happy holidays. I hope you spend the holidays with your friends and/or family and enjoy your time off as I will 
Last Minute Christmas Shopping Tips
This is the most hectic shopping time of the year and it only continues to get worse as we approach Christmas. Whether you forgot a gift for somebody or you procrastinate and didn’t buy anything yet, there are ways to avoid the massive crowds of angry shoppers. Not only can you save time and money, but indirectly go green while doing so.
Donate to a Charity
A gift that most people can appreciate is to make a donation on behalf of friend, family member or spouse. This could include having a tree planted in your community, providing for a local community effort or finding their favorite charity to donate to. This is a win-win situation. It will not only make the person feel good, but you are giving to a worth cause.
Overnight It
I discussed this an article I previously wrote about saving money and time on Black Friday, why not just shop online. Since Thursday is fast approaching, there is still time to either have anything purchased shipped with either two-day shipping or have it overnighted. There is going to be a premium, but both in my opinion are better than going to a local mall to shop. You can probably offset most simply on the cost of gas that you would use sitting in traffic and fighting for parking spots. Most online stores are accommodating and will ship items immediately to ensure they arrive by Wednesday.
Go at Off Hours
Hit the stores at off hours to avoid hitting heavy traffic times of the day. At this time of year, the only good time is to go immediately when the stores open. This will save you many headaches and hours of trying to find a parking spot.
Re-gift
Why not? It saves you time and you can get rid of those gifts that you don’t want anymore. It will also ensure that items are put to good use and not simply thrown in your basement. Just make sure to not re-gift a present to the person that gave it to you.
Give a Hug
If all else fails, you can just let the person know that they are a good friend or spouse and you simply forgot. The only problem with this plan is you may get some grief and some lonely nights on the couch.
Save Water with Delta Water Amplifying Showerhead
Delta has gone to a new level with showerheads by creating the Delta Water Amplifying Adjustable Showerhead with H2OKINETIC Technology. It can save you up to 25% of your water usage during a shower while still providing you with water pressure that is equivalent to a standard 2.5 gallon showerhead. On top of all of that, it is priced affordable under $30.
The Delta 75152 Water Amplifying shower head has two settings, a water savings setting at 1.85 gallons per minute and a high-volume at 2.5 gallons. This will ensure that if the lower pressure setting is not enough pressure for you or your guest, that they will have the option to switch it higher. It also carries a lifetime warranty and requires little to no cleaning.
What is neat about this device that it not only can save you money on your water bill, but it could also reduce your energy bill. Since this device uses less water, it thereby reduces the load on your water heater. This means instant savings on your electric or gas bill and will keep your water hot for a longer period. Now you can enjoy your showers longer without losing the heat as quickly. Imagine how much money you could save on your water and energy bills by combining this shower head along with taking shorter showers.
Whether you cut back on your water bill, save money on your bills or simply want a more pressurized shower-head, this seems like the best available for the price.
Acorn Shortage in Eastern America
If you live on the East coast of America, you might be wondering why it is so easy to walk without hearing constant crunching this fall and winter. The main reason is that oak trees have failed to produce as many acorns, if any at all, this year. I am so used to always seeing tons of acorns scattered all over my yard or pathways and this year I have yet to see many myself. Scientist have been unable to find any acorns at all in certain regions of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other nearby states. This has left many, including myself, wondering where did they all go?
The clue to discovering the answer come from last year when there was a much larger than normal production of acorns. Since their production runs in cycles, it seems logically normal that there are less fallen nuts on the ground. The basic idea is that the trees are exhausted from last year thus not able to make as many this year. Also attributed to the shortage is a wetter than average spring season. Some scientist are completely baffled that in some areas there are absolutely none to be found. Even with a shortage, it seems strange that some oak trees aren’t making any at all, while others have normal yields.
The biggest question some have is how are the squirrels going to survive? With less amounts of acorns, how are they ever going to survive? The squirrels will be fine as they are extremely adaptive creatures and will find new sources of food. They always seem to find food from the plants in my garden. There has also been past instances when acorns were not present for years and squirrels were able to survive without them. If you really feel bad for them this winter, you could give them some food to help them make it through:
Barbara Prescott, a wildlife rehabilitation expert, agreed that squirrels are not fussy about their diet. She suggested that residents leave whole (not crushed) corn, peanuts and sunflowers in the seed as backyard treats.
