LED Bulbs Suppress Melatonin 5 Times More Than Other Bulbs
Humans are meant to sleep in darkness. Nighttime lighting has been shown to increase the risks of cancer and exacerbate air pollution; however, most significantly for overall human health, it affects our rest. According to a new study, LED lights suppress melatonin levels. Green Prophet reports:
Exposure to the light of white LED bulbs, it turns out, suppresses melatonin five times more than exposure to the outdoor lights filled with high pressure sodium bulbs that give off an orange-yellow light. "Just as there are regulations and standards for 'classic' pollutants, there should also be regulations and rules for the pollution stemming from artificial light at night," says Prof. Abraham Haim of the University of Haifa who is following the effects of cancer and artificial lights at night.
Melatonin is a compound that adjusts our biological clock and is known for its anti-oxidant and anti-cancerous properties. The study investigated the influence of different types of bulbs on "light pollution" and the suppression of melatonin, with the researchers recommending several steps that should be taken to balance the need to save energy and protecting public health.
Although LEDs are better for the environment due to lower energy usage, "over-lighting" with any kind of bulb should be avoided to protect human health.
Three years ago, we reported on how the trend towards flat screen TVs were harming our environment. Now there's some good news when it comes to television watching. Flat screen TVs are more efficient and impressively reducing energy consumption. EcoFriend reports:
Basing it on a data compiled on 1800 models of TV sets, Sust-it, the UK energy efficiency site, reports that energy usage in flat screen TV sets has shown an impressive 60 percent decline since 2006. Ross Llamas, the founder of Sust-it, says this improvement is from the use of LEDs to backlight the TV. LCD panel TVs have largely replaced Plasma displays that look to be on the verge of being phased out. The Sust-it study is confirmed by the magazine Which?. The editor, Martin Hocking says that his own studies show a 40-inch flat screen TV, that consumed 300 watts 3 years ago, now consumes only 70 watts. Since 2009, LED TVs have taken a 20 percent share of the 9.5 million UK flat TV market. As LED TVs consume less power than LCDs, the change to LEDs is good for reduced power consumption.
Chances are if you own a newer oven, it has a convection feature. Chances are, if you are like me, you don't know how to use it, or never have.
Last week, I was cooking a pumpkin to make curry soup. The pumpkin had been in the oven for a really long time, and it was getting late. I decided to try convection.
By moving fast hot air past the food, convection ovens can operate at a lower temperature than a standard conventional oven and yet cook food more quickly. The air circulation, or convection, tends to eliminate "hot spots" and thus food may bake more evenly.
A convection oven will have a reduction in cooking temperature, compared to a conventional oven.
Although cooking times will vary depending on the how full the oven is, http://www.convection-calculator.com/in general, you can lower your cooking temperature by 25 degrees and reduce time by 15 minutes when cooking with convection. There's even an online convection calculator to help.
Once I switched to convection cooking with my pumpkin, the flesh cooked up much faster and dinner was on time. I have become a convection convert.
We haven't even rung in the New Year yet, but Chevrolet's plug-in hybrid Volt has already won the Green Car of the Year award for 2011. The Chevy Volt hasn't even hit the streets, but Green Car Journal felt it deserved the award. Daily Finance reports:
The Volt beat out the Nissan (NSANY) Leaf battery electric vehicle, Ford's (F) Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Hyundai's (HYMLY) Sonata Hybrid and the gas powered Ford Fiesta, Green Car Journal said Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The Volt and Leaf had been considered the two favorites for the award.
The accolade added to what has already been a good week for General Motors, which emerged from bankruptcy last year and went public again this week. GM, which raised its common-stock price range and expanded its IPO earlier this week, priced shares Wednesday at $33 a share, the high end of GM's range, and opened Thursday trading at $35.
Hyrbid Sales Fall in Comparison to Light Vehicles in March 2010
With gas prices remaining somewhat steady during the Obama administration, consumers are not rushing out to buy hybrids. Autobloggreen explains:
The numbers are in for Mach sales and hybrids have fared well compared to last year. Hybrid automakers can't heave a sigh of relief quite yet, because sales have fallen short of the overall industry rise compared to a year ago. The numbers show that hybrid sales are up 18 percent from last March, while light vehicle sales rose 25 percent. Hybrid sales were also below expectations. It's likely that strong incentives for traditional cars and a rebounding economy drove buyers towards conventionally powered vehicles.
The Toyota Prius, despite recall issues by the automaker, still remains the golden child of the hybrid market dominating 53 percent of sales. The Honda Insight is also very popular tripling their sales from one year ago.
I live off-the-grid. A couple years ago, we purchased a Sony LCD television, and we were shocked to see the amount of power this TV actually used. It wasn't a huge set, but it did pull a lot of juice out of our batteries. When we had the opportunity to try a LED TV, we wanted to see if it actually did use less power.
We tested out a VIZIO TruLED. According to the manufacturer:
VIZIO's Eco HD models exceed the current Energy Star guidelines by 56% below Energy Star 3.0, which saves you money on your utility bills while limiting the impact on our planet.
In addition to the fact that LED HDTVs are more efficient than standard LCDs, the display's LED backlights do not utilize mercury, an environmentally harmful substance used in other backlights.
Some reviewers on Amazon have complained about the sound on the Vizio, and straight out of the box, I couldn't agree more. There was a strange sort of buzz and the volume needed to be cranked up for watching. The Vizio came set to "flat" in the audio settings. Switching this to "rock" fixed the problem.
Even thought this TV is larger than our TV, we noticed it uses less power. Obviously, that's a good thing for all consumers, not just those making their own power like we are. In fact, earlier this year California looked at regulating energy consumption of TVs. LED TVs appear to be the solution, but I am not sure it warrants buying a new TV. All of the energy and resources used in manufacturing a new set may not be offset by the energy savings.
Solar and Hand Cranked Radio Perfect for Camping and Emergencies
This little alternative energy radio is only about 3 x 2.2 x 3.2 inches! Powered by either a solar panel or hand cranking a dynamo, you don't have to go without tunes when the power goes out or you are off in the woods camping with the Kikkerland Dynamo Solar and Crank Emergency Radio. When cranking the dynamo when solar energy is not available, this radio is quite efficient with one minute of human power producing half an hour of tunes. Also, it also won't break the bank at a price of about $30.
Jump Start to Green: Save a Little. Save a Lot. Save the Planet.
Jump Start to Green is a kit that makes saving the planet easy and effective. The kit contains products and tools that save energy, paper, and water. It includes a "Guide to Green" that helps people track their use of resources. The kit comes with:
The Dry-Erase Tracker helps families see the small changes they make are having an impact. The Guide to Green tells you how much you will save with each action and the impact it will have on the planet, thus allowing families to prioritize which actions to take. For example, if you take shorter showers (reducing shower time from eight minutes to five minutes), you will save $223 annually. If this simple action was taken by 1 out of 10 Americans, it would be the equivalent of taking 90,000 cars off the road each year!
Simple Ideas to Reduce Energy Consumption: Thermal Curtains by Eclipse
A lot of heat or cool air is lost through the windows in a home. Once simple solution to this problem is to install thermal curtains. Eclipse makes curtains that block out 99% of light, which helps you sleep better, and the curtains reduce window-related energy loss by 75%. It is much cheaper to use a thermal curtain than to replace windows in a home, and they can help reduce the increase in home heating costs predicted for this winter.
The only drawback to Eclipse curtains is they are made from polyester fabric. I am not a fan of synthetic fibers, whether for the environment or my own personal aesthetic. As a final project in an alternative energy class I took in college, I made thermal curtains from felted wool. I would like to see commercially made thermal curtains made from natural fibers.
When I first heard about a human powered Ferris wheel, I assumed it was powered by people pedaling some gizmo to make the wheel turn. Instead, a fair operator in southern India has devised this ride, in which five people propel the wheel by taking turns spinning the wheel with their full body weight. Now that's one way to have zero emission fun, but it looks a little dangerous too. I don't think I would let my kids ride on it.
Hypermiling with Apple's iphone: Applications that Save you Gas!
I learned a new word today: hypermiling. Hypermiling refers to techniques used to save fuel, such as putting your car in neutral as you coast down a hill. If you own an iPhone (sadly this Mac lover does not), then you can choose from five applications to help you save fuel! From finding the cheapest price per gallon to graphing your fuel economy, these iPhone apps can help you find out what your car's gas mileage really is so you can be a better hypermiler!
Via: earth2tech
I thought I got my wine in a low carbon manner by walking to my neighbor's cabin, but the French have outdone my efforts. A three-masted, 19th century barque transported 60,000 bottles of French wine from Bordeaux to Dublin. The delivery by ship took longer than a flight, but it saved 18,375lb of carbon or about 4.9oz of carbon per bottle. Each bottle was labeled, "Carried by sailing ship, a better deal for the planet." Further voyages are planned to Bristol, Manchester, and Canada.
Solar Hot Water Heaters Found on 90% of Israel's Rooftops
In the 1950s, Israel experienced a fuel shortage, and residents responded by installing solar hot water heaters on their rooftops. By 1983, 60% of homes had solar hot water heaters, and current law requires their installation. Jerusualem's skyline is beautifully cluttered with 90% of homes' rooftops adorned with solar hot water heaters. Perhaps Hawaii's new solar hot water heater law will one day bring the Aloha State up to par with Israel.
Green Plug Develops Single Universal Power Adapter for All Electronic Devices
I have a drawer full of cell phone power adapters, camera adapters, and of course, my laptop and modem have different power adapters too! Each time I get a new electronic device, I keep the old adapter thinking I might need it some day, but it never fits the new phone, camera, etc. Green Plug, a start-up company, proposes we use one universal power adapter for all our electronic needs, which would help the environment by eliminating the need to produce and ship a new power adapter with each device. Green Plug explains:
Billions of devices including laptops, printers, speakers, routers, modems, cell phones, entertainment devices, power tools, cameras and so many other portable electronic devices require a power source that converts between 90V and 254V wall power to device-specific DC power. That means that these devices require unique power converters, and that is very costly, is extremely inconvenient and contributes to wasted resources and pollution.
According to MacWorld, Green Plug's universal adapter will also eliminate phantom power draws:
Green Plug's technology allows each device to communicate its individual power requirements to the power adapter, allowing several devices to share one adapter...Each adapter will act like a hub that several devices can plug into... The adapters also will shut off the power supply when a device has finished charging or is turned off, giving further energy savings.
LED Bulbs Suppress Melatonin 5 Times More Than Other Bulbs
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