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POINTS FROM YOUR BLOG:- MARCH 2008

(Updated upto 14-3-08(sOURCE:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danny-seo/the-green-house-effect-e_b_91296.htmltITLE

Dany Saos

The Green House Effect: Eco Appliance Technology (yR BLOG 14-3-08)oN rEFRIGERATORS:-A refrigerator that is 10 years old is likely to be using twice as muchenergy as the first day you plugged it in. And since a refrigerator is on 24/7, that can be a realenergy hog in the home. And don't get me started on SubZeros: they are like the Hummers of refrigeration.diswashers:-Believe it or not, running a full dishwasher is much more energy and water efficientthan doing it by hand. Lazy environmentalism! Washing dishes by hand can use up to 50 percentmore water than a water-efficient, Energy Star rated dishwasher. New models of dishwasherstoday--- like the Bosch model---use only 4 gallons of water and up to 41% less energy. The besteco-solution is to fill up a dishwasher and run it when it's fullOld refrigerators are full of Freon gas - the chemical used to create cold - that needs to be properly removed before the refrigerator can be scrapped for recycling. If it's not properlydisposed of, Freon can escape and contribute to the erosion of the ozone layer.the best washing machine is a front loading washing machine. Not only is the most efficient inenergy and water usage---saving about 5000 gallons of water per year---but it also does a better job in getting clothes clean. In top loading machines, clothing is constantly agitated in dirtywater

SECOND POST:- 14-3-2008Merits of CFL Lamps:-

They use a quarter of the energy of incandescents, they last seven to tentimes longer, they save homeowners money and they help reduce our impact on the environment.They come in all shapes and sizes, colors and intensities and a lot of people are using them thesedays. Most everyone I talk to about CFLs are very satisfied with their bulbs and the energysavings and want to get more.What about Mercury?However, some people are very concerned about one aspect of CFLs:mercury. The comment below is common:What about the Mercury clean-up when they break? Floresent [sic] lamps all have mercury inthem and themain problem with them is that it is a vapor…Why would you fix one so-called problem with another even greater problem…

The ground water will becomecontaminated with this heavy metal and we will not be able to use it

What is the correct position?

Using CFLs actually helps to

REDUCE the amount of mercury in the environment.

Here inMinnesota, over 75% of our electricity is produced by burning coal. This process not only produces massive amount of carbon dioxide, a dangerous greenhouse gas, but also mercury. Byusing products such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and therefore using less electricity, youcan help reduce the amount of coal burned and thus the amount of pollutants pumped into our

environment. In fact,

coal-fired power accounts for roughly 40% of mercury emissions in theUnited States

, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.Even if the CFL breaks and the 4 milligrams of mercury escapes, it is polluting less than anincandescent would. If you never break that CFL, and recycle it properly at a local householdhazardous waste site or hardware store, then you will be emitting a fifth of the mercury than if you were using incandescents to light your home. If a CFL breaks, you’re still polluting less thanif you were using an incandescent. You just simply follow the proper procedure to clean up the bulb - open windows and let the room air out, do not use bare hands or a vacuum cleaner and bring the pieces in a plastic bag with your other bulbs when you recycle them.For more information on reports of the “harmful” nature of compact fluorescents and all thedetails about safely cleaning up a broken CFL, visit

Snopes.

Remember: all CFLs must be recycled! Visit

earth911.org

to find out where you can recycle oldor broken CFLs in your community

WHAT DOES snopes SAY

Light Fingered

Claim:

When broken, energy-saving light bulbs (CFLs) loose dangerous amounts ofmercury into a home.

Status:

Multiple:

CFLs contain mercury, a dangerous substance:

True.

While mercury stays safely contained in intact CFLs, it escapes from broken CFLs intothe immediate surroundings:

True.

The amount of mercury contained in one CFL bulb poses a grave danger to a home'sinhabitants:

False.

But folks do need to handle the breakage of a CFL bulb with a great deal of care andfollow certain procedures in removing the broken bulb and its contents from thehome:

True.

An environmental clean-up crew needs be called in to deal with the mercurydispersed by one broken CFL bulb:

False

Example:

[Farah, 2007]

Origins:

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), whose use is estimated to result in a $47savings in energy costs over the life of each bulb versus incandescents, have had theircritics. They take longer to switch on.Regular CFLs won't work with dimmer switches. They can interfere with radios,cordless phones, and remote controls.They also contain mercury, a fact that causes no small amount of concern in light ofhow dangerous that substance is. Yet the amount housed in each bulb is verysmall,about 5 milligrams, which is about the size of the period at the end of asentence.And, provided the bulbs aren't broken open, none of that leaches into the home.Like batteries, used CFLs need to be disposed at a toxic waste depot rather thantossed out with the ordinary household trash. Because mercury is cumulative, thispoisonous element would add up if all the spent bulbs went into a landfill. Instead,the mercury in dead bulbs is reclaimed at such depots and recycled.As to the potential for harm posed by mercury escaping from broken bulbs,saystheKing County HazardousWaste Program: "Crushing and breaking fluorescent lamps release mercury vapor andmercury-containing phosphor powder. These can be difficult to contain." Yet therecommended clean-up process does not.

WASHINGTON — Brandy Bridges heard the claims of government officials,environmentalists and retailers like Wal-Mart all pushing the idea of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and moneysavingcompact fluorescent lamps.So, last month, the Prospect, Maine, resident went out and bought twodozen CFLs and began installing them in her home.One broke. A monthlater, her daughter's bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, while Bridges works on a way to pay off a$2,000 estimateby a company specializing in environmentally soundcleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.[Clickherefor the rest of the article.]

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

involve calling in a HazMat team. Says the EPA in its advisory about dealing withbrokenCFLs:

Before Clean-up: Ventilate the Room

1. Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk throughthe breakage area on their way out.2. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.3. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you haveone.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

4. Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper orcardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.