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2009 Second Warmest Year of Warmest Decade on Record

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

An article on Environmental News Service website reported: “January 2000 to December 2009 was the warmest decade on record. Throughout the last three decades, the GISS surface temperature record shows an upward trend of about 0.2°C (0.36°F) per decade.” James Hansen of NASA went on to say: “There’s a contradiction between the results shown here and popular perceptions about climate trends.” Do ya think?

It’s a good article that addresses a cool 2008 due to the tropical Pacific cooling, and that the Arctic and Antarctic in particular warmed more than the rest of the earth. It also explained that our lower 48 states only comprise 1.5 of the total earth’s surface so our overall temperature doesn’t factor in greatly. Guess that leaves out the notion we can simply rely on the backyard thermometer hanging on the fence as a predictor of climate change, or the ever popular check for wind direction by licking a finger and sticking it up in the air. Check out the graph and you’ll see what I mean. While the variance zig zags up and down accounting for our sometimes hot, sometimes cool summers, the AVERAGE OVERALL global temperature continues to rise.

The article even addressed other issues that account for climate change such as “changes in the sun’s irradiance, oscillations of sea surface temperatures in the tropics, and changes in aerosol levels.” Also factored in was the presence or lack of El Nino or La Nina’s. I’m sure this report addresses far more than that of the first in the 1880’s.

The best part was the following explanation for the lovely Arctic blasts we’ve been getting. I wondered about them and if we’ll be getting more?

The near-record temperatures of 2009 occurred despite an unseasonably cool December in much of North America. High air pressures in the Arctic decreased the east-west flow of the jet stream, while also increasing its tendency to blow from north to south and draw cold air southward from the Arctic. This resulted in an unusual effect that caused frigid air from the Arctic to rush into North America and warmer mid-latitude air to shift toward the north.

So we can look for more of the frigid cold? No happy camper here because there are far too many charges on my heating bill, different pricing per CCF, and the “oh so cheap” natural gas is not.

>http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2010/2010-01-25-03.html.

Posted in Energy, Fossil Fuel, Global Warming, Natural Gas, Science | No Comments »

Natural Gas is Plentiful But Extraction Methods Threaten Clean Water

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

The New York Times just ran an article called “The Dark Side of a Natural Gas Boom,” about extraction practices that threaten wells, and groundwater. Not surprisingly, natural gas drilling expanded significantly over the last decade. Halliburton happens to be the second largest natural gas extractor in the country and with the help of the last administration had thousand of acres of land, some in our national parks, open to them for gas drilling. Natural gas is so plentiful now that it threatens the coal industry because it is also cheap, and a much cleaner fuel for electricity generation. An article at groundreport.com stated: “Last week, Progress Energy, an electricity generator in North Carolina, announced plans to close all of its old coal plants and switch to natural gas.” Interesting. http://www.groundreport.com/Business/Energy-Deflation-Cometh-CheaPiling-On-Shale-Gas-LN/2913527..

What I remember most about the natural gas boom is the few and far between stories about how fracturing allows methane, benzene, and a host of other poisons to leak out of the ground uncontrolled. I blogged about it this past year, http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2009/05/natural-gasmethane-found-in-more-and-more-drinking-water-across-the-country/. I also remember an article in Rolling Stone years ago that stated drilling for natural gas is not exact and underground springs and water sources are often hit. The clean water shoots out uncapped. After all it’s not the gas drillers job to capture clean water.

Considering the glaciers that normally supply rivers and underground aquifers in the U.S. are melting and the outcome may mean a water shortage down the line, the U.S. simply cannot afford to threaten any of our existing water supplies in a rushed and abrasive quest to tap natural gas. The process of extraction requires millions of gallons of water to begin with so contaminating water sources nearby just aggravate an already dire situation for clean water availability. There needs to be balance between acquiring natural gas and preserving clean water otherwise we end up with a resource for energy for our comfort while losing our most basic of needs to live—WATER.

Read about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08fracking.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=tap+water+&st=nyt.

http://www.propublica.org/feature/buried-secrets-is-natural-gas-drilling-endangering-us-water-supplies-1113.

Posted in Clean Water Act, Conservation, Energy, Industry, Morality, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Suppliers, Pollution, Water Shortage | 2 Comments »

Higher Heating Bills Next Winter

Monday, June 15th, 2009

Now that the weather might be warming up in Michigan we don’t really think about the awfully high gas prices we paid for winter heating. But I caught a quick little announcement on WXYZ news that we will see higher heating bills this coming winter. HIGHER?!?!?!?! The price of natural gas is down, but DTE will be charging more for delivery costs.

At the same time congress is conducting hearings on the pros and cons of fracturing for natural gas. Fracturing is a quick method of forcing water, sand, and other liquids (chemicals) into the ground under high pressure. Not a good practice at all. We really need to get moving on alternative sources for our energy needs because we’re really lousing up the earth with the way we do things. I’ve read about streams poisoned from the benzene leaking out of the ground with the fracturing process, and the humungous waste of water especially when hitting underground springs. I recently wrote about natural gas drilling again.http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2009/05/natural-gasmethane-found-in-more-and-more-drinking-water-across-the-country/.

According to ProPublica, “the fracturing process was exempted from federal environmental oversight in 2005 and now, amid emerging evidence that it is damaging water resources [4] across the country, Congress is preparing legislation that would reverse [1] the exemptions and require the industry to identify the toxic chemicals it pumps underground.” The American Petroleum Institute and its deep pockets is preparing to fight stating that individual state regulations are enough. Remember, I wrote a blog about our state cutting back so badly in its regulatory departments especially relative to groundwater issues that no one is minding the fort. So the API is grossly incorrect already in its assumptions about states being able to monitor fracturing processes.

Whatever happens, you know it will affect our wallet one way or another. It’s curious though just reading through feature articles on Oxford-Princeton Industry Briefs website says a lot. Starting on May 15th with “Natural gas stocks rose in U.S.,” the headlines follow: “Natural gas supplies rose last week, Natural gas rig count reaches 6 year low, Arctic thought to contain massive oil and gas supplies, Congressional plan could raise energy royalties, Natural gas customers enjoying low rates, Natural gas stockpiles rose last week, Natural gas, oil prices see as trending upward, and Senate committee backs more drilling in the Gulf.” If you click on Senate committee… the related headlines say, “Oil prices boosted by higher supplies, Debate over congressional proposal taking shape, and OPEC production headed back up.”

None of it makes sense. How are natural gas supplies rising if gas rig counts are down, less rigs should equal less natural gas? And now that Congress might raise energy royalties the push is on to drill more in the Gulf. Oh and suddenly the Arctic is THOUGHT to have massive oil and gas supplies so if the gulf doesn’t produce… And as customers enjoy lower rates, natural gas and oil supplies are trending upward, that’s curious. Finally, why are oil prices boosted by higher supply, and not higher demand? I thought we are using less oil? OPEC’s production is headed back up. When supplies are high, aren’t prices supposed to drop?

http://www.propublica.org/article/natural-gas-drilling-debate-heats-up-603

http://www.oxfordprinceton.com/dib/dib.asp?article=19210999&title=Congress+eyes+hydraulic+fracturing+regulations&key=
The+Natural+Gas+Industry

http://www.oxfordprinceton.com/dib/dib.asp?article=19213244&title=Senate+committee+backs+more+drilling+in+Gulf&key=
The+Oil+Industry%2C+The+Natural+Gas+Industry

Posted in Alternative Energy, Arctic Oil Drilling, Conservation, DTE, EPA, Energy, Environmentalism, Legislators, Michigan/Great Lakes, Natural Gas, Oil Industry, Utilities | No Comments »

Natural Gas/Methane Found in More and More Drinking Water Across the Country

Monday, May 18th, 2009

In our verve to tap more fossil fuel in the form of natural gas we are acting like irresponsible fools. For some reason we think natural gas is OK for use, that somehow it can’t really be included with coal because it burns clean. It’s just doesn’t seem that dirty. And natural gas is in greater supply than oil. There will be no oil spills.

Boy are we stupid, at least those of us that don’t live near any natural gas drilling/fields. For the people that do, it’s a nightmare. Newspapers have reported about natural gas in drinking water from Pennsylvania to Colorado like The Post Gazette, The Denver Post , and The Times Union. The devastation left behind from drilling/blasting for natural gas leaves the landscape looking like a photo of Mars. But even more sacrilegious is the amount of water used. Millions of gallons are needed for each natural gas site and there are thousands of sites around the country. We might think these fields are far removed, but think again. Natural gas drilling affects the health and well-being of Americans, and is devastating to our land, water, and wildlife. And exposing ourselves to more natural gas explosions is outright risky.

Watch the following you tube videos for a sample of what is happening across the country due to the natural gas industry:

Pennsylvania

Arkansas

New Jersey

It’s been years now since I first read an article about poking holes in the earth for natural gas. I remember reading about the waste when a natural water spring would get hit. The water would gush out to the ground and never get tapped. The people searching for natural gas weren’t in charge of water of any kind. So they just let it go.

Then I wrote a blog one year ago to the month about Colorado’s natural gas drilling problem http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2008/05/natural-gas-exploration-trashing-rocky-mountains-polluting-colorado-river/. And now we’re slowly, too slowly, seeing more and more stories about the problems created by natural gas exploration.

After watching the Arkansas video, imagine the destruction that would be caused by the proposed natural gas pipeline from Alaska through Canada. And some of the video of the flame from the gas wells makes me wonder about safety in areas that are suffering drought conditions. There is a greener alternative to all fossil fuel, and we need to start moving in that direction.

Posted in Alternative Energy, Conservation, Environmentalism, Fossil Fuel, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Suppliers, Pollution, Water Shortage, You Tube | 2 Comments »

Dow Developing Solar Shingles in Michigan Plant

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

 

 

I saw pictures of solar shingles in Time Magazine over a year ago now. Companies have been working on this technology all along. And Dow is no newcomer. Michigan’s Saginaw Plant is looking to mass-produce solar shingles by 2011. It will mean plenty of money and jobs for that area of Michigan.

 

According to MLive’s website, Dow’s 1900 acre complex, a $50 million investment called Dow Solar Solutions is using thin film photovoltaic technology to integrate solar cells with shingles and begin selling their product with their partners to include “home builders Lennar Corp. of Miami, Pulte Homes Inc. of Bloomfield Hills and Jefferson City, Mo.-based Prost Builders Inc., and Global Solar Energy, a maker of flexible materials.”

 

The solar power business is growing fast—35% annually for a decade. Government incentives are driving it even more quickly. And Robert J. Cleereman, senior director of solar development for Dow said: “I can see utility companies paying for the roofing for customers. It would save them money on building power plants because the solar shingles can act like individual little power plants.”  Suuuuuuuurrrrre. I can’t quite see that. Paying us for the energy we produce for who? We won’t need to buy energy because we’re producing it. It’s the opposite for energy companies I would say. They stand to lose a customer every time someone replaces regular shingles with solar. And who could blame us for doing that? It would be a welcome relief from the high electric and heating bills we’re suffering through this winter even though Palin is still pushing natural gas from Alaska as the way to go. But most of us are using natural gas this winter aren’t we? It hasn’t been cheap to me. There are no guarantees anything will be less expensive as long as a conglomerate, foreign or not, controls the supply side of the equation. 

 

Still it may seem incredible to some that we are finally moving this quickly. What we need to remember is that the unavailability of energy saving products isn’t due to their non existence, or lack of technology for their existence but a former administration hell-bent on holding back technology that didn’t include some sort of fossil fuel, especially oil.

 

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/business/mid-michigan/index.ssf/2009/02/dow_chemical_to_produce_thermo.html

 

 

Posted in Alternative Energy, Conservation, Energy Infrastructure, Environmentalism, Fossil Fuel, Global Warming, Green Products, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Michigan Environmental News, Michigan/Great Lakes, Natural Gas, Solar Energy | No Comments »

Passionate Call for Parks in Peril by Laura Bush While President’s Latest Moves Damaging

Monday, December 8th, 2008

I caught a real hoot of an interview on Planet Green between Bob Woodruff and Laura Bush yesterday. She said one of her passions is our national parks. She’s hiked in many, mentioning Denali National Park in Alaska, the park Sarah Palin wants to run a natural gas line through.

Mrs. Bush talked about her geothermally heated ranch, with water collection system, and the fact that White House switched to LED holiday lights. She went on to say that oil is a limited natural resource that will run out, as all of our natural resources worldwide. She won’t admit anything about global warming however; opting to say that it doesn’t matter. We should be practicing conservation anyway.

About global warming, she said she reads the latest worldwide reports like everybody else. She evidently hasn’t read about her husband’s horrible environmental legacy that has had a devastating effect on the national parks she avows to love. There is something seriously wrong with this picture because it was also reported that the Park Service, Dept. of Energy, and Interior are trying to overhaul the parks for more sustainability, or greening them up so to speak. Doesn’t President Bush appoint these dept. heads? Bush is doing his best to further the opposite.

There are plenty of things up Bush’s sleeve before he leaves office. Environmentalists are calling it a Fire Sale for the Oil and Gas Industry. As CBS news website reported:

Late on Election Day, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a Dec. 19 auction of more than 50,000 acres of oil and gas parcels alongside or within view of Arches National Park and two other redrock national parks in Utah: Dinosaur and Canyonlands. ‘We find it shocking and disturbing,’ said Cordell Roy, the chief Park Service administrator in Utah. ‘They added 51,000 acres of tracts near Arches, Dinosaur and Canyonlands without telling us about it. That’s 40 tracts within four miles of these parks.’

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/16/national/main4608048.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4608048

Then there is the administration’s push to weaken Clean Air Act protections for “Class 1 areas” of national parks nationwide. According to the Washington Post, “[It] has sparked fierce resistance from senior agency officials. All but two of the regional administrators objecting to the proposed rule are political appointees.” The article also said, “In written submissions, EPA regional administrators have argued that this switch would undermine critical air-quality protections for parks such as Virginia’s Shenandoah, which is frequently plagued by smog and poor visibility.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111803813.html. Poor visibility from pollution smog over a national park. Sure, man doesn’t affect the environment. Keep believing that until we choke everyone out of existence.

I blogged about other attacks on our national parks by Bush/Cheney too like the repeal of the roadless rule. http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2008/04/were-about-to-lose-one-of-the-largest-forests-in-america-to-big-money-interests/

http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2008/03/pine-trees-in-danger-from-beetles-as-bush-looks-to-trample-our-biggest-forest/.

On top of this Bush just undid a 25 year old statute banning guns in National Parks. Yep, while hiking through one of them, minding your own business, a gunshot could ring out. Real nice place to take the kids and camp hey? The only reason for guns in national parks is for hunting or nuts. I thought critters in National Parks were protected? I thought humans in National Parks were protected from gunshots out of nowhere.

Right after this interview was a segment on Joshua Tree National Park. It’s getting harder to find older trees, and all the trees seem to be in decline. In some parts they are sure to be extinct soon. It was explained Joshua trees need a high desert environment, which is cooler. They also need a couple of nights of freezing weather that no longer happens due to global warming. Fires that weren’t as much a threat before in Joshua Tree Park have ravaged thousands of acres due to drier grasses. All it takes is a lightening strike. There are many more parks in danger of losing the very symbol for which they are known. The wetlands of Everyglades Park are retreating, and the glaciers of Glacier National Park are well…you know. Will we rename the parks? Will the parks even resemble places to preserve any more?

Scientists claim our National Parks are laboratories where effects of climate change are quick to appear. This does not bode well then, and further attacks on our parks by Bush/Cheney is just inexcusably the meanest turn any president has taken against our national treasures. If the First Lady is genuinely concerned she should take her passionate call for parks that are in peril to the source of that peril—her husband, oh and let’s never forget Cheney.

Posted in Bureau of Land Management, Clean Air Act, Conservation, Dept. of the Interior, Energy Infrastructure, Environmentalism, Federal Government, Fossil Fuel, Global Warming, National Forest, National Parks and Forests, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Suppliers, Oil Industry, U.S. Dept. of Energy | 1 Comment »

Natural Gas Exploration Trashing Rocky Mountains, Polluting Colorado River

Friday, May 2nd, 2008

 

A report about the Colorado River and benzene was on BBC and I caught some of it, but the articles I found about it are extensive. BBC previewed a citizen singing a country song about poisoning his water with benzene. I guess people are just giving up the fight against big corporations taking over areas and punching holes in the ground for natural gas.

The article explains the process to obtain natural gas. I had no idea how toxic it is. “Each hydraulic fracturing attempt on a gas well uses about 1 million gal of fluid and most wells are “frac’ed” about 10 times, said hearing witness Theo Colborn, president of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, a nonprofit group that focuses on health problems from low-dose chemical exposures. Many different chemicals—including surfactants, lubricants, foamers, plastics, biocides, antioxidants, acids, and alkalis—are employed for fracturing operations, she said. These chemicals are added to alter the underground strata to allow methane to escape up the well pipe, she said. Her group has identified 171 products used in Colorado containing altogether 245 different chemicals, 92% of which have adverse health effects, she explained. She went on to say the chemicals have multiple health effects as developmental toxicants and endocrine disruptors that have adverse affects on hormones in the body.

There are lots of side affects. “More than half the volatile chemicals on the list Colborn’s group has identified irritate the skin, eyes, nose, lungs, and stomach. Some affect the nervous system, causing headaches, blackouts, and memory loss, she explained. ‘About 55% can cause cardiovascular and kidney damage, and 35 are carcinogens,’ she noted.”

Meanwhile, another article discloses how badly this particular natural gas exploration is beating up an entire area as well as leaching dangerous chemicals into the Colorado River. The implications are bad considering the Colorado is the only water supply to the four fasting growing states in the southwest. All that population explosion is dependent on this river, which is bad enough, let alone contaminating it too.  “Green activists blame the Bush administration for opening the door too widely for energy companies, a charge backed up by a trail of executive orders and administrative actions, as well as the 2005 Energy Policy Act approved by a then-Republican-led Congress — all geared toward deriving more energy from public lands.”

 http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/86/8606gov1.html

http://www.saveroanplateau.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=36

 

 

 

 

Tags: ,
Posted in Bureau of Land Management, Bush Administration, Colorado, EPA, Environmental Legislation, Environmentalism, Federal Government, Fossil Fuel, Health, Industry, National Parks and Forests, Natural Gas, Politics, Pollution, Protesting Pollution, Public Lands | 2 Comments »

Let the Sun Work For You Even Without Solar Panels

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

After last month’s heating and electric bill, I posted a blog that I was going to make an effort to pay attention and see if I could lower my bill by $50.00. Didn’t happen, although the electric bill did come down $10.00, my overall bill remained the same $300.00 combined. Since the weather dipped to some pretty low numbers and we had several blustery days with wicked wind, maybe I didn’t do so badly? After all I don’t skimp on heat. I average between 70 and 72 degrees, and have a wall furnace in the back of the house that is always on half way. Relative to people who live in sheer frigidity, I’m doing rather well. 

The reason my bill didn’t climb with the dipping temperatures and windstorms is because of sun power.  I’ve made a concentrated effort to use the sun whenever it’s out, and despite a lot of snow here in Michigan, and that awful wind, it’s been sunny a lot. The sun is already hot. If you have any decent size windows facing south, open the window coverings and let it flow in. If your front door gets a shot of sunshine in the afternoon and has a storm door, open it. Then shut the thermostat off!

I cannot believe how my house stays heated long after the sun’s strength is gone. I found out because I forgot to turn the thermostat back on, more than once. I can open the drapes in my living room with 12 ft. of southern windows, and shut off my thermostat at 12:30 pm in the afternoon and not turn it back on until 5:30 pm at which time it still reads 70 degrees. My thermostat is off right now. It’s 5:00 pm. That’s around 5 hours of absolutely no gas use by the main furnace. I don’t turn up the heat from the wall unit in the back either. If I’m using the oven for cooking later, that’s an even greater bonus. When I’m done cooking and turn the oven off, I open the door a little. Why waste that heat? 

Open the front door too if it faces south. When I open mine, the heat hits me like a blast furnace. My cats sprawl their carcasses out full length in the little foyer. Now that’s some heat. Try it.  Use it!  It just bothers me a little at just how hot the sun really is, but then again, it’s March in Michigan and next week could sprout a 70-degree day.

If you normally keep your house lower than my average, you’ve got to see savings from turning off the heat for 5 hours, whenever it’s sunny. The reason I don’t just turn the thermostat down is because the northern portion of the house will cool down a little and still trip the thermostat. I also have room fans to circulate the heat down to the floor. Don’t forget to reverse the spin or the blades to keep your fans working for you in the winter, as well as, summer.

You’ve got nothing to lose by trying this, but a large heating bill.  If you’re away at work, get a programmable thermostat, open your window coverings before you leave and let the heat shut off around noon. You won’t know the difference when you get home. 

Posted in Alternative Energy, Conservation, Energy Costs, Environmentalism, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Natural Gas, Solar Energy | 2 Comments »

A Little Bit of Attention Can Lower Your Heating Bill

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

I got my heating bill the other day, was going to blog about it, and have lost it. Does that mean I don’t have to pay it? I know. It was higher and I figure everyone else is suffering much, much worse. My bill combined with $78.00 for electric was $303.00, I think. That’s what they’re getting this month anyway, since I’ve lost the bill. I looked at my bill enough and compared it to last month’s bill that it’s pretty much memorized. There was a funny charge on there, one from 2005, and another just like it for 2006. They were small, like $1.46 or something but the 2006 charge wasn’t on last month’s bill. Are we going to find one for 2007 on the next? I don’t like when things just appear on my bill that weren’t there before.  It looks like something was passed back in 2004 or sooner that is just now showing up. Sneaky.

The total bill was $60.00 higher than last month, granted it has been cold, but we just had January thaw 3 weeks early. It lasted long enough for my Jack in the Pulpit plants to grow large and green in my flowerbeds. We found fruit trees budding. I think we just stopped paying attention to our habits relative to our bigger bill. Slip up a little and it shows big. We have a small gas wall unit in the back of the house. The main furnace and the wall unit should never be turned up at the same time. Since this last bill, if I’m home and it’s sunny, the main furnace gets shut off for at least 2 hours in the afternoon. The reason? I have twelve ft. of windows across my living room facing south, and the tree out front is a Maple, no leaves. If I open the blinds, I can feel the heat. I say utilize that sunshine, solar panels or not. I also turn the heat down when I use the oven. Don’t waste that toasty warmth when dinner is done; open the oven door until it cools down. Make sure and block drafts under doors. Clothes drapes and blinds at night or windy days. Reverse the blades on your overhead fans to keep heat from lingering around the ceiling.

Pay attention. I didn’t, and it showed up on my bill, and quickly. Take advantage of everything you can to lower your bill. Some energy companies are offering a choice to consumers to lock in a low rate over a few years. I just received an offer from IGS Energy to lock in a rate of 0.849 per CCF. CCF is the per unit cost of your gas bill.  Look at your bill. It should be way beyond point anything right now, more like 2.80. Ouch! I would say any other source that can guarantee a year round price of anything 0.9 or lower is a really good deal. I presently have MxEnergy and have one more year at 0.851 CCF. MichCon charges me a fee of course, something like 37.00 of my $225.00 gas bill went for carrier costs, but hey my bill is still lower than most. IGS is presently offering the lowest rate. If you sign up with MxEnergy now the cost per unit will be 1.069. Realize that the locked in price is year round. It will be above the going per unit rate for gas in the summer. That is why it’s important to keep that per unit cost under 0.9. If you pay too much for gas in the summer it offsets your savings for gas in the winter, the same for carrier charges. But, I think it’s a safe bet to say that over the duration of the next 3 years that 0.849 CCF will beat anything out there for wintertime rates.

I’ll  blog next month when I find out if paying attention pays off. Considering how cold this past week has been, I’d be happy to get another $300.00 bill. If I can actually lower it by paying better attention to our habits, and without suffering, it will be worth the effort.

Posted in Conservation, Energy, Extreme Weather in U.S., Fossil Fuel, Industry, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Suppliers, Solar Energy, U.S. Weather Patterns, Weather, Weather/Climate | 3 Comments »

Recycling Old Appliances

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

I finally broke down and bought a new gas range and gas dryer today. I put it off because I have a habit of keeping things as long as they work well. Keep them looking nice and hey, they’re vintage. I also have a propensity for anthropomorphism, which is endowing inanimate objects with a human or animal persona. You know, fishermen refer to their boats as she and give them names. Ditto for vehicles. We can also get too attached to our homes, like they are part of the family or something, well, with feelings anyway.  For me, it is anything that has given me years of service that is still hanging in there. My range and dryer are 22 years old!  I haven’t named them but have had them an awfully long time. Of course each piece has had a minor repair or two through the years but nothing to speak of. Things were just made better back then.

I don’t like my new refrigerator, washer, or dishwasher as well as my old. Newer things are made so shabbily. There are all types of plastic parts on them that break. Even though there aren’t any kids running around my house, and I maintain things well, parts broke on my fridge the first year I owned it. And a funny thing happened to the washer. I bought a washer with a stainless drum inside, but on the outside of that is a plastic drum. It’s pretty thick plastic, but not thick enough. One of those studs used in a nail gun worked its way through one of those tiny drain holes in the stainless drum, then proceeded to score the spinning outer “plastic” drum enough times that water eventually poured out of the bottom during a rinse cycle.

Going to buy two new appliances because a good deal was to be had wasn’t a good motivator for me either. I will miss my old range and dryer, well not so much miss as feel bad they are going to be destroyed. They still work. If they didn’t work, it would be a whole different story. I thought about donating the appliances, but they are so old the trip would probably kill them.

I was assured at the store that the appliances that are hauled away are recycled. Good to know. I looked around and found that most major home appliances consist of about 75 percent steel. Scrap steel is needed to make new steel. Steel manufacturers count on recycled material as do copper, aluminum, and zinc manufacturers. So I’m helping the steel industry. Do we have a steel industry? I also found an old article that stated: “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, using recycled steel results in an 86% reduction in water pollution and a 97% reduction in mining wastes.” Who knew?

So my fear of filling a landfill with my old appliances is no longer relevant and I can think of all this as a rejuvenation process for them. Good then.  Out with the old, and in with the new. I cook every night.  I deserve a new stove. As for the dryer, I use it as little as possible. I hang my clothes out in the summer. But my winter dryer bill should surely drop. I made sure I purchased a dryer with moisture sensors so that it doesn’t stay on any longer than necessary. Oh, and I did get a good deal.
 

Posted in Conservation, Energy, Environmentalism, Green Products, Green Retailers, Methods for Lowering Energy Costs, Natural Gas, Recycling | 1 Comment »

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