Your Enviro tips

I think curtailing AC abuse would go a long way towards saving $$ and the planet. Hot flashes aside, there is no good reason to have it so cold that you need a sweater and long pants to stay warm in Florida in July!

I find 80 to be fairly cool, so I don't know why everyone feels the need to run a meat locker out of their home. The cooler you keep your house in the summer, the hotter it will feel when you go outside. (too much contrast from one to the other. )

:roll: ...haven't hit menopause yet, have you Daddy-O???

Anti-volcano pills. Take one pill per mortgage in the morning.

Anti-volcano pills. Take one pill per mortgage in the morning.

Estroven is my best friend.

I would also like to hear back from BR concerning the note to the renters. I am all for saving energy, but if I rented a place with that many restrictions, I am not sure I would return.

One of the biggest energy hogs in your house can be off 3/4 of the time when you don't need hot water. Use a timer from your local Home Depot/Lowes.

One of the biggest energy hogs in your house can be off 3/4 of the time when you don't need hot water. Use a timer from your local Home Depot/Lowes.

I didn't know those existed. My next home will have a tankless waterheater.

We have a tankless water heater here in the new house and have been very impressed with how well it does. Now, if I could only find a way to get some recycling going out here in East Texas! Throwing away so many things that we used to recycle in the Metroplex is very hard to get used to.....

Estroven is my best friend.

I would also like to hear back from BR concerning the note to the renters. I am all for saving energy, but if I rented a place with that many restrictions, I am not sure I would return.

Those temps are fine if no one is there. Anything below 70 is pretty cold in the winter and anything above 75 is a little warm for summer imo.

I'm enjoying the tips so far. There's always more we can do to save paper/energy etc..

Beach Runner,
Do you actually expect people on vacation that are paying thousands of dollars per week to keep the air on 80 in the middle of the summer, or 65 in the middle of the winter? I assume you charge market rates and do not reduce them for those sweating inside? I would laugh out loud if I saw a sign that said that.

He was asking them to do this when the homes were unoccupied, as many are for a good portion of the year.

RIGHT -- JUST 65/80 WHEN THE HOUSE IS UNOCCUPIED.
BR (a "she")

OK, that makes more sense. If someone told me I had to keep it on 80 in the summer I'd tell them where they could put their thermostat.

Estroven is my best friend.

I would also like to hear back from BR concerning the note to the renters. I am all for saving energy, but if I rented a place with that many restrictions, I am not sure I would return.

I didn't know those existed. My next home will have a tankless waterheater.

Only problem is that these don't work if the utilities are electric.

My question is, does it save more energy to turn the heater off? I was talking to someone in the construction business about this. He thought not. If you turn it off, doesn't it have to work harder to get it from room temp to the heat setting? Wouldn't it be better to just turn the temperature down and keep it running all of the time? That hot water stays pretty hot for a long time with no power (except in the cold months), so does it take much energy to keep it topped off all of the time?

RIGHT -- JUST 65/80 WHEN THE HOUSE IS UNOCCUPIED.
BR (a "she")

A good way to conserve and I don't think it's too much to ask.

Only problem is that these don't work if the utilities are electric.

There is always propane, and, there are companies making electric tankless water heaters. For a while, the electric tankless water heaters seemed to be troublesome, but I hear they have worked out those issues and are much improved.

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/designer-bag-hysteria-at-whole-foods/20070718143409990001

Our Kroger just now started selling cloth bags for $1 each. This will be my next step in doing what I can.

http://money.aol.com/news/articles/_a/designer-bag-hysteria-at-whole-foods/20070718143409990001

Our Kroger just now started selling cloth bags for $1 each. This will be my next step in doing what I can.

Good for you. Last year, I convinced the Manager at WaterColor Publix to start selling the canvas bags. They listened and ordered some. I think the price was much higher, like $4.50 each , but I bought five. One of my friends also sews her own bags out of lighter weight material and gives them as gifts. I take my bags every time I think about going to the grocery store.

What about those corn based bags like they have at For the Health of It? I tested one myself last week;it was as strong as conventional plastic. Out of curiousity I had to taste it, so I tore off a bit and chewed on it...no taste, but it also stayed in one piece from Blue Mountain to around Grayton

This whole thread reminds me of everytime I meet a Brit. One of the first questions/topics is global warming and/or my carbon footprint. They are completely goobed out over it. Good for you all though, if that is what makes you happy. For me, keeping it cool in the house, long, hot showers with many sprayer heads, watching the dogs play in the sprinkler, flushing twice and taking full advantage of modern technology like electricity and the combustable engine is what makes me happy. I spend more on bills, but I make more since I'm not following around the Dead/Widespread Panic/Phish/String Cheese Incident.

I conserve by forgoing an organic patchuli chute garden.

I bought cloth bags about 15 years ago when they were trendy then. Stopped using them because people started looking at me like I was a psycho. I guess since they're back in style, I'll use them again.

We have the water heater on for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the late afternoon. It's made a small difference in our energy consumption that quickly adds up. It will cost you 30-40 dollars to buy the timer. It seems wasteful to be keeping the water hot 24/7 if you don't need it. On big laundry/guest days, there's an override lever to keep the water heater on.

I bought cloth bags about 15 years ago when they were trendy then. Stopped using them because people started looking at me like I was a psycho. I guess since they're back in style, I'll use them again.

I'm not sure that canvass bags are back "in style." If I were guessing by the way people look at me when I'm carrying them into the store, I would think they are a bit curious, but certainly, they don't think that my bags are all the rage.

I bought cloth bags about 15 years ago when they were trendy then. Stopped using them because people started looking at me like I was a psycho. I guess since they're back in style, I'll use them again.

...oh BR, you are such a fashion ho! Just make sure you wear your jorts when you carry these bags!

How about bags that promote a good cause? I got one for joining the Nature Conservancy. I got another one from the Sierra Club. And another from a Technical Writers convention (cause was self-promotion, I guess). They are satisfyingly tough, being canvas. The only downside I see is that bag packers struggle with the floppy shape when trying to load the groceries. They need a cloth bag packing rack, one size fits all, to be invented. Somehow, people's attitude to my bag style must be under the radar. Seems quite funny at the moment. Gee whiz, if they worry about my cloth bags, what must they be thinking of my non-makeup and my wrinkly shirt?
Hey, a good, cheap source of plain canvas bags is a craft store, such as Michaels or Hobby Lobby. And if you want, you can then get creative and paint or iron-on decals on your own personalized bags. You can print the decals from your computer.

And everyone said I was FOS when I said the Prius was more of a namebrand than a great car.

I'm not sure that canvass bags are back "in style." If I were guessing by the way people look at me when I'm carrying them into the store, I would think they are a bit curious, but certainly, they don't think that my bags are all the rage.

I dunno. Kroger is loaded up with them at the checkout line -- hadn't seen them in years.

...oh BR, you are such a fashion ho! Just make sure you wear your jorts when you carry these bags!

;-)

The only downside I see is that bag packers struggle with the floppy shape when trying to load the groceries. They need a cloth bag packing rack, one size fits all, to be invented.

Great idea! *That's* why the packers seem annoyed when I use the cloth bags.

I think the plastic bags simply stand out, as they quickly accumulate, but on the scale of things, it may be a very small item. I think there are many ways on which to conserve. One thing which I rarely see here is in the home construction. So many people have mega-houses which sit empty for months at a time. Seems like a huge waste of materials and energy to me. Also, most homes are not correctly oriented for the best use of natural energy, ie- the Sun's light. I guess you can blame the engineers for the lot layouts on that one.

These make really good grocery bags. I have one.

There is always propane, and, there are companies making electric tankless water heaters. For a while, the electric tankless water heaters seemed to be troublesome, but I hear they have worked out those issues and are much improved.

Ours is electric- needed special wiring (special voltage?)- but is working out very well

And everyone said I was FOS when I said the Prius was more of a namebrand than a great car.

I don't recall saying you were FOS, but your last post surely makes you look like a complete asshat.