Global Warming - What Can I Do?

I watched the show "Global Warming: What You Need to Know with Tom Brokaw" on the Discovery Channel last night. A very informative and eye-opening experience. Many are worried about the dangers of excessive greenhouse gasses but it seems like such a huge problem that many wonder - what can they do?

I think it would be too much to ask for everyone to suddenly give it all up (sell their SUV, go completely solar, and start their own farm) but it was great to see some suggestions we could implement immediately. Our goal, overall, to reducing global warming, is to reduce what's called our greenhouse gas footprint. How much we personally contribute to the problem. The show talked about a few easy solutions and I wanted to share them with you.

First, you could make a very simply change tonight -- stop by the store on your way home and buy some fluorescent bulbs. If every home in America replaced just one bulb in their house with one of these bulbs, it would help tremendously. These fluorescent bulbs were more expensive than the incandescent bulbs found in most homes but not as much anymore. And they last up to 10 times as long. And each fluorescent (CFL) bulb will lower your energy bills by about $15 a year, and by more than $60 during its life. It will also keep half a ton of carbon dioxide and mercury out of the air.

Next, you could replace most of our old appliances with new energy efficient ones. Not only will it cut down on the greenhouse gasses used to keep them running, but your energy bills will be lower, too. For example, refrigerators consume the most electricity in your home. Today's refrigerators consume less than one-fourth the energy of models built 30 years ago.

Finally, you could drive smarter. I'm not saying you need to buy a Toyota Prius (yet :) but you can make your current vehicle more efficient. By replacing your filters, tuning up your car, and keep your tires inflated, you'll keep your car from having to work as hard. If everyone kept their tires properly inflated, gas use nationwide would drop 2 percent. A tuneup could increase your miles per gallon from 4 to 40 percent; a new air filter could bump your mpg by 10 percent.

Click Here For more info on the Discovery Channel Global Warming special

If you're ready to make your home more green, you should consider talking with companies about energy alternatives, greening your home, or getting a home energy audit.

It's a fast, free and easy way to find greener contractors at ConstructionDeal.com!

technorati tags: global warming, energy conservation, energy efficient, halogen bulbs,energy-star, solar, discovery channel

Can You Afford to Remodel?

There is a lot of uncertainty in the real estate market and in the economy in general. Rising interest rates, oil and fuel costs, and a cold housing market are keeping a lot of homeowners from making huge leaps into the home improvement game. Everyone wants to make more room in their home or update the old rooms, so what do all those uncertainties mean?

Well, it can mean that the "housing bubble burst" will get worse and as housing prices drop, it means a homeowner might have less equity in their home to borrow against to make those home renovations. But, according to a very recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, there's a great chance that the current cooling period is just that -- a cooling period. And not a bursting real estate bubble.

Why? Well, in the past, nearly every single housing bust, or overall drop in housing prices, has been accompanied or caused by excess over-building of new homes and/or excessive unemployment. Neither of those are happening today.

While interest rates have been climbing over the past few quarters, and there is the possibility of a new recession or change in the job markets, this current housing price "cool off" should not lead to a big drop in home valuation. If housing prices stay at current levels or only drop slightly (and temporarily) -- which they should (because of the lack of "over-building" or excessive supply of new homes and the job market) -- then it will be likely that things will be okay. Remodeling and renovations, home additions, and new home construction plans can continue on, full steam ahead.