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HOW YOU CAN HELP -- FROM $5 TO $5,000

Posted on 11.01.07
By: OurGreenCommunity

How much money do you have on you? No, really, put it on the table. Enough for a burger and fries? A tank of gas? More? What if you found out that any amount of money you could name could help reduce the amount of energy you use -- and carbon released into the Sacramento Valley air we all breathe?

Would you throw down a little money? Maybe with a little convincing? Fair enough, so let’s look at your options.

Let’s start with that investment of $5 or so. What’ll it get you?

• A handful of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Right now they’re on special at retailers throughout the Sacramento region, with SMUD paying to bring the cost down. Replace the bulbs in the five most-used light fixtures in your home with CFLs, and you’ll be using almost 70 percent less energy, and replacing bulbs less frequently as well.
• A couple of empty squirt bottles. If you’re buying store-bought cleaning products, you can save money by using making your own, using cheaper, Earth-friendlier ingredients such as baking soda and vinegar. Even if you put a bleach and water solution in one of those new bottles, you’ll be using less bleach and less packaging.
• A water bottle. Skip the bottled water habit. Get a good water bottle – Nalgene HDPE won’t give your swig a plastic taste – and refill with tap. (You can buy a filter for home, but it’s really not necessary: Sacramento tap water tests well both on quality and taste.)

Want to up the ante a little bit? How about $25? That’s a little more of an ouch, but still do-able pretty effortlessly for most people. For that amount you could get:

• A pack of 10 prepaid RT fares (with $5 left over). Taking a bus or light rail five times a month will save you wear-and-tear on your car, allow you to pocket parking costs, save fuel, spare the air and get you a little exercise. (Don’t forget to check with your employer for deals on single fares or monthly passes.)
• A compost aerator. Sacramento County offers free classes in composting. Bring a lawn chair and set aside an hour and you’ll take away a free composting bin. A compost aerator mixes the compost without much effort, and speeds up the process of turning garden waste, kitchen trimmings and all those Sacramento leaves (the by-product of being the City of Trees) to wonderful organic fertilizer. (Which means you won’t have to buy compost, come spring.)
• A bike basket. It’s easy and fun to run small neighborhood errands on your bicycle. Adding a bike basket will make that possible. You can get yourself some fancy rack, or get a simple basket and throw in a little bell with the change.

Now we’re going to jump up into some real money – around $100. For that you can get:   

• A washable filter for your HVAC unit. Keeping filters clean helps your heating and air conditioning unit last long and run more efficiently, saving money and energy. Washables can allow you to keep a clean filter in place without throwing a dozen old ones in the trash every year. 
• A ceiling fan with a light. Set them one way for summer to help cool the room and the other way for winter to keep pushing the rising warmth back down. Get a fan with a compact fluorescent light fixture and you can get a rebate from SMUD.
• Umbrella-style clothesline and some clothespins. Time was that every house in Sacramento’s pre-World War II neighborhoods had a rotating clothesline in the back yard. Long after the washing machine became standard, many people still hung their clothes out to dry. It’s not hard to do, doesn’t take long and will save on energy use. Ask your grandma to tell you what air-dried linens smell like – and set aside a little time for a sweet remembrance of a simpler time.

Feeling bold? How about laying down some really serious money? For around $500 you can:

• Save energy and money when it comes time to replace an aging clothes washer or dishwasher by choosing a high-efficiency model. Most people don’t think about it, but moving water around costs money, too, not only to bring clean water into our homes but also to take away and treat the water that moves into the sewer system. Look for an Energy Star model and you’ll qualify for a rebate.
• Get an electric moped. Perfect for short commutes and small errands, an electric moped costs almost nothing to run. Want to put a little more effort into your travels? Buy an “urban”-style bicycle, a pedal-powered mix of a rugged mountain bike – but with shocks and a comfy seat. You’ll have enough left over for a helmet.
• Upgrade your outdoor lighting – floodlights and path lights – with solar-powered products. They’re more expensive at the outlay, but they don’t require either wiring or a source of power.

Ready to drop the kind of money you don’t (or shouldn’t be) putting on your credit card? Lots of options in the $5,000 to $10,000 and above range, including upgrading your home’s energy efficiency overall, replacing lots of little things with more Earth-friendly alternatives. Looking for single hits? How about:  

• Replacing single-pane windows with double-panes. Let’s face it: You might as well leave the windows open for all the good some old windows will do you when it comes to keeping your energy dollars inside your home. Changing out old windows with energy-efficient new ones is no small hit – but plenty of companies can do it quickly with very little fuss and muss, and SMUD offers low-cost financing to make the cost easier to bear.
• Getting a cool roof. Dark roofs make it harder for your air-conditioner to keep your home cool. Cool roofs – roofs made of materials that reflect the sun away from your home – give your air conditioner a head start. These roofs used to be available only for commercial properties, or only for flat roofs. That’s no longer the case, and rebates are available.
• Re-do your landscaping to use less water. It doesn’t have to look like a moonscape to conserve water, but do realize that less lawn means less water wasted. Choose plants that need less water and water them less frequently but at greater length, instead of a little water every day. Make sure sprinkler systems are on timers, and consider drip irrigation for pots and raised beds. A final bonus: For your new yard you can get shade trees for free from SMUD through a program with the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

These suggestions barely scratch the surface, but they’re a great place to start. Leave your own comments and suggestions for a more environmentally friendly life.