Paper Flower

I have moved here.

This is an email from Co-Op America:

Take Action: Tell the FCC to Stop an E-Waste Nightmare

My review of The Police concert is coming soon to a computer monitor near you. In the mean time, check out this cute Mutts comic strip. 

Co-op America Quarterly

SUMMER 2008

Level 1:
Simple Things You Can Do Today

Take these actions and save
up to 33 percent of your energy use!

Turn Off Lights You're Not Using
Take the step: Make a pact with your family to be extra mindful about shutting off lights when they leave a room. A good rule of thumb is that there should be a maximum of one light on in your household per person at any given time. You can even put little reminders around your switchplates—download our template here. Or, install motion sensors (about $20 each) that turn the lights off after a room has remained empty for a certain amount of time.

Why: lluminating rooms that aren’t in use is a huge waste.

Schedule an Energy Audit
Take the step: Get an energy audit performed on your home.

Why: Get expert advice to help you identify ways you can use less electricity and plug energy leaks in your home. You’ll get the most cost-effective and useful steps that will help you reduce your energy use, lower your home’s global warming footprint, and lower your energy bills, too. Your local utility will probably provide an energy audit for free, but you may get a more comprehensive audit—allowing you to save even more money in the long run—by paying for a whole-house energy audit.

The big picture: Taking all of the most cost-effective strategies for energy efficiency can cut your energy use in half, save you 50 percent or more off your energy bills, and halve your household global warming emissions, too.

Let Your Dishwasher Breathe
Take the step: Skip the energy-intensive drying cycle on your dishwasher and choose the “air-dry” option, or open the door overnight for some zero-energy dish-drying action.

Why: The drying cycle uses up a lot of energy and money, while just letting dishes air-dry will accomplish the task for free.

 

Shift Your Load to Off-Peak Times
Electricity demand goes down at night and begins rising in the morning, peaking at mid-day before falling back down at nightfall again. Because power sources have to produce the electricity around the time of its use, without any capacity for long-term storage, it is our peak demand that determines the expansion of dirty coal-fired power plants and other polluting forms of energy generation. Someday, utilities may use smart meters to help us even things out, but until then, you can do your own private “load shifting” by trying, whenever possible, to wash laundry or run the dishwasher at nighttime and as far possible from mid-day. “Delay” settings on appliances sometimes make this easy to do—many dishwashers, for example, can be set after dinner to go on in four hours and wash the dishes while you sleep.

Bonus: Your utility company may shift to time-of-day metering in the future, so you’ll actually pay less when you use electricity at night.

 

Don't Heat or Cool Empty Rooms
Take the step: If there is a room in your home that is largely unused, close the vents to save on heating and cooling costs. Always turn off room air conditioners as you leave a room. When you go on vacation, set the thermostat at least ten full degrees below (in winter) and above (in summer) where it’d be if you were home; no need to heat or cool a house when no one is home.

Why: Heating and cooling rooms no one is in wastes energy (and money!) and generates needless emissions.

Turn Off Your Electronics
Take the step: If you’re going to be away from your computer or other appliance for more than an hour, turn it off as you leave the room.

Why: Some people mistakenly think it takes a giant burst of energy to power up a television, computer, or game console, and so they leave these electronics on continuously. However, even on an “energy-saver” setting, a computer, game console, or television wastes much more energy when it’s on all day than if you really turn it off.

 

Eliminate "Phantom Load"
Take the step: Many electronics use electricity even when they’re turned off—so your best bet is to unplug electronic devices and appliances when they’re not in use. Or, plug your TV and accessories into one power strip and switch off the whole strip to eliminate this “phantom load.”

Why: At least five percent of the average household’s monthly utility bill goes towards powering devices that are turned off. TVs, DVD players, computers, printers, and cell phone chargers are just some of the devices that leak power even when they aren’t on—in fact, a quarter of the energy used by your TV each year is consumed when the TV is off.

 

Eliminate Your Second Fridge, and Show the First One a Little Love
Take the step: If you’re paying to power a second refrigerator or freezer in your basement, try to make do with one fridge in the kitchen and unplug the extra one.
You can help your first fridge function more efficiently by placing jugs of water in any empty space inside (water retains cold better than air does), and by taking some time once every six months to pull the fridge away from the wall and scrub down the grime that accumulates on the coils. (One of our editors found that her fridge was so much more efficient post-scrub that she could set the thermostat higher for the same chill!)

Why: The refrigerator is often the biggest energy-using appliance in a home. A typical refrigerator uses more than 1,300 kWh a year and costs the average American household $120 a year in electricity.

Wash Clothes in Cold Water
Take the step: Turn the knob on your washing machine to “cold/cold” today, and leave it there. If you use a laundromat, post this flyer from the Center for a New
American Dream to spread the word about washing in cold.

Why: With modern washing machines and detergents, washing your clothes in cold water gets them just as clean as washing in hot water, but it uses half the energy. In situations where you
do need hot water—for example, to kill dust mites in bedding— choose cold water for the rinse cycle.

 

Give the Dryer a Rest
Take the step: Consider skipping the dryer and hanging your clothes to dry on a rack or a clothesline. (For support in line-drying your clothes and to help fight anti-clothesline ordinances in your neighborhood, join Project Laundry List.) You can avoid wrinkles by using your dryer for five minutes, then hanging clothes on the line. Please note that if you have pollen allergies, you’ll want to skip the outdoor clothesline and use an indoor drying rack instead.

Why: It takes a huge commitment of energy to run a dryer— all to do something that the air, given a little more time, will do for free. Many households spend more than $100 a year on the energy used by their dryer.

 

Level 2: A Little More Time, A Lot More Savings »

Level 3: Bigger Changes, Better Paybacks »

---

©2008 Co-op America. All rights reserved.

Note: I get these emails every now and then. I'll be posting them to my website rather than taking up space in e-mail boxes.

ACTION WIRE ALERT: HELP SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON
ENERGY - WATCH AND SHARE NEW OBAMA AD
=================================================

The Obama campaign just released a new ad that
sets the record straight on energy policy and
responds to false, negative attacks by John McCain
and the Republican party.

The 30-second spot, "New Energy," highlights
Senator Obama's plan to make us energy independent
and bring relief to middle class families,
compared to John McCain's plan to continue George
Bush's failed energy policy and offer more tax
breaks to big oil.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Here is the video.

==================================================
BACKGROUND
==================================================

Barack Obama's energy plan will provide meaningful
short-term relief for our families and make a
historic investment in alternative energy
development that will create millions of new jobs,
keep the cost of energy affordable and secure our
energy independence once and for all.

Learn more about Obama's comprehensive energy plan
here.

While Obama is offering real solutions for
America's energy future, the Republican National
Committee recently released a false, negative ad
attacking Barack Obama on energy.

The Columbus Dispatch Ad Watch said the RNC was
"Stretching the Truth":

"The commercial accurately points out that McCain
favors temporarily lifting the federal gasoline
tax, which Obama opposes. Nearly every reputable
economist says lifting the gas tax would save
motorists nickels and dimes and not produce one
new gallon of gasoline."

"The commercial also accurately points out that
McCain favors drilling off the coasts of
California and Florida, while Obama does not. But
many economists are not convinced that oil
exploration off the coasts would dramatically
reduce gasoline prices any time soon. Instead, oil
prices have risen because demand has outpaced
production worldwide. The commercial does not
mention that McCain once opposed offshore
exploration. And it probably is no accident that
the commercial is being aired in Ohio, Michigan
and Wisconsin rather than Florida and California."

"VERDICT: 'Stretching The Truth'" [Columbus
Dispatch 7/7]

==================================================
ABOUT THE OBAMA ACTION WIRE
==================================================

The Obama Action Wire is a grassroots rapid
response group for supporters to fight smears,
spread the truth, push back on misleading media,
and take positive action.

It's easy to join Obama Action Wire -- just click
here:

http://actionwire.barackobama.com

Invite your friends to join the Obama Action Wire:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/actionwire

The husband gave me a bunch of new music yesterday. W00t! I love filling my iPod up with new music.

Here's what I got:
Aimee Mann @#%&*! Smilers
Alanis Morissette Flavors of Entanglement
Amy Seely Call it Life and The Trees are Glad You're Back
Beck Modern Guilt
Big Blue Ball Peter Gabriel and Friends
Cold Play Viva La Vida
Joseph Arthur Vagabond Skies

Right now I'm listening to Big Blue Ball. It is a gorgeous collaboration of musicians from all over the world. The project was initiated and produced by Peter Gabriel and Karl Wallinger. Go check it out.

On Friday we were going to have a picnic. I wanted to try one of Mark Bittman's 101 simple picnic recipes, but just looking at the list made me nervous. Where to start?

As we were driving to central market, I was reminiscing about the camambert baguette I ate when I visited Paris with my mom. At the store, I found brie and a mini-baguette. Then I got a small box of taboule and shrimp salad from the salad bar.

Back home, there was a peach on our counter, and I wondered if a peach would be okay with brie. I searched the food network and found Giada's Taleggio and Pear Panini--a recipe I had wanted to try for about a year and a half. I used all of the alternative ingredients and broiled the baguette for a couple minutes since I didn't have a panini maker.
 
We packed our picnic backpack and drove over to Carkeek park. Lots of people had the same idea. But since we knew this would be the case, we were better prepared. We found a bench to sit on where we could peoplewatch without being bothered, and watched the beautiful body of water in front of us--whichever one it is.

Even if you don't play Sims2, I highly recommend checking this out. (Click the icons with hover text at the top of the page for more.)

Parsimonious.org is a wonderful website where you can get free downloads for the Sims2 game. They do really neat themes for special occasions. One year, they had a 12 Days of Christmas theme: I downloaded pear earrings and partridge wallpaper one day, 5 golden vases another day, and so on.

This special occasion is their 5th Anniversary (Congratulations!). So they created a treasure hunt with a map and a story to go with it. You have to click around the treasure map until something pops up. I found the Vampire land (Castle Traveux Verviet) so far. Great graphics, lovely writing, excellent interactive use of the web. I am just floored by the creativity that was involved here.

And if you are a Simmer, enjoy!

Thanks for taking our quiz. You answered 80% of the questions correctly.
	Here's how all readers fared: Score 0-19 % 20-39 % 40-59 % 60-79 % 80-100 % Readers 0 % 1 % 6 % 42 % 51 % * 75264 total responses
	1. You shouldn't turn your PC on and off because that will wear it out.
	Correct Computers will not be damaged by lots of powering on and off if purchased in the last 10 years. Today's PCs are designed to handle 40,000 on/off cycles before a failure, and that's a number you likely won't reach during the computer's five-to-seven-year life span.
	2. Alkaline batteries aren't recyclable.
	Correct For the most part. Most alkaline batteries collected through household battery collection programs are disposed of in hazardous waste landfills; even stores that have takeback programs admit they often end up in the trash. We recommend buying rechargeable batteries, which not only can be used up to 30 times, but also can be recycled.
	3. Online banking reduces your risk of identity fraud.
	False is not correct. Internet banking does reduce the threat of identity theft and banking fraud. In fact, a study by Javelin Strategy & Research found the average time to detect fraud for online banking users was 18 days; for non-online users it was 114 days. Online banking also uses 128-bit encryption, one of the most advanced technologies available for safeguarding sensitive information. Plus, it saves a ton of paper! If all U.S. households viewed and paid bills electronically, we'd save 18.5 million trees and 15.8 billion gallons of water per year.
	4. Hybrid cars are really bad for the environment because there isn't a way to recycle their batteries.
	Correct Hybrid car batteries are made of nickel metal hydride, which is fully recyclable. Toyota and Honda say they will recycle dead batteries and dispose of them properly – Toyota even puts a phone number on each battery and pays $200 for the return of a dead battery to ensure it's properly recycled. Additionally, hybrid battery packs are designed to last the lifetime of the vehicle, between 150,000 and 200,000 miles.
	5. When beauty products are labeled "organic" or "all natural" they are always better for your skin.
	Correct There are no federal certifications for the labels 'natural' or 'organic' when it comes to beauty products. Anyone can claim their product is natural or organic. The best thing to do is carefully read the list of ingredients, or consult the cosmetics data base Skin Deep (www.cosmeticdatabase.com), which analyzes many beauty products for safety.
	6. You should never throw your unused medication down the toilet.
	Correct Wastewater plants are not designed to handle household hazardous wastes like expired medication. Medications can end up in our water supplies in trace amounts and also get into the soil and become environmental hazards, as well as creating a health hazard for wastewater personnel. Unused meds should be returned to your pharmacy – they can properly dispose of them for you.
	7. Roll your car window down (instead of cranking up the A/C). It will save you gas and it's better for the environment.
	Correct But only if you are going 45 mph and under. Kick on the A/C if you are going more than 45 mph - the drag from the windows ruins the fuel savings by not using the A/C.
	8. Bottled water is always safer to drink than tap water.
	Correct A lot of the bottled water on the market today is really just repackaged tap water. The bottled water industry is not required to test for pharmaceuticals (just like with tap water) and the FDA does not ensure the safety of bottled water, so it isn't like there's a clear cut advantage to buying bottled water for safety purposes. By kicking the bottled water habit you are saving tons of waste and cash - 1.5 million tons of plastic are used globally each year in water bottles alone AND the bottled water costs more than gasoline! If you cut down on one bottle per week you could save close to $100/year.
	9. Clothes get just as clean in cold water as they do in hot.
	False is not correct. Cold water works just as well for washing up your day-to-day clothes. You'll save cold, hard cash - like $61 per year per household on average by forgoing the hot for the cold. 80%-90% of the energy used to do your laundry goes to just heating the water. It's better for your clothes (cold water keeps your clothes looking newer longer) AND it's better for the planet. In a year, each household that switches keeps 1,281 lbs of CO2 from entering the air.
	10. Your appliances don't use energy when they aren't in use.
	Correct A "phantom load" refers to the energy your appliances use when they are plugged in but not turned on. In the average home, 40% of all electricity is used to power home appliances while they're not in use! You can save around 30% on your electric bill by simply plugging your electronics (e.g., cell phone charger, computer, TV, DVD players) into a power strip and flipping the switch when you leave home. They even have selftiming power strips that automatically shut down.

 My dad e-mailed this to me. For more information on Judaism, take a look at Jewfaq.org.

Interesting Jewish Trivia Jewish Trivia (You may or may not know - Enjoy!) The Roosevelts were Jewish Dutch, arriving in NYC in 1682 (Originally named Claes Rosenvelt before name change to Nicholas Roosevelt) Sarah Delano,   FDR's mother, was descended from Sephardic Jews. Joseph Stalin was originally named Joseph David Djugashvili (translating into "son of a Jew.") As well, all 3 of the women he married were Jewish. Dwight Eisenhower's father was a Swedish Jew and was so identified in the  West Point Yearbook of 1915. INTERESTING JEWISH FACTS 1. Lillian Friedman married Cruz Rivera. They named their baby Geraldo Miguel Rivera (Funny, it doesn't sound Jewish.) Since, according to  Jewish law, anyone born to a Jewish mother is Jewish, Geraldo Rivera is Jewish. As  were, among others: Fiorello Laguardia, Winston Churchill  and Cary Grant, as   explained below. 2. Fiorello Laguardia's mother's name was Jacobson. His father was not  Jewish. Laguardia spoke seven languages -- including Hebrew   and Yiddish - fluently. 3. Winston Churchill's mother's name was Jenny Jerome. 4. Cary Grant's mother, Elsie, was Jewish. His father, Elias Leach,   was not. Grant's original name was Archibald Alexander Leach.   (Robin Leach is his   first cousin). 5. Peter Sellers' mother, Margaret Marks, was Jewish. His father,   Bill  Sellers, was Protestant. Peter's real name is Richard Henry Sellers. 6. David Bowie's mother is Jewish, his father is not. One of  Bowie 's album covers discusses his Jewish ancestry. His real name:   David Stenton Haywood  Jones. 7. Robert DeNiro's mother is Jewish; his father is not. 8. Shari Belafonte's mother is Jewish. Her father, Harry, has a Jewish   grandfather. 9. Olivia Newton John's Jewish grandfather was a Nobel Prize winning   physicist. 10. Harrison Ford's mother is Russian Jewish, his father is Irish Catholic. ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW AND REMEMBER! Fact: The first theater to be used solely for the showing of motion pictures was built by a Jew (Adolf Zukor). Fact: The first full-length sound picture, The Jazz Singer was produced by the Jewish Samuel L. Goldwyn & Louis B. Mayer (MGM). Fact: A Jew (Dr. Abraham Waksman) coined the term antibiotics. Fact: A Polish Jew (Casimir Funk) who pioneered a new field of medical research gave us a word now common in our language -- vitamins. Fact: The first successful operation for appendicitis was performed by a Jewish surgeon (Dr. Simon Baruch) Fact: The doctor (Dr. Abraham Jacobi) hailed as America 's father of pediatrics was a Jew. Fact: Until a Jewish doctor (Dr. Siccary) showed differently, Americans   believed the tomato was poisonous. Fact: Jewish Levi "Levi's" Strauss (inventor of jeans) is the largest clothing retailer in the world. Fact: In 1909, four Jews were among the 60 multi cultural signers of the call to the National Action, which resulted in the creation of the NAACP. Fact: A Jew (Emile Berliner) is the man who developed the modern day  phonograph. While Thomas Edison was working out a type of phonograph that  used a cylinder as a record, Berliner invented a machine that would play a disc. The machine he patented was called the gramophone, and the famous RCA trademark is a picture of a dog listening to "his master's voice" on   Berliner's device. The gramophone was superior to Edison 's machine. In short, Emile Berliner made possible the modern record industry. His company was eventually absorbed by the Victor Talking Machine Company, now known as   RCA. Fact: Jewish Louis B. Mayer (MGM) created the idea for the Oscar. Fact: European Jews are the founding fathers of all the Hollywood Studios. Fact: Jews comprise a mere 1/4 of 1% (13 million) of the population (6   billion). Fact: 99% of the world is non Jewish. Fact: Three of greatest & most influential thinkers dominating the 20th century were Jewish - Einstein, Freud, and Marx. Fact: The most popular selling Christmas song ("White Christmas") was written by a Jew. (Irving Berlin) Fact: Of the 660 Nobel prizes from 1901 - 1990, 160 have been won by Jews.    In the end, Jews win more Nobel prizes than any other ethnicity. They win   40x more than should be expected of them, based upon their small population  numbers. Fact: A Jew (Dr. Jonas Salk) is the creator of the first Polio Vaccine. Fact: Jews (Hayam Solomon & Isaac Moses) are responsible for creating the first modern banking institutions. Fact: Jews also created the first department stores of the 19th century: The Altmans, Gimbels, Kaufmanns, Lazaruses, Magnins, Mays, Strausses became leaders of major department stores. Julius Rosenwald revolutionized the way Americans purchased goods by improving Sears Roebuck's mail order merchandising. Hart, Schaffner, Marx, Kuppenheimer and Levi Strauss became household names in men's clothing. Fact: Jewish Marc Chagall (born Segal , Russia ) is one of the great 20th  century painters. Fact: English Jewish financiers such as Isaac Goldsmid, Nathan Rothschild, David Salomons, and Moses Montefiore, whose fortunes helped England become an empire. Fact: In 1918, Detroit , a Jew (Max Goldberg) opened the "first" commercial parking lot. Fact: In 1910, a Jew (Louis Blaustein) and his son opened the "first" gas station, eventually founding AMOCO OIL. One of the richest oil families in  the world. Fact: A Jew (Dr. Albert Sabin) developed the first "oral polio vaccine." Fact: A Jew (Steven Spielberg) is the most successful filmmaker since the advent of film. Fact: A Jewish poet's (Emma Lazarus) famous poem, "give me your tired..your poor. your huddled masses," appears as the inscription on the Statue Of Liberty Fact: Jewish Harry Houdini (Weiss) is the father of Magic/Illusion. Fact: Dr. Sigmund Freud (Jew) is the father of psychiatry. Fact: Jewish Abraham is the father of the world's 3 major religions:  Judaism, Christianity & Islam (ancestors of the Hebrew & Arabic peoples).  Jesus (formerly known as "sweet Jewish Jesus") is still worshipped by billions. Fact: Jews are the oldest of any people on earth still around with their national identity and cultural heritage intact. Fact: George & Ira Gershwin & Irving Berlin (Jews) are three of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. Fact: Isadore & Nathan Straus (Jews) - "Abraham & Straus," eventually became sole owners of Macy's (world's largest department store) in 1896. Fact: Dr. Paul "magic bullet" Ehrlich (Jew) - physician, Nobel Prize in 1908 for curing syphilis. Fact: Armand Hammer (Jew) - "Arm & Hammer," physician & businessman who  originated the largest trade between U. S. and Russia. Fact: Louis Santanel (Jew) was the financier who provided the funds for Columbus ' voyage to America . Fact: Sherry Lansing (Jew) of Paramount Pictures, became the first woman   president of a major Hollywood studio. Fact: Flo Zigfield (Jew) of "Zigfield Follies," is the creator of American  burlesque. Fact: Jews were the brains behind the Confederacy: Fact: Maj. Adolph Proskauer led the unit at Gettysburg . Fact: Judah P. Benjamin held 4 cabinet positions: Attorney General, February 25 to September 17, 1861; Secretary of War, September 17, 1861, to March   18, 1862; acting Secretary of War, March 18 to 23, 1862 ; Secretary of State,   March 18, 1862 , until the end of the war) and was referred to as "the brains   of the confederacy." Fact: Rabbi Max Michelbacher was a confidant and spiritual advisor to General Robert E. Lee. Fact: A great many Jews fought for the Confederacy, and the overwhelming were recent immigrants from Germany & East Europe who felt they were fighting for Democracy. They fought far out of proportion to their numbers.