Green Living Workshop update week 4 2009

Sustainable Works Green Living Workshops

There are 3 workshops currently running.
Scroll down to find your current Workshop topic or review previous topics

Mondays 7-8:30pm
The Green Life

Tuesday 6-7:30pm
Heal the Bay

Wednesday 7-8:30pm
Santa Monica Public Library


Week 2 ENERGY 1/19, 1/20 & 1/21
Week 3 WASTE 1/20,1/21& 1/22


Homework:
read WASTE
3 ENERGY Solutions


ENERGY

In the News
>>President 'has four years to save Earth' - US must take the lead to avert eco-disaster. Via Guardian.co.uk.

>>How Conclusive Is Climate Change Research? - via NPR's Day to Day, January 28, 2009 · Stanford University biology professor Stephen Schneider worked alongside former Vice President Al Gore to research the significance of global warming. Host Alex Cohen talks with Schneider about the state of climate change research today.

>>Come Dry Spells and High Water - Climate change is "largely irreversible" for the next 1,000 years even if carbon dioxide emissions could be abruptly halted, according to a new study led by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Via Grist.org

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs)

Via GreenLAGirl

>>How Fluorescent Lights Work (same principle as CFLs) - CFLs Responsible for Less Mercury than Incandescent Light Bulbs Ironically, CFLs present an opportunity to prevent mercury from entering our air, where it most affects our health. The highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, the most common fuel used in the U.S. to produce electricity. A CFL uses 75% less energy than an incandescent light bulb and lasts at least 6 times longer. A power plant will emit 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only 2.4mg of mercury to run a CFL for the same time.

>>The Best CFL Bulbs for Indoor Lighting - Low Impact Living's guide to CFLs.

>>Lighten Up in '09: Shopper's Guide to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs - via Environmental Working Group.

>>Yes, There Are Dimmable Compact Fluorescent Bulbs - read Low Impact Living's guide to dimmable CFLs or go here to see a product list.

>>CFL Disposal - Used CFLs should be disposed with your Household Hazardous Waste. You can also drop them off at Home Depot or Ikea.

>>Entire EPA Fact Sheet on CFLs and Mercury

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

>>How LEDs Light Emitting Diodes Work

>>www.EternaLEDs.com - Local LED retailer

Energy Efficiency & Rebates
>>Community Energy Partnership free Home Energy Efficiency Tune-Up worth up to $200 - Benefits include: saving energy, saving money, increased comfort, reducing peak energy demand, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For more information or to see if your home qualifies for a tune-up, please call toll free at (800) 968-5203 or email partnership@energycoalition.org.

>>Home Energy Saver - According to Paul Rauber from the Sierra Club "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's exhaustive Home Energy Saver requires lots of data but pinpoints what's costing you money and which upgrades will save you the most."

>>Smart Strip - auto switches your devices on/off automatically, to save energy and save you money on your electric bills.

>>Kill a Watt - Identify the real energy abusers in your house. See how much it costs you to keep your computer running all day. Kill a Watt review

>>LADWP Residential Home Energy Efficiency Rebate Programs - Receive rebates on Energy Star refrigerators, dual pane windows, and air conditioners.

>>Southern California Edison Energy Efficiency Rebate Programs - Receive rebates on Energy Star refrigerators, whole house fans, air conditioners and more.

Insulation

>>Weatherize & Insulate - Save up to 20 percent of your heating and cooling costs. (from Alliance to Save Energy)

• Warm air leaking into your home during the summer and out of your home during the winter wastes money. A handy homeowner can seal up holes to the outside by weatherstripping doors and sealing windows and other gaps along the home’s foundation. A combination of air sealing and adding insulation to attics, basements, and crawlspaces provides tremendous energy savings and increased comfort.
• The easiest and most cost-effective way to insulate your home is to add insulation in the attic. If you have less than 6 or 7 inches, you can probably benefit by adding more. Most U.S. homes should have between R-38 and R-49 attic insulation. In order to achieve this, many homeowners should add between R-19 to R-30 insulation (about 6 to 10 inches).
• Other effective places to add insulation include unfinished basement walls and crawlspaces. Insulating walls can be more complex, but it can be worthwhile to do if you have little or no insulation now. Check with a contractor for advice.

>>To see a variety of greener insulation materials visit the Green Building Resource Center in Santa Monica.

Global Warming
>>An Inconvenient TruthHeatisOnline.org - Excellent web resource for tracking the real information about Global Warming. Written by Ross Gelbspan, author of the two ground breaking books on Global Warming we mentioned, The Heat is On and Boiling Point.

>>Smoke, Mirrors and Hot Air - The Union of Concerned Scientists article on the connection between the "Global Warming skeptics", their funding by Exxon Mobile, and the skeptics history of performing the same disception for the Tobacco industry.

>>Misinformation regarding Global Warming provided by Exxon

Coal

>>End Mountain Top Removal - Find out your connection to mountain top removal. Mountaintop removal is a radical form of coal mining in which entire mountains are literally blown up -- and it is happening here in America on a scale that is almost unimaginable. Mountaintop removal is devastating hundreds of square miles of Appalachia; polluting the headwaters of rivers that provide drinking water to millions of Americans; and destroying a distinctly American culture that has endured for generations.

Renewable Energy
>>How to sign up for LADWP Green Power

>>SolarSantaMonica.com - The City of Santa Monica's excellent new resource for those looking to add Solar Power.


Solar Power PhotoVoltaic (PV) Financing
>>www.newresourcebank.com - offers renewable energy loans.

>>www.heliopower.com - PV with no upfront costs and higher KiloWatt cost.

>>www.sunrunhome.com - PV with small upfront investment and lower KiloWatt cost.

>>www.solarcity.com - PV company which in addition to selling the panels now also sells the service the Panels provide, called a Solar Lease program. With the SolarLease, you pay as you go, instead of all at once. Monthly lease payments combined with the lower electric bill is usually lower than what you are currently paying the utility company. So you can save money every month! Not only that, but this savings can grow over time as utility rates continue to increase. That's because utility rates have historically increased over 5% every year. With a SolarLease, you can lock in lower electricity rates for the term of your lease.

Carbon Offsets
>>Carbon Neutral Digest

>>www.carbonneutraldigest.com - website tracking latest news regarding carbon offsetting

>>Carbon Offset price comparisons - link to the ever growing and changing list of organizations to offset your CO2 based on price

>>Carbon Offset Recommendations from Tufts University

>>Carbon Offset Consumer Handout from Tufts University

>>A few suggestions help you select an offsetter:
Atmosfair
Carbonfund.org
Climate Friendly
My Climate
Native Energy

Controversy over Additionality
>>LA Times hands it to Native Energy - from Carbon Neutral Digest.


Documentaries on ENERGY
>>An Inconvenient Truth - former Vice President Al Gore presents a compelling look at the state of global warming in the fascinating and startling documentary

>>The 11th Hour - a documentary concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity.

>>Burning the Future: Coal in America - Writer/director David Novack examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging “clean coal” energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction. Faced with toxic ground water, the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, and a government that appeases industry, our heroes demonstrate a strength of purpose and character in their improbable fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life.

>>The End of Suburbia - A movie that discusses the dwindling supply of cheap energy in the form of fossil fuels and its effect on society.

Books about ENERGY issues
>>An Inconvenient Truth - Gore’s follow-up to the bestselling Earth in the Balance. Both the book and film were inspired by a series of multimedia presentations on global warming that Gore created and delivers to groups around the world.

>>The Heat is On - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan exposes the machinations of oil and coal companies and conservative politicians to undermine the public confidence in science and thereby defer action against global warming. This riveting expose is a spirited call to action against the corporate disinformation campaign that threatens us all.

>>Boiling Point - Gelbspan, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, offers no less than a call to arms in this treatise on how global warming is a threat and how it can be avoided.

>>Power Down - If the US continues with its current policies, the next decades will be marked by war, economic collapse, and environmental catastrophe. Resource depletion and population pressures are about to catch up with us, and no one is prepared. The alternative is "Powerdown," a strategy that will require tremendous effort and economic sacrifice in order to reduce per-capita resource usage in wealthy countries, develop alternative energy sources, distribute resources more equitably, and reduce the human population humanely but systematically over time.