Ohio Residents! Are you getting the best price on your Home Energy?

Ohio Residents!

Are you getting the best price on your Home Energy?

Thanks to a change in regulation, Ohio Residences are now able to shop around for their Electric and Natural Gas Provider.  This means you could be saving money on your monthly energy bill.  The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) has created the “Apples to Apples” website to provide residential consumers with a snapshot comparison of current natural gas and electric supplier price options and contract terms. The PUCO updates the Apples to Apples charts on a regular basis and verifies each supplier offer to ensure accuracy. The charts list only the certified Natural Gas and Electric suppliers and aggregators that are actively enrolling new residential customers.

How to take advantage of this opportunity:

1.      Go to PUCO’s Apple to Apples website, http://www.puco.ohio.gov/puco/index.cfm/apples-to-apples/

2.      Select the Apples to Apples chart for your local electric distribution company from the list below.

·     AEP

·     DP&L

·     Duke

·     First Energy

3.      Compare the supplier offers contained in the chart with the “Price to Compare” shown on your electric bill.  Note the "Tariff" code referenced in some of the Offer Details can be found on your monthly electric bill, under the charges from the utility. 

4.      Choose the current offer and contract terms that work best for your personal situation.

5.      Then Enroll.  It is that easy

Watch outs:

·        As with all contracts, consumers should carefully read and understand all terms and conditions before signing any forms or agreeing to enroll with a supplier for natural gas or electric service.

·        The Energy Market is ever changing and the best rate today may not be the best rate tomorrow. However, locking in a rate will reduce the fluctuation of energy cost for the contract term.

·        Some Ohio communities have negotiated prices and terms with energy providers for their residents and allowed residence to ‘opt-in’ to the aggregation.   

·        Please be advised that if you are currently enrolled in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan (PIPP PLUS), you are not eligible to enroll with or switch to an alternate supplier.

·        If you are currently enrolled with an alternate supplier, and want to enroll with a different supplier prior to the expiration of your current contract, you may be subject to an Early Termination Fee.

Save Money by Using the Right Light Bulb

Save Money by using the Right Light Bulb Compare the Features of Incandescent, CFL and LED bulbs
	LED	CFL	Incandescent
Light bulb projected lifespan	50,000 hours	10,000 hours	1,200 hours
Watts per bulb (equiv. 60 watts)	10	14	60
Cost per bulb	$35.95	$3.95	$1.25
KWh of electricity used over 50,000 hours	300 500	700	3000
Cost of electricity (@ 0.10per KWh)	$50	$70	$300
Turns on instantly	yes	slight delay	yes
Durability	durable	fragile	fragile
Hazardous Materials	none	5 mg mercury/bulb	none

Resource

http://eartheasy.com/live_led_bulbs_comparison.html

Vegan Challenge Week 5

Happy Late Earth Day!  Earth Day marks week 5 vegan.  I love Earth Day and what better way to celebrate it than by being vegan!  One of the lowest impact diets to the planet!

This year I was given the opportunity to teach a 35 minutes session on Sustainability with a co-worker on Monday to a few interested peers.  The session went well.  But when the topic is saving money while doing something good for the planet, it tends to get people’s attention.  I also organized my team’s participation on my site’s Earth Day Fair and worked on the overall Earth Day team for my site.  Yes I am a bit of an overzealous tree hugger! And I am very proud of my team’s effort in Earth Day Fair.  With a few suggestion I organized my team, Energy Purchases, booth.  We educated co-workers on what we are doing for the company, what they can do to save money on their utility bill and even what is the best light bulb.  I enjoyed 2 things. 

1.       Watching people’s face as I explained how they can save money (I was just after the energy conservation which leads to a little less CO₂ while they were after the savings).

2.       The fact that I was able to show my manager what a value our participation can bring to the company.  He also enjoyed watching people’s face after we promised to save them money and the sense of community it brought.  As I knew it would J

So now I am back into the routine of work and vegan.  This week has been one of the hardest.  And not because I have cravings or anything but because I am fighting off a cold or something and I am just exhausted.  I am not really sure what I have so everyone says ‘are you getting enough protein or sugar?’  ha what can you do? 

Today marks 1 week till I give blood and plan to end the vegan only diet.  Ironically I got a letter in the mail asking me to donate blood and that they need my type.  Silly Hoxworth, I am scheduled for May 2^nd.  What I like about this vegan challenge is that I no longer crave chocolate and cheese as I once did and that I know I can do it and be fine.  So you may read this and say ‘but Valerie you keep mentioning that you don’t feel very good’ yes that is true, however I have stopped taking birth control and been trying for a baby.  Most women experience similar symptoms as I have when they give up birth control. 

Anyway I hope my experience helps you try vegan and not shy away!

My Thoughts on the Great Coal Debate

In the USA we have an abundant supply of coal.  Coal was generated over long periods of time from the breakdown of plant matter.  It is a black sedimentary rock that contains carbon, hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen among other minerals.  It has been used as a fuel for hundreds of years as it is a slow burning but dirty fuel.  Today about 44% of the US’s electric comes from coal. 

There are a few advantages to coal.  These are:  in the USA we have a lot of it, a lot of technology to mine it and a lot of technology to burn it.  Some also say it is cheap.  The disadvantage: we have ruined many ecosystems and removed many mountain tops to get it; many people have died mining it; burning it releases tons of emissions that have been linked to Climate Change, respiratory problems, cancer and many other diseases.  So though some say it is a cheap fuel it is only because the disadvantages do not have a price tag in our current market.  If we could put a price tag on these disadvantages we would find that coal is very expensive. 

OK we do have the infrastructure to mine, transport and burn coal so naturally there has been funds directed to understanding if there are ways of making coal clean and to compete with low emission energy such as solar and wind.   There are two developments in the US.

1 The EPA has begun reducing the emission allowed in the coal burning power plants.  This is forcing older dirtier plants to close and newer ones to invest in new technology to remove more toxins from the emissions of the plant. 

2. Clean Coal: several new technologies that are designed to remove much of the carbon out of the coal or the emissions and turn it into a product that can be placed into locations other than the air.  This is done by scrubbing the coal or the emissions or through gasifying the coal and removing it in the process among other processes. 

Clean Coal sounds like a good idea.  What are the issues with it then? It is a new technology that can be very costly and some are not very effective.  Once the carbon is separated from the coal, the issue becomes what to do with it.  This is the same issue we face with manure ponds, coal ash ponds, natural gas fracking waste water, consumer waste and nuclear toxic waste.  Much of this can be cleaned, recycled and put back into the environment but that is expensive.  So the option has been to inject or bury it into other locations.  In the case of Clean Coal the carbon is then being injected into salt mines or old gas drilling mines or even into the ocean.  My issue with this is we need studies to show what the impact is to the environment when this is done.  I do not agree with injecting it into the deep ocean as, the ocean, is suffering so much today with all the other toxic materials in it and the whole planet’s ecosystem is dependent on it.  When the carbon is injected into the land and old mines I am concerned that there may be issues as we have seen with industrial fracking and geothermal. 

In my opinion the US’s energy is better spent on technologies to improve energy conservation in home and industry and in the grid.  As well as invest in improving renewable technologies.  After all “We have not inherited this earth from our parents to do with it what we will. We have borrowed it from our children and we must be careful to use it in their interests as well as our own” Moses Henry Cass

Resources:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/clean-coal.htm

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/energy/stories/what-is-clean-coal

Week 4 - Gone Vegan

                I have made it to week four of my vegan challenge only I didn’t really make it.  I enjoyed cheese and eggs Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I had planned on doing this due to our plans to go to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky with nine other friends.  I could have committed and skip the Miguel’s Pizza but that feels like a sin when I only get the chance to have it once or twice a year.  Excuses excuses….  So I am back on the wagon and vegan world again.  Week four was kind of hard to get back into the routine but not bad.  I am keeping my eyes on May 2.  That is the day I will be giving blood and get a chance to look at my cholesterol.  I will also do all the same tests I did several weeks ago.  I am hoping for a bit of change.  I have not really seen any changes in my weight, so I will be curious if there will be other benefits. 

                I had intended to begin juicing after returning from the Red River Gorge.  It is a big commitment and I haven’t had a chance to begin.  I have been busy starting my seedlings and getting caught up from work and tasks around the house.   So that is my plan to begin that soon. I need to remind myself how great I feel when I juice.

I had hoped that trying vegan I would begin feeling better.  This makes about 8 weeks since I haven’t had a good night sleep.  It is getting the best of me.  I am feeling run down, unmotivated and a bit loopy.  I want to change this!  So I have been watching my gluten intake but not as closely as possible.  I find it hard to go vegan and gluten free.

                Are you interested in the Red River Gorge?  Well it is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.  It is 2.5-3 hours south of Cincinnati.  If you like hiking, climbing, camping or repelling, you need to go to the park.  It is a beautiful place.  We try to go a few times a year.  This trip we did 3 hikes and 2 I have never done before.  We hiked to Natural Bridge, climbed through the rock at Cloud Splitter, and then Sunday before we headed home we hit up Indian Staircase.  I have some pictures.  This was a great trip because we did a few of those ‘secret trails’.  Most trails are on maps and in books but there are a few not widely advertised.  Possibly because they are a bit dangerous.  We luckily had a few experienced hikers to help, people like me, get through some of them.



Cloud Splitter






The view after climbing through Cloud Splitter

 



Indian Staircase

 



Looking up at my friends at Indian Staircase

 

Day 13 of the Engine 2 Diet

I will be honest I am not in love with this vegan challenge.  I think it is more because of everything else.  I am still always tired and not sure if it is just because I stopped birth control.  It has been 7 weeks since I stopped the pill and I haven’t had a good night sleep and woke up feeling refreshed since.  I have been tired for 7 weeks!  I had hoped this challenge would help.  I think I need to go back to juicing. 

So this week was just like any other.  I shared my Quinoa recipe which I had for a few meals.  Yesterday I made pasta, veggies and roasted walnuts.  I had a super craving for pasta.  It is one of my weaknesses.  Pasta,  french fries and peanut butter… Yum.  I normally love cheese too but I am surprised how easy it has been to give it and chocolate up.  I mean I want to eat them but don’t have cravings for them.

I want to try to reduce the gluten in my diet but I haven’t had time to do all the research I need on it.  I plan to do what I am doing now for the next week.  I am going to the Red River Gorge in KY next weekend so I will do my best to stay on the challenge.  My game plan is to try juicing once I return.  I have tried it once before and loved it but it takes a lot of commitment.  I find it hard to commit with all the excuses to go out for lunch and dinner. 

About a year ago I watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  A documentary, you can find it on Netflix, which walks through Joe Cross’s efforts to juice across America.  His goal was to reverse his health problems by giving his body pure nutrition.  I recommend watching the video.  It is motivational and then if you join the website or Facebook page you will see a ton of people who also have great experience.  I will warn you that you will have a bit of withdrawal.  I think the first 5 days were very hard.  I still ate but only veggies and fruit and very little.  90% or more of my diet was juice.  After the first 5 days I felt really good and had more energy and ended up losing 15lbs.  It was awesome.  I even felt old injuries heal.  You do need a juicer and not a blender.  You need to take out the fiber from the fruit and veggies and only getting the nutrition.  Now everyone asks if I get enough protein.  Just look at the cow, the buffalo, hippo, elephant and gorilla.  Each one only eats vegetation and they are some of the largest and strongest animals on the planet. 

So that is my game plan.  3 weeks vegan and 1 week juice and slowly reduce gluten.  I can’t wait to have my blood work done, May 2^nd to see if it has improved. And retest my heart beat to see if this is worth it.

Vegan Week 2 with a Recipe!!!

So it is Tuesday and this marks the beginning of week two!  I can’t believe I have made it this far and it wasn’t that bad!!! So I have noticed the last few days I have been in a better mood and had more energy.  I can’t say for sure if it is because of the challenge but I will take it. I lost weight the first few days then I put it right back on the fallowing few days then lost it again.  Crazy.  I do fluctuate but for me it is typically about 2 lbs. e very few days.  I am not going to get too excited just yet.

                My husband is sick today so when I got home I tried to make something healthy that he would eat.  I took a recipe on the Quinoa and made it my own.  Let me share.

·         1 Cup of quinoa; cook as directed

·         1 Can of northern white beans drained, rinsed, and cooked as directed

·         2 Cups of frozen cauliflower cooked as directed

·         2 Cups of frozen broccoli cooked as directed

·         ½ Cup of pine nuts roasted.  Watch these closes they roast fast.  I typically do like 5 min in a toaster oven (add  last to individual dishes)

·         ½ Tablespoon olive oil: you can add more for taste

·         ½ Tablespoon Ume Plum Vinegar: you can add more for taste

·         ¼ teaspoon dried mint

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         Mix all of the ingredients and if it is a little cool microwave it for a few min before adding the pine nuts

I loved it but my husband said the beans we a little dry.  Hope you can try this and make it your own!