Peninsula School Cool - Recently Updated Pages

April Challenges: Your Consumer Footprint

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:59:42 CDT

The Top Four Challenges to try this month:

Buy Products Produced Locally

The average meal travels 1,200 miles by truck, ship, and/or plane to reach your dining room table.

Buy Organic Food

Organic food contains, on average, 30% more magnesium, 27% more vitamin C, and 21% more iron than conventional, pesticide-grown food.
Read more >>

Reduce Meat Consumption

It turns out that the average American does more to reduce global warming emissions by going vegetarian than by switching to a Prius.
Read more >>

Reduce

California sends 40 million tons of garbage annually to landfills.
Read more >>

Additional Challenges to try:

Reuse

From 1950 to 2000, Americans consumed as much food and material goods as all the generations of Americans before them.
Read more >>

Recycle

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, Americans will buy, use and throw away 1,245 tons of raw materials.
Read more >>

Compost

Over two-thirds of the total waste produced in the United States is compostable, yet we still send 30 million tons of leaves and grass clippings to landfills every year.

Buy Less

The typical American creates 4.6 pounds of garbage per day, or 1,700 pounds of garbage per year--that's double what it was thirty years ago. Read more >>

How Did the Peninsula Community Do With the April Challenges?

See the poll results>>

March Challenges: Home Appliances

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:59:29 CDT

The top four challenges to try this month:

Raise Your Refrigerator/Freezer Temperatures

Most Americans' refrigerators and freezers are set colder than they need to be. Read More >>

Stop Energy Drains from Unused or "Off" Appliances

If you don't unplug low-use kitchen and home entertainment devices and/or put high-use items on power strips, guess what? They're still using energy!
Read more >>

Replace Worn-Out Appliances with Efficient Ones

Upgrade your large appliances to an Energy Star model. We offer guidelines to help you select the right appliance for your needs. Read more>>

Wash Dishes More Efficiently

Selecting the air-dry setting on your dishwasher or simply opening the door to let dishes air-dry can cut your dishwasher's energy costs by 40%. There are other dishwashing tricks you can try to save even more energy. Read More >>

Additional Challenges to Try:

Recycle Your Second Refrigerator/Freezer

An old refrigerator or freezer could account for more than 20% of your electricity bill. Recycle it and get a check from PG&E! Read More >>

Cook More Efficiently

You can use 50% less energy than someone else cooking exactly the same meal, if you know the best way to heat and cool your food. Read More >>

Make Your Refrigerator More Efficient

A refrigerator cost the average American family $120 a year in electricity, but it doesn't have to.
Read More >>

Use Your Home Office More Efficiently

The home office has more devices in it that are left on for hours on end than anywhere else in the house. Read More >>

How Did the Peninsula Community Do With the March Challenges?

See the poll results >>

Conduct Your Own Energy Audit

If you really want to get into the numbers and do a serious audit of your electricity use, or if you just want to see how much electricity a particular appliance or gadget uses, or if you want to show your kids just how little electricity a CLF really uses, down load the energy spreadsheet at the bottom of the page and check out a Kill-A-Watt meter from the lending library and get ready for some fun!

February Challenges: Water

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:59:17 CDT

The top four challenges to try this month:

Lower Your Water Heater to 120°F

Your water heater is the second greediest appliance in your home in terms of energy use, but it doesn't have to stay that way.
Read More >>

Take Shorter Showers

Your shower is the biggest user of hot water in the entire house and you may be surprised at how much energy and cost savings await you by making a simple change.
Read More >>

Wash Clothes in Cold Water

Wash your clothes in cold water and cut the energy used for washing your clothes in half.

Install Low-Flow Showerheads

Replacing your old shower head with an energy-efficient one can cut your water and energy use by half.
Read More >>

Additional Challenges to Try:

Wash a Full Load

Washing with full loads will make the best use of your washing machine.
Read More >>

Install Faucet Aerators

A typical sink running for two minutes wastes at least six gallons of water, using an aerator can reduce this to 0.5 gallons, so why wouldn't you use them?
Read More >>

Insulate Your Water Pipes

Insulated water pipes gives you hot water sooner while keeping energy from going down the drain.
Read More >>

Run your Pool or Spa More Efficiently

Heating pools and spas use an incredible amount of energy.

Insulate Your Water Heater

The colder the area your old water heater is in--a basement or garage--the greater the heat loss. Be practical and save $, wrap it in a blanket.
Read More >>

Purchase a Tankless Water Heater

Tankless hot water heaters use less energy because it heats the water only when you need it.
Read More >>

Purchase a Solar Hot Water System

A solar hot water system lets the sun work directly for you to heat your water.

How Did the Peninsula Community Do With the February Challenges?

See the poll results >>

January: Winter Heat & Light

The January Challenges focused on heating and lighting your home: installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, installing a programmable thermostat, improving insulation and weather stripping, and more! Check out the winter heat & light challenges here.

January Challenges: Winter Heat & Light

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:59:05 CDT

The top four challenges to try this month:

Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)

Switch at least three of your home's high-use incandescent lightbulbs for CFLs.
Read more >>

Turn Down the Thermostat

Lower your thermostat to 68 degrees (or less) during the day, and turn off the heat completely at night and when you're away.
Read more >>

Install a Programmable Thermostat

Never mind making a daily habit of lowering your thermostat, let this device automatically change the temperature for you.

Read more >>

Stop Air Leaks: Caulk & Weatherstrip Your Home

Feel a draft near doors and windows? Caulking and weatherstripping is surprisingly easy and inexpensive.

Read more>>

Additional Challenges to Try:

Insulate Your Home

Is your home insulated as well as it could be? Properly insulating your attic, walls, and basement can save 25% of your home heating bill.

Read more>>

Dress Up Your Windows

An uninsulated drape can cut a third of the heat lost through a window. An insulated drape can reduce it by half. Read more ....

Use a Space Heater

Why heat up the whole house if a space heater will do and cost less to run? Read more>>

Seal Leaks in Air Ducts

Both newly installed and older heating systems can have leaks in the air ducts, wasting energy and raising your bill. You can uncover some leaks yourself.

Read more >>

Make Your Windows More Efficient

Energy lost through windows can account for 25% of your home heating costs in the winter.
Read more ....

How Did the Peninsula Community Do With January Challenges?

See the Poll results!

Return to Monthly Challenges

Monthly Cooling Challenges

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:58:18 CDT

Did you know that the average American, by several estimates, generates more than 20 tons of carbon dioxide or related gases a year; the average resident of the planet about 4.5 tons?

The primary goal of the Peninsula Cool Campaign is to help you learn how to reduce your CO2 emissions. Review the current month's cooling challenge actions, below, and select at least one--or many, or all-- to incorporate into your lifestyle each month.

Have some good ideas to share? Add a comment! For support or help getting motivated, talk to fellow parents or staff, who may be trying the very same challenges. Good luck!

(To see previous months, scroll to the bottom of the page)

May Challenges: Transportation

The Top Four Challenges to try this month:

Let Someone Else Drive

Carpooling to work with one other person instead of driving by yourself prevents approximately 8,520 pounds of CO2 from being emitted each year.

Use Person Power

One-quarter of all automobile trips in the United States are less than one mile long.
Read more >>

Drive Smarter

A typical lightweight vehicle in the U.S. emits 12,000 pounds of CO2 a year and 54 tons over its lifetime--and there are 130 million lightweight vehicles in the United States.
Read more >>

Buy A More Fuel Efficient Car

Minivans, SUV's, and pickup trucks now make up 51% of all U.S. vehicles. These vehicles get an average of 16 miles per gallon of gas, compared with a typical passenger car's fuel efficiency of 23 miles per gallon.
Read more >>

Additional Challenges to try:

Drive Less

Unless a store is one mile away or less, it's more energy-efficient to buy things on-line and have them delivered by truck than to drive to the store yourself.
Read more >>

Fly Less

Flying from Chicago to New York emits six times as much carbon dioxide (per person) as taking a train, and 16 times as much carbon dioxide as taking a bus.
Read more >>

Previous Months' Challenges

Missed a few challenges from previous months when the rest of the community was working on them? It's never too late to try to adopt a new energy-saving practice. Be sure to check Questions & Answers for additional information about a challenge that the community may have supplied. Good luck!

January: Winter Heat & Light

February: Water

The February Challenges were all about water: reducing water use, heating it less and more efficiently. Check out the water challenges here.

March: Home Appliances

The March Challenges looked more closely at home appliances: raising your refrigerator/freezer temperature, stopping energy drains, washing dishes & using your home office equipment more efficiently. Check out the home appliances challenges here.

April: Your Consumer Footprint

The April Challenges focused on how your consumer habits and methods of disposing of things you don't need or want can make an enormous difference in the amount of carbon emissions you emit, or save! Check out the your consumer footprint challenges here.

Copyright Ellen M. Wilkinson 2006-2008 All rights reserved.

Welcome!

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:58:05 CDT

The families of the Peninsula School* community in Menlo Park, CA are participating in an experiment called the Peninsula Cool Campaign. If we work together, can we start to slow global climate change? The program is simple, read on to find out more.

How To Get Started

Carbon Calculator - Use this to measure your family's carbon footprint.
Monthly Challenges - Can you make a few changes to your energy use habits each month?
Poll Results - Learn how some members of the Peninsula Community have done with the Monthly Challenges.
Questions & Answers - Ask a question, get an answer, join a discussion.
Other Cool Resources - Learn more about this campaign, global warming, rebates & discounts, green tales, and more.

The Peninsula Cool Community Pledge:

"Our family pledges to challenge ourselves each month to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) we emit into the Earth's atmosphere, thereby protecting the climate for our children and future generations."

Contribute to this Web site!

The more contributors, the better. Learn more about becoming a writer. We need your help!

Copyright 2006-2008 Ellen M. Wilkinson. All rights reserved.

Challenge: Drive Smarter

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:39:36 CDT

Your car is responsible for emitting as much carbon dioxide a year as your entire house is. In fact, improving the fuel efficiency (miles per gallon) of your car is the single best thing you can do to prevent global warming. That's because gasoline and diesel-burning automobiles are the second largest single source of CO2 emissions in the U.S. In addition to carbon dioxide, they emit other pollutants, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, which damage our crops and drinking water and caus smog, acid rain, respiratory problems, birth defects, and cancer.
One important way for you to help solve this problem is change HOW you drive your car.

What You Should Know

Gasoline is made from oil. The U.S. currently imports 54% of its oil and two-thirds of the oil we use each day goes to transportation. By taking better care of your car and thereby improving its fuel efficiency, you will personally help reduce our country's dependence on foreign oil imports.
The amount of CO2 your car's tailpipe emits is directly proportional to the amount of gas your car uses. If your car is not being taken care of or driven as well as it could, it's not achieving its optimum fuel efficiency.
The world's population has doubled in the last 50 years, but the number of cars on the planet has grown tenfold.
A tune-up will improve your car's fuel efficiency by about 15%. If your car is in really poor shape, a tune-up could improve its fuel efficiency by up to 50%!
According to the Department of Transportation, one in four U.S. passenger cars have at least one substantially underinflated tire.
If 100,000 people got their cars tuned up this year, they would save at least 124,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted, thanks to improved fuel efficiency.
If you always drive smoothly on the highway instead of accelerating and braking rapidly, you could save upt o $210 a year in reduced gas consumption.

Easy Things You Can Do

Keep your car tuned. A car that runs well uses less gas. Every month check to see if your radiator or anything else is leaking, if there's enough coolant inthe radiator overflow bottle, if the battery terminals and air filters are clean, and if the drive belts are tight. You can check these things while you're filling up at the gas station. Refer to your owner's manual to learn how to do any of these things.

Every spring and fall, change your car's oil and have a mechanic perform a basic tune-up--the improvement in fuel efficiency will more than make up for the cost. Last, be aware of how often you head to the gas pump. If you notice you're suddenly filling up more often than usual, it probably means something is wrong with your car.

Inflate properly. Keeping your tires properly inflated can reduce your gasolin econsumption by 6%. That may not seem like a lot, but a 6% improvement in fuel efficiency will save the average car $40 a year in gas. More important, proper inflation greatly reduces the chances of having a blowout, which can cause everything from a simple flat tire to a fatal car accident. Always keep your tires at the maximum recommended pressure (check the label, usually located on your doorjamb, in the glove box, or inside the gas cap cover). Because tires lose pressure each month and with every 10°F drop in temperature, you should check your tires--including the spare--once a month. Buy a two-dollar pressure tester at your hardware store, keep it in the glove box, and check your tires while you're filling up.

Don't idle. Letting your car idle for just 20 seconds burns more gasoline (and therefore emits more carbon dioxide) than turning your car off and on again does! Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, idling can actually harm your car, since it causes gasoline to condense on and damage your cylinder walls and spark plugs. So, if you're ever going to be parked for more than 20 seconds, turn your engine off. The wear and tear on your ignition will cost you an average of only $10 a year, which will be repaid many times over by gas savings.

Similarly, although it's tempting to warm up your car for 10 minutes in the winter, the resulting emissions are devastating to the environment and to your health. Studies have shown that driving is a much more effective way to warm your car up than idling is. And with today's electronic engines, you need to warm up your car for only 30 seconds on a winter day (to circulate the oil) before driving slowly away. Last, don't use the remote-control starter if your car has one, since it increases the amount of time your car idles.

Keep it smooth. The more smoothly you drive, the less gas your car will use. Accelerating or braking rapidly when you're traveling at highway speeds can worsen your fuel efficiency by 33%! It's simple: The less you floor it and slam on the brakes, the less CO2 will be emitted.

Slow down. You can reduce your car's fuel consumption by 15% simply by driving 55 mph instead of 65. That's because every car's fuel efficiency starts to plummet after 60 miles per hour. Plan ahead so you have plenty of time to get to your destination--then slow down, relax, and turn on some good tunes.

Use the overdrive gear when you've reached a high enough speed.

Use cruise control.

Use high-octane fuel only if your owner's manual specifically calls for it.

Avoid heavy luggage to keep your car as light as possible.

Use the exact type of motor oil your owner's manual calls for.

Use the air conditioner only when you're going over 40 miles per hour (otherwise open the windows).

Return to May Cooling Challenges

Source: You Can Prevent Global Warming (and save money!) 51 Easy Ways, by Jeffrey Langholz, Ph.D., and Kelly Turner

Measure Your Carbon Footprint

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:14:20 CST

Going Carbon Neutral

Just this last December there were house parties organized all across the country by MoveOn.org, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups to show the movie "An Inconvenient Truth". After the movie there was a conference call with Al Gore and this one question stood out amongst all the other questions: "What is the one most important action I can take as an individual to help curb climate change"? Al Gore: "To become carbon neutral".

Great, what is that? To become carbon neutral is to make sure that during your daily activities and actions, you do not add any additional CO2 to the atmosphere. So how do you do that?

Measure Your Carbon Footprint

The first step is to find out what your CO2 emissions are. It is very difficult to reduce or change something you don’t even know how to measure. To do this you will need to use a CO2 calculator. You will need to gather some information first: your utility bills, car mileage and MPG, and air travel miles for the last year. There are several CO2 calculators on the web. We recommend the Cool-It Carbon Calculator developed by Acterra and the local chapter of the Sierra Club as part of the Cool-It campaign that they are promoting. This calculator helps you identify the total amount of CO2 you produce in one year.

Great, now what? The Cool-It web sites list suggestions for reducing your energy use (CO2 emissions). You will find that many of these suggestions are the same as the Peninsula Cool Monthly Challenges.

Renewable Energy Credits, a.k.a. "Green Tags"

Since you can't get to zero CO2 emissions, Cool-It, offers the ability to purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) to mitigate your remaining CO2 emissions. RECs, often called green tags, are the environmental benefit that is generated when renewable energy is generated. In essence, it is the amount of CO2 saved (not generated) with the production of renewable electricity as compared to the CO2 generated by a coal fired power plant. So if you purchase RECs equal to your CO2 emissions, this will balance out your CO2 emissions.

In many cases reducing your energy use will reduce your utility bill enough to pay for RECs equal to your energy use and you will still be saving money. So going carbon neutral can also be "dollar" neutral as well. If you live in Palo Alto, please sign up for the Palo Alto Green program to get "green" renewable energy from wind through the Palo Alto Utilities web site. This will offset all of your electricity usage. That way you will pay less for RECs for your remaining CO2 emissions.

Is it Really That Easy?

So this sounds great! Pay a little bit and global warming is solved. Not so fast. CO2 levels are 36% higher then 150 years ago and climbing. Even if we cut our CO2 emissions by 70% of today’s rates, we will be lucky to cap the CO2 levels to twice what it was before we started burning fossil fuels. CO2 in the atmosphere stays around for more than 100 years so even if we stopped all emissions now, things would still heat up and get worse.

The Long Term Solution

The real solution is to move towards livable-walkable communities (less cars) that are based on local resources and run on renewable energy. So far our urban sprawl and car dependent, fossil fuel dependent, WalMart infused society has been just the opposite of what we need. Livable-walkable communities move us towards a higher quality of life. Look at Europe, they get by with half the energy we do in the U.S. and most people would say they do not have half the quality of life, quite the contrary. If we had been evolving towards these more livable communities based on renewable energy, global warming would not be an issue and we would be much happier overall.

But we are not there and we have lots of work to do in a short amount of time if we are to avoid what most scientist believe will be world that is very different from the one we live in now. So if you would like to lessen the disaster that await your kids, take the monthly challenges to heart and do what you can and consider purchasing RECs to offset your CO2 emissions that you can’t eliminate. Then work on a better way to live. Try to get your work and home/school closer to each other. When you need a new car, or appliance, get the most efficient ones you can. Purchase renewable power if you can. Speak up at city council meeting when these livable-walkable (smart growth) projects come up and support them. Shop locally, who knows, maybe you will see your neighbors at the local Farmer’s market and you can ride your bikes home together.

Bikes Are The Way To Go

Bikepools to School, Cool! In 7th and 8th grades I started to ride my bike to Peninsula School from Portola Valley. Sometimes my bother and I would meet a classmate from Los Trancos or Ladera on our way to school. I remember one sleep over was riding my bike to school and then to a friend’s house in Sunnyvale and then back the next morning to school. The early days of biking served me well and I am still on my bike today whenever I can.

David Coale

class of '70

About the Peninsula Cool Campaign

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:11:21 CST

In October 2006, local environmental organization Acterra made a presentation to a gathering of parents at Peninsula School's Fall Meeting in Menlo Park. A large group of parents and staff brainstormed what individuals and families could do to reduce carbon emissions and slow global climate change. From the discussion came a long list of "best ideas" and a clear sense that there was work to be done.

Not long afterwards, Ellen Wilkinson, a parent at the school, held a series of follow-up meetings with a team of concerned parents, alumni, and staff. She developed the idea for an experimental campaign to help families in the communty learn how to make changes in their everyday lives to reduce carbon emissions and help ease the burden on our planet.

The Peninsula Cool Campaign is the fruit of those efforts, as is this wiki, which we encourage you to use to explore and add information to that may help others. This campaign was created and is produced by Ellen Wilkinson. She hopes that this could serve as a model for other communies. As the Environmental Library & Resource Center Coordinator for Acterra, Ms. Wilkinson has access to important resources of information for the community about global warming and reducing carbon emissions.

The goal of this six-month campaign is to unite the community around a pledge to reduce their home carbon emissions. Each household participating in the campaign signaled their support of the pledge by placing a rock in the "Peninsula Cool Rock Jar", pictured above. 159 rocks were deposited in the jar, representing approximately 70% of the total households in the Peninsula Community.

Each month, a set of challenges are articulated to the community and members are encouraged to explore them and identify the ones that most resonate with their personal interests and abilities, and to work toward adopting them. At the end of each month, all participants are asked to answer a poll about which challenges they tried. This information is translated into the amount of CO2 saved and is used to further motivate the community.

This campaign is a social experiment in that it explores how approaching the same sub-set of challenges each month, simultaneously and as a community group, affects the willingness of participants to adopt new energy-saving habits. To gauge the success of this experiment, a comprehensive poll will be taken of the community to learn how much influence the campaign has had on their everyday lives.

If this campaign is successful, then this project model will be further modified and improved upon in the hope that it can be used with other community groups to help them fight global warming.

The Peninsula Cool Team consists of parents Ellen Wilkinson, Sarah Caplan (also an alumna), Casey Hartman, Jennifer De Castro, BJ Rock, Souroor Milani, and Chris Smith, staff members Gail Buschini, Jerry Hearn, and Tom Forrest, and alumnus David Coale.

Copyright Ellen M. Wilkinson 2006-2008. All rights reserved.

About the Lending Library

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:54:33 CST

ANNOUNCING THE PENINSULA COOL LENDING LIBRARY! Starting Monday, 2/12, you can borrow a variety of items to support your changes in your household energy use! First up, we’re offering digital indoor/outdoor thermometers (with an instructional handout) to help you gauge how efficiently your water heater is working and guide your temperature readjustments, as well as reading materials we think you’ll find helpful. Other cool items just added are Kill A Watt meters. These meters plug into the wall and then you can plug any appliance into the meter and find out how much electricity it is using. This is a great way to show the difference between CFLs and incandescent light bulbs or to see how much electricity a "sleeping" computer really uses. At the bottom of this page is a spreadsheet that you can use with the Kill A Watt meter to record you findings and give you an idea where the energy hogs are in your house. Watch this column for announcements on other cool items you can borrow.

The Lending Library will live in Marion’s classroom, which doubles as Big Kid Childcare in early morning/late afternoon. It is honor-system based, with a sign-in/sign-out sheet, and we hope you’ll make good use of it. Caution: Lending Library tools are really fun for kids!

Copyright Ellen M. Wilkinson 2006-2008. All rights reserved.

About Global Climate Change

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:53:54 CST

The Peninsula Cool Campaign arose from a concern over the very real threat of global climate change and the dramatic impact it is expected to have on our global environment and our everyday lives.

Here are a few resources about Global Climate Change (a.k.a. Global Warming) worth exploring:

An Inconvenient Truth - The website to support the movie. Has a great Take Action section.
Union of Concerned Scientists - Global Warming: An ongoing discussion of the science behind global warming, and references to "solutions", things you can do to help stop global warming.
RealClimate: A commentary site (blog) on climate science by working climate scientists for the interested public and journalists.
Climate History: Written by a physicist (not a climate scientist), this offers a fascinating history of how scientists came to understand the man-made causes of climate change, and how long it took.
IPCC Report: The definitive report on climate change. It is the 2001 document of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, divided into four main parts. One part, The Scientific Basis is over 800 pages long. Each chapter of this part has a 2-3 page Executive Summary, each of which is worth reading (example: Ch3).

Poll Results

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:52:45 CST

Here are the results of the Peninsula School Cool Program. The results shown here are for the people that responded to our end of month polls. Although more participants may have completed the monthly challenges, we can only report what was shown in the poll. Also shown is a projection of what the CO2 saving might have been if every one did as the reporting participants did. The real result fall somewhere in between.

The totals in the last column should be multiplied by 10 for the final totals.

As of the April Poll Results, the total CO2 saved i.e. not add to the atmosphere, is 31 tons or the same as planting 2450 trees or taking 5.6 cars off the road. If we were to do the numbers for the projected savings it would look like this: 120 tons of CO2 saved or the same as planting 9576 trees or taking 22 cars of the road. Good job Peninsula Cool Community!

For more detailed information on the results of each month's challenges, see the links below for each month:

January Challenge Results >>
February Challenge Results >>
March Challenge Results >>
April Challenge Results >>

Copyright Ellen M. Wilkinson 2006-2008. All rights reserved.

Hot News Postings

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:51:59 CST

This page presents the Peninsula School Hot News' Green Column entries submitted on behalf of the Peninsula C ool Campaign, which began in the fall of 2006. Entries are written by Ellen Wilkinson, Peninsula parent and staff member of Acterra, an environmental non-profit based in Palo Alto.

6/07/2007 - May Poll, Raffle and Thanks
5/31/2007 - Campaign Wrap Party and May Poll
5/24/2007 - Recycling Medicine and Stopping Junk Mail
5/17/2007 - Bike to Work Week & More May Challenges
5/10/2007 - May Challenges - Transportation
5/03/2007 - How Did You Do (April Challenges)?
4/19/2007 - March Poll Results & Step It Up Festival
4/05/2007 - Top Four April Challenges & Marion's Museum
3/29/2007 - How Did You Do (March Challenges)?
3/22/2007 - February Poll Results & No Challenge Is Too Small
3/08/2007 - The March Challenges & Greening the Auction
3/01/2007 - Gore Speech & How Did You Do (February Challenges)?
2/15/2007 - Poll Results for January Challenges
2/08/2007 - 159 Households Have Pledged!
2/01/2007 - How Did You Do (January Challenges)?
1/18/2007 - Explore PeninsulaCool.wetpaint.com
1/11/2007 - The Peninsula Cool Campaign is Launched!
12/14/2006 - Welcome to Peninsula's Green Column!
12/07/2006 - Have a GREEN Holiday this year!
11/16/2006 - 100-Mile Thanksgiving

Other Cool Resources

ellenwilkinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:51:25 CST

This web site has been created to support YOU in your efforts to save energy and help fight global climate change. The Monthly Cooling Challenges should be your first stop when browsing this web site. Once you've explored specific actions you can take there, use the resources listed below to add to your knowledge.

About Global Climate Change
About the Lending Library - Free use of cool tools and reading materials to help transform your home into a model of energy efficiency.
About the Peninsula Cool Campaign
Contributors Guide - Learn how to become a writer/editor for this web site. Share your stories, ask questions, teach what you know!
Discounts & Rebates You Should Know About
Good News about the planet's fight to combat global warming.
Green Tales - Share your story of "going green", read about others' experiences trying to reduce the CO2 they generate.
Hot News Postings - Back issues of the Peninsula School Newsletter's Green Column.
Useful Resources to explore for further information on a variety of topics related to climate change and saving energy.

Challenge: Take Shorter Showers

ellenwilkinson — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:57:27 CST

Who doesn't love taking a long, hot luxurious shower sometimes--or maybe most of the time? But did you know that your shower is the biggest user of hot water in the entire house?

A typical shower uses up a whopping 37% of a household's hot-water usage and contributing mightily to your energy costs. If you're interested in reducing your energy use and costs, shortening the time you spend showering is a great way to start.

What You Should Know

Solely at the sink and in the shower, the average person uses 50 gallons of hot water a day.
Making simple modifications to your family's showering, bathing, teeth-brushing and shaving habits can lead to big savings.

Easy Things You Can Do

Take shorter showers. Have you ever timed yourself in the shower? An 8-minute shower is normal, but considering most older showerheads use 4 to 6 gallons of water per minute, you'll still be using up 32 to 48 gallons of water. Anything above 10 minutes wastes a lot of hot water. An 8-minute shower compared with a 10-minute shower will save approximately 300 gallons of water a month. But...
Try to cut down your shower time even further--perhaps to 5 minutes--and see the savings in energy costs and water use really improve. Or, consider trying what many Europeans do who live in areas where water resources are scarce: Turn on the shower to soak your skin and hair, then turn off the water while lathering up with soap and shampoo. Then turn the water on for a quick rinse off and you're done in record time.
Take fewer showers. In most countries in the world where water supplies are low, people are accustomed to showering once every other day or even less.
Take fewer baths. Baths typically require 20 gallons of hot water, while a seven-minute shower with an efficient showerhead will use 14 gallons or less.

Source: You Can Prevent Global Warming: 51 Easy Ways (Jeffrey Langholz, PhD, and Kelly Turner), and 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do To Save The Earth (The Earth Works Group and PG&E)

Return to February Cooling Challenges

Challenge: Make Your Windows More Efficient

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:22:55 CST

The amount of energy that escapes through American windows every winter is equivalent to all the oil that flows through the Alaska pipeline each year. That's because single-pane, unglazed windows are the most inefficient windows out there. In severe weather, a single-pane window loses heat nine times faster than a typical insulated wall.

What You Should Know

Even during a mild winter, you can lose as much energy through one single-pane window as a 40-watt light bulb uses running seven hours a day, 365 days a year.
A double-pane window retains twice as much heat as a single-pane window.
Energy lost through windows can account for 25% of heating costs, and up to 30% of cooling costs.
The biggest breakthrough in recent window technology is the low-emissivity or low-E coating, also known as Spectrally Selective. This invisible coating of inert gas molecules reflect heat back into the house but let the sunlight through easily. They cut energy loss significantly compared to windows without the coatings and are guaranteed to last for 50 years.
If just 100,000 homeowners installed one storm window, they would save some 35 million cubic feet of natural gas every year, and keep more than 4 million opunds of CO2 out of the air.

Easy Things You Can Do

Install new windows. Specially made double-paned windows are now available either with an insulating air-space between the two panes or filled with a gas, such as argon.
Install superwindows. The latest triple-pane superwindows, which have inert argon gas between their three panes to add extra insulation, as well as two low-emissivity coatings. The best superwindows insulate five times better than single-paned windows. Plus, today's Energy Star windows save 50% more energy than a typical 10-year-old window. For a mixed climate like we have in the Bay Area, you'll want to block heat gain in the summer and allow for it in the winter. Visit Energy Star's website to learn more.
Install storm windows. if brand-new windows are not within your budget. They are particularly effective on single-pane windows and can reduce air leaks, water condensation, and frost buildup and increase a window's insulating ability.
Replace standard aluminum frames - which leak twice as much heat around the edges of the glass - with wooden, vinyl, or fiberglass frames. If you must have aluminum frames, install "thermal breaks" (rubber gaskets between inner and outer pieces).
Apply low-emissivity window films on the inside of windows to reduce heat loss up to 40%. These inexpensive clear plastic sheets can be found at hardware stores.
Install a skylight to let in heat during the winter and eliminate the need for electrical lighting during the day. But be sure to insulate and cover your skylight to prevent heat loss, especially at night.

Sources: 51 Easy Ways You Can Prevent Global Warming and Save Money, by Jeffrey Langholz, PhD, and Kelly Turner, and 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do To Save the Earth, by PG&E

Challenge: Dress Up Your Windows

ellenwilkinson — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:20:04 CST

In the winter, up to 16% of the air your furnace works so hard to heat up is lost through uncovered windows. But with the right set of curtains, you can get lower heating bills, a more comfortable home, and add some pizzazz to a room.

What You Should Know

If you install a window covering on a window that faces north, you could save up 5% of your home heating and cooling cost.
Many rolling shutters (shutters that can roll all the way down or up) have insulation in their slats, which can improve the insulating efficiency of a single-pane window by up to 65% and that of a double-paned window by up to 50%.
Drapes save energy effectively only if they fit tightly against the window and the floor. Usually this means a valance at the top, side guides, and weighted hems.
Venetian blinds are the least-effective energy savers because they have so many gaps.

Easy Things You Can Do

Add some curtains or special insulating window shades to keep warm air in during the winter. Darker colors will absorb heat. Use Velcro or magnetic strips to seal edges, weighted hems and a valance to close air gaps.
Add an insulating lining to your draperies that create a sealed air gap between the window and the living space can reduce heat loss through the window by 25% to 50%.
Open them to allow the heat in. Keep blinds or curtains open on any east-, south-, or west-facing windows during the day to get a boost from the sun.
Close them to retain heat at night. If you have a large window that doesn't receive a lot of sun, keep its blinds or curtains closed during the night and day in winter to reduce heat loss.
Retract or remove any awnings, particularly on south-facing windows.
Add some rolling shutters for exterior windows and keep them closed tight for excellent insulation, privacy, and protection from severe weather.

Sources: 51 Easy Ways You Can Prevent Global Warming and Save Money, by Jeffrey Langholz, PhD, and Kelly Turner, and 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do To Save the Earth, by PG&E

Challenge: Insulate Your Water Heater

ellenwilkinson — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:39:39 CST

Put your hand on your water heater. If it feels warm, install an insulating blanket around it. The colder the area the heater is in, the greater the heat loss. So if it's in the garage in the winter, or a basement you're going to be losing a lot of heat. The same is true if your water heater is more than 10 years old.

What You Should Know

Wrapping your water heater with a premade insulating jacket can save 5%-10% of the energy you've been using, or approximately 465 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Easy Things You Can Do

Insulating jackets are available at your local hardware store for around $10. Insulating your water heater will help prevent your tank from losing heat and reduce your annual water-heating costs by up to 10 percent.

Be careful that the jacket does not block any air vents or cover the thermostat or flue. If you have a relatively new water heater, it may have come installed with an insulating jacket.
Insulate the hot and cold water pipes leaving the tank, wherever they are accessible. Cover at least the first five feet and keep the insulation three inches away from gas flues. Foam sleeves or adhesive-backed foam tape are available at hardware stores.
When replacing an old tank, make sure the new one is the correct size for your family and is energy efficient.
Electric water heaters should be turned off if you leave home for more than a few nights. It takes about four hours to reheat the water when you turn it back on.

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Source: You Can Prevent Global Warming: 51 Easy Ways (Jeffrey Langholz, PhD, and Kelly Turner), and 30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do To Save The Earth (Earth Works and PG&E)

Challenge: Insulate Your Water Pipes

ellenwilkinson — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:38:07 CST

Insulating your hot water pipes will keep the hot water hotter in between hot water uses so that you will not have to wait as long for hot water. For longer runs in the house, especially in unheated parts of the house, your hot water will be hotter when it gets to the shower or faucet. You will be able to turn down your water heater even more if you are able to insulate all of your hot water pipes.

What You Should Know

It is recommended that you insulate the hot water pipes on your hot water heater for three feet on both the hot and cold water pipes. The cold water pipe acts like a radiator on the hot water heater so it needs insulation too. The more you can insulate on the hot water pipe the better. This will save on heat up water and energy as well as reducing the cooling between hot water usage.

Easy Things You Can Do

Insulation is available at most hardware stores and is easy to install if you get the kind with the adhesive strip in it. Insulate the first three feet of both hot and cold pipes on your water heater.
The more you can insulate the hot water pipes the better. This might get harder to do depending on the access to the pipes, in the attic or under the house.

Source: Rebuilding Together ENERGY TEAM GUIDEBOOK January 2002 byDr. Lisa Gartland, Green Action Guide, the Green Team Project, Acterra (David Coale)

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Challenge: Use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs

ellenwilkinson — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:57:23 CST

Energy efficient compact flourescent light bulbs (CFLs) use about one-third the electricity of conventional incandescent bulbs to produce the same amount of light, and they last many times longer. CFLs cost more than incandescent bulbs, but they last ten times longer, so the increased cost is offset by the savings in replacement bulbs as well as the energy savings.

What You Should Know

Replacing a 100 watt incandescent light bulb with a 25 watt compact fluorescent bulb will save 135 kWh of electricity annually, and can reduce associated carbon dioxide emission by 193 pounds (based on 5 hours per day use and 1.43 lbs CO2/kWh)
Compact flourescents bulbs are now covered as part of the ENERGY STAR program. The ENERGY STAR label is your assurance that the product is among the most energy efficient in its class.
Dimmable, 3-Way, and Torpedo/Candle bulbs (for chandeliers) are all available in compact flourescents although you may have better luck ordering them online than finding them at local stores. One good resource is the Energy Federation web site.
Caution: When a CFL wears out, remember to recycle them at your local recycling location, don't throw them in the trash! The reason: a CFL contains less than 4 mg of mercury, a toxic metal. However, note that power plants will typically emit about 10 mg of mercury into the atmosphere in order to generate the electricity needed for an incandescent bulb. The net benefit of using the more energy efficient lamp is positive, and this is especially true if the mercury in the flourescent lamp is kept out of the waste stream when the lamp expires.

Easy Things You Can Do

Replace at least three high-use incandescent light bulbs in your home with compact flourescent lightbulbs (CFLs).
Replace all of the bulbs in your home, both indoors and outside with CFLs for maximum savings.

Source: PG&E, Energy Federation

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