February 2007 - Posts

Help Change One Billion Bulbs!
09 February 07 11:41 PM | JoeFuture | with no comments

Brian Huyser has a mission - help the world change 1 billion standard lightbulbs to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).

Huyser started OneBillionBulbs.com after watching a documentary on global warming.  The site helps track progress towards that goal across the globe.  OBB is currently in "Phase 2" and as of the writing of this entry has tracked just under 19,000 bulb change-outs to date.  This represents over a savings of over 1200 tons of CO2 emissions.  Considering 70 million tons of CO2 are currently pumped into the atmosphere every day, this may sound like a small win, but it's a start!

Why change to CFLs?

"According to the federal government, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star approved compact fluorescent bulb (CFL), the United States would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 cars."  - NPR.org

Take a moment to think about the magnitude of that statement...  CFLs can be purchased for as cheap as $2 each (in a box of 4) at most home improvement stores.  If you read this blog, chances are high that you spend more than that on a single Starbucks latte some time over the past year. 

I've already changed several bulbs in my current house.  In the new house I'm moving to in a couple of weeks, we've replaced all the hallway and bedroom light fixtures with fluorescent fixtures. 

To date, the site has tracked just under 19,000 bulb change-outs. So to help encourage our readers to participate, I've created a "Friends of the Future" group at OneBillionBulbs.com.  Please join our group and start logging your CFL purchases today! 

This live chart chart tracks our group's progress to date.  Remember, every bulb helps!  Check back often to see how we're doing and tell your friends to join too!

I've also started a new CFL article that I'll keep up to date with information about the bulbs, how to pick the right ones for your house, and where you can find good deals on bulk purchases.

How many bulbs have you changed?

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Anonymous comments fixed
09 February 07 09:26 PM | JoeFuture | with no comments

For some reason, anonymous comments had been turned off on my blog engine.  That's fixed now, so there should be no problem leaving comments.  If you're still having trouble, feel free to e-mail me at joe [at] this domain.

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Yikes! Learn How to Protect Yourself From "Lock Bumping"
09 February 07 01:20 PM | JoeFuture | with no comments

Watch this scary news report showing just how un-secure those locks on your house might be and what you can do about it.  Of course, the website doesn't go into detail on how to create a bump key, but I can tell you the technique looks very similar to the standard tension wrench & rake technique you see in movies.  It just happens to be much easier to pull off, apparently.

And if you're looking for me, I'll be upstairs polishing my Smith and Wesson and feeding my 4 Dobermans.

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What's Your Ecological Footprint?
09 February 07 12:57 PM | JoeFuture | with no comments

Take this short 14 question quiz to get a rough idea of your personal impact on the environment.  Clearly I have a LONG way to go to improve my footprint.  The quiz told me if everyone lived like me, we'd need 5.4 Earths to support ourselves!

Here are some specific steps I can take to reduce my footprint:

  1. Ride the bus more often.  After I move into my new neighborhood in a week and a half, the bus will come right by our house.  It's free too!  I'm sure I can use this for short trips to the store, the library, etc.
  2. Carpool.  I get great gas mileage, but I'm not sharing it with anyone during the work week.  I work in a large industrial park and I leave every day at 5pm.  So I'm sure I can find more people who live in my neighborhood and work in the same area.
  3. Make more energy efficiency investments in my home - I'm incredibly anal about turning off lights and not wasting water already, but I know I can do more.  Until every lightbulb in my house is a CFL, I won't be satisfied.
  4. Compost - I already recycle quite a bit, but for some reason my garbage can is still full every week.  Reducing food waste and composting what we do waste would help a lot. 
  5. Buy more locally grown food - One of my co-workers sent me some information on farm co-op services in my area that deliver produce to your door each week.  The food is locally grown and organic.  So you're not only reducing the overall transportation impact to bring the food in from farms across the country (or world), but you're also supporting the local economy and encouraging chemical-free farming.
  6. Sweat (or wear sweaters) - I'm going to be turning my thermostat up 2 degrees in the summer and down 2 degrees in the winter, and I'll deal.

So what's your score?  What are you going to do to change it?

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It's Official - The World Is Getting Warmer and We Caused It (Probably)
02 February 07 09:17 AM | JoeFuture | with no comments

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued their 5-year report this week and basically placed blame for global warming and rising sea levels squarely on the shoulders of mankind. 

It might be too late to fix or even slow down the problem according to the report, which indicates hotter temperatures and rises in sea level will “continue for centuries” no matter how much humans control their pollution.

According to NPR, this body of scientists, comprised of over 1000 scientists from 113 countries, is typically regarded as conservative.  So the fact that they're raising an alarm is especially concerning. 

Still don't believe Global Warming is really happening?  Check out this graphic from today's MSNBC.com article:

At least the coordinators of the Super Bowl care.  Hey, it's a start!

 

Read More:

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