A Thyme Of Peas

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You can make a difference in helping to get others to take notice of the importance of saving energy by joining us in the “Earth Hour 2008″ campaign.  The two central goals for Earth Hour 2008 campaign is to help get as many people, houses, communities and businesses to turn off their lights on March 29th, 2008 from 8pm– 9pm.

The main goal of this campaign is to help make a bold statement that the climate changes we are facing are very real and that something as simple as turning out our lights is an important thing that is easily enough done that can truly make a difference.   The hope is that people will continue to look for ways to cut their energy consumption and look for new ways to do things that will help, not harm the Mother Earth we live on.

From the website, EarthHour.org:

“Global warming is one of the greatest threats the world has ever faced. Our continued reliance on electricity sourced from coal-fired power stations is causing a dramatic increase in the Earth’s temperature, resulting in rising sea levels, an increase in drought and severe storms, and massive changes to the environment we all rely on to survive.

For example, if the greenhouse reduction achieved in the Sydney CBD during Earth Hour was sustained for a year, it would be equivalent to taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year.”

This started last year in Sydney, Australia and over 2.2 million Sydney residents took part in; additionally, over 2,100 businesses turned off their lights for Earth Hour. The cities that are taking part this year, as of right now are:

Atlanta, San Francisco, Phoenix, Bangkok, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal and Dublin will join Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense, Manila, Suva, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Toronto and Christchurch.

WWF expects that more than 30 million people will be involved this year, and is still hoping more cities will get on board. To find out more about this campaign and what more we can do, both personally and for our communities, please see their website at EarthHour.

Here at our house we plan on some meditation time and if the weather is decent, going out for a walk. Since we live out in the country it probably won’t look much different than it usually does but I imagine that in those cities involved it will look distinctively different with the lights off.

Technorati Tags: Carbon Emissions, Carbon footprints, Earth Hour, Earth Hour 2008, Energy Conservation, Global Warming, World Wide Fund for Nature

For you, for us, once again, for our earth, I’m here with another plea for our environment, with more quoted material that says it better than I ever could.  I found the following today somehow - serendipity?  I think not but you never know.  The title of the page I found the following information on was called:

“Do more.  Use less.”

Roots & Shoots members take action to help the environment, and so can you!

Switch to CFLs.
ACTION: Change out old incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use 80 percent less energy and produce the same quality of light.

TIP: Try to install CFLs in places where they’ll stay on for at least three hours at a time. The more a CFL is turned on and off, the more quickly it burns out.

FACT: If every U.S. home replaced just one light bulb with a CFL, we could save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year.

RESOURCE: Get CFLs.

Stop door drafts.
ACTION: Keep heat from escaping through gaps and cracks with heavy curtains or a weighted draft-stopper on the floor.

TIP: To test for air leaks, get a parent to hold a lit candle next to the door on a windy day. If the flame flickers, you might have a leak.

FACT: Heating and cooling our homes contributes to global warming by using energy that releases carbon dioxide into the air. The average single-family U.S. home emits nearly 13,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

RESOURCE: Make a “door snake.”

Use power strips.
ACTION: A lot of electronics use energy even when you turn them off. Plug your TV, computer and whatever else into a power strip, and flip it off when you’re not using it.

TIP: If a small light or clock stays on when you turn the device off, then it’s still using energy.

FACT: The average U.S. home uses about 450 kilowatt-hours of energy per year to power electronics that aren’t in use.

RESOURCE: Get some strips.

Get efficient.
ACTION: If your family is shopping for new appliances, tell your parents to check out ENERGY STAR® products, which conserve energy. Kenmore® Brand offers a lot of ENERGY STAR® qualified products—and even some appliances that exceed ENERGY STAR® requirements.

TIP: Water and energy are related because it takes energy to move and to heat water. Letting your faucet run for five minutes consumes about as much energy as using a 60-watt light bulb for 14 hours.

FACT: About one-third of household electricity consumption comes from kitchen and laundry appliances.

RESOURCE: Research appliances.

Spread the word.
ACTION: Spread the word about conservation by telling a friend.

TIP: Communication is a powerful tool, and word of mouth is a simple and inexpensive way to raise awareness about conservation issues.

FACT: Roots & Shoots has tens of thousands of members in more than 100 countries, all working together to help conserve our natural resources.

RESOURCE: Start a conservation conversation on the Roots & Shoots Discussion Boards.

Less is more when it comes to conserving precious resources like water and energy.

Take shorter showers.
ACTION: Cut your shower time to five minutes or fewer to save water—and the energy used to heat it.

TIP: Take showers instead of baths. Taking a bath uses about 70 gallons of water, while taking a 5-minute shower uses 10 to 25 gallons.

FACT: In the United States in 2000, we used about 408 billion gallons of water per day.

RESOURCE: Find out how much water you use.
Switch off lights.
ACTION: When you leave a room, turn off the light. Make sure others do too.

TIP: You can use contact paper to design, cut out and decorate informative light switch plate covers that help others remember to turn off the light.

FACT: In the United States in 2001, we used 101 billion kilowatt-hours of energy to light our homes.

RESOURCE: Learn more ways to use less energy.Work your washers.
ACTION: If you’re helping with the laundry or loading the dishwasher, use a setting that fits the load so you don’t waste energy.

TIP: Your family can also conserve water and energy by using ENERGY STAR® qualified appliances, which are available from Kenmore® Brand.

FACT: Researchers predict that 36 U.S. states will experience water shortages by 2013.

RESOURCE: Test your water knowledge.

Close the fridge.
ACTION: Grab what you want to eat. Then shut the fridge door to keep the cold air in. Kenmore® Brand refrigerators have sensors that detect temperature changes and adjust to keep foods fresh while conserving energy.

TIP: Check to see if your fridge seals properly by closing a piece of paper in the door and then pulling on it. If it slips out easily, tell your parents that your fridge may need new seals.

FACT: We in the United States make up only 5 percent of the world’s population but consume 26 percent of the world’s energy.

RESOURCE: Learn about energy-efficient fridges.

Turn down the heat.
ACTION: Instead of cranking up the thermostat, put on a sweater when it’s cold outside.

TIP: A few degrees can make a big difference in energy use. Ask your parents to keep the thermostat above 74 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and at or below 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter.

FACT: In the United States in 2001, we used 356 billion kilowatt hours of energy to heat and cool our homes.

RESOURCE: Check out renewable energy.

 Roots & Shoots members take action to help the environment, and so can you!

 Will you pledge to take these 10 Simple Actions to conserve water and energy at home?

Figures are approximate and drawn from:

• United States Department of Energy

• United States Environmental Protection Agency

• United States Geological Society

• ENERGY STAR®

• American Almanac

• Center for New American Dream

 On the sidebar is this:

Dr. Jane Goodall’s global Roots & Shoots program empowers youth to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment, through informed and compassionate action. Kenmore® is proud to team up with this important organization.

Roots & Shoots and Kenmore®- teaming up to help you make the world a better place, starting right in your own home!

One last thing from me.  While I strongly endorse all the suggestions that have been made above by Roots and Shoots and who knows else who contributed to those 10 actions we can take, we do not personally endorse any products or companies that you may see mentioned on this website - they might be great but it’s not up to us to say one way or another.

The one thing we do feel safe to say is that conserving energy in any of the “little” ways we can really does make a big difference when we think of how much we could save if everyone jumped on the wagon….sleigh?

Have a peaceful, beauty-filled day with much love thrown in for good measure. 

Technorati Tags: Conservation, Ecology, Energy Conservation, Energy consumption, Environment, Life, Make a difference, World

While I was thinking about writing this article the other day for you, I had a thought about the war and about the mention of the trillions (yes, that’s trillions) of dollars each day that have been being spent on this war with/on Iraq.  The amounts of money that we spend on war are staggering when you really break it down and look at it. 

Then I began to think of how much better the money we have been spending on the war with Iraq could have been spent - on education.

My research brought me to a page that really brought a smile to my face.  The page I had found is called “I buy different” and it seems to be put together for children. It is sponsored by The World Wildlife Fund and Center for a New American Dream;  both very much worth checking out, along with the “I Buy Different” site.

When I thought about the “I buy different” site, I was reminded of when I was a girl when Nixon was president :angry: and there was an energy crisis going on. Some of the things that my folks taught me today still ring in my head and I practice them (for the most part) automatically.

The things that stuck with me were to turn off a light when I leave a room and the old theme: “Drive 55 (mph), Stay Alive” (and save big on the gas mileage). While I’ve not always driven 55 I do hear that little voice in my head telling me that I *should* drive 55 mph while on the highways and how much of a difference that can make on our gasoline usage. It’s the little things that add up that we as consumers can and should do.

Another of the things we had to do as a family was wash out old cans so my dad could then removed the other end then flatten so we’d have more room for recycling. That was about the extent of what we used to call recycling in those days at my house.

It helps children to start thinking of how they spend their money and what happens to the environment depending on the choices they make about their food, what they were, where they buy it, what happens to it when they are done with it. This is one of those things that we could and should be spending our money on as opposed to - (ahem) - well, what ever it is - like the war or a brand new SUV or even the latest gadgets that we buy. If we can start learning about those things earlier in life there is a huge chance that they really can help change the world.

Wishing you peace today.

Technorati Tags: Energy Conservation, Energy consumption, Gasoline Consumption, Gasoline saving tips, Peace, Recycle, Reuse, Saving energy tips, World