While listening to the radio, I heard an interesting commercial DTE Energy stated that there is a renewable energy option available NOW! This new project is called Green Currents. I am always interested in saving the environment so continued to listen until they gave me a website to check out on my own. 

Thinking I was going to find the mother load of cool I hit a new stage of euphoria, I went to their new site. It starts out by forwarding you from the green currents page to a DTE product page. I read on. “GreenCurrents is a voluntary green options program that makes being green easy and affordable,” they say.

Excited about the prospect I read the explanation of what renewable energy is and how it will help lessen the impact on the environment. The site even comes with its ownCarbon Emissions Calculator. Still not exactly sure what this new “Renewable Energy Option” was I stumbled across the press release explaining their Green Currents project.

They explained that they are working on creating a wind farm and you can “play a significant role in shaping the future of sustainable energy in Michigan,” and all you need to do is pay DTE more money. 

It is undoubtedly going to cost millions of dollars to switch from the fossil fuel to renewable energy, but it also seems like a great business opportunity for DTE. When you move to a renewable resource DTE will not have to spend money on fuel to keep the generators going and because of this there should be a cost advantage that the early adopters will probably not see any kickback on. If you are interested and live in Michigan you can check it out here. 

I have contacted DTE and when I get a response I will bring you more information on the project and see how DTE plans to make the world a better place without making your wallet too light. 

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Green Currents
Carbon Emissions Calculator
Green Currents Press Release
DTE Residential Green Currents

When considering ways to make your residence more comfortable, temperature is most definitely one of the strongest variables involved. When I started thinking about the temperature inside my home, I wondered about its consistency. Did it actually fluctuate more than it should? What would be a sure way to find this out? Does it matter? 

If you care about efficiency and/or money, then yes, it does. One great way to make sure your temperature is controlled efficiently is by examining your insulation. When a home is well insulated, it is protected from excess heat during the summer and cold during the winter months. In fact, heating and cooling costs can account for almost half of a home’s energy bill in many cases. Insulation is one of the easiest and most affordable ways to reduce costs in the energy bill department. 

In case you did not know, when you look at insulation, you need to know the type by looking at its grade. This grade is measured by something called the “R-Value“. The R-value requirements for your house will vary depending upon where you live, the type of heating you have, and your home’s design. Basically, as the R-value’s number increases, so does its resistance to heat transfer. Insulation can be added anywhere, but to achieve a maximum savings, attics, floors, basements, crawl spaces, walls, and ceilings can all be used. 

To find out more about how your home stacks up to maximizing its efficiency potential, try exploring some of these great resources: 

Insulation Energy Savers -Information and tips. 

Fact Sheet -Facts & R-Values 

Zip-Code Insulation Program -Current & Recommended R-Value 

Insulation-Related Incentives & Rebates 

North American Insulation Manufacturers Association -Information 

Hopefully with the above resources, not only will you be more informed of your household’s insulation situation, but also have the knowledge on where to go from here. If you insulate everything you can, you can also expect to start seeing some major changes in your monthly energy bills! 

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residence more comfortable 

Insulation Energy Savers 

Fact Sheet 

Zip-Code Insulation Program 

Insulation-Related Incentives & Rebates 

North American Insulation Manufacturers Association 

many cases 

R-Value

In the world of iPods, battery conspiracy theories run rampant. Another conspiracy theory is sure to brew with the newly launched iPod Touch and Classic. Today I would like to take a minute to tell you about our future test of the new iPod Classic. There have been substantial changes, but not quite what everyone expected. With rumors of an iPhone without a phone many expected an iPod Touch with a 160 GB hard drive. But as much as it is not what was expected 160 GB is going to give the video market enough space for all the movies they can handle. 

The iPod has always taken a bad rap for the way that the battery is placed in the device. Some say that they battery dies quickly prompting replacement. The problem is that the iPod is a very compact device and can only be opened with special tools. The funny thing about these arguments is that they always start about 2-3 days after the launch of the new iPod. People start to argue that some day they may have a problem. These arguments are still continuing for the newly launched iPhone. My iPod Photo has not had any problems for almost 3 years without any sign of my battery struggling while used almost everyday. 

With the launch of these new iPods, Apple has set forth some lofty goals for battery life and I will be testing one to see if it lives up to its claims. My current iPod Photo has the great battery life of about 8 to 10 hours. The 5th generation (Video iPod) was estimated at 17 to 20 hours of audio playback and two and a half to three hours of video playback. The new 6th generation or iPod Classic is boasting 30 to 40 hours of audio playback and five to seven hours of video playback. This is an extremely large jump and will definitely be good for all of those campers out there. Lets just hope the next one will last a month without charging. 

I have taken on the challenge to test out the new iPod Classic and see if it is everything and a bag of chips. I have ordered the test subject, iPod Classic 160 GB. Apple says that it should arrive in the next week or so. At that time I will be running the iPod through the paces and holding the stopwatch… at 40 hours of audio playback… I will be there for a while… my arm may get tired… but I WILL bring you the results. With the added battery life, if it is to be believed, you will need to use less electricity to charge and you will be able to do more music listening. I will also be doing some research to see if Apples claim that their new iPods are more environmentally friendly., another big topic for debate these days. Come back soon to see the continuation! 

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PC Mag
Apple iPod Classic
Apple Environment