Is the World Series Green?

With the start of the World Series today also basketball season starting yesterday and this being the only time of the year when all 4 major sports are in swing. I wanted to take a look at sporting events form an environmental point of view. The act of attending a sporting event is not a very green activity in general since it is just for entertainment purposes only and is not a necessary part of our lives. But millions of people attend these events year after year and the gnome likes them to. Sports play a very important part in millions of lives and contribute to the economic and mental stability of several cities world wide. So with that being said here some things you can do when you go to the ballpark that will lessen the environmental impact of attending them:

1. Take public transportation.

2. Don't eat any meat products while at the event(the Gnome will cover why meat is not green in later post).

3. Make sure all your trash ends up the stadium recycling bins.

4. If your drinking beer or soda bring your cup back and have them refill it.

5. Use GoJo or any other waterless hand washing soap use it when going to bathroom (that is if your stadium has them).

If you do all these things you can have pretty environmental guilt free day at the ballpark or event. Also if your local stadium is not recycling or does not have a Green Initiatives program like the new Yankees stadium then write a letter demanding that your stadium do more for the environment. The gnome will talk more in later post about what more stadium owners and event organizers can do to really make all events super green.

GREEN GNOME OUT!

Going Green: Avoiding Asbestos

Going green used to be considered expensive and a luxury for those who could afford the trend. Now it appears that we are learning that not only is adopting more environmentally conscious attitudes good for our economic situation, but also our health? yes, if we dig a bit deeper we can see that dirty industries and backwards policy is actually harming the health of the earth for our children and the health of her inhabitants today.

There are two levels of health consequences associated with dirty industry, both direct and indirect. The direct consequences are examples like increased asthma rates in areas with high smog indices. Chlorofluorocarbon release into the atmosphere has shown to decrease the filter of direct sunlight on the planet, resulting in more concentrated ultraviolet light reaching the surface of the earth. Perhaps it is no surprise then that in countries with depleted atmospheric gas, shin cancer rates are among the highest in the world.

The indirect health consequences are harder to see immediately, but closer examination reveals that these are, in fact perhaps the most hazardous. Bi-products of dirty and backwards industries, such as coal and oil processing, include cancer causing substances like asbestos and benzene. A U.K. study conducted in 2002 indicated that coal and oil industry workers are at much higher risk OK developing mesothelioma and leukemia.

Can we really afford to continue on the path we were on before? Investment in clean industry means not a healthier planet for our children and grandchildren, but also a healthier place for us to live today.

---This is a guest post by James O'Shea with the maacenter

If you want know more goto www.maacenter.org

Kill the Vampires in Your Home

That's right there are vampires in your home! Not the blood sucking vamps you see on Twilight or Trueblood. These are energy vampires items in your home that suck energy while not in use or in stand-bye mode. This is also known as phantom draw or phantom load. These are items are usually electronic devices like your cable box, flat screen TV, cell phone chargers, computer, and ect. While turned off these items account for about 10-15% of your total annual energy use. So that means you are paying $150-$300 per year just to have your electronic devices in your home plugged IN and not in use. The home of 2009 uses about 5x more energy than a home of the 50's.

This is all great to know, but the question is how do we kill all the energy vampires in your home. Well here are some ways to do just that:












1. Have all your energy supplied by a renewable source: If you have all your energy needs supplied by solar, wind or some other renewable source then you have no worries. But if you have gone threw the trouble to do this you have probably put in all the devices necessary to kill your vampire draw. If you haven't you should because this lessening the load on your renewable system and could mean money in your pocket if you are still tied into the grid and get a rebate from your power company for the energy you put back on the grid.

2. Just unplug your vamps while not in use: This is the easiest and cheapest way to handle the problem, but is a pain and is just not practical for most people. No one wants to take 10-15 mins out of there day just to plug and unplug all there electronic devices in their home.

3. Install energy smart power strips: Energy smart power strips(pictured to the left) allow you just plug in your vampire devices and the strip recognizes when the device is not in use and cuts the power to them. More of these types of devices are coming on the market every day and come on many sizes, shapes, and prices. They can range anywhere from $15-$100 it just depends on the make and model. The type that most people would need runs about $20-$30 and is sold at most major retail chains. This is the cheapest and most convenient way for most people to get rid of the phantom draw.

4. Install a Greenswitch system: Greenswitch puts you in custom control of your electricity usage. With Greenswitch, you designate which outlets and lights are affected and you set the personal settings for your programmable climate control. Single-control outlets let you customize each outlet, allowing you, for example, to turn off the TV in one plug while keeping the digital video recorder in the other socket of the same outlet on and recording. You can also set your system up in zones, where one switch powers down your living area when you retire and another switch controls the home office that is used late into the night. This system also ties into your heating and cooling systems allowing you shut every thing off with one switch when you leave the house. This system is wireless and is great for large homes. The only down fall is that this is the second most expensive way to get rid of your vamps.(#1 is going renewable). If you want to know more just hit this link http://www.greenswitch.tv/GreenSwitchUSA.cfm or you can look to the Internet for ways to get ride of phantom draws in your home.

If you do any of these things you can kill the energy vampires in your home!

GREEN GNOME OUT!