Earth Day 2022
Earth Day is officially Friday though many communities celebrate on Saturday. Earth Day Columbus has volunteer opportunities and a celebration on Saturday. The team at Energility would like to share some of the ways they choose to make a difference on Earth Day and year-round.
Jeff Lucky assists his church to help clean up the surrounding neighborhood. “I typically am one of the volunteers at my church that tackle street clean-up in that community or surrounding communities. We partner with other church groups or interested organizations to pick up trash, we report large bulky items to the city of Columbus for removal, we cut down overgrown bush growth, tree growth and various vegetation (that we can safely reach) and we also plant some greenery.
In the past we have identified houses, multi-family dwellings and/or apartment complexes that are community hazards. We have identified illegal dumpsites in the community to have the city of Columbus facilitate having those area cleaned-up as well, (chemical or other bio-hazards that litter the landscape).”
Justin Kale reminds us to “ask why” when looking at your energy bill.
Ask why?
Look at your energy bills each month – ask why it changed?
Use may change
- Weather – bills show weather last year v this year or last month v this month
- People are using or not using spaces and equipment/appliances
- Equipment may not be operating as intended
I recently reviewed a facility where the building was stated to be completely unoccupied and it was using 85% of the energy compared to a partially occupied building. Discovered that they had not shut off equipment or adjusted controls when the pandemic hits.
Zack Hadley has several tips but cooking once to eat for a month might be the one that catches your attention. According to Zack: “I cook one time a month and freeze everything I make. This saves time, money, gas, electric, water, and fuel. I also work to only buy essential things that I need, to keep my carbon footprint low by minimizing the number of trips that I take out and about and how many things I purchase in general. Many of the things that are purchased have plastic wrapping and incur other costs to manufacture them (water used in cooling the equipment used to manufacture goods, as well as energy to make it, then transport it). Also, being economical about any trips that are taken is a good way to cut down on GHG emissions and fuel usage when traveling by car, so optimizing the most efficient route and lumping together trips is a good way to do this or taking public transit can also help.”
Timothy Brown also promotes using public transportation: “Doing what you need to do with the least negative impact is the name of the game. Our commute contributes to our personal carbon footprint, but the bus is a great alternative to the personal vehicle. Each bus passenger represents one less vehicle sharing the road, reducing traffic congestion and the related tailpipe emission hot spots. Columbus Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) is in the midst of replacing its diesel-powered coaches with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles at the rate of 28 buses per year. CNG vehicles have lower green house gas emissions than comparable diesel or gas vehicles. COTA is also purchasing 10 electric coaches in 2022 to further lower emissions. Diesel, gas, hybrid, CNG, or electric coach – your COTA trip is likely a better option now and even cleaner in the future. Stay productive during your commute with the free Wi-Fi on each coach to free up time in your schedule. Use that time to disembark a few stops early, grab your bike from the rack on the coach and incorporate some outdoor exercise into your daily routine as well. Your commute will be healthier for you and the whole community!”
Public transportation, meal planning, checking your energy bills, and cleaning up litter are always to celebrate Earth Day every day. What way do you make every day Earth Day?