Fresh AIRE

Not All lightbulbs ALL the Time

This past Saturday I staffed a table at the Arlington Home Ownership Fair at Patrick Henry Elementary School, where I gave away another 100 CFLs, one at a time. (P.S. We'll also give away CFL lightbulbs at two upcoming events: April 10 Sierra Club meeting and April 21 Home Show and Expo at Walter Reed Community Center.) It was a dreary day so I didn't mind being indoors for a couple hours, and this kind of one-to-one education is vital for the success of climate action. I was pleased to arrive home just as the Boy Scouts were delivering my purchase of 15 bags of hardwood mulch -- I knew I'd spend the rest of the weekend in a different kind of education.

Getting my hands dirty in my little Arlington yard is a wonderful way to stay grounded and in touch with nature. No, it's not wilderness -- far from it -- but the soil and plant life still tell interesting stories.  Spring is coming earlier now, and certain insects and weeds that used to die off in the winter can now survive and torment us in greater numbers in the summer. My flowering quince showed color in January and now again in March. My daffodils are struggling to flower after a premature rise two months ago. I just hope we have a real spring, and not a quick lurch into summer heat by May.

John Morrill
Energy Manager, Arlington County

Today Show Chases Away My Night Scares

Last night, I went to bed scared to death. Why? Well, a couple days ago, I started reading "An Inconvenient Truth," and it was the last thing I read before turning out the light.

Yet this morning, I turned on NBC's Today Show and was filled up again with hope! (Things always look better after a good night of sleep, 'eh?) There was a long segment about "How to Go Green" (when you click on this link, be patient...a 30-sec ad comes first) that included some interesting energy efficient items. They had the standards such as CFL bulbs, then some nifty items like a water-powered alarm clock?! And a solar "Juice Bag" that can power various small devices. Oh yeah, I learned that front-loading washers use MUCH less water than top-loading washers -- about half. Hmmm...this might help win the "discussion" with my husband about getting a new energy efficient washer/dryer this year. And ENERGY STAR rated washers "spin out" more water, reducing drying time and saving energy.

I also saw a segment about someone who had converted a Civil War tear-down Victorian house into a green home of the future. Very cool. All the energy consumed by the renovated home (which is now a bed and breakfast) is made in the backyard! Check out the video segment (again, you'll have to wait through a short ad, but it's worth it).

I'll end with a quote that Matt Lauer used to introduce the segment: "You don't have to be a green tree-hugging environmentalist to worry about the planet and what you're doing to it."

Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington
Arlington County communications mgr. (and AIRE blog administrator)

Signing Up for Green Power and a Great ACE Event

I have enjoyed and learned from all of you who have written.  I would like to share my experience of signing up for green power and report on a wonderful event held on March 15 by Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE)

Green Power: Signing up for Renewable Power costs a little more.  I am told it is about $15 a month more for the average home.  If you can afford to do this, buying renewable power is one of the best things we can do as an individual to fight global warming.  It means your home is minimizing any carbon dioxide emissions and it helps move the power industry in this direction.   

Although you can sign up for green power through the Dominion Power website, it isn't easy.  In fact, I couldn't find any link to this on their site.  I typed in Green Power and then Renewable Power under the search function but couldn't get there.  Fortunately, John Morrill, Arlington's Energy Specialist figured it out for me: You can sign up at the Pepco's Power Choice website. (A Pepco website that Dominion partners with.)  Once you get to this site, signing up only takes a couple of minutes.

ACE Event: Congratulations to ACE for an outstanding event on March 15.  On a night where the NCAA basketball tournament was in full swing, there were hundreds of people who attended.  Speakers talked about what we can do as individuals to combat Global Warming.  News Channel 4 reporter Wendy Rieger talked about the importance of "Living Green."  She gave us some great stories from some of her feature reports and websites to view.  Scott Sklar had numerous simple energy saving tips as well as information on solar power.  Don Waye (with EPA) talked about protecting our watershed. Monique Tilford reminded us that each purchase we make as consumers can have a positive or negative effect on our environment.  Miles Grant, ACE President, and Elenor Hodges, ACE Executive Director, did an outstanding job.

I detailed my scorecard for the ACE Living Green Challenge.  I scored 107. 5 points.  However, I picked up an easy 5 points by paying my ACE dues and receiving a reusable coffee and water mug.  My score put me over the required 100 points for certification but left room for improvement in many categories.  I hope that many Arlingtons participate in the ACE challenge.  Filling out the score card gives you ideas on things that you can do for our environment as an and individual.

Once again, I thank Arlingtonians for their participation in this Fresh AIRE initiative.  I am encouraged by the number of people who are working to solve or at least mitigate the problem of Global Warming.

Paul Ferguson, Arlington County Board Chairman

My Eye-Opener at the Spread of Environmental Stewardship

Since I'm not quite busy enough, I recently volunteered to join our church's Environmental Stewardship committee, which was established in the last few months. Yesterday I attended my first meeting.

Wow -- I was impressed at the level of expertise and interest among my fellow committee members. (I realized how very "uneducated" I was about all things environmental!) While the group is still gathering research to help build its recommendations, it was exciting to learn the kinds of things the committee is looking at: Could part of the church property become a certified "wildlife habitat?" Are there ways to use fewer "throwaway" cups? (maybe more washable mugs and racks for people to hang their mugs?) Can the church do more recycling, beyond paper? What kind of cleaning products do we use and could they be "greener?" How much energy is the church currently using -- and how can it use less? How do people get to church (on this topic, I volunteered to do a "transportation" survey -- help!). How can we weave in "environmental education" into what's already happening?

Since I work for Arlington County, it's easier to see what's happening on the "government" side. Yet the meeting yesterday was a reminder of how much movement is truly happening on the community side as groups -- and individuals -- of all kinds work on positive actions that help our environment. Know of something happening in the community -- or want to share YOUR story? Take a moment to add a comment to this posting.

Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington
An Arlington County communications mgr. (and AIRE blog administrator)

A One-Car Family

Walking home from the bus stop on a 40º day with 50 mile an hour winds a few weeks ago was not fun. However, most days being part of a one-car family is not a big inconvenience. Plus, we are doing our part to limit our household’s carbon emissions.

We did make the decision to get rid of one of our cars consciously both as a way to save money and to help the environment. A typical car contributes about 13,500 pounds of carbon dioxide each year according to the U.S. EPA’s personal greenhouse gas calculator.

The logistics of sharing one car with two drivers and a family of four aren’t easy. My husband and I have to work closely to coordinate who drives the car each day and how we get our kids to daycare and school, using a color-coded calendar. We also have to deal with last minute schedule changes like a trip to the doctor.

It’s actually not too hard to get around Arlington without a car. I ride my bike to my office and meetings regularly. I joined Flexcar for when I need to drive somewhere. I learned the bus route to my office.

I also telecommute regularly — avoiding the trip to the office altogether.

I’ve found that getting around without a car does take longer, but it’s usually time well spent. By biking, I get some exercise and get outside. I like the time on the bus — to read or plan my day. And in really bad weather, I get a ride with my husband, which means we get to spend more “quality” time together.

Elenor Hodges, Executive Director, Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment, organizers of the 2007 Green Living Challenge in partnership with Arlington County

Don't Regret It!

Jennifer Smith has pointed to a nice resource on the web (see previous blog post) to help pinpoint opportunities to save energy in your home. If you're considering any remodeling for your home, an indispensable resource is this book, No-Regrets Remodeling, by the editors of Home Energy Magazine.

You can get it at Amazon for about $20, but it's also available directly through Home Energy Magazine for only $11.95. Before you spend thousands on making changes to your home, buy two copies of this book: one for you and one to give to your contractor before he or she starts work.

What's great about No-Regrets Remodeling is exactly that -- no regrets. By reading it first, you won't be slapping yourself on the forehead later regretting that you didn't take advantage of your remodeling opportunity to improve moisture control and reduce exterior noise and improve indoor air quality and improve comfort -- generally at little or no extra cost. It's also a very nice introduction to the basics of what is called "building science," the science of how all the systems and structure of a building work together (or fail to work together).

Even if you're not planning to remodel soon, this is a great reference to understand how your house works and what you can do to operate it better and use less energy in the process.

Room by Room - Tips for Your Home

I was looking through the Energy Star website and found this nifty interactive house tool. It's way cool and has a online game-like feel. (At least to me, since the only game I'm playing lately is "Let's Go Fishin" with my kids.)

You click on the picture of the house (shown at the top, here). Then you can go room by room and click on blue stars in each room to view energy savings tips for that type of room. One of the many rooms I  clicked on was the basement. It got me to thinking about a couple things:

First, we need to be better about cleaning the lint trap (let's face it, we ALL forget that sometimes, don't we?). Second, maybe it's about time to replace our clothes washer with an energy-efficient model that uses less water AND energy. (Oh yes, did I mention our washer only works on the "heavy duty" cycle" these days.) Another basic tip was to use always use cold water, if possible -- that's one our family is pretty good about. Oh, there were DOZENS more easy tips that I won't go into here -- check it out for yourself.

Jennifer K. Smith, 17-year resident of Arlington
An Arlington County communications mgr. (and AIRE blog administrator)

Reduce Mercury - Install CFLs

Here's the counterintuitive fact of the day:
Installing CFLs reduces the amount of mercury entering our environment.
It's true that CFLs contain mercury--about 4 milligrams per bulb.  However, the largest source of mercury pollution is the burning of coal in power plants. Mercury pollution from power plants is also worse, because the emissions are completely uncontrolled.  Once it gets in the air, we have no control over where it ends up.
This chart (from an EPA fact sheet), shows the emissions of mercury that come from generating the electricity for an incandescent is greater than the total mercury from the CFL.  If everyone switched out their lights for CFLs, the total mercury emitted to our environment would be reduced by thousands of pounds.

Mercury is a significant neurotoxin and overall bad pollutant, so be sure to take care when disposing of it (BTW - a watch battery has 5 times the mercury of a CFL, and an old style mercury thermostat--which you may still have on your wall--has 400 times that in a CFL.  Dispose of these items properly, too).

So it's a win-win-win-win: a no-brainer, really.  Change out as many lights as possible with more efficient lighting, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce mercury and other air pollutants, save money, and help Arlington County reduce its overall carbon footprint by contributing to AIRE.

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by Steve Offutt, Arlington

Where Do CFLs Go When They Kick the Dust?

They sure DON'T go in the trash! (A CFL's glass tubing contains a small amount of mercury, a toxic metal.) But a question I've heard so often in the last few weeks is where does an Arlington County resident dispose of dead CFL bulbs? Here's the answer:

• You can bring them to the semi-annual E-CARE recycling event. And get rid of other yucky items at the same time, such as old paint cans, pesticides, fuels and more. Read details.
• OR, bring your old CFLs to the HHM (household hazardous materials) recycling station at the Water Pollution Control Plant on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.. The HHM entrance is at 3155 S. Fern St, at the intersection of South Fern Street and South Glebe Road. Learn more.

P.S. The packaging on CFLs also includes information how to find disposal locations.