Cool Green Campuses

College students around the country are joining the green movement and starting campus greening campaigns. Schools like Harvard University have extensive education campaigns and offer great opportunities for its students.

If you’re looking to attend an environmentally friendly college, there is a great article with some considerations from Utne.

At my alma mater of Mary Baldwin College, the college president and students have committed to a “Turn It Off” campaign. This campaign is both a student and college driven initiatives – things students can do around their dorms and also what the college can do to reduce energy usage as a business.

If you think you have a program that should be spotlighted, check out the Alliance to Save Energy and their Green Campus Program.

If your school has a green campus initiative, let us know about it.

Fire Up The Barbeque

The warmer weather allows me to open up the windows and doors and grill outside. By grilling outside, you are not adding additional heat to the inside of the home, which you may be trying to air condition.

When it comes to grilling, there are some green grilling tips and ideas to consider. The lowest impact grilling option is propane, gas or electric. If you cherish your charcoal grill, consider the sustainable charcoal option that is available. When you are shopping for the shish kabob makings, consider purchasing organic meat and veggies.

Did you know there is such a thing as hybrid grills? You can choose the energy source used to fire up the grill.

I’m enjoying the start to summer and my Memorial Day picnics. What green practices are you implementing this holiday weekend?

Happy Birthday to Me and the Earth

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to blog about my special day. Keeping with the Energy Conservation theme however, I wanted to share with you some green ideas when hosting your own birthday party, whenever that may be.

• Why not send a snazzy email invitation. You can create your own look and feel and have folks RSVP to your party all online.
• Instead of gifts for yourself, ask people to give something to someone else. Maybe they come to your party with clothes they don’t wear anymore and can be donated to a shelter.
• I am big on “experience gifts” like a ticket to the museum or a show. This way it is an expendable item and the other person gets to enjoy themselves doing something they might normally plan for.
• Try your baking skills at a home made birthday cake.
• For those festive party decorations why not open the linen closet and find some old sheets you can tear up to use as streamers and place them where they can blow in the wind
• At the end of the day, don’t forget to say ‘thank-you’ by crafting home made cards.

Share your own green birthday ideas and let us know what you are doing to celebrate. You can also check out our Green Graduation Parties post for more information on how to have a green party.

EarthCraft House Virginia

Today I wanted to tell you about one of our partners, Earthcraft House Virginia. EarthCraft delivers a voluntary green building program to serve as a blueprint for healthy, comfortable homes that reduce energy consumption and protect the environment in the Commonwealth.

Any size and type of home can be certified to an EarthCraft House by following the technical guidelines of the program. The guidelines are flexible and allow for a variety of approaches to environmental construction. The technical guidelines can be applied to all new construction, including single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses, low-rise apartments and condominiums. EarthCraft House is also one of the first green building programs to have a certification process for both new construction and renovations for multifamily projects. EarthCraft House designs are based upon ENERGY STAR standards for energy efficiency.

Both ENERGY STAR and EarthCraft meet strict guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. These homes save money on utility bills, provide a more comfortable living environment with better indoor air quality, and help protect the environment.

To see a list of EarthCraft builders, visit their website at http://www.ecvirginia.org/.

Don’t forget to share this page to help others conserve energy and save money.

Replacement Windows Can Save Lots of Energy

Windows are one of the major pathways for losing heat or cool air in our homes. Especially if you have an older house, putting in more energy efficient windows can definitely save energy and money. There are many good, name brand suppliers of energy efficient windows.

For general information on this topic, check out the U.S. Department of Energy website and the Energy Star website.

Austin’s Science Fair Project

In March, we received a letter from 6th grader, Austin L., requesting information and materials to support his project on energy conservation at the City Science Fair in the Tidewater area of Virginia.

Austin was the only 6th grader and one of only two students from his school to be chosen to participate in the fair. His project entitled “The Effect of Common Electrical Household Items on Your Electric Bill” helped educate both students and parents on how consumers can save energy (and money!) by conserving around the home.

Our youngest ambassador to date represented us well by having the only energy conservation-related project in his category.

Way to go Austin!

Maggie Walker Eco Fair

A few weeks ago, Maggie Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, VA held a student and community energy fair as a wrap-up to a year-long energy audit of the school funded by Dominion.

Organized by the school’s Saving the Earth through Conservation, Sustainability and Environmental Education (SECSEE) club, the fair brought together subject experts from all over the area to educate today’s youth and the Richmond community on why we need to make energy a top priority.

A few colleagues and myself educated the high schoolers on Smart Grid (pictured), energy conservation, and the company’s new hybrid bucket truck and plug-in Prius. These kids were more than enthused to learn about energy conservation - we wish them the best of luck in their studies.

New Year’s Resolution Tip #5 of 12 - Air Dry Clothes

Estimated Cost: Minimal

Ease of Install: Very EasyOther Notes: Instead of running the dryer in the middle of the day, consider hanging your recently washed clothes for them to air dry. Not only does this save electricity from not running the dryer, air drying reduces wrinkles, completely eliminates static cling, and can be less harmful on your clothes.

Some other tips for clothes lines, racks, and rods include:

• Hang T-shirt by the tails and socks by the toes to minimize clothespin marks.


• Make sure you shake out your clothes to help reduce wrinkles.


• If you’re hanging your clothes outdoors, don’t let them touch walls or posts – which might be dirty.


• Put heavy items near the end of the clothesline to prevent the line from sagging.


• Bring the clothes inside before it rains!


• Put your underwear on the inside and sheets on outside line so people from the road can’t see your undergarments.

Don’t forget to share this page to help others conserve energy and save money.