Energy Quiz

How well do you know America's Energy? I just took the We Campaign's America's Future quiz and was surprised at what I learned about the power and potential of renewable energy. You can take the take the quiz from the We Campaign.

Challenge From Al Gore

At a speech on July 17th, Al Gore made an Environmental Challenge that is being compared to the challenge that John F. Kennedy made in reference to the moon. Al Gore is challenging the nation to produce every kilowatt of electricity through wind, sun and other Earth-friendly energy sources within 10 years. According to the New York Times, "Gore's approach, which would require abandoning old-fashioned, coal-fired power plants, goes beyond what even the most audacious scientists and entrepreneurs have proposed, as a means, he said, of jolting the world out of old ways of thinking." I have posted video of the speech below and there also a transcript available.

Green Tip: Turn Your Computer Off

Get in the habit of turning off your computer when you leave work each day. According to this article on Planet Green, if every American worker turned off their PC one day out of the year it could save $4.7 million in engery costs and reduce engergy comsumption by 54.3 kilowatt-hours. Each day I am amazed at the number of co-workers who leave their computers on all night or in some cases all weekend. This is something easy to implement and takes very little of our time, but could have a huge impact.

Blackle.com

It looks like this has been out there awhile but this is the first I have seen of it. If everything is accurate , it sounds like a good idea. Read about blackle.com here.

Green Tip: Lighting - Change Those Bulbs

Replace those incandescent light bulbs with compact florescent bulbs. CFLs use less energy and last much longer. The upfront cost is more, but over time the CFLs will save you more money in energy costs. There is some controversy that it takes more energy to manufacture a CFL compared to an incandescent bulb, but one CFL will usually last as long as up to 10 incandescent bulbs while using 4 times less energy. Energy Star has a lot more detailed information on the different types of CFLs and how to choose the right bulb for you.

Don’t forget when you turn off a light, you’re saving energy and money. Every time you come across a light that is on, or leave a room, turn the light off.