Stop Global Warming: Insulate Your House
FULL HOUSE
Whole world feels your home's drafts
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Susan Condon Love
Plain Dealer Columnist
Some excerpts from today's column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, with active links for easy research. Full article at title link.
Drafts, cold basements and poor insulation, while part and parcel of older homes, really aren't laughing matters. They are something, if you want to think beyond your living room, that affects all of humanity - as in global warming and the depletion of the ozone.
Rozanne Weissman, director of communications and marketing for the nonprofit Washington-based Alliance to Save Energy (and a former Plain Dealer employee), is on a crusade to get her energy-saving message out there.
The point is, said Weissman in a recent telephone conversation, that "everyone can make a difference."
... Weissman and the others at the Alliance to Save Energy have created a campaign called (with apologies to Kevin Bacon, I would think) the "6 Degrees of Energy Efficiency Challenge."
... Environmental experts say that "we have a maximum of 10 years to start turning [global warming] around," said Weissman. "The problem is serious, and we need to be paying attention," which is why the alliance created the challenge and why the group has recently started publicizing its suggestions on how to save money and energy.
..."The choices we make affect us and our family, the nation and even the world," said Weissman. Air pollution from Asia, for example, affects the air quality in the United States.
We are, she added, really one big family.
Closer to home, you can expect lower utility bills and maybe even a certain satisfaction that you aren't contributing as much to an environmental crisis.
More at title link.
Whole world feels your home's drafts
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Susan Condon Love
Plain Dealer Columnist
Some excerpts from today's column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, with active links for easy research. Full article at title link.
Drafts, cold basements and poor insulation, while part and parcel of older homes, really aren't laughing matters. They are something, if you want to think beyond your living room, that affects all of humanity - as in global warming and the depletion of the ozone.
Rozanne Weissman, director of communications and marketing for the nonprofit Washington-based Alliance to Save Energy (and a former Plain Dealer employee), is on a crusade to get her energy-saving message out there.
The point is, said Weissman in a recent telephone conversation, that "everyone can make a difference."
... Weissman and the others at the Alliance to Save Energy have created a campaign called (with apologies to Kevin Bacon, I would think) the "6 Degrees of Energy Efficiency Challenge."
... Environmental experts say that "we have a maximum of 10 years to start turning [global warming] around," said Weissman. "The problem is serious, and we need to be paying attention," which is why the alliance created the challenge and why the group has recently started publicizing its suggestions on how to save money and energy.
..."The choices we make affect us and our family, the nation and even the world," said Weissman. Air pollution from Asia, for example, affects the air quality in the United States.
We are, she added, really one big family.
Closer to home, you can expect lower utility bills and maybe even a certain satisfaction that you aren't contributing as much to an environmental crisis.
More at title link.
posted by Kristen at 11:00 AM
2 Comments:
I have been dealing with this issue lately... I have had to leave the upstairs faucet drip for way too many nights during this cold spell so my pipes don't freeze. The waste of water makes me sick to my stomach.
To insulate, though, I will need to tear down the old plaster walls, add insulation, put up new drywall, and then redo the walls. I wish it were easier (and cheaper) than that, but I'm told that you can't really add new insulation if you have plaster walls because of moisture issues. :(
Hmmm. I had not realized that one could not use blown-in insulation with plaster walls. I purchased this house because it was built in the old way with real wood and plaster walls. After reading that article I thought perhaps I should look into that.
I like plaster walls because they much less prone to mold than drywall. I guess I will just stick with them. ( Upgraded storm windows might be an answer, though. I want to keep the original windows because they are pleasing to me in design.) I purchased a high-efficiency furnace and cut my fuel bills in half. I wear layers and a fun hat (to keep body heat from escaping through the top of my head) in the house and keep the thermostat at 59 to 62 in the day.
I hope these measures are as beneficial as ripping off the plaster in order to insulate. ... Not for everyone however! We each must make our own choices. Thanks for stopping by and passing on that information on plaster walls!
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