Daily Nonsense

There are many things that affect our environment, from global warming to the overgrazing of our pastures and prairies.  There are so many inter-connected variables that it’s hard to keep track.

Thankfully, someone over at Wikipedia is keeping track for me.  There are three great lists that bring some of the issues into clearer light and illuminate some issues for the first time (at least for me).  I mean, I never realized that there were environmental impacts to nanotechnology.  Be that as it may, here are the lists in question:

1. List of environmental issues
2. List of environment topics
3. List of conservation topics

So, let’s all pick something, that one thing, that we CAN do for our environment, our futures, our lives and let’s try to make a change.

I know, it’s not always easy to be environmentally conscious. So many things can get in the way. Just trying to keep even with the world we’ve created, let alone get ahead, can take up more time than seems reasonable in many cases.

But there are a few things that even the most harried one of us can do that will make a significant impact on our future environment. And the easiest of these (in my humble opinion) is the CFL or Compact Fluorescent Lamp By simply replacing one incandescent bulb in your home you can save over US$30 in electricity costs over the lamp’s lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times their own weight in greenhouse gases.

With the current technology you can use a CFL in almost any light fixture in your home. That wasn’t the case even 3 years ago, but as consumers demand the technology the size of the bulb continues to shrink. Brooke and I use these in the basement and other areas where the quality and color of the light doesn’t cause us unnecessary eyestrain when (and where) we read. I feel confident that even this restriction will pass as the technology matures.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a West Coast energy provider, recently announced an exciting CFL giveaway as a part of their involvement with the National Energy Awareness Month. PG&E plans on giving away 1,000,000 (one MILLION) CFLs during the month of October as part of a larger campaign to raise awareness of the need to recycle fluorescent lamps. There is an article HERE that describes the program.

I’ve also attached a PDF from the EPA which describes how to recycle a CFL as well as how to clean up the mess if you’ve accidentally broken one. EPA CFL Recycle & Cleanup Document

My favorite on-line retailer sells CFLs on the cheap here -> Amazon CFL Bargain

Today is Blog Action Day. An initiative to bind the blogging community together for one day on one topic. Today thousands of bloggers will post articles that relate to environmental issues in an effort to get people talking about a better future not only for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children.

I had been planning to spend yesterday writing an article or two that I could post during the course of today. But the best laid plans of mice and men…. I woke up yesterday sporting a 101.3 degree fever and basically spent the day lying in bed snoozing and drinking Gatorade (thanks Kel!) so I have nothing prepared.

What I will do today is try to cobble together an article or two that refer to my original ideas for today.