Entreaties from the Green Fairy
Hello in February!
Here at Looney Labs we sometimes have nature themed/environmental field trips. Just like we see in EcoFluxx, everything is connected to everything else, so we are interested in a wide array of topics. Last fall we went to see Mike Tidwell’s Clean Energy Home in Takoma Park, MD.
Mike installed solar panels, has a corn burning heating stove, energy efficient appliances and compact florescent light bulbs. He mentioned that there are two things we can easily do to use less energy in our homes while maintaining the same standard of living. One of them is to switch to energy efficient light bulbs... and the other one is... guess what?! The refrigerator!
An energy efficient refrigerator uses about 30% less energy. That adds up to big savings both in energy and money. So I am thinking about getting an Energy Star refrigerator, or a Sun Frost one. Check them out. The Green Fairy says: Let's all get energy efficient refrigerators. Ping! (Can I do that?).
At some point I would like to expand and remodel my house and if I do so, I would love to do it in an environmentally friendly way. Which brings me to a cool show Robin suggested we all watch. It is a PBS production called This Old House - The Austin House Project. The eight part series airs on Feb eight. In the DC area, it will start on Tuesday Feb 13, on WHUT, Channel 32 at 12:00 pm. Want to watch it and tell me what you think?
In this show a couple is remodeling their house and expanding it by more than 50 percent, from 1500 to 2300 square feet. And yet their heating and cooling costs will be lower with the bigger green house! Amazing! I would love to see how they do it. Can we implement some of these green technologies in our own home? We know we can all change our light bulbs, turn the thermostat down in the Winter and up in the Summer, and let's not forget the refrigerator. Let's talk about it on the EcoList. Please subscribe!
Peace to you and yours,
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