We’ve all seen the footage of slimy, brown birds, crabs and other sea life.   The devastation brought upon us by the BP oil disaster is truly heart breaking.  And infuriating.  Who’s to blame?  The energy companies?  The government agencies?  Maybe it’s even our own selfish needs.  Whoever is ultimately held responsible, the blame, is not what’s important.  Taking ownership, moving forward and learning from our mistakes, that’s what’s important.

Steve Christ, at Seeking Alpha, does a great job of helping us see the bigger picture.  Whether you blame the environmentalists for the requirements to drill so far away or if you blame the energy companies for simply drilling at all, there’s a lesson to be learned.  The mess in the Gulf is a filthy illustration of the need to explore alternate energy sources.  Wind farms are great idea, as are solar panels, but neither produces the amount of energy this country absorbs on a daily basis.   That’s why many eyes are, once again, turning to nuclear power.

Christ writes a powerful endorsement by stating, “For all of its potential faults, nuclear power is the one energy source with the scale to meet our needs that can still be considered environmentally friendly — especially considering the movement to reduce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.”  Is nuclear energy safe?  In the wake of the tragedy in the Gulf, nuclear energy even appears to be the safer alternative.  In fact, France actually generates the majority of its electricity from nuclear power.  It seems to work well for them.

While discussing alternative energy solutions as “green energy”,  Christ quotes Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, as plainly stating, “You can’t be serious about carbon unless you’re serious about nuclear.”

Hopefully, some good will come from the BP oil leak.  Will it be the reemergence of nuclear energy in America?  Perhaps.  Using a portion of the recently tripled nuclear power loan guarantees, The Southern Company recently began construction on the first two nuclear power plants erected in the US in over 30 years .

Between the packing materials and the fuel usage, moving in an environmentally friendly way can be a challenge. With a little planning, however, there are ways to lesson the impact on the environment.

• Reduce the amount of packing materials and the total weight of your belongings by not moving unwanted items. Moving tips always suggest donating, selling or throwing away items before you move. This not only saves you time and expense, but it is also a significant way to reduce the environmental impact of your move.
• That being said, sort through your belongings early. This will allow you to estimate more accurately the number of boxes you will need. Don’t wait until you’re packing.
• Start saving bubble wrap, cardboard boxes, padded envelopes, newspaper and other packing materials to reuse as packing materials. Use towels, bedding and pillows to cushion breakable items.
• Call retail stores and ask if you can pick up boxes they would otherwise discard. Call first, both to avoid driving around looking for boxes and to ask if the lids are still attached. Retailers often cut the tops off boxes to expedite unpacking. Also, ask if they have packing material you can reuse. Companies that sell new boxes also realize the importance of reuse and many accept and redistribute used boxes for free.
• Look into renting plastic moving crates. Depending on where you live and how far you’re moving, that may be an option.
• Once you’ve unpacked, dispose of boxes responsibly. Post them online at Craig’s List or Freecycle for pick-up and reuse. Your moving company may pick them up for recycling as part of their service. Find a U-Haul location that accepts used boxes for re-use.
• Reduce your electricity usage going forward. Don’t pack your old light bulbs unless they are energy-efficient. If you haven’t done it already, now is the time to make the switch.
• Moving also means house cleaning. Use nontoxic, biodegradable cleaners.
• As furniture is being loaded and your doors are open, turn off your AC or heating unit to avoid wasting electricity and natural gas.
• As you notify companies of your new address, take the time to remove yourself from unwanted catalog mailing lists.
• When you’re transferring or setting up household services such as high-speed internet, cable TV or satellite TV, phone service, natural gas, electricity and waste, sign up for e-billing.
• Depending on where you live, there may be moving companies that use low-emission, fuel-efficient trucks powered by bio-diesel. Regardless, consider the size and type of truck or trailer necessary for your move and its fuel-efficiency.

One of the easiest steps you can take to reduce energy consumption in your home starts with your lights. Think about how many individual light bulbs are in your house. Now, think about how often those lights are actually used on a daily basis. Reducing global warming won’t happen over night, but reducing your energy bill is a great place to start.

Traditional incandescent light bulbs use heat to produce light. If you’ve ever changed a recently burnt out bulb, you’ve probably felt the heat that one bulb produces. It’s hot to the touch! Not only does the incandescent bulb use large amounts of electricity, but it also produces large amounts of heat. That’s a double whammy to your energy bill and the planet.

Compact fluorescent bulbs, on the other hand, generally use 75% less energy than traditional light bulbs. A fairly recent trend, compact fluorescents are easily recognizable by their swirl of white tubes. Once thought to be too obtrusive for traditional light fixtures, manufacturers have adopted a more traditional “light bulb” shape. Still using the swirled tubes, compact fluorescents now look and feel like your energy hogging incandescent bulbs. However, they use far less energy and produce almost no heat.

According to ENERGY STAR, a joint venture between the EPA and Department of Energy, “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.”

Now, not every fixture in your home will be able to use compact fluorescent bulbs. That’s likely to be your track lighting or chandeliers. However, if you changed all of your overhead fixtures, lamps, and ceiling fan bulbs to compact fluorescents . . .

When it comes to energy efficiency, many of the ideas and programs from our energy companies are in their infancy. However, the ability to remain flexible and adapt at home will help lead us to energy independence and efficient use of our current technologies. Today’s energy companies recognize we’re ready to help and are working to bring new products to every market. We’re all in this together and together we can make a difference. It’s up to us to make the small changes now, so we can make a big impact later.

There are several easy things you can do to make your home more energy efficient.

• Use caulk and weather stripping to properly seal windows and doors. This will reduce drafts, heat loss, and over air conditioning.
• Use ceiling fans in the summer and winter. A counter clockwise rotation will provide a breeze in the summer, while a slow, clockwise rotation will push heat down in the winter.
• Regularly replace your furnace air filters. A clogged air filter makes your furnace and air conditioner work extra hard to deliver hot or cool air to the rooms of your house. Routinely replacing your furnace air filter removes the blockage, letting the air flow through more easily.
• Replace energy wasting incandescent light bulbs with energy saving compact fluorescents. Compact fluorescents typically use 75% less energy and produce far less heat than traditional bulbs.

It all starts in the home. It all starts with you. The energy companies are the driving force behind the research to make a better future, but it’s up to us to embrace energy efficiency right now. It might not seem like we’re doing much, but if everyone completed the four easy steps above we’d be in a much better place than we are today.

Recycled natural gas and landfill gas are two terms natural gas customers are hearing more frequently, especially when the topic is green energy. But what exactly do these terms mean and how do they impact customers?

First, landfill gas. Landfill gas (LFG) is the natural by-product that is created as solid waste in landfills begins decomposing. In other words, it’s the gas emitted from rotting garbage. Comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and methane, landfill gas contributes to smog, odors, global climate change (methane is a greenhouse gas), and it’s flammable. However, instead of allowing this recycled natural gas to escape into the air, natural gas companies can capture, convert, and use it as an energy source.

Landfill gas becomes recycled natural gas when it is processed and added into the existing natural gas distribution system for delivery to homes and businesses. Thanks to new technologies, the result is a cleaner and safer environment with no difference in the natural gas service being provided. Recycled natural gas means that the gas was generated in a landfill.

So, it’s a win-win. The dangers of landfill gas are reduced and the natural gas supply is increased. And it’s eco-friendly and sustainable. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, landfills are one of the largest sources of methane gas emissions in the United States, accounting for 25 percent of all methane sources. However, of the 1,800 municipal landfills in the U.S., which accept approximately 60 percent of all municipal solid waste, less than 500 are capturing and converting LFG. One of these is the Live Oak Landfill in metro Atlanta. Georgia natural gas customers are already benefiting from this DeKalb County landfill that is capable of producing enough natural gas to fuel approximately 15,000 homes and could produce recycled gas for about 15 years. This process is also contributing to better natural gas prices for people in this area.