Greenversations

By Lina Younes

In these times, everyone is looking for ways to save money. Whether it’s saving energy, cutting coupons or reusing certain items, we all want to limit our expenses. So, for those who are handy with tools, the do-it-yourself-way might be the most economical option for making repairs at home. While many home improvement stores provide useful kits and information to update the look around the house, one word of caution: make sure that the simple steps you take in your home will not adversely affect your health or your family’s. Let me explain.

For example, if you live in a home that was built before 1978, it is likely that at some point your house had lead-based paint. Why should you be concerned about this? Well, lead paint poisoning affects over a million children in the United States today and it can lead to learning disabilities, hearing loss, and other serious health effects. If you are going to renovate, repair or paint your home, make sure that you use lead-safe practices to contain the work area, minimize dust, and clean up thoroughly after the paint or renovation job is over. Your best bet might be to hire a lead-safe certified contractor.

On another issue, some common home problems like drafty rooms, poorly maintained air-conditioning or heating equipment can all contribute to high energy bills. Simple repairs around the home like sealing air leaks, cleaning air ducts, and properly maintaining cooling equipment and appliances will go a long way to improve your health and save money. Here you will find additional tips to improve energy efficiency and better protect the environment.

During the summer, we see an increase in creepy crawlers inside and around the home. For some, the initial reaction is to grab the closest pesticide and spray it all over regardless of the annoying pest at hand. For others, they prefer to call professional exterminators to do the job. Regardless, the best advice is to prevent pests from invading your household in the first place. If pesticides are still necessary, follow the instructions correctly and safely.

Now, for doing-yourself auto repairs, I guess I’ll leave that for another blog. Your comments are always welcomed. Talk to you next week.

About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and chairs EPA’s Multilingual Communications Task Force. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.

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.

Por Lina Younes

En la actualidad, todo el mundo está buscando maneras para ahorrar dinero. Sea ahorrando energía, recortando cupones de descuentos o reutilizando ciertos productos, todos queremos limitar nuestros gastos. Para aquellas personas que son habilidosas con las herramientas, quizás la manera más económica de hacer reparaciones en su hogar consiste de hacerlas por sí mismos. Mientras muchos tiendas que se especializan en productos para el hogar tienen kits e información útil para hacer mejoras en su casa, una voz de cautela: asegúrese de que los pasos sencillos que usted toma en su hogar no afecten adversamente su salud o la de su familia. Me explico.

Por ejemplo, si vive en una casa que fue construida antes de 1978, es probable que ésta fuera pintada en algún momento con pintura a base de plomo. ¿Por qué le debe preocupar esto? Bueno, el envenenamiento por la pintura a base de plomo afecta a millones de niños en los Estados Unidos actualmente y puede conducir a problemas de aprendizaje, pérdida de audición, y tener otros serios problemas de salud. Si usted va a renovar, reparar o pintar su casa, asegúrese de usar prácticas laborales seguras para el manejo de pintura a base de plomo como el contener el área de trabajo, minimizar el polvo, y limpiar cabalmente después de haber realizado la labor de pintura o renovación. No obstante, la manera más segura para hacer dichas renovaciones sería contratando un contratista certificado en el manejo seguro de pintura a base de plomo.

Por otra parte, algunos problemas comunes en el hogar como, las habitaciones donde hay corrientes de aire, el equipo de aire acondicionado o calefacción que no haya sido mantenido adecuadamente, pueden contribuir a facturas elevadas de electricidad. Si hace unas reparaciones sencillas alrededor de su casa como sellar las grietas, limpiar los conductos de aire, y darle el mantenimiento adecuado a estos equipos y enseres, estas acciones pueden contribuir a mejorar su salud y a ahorrarle dinero. He aquí algunos consejos útiles para mejorar la eficiencia energética y ayudar a proteger el medio ambiente.

Durante el verano, vemos un aumento en el número de insectos dentro y alrededor de nuestro hogar. Por naturaleza, nuestra primera reacción al ver uno de estos animales indeseables consiste en agarrar el plaguicida más cercano y echarlo por doquier independientemente del tipo de insecto que sea. Otras personas prefieren llamar a un exterminador profesional para fumigar toda la casa. Independientemente de su método preferido, el mejor consejo es prevenir la invasión de plagas en su hogar. Si los pesticidas todavía son necesarios, siga las instrucciones correctamente.

Ahora, para aquellas personas habilidosas en la mecánica de autos, desarrollaremos ese tema en otro blog. Sus comentarios siempre son bienvenidos. Hablaremos la semana próxima.

Sobre la autor: Lina M. F. Younes ha trabajado en la EPA desde el 2002 y está a cargo del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Comunicaciones Multilingües. Como periodista, dirigió la oficina en Washington de dos periódicos puertorriqueños y ha laborado en varias agencias gubernamentales.

Nota del editor: Las opiniones expresadas en Greenversations son del autor del blog. No reflejan la política, respaldo, o acción de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EE.UU. (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés). EPA no verifica la exactitud ni la ciencia en el contenido del blog.

About the author: Larry Teller joined EPA’s Philadelphia office in its early months and has worked in environmental assessment, state and congressional liaison, enforcement, and communications. His 28 years with the U.S. Air Force, most as a reservist, give him a different look at government service.

I’d hoped my first contribution to this valuable space would speak to a cosmic issue, offering one person’s humble thoughts on how–on the job at an EPA regional office, and away–we can honor our sacred obligation to repair the world. Then, while leaving the train on Friday, I bumped into a co-worker. Our 10-minute walk somehow turned into a friendly contest to invent practical ways to save energy and water.

We came up with two ideas and, being veteran EPAers, devoted most of our words wondering why people more entrepreneurial than us hadn’t already developed and commercialized our utterly obvious breakthroughs.

The first was at our feet: the escalator from the train platform. Why, we wondered, does it continuously run all day long when, except for the morning and afternoon rush hours, it’s used intermittently? Why not have a sensor that starts it up when someone approaches? Energy Star friends, you’ve done wonders for fridges and are now needed at escalators.

Having solved escalator energy waste, and it being National Drinking Water Week, Fred and I devoted our remaining minutes to home sinks. Thinking of two daily tasks-washing dishes and shaving-it seemed sensible that there’s usually no need for the water to run for several minutes when it’s needed part-time. Thinking of doctor and dentist scrub sinks, can there be a safe foot pedal or other way to turn the water on and off while hands are occupied?

Although our last minute together covered possible technical challenges-reliability of switches, wear and tear on escalator gears, tripping over foot pedals, home maintenance-we decided that the R&D gang is up to the task.

Fred and I are willing to share the profits that will surely come our way. My question, readers, is whether our ten-minute commuter brainstorm under the streets of Philadelphia (it was raining) was worthwhile.