Archive for April, 2009

Will Metro Go Green?

I sure hope so.  Here is  link to the Green Ribbon Committees recommendations for the city in the coming years. http://www.nashville.gov/mayor/green_ribbon/docs/summary_report_0904.pdf

 There is certainly focus on rewarding people of driving efficient cars and utilizing more efficient systems in their homes as well as intent for the govt. to lead by example.  That’s pretty novel eh?  I am hoping we will continue to see this on a federal level as well.  Here is Energy Star’s list of  rebates and credits offered http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits  

What the heck is carbon foot print?

 We’ve been hearing that term a lot lately but if your like me, you might think it has to do with you stepping in something.   According to Wikipedia a carbon footprint is “the total set of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organization, event or product.”  By now I think we all know that there is mounting concern that greenhouse gases warming our atmosphere and causing polar ice melt.    The question is where are all the gases coming from?

Cars and ships are big culprits and certainly many countries are working to regulate emissions and increase efficiency.  However, an even bigger culprit is buildings.  According to several sources including the EPA, buildings account for somewhere between 40 and 50% of our the Green houses gasses emitted in to the atmosphere.  In theory your home is a bigger polluter than your automobile.  

What’s been eye opening to me is that electricity is so dirty.  It takes energy to generate electricity and the majority of the electricity generated in the US is generated by burning coal.   There are several factors that make coal so dirty. For one thing it’s hard to get to and requires strip mining which permanently destroys the ecology of the land.  Once they have the coal, they have to refine it which creates byproduct that has to be stored.  They also have to store the ash after burning it which as we know evidenced by the TVA Ash Spill, these storage areas can and do fail with catastrophic results.  The big culprit for the emissions is the gasses emitted when it’s burned to generate electricity.  Homes on average use a whopping 9000 lbs of coal  per year which in theory makes them more dirty than your car.

The question is what do we do about it?   For one thing, there is a movement towards building smaller more efficient homes.   You  can also focus on integrating green features and energy saving technologies within your home such as Energy Star windows or upgrading your insulation.   There are a number of companies including TVA that will come to your home and conduct an energy audit with a comprehensive list of recommendations.  

Besides the environmental impact, reducing your carbon footprint, may reap dramatic financial benefit as well and is certainly worth investigating.  

Going Green Where to start?

 I  believe whole heartedly that conserving energy is the quickest and easiest solution to some of our financial and environmental woes but wonder if simply trying a different light bulb or using cloth shopping bags make that much difference.    Green is  the new “pc” thing to be these days but it’s more complicated and meaningful than just cocktail party fodder.  I have been  looking at the “why” of it all because I don’t want to waste time and money on products or habits if it doesn’t help anything.  

I freely admit that my house is an air leaking, water wasting, carbon emitting abomination (maybe a slight exaggeration but it’s a 50’s ranch so not by much) and the economy bites so I can’t really overhaul the thing.   East Nashville is my home and I am on a journey of discovering what my family and I can do to turn our little  energy wasting relic into an eco-friendly masterpiece on a shoe string through the resources that are available in our area.  

Tomorrow I will be at Nashville’s Earth Day Festival trolling for ideas to try on my place and peddling some sexy green new construction at the Cambridge Park booth.   Drop by, I’m looking for your input!