Are You Doing Your Part to Help the Energy Crisis? Tell Us and Get a Free Book!

I use energy efficient light bulbs and walk short distances instead of driving, as well as carpooling to work and otehr places. I consolidate my trips when I do go places.

I work at home so don't drive to work, we're a one car family instead of two, consolidate errands and shopping so that we use the car less, and walk everywhere possible. We chose this particular apartment because it is centrally located within walking distance of anywhere we want to go often - schools, library, park, casual dining, etc.

We have been replacing allof our lightbulbs with energy efficient ones. We also replaced our ancients washer and dryer with new front loading Energy Efficients ones. And we have also been talking about buying a energy windmill so we can produce our own energy.There exspensive but if you look at it in the long run it actually saves you money.Plus its so much better for the enviroment.

For the last several years we have been in our power company's renewable energy program, paying slightly more to have all of our power sourced from renewable resources.

Take care, if you use compact fluorescent bulbs, that you dispose of them properly. They contain mercury which poses health risks if they break, they should not be tossed in the trash and sent to the landfill. You should also be aware of potential health effects from their use, even aside from the breakage and mercury issue - they've been linked to migraines, seizures, and other maladies.

Since my husband and I think about environmental issues a lot we try very hard to leave a small footprint; this is a perfect book because there is always something more a person can do.

About a month ago I started washing all our clothes in cold water. Today I started turning my computer off when I was done using it instead of just allowing it to go to sleep. Other things we have been doing for awhile now include using rechargeable batteries, replacing all of our light bulbs with compact fluorescents (including our porch light which rarely gets turned on these days), buying in bulk, bringing our own reusable cloth bags to the grocery store, composting, taking the bus/train/walking/cycling when ever we can. We also try not to buy plastic. We use cloth napkins, & never buy paper plates, paper napkins, or paper towels.

My way of solving this problems are in two projects. Since fuel is one of the most important things in this country, I figuer it out how to make it without touching a gas station.,
My first project is called bio diesel, easy to make, because u can make it with fry oil, or any kind of oil, u can make it from sugar cane, u can make it from some fruit, well allmost enything, even almonds, and everything what u would make oil. Is easy to make, there are several things on internet how to make it work, or u can buy a prototype by your self, and the only thing u have to do is just to drain all in a big tank, and the process is automatic, and Bingo! U got Bio Diesel, and when u drive your car, you have a fresh smell of fries.

Second project,
Is called Gas project, this consist to ad a tank of gass in your car, and ad a host in your house to fill this tank of gas on your house by your self, wich is more cheap than gasoline. Ok this is how is work, the car can work with a base of gas too, in only need a tank conected to the receiver of gasoline, as well, there are several things on internet how to make them, witch is very easy, and dont require that much work. at the end you get it to work. For this one is very recommendable, because of the octanage, the gas has more octanes than the gassoline it self, and make your vehicle more faster, cleaner, and all the car interior will be inpecable, and the exaustion will be a gass without smell, and by being a natural gass donsent harm the envioroment. This are my two projects,

1st one I will work on it, so in some how, I produce bast hundreds of galons, so now all can go driving with bio Diesel, and not charge that horrible price they are charging for gasoline, because the top price is 2 dollars per galon, so I am in this project witch gladly I will love to make.
the second one, It would be to make a company for installing thins tanks and preparing hostest on the houses, so there we GO. Freedom From The OIL.


Truth...
Goverment dosent make this anuntiations because oil is a big bussiness that fill their pockets and harm our well being, so measures are being stopped because they dont want people to be independent of something they are being well paid for.
In my country this project is being taking on hand, the next year we are going to entry in the Bio Diesel program, every gas station is going to give bio diesel, because gasoline and diesel make a such big harm in our envioroment, and by just changing this, we have the chance to help envioroment, becuase bio diesel dosent make any harm, than just making more raining when it goes to the sky, so anyone f you have the chance, help us to make this world a better place, just by showing other people what is right, and making a chain reaction in what it is, saving our dear planet before we destroy it by giving the rich more power, and the poor, more taxes.

God Bless you all, and I hope the best for everyone who reads this message.

Thanks

We drive a compact car, although not a hybrid. It gets 35 mpg, and thats not too bad. We recycle paper, plastics and aluminum. Luckily, there are bins behind our building. We purify our own water, and use canvas bags at the grocery. We probably do more, but I'm tired right now...

I am saving my money for a Chevrolet Volt. My husband works at home when he can and we recylce grocery bags. We keep using the same bacg until it is falling apart.

We walk or take the bus almost everywhere - we are a zero cat household. Occasionally we will take a cab or ask friends and family for a ride if it is not walking distance, or we have too much to carry.

We replaced every single lightbulb in our home and also in our weekend place (over 100 lightbulbs), with energy efficient ones. I carry cloth shopping bags in my car for grocery and other shopping. We recycle whenever possible, and collect rainwater for watering our potted plants. Our kids are environmentally concious as well. We combine errands to drive the least possible. I wash almost everything in the short cycle and use cold or warm water as much as I can. Coffee grounds make a great fertilizer, and a vinegar/water cleaner does a fabulous job in the bathroom and kitchen.

I would like to think I am doing my part to work towards contributing to a greener world that has a sustainable renewable source of affordable energy. I am a co-founder of Green Helping Hands and FUSE USA (Friends United for Sustainable Energy) here in the state of NY (www.fuseusa.org). I have participated in two home deconstructions wherein we recycle most of the homes back into other projects. I was also the founder of an organization in Ohio that raised enough funds to donate over 400,000 trees to school children and private citizens during Earth Week events...that organization was ceeded over to the local Rotary when I moved from the community.

I have replaced my light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs. I have a programable thermostat and set the heat back into the lower 60's at night. I have my TV and all the components on a power stip and shut them on and off with that. I have a blanket on my hot water heater, and a friend is coming over next week to measure how much insulation I need to insulate my floor/crawlspace ceiling. I will also insulate all of the heat runs in the crawl space. I recycle everything that I can- looks like a great book!

I use paper bags, have insulated every crack & pore of my house. I drive an energy efficient car as I need it to get to work. I stop off on my way home to get groceries. Light bulbs have all been replaced. We shovel snow whenever possible instead of using the snow thrower. Until we get rid of our gas guzzling SUV's in this country, people will be paying the price for oil. We have sucked the environment dry & can longer afford to do so.

We use energy efficient light bulbs, keep the thermostat set at a certain temp, since warmer weather is coming we will be opening windows and completely turning the heater/AC off, & recycle items. We will be adding more insulation in the attic soon. I think we can do more, but haven't gotten to it yet.
Sounds like an interesting book.

I always use the energy efficient light bulbs. They are the best! If you aren't switched over, do it now! :)

Also, we attempt to save our electricity usage by opening windows when the days are temperate enough to allow for that.

We live about 60 miles from my husband's work. He drives the 5 miles to the train station and uses the combination of train and metro even though it makes the commute a little more complicated. I attempt to carpool when I can for our field trips or excursions with my parents. We also bike and ride when possible, though that's not really doable for the majority of things here.

I wish I could do more. In a perfect world I'd install solar panels, get these windows replaced, and have both of us using hybrid cars. Unfortunately I don't have that kind of cash. :( (Oh yeah, and I'm a renter in this house.)

I even purchased some of the reusable bags from the grocery store to use for my shopping. (I LOVE THOSE!)

It's not much, but every little bit helps!!!

I would LOVE to see us making a real shift in how we treat our environment. I would like to see towns encouraging builders to think harder and make places more conducive to walking/biking. I'd like cars to get a decent gas mileage

I drive a hybrid, pay a bit more for alternative energy, run or walk sometimes for errands, grow some of my own food, participate in an alternative credit group seeking to encourage local trade and investment in value at home, encouraged my church to stop using pesticides in the garden (this got done), (I haven't gotten them to grow edibles yet, but I am praying on that one), participate in Peak Oil meetings to keep up with what is going on, keep my thermostat at 60 degrees and work out when I feel cold.

Do you mean what am I doing to keep the crisis going or what am I doing to curtail the crises?

I have turned off my heater and try to use it only in the late afternoon and early. .... I live in northern California so I do get cold weather but I do not get snow unless I drive 15 miles to get to the snow line of the Sierra Nevada foothills. This changes when rain storms and cold high winds go through. Why? Because the cheap builders out here do not truly weatherize homes. I cannot envision anyone in the plains states or Northeast tolerating door frames and windows where one can literally see the wind blow through. Also, we pay a much higher rate for electricity than back east.

I miss the ocean breeze because here at the top of the Sacramento Valley the summers get hot. Not as bad as the dessert, but pretty close. Air Conditioning is the only thing other than family that keeps me here in the easy going northland. Besides an hours drive gets me well into the mountauns and a 3 hour drive gets me to the coast. But I would much rather sit around the pool with some iced tea then get in a stuffy car to cool down.

Also I try to do laundry at times when it does impact the grid as much.




I have not bought those oldfashioned light bulbs in years and it does make a difference both in cost and in lifetime of the bulbs.

I am not doing nearly enough, and America could do so much more. But thank you for raising the question and addressing the issue in your book. Good for you.

Through the Greenpeace, Sierra Club and World Wildlife Fund's websites - I've taken online action and sent letters to politicians that global warming is a critical sustainability issue and investing in technologies of renewable energy is an important environmental topic the government should acknowledge and support eco-ideas.

Around my home, I've changed my old lightbulbs into those twirly looking energy saving light bulbs. I also do my best to bring a tote bag when I go shopping. I usually leave one in the car. Save a plastic or brown paper tree I guess....hehehe...reducing any amount of waste helps!

I am a cheapskate, which has the happy side effect of keeping our energy consumption down.
We keep our thermostat at 63 in the winter, 80 in the summer.
We have large trees that shade the house in summer, reducing the need for A/C.
Our house was built in the pre-airconditioning days, and has wonderful cross ventilation when the windows are open. It also has long porch overhangs that keep the direct sun of the windows in the summer.
A while back we replaced most of our windows with energy efficient triple pane units. This cut down on the drafts, making the house more comfortable at a lower temperature. It also had the pleasant and unexpected side effect of cutting down the noise from outside.
I despise those compact flourescent bulbs, however in the one lamp we leave burning in the evenings we have one. We choose to turn off the lights when we are not in a room. Zero power use is better than low power use.
In the daytime I open the blinds and shades, and take advantage fof the natural light.
We have a modest home. No 100 light bulbs here. I counted. We have 28. That includes the garage and the porch lights. Our house is 60 amps, and we have never blown a fuse.
We use task lighting. A 25 watt bulb in my desk lamp provides better light than the 100 watt overhead light.
Cars are a money pit. We have them, but they are modest cars and we drive as little as possible. I work at home, so most weeks my car is used once, for grocery shopping.
Speaking of grocery shopping, once a week is it. I don't like grocery stores. If we run out of something, too bad. We do without until the next scheduled shopping day. No trips to the store for one item.
I have a good set of knives. No food processor or blender or other kitchen gadgets needed. I have a nice collection of cloth dinner napkins. I do laundry every week, so a few more pieces is no problem.
We rarely use paper towels. We go thru 3 rolls a year.
A few year ago I did one of those carbon footprint quizes, and we are still hogs compared to most of the world. I don't know how much more I am willing to cut back, but we are mindful of the cost and consumption associated with the choices we make.

I rarely drive anywhere - when I do, I try to cosolidate trips.
We use energy efficient lightbulbs
I dry most of my clothes on a dryer rack instead of using the dryer
We installed an energy-efficient heat pump, and keep the temp at 63 in the winter and 80 in the summer
i'd love to do even more!

Too late, to participate. What a great chance for a book.

Energy independence is the most important issue of our time. I am personally in the planning stage of building a new home. I have been to my manufacturers ICF training, I am doing research on radiant heat, and solar hot water, both will be part of my strategy.

I have downsized my car, and will be purchasing a Hybrid for my wife in the next few months. When a hybrid is available that suits my needs, I will change cars again.

CF light bulbs are helpful, but the best electrical strategy seems to be to have whole room switches, or at least switched outlets, which eliminate phantom power draws. I will be using switches which shut off all the lower sockets for TV's etc, and switches connected to the upper outlet for lights. Each room will have an unstitched outlet for clocks, etc. Though it is difficult to find appliances which don't have clocks etc, I am resigned to the fact that they will be flashing when the switch is on.

Solar panels are part of my strategy too. They will be linked to my meter, as I don't intend to live off the grid. This eliminates the need for storage batteries which bring environmental consequences with them. I am researching the possibility of a small wind generator too. My lot is an acre, and there are no covenants.

I intend to bury pipe in a pit and circulate coolant to cool the floors in summer, should require only a pump, and no compressor, saving significant energy.

While I am a global warming skeptic, I do what ever I can to maintain a clean environment. I don't feel it is a politically motivated fear issue; for my family, good stewardship of the environment is a quality of life issue.

I also have great difficulty supporting terrorist nations with oil/blood money, so energy independence is a concern for me. I feel energy prices from all sources will continue to skyrocket, and only when demand is significantly reduced, will energy loose its place as a political wedge issue.

Just got accepted to this group...wanted to stop in and give you a thanks for choosing me as one of the ten to recieve a copy of the book. I am looking forward to both reading it, and reviewing it.

Sherwood M.

1. I carpool with my co-workers everyday;
2. I recycle every possible thing;
3. I seldom use heater or air conditioner;

We have switched all our light bulbs to energy savers. We sort our trash and have started a compose pile for tilling into our garden. We recycle everything we can, making a trip to the recycle center twice a month. My husband walks to work to save on gas. I bought and use recycled shopping bags. In the summer I hang my clothes out to dry instead of using my gas dryer which takes energy and heats up a hot house. We set our thermostat at 68 degrees during the day and 65 degrees at night. We are planning getting some barrels this summer to collect rainwater to reuse for washing our car and watering the garden.

We do several energy saving tasks. I was raised in the country so saving energy has always been a way of life for us.

We catch rain water to use for mopping, watering the garden and such.

We combine all our shopping into one trip. Using a list helps with this.

We do not keep lights on when there is nobody in the room.

TV and radio is off when we are not in the room.

We have solar radio, solar outdoor lights and solar battery chargers.

We compost our vegetable and fruit waste as well as paper.

We use natural and homemade cleaners.

When we wash dishes by hand, we use the water to water the plants.

We purchased a HE washer that saves so much water and power as well. I am amazed at the savings.

There are so many other things that we do as well.

We live in the country but we try to conserve gas. We changed the light bulbs to the low energy ones.We turn off our computers at night. We leave the heater turned down and wear sweaters in the houseWedon't use paper plates. I only wash clothes once a week.there areother things we could do. We are working on it.

"All comments must be entered by Thursday, March, 6th to be eligible."

It would seem I am a bit late but, I'll comment anyways.

I write whomever I believe might assist in reversing the Federal governments ban on Industrial Hemp.
Now I know a lot of people think Industrial Hemp is equal to marijuana but, they are ill informed.
Many people tout the usage of Industrial Hemp as a BioFuel, which it is viable as such
My main concern regarding it's production is geared towards utilizing it as a supplemental for petroleum-based by-products used in such things as lubricants, paints, plastics, etc...
Imagine if we had at our disposal a resource that could reduce our dependancy on Oil by replacing it's use in all these other manufactured goods.

Oh, and for all you who believe Hemp is Marijuana, know this, fields and fields of Industrial Hemp would pollinate any drug-producing marijuana plants growing in the united states, rendering them harmless and useless as a drug.

Imagine using Hemp to manufacture biodegradable plastics ! Plastic components that do not last hundreds of years before breaking down in the environment but, plastics we use everyday that biodegrade within 25 years.

The Future of Plastics is Here! http://www.hempplastic.com/

My children are grown. I no longer need to drive my gas guzzling van. I gave myself a gift for Christmas, a Honda Fit. My friends laugh at what they call my "Matchbox Car" but I laugh when I pull up to the pump.
Liz

I'm trying to find $5 million to fund a project to convert any vehicle to run 100% on ordinary tap water.

Sounds incredible, but its been done a few times now, and the guy I'm partnering with ran a Chevy for 500 miles on less than a litre of water.

The end result of the project will be a piece of kit that can be retro-fitted to any vehicle. Made in bulk, it should come in for well under $150 each, retail.

The game is to get the funding and then do the development work 'underground'. My partner has already had his life threatened by vested interests. Once the development is done - three years, at most - we'll get the device made in huge numbers and get them distributed and out there before we can be stopped. If we can fund it, we'd love to give away the first 500,000 devices, just to make sure the technology can no longer be buried.

If you're interested in helping to fund this project, drop me a line and we'll talk. It could be the one thing that saves us all.

I use less energy when it's not needed,I stay home more,I recycle what I can,I cook over campfire,I reuse paper cups for growing seeds,watch less tv,etc etc There are all kinds of things that we can do.

I have done several things.
We replaced all our lightbulbs with the new more energy efficient ones.
I also bought a programmable thermostat, which I keep at higher or lower levels depending on the season.
I fill up my car at the appropriate times.
I also combine my trips and stay home several days a week so that I don't even have to start my car.