Getting caught in the technology

I went shopping for a flat screen HD TV last weekend and, although I did some homework, got caught up in 'bigger is better' thinking. After looking at LCD, plasma and DLP I asked the salesperson about the energy requirements of these technologies. The salesperson didn't know and commented that no one has asked him that before. After some searching, on their store web site and the manufacturer's, we couldn't find this information. We called the manufacturer and after being questioned, passed along, questioned, passed along and put on hold many times, we finally got the power consumption ratings for several models.

My present 36" cathode ray tube TV, using the Kill-A-Watt to measure, uses 45 watts. A 46" LCD model (which is about the same size only wider) uses 260 watts and a 52" model uses 320 watts. The 52" plasma uses 640 watts - 14 times my current TV.

So, aside from the significant initial cost for a new TV, I will now be paying at least 6 times the cost for electricity to use it. Someone please check my math but assuming you use the TV for 4 hours a day for 365 days a year, at 12 cents per Kwh,
you get the following table.

Consumption Watt Hours Kwh/Year Cost/Year
-45------------65700---------65.7-----$7.88
260------------379600-------379.6----$45.55
320------------467200-------467.2----$56.06
640------------934400-------934.4----112.13

As stated in the recent article about the record use of electricity in Westchester County in 2007, "The demand was powered by construction of office buildings and homes and more use of electronics such as flat-screen televisions, games, computers and handheld devices, the utility said."

With the requirement for HD TV set for 2009, most consumers will be buying these new TVs and we will continue to be faced with record electrical consumption. I can wait another year for a new HD TV, but how do I justify the additional power consumption when that time comes?

10 Must-Use Internet Data Sources

These are from the website: http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/index.php/egj/article/view/3205/3175

1. Trends (Online): A Compendium of Data on Global Change provides synopses of frequently used time series of global-change data, such as concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from historical (ice core) and modern records; estimates of global, regional, and national CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and other sources; and long-term temperature records. Global coverage ranges from individual sites to the entire globe and from the Earth's surface to the lower stratosphere. Data records include tables; graphs; discussions of methods for collecting, measuring, and reporting the data; trends in the data, and references to literature providing further information. All data appearing in Trends Online are available, on request, from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) and World Data Center for Atmospheric Trace Gases at Oak Ridge National Laboratory at no cost. Additional global change data are found in CDIAC's 70+ numeric data packages.

2. Global Change Master Directory is a comprehensive, searchable source of data and information with broad coverage of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, solid earth and biosphere. Linked resources include the US Global Change Research Program's Science Topics, Agency Data Centers, Educational Resources, Libraries and Information Centers.

3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme to assess scientific, technical, and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change. The IPCC is currently finalizing its Fourth Assessment Report "Climate Change 2007." There are individual reports by the three Working Groups providing a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the current state of knowledge on climate change. The Synthesis Report integrates the information around six topic areas.

4. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the world's largest active archive of weather data. NCDC produces numerous climate publications and responds to data requests from all over the world. NCDC operates the World Data Center for Meteorology, which is collocated at NCDC in Asheville, North Carolina, and the World Data Center for Paleoclimatolgy which is located in Boulder, Colorado.

5. The US Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO) provides access to data and information on climate change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change-related educational resources on behalf of the various U.S. Federal Agencies that are involved in the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).

6. The Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) is a center within the Earth Institute at Columbia University. CIESIN works at the intersection of the social, natural, and information sciences, and specializes in online data and information management. Special programs within CIESIN include the World Data Center for Human Interactions in the Environment and its Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, is one of the Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs) in the Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

7. World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 187 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations in 1951 for meteorology (weather and climate). The World Climate Programme is maintained by WMO and can be found on the WMO Homepage clicking on the appropriate items found in the WMO Programmes or Topics drop-down menus.

8. International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) and the International Council for Science (ICSU, formerly the International Council for Scientific Unions) serve as international global change research coordination bodies. These organizations provide scientific and technical oversight of the international research efforts and fill critical quality assurance functions. ICSU: http://www.icsu.org/

9. Global Warming: Where You Live: United States is a site provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where you will find clickable maps of the United States (you'll need Macromedia Flash Version 6 or higher) with an assortment of state-specific resources on the impacts of climate change, also has many links to EPA Regional Offices, including resources for teachers and students.

10. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) is a source of international news, data, and documents on global climate change. The Framework Convention was adopted at the United Nations in May 1999 and opened for signatures at the June 1992 UNCED (United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently in 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was developed and shares the Convention's objective, principles and institutions. The Kyoto Protocol significantly strengthens the Convention by committing Annex I Parties (36 industrialized countries) to individual, legally-binding targets to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Only Parties to the Convention that have also become Parties to the Protocol (i.e. by ratifying, accepting, approving, or acceding to it) will be bound by the Protocol's commitments. 163 countries have ratified the Protocol to date. The United States is not a member of the Parties to the Convention.

cool video

Check out this short film produced by the Scarsdale Middle school to encourage students and faculty to adopt sustainable living practices: http://www.scarsdaleschools.org/msprojects/tenpercent/Movie.html

The Paradox of Saving

I was at a meeting in my community last week where a local politician held an informational forum on global warming issues and highlighted some current actions that New York State is working on. People from the audience we able to ask questions and a young boy took the microphone and wondered out loud whether the adoption of low energy devices would actually have the reverse intent.

Would people rationalize that if they use a compact fluorescent bulb they don't have to turn it off when not in use because it uses so little energy?

I've heard anecdotes about Prius owners boasting that since they get such greater mileage they drive their cars more!

Are the people that watch every watt and manage every mile to reduce their consumption of energy actually increasing the supply of energy (by reducing demand) and this is keeping prices lower and allowing others to continue to afford their wasteful practices?

As J.F. Kennedy implied, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. We must all constantly recognize that we are all part of the problem and that we must actualize a global solution.

Supervisor-Elect to Outline Environmental Plans for Yorktown at GreenYorktown Screening of “An Inconvenient Truth”

GreenYorktown, a group of Yorktown residents working to help make Yorktown “green”, welcomes and invites the public to a special screening of “An Inconvenient Truth” on December 14, the first of a series of films and speakers.

The group has invited for its first speaker, Yorktown Supervisor-elect Don Peters to outline his environmental policies for Yorktown.

“We have asked Supervisor-elect Don Peters to speak briefly on his environmental plans for Yorktown when he takes office in the New Year,” said Patty Peckham, from GreenYorktown. “Mr. Peters has kindly consented to take questions from the audience on subjects such as how he hopes to lower C02 emissions, introduce more efficient lighting and utilize energy conservation technology,” she said.

This Global Warming documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth”, which won former Vice President Al Gore an Academy Award, will be shown free to the public beginning at 7 PM in the Town Hall main meeting room. A general discussion will follow the screening.

GreenYorktown will have a display highlighting energy conservation technology as well as literature on how local residents can contribute and participate in helping to lower C02 emissions and conserve energy.

A number of hybrid (combination gas and electric) cars, grease cars and bio-diesel powered vehicles will be on display outside town hall.

More than 30 Yorktown residents have already joined the GreenYorktown environmental group, which seeks to promote awareness and empower us, household by household, building by building, to reduce harmful emissions, conserve energy, and help stop climate change.

Doing our part recycling in Yorktown

Last week Patty and I went to the Environmental Conservation Department and spoke with Kim. It was quite informative and I learned that I need to change my habits. Yorktown already has a very complete, pro-active recycling program and tries to make our citizens aware of our responsibilities and opportunities. Each year they mail out a pamphlet that outlines current programs and demonstrates that recycling works and has a very positive payback both in recycling and cost savings.

I learned that the garbage we put at the curb is taken to the Charles Point plant in Peekskill and burned to produce electricity. The system there is quite efficient and there are minimal emissions from the plant. What is left, after burning, is ash that contains toxic heavy metals. This is hauled to a landfill in Cortland; there are no more open landfills available for our trash.

The items placed in our recycling bins are taken to the recycling center in Yonkers, separated and bundled. The County has agreements for the purchase of the valuable components such as aluminum, glass, paper, cardboard and plastic. What I learned, which is in the pamphlet at home, was that at this time only plastic marked #1 or #2 are recycled. The yogurt container or the trays from Empire Hunan we get our Chinese takeout in are not recycled. They are separated out, put into dumpsters and then hauled to Charles Point and burned. So, even though I 'recycled' these items, I was actually causing more expense in handling these as they were now trucked to Yonkers and then back to Peekskill as well as manually sorted out of the waste stream of valid recyclable objects.

Similar to the County program to collect household chemicals and computers, the Town collects the computer equipment put at the curb during big garbage pickup, stores them and then passes these along to a recycling company. So, rather than hauling my excess to a County park on these days, I can leave it at the curb and it will end up with a similar fate.

The Town also has collection points for batteries and cell phones. Those with heavy metals (cadmium, nickle, etc.) are responsibly managed.

The Town follows the NY State and County regulations for the proper handling and disposal of our trash. From what we heard, our Town tries to go above and beyond to help us responsibly manage our own waste and reduce the taxpayer cost for these services. We should all pull out our pamphlets and read about the existing programs and best practices.

I found mine and have begun to change my ways.

To think and act upon... and spread the message

This is obvious to some but needs repeated to all.

When you make energy efficiency part of your everyday activities, you are reducing energy demand. Reducing demand means that less natural gas, coal and other resources are needed to produce energy. This means less greenhouse gas emissions and cleaner air
for all of us and cost savings for you.