Greenversations

By Andrea Schnitzer

The cool fall weather signals the beginning of the winter holiday and vacation travel season, and this may include a hotel stay for you or your family and friends. This year my family is converging in Washington, DC to visit and sight see, after which I’ll be escaping the city for some vacation time of my own. Both are opportunities for us to take advantage of ENERGY STAR certified hotels.

While Washington, DC provides plenty of hotel choices, I’ve asked my family to choose from among the many hotels in the city that have been ENERGY STAR certified. On average, ENERGY STAR certified buildings use 35% less energy than average buildings. While many hotels are actively tracking their energy use with ENERGY STAR’s free online tools and resources, only those hotels performing in the top 25% of hotels nationwide are awarded the ENERGY STAR. What this means for you is a more comfortable hotel stay since you’re less likely to be fighting with heating and cooling controls. Additionally, hotels that are ENERGY STAR certified have frequently adopted other green practices that help reduce their overall environmental impact. Staying in an ENERGY STAR certified hotel benefits both you, in terms of comfort, and the environment, in terms of lowered greenhouse emissions.

Over the past several years, vacation-worthy cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, Austin and Washington, DC, have taken bold steps to protect the environment and lower energy costs by adopting policies that require commercial buildings, like hotels, to use EPA’s ENERGY STAR tools. Other cities have adopted voluntary initiatives and run exciting competitions to encourage energy efficiency by levering ENERGY STAR tools. Outstanding examples of these initiatives include the “Kilowatt Crackdown!” in Louisville, Kentucky, and the “Watts to Water” competition in Denver, Colorado. As hotel owners and operators track their energy use and improve their energy efficiency in these and other cities, there will be a resulting uptick in the number of certified building in these cities.

So, when you start making your travel plans, for work, play, or the holidays, take a look through the ENERGY STAR certified building registry to learn if there are certified hotels where you’re headed. In addition, you can search for ENERGY STAR hotels using Orbitz, Travelocity, and AAA services. The last time I checked, there were 445 ENERGY STAR certified hotels in 39 states plus the District of Columbia, so odds are good that you’ll find one at your destination. ENERGY STAR certified hotels also span a variety of amenity categories, from economy hotels for your business trips to luxury accommodations for your long-awaited vacation, so you should be able to find one that suits your needs. Happy holidays, and happy traveling!

Author the author: Andrea Schnitzer is a National Program Manager for the ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings branch and manages work related to the hospitality and entertainment building sectors. She tries to stay in ENERGY STAR certified hotels when traveling, and makes a point to encourage her family and friends to do the same!

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

Each week we write about the science behind environmental protection. Previous Science Wednesdays.

By Leslie Gillespie-Marthaler

As someone who has spent time on military installations and has a great respect for the Army community, I’m thrilled to be helping the Army work toward “Net Zero” and sustainability.

I’ve lived on installations myself, and know firsthand that they are very much like small cities. With thousands of soldiers, civilians and families on base, they face many of the same challenges that cities around the country are facing, including increased energy costs, limited water resources and aging infrastructure. For example, last year Army installations used 41.8 billion gallons of potable water at a cost of $67.4 million.

To help combat these challenges, EPA and the Department of the Army have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to advance the Army’s Net Zero Initiative.

The goal of the Initiative is to ensure that Army installations only consume as much energy and water as they produce and minimize waste sent to landfills. EPA scientists and engineers will provide their skills and expertise to bring cutting-edge research assistance to the effort.

I was happy to be on hand this week when Paul Anastas, PhD, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development and Science Advisor at EPA, signed the MOU with the Honorable Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and the Environment.

“The Net Zero partnership was inspired by the Army’s ability to demonstrate true leadership in sustainability,” said Anastas. “The Army Installations are a test bed for new technologies that can solve more than one problem and can be replicated or scaled for communities throughout the nation.”

“We look forward to working with Army experts to develop tools and technologies to address some of our more pressing economic and environmental challenges,” he added.

“Through a whole-of-government approach to sustainability, the Army’s Net Zero Initiative increases the Army’s ability to be successful today and into the future. Our collaboration with EPA’s Office of Research and Development brings leading-edge research assistance together to advance both our institutions’ goals for increased resource efficiency and balanced resource use,” said Hammack.

Anastas emphasized how the Army’s and EPA’s goals are intricately interconnected: “You are protecting the nation. We are helping make the nation worth protecting,” he said.

I feel it’s both a privilege and an honor to help incredible Army communities and their neighbors achieve “Net Zero.”

About the author: A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Leslie Gillespie-Marthaler, is currently a senior advisor in EPA’s Office of Research and Development.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Chandler von Schrader

For better or worse, cold weather has arrived and it’s time to “get your heat on.” You may have already switched your thermostat over to the heating mode and had one of those “please, please, please start” moments! While you are waiting to hear that familiar “whoosh” of warm air, you try to remember if you had a preseason heating maintenance service… was that this fall or last year? Did they check the heating system when they last serviced the central AC? Is it operating at its peak efficiency and doing so safely? Will it work all season long?

Then, the heat kicks on and those panicked thoughts melt away. Or maybe not…

Years back, I worked as a salesman for a heating and cooling company and was always amazed by the general lack of concern homeowners gave to their heating and cooling systems. If these folks had only paid half as much attention to their heating and cooling system as they do their car, they might not be replacing their systems quite so often. Regardless of how the age of your system, homeowners can take some simple actions to maximize the efficiency and useful life of their heating equipment:

1. Manage your temperature settings at your thermostat or better yet get a programmable thermostat to set your house temperature smartly while you are home, asleep or away. High bills are directly related to how long your system operates.
2. Check your air filter and change it when it’s dirty. Dirty filters reduce air flow and allow dust accumulation on the system’s components. This simple action can have a profound impact on your system’s longevity and efficiency.
3. Walk your ducts in your house and look at where they are attached to the registers. See dust streaks? Feel air leaking out? Seal these little leaks with metal tape.
4. If your home is uncomfortable or you have high bills and just don’t know where to start, seek a professional home performance contractor. They will perform a comprehensive review of your home’s energy use and provide detailed guidance on making the right improvements for overall comfort and efficiency. For more energy efficiency guidance, visit the ENERGY STAR website.

About the author: Chandler has been with EPA nearly ten years promoting energy efficiency best practices for home improvement contractors, remodelers, and HVAC contractors under the banner of Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. His prior experiences include owning a remodeling company, selling HVAC systems, managing weatherization programs and conducting thousands of energy audits.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Brittney Gordon

On behalf of EPA’s ENERGY STAR program, I’d like to extend a big thank you to all of you who participated in our Be an ENERGY STAR Video Challenge! It was inspiring to see the response to our basic challenge—in April we asked everyday Americans to send in videos documenting the energy saving actions they are taking in their home, school, workplace, or community. We received more than 60 submissions and they all provided helpful tips to help us all save energy and protect the environment.

After months of collecting videos and allowing the public to vote on their favorites we now have our top picks.

Drum roll please…

The top videos of the Be an ENERGY STAR Video Challenge are:

Journey of Energy, produced by the Free Union Homeschoolers, Great Meadows, N.J.
Wasting Electricity and You, Gaithersburg, MD
Kentucky Green & Healthy Schools are Energy Stars, Frankfort, Ky.
Energy Zappers, produced by the Benton County Boys and Girls Club of America, Bentonville, Ark.
Twig and Eco ENERGY STAR PSA, produced by La Quinta Boys and Girls Club Torch Club, La Quinta, Calif.

The public voted for their favorites on ENERGY STAR’s Facebook page and they picked some awesome videos. The top videos feature people of all ages and backgrounds working to save energy in their homes and communities. EPA produced a culmination video to highlight all of the top picks. You can check it out

From celebs to everyday people, we collected over 60 videos of people working to protect the environment and save energy. Want to check out the rest of the videos? Just go to the video challenge tab on ENERGY STAR’s Facebook page.

About the author: Brittney Gordon is a member of the communication’s team for EPA’s ENERGY STAR program.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Brittney Gordon

For many, Halloween is one of the best holidays of the year. From the endless bags of candy to the costumes, it is the one night where adults and kids alike can pretend to be anyone they want to be, and have a lot of fun doing it. For weeks friends have asked me what I am going to dress up as, but to tell you the truth I haven’t the foggiest idea. I am kind of last minute when it comes to this holiday (okay, all holidays) and I will probably run to the costume store just in time to get the scraps leftover by the more time serious Halloween shoppers.

While I may be slow when it comes to picking out a costume, I am focused on being right on time when it comes to the energy efficient things I can do in my home this Halloween. Below is a simple list of things we can all do to save energy and protect the environment before and after we go trick-or-treating.

Trick for heat: When is the last time you checked your heating system’s air filter? You should do it every month and change it every three months. While you are at it, this is a great time to have a qualified professional tune up your system with a pre-season maintenance checkup. If it’s time to replace your system, look for the ENERGY STAR.

Protect Yourself from Vampires: No, I am not talking about the latest “Twilight” movie. Instead I am referring to “vampire power” or standby power. It is the electric power consumed by electronics and appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode. ENERGY STAR qualified models use a lot less energy in standby mode. Looking for an easy way to remember to turn everything off? Plug all of your electronics into a power strip. Flipping the switch turns everything off at once.

Don’t Waste Your Heat on Ghosts: By properly using a programmable thermostat, you can ensure that you are not unnecessarily heating the home when you are away or sleep. Programming a lower temperature for when you go to work and go to sleep can save you up to $180 a year in energy costs—a pretty sweet treat!

Check for more energy-saving tips.

About the author: Brittney Gordon is a communications team member for EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. She came to EPA in 2010 after a career in Broadcast Journalism.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Lou Witt, Indoor Environments Division and Kathy Seikel, Office of Children’s Health Protection

With an emphasis on healthy schools, this year’s Children’s Health Month brings back memories of life as a student. When we were children, not many people focused on indoor air quality in schools. Until fairly recently, few made removing asthma triggers a priority. Industrial strength pesticides and cleaners were used liberally, and teachers smoked in their own separate lounge. Times have changed. Now we understand how important a healthy environment is to the learning process.

Children are uniquely affected by environmental hazards due to their body size and their immune and respiratory systems not being fully developed. A well located, thoughtfully designed, soundly built and efficiently operated school can help ensure a safer, healthier learning environment for children, allowing them to thrive and succeed.

Join EPA this October and throughout the year as we work with partners to promote healthy environments where children live, learn and play. Proven, cost-effective and often simple actions can directly benefit everyone’s health. Indoors, testing for radon, removing furry pets and stuffed animals from classrooms, using low/no VOC products and going smoke-free are common. The physical location of a school also can affect students. A properly located building can help reduce children’s exposure to harmful pollutants by ensuring a potential school site is safe from contaminants and environmental hazards.

If your community is renovating a school, building a new one or wanting to improve the health and performance of students, Children’s Health Month is the perfect time to get involved. Two great places to visit that will get you started are EPA’s new School Siting Guidelines, which can help mitigate outdoor environmental risks; and the Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Action Kit, which provides guidance and helpful instructions for teachers, staff, students and the community.

Better indoor air quality protects children’s health. To see how you can help create a healthier school environment for youth in your community, visit www.epa.gov/schools/ and www.epa.gov/iaq/schools

Learn more and tell us how you celebrated Children’s Health Month by promoting green, clean and healthy schools!

• Common indoor air pollutants
• Addressing indoor air quality as part of health school
• Reducing radon risk in schools
• IPM in Schools
• Addressing environmental asthma triggers in schools
• View the school siting guidelines.
• View the Presidential Proclamation for Child Health Day.
• How EPA is Celebrating Children’s Health Month

About the authors:

Kathy Seikel, a senior policy analyst with EPA’s Office of Children’s Health Protection, has worked for EPA since 1984 and remembers when, as a college student in the 70s, smoking by students and teachers was allowed in all classrooms.

Lou Witt, a Program Analyst in EPA’s Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, is promoting indoor air quality risk reduction

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Doug Anderson

It’s October and here comes the cold weather and the high winter energy bills. I am in the middle of raking leaves and cleaning the gutters at my house and wanted to remind my fellow homeowners about other important projects to do in the fall to help keep your home comfortable and improve energy bills before the really cold weather hits. If you have not looked into your attic for a few years, then consider putting this near the top of your to-do list: check out what the insulation on your attic floor looks like.

There are two basic problems to look for: Air leaks and low levels of insulation. Why are these important? Holes that lead from your home up into your attic allow air to rise out the top of your house in the winter, wasting heat and energy. When it is cold outside, warm air in your house rises just like hot air in a hot air balloon. Sealing the leaks in the attic floor holds the warm air in, reduces cold drafts in the lower part of your house, and saves energy. Next, good levels of insulation prevent heat loss directly through the ceiling of your house into your attic.

Sealing air leaks and adding insulation in the attic is something I did a few years ago that really helped my energy bills and improved the comfort of my home, not to mention lowered my carbon foot print. Finding air leaks in your attic can be tricky, unless you know what to look for. ENERGY STAR has a Sealing and Insulating DIY Guide to help you available for free.

You also need to check how much attic insulation you have. Get a tape measure or yardstick and measure the depth of the insulation on your attic floor. Some home improvement stores actually give away cardboard rulers you can use in the insulation aisle. See the ENERGY STAR website or the side of an insulation bag or roll for details on how much insulation you should have for your part of the country.

The next question to ask is “should I fix this myself or hire a contractor?” If you do decide to do-it-yourself, you can save up to one-half to one-third in contractor costs. However, hiring a contractor is a great way to complete this project. Professionals have special tools to help spot problems you might miss, materials to seal holes quickly and completely, and equipment to install the insulation in a fraction of the time it would take you.

Again, to learn more about this project, to to www.energystar.gov under the home improvement topic “Air Seal and Insulate.”

About the author: Doug Anderson is an ENERGY STAR Project Manager and has been with EPA for 11 years. He works on issues related to energy efficient residential windows and insulation products.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Brittney Gordon

As you may have already heard, our light bulbs are changing. They’ll be just as bright but use less energy, cost less, and better protect the environment. Starting in 2012, all screw-based light bulbs sold in the U.S. must meet new federal standards for energy efficiency established by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. Under this law, screw-based light bulbs must use fewer watts for a similar light (a.k.a. “lumen”) output. The law’s energy efficiency standards for light bulbs will be phased in over the next three years (see chart below).

Using light bulbs that provide the same light output but take less energy to run will mean that consumers save money on their utility bills. These savings can make a real difference since lighting accounts for about 12 percent of the average household’s energy bill. Using less energy also helps protect the environment by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Another positive change we will see in 2012 is a shift in how we purchase light bulbs. Instead of looking for wattage to determine which bulb to buy, we can now look at the light bulb’s lumens. Lumens tell us how much light a bulb will provide versus Watts, which tell us how much energy the bulb uses.

The Federal Trade Commission has designed a new label that you will see on light bulb packages starting next year. These labels will tell you everything from the brightness of the bulb (lumens), estimated operating costs, how long the bulb should last and what color the light will be. Here’s a sample.

This law will not ban any one lighting technology but will provide buyers will a range of better bulb choices in a variety of colors, bulb types, and light levels, including improved incandescent bulbs, CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs), and LEDs (Light Emitting Diode Light Bulbs).CFLs represent the best value for consumers today. They use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.  A CFL that has earned the ENERGY STAR can save more than $40 in electricity costs over its lifetime.

About the author: Brittney Gordon is a member of the ENERGY STAR communication team. She came to EPA one year ago after a career as a broadcast journalist.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By Kristinn Vazquez

I have a confession to make. I’m cheap. Most people wouldn’t guess that about me. I do like to spend money on others. But, I’m cheap when it comes to resources at home and at work. I would argue most of us who grew up poor can relate. We’re environmentalists because we’re cost-conscious.

As the oldest of six, you wouldn’t think I received “hand-me-downs.” You haven’t met my family. I received the coolest clothes from an older cousin. When you’re poor, you realize the things you don’t need. You don’t actually need paper towels. You also don’t buy anything you could borrow. And, you rarely throw anything out. Someone might need it or have a creative use for it. Poor families have an incredible sense of community.

In our home now, all kinds of things become art supplies for the kids. Empty toilet paper rolls, bubble wrap, gift ribbons, plastic triangles from the center of pizzas, etc. (use your imagination)! Yogurt and butter containers become leftover containers. Plastic bags become pet waste bags. We’re constantly trading our kids’ clothes with friends. Here’s one we just learned: you can catch water in the shower and use that to water the plants. These are small ways to reuse and recycle materials, but they’re cost-saving measures for us, AND they’re good for the environment.

At the office, I help manage a program that considers bigger ways to recycle. We run the Responsible Appliance Disposal program that encourages utilities, retailers, and manufacturers to take your old refrigerators and window air conditioners, and responsibly dispose of the components that are harmful to the environment. If not properly handled, the refrigerant and foam contribute to ozone layer depletion and climate change. This month, RAD partner GE worked with Appliance Recycling Centers of America to open the first fully-automated appliance recycling facility in the U.S. Based in Philadelphia, the facility will not only serve more than a 12-state area, it has also created more than 50 new green jobs.

I’m proud to be helping the environment and the economy. On a personal note, if you’re upgrading to a new, more energy-efficient refrigerator, resist the urge to put the old refrigerator in your basement. This lowers the demand on the energy grid and perhaps more importantly when you’re cheap, lowers the demand on your own utility bills. I’d love to hear your ideas for creative recycling.

About the author: Kristinn Vazquez is the Deputy Director for the Stratospheric Protection Division. In her free time, she focuses on trying to see the world through her children’s eyes.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.

By David Sarokin

The theme of this year’s Pollution Prevention Week is P2: The Cornerstone of Sustainability.

Is it? Can P2 really take us to a future we can honestly say is more sustainable?

Becoming sustainable is about much more than just environmental improvement. When I was working on Agenda 21 – the sustainable development action plan that grew out of the 1992 U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro – we had the habit of talking about sustainability as a three-legged stool: environmental, economic and social progress, simultaneously, without improvements in one area interfering with progress in the others. I find that old image still aptly sums up what sustainability is about.

P2’s contribution to environmental progress is pretty straightforward. Use fewer material and energy resources and substitute safer chemicals and processes, and there’s less pollution, less toxic exposure, less mess across the board.

But P2 is also about — and has always been about — greater efficiency too, which is a boon to economic sustainability. Another phrase I’ve used innumerable times over the years (well…decades!) is pollution prevention pays, a message still worth repeating. Less waste means more material goes into finished products instead of into the air, water and landfills, resulting in lower costs for production, waste management and environmental compliance. Energy efficiency not only reduces greenhouse gases, but saves oodles of money during manufacture as well during the useful life of our cars, computers and other energy-consuming products. Energy Star led to $18 billion in savings last year (and I suspect that’s a conservative estimate). Commercial estimates have pegged the market in green chemistry at close to $100 billion!

Lastly, P2 builds more sustainable communities in ways both obvious and subtle. This, too, was part of our Agenda 21 focus, as we worked to add tools for community engagement into the sustainability toolbox. There are very few P2 programs that operate with a you-have-to-do-this-or-else mentality. Most of the accomplishments of P2 are built from a cooperative framework with government bureaucrats (and I use that word proudly) working with industry managers, workers on the plant floor, community representatives and environmental organizations to identify concerns, set goals, find at-the-source P2 solutions and monitor progress. The results improve local environmental and economic circumstances, to be sure. But pollution prevention also builds community relations (PDF) that didn’t exist previously, in an air of trust that, over time, becomes self-evidently effective.

This is sustainability at its best. Pollution prevention is at its foundation. The cornerstone, if you will.

About the author: David Sarokin is a proud EPA bureaucrat with a l-o-o-o-n-g history of working in pollution prevention and sustainability, beginning with his 1986 book, Cutting Chemical Wastes.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.