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It’s Easier to Be Green if It Also Saves Money
Floyd Norris, New York Times
PRICE matters, and suddenly Americans are seeking to conserve energy in ways forgotten since the early 1980s.
n normal times, the number of miles driven in the United States rises each year, as more people drive more cars and as rising housing costs force some commuters to move farther and farther from their jobs.
But the Federal Highway Administration estimates that in March – the most recent month for which data is available – vehicles traveled 246 billion miles. That is a lot of driving, but the figure is down 4.3 percent from the previous March.
… There are other ways to save gasoline, like moving closer to work or buying a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Used-car prices for gas guzzlers are sagging, while small hybrid vehicles are in high demand. But it will be a while before the old guzzlers are retired, so the overall gas economy of cars on the road will rise only slowly.
In the long run, higher prices are likely to lead to additional supplies, to alternative energy sources and to a lot of additional conservation, as happened a generation ago
(31 May 2008)
Get your green pants here
The Economist
A Sri Lankan firm says it has the world’s first carbon-neutral clothes factory
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AT A SPANKING new lingerie factory in Thulhiriya, a short drive from Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, senior managers wear T-shirts. This is not because MAS Holdings, the country’s biggest apparel company, which recently opened the factory, is a dress-down sort of a firm. It is because the factory has no air-conditioning. Instead it uses evaporative cooling, which leaves the workplace around four degrees hotter than air-conditioning would-but uses much less energy.
The factory has many energy-saving features. Its carefully designed windows provide enough natural light for workers stitching bras. Its turf roofs provide a cooling shade. Overall it uses 40% less energy than an ordinary factory of the same size. And the electricity it uses is from renewable sources: 90% from a hydro-power plant and 10% from on-site solar panels. MAS reckons it has built the world’s first carbon-neutral clothes factory.
It was built at the instigation of Britain’s biggest clothier, Marks & Spencer (M&S), which contributed £200,000 ($400,000) towards the cost of the solar panels and design. The “green” underwear that MAS is now making at the factory for M&S will reach British high streets in June, and will cost no more than existing garments.
(29 May 2008)
US pegs its hopes to our Hills Hoist
Rachel Browne, Sydney Morning Herald
T’S been a feature of Australian backyards for more than 60 years but now the humble Hills Hoist is about to go global.
And it’s global warming that is driving the overseas demand for the great Australian dryer.
Prominent Australian expats – including Olivia Newton-John, Dannii Minogue and Kimberley Joseph – have thrown star power behind the Hills Hoist to promote it in the United States, where distribution started last month.
The response from US consumers has already been strong …
… Hills Industries first tried to crack the US market eight years ago, but line drying has traditionally been discouraged there. Many homeowners are banned from hanging washing outside because it’s viewed as being aesthetically unappealing and detrimental to property values.
“All the major retailers had very low interest,” Mr Sharpe said. “They considered it a summer-only product and they thought that nobody in their right minds would dry clothes outdoors if they could afford to run a tumble dryer.”
However, concerns for the environment and rising energy costs have resulted in a “right to dry” movement with homeowners campaigning for permission to hang their washing out.
(1 June 2008)
Clotheslines products from Hills Industries. Original has a photo of a ‘Hills Hoist.’ According to the indispensable Wikipedia,
The Hills Hoist is an Australian version of the rotary clothes line, the distinguishing feature of which is a crown and pinion winding mechanism invented by Adelaide based Lance Hill in 1945. This allows this clothesline to be lowered and raised. This style of clothes line was popularised in Australia by Lance Hill and is a common backyard sight in Australia and New Zealand. It is considered one of Australia’s most recognisable icons, and is used frequently by artists as a metaphor for suburbia in Australia. For many post-war baby boomers it is a symbol of their childhood and an Australian national icon.
EB contributor Michael Lardelli writes:
One of my earliest memories is of hanging from a Hills hoist as it was sent for a spin
