Heat and heating update

Back in October, I reported on my new stay-warm strategy for this winter. After a reader commented to tell me I got my units of measurement wrong (doh!), I thought it might be a good time for an update.
1. The long underwear works. I don’t like how it feels, but oh well.
2. Haven’t finished the [...]

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Energy Bill and Wal-Mart’s electric cars

Biggest news of the week: The President signed the energy bill.
“The bill also calls for improved energy efficiency of appliances such as refrigerators, freezers and dishwashers, and a 70 percent increase in the efficiency of light bulbs. It also calls for energy efficiency improvements in federal buildings and construction of commercial buildings.
“The new lighting standards [...]

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More green Christmas: A wish list

On Tuesday, we talked about what to get others. But what does the green-lover on your list want for Christmas? Here are some great ideas …
 

Reusable bags that match and look nice, if the recipient is stylish. Be sure to propose an excellent home for the old bags.
A nice collection of compact fluorescent light (CFL) [...]

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Eco-quandary: Green vs. traditionally generous holiday gifts

We usually have a pretty big shopping list around our house for Christmas. We have two sets of parents with whom we really don’t exchange gifts, and two sets with whom we do. We have five siblings/spouses and two nieces, a couple of our daughter’s good friends, two sets of grandparents, and this year, four [...]

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Banning polycarbonate and running with the wind

A Canadian sporting-goods chain has joined Patagonia in banning polycarbonate bottles because of fears of health issues arising among those who drink from the plastic: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22183034/
At our house, we’ve switched to these, although my daughter does have a SIGG bottle because I couldn’t find a smaller size stainless bottle. And hers is so pretty; I’m [...]

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Deal of the Week: Stop standing by

Chances are, even when you think your appliances are off, they’re not off.
Appliances with “standby” settings – most often those with a little glowing light at all times – are still using power.
Visit this site for more information on standby power and to visit “tours” of standby electricity use in typical homes around the world. [...]

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Eco-quandary: Green laundry in winter

This week, MSN.com published an article with 11 ways to be an earth-friendly couple.  I’m proud to say we’re doing all of them.

But I wish the author had made 12 points and included my favorite, hanging laundry to dry. By not using an electric clothes dryer, you can save 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide in [...]

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Weekly Wrap-Up: Going all the way for a green Christmas and wrapping up your year

Oh, you think your Christmas is green, do you? Well, read this and see how green your gifts are. http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/2007/12/holiday-ideas.html
I was interested to hear in the Democratic debate on NPR the other day that John Edwards says there will be no toys from China under his tree. I believe my daughter’s top two gifts were [...]

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Give yourself credit: Think twice before switching services to save money

Back in September, I heard about a great deal for an employee referral offer from Sprint: Wireless service with 500 minutes and unlimited data for $30 a month. That’s a few bucks better than my gazillion-minute “legacy” plan with Qwest, which had no data service.
 
My Palm Pilot died a year or more ago, so I’ve [...]

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