Cash For Clunkers For Appliances?
The recently ended Cash For Clunkers program for vehicles may soon be coming for kitchen appliances called Cash for Refrigerators. This new program will possibly offer rebates of up to $200 on various energy efficient appliances throughout your kitchen. The thought behind this new program is that it will help boost struggling sales in the appliance industry, while providing people with an incentive to upgrade to more energy efficient models.
There are some major difference with Cash for Refrigerators that separates it from the original Cash for Clunkers. The current estimate as to how much money will be offered is around $300 million, much less than the Cash for Clunkers. The first is that it will be offered at the state level and in the form of rebates and require them to submit plans on how they will administer the program by October 15th. There are currently many states that offer rebate programs for appliances, so this program will either expand upon those programs or create them in states that currently don’t have them.
This program doesn’t seem as appealing as the original Cash For Clunkers though. States have already been offering incentive programs for appliances with little success. ‘Cash for Refrigerators’ has not been widely advertised and is not getting the press that Cash for Clunkers is getting. On top of all that, retail stores have been slashing the prices on appliances with little success so far. Buyers probably won’t rush to appliances stores to buy appliances just for this rebate.
There are also some concerns with the fact that many it may not be all that “green”. With Cash for Clunkers, you were required to trade in your vehicle and have it recycled. This program does not require you to trade in an appliance. A person could buy a new appliance, while still continuing to use the old energy hog of an appliance. It could also encourage people to unnecessarily buy new or larger appliances when the ones they have are just as energy efficient if not more energy efficient.
States are already starting to submit their proposals for this program and all money should be awarded by November. If you are on the edge about upgrading your old appliances that use a ton of energy, take advantage of this program when it becomes available in your state. It may not necessarily be in your best interest to upgrade your appliances just because a rebate is available though. Be sure to check out my kWh Energy Calculator to compare the energy usage and cost you could be saving by upgrading your appliances.
I will keep you updated on any changes in this program and when rebate money officially becomes available to states.
Reintroduce Our Kids With Nature
Improvements in technology have taken us a long way and has made some aspects of our lives much better. The downside to much of this technology is that children are staying indoors much more often instead of enjoying the outdoors. That’s why The Ad Council and the U.S. Forest Service have partnered together on a new campaign focused on getting us an our children more reconnected with the outdoors. The campaign is called Where the Other You Lives in hopes to get kids out of the house and spend more times in nature.
Probably no surprise to many, the amount of time U.S. children spend outdoors has decreased by 50% over the last 20 years. Children are filling their time more and more with tv, video games and computers that do not require them to go outdoors. Kids in the age range of 8-12 seem to be the worse culprits of not getting out enough. Check out a commercial of this new campaign:
Go Outside
The biggest problem is that kids don’t necessary not want to go outside, but parents are not encouraging kids to go outside. If parents livie a sedentary where all they do is watch tv and stay indoors, kids are going to live a similar lifestyle and not necessarily want to go outsides. Not only can it provide more physical activities for our children, but help relieve stress from our hectic lives. After being inside learning all day, kids don’t need to spend the remainder of the day staring at a screen. Sitting indoors only promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and contributes to the obesity problem we have in our nation.
What’s really great about going outdoors to parks and enjoying nature costs is that it costs absolutely nothing. Above all the great things I mentioned above, getting outside can help you actually save money. All those electric devices and expensive air conditioning can be turned off. There is no guarantee that you will save money, but it’s just another reason to get you and your kids outdoors.
If you don’t already, get your kids outdoors so that they can enjoy our beautiful nature while getting them more healthy.
Bamboo Fabrics Warning
Bamboo fabrics are becoming more and more popular, especially because manufacturers advertise just how soft the fabric feels and that it is more environmentally friendly than traditional fabric materials. The big problem is that many manufacturers are using these false claims to sell more of their high priced products that are far from being eco-friendly. The Federal Trade Commission is taking stand against these companies who are ‘Babmoo-zling’ consumers by making claims that their fabrics are actually bamboo. Instead, these manufacturers are using a man-made material called rayon that no way resembles bamboo.
What is Rayon?
Rayon is a man-made fiber that is created from the cellulose found in plants and tree which is then processed with dangerous chemicals. No matter which plant source the cellulose came from, the final product is always called rayon. So this means that even if bamboo were used to produce the rayon, there is no characteristics of the material that resemble bamboo. On top of that, the chemicals used emit dangerous air pollutants and possibly our health.
The Claims
It’s bad enough that companies are using rayon as a material, but also making outrageous claims that their fabrics are eco friendly. Let’s look at some of the crazy claims and how they are completely false:
- “100% Bamboo Fiber”: It’s great that companies are using bamboo as a fabric, but rayon is no longer bamboo. This claim would make sense for a company that makes their fibers naturally from bamboo.
- “ecoKashmere“: Making the claim that rayon is anywhere near as soft and natural as cashmere wool is ridiculous.
- “Bamboo Comfort”: That’s great that rayon is comfortable, but once again it’s not bamboo. When bamboo is naturally made into a fiber, it is not nearly as soft and resembles fabrics like hemp.
- Biodegradable: Just because bamboo is biodegradable, doesn’t make rayon as well.
Consumer Beware
The FTC currently has complaints that are either settled or still pending against many major “Bamboo” fabric manufacturers including:
- Sami Designs, LLC,
- Jonäno
- CSE, Inc or Mad Mod
- Pure Bamboo, LLC
- M Group
- Bamboosa
Don’t fall prey to any of these companies and be sure to research any “bamboo” clothing product before you buy. There is no reason that we should pay exorbitantly high prices for products that are nothing as the claims make them out to be.
Fort Meade Environment Cleanup by EPA
The EPA announced last week that it reached an agreement among several agencies to ensure an environment cleanup of Fort George G. Meade Superfund site in Maryland. In the words of William C. Early, the acting administrator for the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic region:
Today’s agreement is a significant milestone that will benefit the local community and environment. The agreement shows that EPA and the other agencies are now on the same page on how we will move forward to clean up the site.
Fort Meade has been a permanent fixture for the Army since 1917 and occupies approximately 13,400 acres of land in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Since then, the fort has had major pollution problems and several hazardous waste sites that need to be cleaned up. In 1998, the Army began addressing the issues and was issued as a Superfund site to begin the cleanup. Since then, little has been done to cleanup the problems leading to this signed agreement. Some of the dangerous materials found include solvents, explosives, arsenic and PCBs. All are extremely dangerous for people.
To really enforce this agreement, the EPA can fine The Army thousands of dollars for each week it does not comply with the agreement. Whatever push it takes the Army to ensure the safety of the environment and those who live on Fort Meade and in the nearby areas.
FTC Taking Action Against Untruthful “Green” Claims
More and more we are beginning to see products use trendy phrases like “biodegradable” to market their products as being environmentally friendly. Kmart, Tender and Dyna-E are a few companies that used this term on labels of their products and are facing legal action from the FTC. Kmart’s brand American Fare stated that it’s disposable plates were biodegradable, Tender said it’s moist wipes were biodegradable and Dyna-E called it’s Lightload brand of dry towels biodegradable. Kmart and Tender have already settled outside of court, while Dyna-E will have a lawsuit filed against them.
This is a new effort by the FTC to make sure that any environmental claims are completely truthful and not at all misleading to us as consumers. Many companies can get away with putting “biodegradable” on the label because there is only the guideline that it decompose in a short period of time. Research must be done to prove that this is in fact true. The FTC determined that none of the products described above decomposed in landfills in a reasonable amount of time, thus taking action against the false claims they were making. James A. Kohm, Associate Director of the Enforcement Division in the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, gave the following testimony in front of Congress over these deceptive claims:
To achieve this goal in the environmental arena, the FTC issues rules and guides for businesses, publishes materials to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions, and challenges fraudulent and deceptive advertising through law enforcement actions, such as the three biodegradability cases announced today.
It’s refreshing to see that companies are being held responsible for any false claims that they are making on their labels. It’s so easy to say that a product is “green” but to put research in to make sure that it is in fact the case will make sure that consumers are buying the product that is advertised. Let’s hope that this sends a message to companies trying to take advantage of the green movement just to make a larger profit.
Cash For Clunkers Bill
The Cash For Clunkers bill was just passed this week by the House to compensate consumers to trade in their gas guzzlers in exchange for more fuel efficient cars. The bill is sponsored by representative Betty Sutton out of Ohio that provides rebates of up to $4,500 by doing so. The next for the bill is to be passed by the Senate in the upcoming week.
The exact provisions under the bill include:
- Passenger Cars: Receive a $4,500 rebate if trading in a car 18 mpg or less for a car with 10 mpg or higher than the old vehicle. You can still receive a $3,500 rebate if trading in a car with 18 mpg or less in for a vehicle getting at least 22 mpg.
- SUVs/Pickup Trucks/Minivans: Receive the $3,500 rebate if trading in a 18 mpg or less vehicle for one that is at least 2 mpg better.
- Trucks and Vans ( 3 – 4 ton ): Receive possible rebate between $3,500 and $4,500 for 15 mpg vehicles or more.
There are a few stipulations that are required to receive the rebates:
- Vehicle must be in drivable condition
- Year must be 1984 or later.
- Must be insured to same owner for more than 1 year.
These just ensure that you are legitimately trading that you own and not just a car you bought to make a quick profit. If you decide to trade in a vehicle, you would receive a voucher for the leader in which you purchased or leased the car.
I like the idea behind this bill: get the old, polluting vehicles off the road. It is fairly expensive to fund, but can help improve the vehicles driving on the road as well as the struggling auto industry.
GOP Senator Believes Renewable Energy Not Enough
GOP Senator John Barrasso from Wyoming says that Alternative Energy won’t meet US needs and only increase the price of energy along with possibly increasing our dependency on foreign oil. In the GOP’s weekly Internet address, Senator John Barrassso said that renewable energy alone cannot solve America’s long term energy needs. The GOP believes that America needs to expand it’s funding for all types of energy sources including U.S. oil and clean coal. Below is the entire address made this past weekend:
Throughout the speech, he does continually say that he does support alternative energy and expanding upon it. That is great that he supports alternative energy, but why still support all these other horrible energy sources just so we can say that we support America. Isn’t using renewable energy also supporting America by providing tons of jobs to Americans and producing energy within America? It just seems like politicians feel that the only way keep our energy prices low is to continue to support researching “clean coal”, getting our energy from oil in Alaska or extracting oil shale. I don’t care how much research is done to make them cleaner, oil and coal are dirty energy sources.
One way that we can stop “discriminating” against other energy sources is to start research all types of renewable energy. What about geothermal, biomass and water just to name a few? At the moment we are in a difficult situation because much of our energy comes from coal and oil. Currently, renewable energy only accounts for 1% of our total energy usage. Let’s hope that we can continue expand our energy portfolio with renewable sources and make that percentage much larger.
