energy

Other Earth-Friendly Days

Posted on 04/19/2013 by | The Ultimate Cheapskate | Comments

Home & Family | Money & Savings | TravelDon’t get me wrong:  as a lifelong environmentalist, I think that Earth Day (April 22) serves an invaluable purpose both as a celebration of our wondrous planet and as an opportunity to draw attention to the many serious – literally “life threatening” – challenges facing our natural environment.  The only problem with Earth Day is that it’s a single day once a year, while our responsibility to the environment is 24/7, every day of the year. The good news is …

Bodies and Brains Suffering from Cheap Food and Cheap Energy

Posted on 10/12/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Personal HealthTwo of the biggest challenges to our personal health are strikingly similar, and similarly difficult and complex to overcome: Cheap, fast, processed food has brought us increases in diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and learning disabilities Cheap, energy – in the form of coal –  has brought us increased heart disease, cancer, asthma, learning diabilities, and neurological disorders in children. While the consequences of our collective lousy diet are sometimes easy to see - our shirt no longer buttons or we can’t zip our favorite jeans - consequences of our addiction …

Lightbulb alert! Another one bites the dust.

Posted on 08/14/2012 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Money & SavingsThe old joke, “How many (blonds, lawyers, etc.) does it take to screw in a lightbulb?” just got more complicated! The old  flourescent tubes that used to illuminate millions of homes, and still light up many garages, workrooms and office buildings, bid their final adieu on Saturday. If you have one of these old fixtures in your home, you’ll need to know your options when the lights go out. T12 bulbs, engineered in the 30′s and used for over 50 years, are …

Time to put a stop to ComEd’s greed

Posted on 06/29/2012 by | All the news that matters for Illinoisans over 50. | Comments

Your LifeHello, blog readers! This is Gerardo from the AARP Illinois communications team! It didn’t really take long for ComEd to reveal the true nature of its so-called ‘smart grid’ law, and guess what? It’s not about modernization, it’s not about jobs – it’s about taking more of your hard-earned money by charging higher rates. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) – the state’s main regulatory agency – recently ordered ComEd to reduce its rates by $169 million in 2012.This was not …

ComEd Owes You Money – And They Won’t Pay Up!

Posted on 03/28/2012 by | All the news that matters for Illinoisans over 50. | Comments

Your LifeHi Illinois friends! This is Gerardo, from the AARP Illinois Communications Team…. I’m sure you’d agree with me – if somebody owed you some money, you’d want them to pay up as soon as possible. What if that somebody owed you $37 million? Well, utility giant Commonwealth Edison owes its Northern Illinois customers $37 million dating back to 2007. The State has ordered them to pay, and pay soon. And ComEd is fighting the order in court. Can you believe …

18 Ways to Save on Utility Bills — And Some Trivia…

Posted on 07/9/2011 by | AARP Blog Author | Comments

Money & SavingsWhat home appliance costs the most to run, and when should it be replaced with a newer model? We’ll get to this trick question in a minute. If saving money on your monthly bills interests you, along with helping the environment, check out 18 Ways to Save on Utilities. Here are a couple of my favorites. Let it hang out: With dryers costing about $85 annually to operate on average, you can save by using a drying rack (usually less …

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