THE E TEAM
Most recent news just below, or ..
May 2006
Three Tips
1. Green up your appliances. Get rid of that old refrigerator in the garage - save you as much as $150 a year. If any of your appliances is more than 10 years old, the EPA suggests replacing them with energy-efficient models that bear their "Energy Star" logo which use 10%-50% less energy and water than standard models. If one in 10 homes used energy-efficient appliances, it would be equivalent to planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.
2. Watch the temp. Almost half a home's energy consumption is due to heating and cooling.
Turn down the thermostat in cold weather and keep it higher in warm weather. Each degree below 68°F (20°C) during colder weather saves 3%-5% more heating energy, while keeping your thermostat at 78°F in warmer weather will save you energy and money. A programmable thermostat will make these temperature changes for you automatically. Clean your furnace's air filter monthly during heavy usage. Use ceiling fans instead of air conditioners. Light clothing in summer is typically comfortable between 72°F and 78°F. But moving air feels cooler, so a slow-moving fan easily can extend the comfort range to 82°F, according to "Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings" by Alex Wilson. 3. Save water. The Web site "Water -- Use it Wisely," created by a group of Arizona cities, lists 100 simple ways to save water.
Put an aerator on all household faucets and cut your annual water consumption by 50%. Install a low-flow toilet. They use only 1.6 gallons per flush, compared to 3.5 gallons per flush for pre-1994 models. If you have an older model, adjust your float valve to admit less water into the toilet's tank. Behavioral changes also add up quickly: using a broom instead of the garden hose to clean your driveway can save 80 gallons of water and turning the water off when you brush your teeth will save 4.5 gallons each time.
April 2006
Many thanks to the following people who have returned their "Help Our Environment" checklists and have received E stickers for their name tags: Andy and Kitty Herriott, Claire Ernhart and Ed Psotta, Charlotte and Eric White. Please remember to carry-out at least five items on the checklist and turn them into The E Team on Sunday. Pick-up a checklist if you need one. If you know of churches or organizations that may be interested in our program, we have envelopes of information you can send to them along with a personal note. Ask at the E Team table on Sunday.
March 2006
Several people have sent the checklists to friends in churches and clubs around the country. The E Team now has a package of material in an envelope you can add a personal note to and send. Included are the brochure, a camera ready brochure with space for adding the organizations name or logo, simple instructions for the program, and the four page E Primer. Pick-up one or more at the E Table on Sunday. You Can Make a Difference!
Did you know that the typical U.S. family spends close to $1,500 a year on home utility bills? Unfortunately, a large portion of that energy is wasted. And, electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. The good news is, there is a lot you can do to save energy and money at home. By making a few small changes, you can reduce your energy costs by 10% to 50%, and, at the same time, help reduce air pollution and dependence on foreign fuel imports. The key to achieving these savings in your home is a whole-house energy efficiency plan. For example, your heating system is not just a furnace - it's a heat-delivery system that starts at the furnace and delivers heat throughout your home using a network of ducts. Even a top-of-the-line, energy-efficient furnace will burn a lot of fuel if the ducts, walls, attic, windows, and doors are not insulated and leak. Reduced utility bills more than make up for the higher price of energy-efficient appliances and improvements over their lifetimes. In addition, your home could bring in a higher price when you sell.
Tips to Save Energy Today Source: U.S. Department of Energy: (1) Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer; install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating system; (2) Use compact fluorescent light bulbs; (3) Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher's drying cycle; (4) Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use; (5) Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power); (6) Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120o F; (7) Take short showers instead of baths; (8) Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
STYROFOAM -- What we commonly call Styrofoam is actually the most recognizable form of foam polystyrene packaging. Styrofoamâ is a Dow Chemical Co. trademarked form of polystyrene foam insulation, introduced in the U.S. in 1954. StyrofoamÒ is a trademarked name, the real name of the product is foamed polystyrene. Recycling tips from the World Environmental Organization: (1) DON'T USE; (2) If you have used Styrofoam, clean it, break it up into pieces, and use as packaging material. Then DON'T EVER BUY STYROFOAM AGAIN; (3) Save all of the Styrofoam peanuts which come as packaging. When you have a large supply, ask around and find a store which will collect and reuse them.
An E PrimerWhat is an ecosystem?
Earth is our home.
“An ecosystem is a community of interacting humans, animals and plants and their physical environments.” As humans alter their physical environments, they endanger the health of their ecosystems and themselves. The facts given below were taken from many private and government energy and environmental Internet sites.
Global warming causes changes to our environment.
Temperatures, water levels, storms, droughts, floods, ocean currents
The Greenhouse Effect, also referred to as global warming, comes from the build up of gases in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced when fuels are burned. Plants convert carbon dioxide back to oxygen, but the release of carbon dioxide from human activities is higher than the world's plants can process.
Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone are called greenhouse gasses because they allow sunlight to penetrate the atmosphere and trap heat. CO2 accounts for about 77% of emissions, methane and nitrous oxide 19% and the flourinated gasses 2%. Methane's effect on global warming is 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide's. Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to increase by 50% by the year 2025.
The worldwide sources of greenhouse gasses are: elctricity and heat 31%, transportation 14.5 %, manufacturing and construction 13%, agriculture 17%, other fuel combustion 11%, industrial processes, waste, and other 13.5%.
The global average surface temperature has climbed by one degree Fahrenheit in the past since 1900. During this century, global temperature may rise 3 to 9 degrees at current levels of greenhouse emissions.
Global sea level has already risen by four to eight inches in the past century. Scientists' best estimate is that at current or increased emmission levels, sea level will rise by an additional 19 inches by 2100. ?
Since 1980, the earth has experienced 19 of its 20 hottest years on record, with 2005 the hottest. Some scientests calculate that temperatures could rise by up to eight degrees F. by 2100. However, according to NASA, temperature measurements of the atmosphere taken from satellites show no definitive trend toward warming.
Arctic Sea ice is now melting by up to 15 percent per decade. The loss of Arctic Sea ice could alter ocean circulation patterns and trigger changes in global climate patterns. If Greenland's entire ice sheet were to melt eventually, global sea level could rise by a startling 23 feet, inundating most of the world's coastal cities.
Warmer water in the oceans pumps more energy into tropical storms and hurricanes, making them more intense and potentially more destructive.
Our worldwide and US energy resources are being depleted.
Oil, natural gas, coal, wood
Current U.S. energy consumption: petroleum 40%, natural gas 23%, coal 23%, nuclear 8%, renewable 6%. Production of energy is about 18% oil, 27% gas, 33% coal, 9% nuclear, and 13% renewable and hydroelectric.
The earth's historic energy timeline will show the use of fossil fuels as a mere 250-year blip. Declinng fossil fuels consumption will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The production of oil in the U.S. reached its peak in 1971and has been declining since then. Worldwide production is expected to peak during this decade. The decline in the growth of oil is expected to be in the range of 3 to 8% per year. (Up to 13% by some estimates.) In ten years this could result in 50% less oil available. Natural gas has a similar peak projection only several years later.
The future results of less oil are higher prices, less fuel for transportation, power blackouts, food shortages (Pesticides and fertilizers are made from oil and natural gas. Farm equipment is run by gas or diesel.), plastics materials phased out, oil and gas rationed for medicines and organic chemicals, failure of industries and economies.
Approximately 10 calories of fossil fuels are required to produce every one calorie of food eaten in the US. In the US, the average piece of food is transported almost 1,500 miles before it gets to your plate. In Canada, the average piece of food is transported 5,000 miles from where it is produced to where it is consumed.
Opposition to the “peak oil” position states Alaska oil and additional coastal oil can increase oil production for years. Future potential includes oil sands in Canada and Venezuela; oil shale in the U.S.; conversion of coal to oil and gas; methane hydrates in sea-floor sediments and artic permafrost.
Alternative energy sources may be too little, too late and too expensive.
Nuclear, solar, hydropower, wind, biomass, geothermal
Consumption by renewable energy sources: biomass 46%, hydroelectric 45%, geothermal 6%, wind 2%, solar 1%.
Making a gallon of gasoline requires several gallons of petroleum and much electricity, creating a negative energy balance. Petroleum diesel fuel has a net energy loss of 15.7%.
Biomass is a plant-derived material including agricultural residue, waste wood, and municipal and manufacturing waste. Biomass is used for power generation, manufacturing processes, fuels, and gasoline oxygenate. For the present and near future, easily processed agricultural crops and low- or negative-cost industrial residues will likely dominate biomass feedstocks. In the mid-term, agricultural and forestry residues should provide the large volume. In the long term, a mature biorefinery industry will see thw utilization of dedicated energy crops.
Current sustainable fuels are biodiesel and E85 ethanol. Biodiesel is made from processed vegetable oils, primarily soybean. For every Btu used to produce biodiesel you get 3.2 Btu in return. Biodiesel is often blended with petroleum diesel in ratios of 2, 5, 20, and 50%, Biodiesl reduces soot and carbon monoxide and eliminates sulfur emissions.
Also reducing harmful emissions, E85 is a blend of 85% anhydrous ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. Research is underway on the production of ethanol from the stalks of corn and other plants.
The prices of biodiesel and ethanol with tax incentives are now several cents higher than fossil fuels but can be reduced. A possible near term alternative fuel is petroleum diesel blended with 7.5% ethanol.
Nuclear power plants generate electricity through the controlled chain reaction of fission of the heavy element uranium. The issues relatimg to continuing use of nuclear energy include plant safety, waste disposal, and decommissioning expense. With no emissions of greenhouse gases, there would be a reduction in global warming.
Hydropower generates electricity by water flowing through turbines driving generators. Most dams are located in the western states and are for flood control. Although dams are waste and mainly pollution free, they do disturb natural habitats and create pollution during construction.
Geothermal energy is used to create steam to run turbines to generate electricity. In most locations, the temperature is high enough only to create steam in a low temperature boiling point organic liquid. This is called binary geothermal energy generation.
Wind-based electricity generation has increased considerably where local conditions are favorable. Future growth will depend on potential storage methods, costs, and local resistance. U.S. locations are primarily mountains, western plains and coasts. Recently, wind generators on the tops of urban buildings are considered possible.
The oil embargoes and high energy costs during the `70's and government assistance caused a rush to solar research and manufacturing. Solar energy is concentrated to heat water and make steam to run turbines, or, for photovoltaic semi-conductor panels, to covert sunlight directly into electricity. High costs will slowly be reduced.
Many believe we need to make major changes in our society including a move away from globalization towards local economies that value and preserve their own stores of natural capital - such as local food supplies, traditional skills, and trees and woodlands. The practices of good land use and urban design will be essential.
More water sources are being polluted and eliminated.
Industrialization, urbanization, agriculture, climate change, privatization
Eighty countries now have water shortages that threaten health and economies. Forty percent of the world - more than 2 billion people - have no access to clean water or sanitation. Worldwide demand for water is doubling every 21 years, more in some regions. Water supply cannot possibly keep pace with demand, as populations' soar.
More than half of the world's population relies on water that originates in mountains, coming from rainfall runoff or ice melt. With higher temperatures and more rapid melting of winter snowpacks, less water will be available to farms and cities during summer months when demand is high.
Water quality is deteriorating in many areas of the developing world as population increases and salinity caused by industrial farming and over-extraction rises. About 95 percent of the world's cities still dump raw sewage into their waters.
In Bangladesh, what's been called the "largest poisoning of a population in history" has more than 35 million people drinking arsenic-laced water.
Texas is moving toward private, for-profit water sales. The water will be "mined" from aquifers that are disappearing fast. Aquifers around the world are being overtapped for irrigated agriculture, which fills about 40 percent of the global larder.
Strategies to confront the growing global water problem include slowing population growth, reducing pollution, better management of present supply and water conservation.
Worldwide food production is threatened.
Climate change, water depletion, desertification, land use, consumption increase
There are 107 active ingredients in pesticides found to cause cancer in animals or humans. The number of people in the US who die each year from cancer related to pesticides is abve 10,000. Low-tech 'sustainable agriculture', shunning chemicals in favour of natural pest control and fertilizers is pushing up crop yields on farms across the world, often by 70 per cent or more.
A meat-based diet reqires 10-20 times as much land as a plant-based diet. Nearly half of the world's grains and soybeans are fed to animals, resulting in a huge waste of food calories. Livestock production and slaughter are the main sources of water polution in the US.
Oxygen-depleted seas, caused by industrial and agricultural runoff, could lead to fishery collapses and "dead zones", for example as in the Gulf of Mexico.
Wild-fish catches are leveling off worldwide. With 75% of fish stocks fully exploited, fleets have turned to fish lower on ocean food chains. Ecologists worry that entire fisheries will collapse as these "junk fish" are used up. Increased demand for fish is being made up through aquaculture.
Changes to our environment affect biodiversity
Deforestation, pesticides, water pollution, climate change
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 requires the government to ensure the survival of plants, animals and fish. The EPA is not consulting with other government agencies on pesticide approval as required.
Forests are oxygen factories. To grow a pound of wood, a typical mature tree uses 1.47 pounds of carbon dioxide and gives off 1.07 pounds of oxygen.
When a pollutant, such as sulfuric acid combines with droplets of water in the air, the water (or snow) can become acidified. Acid rain damages plants by destroying their leaves, it poisons the soil, and it changes the chemistry of lakes and streams. Acid rain kills trees and harms animals, fish, and other wildlife.
The ozone layer in the stratosphere protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) from aerosol cans, cooling systems and refrigerator equipment removes some of the ozone, causing "holes" to open up in this layer and allowing the radiation to reach the earth. Ultraviolet radiation causes skin cancer and has damaging effects on plants and wildlife.
The increase in global temperatures is expected to disrupt ecosystems and result in loss of species diversity. The first comprehensive assessment of the extinction risk from global warming found that more than one million species could be committed to extinction by 2050 if global warming pollution is not curtailed.
At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming. Species' geographic ranges have shifted toward the poles at an average rate of 4 miles per decade and their spring events have shifted earlier by an average of 2 days per decade.
Along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California in 2005, above normal sea temperatures for the third straight year led to the deaths of tens of thousands of sea birds and the cessation of breeding for thousands more. Reduction of the natural food web was blamed. Many fish populations also suffered.
Coral reefs, mangrove forests and sea grass beds, important grounds for young fish and feeding organisms face threats from overfishing, temperture changes, and pollution.
Increases in Population and Consumption Contribute to Environmental Problems
Air and water pollution, urbanization, industrialization, waste disposal
World population reached 6.1 billion in mid-2000 and is currently growing at an annual rate of 1.2 percent, or 777 million people per year. Sic countries account for half of this annual growth: India for 21 percent; China for 12 percent; Pakistan for 5 percent; Nigeria for 4 percent; Bangledesh for 4 percent and Indonesia for 3 percent. By 2050, world population is expected to be between 7.9 billion (low variant) and 10.9 billion (high variant), with the median variant producing 9.3 billion.
Ninety million Americans are breathing unhealthy air. 60,000 Americans die prematurely each year because of air pollution. EPA standards do not meet the legal requirements of the 1997 Clean Air Act. Recent proposed standards also fail.
Black carbon pollution is the release of tiny particles into the air from burning fossil fuels for energy. Air pollution caused by such particulates has been a major problem since the beginning of the industrial revolution and the development of the internal combustion engine.
Urban and industrial air pollution can stifle rain and snowfall, a new study shows, because the pollution particles prevent cloud water from condensing into raindrops and snowflakes.
Recycling of copper and aluminum saves energy. Aluminum costs $3 for the ore and $197 for electricity. Melting of glass is energy intensive. Reuse is better. The paper industry recovers nearly 50 % of the paper consumed in the U.S. Recovered paper now provides almost 37% of our domestic raw material supply.
Questions for the Future
What changes will occur in your lifetime?
Will the United States and other major industrial countries be able to reduce their greenhouse gas and ozone emmissions before we reach the “tipping point” when damaging environmental conditions become irreversible?
How can the developing nations “develop” without cheap fossil fuel?
Will the United Nations or another worldwide organization be called upon to enforce mandatory environmental regulations?
When we deplete our fossil fuel energy sources, how much will that reduce our environmental problems?
Are there natural climatic changes independent of human activities that will cause redistributions of world populations? E.g. glaciation, polar ice melting, El Nino?
Can technology come to our rescue by developing sufficient renewable energy sources so that consumption based living patterns and the economy in the U.S. will not change significantly? Or
Will our living standards be lowered to the extent that the high cost of transportation will cause a decline of suburban living; that much of our food production will be on a local or regional level; and, that our economy will be forced to demphasize industrial growth?
JMK 2-15-06