Posts by: erin

The climate is changing and I’m getting cold feet

This time of year, we play a strange game of "chicken" at my house, watching each other to see who will break down and turn on the heat. We have radiant heat, which means a boiler circulates hot water through pipes in the cement foundation, warming it; the warm foundation in turn warms the floors which in turn radiate heat… read more →

Crunching numbers on my home energy use

During an attempt to bring order to our household files, my husband and I discovered that we saved enough utility bills to reconstruct a nearly complete record of our household energy and water use since we moved in in 2000. Unable to let such a treasure trove sit idle, I ordered the pile and input everything into a spreadsheet. I… read more →

Acting locally, in the local manner

I was chatting with a friend in Sydney, Australia not long ago and came away with an enhanced appreciation of what it means to *act locally*. My Bay Area was suffering an unseasonable heat wave while hers was unusually rainy, so we talked about how the weather affected our households. "At least I get my water heated for free," I… read more →

Fluorescent lights: one homeowner’s experience

A couple recent New York Times articles regarding the quality of compact fluorescent bulbs set off a firestorm of comments. The thrust of the most recent article was that, while CFLs can meet people's needs, meeting their expectations is tougher. CFLs in stores are of variable quality, and the incumbent technology sets a high bar: incandescent bulbs produce more flattering… read more →

A drink you can drop-kick

Like many TerraPassers, I stay away from bottled water and sodas. But until recently, I still bought small bottled soft drinks by the case for the one use I couldn't seem to shake: school lunches. My kids are in high school, and all these years we've never used paper bags for lunches. Our cupboard is filled with various models of… read more →

Steady as she goes

A couple weeks ago, Aussies John and Helen Taylor smashed the World Record for "lowest fuel consumption on a U.S. nationwide drive," completing their 48-state, 9,419-mile tour in 22 days. Their overall fuel efficiency came in at 58.82 miles per gallon, well above the earlier record of 51.58 mpg. Their vehicle: a 2009 VW Jetta TDI Diesel. Meanwhile, the Willie… read more →

Making good on a resolution

We had a very exciting evening at my house yesterday. At about 6:30 pm, my husband interrupted my post-run shower to tell me that the our hot water heater's inlet pipe -- the one that fills the water heater from the City's supply lines -- was hot. "You actually put your hand on it?" I said, a bit incredulously. "No,… read more →

Practice? Preach? Both?

A few of our recent blog posts have ignited micro-firestorms among our readers. We are thrilled to have readers with such diversity of opinion and even more gratified that they choose to spend time making comments. We have pretty thick skins here at TerraPass and we take sharp criticisms as heartfelt expressions rather than personal attacks, so keep 'em coming.… read more →

Bike beautiful?

I like bikes. Great for transportation, great for exercise, fun for the kids, what's not to like? Unfortunately, I've found a fault with bikes in the past week which I can't seem to shake. It started a few months ago when I cleaned out my garage so well I could fit a car into it...as long as the bikes were… read more →

New projects: coast to coast

  • August 18, 2008
  • News
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The TerraPass project team is excited to bring you two more projects for public comment. The New Beulah Landfill methane capture and control project in Dorchester County, MD is a brand new project which isn't even under construction yet. New Beulah is one of the smallest landfills in Maryland, and TerraPass purchases would help fund the immediate installation of a… read more →
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