Achieving a More Environmentally Active and Sustainable San Carlos
San Carlos Schools Take the Live Green Challenge
Students at White Oaks School plant a tree in celebration of the Live Green Challenge and Earth Day
Eight San Carlos schools
celebrated Earth Day with the announcement of the Live Green Challenge results and winners
of the program organized by San Carlos Green. Approximately 3,000
students participated in the Challenge which engaged students and their
families to become more aware of their environmental impact and learn
ways to save energy and water, reduce consumption and waste, and make
changes in their transportation choices.
Schools participating were Arundel, Brittan Acres, Heather, St. Charles, Central, Tierra LInda, White Oaks, and San Carlos Charter Learning Center.
The Live Green Challenge started with
a kick-off event where students received an action list of activities that
their families could choose to complete over the course of several weeks - such
as changing the lighting in their homes to more energy efficient light bulbs
known as CFLs (or compact fluorescent light bulbs), increasing recycling and
composting, or riding bikes or taking Caltrain to events like baseball games
instead of driving. For each of these actions taken, students receive a number
of credits known as greenpoints. At the end of the Challenge, each school will
announce the results and winners of the program in an Earth Day celebration
that will include planting a tree on school grounds. "We are really excited by the positive
feedback and level of commitment we received from the schools" said Eva
Iglesias, a San Carlos Green member who led the campaign for the San Carlos schools. "We
wanted students to become more aware of their environmental impact and learn
some easy ways to change to new habits that reduce energy and water
consumption, reduce waste and generate less greenhouse gas emissions".
Take the Challenge! The
following information and resource links are what the students used to
meet the Live Green Challenge: If you would like
to also reduce your carbon footprint, check out the following ways you
can really make a difference.
Cutting Down on Electricity Use
1. Turn off and Power Down Don't leave lights on when no one is in the room. If you are going to be out of the room for more than five minutes, turn off the light. If you know of a light that everyone forgets to turn off, make a sticker or a sign to hang next to the switch that says "Lights Out!" or "Don't Forget!"
Turn off the TV when no one is watching it. The same goes for computers, radios and stereos - if no one is using it, turn it off. Turn off all the appliances at the surge protector/control strip (that four- or six-plug extension cord that you plug all your computer equipment into). Some devices, like modems or other networking boxes are drawing small amounts of power all the time. It's best to turn them ALL off at the surge protector.
2. Use Energy efficient bulbs Electric lighting burns up to 25% of the average home energy budget so it's important to take a close look at the number and type of lights we use. An ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) will save about $30 over its lifetime and pay for itself in about 6 months. It uses 75 percent less energy and lasts about 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.
3. Check and Unplug Vampires Electronics like computers, televisions, and cell phone chargers continue to draw power even when you're not using them, so unplug these "vampires". You can also save power by plugging your desktop, printer, and fax machine into a "smart" power strip. Smart strips can sense when electronics are idle and cut off the power flow to vampires.
Starting April 22, 2010 Californians will benefit from the new State Appliance Rebate program. Three residential appliance categories will be eligible to receive rebates: clothes washers (rebate $100), refrigerators (rebate $75), and room/window air conditioners (rebate $50). These rebates are in addition to existing rebates offered by California's utilities or appliance manufacturers. To qualify, the appliances must be ENERGY STAR-listed, meet CEE tier standards, and certified to the Energy Commission as meeting all state and federal appliance efficiency standards. For more information visit: http://www.energy.ca.gov/recovery/energystar.html
6. Install Solar PhotoVoltaics for your Home You can use the power of the sun, along with energy efficiency in your home, to help reduce your electricity bills by up to 60 percent or more! Find out about incentives for installing solar on your existing home:
The Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for Residential is 30% of net system cost, capped at $2,000 prior to 12/31/08 and with no cap afterward. It is a one-time credit, but may be carried forward (and possibly back) if not completely usable in the system installation tax year. For more information visit: http://www.gosolarcalifornia.org/csi/tax_credit.html
7. Turn your Thermostat Down In cold weather, wear warm clothing and have your thermostat set to 65 degrees or lower during the day and evening, health permitting. When you go to sleep at night, set the thermostat back to either 55 degrees, or turn it off. When you leave home for an extended time, set the thermostat at 55 degrees or turn it off, too. That way, your family can save from 5 percent to 20 percent on your heating costs. (Don't do this, of course, if it will cause health problems for anyone in your family.)
It's a good idea to get used to a lower temperature gradually. Start by reducing the heat just 1 degree at a time and try it for a week. Each 1-degree drop for an eight-hour period can reduce your fuel bill by 1%. Gradually, you might be able to lower your thermostat by several degrees comfortably and save a chunk of money.
In warm weather, the thermostat at home should be set at 80 degrees or higher. (Don't do this, of course, if it will cause health problems for anyone in your family.) When no one is home, set the thermostat at 85 degrees or turn it off. That way, you'll reduce the need for air conditioning and you will save energy. If you have ceiling fans or other fans, turn them on when you are in the room. The blowing air can make you feel 5 degrees cooler, without running the family's air conditioner. Fans use a lot less electricity than air conditioners! But be sure to turn them off when you leave the room - they only help by blowing air over your skin, but if no one is there to feel the breeze, it is a waste of energy.
8. Adjust your Heating Vents Adjust your vents to direct the warm air where you need it most and close them down where you don't need warm air. Consider closing them down at night in the rooms that don't need to be heated.
In addition to adjusting vents, you can save a lot of energy by preventing leaky ducts. According to field research performed by the California Energy Commission, you can save roughly 10 percent of your heating bill by insulating and sealing ducts. For more information visit the California Energy Commission's Consumer Energy Center at: http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/tightenup/ducts.html
9. Use Economy Settings How you use your major appliances can make an impact on your energy and water savings: Never run your dishwasher if it isn't full. Use the economy or air-dry setting to minimize energy use, don't rinse your dishes beforehand to save water, and leave the door to the dishwasher open to let the steam evaporate once your dishes are done, and the dishes will dry more quickly.
For clothes washers, be sure to use the optimal load (do not underload or overload) and use cold water. If your dryer has a setting for auto-dry, be sure to use it instead of the timer, to avoid wasting energy and over-drying. Air dry your clothes outside or in the garage if you can. If you can't air-dry your laundry, save on drying time by drying similar fabrics together, drying multiple loads in quick succession (to take advantage of residual heat), and make sure to clean the dryer filter after each use.
11. Insulate your Hot Water Heater and Pipes Insulating your hot water pipes reduces heat loss and can raise water temperature by a few degrees, allowing for a lower water temperature setting at your heater. You also won't have to wait as long for hot water when you turn on a faucet or showerhead, which helps conserve water. For more information visit: http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13060
12. Get your Home an Energy Audit A home energy audit is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough audit.
14. Recycle Diligently Most homes can recycle 80% of their discards. Starting Jan 1st, 2011, San Carlos will be receiving the most advanced recycling, composting, and waste reduction program available. Visit http://www.recologysanmateocounty.com/ for more information.
15. Purchase Products with Recycled Content In order to support recycling efforts, look for products made from high percentages of post-consumer waste, which is the waste produced by the end consumer. It avoids using virgin resources like forests and strengthens the market for recycled materials. We can separate all the metal, paper and plastic we want, but if no business remakes the scrap into something new, the cycle is broken.
Many bottles, cans, bags, boxes and packaging materials are made with recycled content these days. So check labels. Choose a product that has a high percentage of post-consumer waste over one that does not.
16. Refuse Plastic or Paper Bags Americans throw away almost 100 billion plastic bags every year. Plastic bags are not biodegradable. They clog waterways, spoil the landscape, and end up in landfills where they may take 1,000 years or more to break down into ever smaller particles that continue to pollute the soil and water. They also pose a serious danger to birds and marine mammals that often mistake them for food. Thousands die each year after swallowing or choking on discarded plastic bags.
Switch to reusable bags and recycle (or reuse) any plastic or paper bags you have.
17. Buy Organic, Natural, and Green Learn more about organic food from the USDA: http://www.ams.usda.gov/
20. Compost your Veggies and Yard Waste Compost at home or, if you live in a single-family unit, put your food scraps in the green yard trimmings cart for curb-side pick-up. Examples of food scraps include fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds, meat and bones, pizza boxes and food-soiled paper, paper cups, and paper plates.
Take the tour to investigate your water saving opportunities in each area of your home, or find out about water conserving gardens: http://www.h2ouse.org/
Save water and protect the environment by choosing WaterSense (an EPA partnership program) labeled products in your home and business and taking simple steps to save water each day: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/
