Energy Saver Dave

Whether you are planning to live “off the grid” and free yourself from energy bills or just “kick back” and enjoy lower energy bills, the first step is always to understand your home’s energy usage and employ good old fashioned energy conservation techniques.

The reason for this is simple – you can not be charged for what you don’t use (in terms of energy…well this is strictly untrue if you are on a utility company’s budget payment system…but we’ll pretend for a moment that is not the case.) So, if you use less energy, your energy bill will go down.

Makes sense. So…how do you conserve energy?

It all starts with understanding your home, and more to the point, understand how you and your family use energy. Simple everyday activities, like turning off the lights when you leave a room really can add up to make a difference. Now that the holidays are here, not going overboard with the lighted decorations (and those inflatable, light up decorations) can help. Of course, if you do go overboard (like many of us tend to) just mind the usage. There is no need to run them every night. If you must, run them a couple of hours at the most. Every hour those machines are being run, energy is being used – sometimes in mass quantity. And since you pay per kw/hour, this could really add up.

Energy conservation doesn’t stop there, though. Only running the appliances such as the dishwasher and washing machine when full saves on both electricity and hot water. (Hot water is a double whammy – you incur a water cost, plus the cost to heat the water…and keep it heated.) And promptly removing clothes from the dryer avoids running the dryer again to remove the wrinkles from clothes that have sat too long. (Dryers can be another double whammy…the electricity to run the motor, plus the cost of energy to heat the unit.)

By intelligently regulating the heating and cooling of your house, you can also conserve energy and keep your bills low throughout the year. For example, lowering your thermostat to 68 degrees F when you’re home can save you as much as 5-10% during the cold season. And letting your thermostat go as high as in the mid 70’s during the warm summer months will save you on air conditioning costs.

You can realize even more savings by avoiding overuse of the heat as well. For example, at night, it isn’t necessary to keep the thermostat at 68. Try lowering it even more, and just doubling up on the blankets or cuddling up to your loved one to keep warm.

Keep in mind that all these tips might help you save money on energy…but when it comes to saving on your energy bills there aren’t any guarantees. Why? Because every single home is different. Every single situation is different, just as every family uses energy differently. A family of 5 will use energy much differently than a family of 2. This isn’t a bad thing at all – it is just a fact of life.

Posted by Francoise Christine East Orange NJ

Author: Wendy Pan

Community energy conservation efforts can go a long way with short changes to make a big difference. Community leaders can truly lead the way, by hosting public events that encourage residents to follow energy conservation practices. Local ordinances can be formed or rewritten to encourage conservation of local public resources, and provide avenues for residents to participate in resource conservation, recycling, and reuse of materials.

Local communities are working together to provide recycling centers for public use. They can revise building codes to promote environmentally sustainable technology so that new buildings and remodels are made into healthy buildings. Efforts can be made to avoid excess duplication, by not allowing strip malls on every corner that cover land and add to urban sprawl, through zoning laws that are more environmentally friendly than builder friendly.

As population spreads, so does the impact of pollution and the potential for permanent damage. Local communities can work together to protect the environment and indigenous species from this overload and damage. Mass transit systems can be improved and brought out to their remote communities. Car pooling parking lots can be zoned into land management and car pooling encouraged. Zoning can be planned for maximum use in minimum areas to preserve the landscape, and parks are wonderful additions for local residents. Renewable and recyclable building materials can be encouraged. How land is developed, and built up, has major impact upon local resources and natural habitats. Careful planning can help offset the impact and promote conservation efforts.

By providing local resources, local farm markets, and local recreation sites, overall energy consumption is reduced, and local businesses profit. Even utilities can be managed locally, with some communities being built with a target of zero energy cost, using solar and wind power systems for the entire area. Lighting in buildings and on streets can be refitted to be efficient, solar powered, and otherwise conservative of energy resources. In high population areas, parks help relive the urban heat island problem, as well as be available for local recreation and open spaces.

Community energy conservation needs to increase awareness of the eco-system, and promote new advances in conservation techniques and materials, so they get used. Small changes by all can lead to big results for conservation of natural resources like water, electric and natural gas. Businesses can encourage employees to follow conservative practices at work as well as at home, like turning off unneeded lighting, and powering down machinery and computers when not working with them.

Placed here by Francoise Christine East Orange NJ

By Aazdak Alisimo

Art Conservation and preservation go together. In fact, the very purpose of art conservation is to preserve what we were and what we are now for the generations that will follow us.

Art consists of all of the things created by man with his imagination. The Conservation profession is dedicated to preserving the artifacts created by man for the enjoyment and education of future generations. What is art conservation? It is the field of the preservation of art. It differs a bit from art restoration. Art conservation approaches the idea of preservation from the aspect of prevention. Art restoration attempts to restore objects to their original form.

Preventive conservation is an essential element of any group such as a museum or gallery that holds works of art. The idea is to carefully monitor the condition of the art and the environment surrounding it to minimize any damage. This includes the normal damage from aging and exposure to the elements. This is done by control of the environment and also continuously checking the condition of the art.

Art conservationist and art restorers are sometimes at odds over their different approaches to preservation. The feelings of the conservationist are that the use of modern materials to “touch up” a work of art in an attempt to restore it to its original look actually is destroying the integrity of the work. It is no longer a historic piece of art, but something half old and half new. Often, there is compromise between art conservation and restoration when the restorer is careful to use materials that can easily be removed to improve the appearance of the art. This process is called reversibility. In other words, the art can be reversed by the removal of the touch up materials to its original historic form.

Art conservation often includes the cleaning of works of art. This is considered to be part of the conservation process because dirt, grime, and pollution are serious culprits in the deterioration of the art. Even cleaning can cause some concern due to the potential damage of the cleaning agents. Usually, cleaning is done very carefully under lab conditions.

Art conservation is a very important field and several American Universities have programs for advanced study of it. In the past, little thought was given to the preservation of great works of art and as a result they have been lost to us forever. The creative work of mankind is a legacy that deserves to be passed on to future generations so that they can understand who we were and what our dreams were all about. Art is a reflection of the human race and part of its history and belongs as much to the future as it does to the present.

By: Anthony Kristovich III

There are approximately 85 species of birds in North America that nest in cavities. Some, like woodpeckers, excavate their own holes. Non-excavators like the purple martin nest in cavities previously dug out by other birds or animals. Then there are birds such as wood ducks that nest in naturally occurring cavities that form in many trees. Many of these birds will also nest in birdhouses provided by humans.

If you could travel back to a time before Europeans began coming to the New World, you could see these birds living in abundance, each filling a particular niche in the ecosystem. The birds ate bugs that might otherwise become a plague on woodlands. In turn, their numbers would be kept in check by hawks, owls, snakes, and other predators. It was a beautiful, healthy balance.

In a case of humans living inside their natural balance, Native Americans in some parts of the country discovered long ago that they could attract purple martins to nest in hollowed out gourds. In this case, the martins ate many bugs that were considered pests to people and animals. That is how the first purple martin birdhouse was created. (It is important to note here that, contrary to many claims, mosquitoes are not among the insects favored by purple martins.)

A more common example of human interaction with nature, in the last couple of centuries at least, can be examined in a discussion on “introduced species.” Humans have frequently brought all kinds of plants and animals from their native lands, depositing them on foreign soil. Sometimes it happens accidentally, but there have been many intentional introductions as well. Many times, the new species dies out, because they were taken from their natural niche and inserted where there was no place for them. Occasionally, a species will survive, carving out a new niche. When this happens, it usually has devastating effects on native species.

In the bird world, two strong examples of successfully introduced species are the English house sparrow and the European starling. The house sparrow was brought to North America in the 1850’s in an attempt to reduce insect populations around human communities. This, unfortunately, proved unwise. As the number of sparrows increased, they began to consume huge amounts of grain and growing vegetables, and they competed with native cavity-nesting birds. The intentions were good, but the experiment was simply ill conceived. The house sparrow aggressively defends any nesting site it claims, and these sites are often ones preferred by birds like bluebirds and purple martins.

If the introduction of English house sparrows to the U.S. was ill conceived, the case of the European starling was downright silly. In the 1890’s, a man named Eugene Schieffelin wanted to bring to our shores every bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare. This comedy of errors ultimately culminated in the continental distribution of starlings. They now reside from coast to coast. Highly aggressive, they actually “evict” other cavity-nesting birds from their homes. This, combined with the ever-increasing pace of land development by humans, puts a great deal of pressure on our native bird populations.

Conservation

Conservation is not a new or recent phenomenon. Conservation, or living in a sort of balance with nature, had been the norm for successful cultures for millennia. Many ancient societies had very respectful, and respectable, agricultural policies. Some were as simple as not over-killing, and using all parts of the animal for food, clothing, and shelter. Some early techniques were quite complex, like land terracing, crop rotation, and irrigation.

Then came the Industrial Revolution. Myriad products and services, such as the world had never before seen, suddenly came on the market, ever quicker and in greater numbers. The big businesses that grew up in this environment became very powerful; they felt they were invincible. They treated their workers horribly, they took advantage of consumers by gouging prices, and they ravenously devoured every possible natural resource in the name of profits. Forests, rivers, mountains, oceans, earth, and air all were hostage to the unrestrained avarice of the wealthy few.

Soon, a few wise observers realized that this was a trend with a dead end. In 1864, George Perkins Marsh, considered by many to be America’s first environmentalist, wrote Man and Nature. In it, he argued that rampant deforestation would bring “the face of the earth to a desolation almost as complete as that of the moon.”

Later, in 1892, a man named John Muir founded the Sierra Club, an organization that exists to this day. The first point in its mission statement is to “explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth.”

Let us consider the words of another early proponent of conservationism, President Theodore Roosevelt. He said, “The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others.”

Over time, information and awareness spread, and many groups and individuals stepped up to try to turn the tide of destruction. Today, there are thousands of organizations and millions of people worldwide that are dedicated to improving our ecological outlook. Environmentalism has become a persistent pint of our national and cultural discussion. It has been a big part of presidential campaigns ever since Teddy Roosevelt. It is as if we have always known how important our connection to nature is, but maybe we forgot for a while. Now, we struggle with the thought of sacrificing the life-enhancing things that technological progress has brought us. Though some sacrifices will be necessary, many knowledgeable people believe that they do not need to be big ones.

How a Hobby Can Change the World

There are many things people can do in the course of their ordinary lives to improve the future of the ecology without making any sacrifices whatsoever. Picking up a new pastime - like birding, for example - could help make a positive change. Providing food, via bird feeders, and shelter, by way of birdhouses (also known as nesting boxes), for wild birds can actually help sustain native species. Bluebirds, purple martins, and wood ducks are a few species that are making comebacks thanks, in large part, to the efforts of recreational bird watchers.

By Jennie Gandhi

Ecological disturbance is disastrous for animal and plant life. There are more problems owing to deforestation and global warming that is severely affecting species. Evolution is another feature in all living beings. There are changes in the physical characteristics, habitat and adaptability in animals that is also promoting migration in animal life. The percentage of endangered species each year is increasing and there are efforts by several organizations to save them from extinction.

Fur is being banned in many countries. Fashion may be a vanity affair but celebrities too are vouching for saving animals. Poaching extinct species like chinkara, elephants and other jungle animals is a strict offence. Hunting of exotic animals is another fad which is illegal and there are stringent rules to check for such offence. The government in all countries is setting up huge expanse of lands as national parks and the management is exclusively looking for protecting wild animals.

Animals like the Bengal white tiger, the Golden toad, the Great Auk which was a type of penguin and the Caspian tiger is no more present. There are several species of the bovine and equine variety which is slowly reaching the state of being rare. Another problem is that of availability of water and vegetation that is the result of lumbering or human intervention. Donations and funding is also looked through charity shows and other celebrity show casing to finance wildlife conservation.

There are several subspecies that are getting endangered primarily because of weather fluctuations that is hampering their adaptability or threat to their habitat due to human invasion. Bird sanctuaries are also coming into government purview so that they are well taken care of. Natural cross breeding in case of camels and the double humped camel is another reason which has to be controlled as genetic hybridization hampers the original structure.

Awareness is getting wider with schools also including the need for wild life and plant conservation so that the ecological pollution caused by humans can be controlled. Respecting life is important to maintain the balance of all species in the world. There is a greater need to control hunting and use of fur. It is important to avoid cutting down of trees which is rapid to accommodate industrialization and human dwellings.

By Anne Clarke

Even if you do not consider yourself an environmentalist, a little fuel conservation can really help not just the environment, but also your wallet! The price of petrol seems to always be on the rise. The best defense against rising gas prices is fuel conservation.

Map out a good plan of fuel conservation by following these helpful ways to conserve fuel:

Great fuel conservation starts before you even hit the road:

· Keep your vehicle properly tuned, and it can get from 6 to 20 percent better gas mileage.

· Keep your tires aligned and inflated properly. You should check your tire pressure once a month. Having tire pressures that are too low can increase your use of fuel by 3%

· Replace your air filter.

· If you are not using your roof-racks, take them off! They add to drag. Unnecessary weight in your car can also take away from good gas mileage (this does not mean that you can throw your sister out of the car to conserve fuel… although, it would help!)

· Another way to start good fuel conservation is to plan ahead. Combine your errands into one trip. Think about riding your bike, walking, riding the bus, or carpooling when possible and reasonable.

Fuel conservation can greatly be improved while you are driving or at the pump:

· Slow down! There is a reason why you coast to a gas station when your vehicle is on empty – you are not going to get to a gas station faster by driving faster when the faster you drive the more gas you use! In simpler terms, your fuel usage will greatly decrease when you are driving at speeds above 55 mph. Besides, you will have a safer drive when you slow down, too.

· Avoid rapid accelerating. In fact, you ought to let up on the accelerator (by driving slower), and when you use the accelerator, use it gently. There is a reason why it is called “stepping on the gas.” The harder you step on the gas, the faster you use up your gas. Relax your driving style. Do not drive aggressively. Accelerate slowly. Driving aggressively can lessen your fuel conservation by 30-40 percent.

· Do not tailgate because it will lead to unnecessary braking and then acceleration.

· Do not idle. Modern cars no longer need to warm up to run.

· Turn off your car when you are waiting for someone.

· Your cruise control will add to your fuel conservation (of course, it is unreasonable to use it while just driving around town.)

· Your use of the air conditioner lessens your fuel economy, as well, especially if you use it at 40 mph or more. Why not just open the window to cool off? Park your vehicle in the shade.

· Using overdrive will lessen your fuel consumption while on the highway.

· Drive at the highest appropriate gear.

· While at the gas pump, use the lowest octane petrol suitable for your car – check your owner’s manual.

· Fill up your car with gas early in the morning and on cooler days. The colder the gasoline is, the more compact it is… you will therefore end up getting more bang for your buck.

This may seem like a long road to fuel conservation, but even just doing a few of these things can really help improve your gas mileage. You could possible improve your fuel conservation by 40% or so by following some of these tips.

If all of these suggestions seem overwhelming, just take a few at a time. The road to great fuel conservation can be a long one. Most all of the tips that we have given as of yet can be found in greater detail at the U.S. Department of Energy.

All of the tips on fuel conservation that we have given you so far have to do with the vehicle that you already have. If you are planning on going out and buying a new vehicle, consider a vehicle that conserves fuel by design.

Check out the hybrids or smaller cars. A hybrid vehicle may cost more at the onset, but you will surely save money in the end, especially if gas prices continue to rise. If you do not need a ton of horsepower, abandon it – you will get better gas mileage.

By Judith A. Tartt

Many know peripherally what art conservation is, but rarely take a peek into the field to really explore why it’s important and how it adds to your daily lives. Here, we will examine what art conservation is, and why art conservation is a highly regarded profession.

Art Conservation Defined

Art conservation is the profession that is dedicated to preserving the cultural gems of the world today, for the enjoyment of future generations. Can you imagine Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa disintegrating before your eyes? Or, van Gogh’s The Starry Night being destroyed due to pollution? Or Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon ceasing to exist due to extreme light?

Art conservationists prevent all of these things from happening to the world’s most precious cultural treasures, as well as your family heirlooms.

Art Conservation: The World’s Most Precious Cultural Treasures are Always in Danger

Cultural treasures like the ones mentioned above are in constant danger from naturally occurring environmental factors like extreme heat and cold, humidity, chemical pollutants and excessive light, to name a few.

Furthermore, there are man-made threats, eg, accidental damage and poor handling practices. Art conservationists are trained professionals who know to not only prevent environmental factors from destroying these priceless gems, but who know how to handle them to prevent even accidental damage.

Why Art Conservation Is a Highly Regarded Profession

Art conservation is a highly regarded profession for the following reasons:

Ruled by Ethics: Art conservationists have an applied ethics standard that they must adhere to. These ethical standards have been adopted worldwide, with written guidelines established nationally and internationally across many spectrums of the art world.

For example, there are codes of ethics that apply to museums, art conservators, institutions that borrow art for exhibition, etc. To learn more about applied ethics as they relate to art conservation, visit Art-Care.com.

Many Areas of Specialty: Art conservation is not a one-dimensional profession, which makes it so exciting. If you have a passion for all things old and want to carve out a career as an art conservationist, there’s a niche for you.

Careers in Art Conservation

Some of the niches in art conservation are as follows:

Photograph Conservation: This is the study of how to preserve photographic material. In this discipline, you are required to know how photographs are developed and how to prevent their deterioration.

Furniture Conservation: The perfect career for a lover of antique furniture.

Textile Conservation: Have an interest in preserving old quilts, wall hangings and other textile art for years gone past? Textile conservation is a rewarding career for you.

These niches are just the tip of the iceberg. Some others to consider are book and paper conservation, digital object conservation, frame conservation and more.

By R. Rebecca Carte

If your home is on the market during the winter season, potential home buyers will have your home’s energy efficiency at the top of their mind. Here’re a few tips to make your home more attractive to conservation-minded buyers.

Modernize your thermostat - Simply investing in a programmable thermostat is one of the easiest ways to conserve energy in your home.

Position your thermostat for energy efficiency - Locating your thermostat on an interior wall and at least five feet from the floor will keep the temperature accurate and comfortable.

Decorate your windows - Using shutters, heavy window shades and blinds can help keep the cold air at bay.

Caulk and weather strip doors and windows - Investing a bit of cash at your local hardware store can mean big savings on your energy bill’s bottom line. You can check for air leaks around all your doors and windows by using a candle to check for drafts.

Insulate your attic - One of the cheapest ways to improve energy efficiency in your home is to increase the insulation in the loft space of your attic. Be sure the insulation is at least 6 to 7 inches thick.

Install storm windows - While installation can be a big investment, storm windows are sure to add value to your home by providing an attractive barrier to wintry weather.

Check your fireplace - If you have a fireplace, check the flue for a tight seal and buy a fireplace cover to minimize hot air loss. It’s also important to have your fireplace cleaned once a year to prevent the risk of a house fire.

Consider a new furnace - If your furnace is over 20 years old, consider investing in a newer, modern furnace. While there is an initial cost, you’ll save big with the increased efficiency, and this will surely increase attractiveness to potential buyers.

Check you furnace filter monthly - Replace your furnace filter whenever it looks dirty, as potential homebuyers will often check filters as an indicator to a home’s maintenance. A dirty filter could signal bigger signs of neglect.

Remember, in the winter months home buyers are extra conservation conscious. Making your home warm and energy efficient could mean the difference when comparison shopping!