Did You Know?

We should do everything we can to conserve energy as we keep cool during the hottest days of the summer.  That means treating our air conditioners the same way we treat other energy-demanding appliances: by using them wisely and keeping them running efficiently.

Use an enery-efficient air conditioner.
If you’re buying a new air conditioner, choose one for maximum energy efficiency.  New air conditioners come labeled with an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER), a standard that lets you calculate how much electricity the air conditioner will consume.  The higher the EER, the less it will cost you to operate the appliance to achieve the same level of cooling.

Avoid overcooling.
Don’t use or buy more cooling equipment capacity than you actually need.  If you decide on central air conditiong, select the most energy-efficient unit that will cool the size space you have.  Bigger is not better.  A larger unit than you need will cost more to run and may not remove enough humidity from the air, the feature that some consumers like most about air conditioners.

Keep your cooling system well tuned.
Have it professionally maintained, and ask how the energy efficiency of the system may be increased.

Install a whole-house ventilating fan.
This can be put in your attic or in an upstairs window to cool the house, even if you have central air conditioning.  According to Consumer Reports, a big fan working under the right conditions can cool and ventilate an entire house for about the energy cost of running an air conditioner in one room.

Set your thermostat as high as possible.
78 degrees F. is often recommended as a resonably comfortable and energy-efficient indoor temperature.

www.Earthshare.org

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources

Did You Know? 

We should do everything we can to conserve energy as we keep cool during the hottest days of the summer.  That means treating our air conditioners the same way we treat other energy-demanding appliances: by using them wisely and keeping them running efficiently.

Use an enery-efficient air conditioner.
If you’re buying a new air conditioner, choose one for maximum energy efficiency.  New air conditioners come labeled with an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER), a standard that lets you calculate how much electricity the air conditioner will consume.  The higher the EER, the less it will cost you to operate the appliance to achieve the same level of cooling.

Avoid overcooling.
Don’t use or buy more cooling equipment capacity than you actually need.  If you decide on central air conditiong, select the most energy-efficient unit that will cool the size space you have.  Bigger is not better.  A larger unit than you need will cost more to run and may not remove enough humidity from the air, the feature that some consumers like most about air conditioners.

Keep your cooling system well tuned.
Have it professionally maintained, and ask how the energy efficiency of the system may be increased.

Install a whole-house ventilating fan.
This can be put in your attic or in an upstairs window to cool the house, even if you have central air conditioning.  According to Consumer Reports, a big fan working under the right conditions can cool and ventilate an entire house for about the energy cost of running an air conditioner in one room.

Set your thermostat as high as possible.
78 degrees F. is often recommended as a resonably comfortable and energy-efficient indoor temperature.

www.Earthshare.org

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources

Did You Know? 

Even a perfectly maintained car will pollute more than necessary if it is driven carelessly.  Your car’s emissions will be lower if you apply common sense to your driving and follow basic rules of the road.

Here are some helpful habits for you to reduce pollution:

1. Idling
You will save gasoline by turning the engine off and restarting it again if you expect to idle for more than 30 seconds.

2. Stop-and-Go Driving
When possible, plan trips outside rush hour and peak traffic periods.  Try to “smooth” your driving by accelerating and decelerating gradually, anticipating stops and starts for traffic lights, changing traffic speeds and so on.

3. Air Conditioning
Use of a vehicles air conditioner increases load on the engine.  This can increase emissions and decrease fuel economy.  Try opening the window or the fresh air vent to cool the inside of your vehicle.  Also, park in the shade to keep your car cool.

4.  High Engine Loads
Your car burns more gasoline and releases more pollution when the engine is operating under high load (e.g., working especially hard).  Extra load is created by running the air conditioner, quick accelerations, high-speed driving, climbing grades, reving the engine and carrying extra weight.

5. Refueling
Spilled gasoline pollutes the air when it evaporates.  Watch what you do at the gas station to prevent spills and overfills.  It’s best to avoid “topping off,” especially in hot weather.  Apply the same precautions when refueling outdoor power equipment such as lawn mowers and outboard motors.

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did You Know? 

The U.S. EPA says about 24 percent of our waste is organic material that can be composted.  In fact, Americans throw away an average of 1.3 pounds of food scraps daily – translating to almost 13 percent of the nation’s municipal and solid waste (MSW) stream. 

Let’s quickly break down the basics of composting:

1. Learn the benefits
Composting is the natural process of decomposition, sped up by a deliberate strategy in a concentrated environment to transform ingredients such as grass clippings, vegetable scraps, newspaper and more into a new material that can then be incorporated back into the soil. One of the largest contributors to home-based composting piles is kitchen waste.  Scraps from meal preparations as well as cooking supplies can be added to a compost bin and, in turn, contribute to your soil and mulch.

2. Pick your location and bin
Before you can collect these scraps in your kitchen, you need to prepare where the compost will be stored.  Composting bins have come a long way throughout the past five years, and the kitchen composter is the leader of that change.  Popular options range from teh stylish counter containers, like the Kitchen Compost Crock, to the hidden cabinet unit, such as NatureMill’s automated composter.  Both these units are useful but serve different purposes.  The crock would be best used for a home that has an outdoor compost pile and is just used to store scraps for a short time inside the house.  The automated composter is useful for smaller spaces or homes without larger piles available.  You can compost your scrapes inside your home in a shorter period of time.

3. Here is what goes into your pile
Once you pick a spot, you have to get educated on what can go into your pile.  Composting guides generally sort matter into tow categories, according to what they contribute to the process: green (nitrogen) and brown (carbon).  A lot of kitchen items are perfect for your pile.  Common items include fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, grass clippings, and other yard waste.

4.  Consider vermicomposting
If turning your pile daily seems like a lot of work, consider vermicomposting, or composting with worms.  Vermicomposting is simple to set up and minimal maintenance is required.  Not only is it a great option for your trash bin, but it is also a perfect way to fertilize your household and garden plants!

Amanda Wills
earth911.com

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did You Know? 

You should recycle your electronics just as you do all other waste: 

Your electronics can be used to help others.  Donating your used electronics benefits others by passing on ready-to-use or refurbished equipment to those who need it.

Conserve natural resources.  Recycling recovers valuable materials from electronics that can be used to make new products.  As a result, we reduce pollution and save by extracting fewer raw materials from the earth. 

Protects your health and surroundings.  Safe recycling of electronics supports responsible management of toxic chemicals such as lead and mercury.

Waste Management and the City of Canton are hosting Electronic Recycling Day, Saturday, May 1 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Canton City Hall, 151 Elizabeth Street in Canton.  They will take most electronics for free and televisions will be taken for a $10 fee.  For more information you can contact Canton City Hall at 770-704-1500.

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did You Know? 

Pollution from power plants, cars, and other transportation is a well-known contributor to outdoor air pollution, but our indoor air quality is often worse; it can be up to 10 times worse for you than the air outside. Microbial pollutants like mold, pet dander and plant pollen can combine with chemicals like radon and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to create a toxic environment in your home and/or office; since we spend an average of 90% of our time indoors and 65% of our time inside, according to the National Safety Council, that can add up to allergies, asthma and worse.
 
Everything that comes in to our homes and/or offices has the potential to be harmful to our health; this includes things from the building materials and elements that hold them together to the furniture we sit on and the paint that goes on the walls. It can be bad, but it doesn’t have to be.
 
What causes poor indoor air quality?

Indoor air pollution can be easy to manage once you understand where it comes from. Looking at the image above gives you some idea of the more common sources for poor indoor air quality. In many cases, it comes from chemicals that are part of the things that you bring into your home; the polyurethane common in mattresses, formaldehyde and organic chemicals like dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and poly brominated biphenyl (PBB) used in lots of furniture and other interior elements are all harmful to us humans. Drapes, carpets and other absorbent fabrics can help trap these nasties, along with dust, mites and other allergens, and our modern, mostly airtight homes keep them inside. Remember this: if there are chemicals and VOCs in a product, there are chemicals and VOCs that could come out, and they won’t be good for you if they do. Not having proper ventilation can also help promote mold and other microbial growth, especially in damp climates; if cellulosic materials (like paper, wood and drywall) become moist and fail to dry within 48 hours, mold colonies can propagate and release allergenic spores into the air. As such, a basic way of maintaining the health of indoor air is by the frequency of effective replacement of the indoor air with cleaner outdoor air.

Treehugger.com

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did You Know?

…being green isn’t just about recycling, it’s about nurturing, growing things, instead of just using them. In fact, being green has as much to do with purpose and people as it does plastic and paper.

Companies that want to lean on their greenness as a marketing advantage need to do three things, in this order:

1. Grow and nurture their people – hire people who think green, empower and inspire them to make wise choices.
2. Grow and nurture their community – involve the purpose of the business in the local community.
3. Grow and nurture their planet – only now does recycling and carbon exchanging make a true difference.
4. The beauty of this somewhat expanded view is that even the smallest business can do this and make a meaningful difference.

Tim Sanders, Saving the World at Work

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did You Know?

…if you leave your cell phone charger plugged into the power source after your phone is charged, it continues to use up to 40 percent of the power as when you are charging your phone? Think about that as you grab your phone from the charger and head for the door. 

 Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did You Know?
Inefficient home heating systems can waste 20 percent or more of the energy they burn. Oil furnaces should be tested, cleaned and adjusted each year; gas furnaces should be inspected every two years.

 Below is a list of Chamber member Heating and Air Sales & Service companies who can help you make your heating systems more efficient!

AccuAir Heating and Cooling, Inc.
Bob Stone
6175 Hickory Flat Hwy
Suite 110-341
Canton, GA, 30115-7210
United States
Website: http://accuair-hvac.com
Phone: (770) 591-0901 Ext.
Fax: (770) 345-8701 Ext.

Green Heating & Cooling, Inc.
Jimmy Green
2568 Marietta Highway
Canton, GA, 30114
United States
Website: http://www.greenheatingandcooling.com
Phone: (770) 479-2844
Fax: (770) 479-7991

Heimler Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
Scott Heimler
1825 Mountain Trace
Canton, GA, 30114
United States
Website: http://www.heimlerheatcool.com
Phone: (770) 479-8383 Ext.
Fax: (770) 345-1519 Ext.

Russell Heating / AC & Refrigeration
Kathy Cobb
184 Misty Hollow Way
Woodstock, GA, 30188
United States
Website: http://www.russellheatingandair.com
Phone: (678) 324-8210
Fax: (678) 398-7605 

 Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources!

Did you know…

… that Georgia’s Tax-free appliance holiday starts Thursday, October 1st!  If you’re in the market for a new appliance, this would be a good time to make your purchases. October 1st-4th marks Georgia’s tax free holiday for Energy Star-qualified or WaterSense-labeled products. Purchases must be intended for home use, rather than commercial, and cannot exceed $1,500.

Qualified appliances and products eligible for the sales tax exemption include dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners, ceiling fans, fluorescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, programmable thermostats, refrigerators, doors, windows and skylights.WaterSense-labeled products eligible for the sales tax exemption include bathroom sink faucets or aerators and high-efficiency toilets.

http://www.cherokeechamber.com/green.htm