22 Aug EcoTip #17 Conscious Conservation in a Thirsty, Wasteful World

I asked a friend who is an energy expert why, when it is hot outside and we obviously need to conserve energy, that you have to wear a sweater to keep from freezing inside office buildings and most government buildings in Austin. In some offices, staff members actually have electric heaters under their desks. (This is one of my summertime pet peeves.)

I really thought there was some technical explanation for this that I hadn’t grasped. To my surprise he said, “I think they just don’t think about it.” What??? (I’m screaming) These are big buildings using lots of electricity. Does anyone know what we can do about this? Could we hire more teachers, plant some trees, improve public transportation, etc. if we didn’t waste all this electricity? Please comment at the end of this blog if you have answers or suggestions.

(Taking a few deep breaths . . . )

Conservation of electricity and water is urgently needed. The energy grid is reaching overload on hot days. In addition, the production of electricity requires large amounts of water.

We may not be able to get businesses to turn up the thermostat, but we can choose to practice conscious conservation of electricity and water. It really makes a diference if we all take even small steps to conserve. Here are a few suggestions for using less energy and water:

• Adapt – Turn your home thermostat up a few degrees every few days: For example, if you keep your thermostat set at 78 degrees, turn it up to 80 and then to 82 degrees. I keep mine at 85 – 88 degrees, unless I have company and they start sweating – then I turn it down a few degrees.
• Don’t let the sunshine in – during hot, sunny days, close window coverings to prevent solar gain
• Try using “public energy” – I work at home, so when it starts to get really hot, I turn the thermostat up to 90 and take my notebook computer to a library or cafe and plug in. Austin businesses have wonderful access to WiFi (I take a sweater)
• Go for a swim – One of the best ways to cool down is to go for a swim at Barton Springs or Deep Eddy
• Turn the water off – For water conservation, common practice when visiting India or Africa (if you have a shower) is to turn the water on just long enough to get wet, then turn it off, soap up, turn the water back on, and finally rinse off. Also, you can keep a five gallon bucket in the shower to collect some of the water.
• Get a bucket – Instead of letting bath water go down the drain, collect the water in a bucket and carry it out to the plants
• Waste not . . . – When washing or rinsing dishes in the sink, keep the stopper in to collect all the water to use on plants
• If it’s yellow, let it mellow – Try flushing the toilet less often.
• Maintain –  Check for leaks and fix them.

If you have other suggestions for energy and water conservation, please add them to the list by commenting on this blog.

Related links:

PowerScorecard

Energy Saver Page, Dept. of Energy