MISSION ENVIRONMENT Take Action Now and Save the Environment

So, by browsing Mission Environment’s website for a few minutes, you can see that there are many ways to save money on your energy bill - but some cost money. Now, I like to believe people are intelligent, and realize that a small investment in your home to save energy yields great savings in the future.

But this blog post is for everyone who is too lazy to take that 15-minute trip to Home Depot, or for the overzealous energy saver that is looking to pinch more pennies. In fact, this post is for everyone that has a refrigerator!

1. Take a peak or have a plan BEFORE opening the fridge!
The longer the door stays open, the more energy you are wasting. Everyone, and I mean everyone stands in front of the refrigerator in a semi-daze searching for the perfect food to fix their hunger. The truth is that you already know what is in your fridge, so get in and get out as quick as possible.

2. Do NOT place hot foods directly in the fridge!
Have hot leftovers? Do not put them directly in the fridge! This will waste substantial amounts of energy - you have no idea. Just leave the food on the table or on the kitchen counter until it is cooler.

3. Clean up the mess!
Your refrigerator works by keeping cool air flowing inside the refrigerator. If you have an endless clutter of old, moldy leftovers and foods from the 80s, then you should probably consider starting your spring cleaning early - at least for the fridge! If your fridge is jam packed, then airflow is not optimal, which overworks your fridge and your energy bill.

4. Use the right temperature!
Your fridge should be between 36 and 38 degrees and your freezer should be about 3 degrees. Any cooler and you are just wasting money. Do not have a thermometer? Well, if you take a sip of your milk or juice and it freezes your teeth to the point of pain, then your fridge is probably a bit too cold. Refer to your manual to use the optimal temperature.

Well, there you have it. Four solid tips that you can do literally right now that will save money on your energy bill. After all, your refrigerator is roughly 15% of your energy bill, so get going and Take Action!

During the days following Super Tuesday, we have lost a few candidates - Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards, we have seen harsh battles between the two democratic candidates, and we have basically seen John McCain lock up the Republican Nomination. We can safely say that there are three candidates left that could possibly be elected president - Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Between the blog article written in January on McCain and the fact that he is practically the Republican Candidate, I bet most people assume he is the best choice for the Republicans for office - but what about the environment?

Recently, there was a vote in the Senate that would ultimately have boosted investment in green technology. It failed by a slim margin. McCain was not present to vote, which now makes his attendance record hovering around 50% since his campaign began - much lower then any of his fellow candidates. Is it old age? Possibly. Is it lack of motivation to help the environment? Maybe. Is he still a good choice for the environment? To a certain extent, yes, but to a much lesser degree.

So who is the best choice between Hillary and Barack? They both have similar plans on the environment, so how do we distinguish who would be the best candidate? We must analyze the details.

Barack Obama has a cheaper and more effective healthcare plan. Not only does this show us that he is more fiscally responsible, but is means he trusts and understands how the market works, which will be very important to become energy independent with renewable energy. It also means he has extra money to pay off our national debt and invest a little more in education and green technology.

Hillary Clinton still received money from corporate interests. How does this effect our decision? Well, think back to the last election. Bush and Cheney received money from interests in the oil industry. During their two terms, we fought a war over oil, price of oil went up dramatically, oil companies produced record profits while at the same time receiving tax credits, subsidies and other benefits. Surprise? No. Do we want this to happen again? Absolutely not. Now, we are not saying Hillary Clinton takes money from oil companies, but it is the principal of details. See the videos in the John Edwards post to see her response to receiving money from lobbyists.

There are many other reasons we feel Barack Obama is the candidate for the environment, just like Grist.org feels, as well as many other environmental groups. We have opened up the comments section in this blog, so feel free to post your opinions.