Going Green... - ... Every Day By Everyone

Sanford and Marian Sachs, self-described conservationists, built their house in the Edgewood section of Cranston to be energy efficient.

They planned it with southern exposure and lots of windows to let in the heat. They put in four heating and cooling zones so rooms could be shut in the winter or summer.

Marian Sachs, an interior designer, created an open design for cross-ventilation, so they rarely needed to use air conditioning.

"Back then, 13 years ago, we weren't 'thinking green'," said Sanford Sachs. "No one really was.'' They were simply being thrifty.

But, now, the Sachses said, they are indeed thinking green. They are worried about what will happen if people don't start to conserve natural resources. In the past year, they bought a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car whose rechargeable energy storage system means the car gets 45 miles per gallon of gas.

They switched to paper grocery bags, added programmable thermostats, and fertilized their lawn with a non-chemical organic substance. They opted for National Grid's Green Up program, which instructs their local utility to buy electricity from a renewable energy source, such as one using wind. They are adding curly compact fluorescent light bulbs that use less electricity and save money.

The couple said that they are anxious to glean more personal energy-saving ideas from today's observances of Earth Day. They will likely get what they want: This year's Earth Day theme is "a call for action on climate change." In a year when Al Gore's global- warming cautionary movie An Inconvenient Truth nabbed an Oscar for best documentary, more Americans seem ready to make some changes. Brides are throwing eco-weddings, homeowners are buying eco-goods, and travelers are going on eco-vacations.

Environmentalists are out in full force this month explaining how burning fossil fuels saturates the atmosphere with gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. The gases, they say, have triggered a greenhouse effect, meaning that heat normally released into space is now getting trapped, causing the Earth's temperature to rise.

Laurie David, the producer of An Inconvenient Truth, has said the United States is at a critical moment, and she is predicting that the greening of America's mind-set "is going to be the biggest movement this country has ever seen."

Cynics wonder. And some opinion makers question whether global warming even exists. Still, more consumers seem aware of studies that show energy-guzzling Americans pegged at the top of the list of climate sinners - an exhibit at London's Science Museum notes that "the United States, which has 5 percent of the world's population, accounts for 24 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions."

They're also becoming familiar with the idea of "reducing your carbon footprint,'' meaning reducing how much carbon dioxide an individual's lifestyle is responsible for releasing into the air. Experts say that everyone, like the Sachses, can make simple adjustments that will benefit not only the Earth but the household budget.

"Most Americans can use 30 to 50 percent less fossil fuels without having a negative impact on their lifestyle," said Steve Hamburg, a Brown University associate professor of environmental studies who is director of the Global Environment Program at the Watson Institute for International Studies. "start by being more thoughtful about what you buy, and getting the most efficient technology, which pays you back money."

ONE OF HAMBURG'S environmental claims to fame is persuading Wal- Mart executives to put their marketing and business muscle behind selling the longer-lasting, more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs. He said though the chain had been selling the electricity- saving fluorescent lights in its 4,000 stores for years, sales were sluggish.

Hamburg met with the CEO of Wal-Mart, Lee Scott, and said that he challenged him to "ramp up sales pushes in 2005," Hamburg said. "I told him, 'You need to look at what is being sold on the shelf. You guys can do better. You can be a game changer'."

Wal-Mart took up the gauntlet, and its efforts led to 50 million fluorescent bulbs being sold by the end of 2006. Wal-Mart then committed to selling 100 million bulbs in 2007, Hamburg said. "If they (Wal-Mart) continue to sell 100 million bulbs per year through 2013, then it will result in an annual savings of $2 billion per year for their customers, and avoid emissions of 136 million tons of carbon dioxide. Cumulative savings will be $8 billion and CO2 emissions avoided of 536 million tons. This is the equivalent of mothballing 25 average-size power plants."

According to www.energystar.gov, a fluorescent bulb uses 70 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb and saves more than $30 over the life of the bulb. If each American home replaced just one bulb with a fluorescent, that would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes per year, the web site says.

"All houses in Rhode Island could reduce energy by using more efficient lighting technology,'' said Hamburg. "Why use traditional incandescent light bulbs? You are throwing out your money on 125- year-old technology.''

Hamburg said that because he drives a Toyota Prius hybrid, he pays less for car insurance and has saved money on gas. "One of the most obvious ways (to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions) is to buy an efficient car, and get those monsters (gas-guzzling big cars) off the streets."

He suggested that consumers do a little research and buy from companies that have made a commitment to reduce greenhouse gases. "We as a society have to explore making changes. The key thing is that we start to reduce usage,'' he said. "While it's easy to think that your contribution is insignificant, every action makes a significant difference."

Hamburg, like the Sachses, enrolled in the electric company National Grid's Green Up program, which lets customers buy electricity from a renewable energy (wind, solar, hydraulic or bio fuel) source. There's a fee, about 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, which works out to about between $6 and $12 monthly for a typical residential customer using 500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month.

"CUSTOMERS CAN INVEST in alternative energy resources,'' said National Grid spokesman David Graves, who added that signing up can be done by filling out the card National Grid sends out twice a year or visiting www.ripower.org and clicking on the "Green Start" image. Since the program's inception in 2005, about 4,566 customers out of 485,000 have signed up for Green Up. "It's good for the environment, and gives customers options," he said.

Once you sign up, the 5-year-old Rhode Island nonprofit People's Power and Light will purchase the Earth-healthy power. Omay Elphick, its deputy director, said that "by signing up for the green program, you are guaranteeing that your energy is being generated by a good source."

Bill Burtis, a former science writer who lives in Portsmouth, N.H., recently bought a new refrigerator with the EPA's environmentally friendly Energy Star logo. He said he discovered to his delight that the refrigerator's savings on his electrical bill equaled his payments.

He agreed that each person can offset carbon emissions by making simple life adjusts such as switching off lights, turning thermostats down, taking five-minute showers, and unplugging entertainment centers or other electronics when not in use. As communications manager for the nonprofit Clean Air-Cool Planet (www.cleanair-coolplanet.org), he helps cities and universities reduce carbon dioxide output, and said that many have cooperated.

He noted that currentlythere are no carbon dioxide-reducing programs in Rhode Island.

CITIES SUCH AS PITTSBURGH, for example, have agreed to swap out old light bulbs for fluorescent ones on city streets, in traffic lights and on exit signs.

"Cities and universities have the greatest range of opportunities to reduce emissions,'' he noted. "The energy they waste is money up the chimney. That affects all of us. We are taxpayers."

When working with clients, he said, he begins by measuring their carbon footprint. At web sites such www.safeclimate.net/calculator/ and www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator, anyone can figure out his or her footprint. (You'll need your gas and electric bills handy to do the calculating.)

The concept of inventorying one's carbon dioxide output started in the 1970s during the oil embargo, Burtis said. Americans became concerned about the shortages, and started figuring out methods to conserve energy.

Now, spurred on by phenomena such as An Inconvenient Truth and concern over reliance on other countries' oil, the need to be greener is once again showing up on our collective radar screen. The message that concerned scientists and environmentalists are trying to relay is that if Americans don't act now, the consequences will be far-reaching.

fzuckerm@projo.com /

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The home of Marian and Sanford Sachs is energy efficient with programmable thermostats and lots of windows to let in solar heat.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

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Singer Sheryl Crow, left, speaks with Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, center, and Laurie David during a news conference before the Stop Global Warming concert in Gainesville, Fla.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

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Steven Hamburg, a Brown professor and director of the global environment program at the Watson Institute, holds a fluorescent bulb. He convinced Wal-Mart to sell the energy-savers.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

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Marian and Sanford Sachs live their lives trying to conserve energy, and reduce greenhouse gases that they put in the air. Their home is energy efficient.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

(c) 2007 Providence Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.