Spring Energy Saving Tips

by Tori Riggs



Here are some tips to save energy and be green during spring and summer.

1. Consider installing a ceiling fan in family/living rooms. Fans give you a nice cool breeze and circulize air around your house, but they won't help much in smaller rooms.


2. Close blinds, drapes and curtains during the hottest part of the day. This will keep strong sunlight and heat out of your house so you don't always feel like you are baking.


3. Use your microwave rather than your stove/oven. Using your oven or stove lets a lot more heat into your house and can make your house hotter for a long time.


4. Do your laundry and and dishwashing at nightime to avoid using too much heat during the day when it can get too hot.

For more tips and information, please visit http://www.nstar.com/residential/energy_efficiency/spring_summer.asp

A TV That Knows Your Face

By Kaila Thieman

This new idea is for a TV that can detect your face!When you are in the room with the TV it realizes whether or not your attention is on the screen or somewhere else. When it is somewhere else such as on the phone, doodling, or reading a book, it automatically reduces the brightness so that it can reduce the amount of energy used. When your attention comes back to the TV and you are looking at it it goes back to regular so that it is easier to see.



Info from: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1389693

Soda kills.

By Mallory Coats

( I still love soda even though I wrote this blog.)



Do people really think about how much they waste when they grab a soda at a gas station? Let's take a journey through time back to last week.

1. There was this little hunk of plastic.

2. A factory used electricity and energy to shape it.

3. It is now a bottle.

4. It is shipped in a truck with a bunch of other bottles to a Soda company.

5. The truck uses fossil fuels to run.

6. When the bottles get to the plant it wastes even more energy to make the soda.

7. Then they put plastic labels on the bottle.

8.Then the little bottle is in another truck.

9.Then, when it finally gets shipped, it sits in a fridge.

10. The fridge uses energy.

11. Then you come along and grab it and pay for it at the cash register.

12. That uses electricity.

13. Then you leave and get in your truck.

14. That uses more energy.

15....

Wave dragon

by Ivy Long

The wave dragon is a floating offshore wave energy converter. The waves are focused by two wave reflectors, leading to a patented doubly carved ramp. The waves run up the ramp and into the reservoir, and the pressure height is utilized for power production through a number of propeller turbines. Basically, this is a man made wave to produce water energy.

http://www.spok.dk/consult/wavedragon_e.shtml

Natural Waste efforts

We make paper out of trees that are alive and well, but we do nothing with dead wood that is dry and dead. Why can't we make paper out of natural trash and dead paper? This could reduce waste in the water, and just general trash.

Water Conservation #2

Here are some more tips to save water:

• Monitor your water bill often. An unusaully high use can help you discover leaks.


• Water your lawns when temperatures are cooler so less evaporation happens and more water goes into the grass.


• Wash fruits and vegatables in a pan instead of running water.


• Spread organic mulch around plants so they retain water moisture and that saves water.


• Use broom instead of hose to clean your driveway.


• Replace water head with a water efficient water head.


• Collect water after washing fruits and vegatables and use it to water plants.


• If water runs off your lawn really easy, split watering period into two, short watering periods.


• Be sure to check outdoor leaks that are unnoticable.


• If you have an automatically water filling device, check for the devices to have leaks.

www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php

Education: An Important Way To Save Energy

By Rhyan Montgomery



A report by Kathryn Janda, a researcher at the UK Energy Research Centre, states that it is very important to educate and inform people about energy use in order to become more energy efficent. According to her study, 50% of energy use is caused by peoples personal actions and choices. The other 50% consist of consumption by factors such as buliding performance. Janda suggested that if the government supported research and teaching, then they could develop the smart people needed to maximise energy efficency. If people were to be educated and more aware about energy use, then tons of energy could be saved around the world.



Sources:

www.the-esa.org/news/-/education-and-information-vital-to-save-energy