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Entry bubble DOE Website for Energy-Saving Tips

By: Colleen | April 30, 2008 | Category: General

To continue on Joanne's "everyday is Earth Day" theme...gas pump

Anyone currently residing on planet Earth knows the cost of gas is soaring sky-high. Because prices at the pump are following the same trajectory as a spaceshuttle, it's important to find other ways to cut costs and reduce energy consumption.

Last week the U.S. Department of Energy launched a new website. The interactive page gives you a virtual tour of a typical home. Just click your mouse on different areas of the house and you're given tips and ideas about saving energy and costs.

One of the more interesting tips I found by clicking on the car in the driveway. It told me to "Get the junk out of the trunk and properly inflate your tires! An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your fuel efficiency by up to 2%."

Off the top of my head, if someone were to break open my trunk right now, they'd find: a pair of roller blades, a wool winter coat, my old non-functional laptop, my sister's semi-functional laptop from college, a garbage bag of old clothes I've been meaning to donate, and a heavy-duty ice scraper. And that's just the stuff of which I am AWARE. It's time for a vehicular spring cleaning.

Check out other suggestions for getting the most energy efficient appliances, and using mother nature herself as a natural means of heating and lighting. Little changes can add up to BIG savings, for both our wallets and environment.

What tricks do you have for saving money and energy? Any good tips?

| View Comments [4] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: colleen   consumption   doe   energy   gas   money   saving   tips  

 

Entry bubble Earth Day…Is Every Day

By: Joanne | April 29, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

clouds, sky and horses

Earth Day was last week—remember? You know Earth Day is more than just a day to feel guilty and obligated to plant a tree, don’t you? The first Earth Day was organized to make people think about ecology, encourage respect for life on earth, and to heighten awareness of soil, air and water pollution.

Earth Day is a reminder that environmental responsibility is every one's responsibility, and the choices you make every day can protect or pollute the environment. Start at home by making sure that your home is as energy-efficient as it can be. Not only will it save energy, but it’s going to save you money, and I think we can all agree that we’d like to pay less to heat and cool our homes.

The Environmental Protection Agency has lots of ideas for reducing air pollution and conserving energy, using water wisely, and making environmentally friendly choices.

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: day   earth   environment   joanne  

 

Entry bubble Hit the Road, Not the Wildlife

By: Stephanie | April 28, 2008 | Category: Travel

Passing a dead armadillo on a road in Orlando last week, I began to wonder about roadkill. ants crossing signI mean, should I have reported the stiff little critter? Is there anything being done to prevent such accidents?

I learned later from USA.gov's FAQs that I could have contacted the police or the local, county, or state road commission to report the roadkill. And if an endangered species is injured or killed in traffic (not an issue in this situation), I should call the state fish and wildlife agency or the nearest FWS Ecological Service field office.

To avoid hitting the animal that we so often see dead on the side of the road—deer—the U.S. Forest Service suggests keeping a close watch for them at dawn and dusk; flashing your lights or honking your horn to frighten deer that are near the road; and looking for other deer after one has crossed the road. If you hit a deer, don't get near it, remove your vehicle from the roadway if you can, and call the police.

Some agencies are using innovative ways to make thoroughfares more wildlife friendly. The Federal Highway Admininstration's website, "Critter Crossings: Linking Habitats and Reducing Roadkill," presents strategies that range from goat bridges to salamander tunnels to help keep animals from being hit by vehicles.

And "Keeping It Simple: Easy Ways to Help Wildlife Along Roads" allows you to search for wildlife friendly road projects in your state. Iowa, for example, has put up a fence along a highway that protects threatened turtles, and Alabama has created a boardwalk to help keep the endangered Perdido Beach Mouse from being stepped on.

Even NASA has to deal with roadkill of a sort: apparently the Space Shuttle hits a few birds on its way up. The agency is looking at an avian radar detection system to solve the problem.

But in spite of an agency's best efforts, roadkill is inevitable sometimes. The results can still be dealt with in an environmentally friendly way, though. So talk about "going green": the Montana Department of Transportation offers a manual on composting roadkill such as deer, elk, bison, and moose. One of their better composting tips: "The more remote the site, the better."

| View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: accidents   animals   cars   endangered   roadkill   stephanie   threatened   vehicles   wildlife  

 

Entry bubble The Hassles of a Stolen Wallet

By: Nicole | April 25, 2008 | Category: Money

Purse Theft

A scary thing happened to me Tuesday night. I was shooting pool with some friends when a stranger tried to snatch my purse. I couldn’t believe it. My purse was a mere five feet away. The guy quietly swiped it, hid it beneath his sweatshirt, and sauntered toward the door. I was lucky. I noticed almost immediately, and the guy was apprehended.

For a few terrible moments, I thought he had gotten away. I began to imagine the hassle of replacing my credit cards, my driver’s license, and my ATM card (not to mention the songs on my iPod). What a mess. So, today, I’ve decided to post a few things you should do, just in case:

  • Keep a list of all of your credit, debit, and ATM cards. This list should include card numbers as well as customer service phone numbers. You might also want to include the fraud hotlines of credit reporting agencies, so you can place a fraud alert on your credit report. You should keep this list somewhere safe and easy to access (but not in your wallet!).
  • Because your Social Security number is a gold mine for identity thieves, never keep your Social Security card in your wallet. If your driver’s license has your Social Security number on it, you should contact your state motor vehicles office and ask for a replacement that doesn’t display your Social Security number.
  • Never keep PIN numbers in your wallet or with your credit or debit cards.

If your wallet has been stolen, the FTC provides a quick list of what to do. And of course, there are lots of other things you can do to avoid identity theft.

Do you have any tips for how to make life difficult for purse snatchers?

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: card   credit   purse   replace   robbery   security   social   theft  

 

Entry bubble Take Your Kids to Work With Kids.gov

By: Nancy | April 24, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

If you're in an office today, you might notice some new faces around the place. Either you really are getting older and the interns are getting younger or your office is participating in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Originally created as Take Our Daughters to Work Day back in 1993 by the Ms. Foundation, girls and boys are both encouraged to head to work today with a parent or other significant adult in their lives. It's not just a free pass from a day at school though; it's a chance for kids to get exposed to workplace culture and to start thinking about career opportunities.

This got me wondering about what career-related links there were on Kids.gov. Turns out, there are a lot. Kids.gov is the government's official web portal for kids, with links to more than 1,200 family-friendly sites. The content is divided into two age groups for kids: K-5th grade and 6th-8th grade. Here's a taste of some of the fun, career-related stuff I found in each age group:
child dressed as doctor 

K - 5th Grade

Most elementary school kids I know love cats and dogs and horses. And that love could translate later into a career as a vet. The American Veterinary Medical Association's animated web site for kids explains the day to day work of a vet and the education that goes into getting a degree in veterinary medicine.

Outer space is always a fascination for kids, as they look at the stars and dream of being astronauts. But not all jobs related to space involve going into space. Using animated stories, NASA's Space Place web site introduces kids to space-related careers including engineering and mapping the stars as an astronomer.

6th - 8th Grade

Mystery...intrigue...maybe the life of an FBI agent who investigates spies is in your kid's future. With the games and quizzes on the FBI's Spy Page, middle schoolers can learn how the FBI uncovers spy tricks and deciphers code words.

Is your kid a good problem solver who loves taking thing apart to find out how they work? They may be perfect for a career as a mechanic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' page on auto mechanics describes the education that goes into becoming a mechanic and their earning potential, whether they work for themselves, a service station or a car dealer.

If I'd had Kids.gov when I was a kid, I might not have gone around telling everybody that I was going to grow up to be a glockenspiel-playing ballerina/hairdresser. None of those things panned out, but that’s ok; being a blogging bureaucrat is a pretty good gig.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

| Post a Comment | View Comments [6] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: career   kids   kids.gov   nancy   work  

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