PajMon Information Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Environment’

Don t discount a money saving concept since it appears to simply save a few pennies or dollars, utilizing several modest things can total up to sizable cost savings. Many times new windows tend to be the most common energy saving residential alteration. Independently, some things may not appear like much of a savings however if you achieve 10 or even more modest things the cost savings can often really add up. Below are only a some of the strategies you can save money each month by reducing your utility bills. The US Government started a blog that is full of energy saving tips you can do around your home.

Whether you are struggling to make ends meet each month or are keeping an eye out for strategies to save money for retirement, to start a college fund, a vacation or a new home there are numerous simple things you can perform around your home (or apartment) that can frequently help. The changes suggested below often times not make you feel as though you are making sacrifices.

Light Colors – decorating with light colors can reduce the amount of electricity you use on lighting. Light colored ceilings, walls and floors reflect light better than darker colors meaning you will not need as many lights.

CFL bulbs while we are on the subject of light bulbs, consider using compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. Replacing an ordinary incandescent light bulb with a fluorescent light bulb can frequently save up to $50 over its life span. You can switch out normal light bulbs with lower watt Fluorescent light bulbs which means you will need less electrical power but have the same level of light. For example, someone can switch out a 100 watt regular light bulb with a twenty three watt fluorescent light bulb. That is a 75% reduction. Fluorescent light bulbs yield a lower amount of heat which means your home stays cooler with less air conditioning needed and they typically last more than 10 times longer than regular light bulbs.

Thermostat – a one degree adjustment in the temperature of your home will save you 3 to 5 percent on your utility bill. Another method to reduce heating and cooling costs is to install a programmable thermostat. An electric blanket is another hassle free method to stay cozy at night even even if you lower the thermostat five to ten degrees lower. Be certain to add an additional blanket or comforter on top of the electric blanket to hold its warmth in. Space heaters in addition to fans are a terrific way to stay comfortable while the thermostat is set higher or lower.

Power strips where initially offered as a means to protect your appliances from power surges. They are also effective at helping you to save money. Power strips help you save money by eliminating ghost power consumption. Estimates are that as much as forty percent of the electrical power used by household appliances is used while they are not being used. Many electronics consume electricity when in the off position. A power strip allows you to completely turn them off.

Windows – Although windows often comprise less than ten percent of the surface area of a house, except in the instance you have vinyl windows they generally lead to significant energy loss. If the windows in your home are single pane, think about replacing them with energy efficient windows such as double pane windows. Further ways to limit the amount of energy lost due to windows is by installing curtains and putting a deciduous tree in front of the it. Deciduous trees provide shade during the summer and sun during the winter.

Your house is finally clean and tidy and you sit down and put your feet up for a minute with a nice cup of coffee by the side of you and you pick away at your muffin. You are tired but it’s that good kind of weariness when you know you’ve done a hard day’s work and you have no regrets about it. A feeling of contentment settles on you and you look around you with satisfaction.

A magazine lies in front of you tantalizingly within reach and you give in and pull it to you, intent on enjoying your well-deserved rest. The top cover story springs out at you, entitled ‘Country Home Decor’. Naturally you flip through eagerly to that very section, you had only just read an article on some stylish country home decor about converting a house into a small country retreat in another magazine and it had greatly interested you.

There is page after page of the magazine filled with what can only be described as the most perfect examples of country home decor you can imagine. You gaze longingly at the various styles and furnishings you see gracing the magazine’s pages. A quick look up from your magazine assures you that your own modest home hasn’t changed somehow into one of those lovely country homes you were just looking at.

A heavy sigh passes your lips at this realization and you go back to gazing at the magazine spread. You had never thought that you were a person who could stand the whole country home decor style but now upon reflection you think you just might be able to.

Now without your even realising it, you find yourself marking the pages that intrigue you the most, making small maths calculations on how best to create the same effect but on the smaller budget that you have at your disposal. After all, it just wouldn’t do to spring for that lovely Welsh dresser and have to go without your freshly ground whole bean coffee, would it?

However, you could definitely buy that beautiful table runner without any problem. And if you gave all those modern chrome coffee mugs and dinner sets to charity you wouldn’t really be splurging, would you, since you would’ve done your best for charity and given them all these things unselfishly?

What about exchanging your snazzy blinds for something that’s a bit more in the country home decor style, and while you’re about it perhaps you could even swap that ugly lampshade you got as a Christmas gift for something a little more country.

The only thing that is left for you to do now is to lie back and enjoy the fruits of your labours and gaze with beaming pride upon your newly redecorated home. Furnished, naturally enough, in the best country home decor style that you could cull from every source that you found, like that first magazine which started it all off way back then.

With green living becoming more and more important, many people are starting to install home solar power to supplement their power, and reduce their electric expenses.

But before you install a home solar power system, how many panel will you need in order to say reduce your utilities by half? And how much will you have to invest in the system?

Here is a four step process that you can follow to answer these two vital questions:

1 – How Much Power Do You Use Per Day?:

Your first step is to work out the average daily kilowatt hours (kWh) used. This can be done by looking back at your last twelve months power bills, and see how much power used per month, and get the monthly average. This will give you a better estimate of your average power needs by eliminating the effect of the seasons. It is calculated by adding up all 12 bills and dividing the total power used by 12. If you do not have the the past year’s bills, then look at your most recent one.

Now take your average monthly usage and divide it by 30 to work out your average daily power consumption

- Let’s use an example: If our monthly energy usage is 800kWh, then the average daily power used is: 800/30 = 26.7 kWh a day.

- So to reduce your electricity bill to half, 26.7/2 = 13.4 kWh of solar power per day is needed.

2 – Work Out Your Solar Panel Watt Requirements:

To work this out you are first going to look at an insolation map to see the average usable hours of sunlight your area receives each day. A map is available on our website.

Now take the average daily kWh calculation and divide that by the number of daily usable sunlight hours, then multiply that by 1.25 (to take into account the wasted energy from wiring, charge controllers. batteries, and inverters).

- Continuing from our example: Our solar panel watt needs equal:

13.4 kWh required / 5.5hrs of insolation x 1.25 = 3.045 kW or 3045 Watts daily.

This tells us that our solar panels must be capable of producing at least 3045 Watts of electricity.

3 – The Cost Of The Panels:

Next you need to work out how much it will cost to buy solar panels that produce at least 3045 Watts. Currently the highest average cost for solar panels in North America is $4.85 a Watt.

- Continuing with the same example, the cost of the solar panels will be 3045 x 4.85 = $14,768. This is only to reduce our power bill by 50%, and it is before the costs of charge controllers, inverters, batteries, and electricians.

4 – Offset Tax Credits And Rebates:

Before we jump the gun and think it will cost us at least $14,768 for 3045 Watts of solar panel watt power, we need to take tax incentives and rebates in account.

2009′s Federal renewable energy tax credits came into effect from the beginning of the year, and coupled with the state-side incentives in places like Connecticut, California, New York and New Jersey, the cost of the solar power system will be much less.

- Let’s use our example: If we were from California we would receive tax rebates of about 20% of the cost, and a federal tax credit of 40% on the remainder. So after rebates and credits, our solar panels would cost us:

$14,768 – $14,768 x (20%) – $14,768 x (1 – 20%) x 40% = $7,089.

Just remember that this formula is basic way for you to get an idea of what home solar power will cost you. Some things could not be factored in – such as the state or country you live in, the special offers of local solar companies and the cost of the other parts (inverters, charge controllers, batteries, installation fees).

However, from the example, you can see that for Californian to reduce their power bill by half, they would have to buy $14,768 worth of solar panels, costing them $7089 after rebates. A cheaper option would be to learn to source affordable and even free solar cells, and build your own solar panels. This can be done by following a relatively inexpensive step-by-step solar power manual, such as Earth4Energy.

Great harm is done to the planet by man-made chemicals, and they are a major cause of climate change. We do need these chemicals on a day by day basis, as they help us to operate essential equipment and make our lives easier, but they present a significant threat. Major governments have introduced regulations limiting the use of these substances, as they present a threat to the ozone layer and contribute to global warming.

Refrigerant gas is a major cause of climate change. As this gas is used to run air-conditioning systems, run commercial refrigeration units and HVAC systems, it represents a very common emission. The gas is composed of hydrochlorofluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons, which contribute to global warming. The United States and many foreign countries insist that its usage is phased out, with a target date for completion of 2015.

Fossil fuels are a major cause of climate change because they lead to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Natural gas, oil and coal used to operate vehicles and generate electricity emit high levels of carbon dioxide, identified as a chief contributor to global warming. Fossil fuels also produce carbon monoxide, methane emissions, nitrous oxide and nitrogen oxides, all substances that impact air quality and global warming.

Methane is a significant cause of climate change and is a natural substance discharge by animals, including cows, pigs, sheep and horses. Methane gas can be found around landfills, in fertilizers and near coal mines and oil drilling sites. In a gas leak, a high volume of this dangerous chemical is discharged.

Our everyday items contain substances that have found to be a major cause of climate change. These harmful gases contribute to ozone depletion and are found in commercial refrigerators, heating ventilation and air conditioning systems, freezers, air conditioners and numerous other systems. Some of the gases used in the operation of this equipment includes fluorine, chlorine, bromine, hydroxl, atomic chlorine, nitric oxide, chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

Some daily household items and a number of common processes are suspected as being a cause of climate change. The use of aerosols, and animal agriculture, cement manufacturing, land usage and deforestation processes are all under study.

Many types of pollutants are a cause of climate change. Common pollutants are carbon dioxide, methane, black carbon and nitrous oxide. As these pollutants grow, the protective layer trapping heat from the sun becomes damaged, thus resulting in global warming. Scientists warn that global warming can destroy the planet if no action is taken.

Greenhouse gases in the air contribute to atmospheric heat, and this amount of heat stored in the atmosphere is a principal cause of climate change. Significant heat changes in the Earth’s climate can affect all forms of life, including animal, plant, human and marine — all will be severely impacted.

We have leaned that concrete polishing is cost effective compared to other materials like wood, ceramic tiles and natural stone. We have also learned that concrete polishing can give a unique and appealing look, unique because of its imperfection.

This modern technology of concrete polishing is so popular now that more and more home owner, business owners and designers are using it. Concrete polishing is mostly used on the floor that you are standing on. Designers and contractors have created different design to captive your attention and awe. T does not even have to cost you much.

Seeing the beauty that concrete polishing can do for our floors, contactors have used it on counter tops too. Contractors use the same concept and method on the concrete counter as the concrete polishing of the floor. Besides making use of the minor imperfections like a crack on the concrete to its advantage, contractors have molded the cement to fit your needs and wants.

Now there is this other option or use to concrete polishing. Contractors can enhance and add beauty to an old concrete patio, sidewalk or any outdoor concrete. Not only will they polish and shine your concrete they can add color and design to a boring outdoor concrete.

A contractor does not even have to be confined in staining and adding other natural materials to make outdoor concrete polishing attractive. Concrete engraving is another option or design used to beautify your concrete. Concrete engraving is a more permanent design that can handle any traffic and harsh conditions.

When a polished concrete is stained with color and has a path is made on top of it, creating a path without color is what contractors call concrete engraving. This uncolored path will be come the design on your polished concrete.

How do contractors engrave on polished concrete? The first thing they will do is clean the surface from any dust or dirt then repair any major crack our uneven cement. Then the contractor will stain the polished concrete. After which they will carve a design on the stained concrete. When the design has been made contractors will clean and apply a sealer on the concrete polishing.

U.S. technology blog Silicon Alley Insider Denver洛梅尔Author (Dan Frommer) today, the author pointed out that although Apple’s iPhone provides the company with a strong growth momentum, the leading mobile technology and the profits are very substantial, but its market share is still very limited . Following is the full text: mobile research firm ABI Research recently estimated that global mobile phone sales for the first quarter of 258 million, sales in March to 3,800,000. If there is no deviation in the forecast means that Apple’s iPhone accounted for only 1.5 percent of market share.

This also means that Apple is still huge room for growth, but also shows that the majority of mobile phone users to choose other brands of mobile phones, not all users have the opportunity to purchase the iPhone. We believe that the mobile phone market with more and more similar to the desktop market. With the importance of upgrading the software, users of mobile loyalty platform also improve. BlackBerry users are more willing to use the BlackBerry, and iPhone users more like iPhone … …

There are many users think that Apple should improve the current situation in order to maintain the growth of iPhone, the user’s recommendations include:

- IPhone software platform to keep ahead of the competition. This is Apple has already done that last month the company announced that it would launch this summer in the iPhone 3.0 software.

- Improve the iPhone. This may become a reality this summer. Apple is likely to be held in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference, or to display a variety of new iPhone. Although unlikely with the current iPhone has too many different, but will be faster and better.

- To maintain low prices iPhone: iPhone sales of 199 U.S. dollars is more than double the 399 U.S. dollars. If the price is 99 U.S. dollars will be reduced to what? We believe that this year may see a ultra-low price of iPhone.

- The expansion of distribution channels of iPhone: Apple said this year will enter the China market, will also be in the United States with more operators, but a short period of time is also very difficult to become a reality.

- Continue to expand its iPhone operating system platforms. iPod Touch is a great product, why not introduce a range between the iPhone and the iMac flat-panel equipment?

Astronomy is a serious science and as with many things, even very serious things, people often get in at an early age. This exciting science can provide hours of learning, that’s why astronomy is popular with kids. Kids naturally gravitate to many aspects of astronomy, including the moon, the stars and far distant galaxies.

The Earth’s closest neighbour is the moon. Its path around the Earth takes just over twenty seven days to complete. Mankind has only ever walked on the Earth and the moon. Gravity between the moon and Earth causes the tides. It’s brightness in the night sky attracts many children to learn more about it and the overall subject of astronomy.

Then there’s our sun. Earth is quite far from the sun. The distance fluctuates between about 91 million miles and about 94 million miles, although these measurements are not completely accurate. They are inaccurate measurements, because the Earth orbits the sun in an uneven ellipse. Life on Earth is only possible because of the sun, because it provides us with important elements such as light and heat. It is not a well-known fact that the sun contains about 98% of all the mass available in the solar system. Think about how small a person is compared to that – it is truly imponderable!

Our sun and solar system reside in a galaxy called the Milky Way. Just as other galaxies, ours contains gas and clouds of dust, stars and planets and other space materials. Even with all this stuff to fill it, it’s mostly empty. That’s a lot of nothingness because our galaxy is 100,000 light years across and 3,000 light years deep. The center of our galaxy is about 30,000 light years from Earth. The nothingness is broken up by over 100 billion stars. The galaxy’s name comes from the many stars near the center. From Earth it looks like a Milky Way, a large pool of milk. Our galaxy is called a spiral galaxy as opposed to the other three main types which are elliptical, lenticular and irregular.

You can find a wealth of resources concerning astronomy for teens on the world wide web. Kids could spend hours wrapped in detailed 3D representations of the universe around us.

The established American habit of drinking water or soda from plastic bottles is also one of the causes of a tendency of many boys and young men to lose their drive and fail to grow up. Leonard Sax, MD, PhD, says the synthetic estrogens found in plastics additives has been emasculating our boys and pushing our girls into precocious puberty.

Five factors contribute to the increasing numbers of underachieving boys and men, according to Sax. One of these is the fact that boys and men are receiving synthetic estrogens as contaminants provided by plastic water and soda bottles, baby bottles, baby toys, and pacifiers. Sax identifies water and soda bottles with a recycling number of 1 as the most prevalent culprits. These items contain BPA and phthalates, synthetic estrogens for softening the plastic.

Scientists are aware that BPA and phthalates are environmental estrogens. But they don’t agree on how much is a harmful dose. The industry conducted animal studies looking for cancer. Acceptable limits are based on the dose causing cancer in those animal studies.

But Sax brings up another point: what is the effect on a male, taking estrogen? Bottled water became popular 10 or 15 years ago, and meanwhile the soft drink manufacturers switched from aluminum cans to plastic bottles. So in effect we are all part of a vast experiment on this question, of what is the effect of taking estrogen on a male. Aside from the cancer question, Sax suggests that it’s causing young males to lose motivation (and enter puberty later).

Four other factors and the plastics additives are combining to foster a group of men and boys who are not growing up, Sax says. He cites a study that found that, 25 years ago, only 8 percent of men between the ages of 35 and 40 had not ever married. In 2006, in contrast, 22 percent were in that category, and the number was still rising. (NYT, 8/6/06, “Facing Middle Age with No Degree and No Wife” by O’Donnell and Porter)

Sax cited more studies. One showed that the fraction of men under 35 still living at home has doubled over the past 30 years. Another showed that 36 percent of all babies born in the U.S. in 2004 were born to unmarried women. The statistic holds true for all demographic groups.

Congress is somewhat aware of the threat to our children. It directed the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban phthalates from children’s products as of August, 2009. This includes baby bottles and pacifiers.

However, the Food and Drug Administration controls food and drink and its containers. It has decided to believe 11 industry-funded studies showing that BPA is safe, in small amounts. But there are 104 independent studies that show it is a hazard, according to Catherine Zandonella, MPH, in the online magazine The Green Guide.

To be a savvy and safe consumer, look for a recycling number of 1, 3, or 7 on the bottoms of plastic bottles. If you see it, don’t use it. Especially, avoid beverages that were allowed to get warm in the plastic bottle, making it easier for the chemicals to seep out. (Acid in soda does this too.) Avoid warming food in plastic containers.

Sax identifies four other factors contributing to the epidemic of men who aren’t growing up:

* Requirements to sit still in kindergarten. Children these days are taught to read in kindergarten, at an age when most boys aren’t ready. So they begin to hate school.

* Video games

* Medications for ADHD

* No traditions for transition to manhood in our culture

Interested? You should take a look at Sax’s book. You’ll find it quite an eye-opener. I did.

Rabbit hutch supplies are important if you are looking at keeping rabbits. One of the things you definitely want to have is a rabbit hutch. If having more than one rabbit is in your sights, then you may need to have a hutch with separators or more than one hutch as oftentimes rabbits don’t get along very well. Below are listed three of the essential requirements that you’re going to have to have in order to raise rabbits.

A Home for Your Rabbit

A rabbit cage, or “Hutch”, is the first thing that you’re going to have to have as your rabbit needs a place to live.There is a huge selection of different types of rabbit cages you can buy, anywhere from small ones to condominium size. It all depends on how many rabbits you have as well as the space you have, as to what type of rabbit cage you want to buy.

Waterers

Probably one of the most important things that you need for your rabbit hutch, is a watering system. Water is important for all forms of life to live, so you can see why this is important. There are a lot of different types and styles of rabbit cage watering systems out there today, some of them are even automated. An automated water would be nice if you have a lot of rabbits that you’re raising for food supply, and you don’t want to spend a lot of time going out to the hutches and filling up water bottles. If you just want something simple though, because you just you’re just raising a single rabbit, then the simple type to straps to the outside of the cage of the tube coming out the bottom is optimal. These are the types I always used while growing up as a kid and they work well.

Rabbit Feeders

The last element that is required for the survival of your rabbit is food, so you will need to give it a rabbit feeder. Rabbit feeders are simple things that you strap to the outside of the hutch with a hole through the cage so that none of the space for the rabbit is lost from it being inside. If you don’t want to get one of the outside feeders, then you can just stick a bowl inside the food in it but this has a tendency to create quite a mass. If you have a rabbit hutch it is always best to feed it from a feeder strapped to the outside of the cage.

The hcfc phase out is intended to decrease and eventually eliminate the production and use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons. The government directive impacts facilities in developed countries that fall under the Montreal Protocol or the U.S. Clean Air Act. A schedule has been developed for entities that use commercial refrigeration, air-conditioning systems, industrial process refrigeration appliances, or heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

Nations around the world must meet certain benchmarks under the HCFC phase out, as they move towards total eradication of hydrochlorofluorocarbons. A schedule was implemented in 2003 running through 2030 and gives plenty of time for safer substitutes to be developed and brought into play.

In the United States, the hcfc phase out has stepped up its pace, with a major focus on HCFC-141b, HCFC-142b and HCFC-22, which are the most harmful hydrochlorofluorocarbons. However, all other types of HCFCs will follow the reduction schedule set forth under the worldwide protocols.

Production or import of HCC-141B has been halted in the United States under the HCFC phase out. By 2010, production and import of HCFC-142b and HCFC-22 will have ended. Some exceptions will be made for equipment which is still in use, as long as it was made prior to January 1, 2010

Under the HCFC phase out, there would be no importing or production of any HCFCs starting in 2015. There will be an exception made for refrigerants used in equipment which was made prior to the beginning of 2020. in 2020, production and import of HCFC-142b and HCFC-22 will end. According to the schedule hydrochlorofluorocarbons will not exist in new cooling and refrigeration equipment, whilst there will be only small amounts of the refrigerant in existing equipment.

The HCFC phase out has a goal of improving the environment by ridding it of hydrochlorofluorocarbons that are believed to be responsible for damaging the ozone layer. Man-made chemicals can cause damage to animals, plant and marine life and humans alike, and carry a high potential for causing global warming.

The hcfc phase out affects a great number of businesses, especially those with central air conditioning in their offices or facilities. AC/HVAC equipment uses the HCFC refrigerant gas R-22, which is part of the government phase out program. That means a great many industries, from hotels and restaurants, hospitals and food processors and offices and retail stores, will be impacted by this regulation.

Facilities that use equipment which contains hydrochlorofluorocarbons are required by the HCFC phase out to keep detailed and up-to-date maintenance records. Should leaks occur they must be fixed within 30 days. All business locations are required to report, in order to track refrigerant use as well as leaks through an entire system. Substantial fines will be imposed by the EPA for noncompliance.