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Last Updated: Apr 18th, 2022 - 21:02:25
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Environment
Tips To Take The Sting Out Of High Gasoline Prices
When gasoline prices are high, nobody wants to be fuelish. It's bad for your pocketbook and the nation as well. According to the Department of Energy, passenger cars and light trucks account for almost 47 percent of U.S. oil consumption and are a major source of air pollution. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to reduce gas mileage.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:56
Environment
Choosing A High-Performance Air Conditioner
Homeowners who get hot under the collar from high energy bills are paying more attention to the efficiency level of the air conditioner they buy.
One company, Coleman®, has responded to consumer demands with its Echelon™ series. This product family of central air conditioners, heat pumps and furnaces features 12, 13 and 15+ SEER levels.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:51
Environment
Help Create An Urban Forest
DEAR DR. MOORE:
Do you have any advice for starting a community tree planting program?
I do-but first, you might be interested in these stats from the National Academy of Sciences.
Did you know that America's urban landscape has an estimated 100 million potential spots where trees could be planted and that filling these spaces could result in annual energy savings of 50 billion kilowatt-hours, or a quarter of the energy used to power all of the country's air conditioners? This would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 35 million tons and save an estimated $3.5 billion in electricity costs. Which is simply to say-the more trees planted, the greater the rewards.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:49
Environment
The Hidden Dangers Of Computer Disposal
To millions of computer users worldwide, an outdated or malfunctioning computer is no different than a broken toaster; they simply toss it in the trash and buy a new one. However, unlike a busted kitchen appliance, a computer should not be thrown away for two critical reasons: it can lead to identity theft and poison the environment.
Protect The Environment
Aug 14, 2005, 22:47
Environment
Gas Sense-In Search Of The Elusive Hybrid Car
Paying more than $50 to fill up a gas tank is enough to get anyone's attention. Which is why so many people these days are looking for gas-"sipping" hybrids to put in their garages and why many of them are going online to track the elusive vehicles down. According to a recent AP-AOL Poll, 41 percent say that gas prices are making them seriously consider purchasing a more fuel-efficient car, including hybrids.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:44
Environment
Nuclear Energy Taps Seas For Safe Water
Even though many Americans are doing what they can to conserve water, more must be done. That's the word from an organization of scientists looking for new sources of fresh water.
Experts say that even with conservation efforts, by 2025 more than 33 percent of the world's population will live in regions without adequate supplies of water.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:43
Environment
Energy-Saving Tips For The Home
Keeping your cool in the kitchen could save you some cash. A typical kitchen ventilation fan can pull out a houseful of cooled air in one hour. That can cause energy bills to rise. Try these energy- and money-saving tips from the Department of Energy (DOE):
Aug 14, 2005, 22:42
Environment
Protecting Your Home From Indoor Air Pollution
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans, on average, spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. However, inside the home, many pollutant levels are often two to five times higher than pollutant levels outdoors.
The EPA and its Science Advisory Board have also ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:39
Environment
Five Leaders Honored With Heinz Awards
Five notable American leaders have been selected to receive the prestigious Heinz Awards. The 11th annual awards are among the largest individual achievement prizes in the world, with each winner receiving $250,000.
Additionally, Richard Goldman, San Francisco philanthropist and chairman of Goldman Insurance Services, received the special Chairman's Medal, occasionally given for lifetime achievement. There is no monetary award associated with the Chairman's Medal.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:38
Environment
Ask Ranger Rick
Ever wonder what to do when you see wildlife looking like it's in trouble? Do you leave it alone and let nature take its course, or pitch in to help? The National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) Ranger Rick® magazine provides some answers.
You see a baby bird hoping along the ground. When it tries to fly, it can only flutter. What should you do?
Aug 14, 2005, 22:35
Environment
Choosing Hybrids
Hybrid cars are emerging as a driving force in the U.S. auto market. Since 1999, more than 200,000 hybrids (vehicles that run on both gas and electricity) have been sold in the U.S.
However, some hybrids may be stopping short of delivering on promises for fuel efficiency and pollution. That's the news from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a group that recently launched a Web site that it says separates the hybrid truth from the hybrid hype.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:33
Environment
Maximize Your Home Lighting With Dimmers
If your family is like many others in America, you've decreased the size of the living room and made the family room the hub of activity. The family room has become the place for doing homework, relaxing with a book or magazine and watching movies with family and friends.
Each of these activities requires a different look and feel for the room. When doing homework, the kids need bright lights for note taking and problem solving.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:32
Environment
Saving The Salmon: DNA Hooks Salmon Crooks On The High-Seas
If all goes well for Pacific salmon, they begin and end their lives in shallow rivers and streams. First, however, these migratory fish must travel two to three years on the high seas-a time of potential peril due to environmental hazards, global climate change, rogue commercial fishermen who illegally use drift nets or "curtains of death" to catch the high-priced wild salmon and intermixing with less desirable farmed stocks.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:30
Environment
You Can Help Save The Cypress Forest
Gardening season is marked for many by hauling and spreading bags of orange-red cypress mulch. But few gardeners know where this mulch comes from and its true cost to wildlife.
Cypress trees grow in wildlife-rich wetlands in the southern United States, home to the newly rediscovered and endangered ivory-billed woodpecker, as well as owls, herons, deer and other wildlife.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:25
Environment
Industry Needs Our Help
DEAR DR. MOORE:
How much of the paper used in the U.S. is recycled?
According to the American Forest and Paper Association, the paper recovery rate hit an all-time high of 50.3 percent in 2003, which averages 339 pounds for each man, woman and child in the U.S. More paper is recovered than all glass, metal and other materials combined-but it still isn't enough. The industry has set itself a goal of increasing the waste recovery rate to 55 percent by 2012, which translates into an extra 12.5 million tons of paper collected each year.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:24
Environment
Landfill Issue Isn't Lack of Space
DEAR DR. MOORE:
Are we running out of landfill space?
It depends where you are. Nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that landfill space is plentiful. But in areas that are heavily populated, such as the East Coast, it's a different story. There's less current landfill capacity and fewer potential sites-which also means that disposal costs are higher.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:23
Environment
Cutting Home Cooling Costs
Treating an AC unit more like a car could drive down cooling costs. Experts say that repeated on and off cycling of heating or cooling systems has a similar effect on their energy use as stop- and-go driving has on a car's fuel consumption: The more the unit is turned on and off, the more energy a home uses-and the higher a homeowner's electric bill.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:21
Environment
Domestic Deposits Fuel Interest In Natural Gas
Not all fossil fuel deposits are going the way of the dinosaurs.
While there may be some legitimate concerns about the state of this country's oil reserves, domestic natural gas deposits-and new methods for developing them-still present a number of opportunities for both consumers and investors.
Natural gas is the fuel of choice in many markets because it is clean burning and safe.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:20
Environment
Ten Years Later: Biotech Crops Delivering Benefits Consistently
The rapid adoption of plant biotechnology, which marks its 10th anniversary in 2005, has been driven by substantial economic, environmental and social benefits to both industrial and developing nations.
In 2004, biotech crops were planted on 200 million acres worldwide, according to a recent study by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA). That represents a nearly 50-fold increase from just over 4 million acres planted in 1996, the first year biotech crops were commercially available.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:15
Environment
Throw Another Blanket On This Summer To Stay Cool And Save Money
Is your power bill soaring faster than the summer temperatures? The solution is simple-throw on another blanket-of fiberglass insulation. The same product that keeps you warm in the winter keeps you cool in the summer by slowing heat from entering the home. And, according to the Department of Energy (DOE), by using a few inexpensive energy-efficient measures, you can reduce energy bills by 10 to 50 percent and, at the same time, help reduce air pollution.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:13
Environment
Beat the Heat-Choose the Right Air Conditioner
It's easy to beat the heat with a room air conditioner, if you know how.
To help, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM), has a web site, www.cooloff.org, with a simple three-step way to help consumers select a room air conditioner by first determining cooling needs measured by BTUs per hour. At the site you can also use the searchable directory to find units with certified performance ratings and links to manufacturers' sites for additional information.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:12
Environment
Indoor Air Quality Puts Health at Risk
DEAR DR. MOORE:
Could the air in my home be making me sick?
It's possible. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be up to 10 times more polluted than the air outside, even in the most industrialized cities. This poses a significant health risk-especially when you consider that most of us spend at least 12 hours a day in our homes -which is why the EPA has listed indoor air quality as one of its top five environmental issues.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:11
Environment
The Business Of Ideas
A newly-trading, public technology company called VIASPACE employs some of the best thinkers from Caltech and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create out-of-this-world solutions to down-to-earth problems. The company, with roots in the U.S. space and defense programs, has developed products for a variety of purposes, ranging from homeland security to delivering longer lasting power to cell phones.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:08
Environment
Outstanding Recycling Programs Receive AF&PA Award
Here's something to write home about. The paper industry has set an aggressive goal to recover 55 percent of all paper consumed in the U.S. by 2012. While they are well on their way-having reached an all-time high of 50 percent recovery-there is still much work to be done. As part of its continuing efforts to achieve this goal, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) established several awards to recognize outstanding individual, business and community recycling efforts.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:07
Environment
Dr. Beach's Prescription
Each year, coastal geologist Dr. Stephen "Dr. Beach" Leatherman, director of the International Hurricane Center at Florida International University, compiles the annual listing of top beaches.
More than 650 beaches throughout the United States are judged on a list of 50 criteria under four main areas: physical factors such as sand softness and number and size of waves; biological factors such as color and condition of the water; presence of wildlife and pests; and human use and impacts such as lifeguard protection, far-reaching views and traffic.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:05
Environment
The Power Of Biofuels
Good news about reducing our dependence on foreign oil may be found in our own backyard. An alternative to high priced gas and reliance on foreign oil-that doesn't require new kinds of car engines-can be found in home-grown biofuels. Biofuels are liquid transportation fuels made from plants instead of petroleum. Ethanol and biodiesel-the primary biofuels today-can be blended with or substituted for gasoline and diesel for use in unmodified automobiles and trucks at low blend levels.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:04
Environment
Forest Pests A Major Threat To Ecosystems
DEAR DR. MOORE:
I keep seeing forests that have turned brown from some kind of infestation. Is this common?
Unfortunately, yes. According to the US Forest Service, about 70 million acres are "at serious risk of being wiped out by 26 insects and diseases," some of which are native and some of which are introduced. You've seen the impacts. Those brown forests represent a heartbreaking loss of biodiversity, not to mention cultural heritage.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:02
Environment
Interest In This Gas Deposit Is Only Natural
While it's long been argued that everything is bigger in Texas, there's some evidence to support that position when it comes to one of that state's natural gas deposits.
A natural gas field in the Dallas -Fort Worth area known as the Barnett Shale is the source of more than 50 percent of all shale gas produced in the United States. That's more than the gas available in the Alaskan reserve.
Aug 14, 2005, 22:01
Environment
Endangered Species Act May Need Updating
Since the Endangered Species Act was signed by Richard Nixon in 1973, over 1,300 species have been listed as threatened or endangered, yet only 10 have recovered and been delisted. During that same period, 35 listed species have been found to be extinct. If our health system had those kinds of success rates, we would make some changes.
The well-intentioned ESA sometimes results in hostility on the part of landowners by giving government the ability to control how property is used. This can make even the most harmless of birds, plants or other listed species the landowner's foe, while actually damaging the species needing protection.
Aug 14, 2005, 21:49
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