Natural Gas Drilling: Safe or Not

I will be the first to admit that I don’t know a lot about how we get our energy. I don’t give much thought to what goes on behind the scenes to light my house, power my television, heat my stove, or cool my house. But, in writing this green blog, I must do a lot of eye-opening research. Today, I stumbled across an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about drilling for natural gas. Specifically, the article focused on a coloring book to teach children about natural gas drilling. The coloring book features a cute little dinosaur called Terry, a … Continue reading →

Ways to Conserve Energy

In an attempt to save money many people are going green without even realizing it. I will admit that my first priority is saving money and then preserving the planet. The great thing is that usually whatever you do to save money ends up being a greener way of doing things. One of the high costs these days is electricity. If you want to conserve energy there are some easy ways to do so. Think of everything that could be unplugged when not in use. Some ideas are: small appliances, TVs, video game players and systems, computers, and stereos. It … Continue reading →

Home Energy Audit

Today, we had a contractor come by to discuss getting a home energy audit. There are different types of home energy audits, and this one is going to be a doozy. You can get usually get a free home energy audit from your local power company. They will send someone over to evaluate common issues with energy efficiency, such as drafty windows, doors with gaps, etc. Most of these items you can catch yourself with a careful eye. Then then there is the really serious home energy audit, which costs around $500. State of the art equipment is used to … Continue reading →

Greening an Older or Historic Home

When we hear about great advances in green living related to homes, it all has to do with new home design and new home construction. Green materials and advanced heating, cooling and energy systems can make it easy to live a green eco-friendly life at home. But the question is, what if you have an older home, one that you either can’t or don’t want to modernize to meet green living standards? Are you left with making the choice between living less responsibly or moving? Actually, no. There are several ways that you can preserve your older home’s integrity without … Continue reading →

Responsible Firewood

Monday was the start back to school here in Pennsylvania, and the date seemed to bring with it the first signs of fall. Only the week before, the temperature and the humidity was high enough conditioning and shorts. Today I am dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans and had to close the windows because our heat-adapted bodies aren’t used to temperatures in the low 70s. The temperatures remind me that it won’t be long now before we will be firing up the wood burning fireplace. We’ll have to split and put up some wood for the winter to ensure that … Continue reading →

Is Nuclear Power Green Energy?

There is a bit of a debate about nuclear power. Okay, there are plenty of debates about it, in fact, but the one I am concerned with today is whether or not nuclear power is considered green energy. Should we be supporting it or protesting against it? First of all, let is talk about the difference between green energy and renewable energy. Green energy is usually labeled such because it produces little pollution, while renewable energy is energy produced by a product that can be grown or otherwise “renewed” and not finite. Energy can be both green and renewable, of … Continue reading →

What is a Home Geothermal System?

Install a home geothermal system, and you may never need oil or gas to heat or cool your home again. The system, while ingenious goes back may centuries. Many cultures around the world and through time have uses the Earth’s nature temperatures for keeping warm or cool and for heating water. For the home, a geothermal pump system is put into place. Rather than generating heat by buring fuel, as does a traditional home furnace, a home geothermal systems collects the earth’s natural heat and brings it up from below to your home heating your home and even providing hot … Continue reading →