As spring begins to show its face, yards and gardens all over Madison are finally getting some attention. Last weekend my neighbors were out raking, pruning, turning compost, and enjoying the sun. One thing we could all add to our list of outdoor chores is conserving energy. Conserving energy and improving energy efficiency in your home can save you money, make your home more comfortable, and benefit the environment. Most of the energy used by homes in the Madison area is generated from coal and natural gas. Extracting these resources, transporting them to power plants, and burning them to produce energy all generate significant environmental and financial costs. But how can you conserve energy outside your home? Here are some EnAct Steps to Greener Living tips from Madison Environmental Group, Inc.
- Replace outdoor bulbs with ENERGY STAR® certified compact fluorescent bulbs and install covers for overhead lights so light shines down rather than into the sky. You’ll save energy and you and your neighbors can enjoy better views of the stars.
- Planting native species and rain gardens not only saves energy by decreasing the area of lawn that needs mowing, it also conserves water, helps manage runoff to improve water quality, and can help control basement flooding.
- Consider purchasing or borrowing a manual push rotary lawn mower. Using this type of mower is great exercise, plus it’s quiet, and of course does not pollute like a gas powered lawn mower. A 2001 Swedish study found that running a gasoline powered lawn mower for one hour emits as much pollution as a 100 mile car trip.
For more information and ideas on how to conserve energy inside and outside your home, visit www.enactwi.org. Check back here weekly for new tips from EnAct to help you have a better impact on the environment. If you are interested in starting your own EnAct team, please contact us at enact@madisonenvironmental.com or (608) 204-2888.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Thanks for the tips. Do you know anything about rain barrels? We’re interested in them, but we aren’t sure if there is a service to installs these, or where to get them.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Katie, thanks for the comment! Sustain Dane has excellent rain barrels for sale locally (http://www.rainfordane.com/), which they can also install for you. They will be selling them next on Saturday, May 3 in conjunction with the City of Madison’s compost bin sale. Keep checking our blog for future posts with additional EnAct tips to reduce your carbon footprint inside and outside of your home.