A Better Refill

I needed to buy a refill for my handsoap the other day and was surprised to see Method's refill package is now a pouch. I don't advertise for them on this blog (or anyone else for that matter), but I liked it so much I had to share.

According to Method, the pouch has an 83% smaller footprint (measured in plastic, energy, and water) than a rigid plastic bottle. They also claim it is "more fun." I don't know about that - it is just filling the soap bottle after, but maybe it will keep their hands clean, which will, in turn, keep the walls and doors clean. I can dream.

The Electric Car is on Order!

Several months ago, I placed a reservation for a Nissan Leaf, an all-electric car. I wish I could say I've found a way to drive significantly less, but as the primary driver in this suburban family of four, that isn't going to happen any time soon so I'm trying to find a compromise.

The car will be able to go 100 miles before charging, so I won't be taking any long cross-country trips (until there is more of an electric-charging infrastructure in place), but since 99.9% of my days involve less than 100 miles of driving, I'm not too worried.

A full charge is estimated to cost about $2 in electricity in my location. I feel good knowing that Washington state is one of the cleaner producers of electricity, with three-fourths coming from hydro-electric sources. To find out the source of your state's electricity, click here.

With my order placed, I still have another 4+ months to wait, but I'm excited to be in the first wave (Nissan accepted 20,000 reservations in 2010, but has halted that process until they can ramp up their production). I'm #30 with my local dealer and he's expecting to see his first cars next month.

What am I most looking forward to? No more $50 fill-ups at the gas station!

Energy Vampires in Your House

Have you ever wondered how your electric bill gets so high? You can reduce it by taking shorter showers, running full loads of dishes, and turning off the lights, but did you know that your house is consuming energy every minute of the day even if you have nothing turned on?

Standby power refers to the energy it takes to run electric devices even when they are turned off. Think of anything that has a display, remote control, or external power supply -- your microwave, TV, AC, alarm clock, and printer, just to name a few.

If you want to reduce your standby power usage, get your kids involved and have them count up how many devices you have plugged in. Then, think about what you could unplug. Maybe a rarely used phone? a VCR leftover from the dark ages? We actually do still have a VCR (not sure why...) but I was happy to find it already unplugged!

For more info on exactly how much each device uses, watt-meters, and suggestions for future purchases, check out Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories.