I thought I was doing the world a great service by foregoing a car and subsequently cutting down on 5000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

But transportation isn’t the only way we all contribute to air pollution and creation of greenhouse gases.  Electricity consumption is a big contributor, not least because over half of America’s electrical needs are satisfied by nasty coal burning plants.  So even if you drive around in an electric vehicle, when you go to plug that thing in at the end of the day, you’re burning coal!  Ugh!

It’s easy for you to see how much electricity is used in your household; just look at your power bill.  (The average household consumes about 1000 kWh per month.)   What is harder to know is which things in your house are the culprits.

The Energy Hogs

Things that heat and cool are the worst. 

1. Electric oven - 5000 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
2. Clothes Dryer - 5000 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
3. Water Heater - 3800 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
4. Microwave - 1500 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
5. Toaster - 1500 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
6. Coffee Maker - 900 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
7. Range Burners - 800 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
8. Window Air Conditioner - 500-1400  watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
9. Fridge - 200-700 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)
10. Light Bulb 60-100 watts (Find an energy efficient alternative)

Computers and TVs

Computers can drain substantial power, too. A standard desktop machine with a 17 inch CRT monitor can zap over 300 watts.  A 19″ TV can use 90 watts, and your Xbox is 165 watts.

See for Yourself

On the bottom of all gadgets and appliances, you should be able to find the wattage used.  Remember, this is the maximum power consumption.  If you want to know exactly how much power the device is drawing, I recommend getting a watt-meter.  These things are pretty cool; just plug them in between the wall and your device, and measure away.

Other Resources

1. Energy Efficient Products by Amazon
2. MichaelBluejay.com
3. Environmental Defence Fund

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Said the mother to the inexperienced father after returning from a day of shopping, “Honey, why haven’t you changed the baby’s diaper?” The husband responds: “The package says: up to 15 pounds.”

By my count, I’ve changed about 4,173 diapers over the past 6 years.  Some of them were of the straightforward variety, changeable in 13 seconds with my eyes tied behind my back, and some were a bit more advanced, seemingly defying the laws of physics.  But in every case, the diaper ends up in the same place. The Landfill.

It is hard to imagine how much space a few thousand diapers takes up in a landfill.  Even more difficult to fathom is length of time required for your standard disposable diaper to decompose in a landfill.  It’s hard to know for sure, since they’ve only been around for a few decades, but experts estimate over half a millenium for decomposition to take place.  That’s a particularly long time, especially given the short length of time that the diaper is in use (say, a few hours) and the total biodegradability of the contents.

Often, folks choose to wash cloth diapers, which is water intensive, or use a diaper service, water intensive and fuel-consuming.  Perhaps, though, a better way to keep junior’s tushy dry and minimally impact the world is to use biodegradable diapers.

So, howsabout the gDiaper (not a Google product)?

gDiaper flushables breathable~comfortable~new easy fit. No landfill necessary, The best of cloth and disposable in one earth-friendly diaper.
Medium 13-28 lbs.

1. No elemental chlorine
2. No perfumes
3. No plastic
4. No inks of dyes
5. No latex
6. No garbage, no guilt

The breathable diaper you can flush. gDiapers consist of a washable, cotton outer pant and a plastic-free flushable refill. They are made of breathable material just like sports clothing. So, babies stay dry and are far less likely to get diaper rash. Can’t flush? it’s ok to toss flushable refills because they’re plastic-free. Garden compost the wet ones. They’ll break down in 50-150 days.
Is your baby having an environmental movement? 50 million disposable diapers enter the landfill every day. Each one takes up to 500 years to biodegrade. Not a very nice baby gift for your great, great, great, great, great grandbaby, now is it? gDiapers get flushed, so they don’t have to go in the landfill.

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Climate 411 reports about a Hong Kong gym that powers the lights by electricity generated by the gym members running on treadmills and a London dance club that gets its power from the kinetic energy created from the dancers.  Despite my love for green electricity, working out at the gym and the occasiaonal urge to get down and/or funky, I don’t see any upcoming trips to the UK or Asia in the cards for me.

So I have to think a little smaller.  Kinetic energy is a cool source for energy generation.  Look for anything that is moving already, and tap that motion.  The problem is finding something that requires a small enough amount of energy that the already moving thing isn’t harder to move.  I’m reminded of my first schwinn bicycle which had a generator-light, powered by my pedaling.  Problem was, riding with that thing on produced more resistance than riding up the steepest hill in town.

But set your sights lower than trying to generate a hundred watts, and you’ll find cool applications that aren’t so power hungry.  One of my favorites is the simple wrist watch.  For the longest time, I had thought that solar was the way to power a watch until I realized that I just don’t have enough time in the sun to power it.  It doesn’t, however, take more than a few minutes of swinging your arm in normal everyday life, to power a kinetic watch.

 A favorite is the Seiko Coutura, featuring:

1. Once set, the calendar automatically adjusts for odd and even months including February in leap year all the way to the year 2100
2. The Seiko Kinetic technology allows the watch to wind from the motion of your wrist and then store that energy for up to four years - no batteries to change.
3. If the watch senses inactivity for 24 hours, it puts itself into suspended animation to conserve energy, yet still keeps accurate time and date in its memory. The date continues to advance correctly while the watch is “asleep”. The minute you put it on, or shake it a few times, it quickly resets itself to the correct time. If the watch is fully charged, it can “sleep” for up to 4 years and still know the proper time including date and year.
4. Big Date window at the 12 o’clock is a great look and easy to read.
5. 24 hour dial at the 4 o’clock and and 12 month dial at the 6 o’clock
6. A small window at the 9 o’clock indicates number of years since last leap year
7. Time and date are set independently using the crown at the first or second clock and for added convenience, the perpetual calendar is pre-set at the factory, but can easily be set by the user if ever needed.
8. Seiko’s highly accurate quartz Kinetic Perpetual movement has a yearly loss/gain rate of only 20 seconds, one of the most accurate watch movements available
9. Water-tested to 100 meters, suitable for swimming or snorkeling
10. LumiBrite® hands and markers.
11. 3-Fold Push-button safety clasp
12. Solid Stainless Steel case and bracelet in the elegant styling of the Seiko Coutura line
13. Sapphire crystal is virtually scratch-proof

I know a watch is just a small thing, and nobody ever complains about the environmental impact of a watch battery, but, come on, baby steps on the path of goodness are still steps.  And besides, kinetic power is just plain cool. 

And for your rechargable battery gadgets, don’t forget to go solar:

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