Earth Sky Stars » Sustainability http://earthskystars.net/blog blog for earthskystars Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:35:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Not the Shrub’s energy and environment plan … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/25/not-the-shrubs-energy-and-environment-plan/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/25/not-the-shrubs-energy-and-environment-plan/#comments Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:20:30 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=113 What difference a change in administration makes! President Obama’s energy and environment plan is a quantum leap from President Bush’s lack of a plan!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/25/not-the-shrubs-energy-and-environment-plan/feed/ 0 Other “green projects” for the holidays … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/other-green-projects-for-the-holidays/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/other-green-projects-for-the-holidays/#comments Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:34:08 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=78 While waiting for the solar power install the Clugston’s haven’t been idle on greening our household. Sandy and I took advantage of the deep cuts in appliance prices to buy a new refrigerator. Of course it’s Energy Star compliant. In fact any refrigerator over 10 years old is probably not using power efficiently! It’s a shame I won’t have the time to test the old refrigerator against the new one with a “Kill-a-Watt” watt meter. The comparison would be interesting :-)

The other green project was replacing high flow faucets and shower heads with low flow units. This is an easy and inexpensive project. And you save on both water heating and water usage costs. You also reduce your carbon footprint as well (less natural gas burned).

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/other-green-projects-for-the-holidays/feed/ 0 Want to save laser printer toner? Try this typeface … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/want-to-save-laser-printer-toner-try-this-typeface/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/want-to-save-laser-printer-toner-try-this-typeface/#comments Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:50:21 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=73 The Ecofont is a typeface with tiny holes in the characters. The holes don’t reduce legibility, but they do reduce the amount of toner/ink used. The fonts are True Type, so they should work on almost all recent operating systems.

One other thing — they’re free!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2009/01/01/want-to-save-laser-printer-toner-try-this-typeface/feed/ 1 What’s good for the Group is good for the Environment … http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/10/whats-good-for-the-group-is-good-for-the-environment/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/10/whats-good-for-the-group-is-good-for-the-environment/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:55:15 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=68 A new study suggests that following the crowd is the way to influence sustainable behavior. When hotels changed their re-use your bath towel info tag from a “save the environment theme” to a “everyone is doing it theme” they saw a much higher rate of compliance! Talk about “herd” mentality …

The story is at the Human Factors International site.

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/12/10/whats-good-for-the-group-is-good-for-the-environment/feed/ 0 Want to help stop Global Climate change? http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/07/want-to-help-stop-global-climate-change/ http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/07/want-to-help-stop-global-climate-change/#comments Sat, 08 Nov 2008 01:39:10 +0000 Bill Clugston http://earthskystars.net/blog/?p=43 Try this. Homebuilders will occasionally have meetings with local community about a new development. Go to the meeting and ask what “green” features are in their new homes! For example, a developer in the Redmond, WA area is now offering solar panels with their homes. If they think you’re joking, keep asking until they don’t!

]]> http://earthskystars.net/blog/2008/11/07/want-to-help-stop-global-climate-change/feed/ 0