In my job for Seattle City Light I attend a lot of community events to share the same energy conservation message THIS SPACE is dedicated to: simple steps can cut your electricity use and keep a few extra bucks in your pocket.

One of the best and easiest options is to switch from incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. They use about a third of the electricity and last up to 10 years, which can save as much as $33 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. More...

I think we’re all in agreement that trying to recycle Syrofoam is a pain. With the holiday season coming, there’s bound to be an avalanche of this material surrounding our gifts and arriving at our doorsteps. Not even my huge recycling facility takes that stuff, so I had to dig a little deeper. It seems that polystyrene’s blessings are also a curse. Its light weight and durability make it such a great packaging material, but also give it a low scrap value. Currently in the USA, expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam packaging is being recycled at a rate of only about 10-12% each year. The best place to recycle, it turns out, is local shops. More...

Seattle City Light is taking conservation to an even higher level. A five-year Conservation Action Plan unveiled recently by Mayor Greg Nickels outlines the utility’s strategy to more than double the community’s current savings. To achieve this goal, the utility is investing $185 million in 31 conservation programs. That's seven times the national average for conservation spending on a per capita basis. Read more. More...

I’ve been looking to replace the flood light in my small backyard because it makes a loud annoying buzz and puts out a cold unwelcoming light. I suppose these are not bad qualities to keep burglars away, but I’ve wanted something a bit quieter and warmer, while of course making an environmentally conscious purchase.

So I started checking out floodlights powered by their own little photovoltaic cells. I was surprised to find a pretty wide selection. SmartHome.com and SolarHome.org were two of the sites I spent some time on comparing features and prices. Both sites are pretty cluttered and a bit tough to navigate, but while SmartHome has better product information, SolarHome (as the name would imply) has a broader product selection. More...

A man does not plant a tree for himself,  he plants it for posterity. - Alexander Smith

With little effort and zero fancy equipment, I’ve reduced my average water consumption by three percent. Long, hot days of summer have slowed me down and drained ME of energy, but not the weeds. The weeds are running riot and lustily propagating faster than I can eliminate them. I am mostly watering only the plants which I planted this spring and summer, plus my tomatoes, the containers, and of course the hydrangeas. More...

Are you tired of hearing about electronics recycling yet? It's been getting plenty of attention the past couple years. The media constantly runs stories about how many old computers and other electronics are piling up across the country, and all the toxics in them. But don't tune out, even if it seems like old news - there's still a lot to say, and do, about this problem, and there have been a multitude of new developments lately. More...

Seattle’s winter 2008 has been too long, too gray, and too cold for this transplanted soul. But one day of sunshine can erase the memories of the drab and dreary days past and induce a euphoric state of optimism.

Saturday was just that sort of day as I left home for a romp in the Washington Arboretum Annual Plant Sale. Gazing across the lawn, I noticed a soft blurry blanket of white dandelion fluff hovering six inches above most of my lawn. As I backed out of the driveway I noticed more dandelion foam cresting over the front slope. I confess I’ve been harboring thoughts of chemical weed killers. The weed mass being so much bigger than my time and energy makes the promise of quick weed eradication tempting.  “Darn, I’ll have to deal with that as soon as I return”, I thought . More...

A planet-friendly trend appears to be taking off around some new thinking in how we use energy.

There are many activities from manufacturing steel to storing data on computer servers that require significant electricity or other power and generate heat as a byproduct. Until recently, much of that heat was considered a problem to get rid of. Data centers use air conditioning to cool server rooms and the furnaces of a steel plant are vented after melting the metal. Now, some organizations are recognizing how that heat can be put to additional use. More...

On Earth Day, the Seattle Mariners are set to host the first carbon-neutral baseball game in major league history.

The Mariners are working with (shameless plug) my employer --Seattle City Light-- and the utility’s Green Up program to power Safeco Field with wind energy all day April 22. Additionally, the team is purchasing carbon offsets for all its travel and operations that day while also promoting waste reduction and recycling. More...

Picture the scene: Saturday, a sunny day in springtime. Birds singing, children laughing and playing. Me, swearing and sweating, pushing as hard as I can, and yet not budging. More...