[TGE-mail] October newsletter column from Rep. Oxford

[Jeanette Mott Oxford]

Energy Efficiency:
Saving the Planet AND Saving Dollars

I have become increasingly concerned about global warming and the damage
to our environment caused by our society’s ever escalating use of fossil
fuels and other non-renewals resources. With cold weather coming on, it’s
a good time to think about energy efficiency. By saving energy we both
protect our environment and save dollars. It’s a win-win for our family
budget and for Mother Earth.

Here are some tips that I gathered from the Earth 911 website:
http://earth911.org/ 

- In the winter, turn your thermostats down to 68 degrees or lower.
Reduce
the setting to 55 degrees before going to sleep or when leaving for the
day. (For each one degree you turn down the thermostat in the winter,
you’ll save up to five % on your heating costs.) 

- Turn off and un-plug non-essential lights and appliances. The
electricity
generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into
the air than two average automobiles! 

- Buy ENERGY STAR appliances, products and lights. ENERGY STAR® is a
program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) designed to help consumers identify
energy-efficient appliances and products. 

- Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as recommended for
the model you are using.

- Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed;
make sure furniture, carpeting, or drapes do not block them. 

- Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if
in
doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional. 

- Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the
radiators. 

- Use kitchen, bath, and other ventilating fans wisely; in just one hour,
these fans can pull out a houseful of warmed (or cooled) air. Turn fans
off as soon as they have done the job. 

- During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your
south-facing windows open during the day to allow sunlight to enter your
home and closed at night to reduce the chill from cold windows.

- Finally, in winter close an unoccupied room that is isolated from the
rest of the house, and turn down the thermostat or turn off the heating
for that room or zone. However, do not turn the heating off if it
adversely affects the rest of your system. For example, if you heat your
house with a heat pump, do not close the vents - closing the vents could
harm the heat pump. 

Remember the Native American proverb: The Earth does not belong to us. We
borrow it from our children.

A Personal Note: As this newsletter goes to press, I am planning to have
a total knee replacement surgery on Sept. 25. Rehabilitation of my knee
(which was injured and required a previous surgery in 2001) will take a
few weeks, so I may not respond as quickly in early October as is my
norm. I do plan to work from home, responding to phone calls and e-mails
just as soon as I am able. I welcome your healing thoughts and prayers!

Jeanette Mott Oxford
State Representative - 59th MO House District
314-771-8882 (home); 314-775-8940 (cell)
2910 Lemp, St. Louis, MO 63118
www.jmo4rep.com
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