|
Air Quality and Solid Waste Divisions, and
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities Mecklenburg Utilities
Sponsored by the
Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for
Small Business at UNC Charlotte, The Environmental Corner
is designed to serve as an environmental
management and pollution prevention resource
May 2007
Summertime Greening
Introduction:
High energy costs are an important concern that
affect consumers and businesses alike. While they
affect all North Carolina citizens, they are of
particular concern to farmers, homeowners and small
businesses. Its important to take steps to reduce
expenses where possible.Extremely high or low
temperatures can have a dramatic affect on energy
use and costs. While such temperature extremes do
not happen often, they are difficult to predict.
Since we can't control energy prices, or the weather
itself, the important thing is to make sure that
homes, businesses and farms are as energy efficient
as possible. This means taking conservation steps
before extreme temperatures - winter or summer -
arrive in earnest.
Top of page
Plan your travel
Improve the Gas Mileage:
Keep
your engine properly tuned
Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has
failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage
by an average of 4 percent, though results vary
based on the kind of repair and how well it is done.
Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a
faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as
much as 40 percent.
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
4% |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
$0.12/gallon |
Check and replace air filter regularly
Replacing a clogged air filter can improve your
car's gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Your
car's air filter keeps impurities from damaging the
inside of your engine. Not only will replacing a
dirty air filter save gas, it will protect your
engine.
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
up to 10% |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
up to $0.30/gallon |
Keep tires properly inflated (pumpemup)
According to Pump em Up, proper tire inflation
could save Americans 4 million gallons of gas each
day, hundreds of dollars each year on gas and extend
the life of their tires by 25 percent.You can
improve your gas mileage by around 3.3 percent by
keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure.
Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by 0.4
percent for every 1 psi drop in pressure of all four
tires. Properly inflated tires are safer and last
longer.
To contact Pump 'Em Up, please call 813-732-6611 or
email
info@pumpemup.org.
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
up to 3% |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
up to $0.09/gallon |
Use the recommended grade of motor oil
You can improve your gas mileage by 1-2 percent by
using the manufacturer's recommended grade of motor
oil. For example, using 10W-30 motor oil in an
engine designed to use 5W-30 can lower your gas
mileage by 1-2 percent. Using 5W-30 in an engine
designed for 5W-20 can lower your gas mileage by
1-1.5 percent. Also, look for motor oil that says
"Energy Conserving" on the API
|
Fuel Economy Benefit: |
1-2% |
|
Equivalent Gasoline Savings: |
$0.03-$0.06/gallon |
$ cost:
Only by checking air pressure in your tires you can
get better gas mileage. Saving $3 per gallon and
finally $432per year considering your average rate
of fuel consumption.
Extra fuel car consumed due to inflated tires is
20.8 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted in atm/gallon
of fuel consumed.
|
FROM |
TO |
MILES |
GALLONS USED |
FUEL COST |
|
NC, Charlotte |
NY, NY City |
1256 |
41.86 |
133.48 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
Fl, Orlando |
1040 |
34.68 |
108.64 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
SC, Myrtlebeach |
340 |
11.34 |
34.80 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
VA, Richmond |
572 |
19.06 |
59.02 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
DC, Washington |
784 |
26.14 |
82.48 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
WY, Yellowstone |
4072 |
135.74 |
428.38 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
CA, Los Angeles |
4796 |
159.86 |
524.74 |
|
NC, Charlotte |
NV, Las Vegas |
4354 |
145.14 |
460.08 |
Calculate The Estimated Fuel Cost Of Your Trip
[http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/]
How to
save Gas?
It's a Gas, Gas, Gas
Buy hybrid, electric or very low
consumption cars. Buy cars painted in
light colors so that AC use during the
summer is reduced. Use car pooling
whenever possible to reduce fuel
consumption, auto emissions and traffic
congestion. And when renting, a
Boulder, Colorado resident suggests,
request a hybrid and suggest to the
rental agency -- some of which already
offer hybrids -- that it switch a
certain percentage of its fleet to
hybrids and then increase that
percentage each year. This way drivers
can "test drive" these rental cars and
see how similar they are to gas-only
cars ... except when it comes to filling
them up! (For more driving tips
click here.)
-
Carpool
-
Ride a Bus/bicycle
-
Pack a lunch or walk to lunch.
-
Conserve electricity.
-
Avoid idling your vehicle.
-
Refuel and mow after 6:00 p.m.
Top of page
Lawn Management
Over-watered lawns frequently lead to excess blade
growth, summer fungal diseases, and more frequent
mowing. Excessive watering also wastes water and
increases the risk of fertilizer and pesticide
runoff from the lawn to paved surfaces. This could
negatively impact local water quality.
Tips for better watering
-
Deep and infrequent watering maintains a healthy
root system and reduces weed infestation (as
opposed to light and frequent irrigation, which
promotes shallow roots and germination of weed
seeds).
-
Applying one inch of water is often difficult to
achieve in a single watering given the slow
infiltration rate on most Virginia soils.
Therefore, smaller amounts of water applied
every three to four days may be required to
allow water to enter the soil without causing
runoff.
-
Water is best applied early in the day (5:00 to
10:00 a.m.) when evaporation loss is lowest.
Afternoon watering is acceptable but wind may
affect uniformity. Night watering minimizes
evaporation, but may increase fungal diseases.
Consider that numerous automatic sprinklers all
running during periods of high household use
(early morning) may place extreme demands on a
community's water system.
-
Water the lawn, not driveways, sidewalks, or
roads, by adjusting sprinkler heads.
-
Mow your grass at the right height during the
summer. Longer grass blades increase the depth
of the root system, shade the soil, and help
drought tolerance (see following table).
Mowing Heights in Inches for Grass to Improve
Drought Tolerance.
|
1 to 1.5" |
2 to 2.5" |
2.5 to 3" |
|
bermudagrass
zoysiagrass |
centipedegrass |
tall fescue
Kentucky bluegrass
perennial ryegrass
fineleaf fescues
St. Augustinegrass |
-
If your current grass is not drought tolerant,
consider replacing it with one that is.
-
Precondition your cool-season lawn for summer by
applying fertilizer in the late summer or early
fall, avoiding large spring applications of
nitrogen-containing fertilizers. This favors
root growth and better drought tolerance. Lush,
over fertilized lawns require more water.
-
Remember that newly sodded or seeded lawns
require more frequent watering (for the first
three to four weeks) than do well-established
lawns, those older than 12 months.
-
Keep your mower blade sharp.
-
Annual core aeration can loosen compacted soil
and allow water to infiltrate deeper into the
ground.
Types Of Sprinklers
Most irrigation sprinklers are used
as part of a sprinkler system,
consisting of various plumbing
parts, piping and control equipment.
Piping is connected to the water
source via plumbing fittings and the
control system opens and close
valves to provide water on a
schedule. The control provided
varies depending on the equipment
used; some systems are fully
automated and even compensate for
rain, runoff and evaporation, while
others require much more user
attention for the same
effectiveness.
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Typical Lawn Sprinkler
|
Rotatory Sprinkler while
working |
An Irrigation Plan in Garden |
To know more about lawn sprinklers
[http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Lawn_Sprinkler]
Top of page
Water Conservation in Summer
Please conserve water! This
summer promises to be a dry one and the forecast is
for drought conditions through November. State and
local government and the public should conserve
water statewide because drought conditions are
worsening and it is difficult to predict where or
Please check around your property for leaks, water
your yard less frequently, and use low-flow
fixtures. Together we can protect our water
resources.
The Governor also recommends the following
voluntary conservation measures for all North
Carolina residents:
Take shorter showers.
Do not leave the water running while
rinsing dishes, shaving or brushing teeth.
Limit car washing. Use a bucket and a hose
with a spray attachment.
Add compost and other organic matter to
your soil to improve its water-holding capacity.
Keep a pitcher of cold water in the fridge,
instead of running tap water until it is cold.
Use a bucket to water your plants, not a
hose.
Water lawns in the morning or evening, not
in the heat of the day, to prevent evaporation.
For more information about water conservation please
visit following link.
http://www.charlottecountyfl.com/CCU/pdf/50WaterConservationTips.pdf
Drought officials say moderate drought has now
spread from the mountains to the southern coast of
North Carolina and much of the rest of the state is
experiencing abnormally dry conditions. For a more
detailed map, go to
www.ncdrought.org.
Top of page
Greening
the Office
Several readers wrote in to suggest a
proactive "paper tack" at the office.
Despite technological advances, paper
use in offices across America is on the
rise. If you work in a small office,
suggest that your office manager look
into ways to recycle and use
environmentally sensitive supplies. And
large companies aren't immune to turning
a new page, either - Citicorp has
adopted 30% postconsumer recycled paper
at all its locations. Also, encourage
2-sided printing when hard copies are
necessary. (Say it with a sign you can
download
here.)
-
Raise room temperature just a few
degrees.
-
Close the shades. If you have large
office windows, close the shades to
reduce air conditioning loads for
energy savings.
-
Maximize energy savings during
summer hours.
-
Watch those copiers. The heated
paper driers in copy machines
consume huge amounts of electricity.
If possible, designate a primary
copier in your office which you can
leave on, then turn off other
copiers, saving them for large
copying jobs or when there are
backlogs at the primary copier.
-
Replace incandescent light bulbs
with fluorescent bulbs.
-
Install room-sentry light switches.
-
Unplug your laptop during the day.
Top of page
The Environmental Assistance Office for Small
Business provides non-regulatory,
client-confidential pollution prevention assistance
to small businesses in the greater Charlotte region.
The EAO is designed to assist regional businesses in
their efforts to voluntarily prevent pollution. The
EAO staff can provide timely assistance for
pollution prevention planning, including information
about industry-specific case studies, waste-specific
case studies, and new technologies. The office
provides links of resources to needs between the
region's business community, government,
municipality, and university. If there is a
particular issue or question you would like to see
in an upcoming edition, please send an e-mail to
EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu
Contact Information:
Environmental Assistance Office for Small Business:
9201 University City Blvd. 258 Cameron Building, UNC
Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28233-0001
Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115
Email:
EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu
Services:
-
Assistance with Air Permits - Assistance for
small businesses in completing paperwork for EPA
air permits.
-
Educational Materials - Educational pamphlet,
brochures, flyers, and other materials to relate
facts on pollution prevention.
-
Educational Outreach - Develop educational
outreach campaigns and presentations for the
public or employee training.
-
University Resources - Library information,
faculty expertise, student projects and research
at both graduate and undergraduate levels.
Top of page
|
