WhiteFence Green

Making Better Energy Habits

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:29:34 +0000

For this week's WhiteFence tip for green living, I thought I'd bring you guys a nifty article that was posted at US News just the other day. It's a helpful resource that lists other blogs and posts about saving energy and getting rid of those bad energy habits we all have.

Apparently, a relatively new report shows that "Australia's households waste 300 million in Australian dollars (about $288 million U.S.) simply on neglectful habits". Considering that America is a bigger consumer as a whole than Australia, there are some strong implications there about how much we could be wasting here as well.

The article links to several sites that can help you change your habits around the home. You can calculate your carbon footprint, learn about Energy Star appliances and more. Visit US News to find out more about how to Kick Your Bad Energy Habits and Save.

Summer Savings on Energy

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:43:06 +0000

For this week's WhiteFence tip for green living, we provide a couple of helpful links that might help shave a few dollars off of your monthly electricity bills. As we all know, summer is getting in full swing, which means that the temperatures are skyrocketing. However, your electricity bills don't have to.

Both Homemakers and Plenty Magazine have posted tips about how to save both energy and money while it's getting hot.

The lists cover a range of topics, including cracking the windows after it rains to how to get the most out of your air conditioning unit. The summer doesn't have to be a time of stress for the pockets and the home. Start conserving energy and see how you can both save money and contribute to protecting the environment.

Mosquito Attack!

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:24:06 +0000

It's that time of year again — summer. And if you live in Texas, or anywhere in the southern United States for that matter, you might know about the kind of nuisance that mosquitoes can bring during the summer when they arrive en masse from wherever it is that mosquitoes hide all year. This week's WhiteFence tip for green living talks about how to get rid of these pesky flying insects.

Beyond being generally irritating, mosquitoes can also carry different kinds of disease, so you definitely don't want them on you or inside of your home. If you're looking for a way to get rid of them without dangerous pesticides however, there are a few options available to you. One of the easiest ways to do it without purchasing any kind of products is to get rid of their best places to next — sources of standing water. Buckets left outside, puddles of water and clogged drains or gutters would be a good place to start looking.

If you can't seem to drain these sources, putting BTI pellets into the water would certainly help. BTI pellets can be found online or at some stores, and possess bacteria that targets mosquitoes and their larvae. Also, you can purchase commercial sprays that have eugenol, which is a cleaner alternative to some of the dangerous pesticides you can buy. It is also helpful for repelling mosquitoes.

You shouldn't have to worry about getting carried off by a swarm of mosquitoes in your own backyard. Hopefully, these tips can help ease your mosquito worries during the summer.

How Eco-Friendly are the Cleaners?

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:44:06 +0000

This week's WhiteFence green tip is about the clothes we wear every day. Sure, we try not to waste water or attempt to conserve energy when we can, but have you thought about the chemicals that go into your daily threads?

While many people turn to dry cleaning to save time from washing and drying at home or because the outfit in questions calls for it, this could have potentially harmful effects on the environment. One of the main agents in dry cleaning is known as perchloroethylene (or simply perc). The thing that makes perc so unsavory is that it has been linked to some pretty seriously health concerns, with reports such as headaches, cancer, nausea, liver problems and more. Can you imagine what this chemical could do to the environment over time?

There are a few ways to get around this. The first would be to only purchase clothes that don't need to be dry cleaned. This would cut down on the amount of perc that is used everyday. Another option would be to wash the clothes that require dry cleaning by hand or to set your washing machine to a gentle cycle of some kind. Since millions of pounds of perc are currently released into the air each year, every little step away from it would be potentially helpful to our environment.

Packing it In

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 18:02:35 +0000

This week's WhiteFence tip for green living has to do with conservation of precious energy, specifically in the kitchen. Many people know that leaving a door or window open can waste valuable energy used to heat or cool your home, just like leaving the water running can be a waste of water.

Likewise, the refrigerator and the freezer are the cold places in your home that waste a lot of energy when they are left open for long periods of time. For the freezer, it is even more so, as the contrast between the freezing temperatures inside and the room temperatures outside is even greater than that of the refrigerator. While this seems to be common knowledge, there is a helpful tip to conserve as much energy as possible when leaving the freezer open: Fill it up!

A freezer uses the least amount of energy when it's completely full. When a stuffed freezer is open, only small spaces exist for warm air to creep inside, allowing it to operate more efficiently.If you're short on food that needs to be frozen, filling plastic jugs with water are good ways to occupy more of the freezer.

Go Green with City Bucks

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:49:26 +0000

A new opportunity has hit the web recently with a site called CityBucks.org. Their mission? Collect $10 from each city on the planet in order to help fund the "Save the Earth" campaign. There is some interesting content there about the benefits of going green as well as a store coming in the near future.

One of the more notable features, however, was the contest to win a "green home makeover". By donating $1 to the campaign, you are entered into the contest to win a makeover that will potentially lower the energy costs of our home as well as make it eco-friendly. The site seems to be in its early stages, but it will definitely be something to keep an eye on for the future.

Visit CityBucks to learn more about saving money with green energy.

How to Waste Gas

Fri, 23 May 2008 22:03:11 +0000

For our current installment of the weekly WhiteFence tip for green living, we look at ways that people are wasting gas, and what we can do to help in our own daily driving. Recent studies from Rice University's Baker Institute show that gas prices might continue to spike in the near future. By now, it's logical to assume that you know the things you're supposed to do to help save you and your family that precious gas money. However, are you aware of the things that we do while driving that waste more gas? According to CNNMoney.com staff writer Peter Valdes-Dapena, here are some things that hurt your fuel economy.

Racing away from green lights.
Racing up to red lights.
Confusing the highway with a speedway.
Bumper-buzzing.
Driving standing still.
Short hops.

Each of these things hurts our fuel economy while we drive to run errands, to work and everything else. Head over to CNNMoney to find out how you can conserve fuel during the coming summer months.

Dining the Green Way

Mon, 19 May 2008 20:54:34 +0000

In continuing with our current theme of green food and green eating, this week we bring you a resource about green restaurants. Originally posted about on EnviroMojo, another WhiteFence blog, the Certified Green Restaurant Guide™ is your key to green dining when you're out and about.

Published by the Green Restaurant Association^SM, the guide helps you find places that meet these requirements:

Use a comprehensive recycling system for all products that are accepted by local recycling companies.
Free of polystyrene foam ("Styrofoam") products.
Commit to completing four Environmental Steps per year of membership.
Complete at least one Environmental Step after joining the GRA.

To check out the Certified Green Restaurant™ Guide and more about it, head on over to EnviroMojo for all things green.

Wise Organic Eating

Mon, 12 May 2008 23:19:04 +0000

Since last week's green tip had to do with what kinds of organic food you should not buy, this week we'll be visiting foods that you are better off grabbing from the organic section of your grocery store. The foods listed all have the heaviest burden of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones.

Meat: while meat won't contain much pesticide, raising animals through conventional means can sometimes mean using hormones to speed up growth and antibiotics to keep them resistant to diseases. Likewise, pesticides might be used on the grains that they eat.

Milk: pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in dairy products.While any residues have been low or not seemingly significant, concern about milk comes from the fact that it is a staple in the diet of many growing children.

Peaches, sweet bell peppers, grapes, celery and tomatoes: these thin-skinned fruits are especially tempting for pests and thus receive greater amounts of pesticides. Not only are the chemicals hard to fully wash off, if the skin is penetrated harmful residues can sink inside of the fruit itself.

Apples: scrubbing and peeling may not entirely eliminate the chemical residue.

Strawberries: Strawberries bought out of season are more likely to come from other countries with less-stringent regulations on pesticide use.

Lettuces: since they are highly susceptible to pests, leafy greens are given some of the highest volumes of pesticides used on food.

Potatoes: this popular spud ranks high for pesticide residue. It also gets the double whammy for fungicides added to the soil for growth.

Hopefully these green tips will help you shop for safe, healthy organic food.

Organic or Not?

Mon, 05 May 2008 15:36:08 +0000

In this week's edition of the WhiteFence tip for green living, we take a look at the organic food craze. It seems that these days, more and more people are turning to buying organic food, including organic produce. Unfortunately, this can add a bit of cost to your grocery bill. The good news for your spending is that there are some fruits and vegetables that you don't need to go organic with.

The thing about organic produce is that it is not treated with the same chemicals and pesticides that can be spent on other items. However, some vegetables naturally face a smaller threat from pests and as a result fewer pesticides are used on them. Asparagus, broccoli, cabbage and onions fall under this category.

In addition, avocados, kiwi, mango, bananas, papaya and pineapple all have thick skins that protect the fruit from different kinds of pesticide build-up. Besides, that's the part you don't eat.

The Magic of Baking Soda

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:59:10 +0000

It's time for yet another Weekly WhiteFence Tip for green living! This week's tip is for all of you chemical-conscious cleaners out there. You can start making your house cleaning greener with ordinary products from inside your pantry.

Did you know that vinegar and baking soda can do a lot of damage to dirty objects around your house? Simply add the two items together, mix with some warm water and you've concocted an all-purpose cleaner. Baking soda is also good for de-odorizing objects around the home. Place some in your fridge to remove to remove unfriendly smells. You can even dab it on the carpet and then vacuum it up to get rid of unwanted lingering odors.

Stay tuned for more tips from WhiteFence Green!

Earth Day!

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:50:22 +0000

Take the time to remember to be green today in an effort to raise awareness for energy conservation and the continued preservation of our environment. There are a number of ways that we can all contribute today. It could be as simple as turning off power strips before leaving a room, making a conscious effort to use less water, or riding your bike to work.

Also, you might want to be on the lookout for specials and savings today from local and online vendors. For instance, Yahoo is running a meeting place where users can join "Reuse Groups" in order to find free stuff from local consumers looking to give away unwanted items, rather than throwing them away. Likewise, stores like Home Depot are running deals on all kinds of eco-friendly items such as light bulbs and EnergyStar appliances.

Any other tips for Earth Day? Let us know!

Weekly WhiteFence Tip

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:53:27 +0000

This week's WhiteFence Tip for green living: don't take ATM receipts! Did you know that small slips of paper like ATM receipts rank among some of the planet's top sources of litter? If everyone started declining the receipt requests from the magic money machines, we would save a roll of toilet paper more than 2 billion feet long - long enough to circle the equator fifteen times. That's kind of a lot of paper, in case you were wondering.

And here's a free bonus tip: Earth Day is on April 22! Since Earth Day occurs on a weekday this year, several cities will be hosting festivities and events over the weekend, so be sure to find out what's going on near you and how you can participate in raising awareness for our environment.

Announcing WhiteFence's Green Team

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 23:46:29 +0000

To make sure WhiteFence's green initiative goes to the next level, WhiteFence has assembled it's first "Green Team". This cross-departmental group meets often to assess the strides that WhiteFence has made thus far, as well as identifies areas by which we can continue to improve. In addition, the team serves as the green ambassadors, sharing green tips in a weekly green newsletter sent company-wide. We look forward to what the new earth-friendly ideas the Green Team will come up with next!

WhiteFence Goes Green - Eric Danziger, CEO of WhiteFence

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:46:40 +0000

Eric Danziger, CEO of WhiteFence, announces the company's new green push, with both internal and external initiatives.