I've got two interesting things to share with you today. One of them is actually kind of fun! It's a campaign called So Much To Save. Click here to take at least one of five easy actions to reduce your impact on the planet, and get a free download of the So Much to Save album featuring Dave Matthews Band! Action #4 specifically addresses climate change. When you click on "Review Companies," it lets you download a pocket guide that rates companies on how well they're reducing climate change compared to their competitors. You can carry it with you to help you decide what companies to support for everything from household cleaners to banking. The pocket guide is compiled by ClimateCounts.org, a site you might want to check for more detailed info on what companies are doing about global warming.

You also might want to read an article from the online version of Der Spiegel, one of Europe's largest weekly news magazines. Click here to read Spiegel's interview of Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a world famous physicist, climate researcher, professor, and the German government's top adviser on climate. Schellnhuber says that even Germany's targets for CO2 reduction aren't enough, and tells how even greater reductions can be achieved. In response to the interviewer's question of whether he's an idealist, he says: "The WBGU is not political; we merely advise the government and present our studies and findings to the public. Our budget has nothing to do with utopias but rather with the physical conditions under which we can prevent our civilization from crumbling." It's interesting to read articles from Europe, where there's really not much debate on climate change, except how to reduce it. Remember, humanity has come through many challenges; let's keep each other informed and encouraged to take action to meet this one. Send me your thoughts and actions by commenting below, and

Stay cool,

Bonney

Don't let them forget

Sorry about my 2-week hiatus! I thought I'd be able to post before my vacation, but no. We took the train as we have many times, and it's a great way to travel.

We need to remind our Congressional representatives and Senators that as important as health care is, they can't forget about the critical American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES for short). ACES, the first national bill that would curb global warming, passed the House on June 26, 2009. Now we need the Senate to pass it. (Obama will sign it if it passes.) The bill needs strengthening, but there's a lot of pressure on the Senate to weaken it further. Please, click here to find your Senators and either attend a town hall meeting or contact them directly to pass as strong a version of ACES as possible. Or, click here to send an email.

The fossil fuel industry is throwing a lot of money and influence into opposing this bill. The idea isn't to eliminate the use of fossil fuels anytime soon--we don't have enough alternatives developed yet. It's to develop incentives for reducing our output of greenhouse gases and develop alternative energy sources that would also provide jobs so that we can fight global warming, which threatens to make all our other problems seem insignificant. Serious effects are already being felt, and the consequences of business as usual would be dire for the human species as well as many others. Because of delays that are built into Earth's climate system, if we wait to act until the most serious consequences arrive, it will be too late to reverse them. We need to act now to prevent the worst consequences of global warming from happening. Let me know what you're doing to reduce global warming!
Stay cool,
Bonney

Is "Cash for Clunkers" Good for the Environment?

There's been a lot of publicity about the cash for clunkers program - the government program that pays you to trade in an older vehicle getting less than 18 mpg for a new one that gets at least 22 mpg. But does the program really reduce global warming? The answer is: a very small amount. The problem isn't that the concept is bad, it just doesn't go far enough. But it still makes sense for most individuals to get rid of an old gas-guzzling clunker for a vehicle that getssignificantly more miles to the gallon.

Making a new car produces greenhouse gases, of course. If you trade in a clunker getting 18 mpg for a new car getting 22 mpg, it would take about 5 1/2 years of average driving to save the amount of greenhouse gases that went into manufacturing the new car, according to the dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, William Chameides, quoted on NPR here. After that, you would be reducing your carbon footprint. With trucks, it might take eight or nine years, Chameides says (trucks usually have more material in them and more greenhouse gases are produced in their manufacture). With the median age of cars on the road in the US older than ever at 9.4 years, and some of the new cars purchased getting more than 22 mpg, the net result is positive. However, the Associated Press calculated that the greenhouse gas savings from this year's cash to clunkers program would reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by only a few hundredths of a percent, assuming 500,000 to 750,000 of the 260 million vehicles on the road in the US are traded in.

If you traded in a 20-mpg car for a 50 mpg hybrid, however, you'd make up for the greenhouse gases produced in manufacture in 20 months, according to Gil Friend of ClimateBiz. The greater the difference between the fuel economy of the old car and the fuel economy of the new car, the greater the savings in greenhouse gases. The longer you keep your new car the better for the environment, until there are newer cars whose efficiency is so great that it makes sense to trade in again. The savings with cash to clunkers is not as great as it could be - the original legislation required new cars purchased to meet stricter mileage standards to qualify - but it's a small step in the right direction. And it definitely makes sense for individuals to junk gas guzzlers and buy the most efficient vehicle they can, with or without a government program.
What's in your garage?
Stay cool,
Bonney

Air Conditioning or Windows Down?

A debate rages about (who would guess?) which uses less gas: rolling down your car windows or turning on your air conditioning. However, all 3 tests I could track to their sources showed that running the air conditioner almost always uses more gas than rolling the windows down. For example, Car and Driver did a test on a sedan (they don't say what model, but the photos are of a small sedan) in which running the a/c reduced fuel efficiency by 15% at 35 mph, whereas opening the windows decreased it by only 1.5%. At 75 mph, running the a/c decreased miles per gallon by 6.8% vs. 2% for windows, and results at 55 mph were in between (losses for a/c decrease at higher speeds because the engine is producing more power.)

Consumer Reports findings for a Camry were less dramatic: using a/c at 65 mph decreased the car's fuel efficiency by 1%, whereas rolling windows down at that speed had no measurable effect on fuel economy. A third study by the Society of Automotive Engineers shows that while the results are closer for a sedan, both the sedan and the SUV used more gas with the a/c on than with windows down at speeds of 30, 50, and 68 mph when the temperature was 86F. Bottom line: minimize your use of air conditioning, especially when you're tooling around town. Keep in mind, too, when you ride the bus or train, you can enjoy A/C guilt-free, and bicycling creates its own cooling!

Comment with your thoughts, and stay cool!
Bonney

Simple Ways to Keep Cool

Here's a few basic things to do to keep cool, reduce your carbon output, and cut down on cooling costs this summer:

• Open windows when it's cooler outside than inside.
• Even more important: Shut windows when it's hotter outside than inside. I haven't seen this advice elsewhere, but it can keep your house substantially cooler. Once the temperature outside goes above the indoor temperature, open windows heat your house. Try closing them-it may surprise you how much cooler it stays.
  

Here's some more tips, courtesy of ENERGYguide.com. I've been doing some of these for years, and some of them were new to me:

• Close drapes and shades when sun is shining in, especially on east and west sides of house. Open them when it's cooler outside than in. (It helps if you're a bit obsessive, like me.)
  
• Use ceiling and portable fans rather than air conditioning as much as possible. The breeze can make you feel just as comfortable as lowering the temperature 6 degrees.
  
• Plant shade trees to block the sun.
  

If you must use air conditioning, follow these tips:

• In dry climates (like Santa Fe), use an evaporative (swamp) cooler rather than a conventional refrigerated air conditioner. Conventional A/C uses 4 times the electricity a swamp cooler uses, according to energy company PNM. Swamp coolers only work in fairly dry climates, though.
  
• Keep the thermostat as high as possible, 78 F or above. Each degree you raise it saves 2% on your cooling bill. Your house won't cool down any faster by lowering the setting.
  
• Minimize opening and shutting doors, which lets heat in.
• If it's humid, use a dehumidifier. You'll be comfortable at much higher temperatures.
• Install room air conditioners where they'll be shaded-- they'll work much better. Seal any gaps on the sides with foam insulation.
• Close off vents in unoccupied rooms. You'll save 5-10% on your energy bill. Close doors to those rooms if possible.
  

Comment with your ideas, and stay cool!
Bonney

Reduce Your Vacation Footprint

Since it's vacation time, here's a comparison of different modes of travel and their carbon footprints by Sightline.org, a non-profit think tank. SUV's with a solo driver produce the most CO2 per passenger per mile, followed by regular cars, airplanes, hybrid cars, cars with 3 riders, buses, and then trains, which produce the least CO2 per passenger mile except for walking or biking.

There's a lot of variability in the amount of fuel airplanes use, so use the World Wildlife Fund Travel Helper to decide what's the best way to get to your particular destination (even though it says Europe, it works for US destinations too). Then you can use a site like the Terrapass Calculator or Travelocity's Go Zero program to make a donation to a program that's reducing emissions. That way, you'll offset the emissions you produce with your travel. You can get to Terrapass and Go Zero at the very bottom of Carbonless Copy's home page. Atmosfair.com is another site that sells offsets.

Of course, a lot of people are staying home this summer, and that's the most carbon-conserving of all! Let me know how you're reducing your greenhouse gas emissions, and
Stay cool,
Bonney

Tell Senate to Join House in Passing Climate Change Bill

On June 26, the US House of Representatives passed the historic American Clean Energy and Security Act, also known as Waxman-Markey (see my June 5 and April 10 posts). This is the first bill that a US Federal body has passed to curb greenhouse gases. In comparison, the European Union and its member governments have been committed to and achieving greenhouse gas reductions for about a decade. Let's celebrate the passage of this bill, though flawed, as a critical first step in achieving reductions in global warming!

Even more important, we need to urge the Senate to pass the bill, and we'll have to follow it through conference committee to ensure the strongest measure possible goes to President Obama, who strongly supports it. Click here to sign a petition on Al Gore's website to show Senate leaders you support the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Then post your thoughts and ideas for reducing our carbon footprint in a comment!

Stay cool,
Bonney