Page 6A — WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2009 Columbia Missourian

Green savings
under your own roof Home improvements
THE FACTS
The latest stimulus
plan passed by Con-
gress tripled the tax
AT YOUR HOME
The refund only applies to the
materials, so make sure your con-
tractor lists labor and material
credit for energy-effi- costs separately on your bill. Keep
cient home improve- the Manufacturer Certification
ments, raising the Statement for your records.
amount to $1,500 per The green tax credit lowers the
year. It now covers amount of money dollar-for-dollar
up to 30 percent of that you owe the federal govern-
the cost of products ment. It’s also nonrefundable,
installed this year and which means you can’t receive the

Energy audits next.

THE FACTS
Want to start saving
but not sure how much
energy you use? Get
an energy audit.
An energy audit will
tell you how much
electricity and water
you use and suggest
ways you can cut back.
AT YOUR HOME
Columbia Water and
Light provides free
energy audits for all
customers. Call 874-
7325 or go to gocolum-
biamo.com/Waterand-
Light/Conservation for
more information.
Some products
included are: windows,
credit if you don’t owe the govern-
ment a penny.
Columbia Water and Light also
outside doors, metal or offers rebates for energy-efficient
asphalt roofs, heating home improvements. For more
and cooling equipment information, go to gocolumbiamo.
and fuel cell batteries. com/WaterandLight/Conservation
Experts recommend or call 874-7325.
you tackle your insula-
tion before overhauling
heating and cooling
systems.

Unplug the savings Efficient appliances

THE FACTS AT YOUR HOME The Facts AT YOUR HOME
We like to think we’ve become more efficient Cable boxes and flat-screen TVs You can save $75 a The Show-Me Green
over the years, but the home of 2009 uses five are among the worst offenders. year by switching to Sales Tax Holiday
times more power than the home of the 1950s. Microwaves are power suckers, too. energy-efficient appli- runs April 19-25.
Many electronic items still draw power when Here’s a tip: Use a power strip. ances certified by It exempts sales tax
they’re turned off. It’s a phenomenon called One flip of a switch gives you Energy Star. of up to $1,500 per
“phantom” load, and it sucks about 5 to 10 per- instant savings, as much as $110 a Energy Star — a appliance.
cent of the energy used in America’s homes year, Keane said. voluntary label pro- Energy Star certi-
each year. Unplug these devices when gram for appliance fied appliances quali-
That’s the same amount of power generated they’re not in use, and this is what manufacturers — is a fying for the exemp-
by 17 coal-fired plants annually, according to you’ll save annually: joint program of the tion are washers,
Brian Keane, president of the energy-efficiency n $10 per cell phone charger U.S. Environmental dryers, water heaters,
think tank SmartPower. n $4 per set of computer speakers Protection Agency and trash compactors,
“The biggest underrepresented area of energy n $36 if you dump your desktop the U.S. Department dishwashers, conven-
efficiency is the efficiency of turning things for a laptop of Energy. tional ovens, ranges,
fully off,” said Stephen Connors, who research- stoves, air condition-
es energy consumption at the Massachusetts ers, furnaces, refrig-
Institute of Technology. erators and freezers.

Go green when you clean Long-lasting light bulbs

THE FACTS
Cleaning your house with
the environment in mind can
be cheaper than using regu-
lar cleaning supplies — you
just have to make your own.
“Sara Snow’s Fresh Living:
The Essential Room-by-Room
Guide to a Greener, Healthier
Family and Home” contains
several recipes.
AT YOUR HOME
For general cleaning: Mix
equal parts vinegar and water
in a spray bottle.
For the toilet: Pour 2 or 3
cups white vinegar into the
bowl, let sit for a few hours,
scrub and flush.
For soap scum: Make a
paste with baking soda, warm
water and mild soap.
For mold and mildew: Mix
one part hydrogen peroxide
and two parts water in a
spray bottle.
To shine wood furniture:
Mix two parts olive oil and
one part lemon juice.
THE FACTS AT YOUR HOME
Compact fluorescent light bulbs, or CFLs, You can safely dis-
last longer and use less energy, but they pose of your CFLs at
also are more expensive and contain toxic Columbia’s Household
mercury. That means consumers must be Hazardous Waste
careful how they clean up the bulbs if they Facility from 9 a.m. to
break and also dispose of them properly. 1 p.m. on the first and
Mercury also is a byproduct of burn- third Saturdays of the
ing coal, and the extra electricity needed month, from April to
to power incandescent bulbs often comes November. The facil-
from coal-fired power plants. The toxin, ity is located at 1313
which can cause neurological damage in Lakeview Ave.
children, can get into the food chain after
settling into lakes and streams.
Eventually both CFLs and incandescent
bulbs probably will be replaced by solid-
state, or LED, lighting. But until then,
environmental groups generally advocate
consumers use CFLs, though people with
children will want to use extra caution.

Eco-friendly food
THE FACTS
It’s true that organic food,
grown or raised without pes-
ticides or herbicides, could be
better for your health and the
ecosystem. But if it is shipped
from thousands of miles away,
there is an environmental
trade-off because of the pollu-
tion caused by trucks travel-
ing cross-country.
Some experts say you might
want to consider passing on
organic produce, for example,
if it has a thick skin, like
bananas, or outer leaves, like
corn. You also could make a
point of buying locally grown
food.
AT YOUR HOME
If you’re looking to buy local,
head to a farmers market.
The Columbia Farmers’ Mar-
ket is open from 8 a.m. to noon
on Saturdays in March through
November, and from 4 to 6 p.m. on
Mondays and Wednesdays starting
in May. The market is behind the
Activity and Recreation Center,
1701 W. Ash St.
The Boone County Farmers Mar-
ket is open from 8 a.m. to noon on
Saturdays from April 4 to Oct. 31
for 2009, and from 4 to 6 p.m. on
Mondays and Wednesdays start-
ing May 11 through Sept. 23. The
market is located at 1005 W. Worley
St., behind the Sanford-Kimpton
building.

Greener grocery bags

THE FACTS AT YOUR HOME
Both paper and plastic bags can be An alternative is tak-
made from recycled materials and are ing your own reusable
recyclable. Paper is made by cutting down cloth or plastic bag to
trees — which help absorb greenhouse the store. But consum-
gases — but then again, they’re renewable. ers shouldn’t stress
Plastic bags are often made of polyethyl- too much, as long as

Shading for savings ene, produced from natural gas, which is

an abundant resource but not a renewable
one.
they’re recycling or
reusing store bags,
whether by filling
THE FACTS AT YOUR HOME
But it takes more water and energy to paper with newspa-
A tree shading your Through Columbia Water and Light’s Tree make paper bags than it does to produce pers for recycling or
home from direct sun- Power program, someone from the department plastic bags. Neither breaks down par- carrying their lunch
light can help reduce will visit your home and recommend the best ticularly fast in a landfill; though paper in plastic, said Chris
your cooling bill. planting options. is compostible, plastics don’t biodegrade Newman, an environ-
You’ll get a diagram suggesting the best places easily. mental scientist with
to plant and a coupon for a free 6-foot- to 10-foot- the U.S. Environmen-
tall shade tree. tal Protection Agency.
Call 874-7325 to sign up for the program.

Photo illustration by Emily Ristow SOURCE: Staff and wire reports