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A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

What is a "ton" of carbon dioxide anyway?

When I first started reading about climate change and all of the carbon dioxide emissions, I wondered what they meant by a “ton” of carbon dioxide, or...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Dec. 1, 2019
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Dec 8, 2019 at 9:29 am | 15 comments | 96861 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Calculate your EV mileage (custom for CA)

There was an interesting discussion in the comments of a recent blog post, and I thought it would...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on May. 30, 2019
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Jun 6, 2019 at 1:15 pm | 15 comments | 77852 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Demystifying heat pump water heaters

There is a surprising amount of water heater inertia in our area -- we are clinging to old-style heaters. I’ve been scratching my head about it. Mid-peninsula...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Jan. 17, 2021
Last comment by MrScott, on Mar 28, 2021 at 3:37 pm | 27 comments | 62034 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

How much time do we have left?

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a good Independence Day weekend and is staying healthy and hopeful. After a little holiday break we are back at it with today’s...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Jul. 12, 2020
Last comment by Thanks for Discorse, on Jul 16, 2020 at 10:59 am | 24 comments | 51384 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

What to do if you get a noisy Rheem/Ruud heat pump water heater

One of the reasons that people have favored the Rheem/Ruud heat pump water heaters is because they are quiet. Rated at a low 49 dB, you could install one in most...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on May. 22, 2022
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Aug 20, 2022 at 2:04 pm | 20 comments | 44998 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Will you save money with a heat pump water heater?

==I This is the second post in a two-part series about heat pump waters heaters. The first post is

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Jan. 24, 2021
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Jan 25, 2021 at 12:03 pm |
6 comments | 44095 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Electric vs Gas Heat: Which wins?

With colder weather coming, it’s a good time to think about our heating emissions. They represent a sizable chunk of California’s overall emissions,...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Oct. 6, 2019
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Oct 13, 2019 at 2:28 pm | 18 comments | 36093 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

I don't believe in laundry strips

I don’t believe in laundry strips. Is something wrong with me, and what does this mean for our chances of dealing with climate change? ==I...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Mar. 7, 2021
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Mar 21, 2021 at 8:57 pm | 16 comments | 35782 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Living with a Heat Pump Water Heater

This is going to be a pretty short blog post because it turns out it’s not all that interesting living with a heat pump water heater. It works, it’s...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Aug. 21, 2022
Last comment by Sam Li, on Aug 30, 2022 at 3:48 am | 27 comments | 34183 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Kill two birds with one ... mini-split!

Mini-splits are the multi-tools of HVAC. They can heat, they can cool, and they are very modular -- you can put in as few or as many as you want, where you want....

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Feb. 28, 2021
Last comment by RMRN, on Mar 8, 2021 at 9:05 am | 16 comments | 32586 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

The Best Time to Charge an EV

==I Note: The content in this post is largely specific to the state of California. Other regions will have different power mixes, so the best times to charge an...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on May. 12, 2019
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Jun 7, 2019 at 4:56 pm | 24 comments | 31007 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Your electric panel

Can you convert your gas furnace to an electric heat pump? How much space is in your panel? There's more than you might think! This is the second in a three-part...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Oct. 10, 2021
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Oct 14, 2021 at 1:39 pm | 8 comments | 31003 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Using heat pump specs to answer your common sense questions

In this last post of a mini-

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Oct. 17, 2021
Last comment by DJ, on Oct 21, 2021 at 9:53 pm |
11 comments | 30655 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Online vs In-Store Shopping: Which wins?

Now that Halloween is over, ‘tis the season for holiday shopping. I’ve been wondering whether shopping in stores or online generates fewer emissions....

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Nov. 3, 2019
Last comment by Anonymous, on Nov 8, 2019 at 7:49 pm | 14 comments | 30406 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Is renewable diesel the real deal?

Have you noticed the flags advertising “Renewable Diesel” at local 76 stations? I did and wondered if it was the real deal or a form of “greenwashing,”...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Sep. 19, 2021
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Oct 8, 2021 at 11:13 am | 12 comments | 30358 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Would you want a wind turbine in your backyard?

After I posted about the use of eminent domain for power...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Jun. 14, 2020
Last comment by Dr. René Sternke, on Aug 4, 2020 at 8:16 am | 51 comments | 28939 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Would you take a bus to LA?

Buses are climate-friendly, cheap to ride, and don’t require any special tracks or right of ways. They are an important transportation alternative on our warming...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Jul. 28, 2019
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Aug 8, 2019 at 7:39 pm | 37 comments | 28784 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Composting Works

The question that I was asked the most when I started this blog was: “Can you please find out what is happening with our recycling?” There has been a...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on Mar. 17, 2019
Last comment by Sherry Listgarten, on Mar 25, 2019 at 7:19 pm | 3 comments | 28681 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

Should you read the comments?

Comments are a big part of this online paper. The “Town Square” forum is featured prominently and the staff spends a good amount of time moderating the...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on May. 10, 2020
Last comment by Jennifer, on May 17, 2020 at 5:26 pm | 48 comments | 27986 Views

A NEW SHADE OF GREEN

The Weird Thing about Population Growth

There are a lot of people on the planet, with more added every day. It took 200,000 years to get to one billion...

Original post made by Sherry Listgarten on May. 17, 2020
Last comment by CrescentParkAnon., on Jun 19, 2020 at 12:05 am | 29 comments | 27731 Views
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Worried about the cost of climate change? Here is some hope.
By Sherry Listgarten | 25 comments | 3,694 views

The Time and Cost Savings of Avoiding a Long Commute
By Steve Levy | 2 comments | 620 views

 

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