Making the switch to eco-friendly clothing may not be easy, considering the lower prices of apparel that may be harmful for the environment.

In Part 1 (of a 2 part series), we outline the environmental problems of producing clothing materials that we take for granted. (In Part 2, we will discuss alternative solutions).

Part 1:
The manufacturing process of conventional fabrics doesn't take into account the harmful effects on the environment.

• Cotton - uses lots and lots of pesticides and fertilizers rich in nitrogen. One cotton t-shirt can use 1/3 of a pound of chemicals
• Synthetics - petroleum-based chemicals are used and a tonne of energy is wasted to produce them
• Wool - livestock may be dipped in pesticides, given hormones and anti-biotics. To clean the wool, harsh detergents may be used
• Rayon - manufacturing process uses lots of water and chemicals and wood pulp is wasted. A product called Tencel is better for the environment
• Dyes - used on garments but contain chemicals and metals that may end up in wastewater

Source: Article by Edward M. Eveld titled "Commit to 'greener' clothing"

The biggest share of home energy costs is accounted to home heating at 60%. If your boiler or furnace is more than 10 years old, it's probably a low-efficient model having a Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) between 60 to 70%. i.e. It's only producing 60 to 70 cents worth of heat for every dollar you are spending.

There  are Energy Star natural gas equipment that can perform upto 97% AFUE (furnace) and the Energy Start boilers can perform at 85% or more AFUE.

Terasen Gas has 14 leading brand manufacturer rebates that range from $150 to $700 which expire on January 31 2009. Visit terasengas.com to take a look at the offers. Terasen will also give you a $250 credit for replacing your old furnace or boiler with an Energy Star model by December 31 2009.

The Province of BC's LiveSmart program has other incentive for renovating your home with the federal government's ecoENERGY retrofit program. Visit www.LiveSmartBC.ca and click on 'Save on Energy'

The Interior Health Authority (IHA) received $78,000 from FortisBC recently for their energy efficient lighting upgrades.

They exchanged over 16,000 light fixtures across South and Central Okanagan. The facilities that were upgraded were the Penticton Regional Hospital, Kelowna General Hospital, Cottonwoods Extended Care and Three Links Manor. The lighting upgrades cost $714,000 but will save IHA $100,000 each year. The IHA is commited to reducing energy use and environmental emissions.

The City of Castlegar also received $13,600 in rebates for their upgrades in the Castlegar City Hall project. The energy efficient upgrades will reduce power consumption by 230,000 kWhs each year, enough to power 23 houses. The City Hall also has geothermal heating and cooling, a heat recovery system, energy efficient glazing on the windows and an energy efficient elevator. 

Summer Cooling Tips from FortisBC:

• Close blinds or curtains to block out the sun
• Switch to CFL lights to reduce heat
• Use ceiling and space fans
• Use major appliances early in the morning or after the sun goes down
• Turn off the air conditioner when you go out at night
  

What is the Cool Shops program?

It's a program put together by FortisBC, Terasen Gas, and the City of Kelowna, in partnership with the Clean Air Foundation that helps small businesses conserve energy, save money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by identifying and implementing in-store energy management measures.

Through their efforts, they've helped 8,000 retailers become more energy efficient and 5,073 megawatt hours and 1,532 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been saved.

Case Study

Olympia Greek Taverna recently switched to a high efficiency pre-rinse spray valve which will reduce their hot water consumption by 2/3s. That’s a saving of between $400—$800 a year.

Also, the owner's found out that through the Cool Shops program that they have the potential to save approximately $1,400 per year if they upgrade their incandescent and fluorescent lights to more efficient lighting.

If you own a business or work for a business you can set up a free no obligation energy audit.
 
What your business is provided with:

•      a non-intrusive 15 minute palm-pilot based energy audit on the lighting
•      compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) that last 10,000 hours (twisty bulbs)
•      LED exit lamp kits for exit signs that last 2 years and use 2.4Watts
•      Other FREE sample energy efficient lighting products such as flood lights, candleabra lights, dimmable floods, MR16 track lights
•      an energy efficient spray valve (for restaurants)
•      energy saving tips and advice
•      Incentives on items that wish to be purchased through FortisBC and Brite-lite (these savings are 50-75% less than what you would pay in a retail store and the incentives are available until June of next year)

If you are interested, please contact:
 
Fawna More
Cool Shops Program Coordinator
coolshops@fortisbc.com
250-469-8107

 

With gas prices higher than ever before and this being the busy season for summer travel, it may be a good time to offer tips to save at the pump.

The following tips provided by Ford, are geared towards driving behaviour and it can save you quite a bit. You can increase fuel-efficiency simply by changing your habits.

Ford calls it EcoDriving - because it is eco-nomical and eco-logical.

The tips are listed below:

• Maintain a steady speed; if you pump the accelerator often, more fuel is pumped into the engine. Use cruise control on the highways to maintain speed.
• Relax, because aggressive driving such as accelerating quickly or braking and also speeding can reduce gas mileage and wear out your tires and brakes.
• With newer vehicles there's no need to idle (warm-up the engine) - even in cold temperatures.
• Maintain good tire pressure, this alone can save you 3-4% in fuel.
• Service your vehicle at the recommended times - tune-up the engine, align the wheels, replace air filters
• Remove heavy and unncessary items from your car. This reduces the worl-load on the engine
• Use heating and air-conditioning wisely to reduce the load on the engine
• Have windows closed when travelling at high speeds
• Use the right oil  for your engine - there are good quality, energy conserving EC oils. They have a ECII symbol to indicate their fuel-efficiency.
• Plan your trips to reduce extra, unneeded trips
  

Source: Article titled "Tips to save gas costs"

Pickup-Pal represents "an eco-friendly transportation revolution that connects drivers, passengers and packages with the places they need to go."

How it works.

Passengers tell the system where they want to go and Drivers tell the system where they are going. The system matches the Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way. For instance, Passengers can specify that they are going to Water Street Kelowna BC from Rutland Road every Tuesday night; based on Drivers who are also going the same way, matches are found and displayed to the Passengers.

Drivers are informed of potential pickups and they can make an offer to the passenger on how much they want to charge for a ride and the Passenger's feedback rating from other drivers. The Passenger reviews the offers and based on price and Driver rating, chooses the Driver with whom they want to ride.

When an offer is accepted, the Driver and Passenger both get a "ticket to ride" with all the necessary information.

At the end of the ride, the Passenger pays the Driver the amount agreed upon. Both the Passenger and the Driver are requested to provide feedback on their PickupPal experience and their profiles are updated accordingly.

Pickup-Pal has an Eco-Ridesharing program (ERP) that allows communities to move people smarter, cleaner and better. They have partnerships with John Mayer, Subaru Triathlon Series, Oberlin College, Home Depot etc.

EscapePollution.com is proud to partner with Pickup-Pal to reduce carbon emissions through ridesharing while providing people with a method to combat traffic congestion and high gas prices ($1.45/litre!) within the City of Kelowna. Please feel free to join the revolution. The more people there is on the system, the better the chances of escaping pollution.

State-of-the-art green homes can be sold at market price 

Weatherford Place in Roswell Georgia is a green residential community. It's described as a "solar community of net-zero energy homes" built to the greenest building standards.

In fact, each "EcoCraft" home is at a platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) level. The highest level which includes points for such things as reuse of materials, pollution reduction, green power, rapitable renewable resources, etc. It's the first project of it's kind built using "Nature's Code".

The solar power generation in the community is what differentiates this development from the rest. One of the unique features is that each house serves as a power source for the community. The solar energy collected from the houses are put in to the power grid and used by everyone. The specifications show that each home should generate more than it uses thus making each home a net-zero energy home.

The homes also use 2/3 less energy than regular homes and use solar power to heat water, etc. Each home will have monitors and sensors to measure energy consumption and the overall eco-friendliness. The data will be used in energy-efficiency studies.

The prices of these homes are listed at $750,000 USD (for homes between 2500 to 3900 square feet), but have already appraised at $1 million. This project indicates that green homes can be built to LEED standards and can be profitable.

Source: Article in Event Magazine by Maria Saporta titled "Green Homes"