Energy Efficient Appliances and Light Bulbs

When you buy an appliance, you commit to paying both the initial cost and the operating cost for as long as you own it. Appliances with the energy star logo are significantly more energy-efficient than the average comparable model, but may cost considerably more initially. The Energy Star program is operated jointly by the U.S.Department of Energy and the EPA. A few of the appliances that can be energy star certified are refridgerators, stoves, dish washers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, air conditioners, water heaters, computers and office equipment. Besides buying energy efficient appliances, it is important to unplug these appliances when not in use. Saving energy saves money: Households can save up to $400 a year on utility bills!

Light bulbs can also be energy efficient. If every American home replaced just one light with an ENERGY STAR light, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, about $700 million in annual energy costs, and prevent 9 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions per year, equivalent to the emissions of about 800,000 cars. An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. These too, cost a little more than regular light bulbs, but save the customer much more money in the end. The energy efficient light bulbs are hazardous if broken, so the user should look up what to do if this should happen.

Certified Sustainable Lumber Practices

It is important to choose sustainable practices when buying appliances, building resources, etc. Lumber harvesting is one resource that is not always done sustainably. Clear cutting severely damages the environment. Therefore, certified lumber is a much better choice.

To measure the sustainability level of lumber, two main attributes are evaluated: harvesting and chain of custody. The harvesting process is evaluated based on how trees are planted, grown, cut down and renewed to ensure the long-term health and existence of a forest. Chain of custody tracks exactly who or which company touched a piece of lumber, tracing it back to the company that employed the person or machine that cut down the tree. Only 10 percent of the world’s forests are certified sustainable.

Lumber certification alleviates concerns about mismanaged forests that contribute to soil erosion, loss of wildlife, and the clear cutting of old-growth forests. Lumber certification tells an architect or builder a product is made with environmentally responsible practices and material.

Dozens of product certification programs operate worldwide, while two programs take center stage in the United States: The Sustainable Forestry Initiative and the Forest Stewardship Council. Both are independent third-party organizations that certify the harvesting process and chain of custody for lumber producers.

Certified sustainable wood costs more, but the impact on the environment is much less drastic than clear cutting.

Fertilizer runoff

Fertilizers are used by homeowners to maintain and improve landscape beauty and quality. Increased use of home lawn and garden fertilizers, however, has caused concern about pollution of lakes and groundwater. This pollution can cause disruptions in the food chain.

The two fertilizer nutrients that are primarily involved are nitrogen and phosphorus, which are needed by all plants for healthy growth. Although an individual lawn or garden is small, the total area of lawns and gardens in urban environments can be significant. Runoff and drainage waters carrying these nutrients move over hard-surfaced streets where there is no soil to act as a filter. The result is an increase in pollution problems. Proper fertilizer use can enhance plant growth without polluting the environment, but misuse of fertilizer will harm the environment. One problem that we talked about in class is the fact that fertilizers and pesticides are used all the time instead of to correct a problem. Perfectly manicured lawns should not be so desired! Rather, the use of native plants should be encouraged.

Ecological Footprint

An ecological footprint is made up of 4 components: land energy, consumed land, farm land, and forest land. This is translated into the amount of fossil energy a person consumes, the amount of land or “built environment” a person occupies, the amount of land it takes to feed a person “food land”, and the amount of forest product consumed. The average North American uses an average of 20 acres. We went to myfootprint.org in class and I volunteered to take the quiz to see what my ecological footprint is. I thought that my family was relatively environmentally friendly, but if everyone on earth lived the way my family does, we would need 6.58 earths to provide enough resources to sustain our lifestyles. North Americans are accustomed to using much of the earth’s current resources. The problem is that developing countries see us as an example and want to be like us. As they develop, they use more and more resources. We, as Americans, cannot chastise them for wanting what we have! We must use more sustainable practices to reduce our impact on the planet.

Manatees

Manatees are one of the animals on the endangered species list. I enjoy boating and think it is a pain to have to follow the laws in the no wake zones but after doing research on the fact, I will pay closer attention to those laws.

Manatee protection rules are established to restrict the speed of water vessels where necessary to protect endangered manatees from harmful collisions. In the year 2009, 429 manatees were killed in Florida. 93 of these deaths were caused by watercrafts. Boaters need to be more responsible and pay attention to the no wake zones. The faster a boat travels, the more force is applied to the strike.

he difference between the force of a strike at 30 miles an hour is exactly twice that of a strike at 15 miles an hour, all other factors being equal. Approximately 25-30% of manatee deaths statewide are attributed to watercraft injuries - including personal watercraft. A PWC moves at high velocities and, along with passengers, weigh about 500 lbs at a minimum.

If the watercraft strikes a manatee in the head as it is taking a breath, acute trauma may result and the animal may die immediately. A mid-body strike can even be fatal if ribs are broken or disarticulated. Their internal injuries can result in death from internal bleeding or infection.

Things to do When Boating or Jet Skiing to Avoid Manatees:

▪ Abide by the posted speed zone signs while in areas known to have manatees present or when observations indicate manatees might be present. What to look for when trying to see manatees: Observations may include a swirl on the surface caused by the manatee when diving; seeing the animals back, snout, tail, or flipper break the surface of the water; or hearing it when it surfaces to breathe.

▪ Wear polarized sunglasses to reduce glare on the surface of the water. This will enable you to see manatees more easily.

▪ Try to stay in deep-water channels. Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, lagoons, and coastal areas. Avoid boating over seagrass beds and shallow areas.

▪ Remain at least 50 feet away from a manatee when operating a powerboat. Don't operate a boat over large concentrations of manatees.

▪ If you like to water ski, choose areas that manatees do not use, or cannot enter, such as land-locked lakes.

▪ Don't discard monofilament line, hooks, or any other litter into the water. Manatees may ingest or become entangled in this debris and can become injured or even die. Note: discarding monofilament fishing line into the waters of Florida is unlawful.

Melaleuca

Melaleuca is an exotic invasive tree that was introduced into Florida from Australia to stabilize swampy areas near lakes and canals. These trees drink massive amounts of water and have caused a fire hazard, earning their name as the Everglades ecosystem’s worst enemies. A collaborative effort to wipe out the melaleuca, called the TAME Melaleuca Project, is being carried out by the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. In 1990, the South Florida Water Management District began an aggressive campaign to lower melaleuca populations across South Florida. As a result, melaleuca acreage on public lands has decreased dramatically. But the 60 to 100 foot tall trees continue to spread at such a high rate on private property that there has been little decrease in overall acreage covered.

The volume of seeds helps the trees to spread. Stress on the trees (fire, cutting, or spraying) causes them to open and release the seeds and mature trees can hold millions of seeds. While herbicides will kill trees, they cannot keep up with seed production and unless a stump is ground, trees will resprout after being cut down.

The story of Bottled Water

We watched the story of bottled water in class one day. We discussed the fact that the “need” for bottled water is a manufactured demand. Most of the drinking water in America is clean enough to drink out of the tap. There are very few places in which there is an actual need for clean water. Some of these bottles are recycled, but many of them end up in landfills. There are great alternatives to bottled water. Filtered jugs can be filled and put in the fridge or reusable bottles can be filled and taken with you if you’re on the run.

An interesting piece of an article I read was this: According to the report, more than 1 billion water bottles are winding up in the trash in California each year. That translates into nearly 3 million empty water bottles going to the trash EVERY day and an estimated $26 million in unclaimed California Refund Value (CRV) deposits annually. If recycled, the raw materials from those bottles could be used to make 74 million square feet of carpet, 74 million extra large T-shirts or 16 million sweaters, among other things.

Instead, they are swallowing landfill space, increasing air pollution and destroying the ozone layer.