“Going Green” column published in Spirit Seeker magazine
We’ve lived in our home for over 20 years, and have a relatively mature landscape that we’ve cultivated over that time. Our now 50+ year-old home is blessed with two handsome pin oaks and a number of other mature trees, including a pair of pink and white dogwoods that offer spectacular spring blossoms. We inherited…
If you love incandescent lights, you may feel the demise of Edison’s claim to fame is a shame. The 100 watt bulb was the first to go in 2012, followed by the 75 watt bulb in 2013, and finally the most popular 40 and 60 watt bulbs are no longer being manufactured in 2014. While…
The writing was on the wall; we knew it was coming. In Missouri, the $2 per watt rebate being paid by investor-owned utilities (IOUs) was scheduled to be reduced to $1.50 per watt starting in 2014. This reduction was designed to make the rebate last longer, since it represented as much as 2/3 of the…
The 22nd annual St. Louis International Film Festival, which ran from November 14-24, offered the typical variety of independent films. I appreciated the chance to review a few of the movies featuring environmental issues. Chasing Ice was a riveting documentary about the melting glaciers in the great Arctic Circle. James Balog, a photographer for National…
The 22nd annual St. Louis International Film Festival, which ran from November 14-24, offered the typical variety of independent films. I appreciated the chance to review a few of the movies featuring environmental issues. Uranium Drive-In highlighted a bleak situation in Colorado, illustrating an ongoing debate about nuclear power and the environment vs. jobs and…
Since writing my November Going Green column, a lot has happened. Ameren Missouri, the largest utility in Missouri, filed a petition with the Missouri Public Service Commission stating that they had reached their 1% cost cap over which they could no longer offer solar rebates. In reviewing Ameren’s calculations, the PSC testified that some of…
Once again, ‘tis the season to give gifts. We are conditioned to think that these gifts must come in boxes or bags, but an attractive alternative may be shared in a simple envelope. I’m not suggesting cash (even if that’s the quintessential green!) or gift cards, but something more personalized that shows the recipient how…
In 2008, two-thirds of Missouri voters approved the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative, which required that investor-owned utilities in the state get at least 15% of their electric power from renewable resources like wind and solar by 2021. Voters were promised that a 1 percent cap would be placed on utility costs to minimize impacts on…
In 2011, President Obama and the Department of Energy established October as National Energy Awareness Month. Given the importance of energy to both our economy and environment, this month is a time to focus on how we’re using energy in our homes and businesses. Many of us grew up in an era of inexpensive energy,…
Our obsession with cleanliness has created a multi-billion dollar industry of a plethora of cleaning products for every surface. Rather than using good old-fashioned “elbow grease,” we have a vast array of chemical solvents to ease our cleaning burden, but in the process we have unwittingly created a toxic condition in our homes. We have…
