US House of Representatives passes climate change bill

On June 26th the US House of Representatives passed a sweeping environmental bill. Probably the biggest item in the bill is the carbon cap and trade system that it lays out. This system will help reduce emissions by giving both an economic benefit for reducing emissions and an economic penalty for those who do not. This makes the recent push by the city of Austin and Austin Energy for increased energy efficiency all the more important. If we as a city can reduce our demand for energy we will be able to sell off our excess carbon credits to less environmentally friendly cities. Not only will we get a cleaner city, we will have more funds to pay for better roads, schools and other improvements. The combined measures in the bill plan to cut carbon emissions by 18% in 10 years and hope to achieve an 80% reduction in 40 years. Increasing the energy efficiency of homes around the nation is going to one of the key elements in reaching these lofty goals. The Austin Energy rebates are a great way to do your part to help out without having to spend a lot of money. Visit www.greencollaroperations.com today and give us a call to find out what rebates you are eligible for and talk to an energy efficiency expert.

Austin Amerian Statesman talks energy and the environment

In the last couple days there have been several good articles written in the Austin American Statesman talking about green energy and energy efficiency. The attention to this subject matter is being driven by the recent meeting of the Pecan Street Project, an Austin coalition focused on moving Austin to the forefront of the emerging Green economy, and making Austin a leader in green energy in the process. The articles discuss a wide range of topics from energy efficiency to the importance for the city of attracting green technology companies from an economic stand point. Please give them a read and help place Austin squarely in the middle of the green energy revolution. You can find the articles at www.statesman.com or at the following direct links:
Article 1
Article 2
Article 3

These are only three of the handful of articles in different sections of the paper over the last several days that discuss environmental and green energy topics.

Austin makes it easy to be green

Its pretty easy to be green in Austin, all things considered. There are a lot of rebate programs out there offered by Austin Energy and the Austin water utilities and even the natural gas company here in town. All these rebates make it pretty affordable to make your home greener. You can get the city to replace your old toilets if you agree to use new low flow models with you do so. You can also get good rebates on solar powered water heaters, they produce the same hot water, but don't take as much energy to run. Rebates are available for rain barrels that will help you capture water off your roof and use it later to water you plants so you don't have to turn on the hose. Austin Energy has a whole host of rebates for different things. You can get rebates to add insulation to your attic, or spray some radiant barrier under your roof to reflect summer heat.
With all these different rebates available it is curious why Austin isn't a more environmentally friendly city. Everyone thinks of Austin as a progressive town that should be at the forefront of our state's push to be more environmentally friendly, and that is certainly the idea behind the rebates. The fact still remains that austinites just aren't taking advantage of the programs and actually living greener. For example Austin's percapita water use exceeds the state recommended maximums and we aren't even that close to meeting that goal. Other cities like San Marcos and San Antonio are already below the recommended percapita water use. What gives Austin? Get out there and take advantage of the great rebates Austin is offering you. Its free money to help the environment, what could be wrong with that?

Shopping for a green home

If your in the market for a house in Austin and are looking for an environmentally friendly place to hang your hat, here are some tips on finding the real deal when it comes to green homes.

1. Landscaping: environmentally friendly homes will have landscaping that works with the native environment. Look for native plant species that are naturally drought resistance, large grass yards take up a lot of water and are to be avoided. Also look for homes that have kept large shade trees on the lot around the house, they can significantly cut down on your energy use in summer, making your house more environmentally friendly.

2. Appliances and fixtures: Look for appliances that are relatively new and energy star certified, this means they meet national standards for energy efficiency. Low flow toilets and solar water heaters are also things you can look for. Low voltage lighting also helps keep energy use down throughout the year.

3. Orientation and Windows: Here in Austin look for homes that have south and east facing windows and very few west facing windows. This will help keep warm the house up in the morning and during the winter but keeps out intense afternoon sun.

4. Building Materials: Particularly if you are looking at new constructions you should consider whether or not environmentally friendly recycled materials were used in the construction of the house. Recycled materials show up in floors, framing, rock walls and anything metal in the home. Also talk to your builder to see if they took steps to minimize wasted materials during construction, as builders who are conscious of this can help save a lot of materials and not fill up the landfill.

Green Collar Operations is partnering with loacl realtors

Green Collar Operations has recently begun partnering with local Austin Realtors to help them understand their options in reference to the recent ECAD regulations. Green Collar Operations is showing Austin Realtors how to take a value added approach to the new energy regulations. The Realtors are learning how to view the new energy audits as an opportunity to make their listings stand out in the crowded Austin real estate market instead of just another hurdle to overcome in the process of selling a house. Along the way the people at Green Collar are also helping to accomplish the actual goal of the energy audits, which is increasing energy efficiency here in Austin, as opposed to just having audits done. These partnerships are proving to be beneficial to everyone involved. Realtors get to show sellers how to increase the value of their home at minimal cost, and purchases get a more energy efficient home. If you are selling a home, or are an Austin Realtor interested in learning more about how Green Collar is helping other Realtors please visit the website at www.greencollaroperations.com or contact them directly by calling (512) 986-7045

Electronics in Austin Landfills

There is a growing problem in central Texas, and the US in general, being caused by the rapid pace of technological innovation. As computers, TVs and cellphones become obsolete more quickly the build of electronics in landfills is becoming a problem. These electronics are full of heavy metals and chemicals that leach into the soil and eventually make it into our water supply.

The Texas government is taking steps to limit the amount of electronic waste that winds up in our landfills by requiring computer manufactures to provide free recycling for old computers in Texas. However, they have not addressed the TV or cellphone issue yet. This is particularly worrisome in light of the recent digital TV switch which is going to make a large number of old TVs stop working. Without easy recycling these will all end up in our local landfill where they will pollute our soil and ground water.

Here in Austin we have several options for disposing of our old electronics. Perhaps the easiest is to take them to your local Goodwill drop off point. Goodwill will take them and repair, re-sell or recycle them depending on their condition. You can also take them to an Ecology Action drop off point downtown or a city run recycling center in South Austin. So make the extra effort next time you have electronics to get rid of and do it responsibly. Help us protect our land and drinking water.

An environmental view of the current Texas legislative session.

The 2009 Texas legislative session has been a busy one from the standpoint of energy and environmental regulations. There have been several important victories won by environmentalist and conservationist but not everything has gone their direction. Amongst the failed items from the 2009 Texas legislative agenda are measures that would have created higher energy efficiency standards for public, residential and commercial buildings. These measures, had they been passed, would have helped Texas significantly reduce its demand for energy. Limiting the wasteful use of energy in large government and commercial buildings and requiring new homes to be built to higher energy efficiency standards could have prevented the creation of millions of tons of Co2 from unnecessary power production in upcoming years. A recent energy audit by Austin Energy found that one million pounds of Co2 was created annually by the power being wasted in the 310 homes audited. If we assume a similar lack of energy efficiency for large government and commercial buildings, a measure requiring them to become more efficient in their power use would have had a dramatic impact on our emissions statewide. Also amongst the failed proposals were plans to subsidize and incentivize new renewable energy projects, particularly solar projects and a plan to expand the energy efficiency programs offered by electric companies.

On the other hand environmental victories include a plan to allocate federal stimulus money towards energy efficiency and home weatherization. It is unclear exactly how this will work, but hopefully it will make it easier for Texas residents to take steps to increase the energy efficiency of their homes through weatherization. This should include incentives for improvements like adding radiant barrier to roofs, increasing attic insulation, sealing ducts, and improving the seals around windows and doors. Victories were also won to allow city financing for energy efficiency improvement and solar installments and provide tax breaks for clean coal plants. While clean coal is not as good as truly green power sources, providing an incentive for coal plants to reduce their emissions will certainly help bridge the gap until we can transfer to green energy sources.

The overall story of the 2009 Texas legislative session from an energy efficiency standpoint seems to be that the Texas legislature wants to make it easier for people to increase their energy efficiency, but are not ready to require anyone to do so. Providing incentives is a great way to start improving Texas’ energy efficiency and decreasing our environmental impact as a state. However, these incentive programs are largely focused on residential improvements. This leaves out commercial, school and government buildings which account for a large part of the energy wasted in Texas. Hopefully the study commissioned by this legislative session that is supposed to find ways to increase energy efficiency and decrease statewide emissions will show the importance of including commercial and government buildings in energy efficiency improvement programs to upcoming Texas legislative sessions.

The Texas legislature also seems unsure about alternative energy development at this time. They struck down two measures directly targeted at the development of more renewable energy production and one plan to develop new nuclear power plants in Texas. At the same time they approved a tax break program for new clean coal plants and a measure that will make it easier to build natural gas pipelines which will aid in future natural gas power plant development. The Texas legislature seems to be moving slowly in the right direction on energy and environmental legislation and hopefully future Texas legislative sessions will increase the pace of improvement and start significantly reducing Texas’s environmental impact.

Is your house leaking?

If it is older then ten years old chances are the answer is yes. The results are in from the first round of Austin Energy energy audits and the results show that most homes have problems. 86% of the 310 homes audited had ducts that leaked more then the 10% considered acceptable from an energy efficiency standpoint. That means that if you live in a home more then ten years old, more then 10% of the air you pay to cool is being blown straight into your attic, all the insulation in the world wont do you and good if the cool air never makes it into the house.
Austin Energy estimates that the energy being wasted in these 310 homes created 1 million pounds of Co2 annually. This is just 310 homes, think about home much energy is being wasted in your city as a whole, weather it is Austin or anywhere else. If you want an immediate way to help the environment, making sure your homes heating and cooling is as efficient as possible is definitely the way to go.
To see all the information about the first round of energy audits go to the Austin American Statesman and read the Article.
To fix your leaky ducts and get on the way to a more energy efficient future contact Green Collar Operations

Introduction

As the title of this Blog implies it will be about energy efficiency and things happening in the "green" and "energy" worlds in general. I live and work in Austin, Texas so some of the information here will be more pertinent to those who live in the area, but there will also be general information for those of you who don't get to share our lovely city. The main reason I am creating this blog is because energy efficiency is the here and now of the movement to slow C02 build up in the atmosphere. Replacing dirty production methods with cleaner renewable energy sources is great and is the long term solution, but in the short run can not offset enough demand to make a lot of difference. So in the short run the way we supply our energy is pretty fixed and pretty dirty, so the only way to change it is to reduce the demand. This will do two things, first it will reduce emissions in the short run by decreasing the amount of energy we have to create with our current dirty plants, and two it will make it easier to begin shifting the load onto renewables moving forward. To this end of reducing our demand, we must become more efficient in how we use our energy. If we all simply limited wasted energy then the actual impact on our lifestyles would be very minimal.

About the Author: Barret Hudson works for Green Collar Operations, an Austin company that does home weatherization to increase energy efficiency by reducing the amount of energy used to heat and cool homes. For more information go to www.greencollaroperations.com