ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

It is my opinion that one does have something to do with the state of their environment.  I have never found it successful to make anyone else responsible for conditions in my area.  If I do not like the way things are it was always most beneficial for me to get busy and do something about it.  

A little bit of responsibility goes a long way.  It would start in our own homes and extend to those areas we frequent like work, school, parks etc...

If one simply had the idea that it was not a good idea to destroy the planet and made their disapproval clear by just mentioning it when they observed others doing something to damage the planet it would go a long way towards reversing the damage being done.

Simple things like not littering, car pooling or using public transportation when possible, recycling, planting trees and being mindful of water usage go a long way. All of these things do not take very much effort and can easily be fit into your daily routine. 

It may not seem like a lot but by doing these thing you set an example for others.  They in turn set an example for even more people and before you know it the idea takes off like a wildfire and a real difference has been made.  

This planet is our home.  Without it we have nowhere else to go.  If we continue to cut down trees and pollute the water and air at the rate we have been there is a good chance that this planet will not sustain life for the future generation. What we don't think about today can come back to haunt us tomorrow. 

So my question to you is what could you do today to help improve your environment? 

   

A NOTE ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Did you know that New York City is one of the most environmentally conscientious cities in the Unites States?.  With a staggering population of over 8,000,000 they do not have the option of  not thinking about the environment. 

Some of the effective measures that they have taken include switching 11,000 "Don't Walk" signals to more energy-efficient LED lights that use less than 90% less energy of the average signs.  They also replaced 149,000 street lights to a new energy efficient design. 

In the average house or apartment in New York City you will find that they use nearly less than half the electricity being used in Chicago and  about a quarter  of what is being used in the city of Dallas.  One contributing factor to this is the energy efficient refrigerators they use.

So how can you personally help yourself and the environment by saving electricity and water?  Here are a few tips: 

Doing simple things that we were all taught in elementary school like turning off lights that are not being used, turning off the water while brushing your teeth really do make a difference.  

Turn off your A/C/Heating unit when you are not using it, fix any leaky faucets you have, practice smart lawn watering techniques (especially if you live in the desert), replace any halogen light bulbs you may have with a more energy efficient alternative and you are sure to see a lower energy and power bill.         

Not only would your bill be lower, you would also be making a difference in the environment.  I know that it may not seem like much but if everyone did it, just imagine the impact!

Our program here at Renaissance Power and Gas also helps.  If you are in New York City and are interested in enrolling, please inquire below.     

Dangers of Fracking

This week I saw a video that really makes clear just how dangerous fracking really is.

In this video many residents of Pennsylvania are interviewed about how their lives were totally turned upside down by  fracking being done in their neighborhood.  The adverse effects they describe include: rashes, swelling, nose bleeds, body aches, headaches, severe dental issues, contaminated drinking and fishing water and trouble breathing.

Something needs to be done about this particular practice.  I truly do not understand how this is still allowed.  The water coming out of the tap was white and smoking!!!  It is not an isolated instance of this being an issue.  Check out this other video of a woman lighting her methane filled tap water on fire in Oklahoma!  This is a real problem that needs to be addressed.

At Renaissance Power and Gas we offer a way to get the gas you need without fracking. Every time we have someone sign up for our program it is a small but real blow against the damage being done to people and the environment by fracking.  

We appreciate each and every customer that signs up and uses our services.  Right now we have our program running in New York.  We intend to expand it to other areas in very short order.

Keep checking out our blog and Facebook page to find out if and when we are coming to a neighborhood near you!  

How You Can Help the Environment

I want to thank Just Green for posting this video on Twitter.

As this video signifies, the average American spends more time on watching Sports on TV than thinking about and taking care of their environment.  In the not too distant future, no one is going to care that the San Francisco 49ers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in a Football game.  What will matter is that this planet is uninhabitable because of what we are doing here and now to destroy the planet.

 There is something that we can do RIGHT NOW to change this.  Renaissance Power and Gas is an environmentally friendly alternative to getting the electricity and gas you need.  By signing up with our program, or those like it, you are taking a real stand against the environmentally dangerous practice known as fracking.

If you have any questions about fracking, here is a link to a 5 minute video that describes this in detail.

Right now we service the greater New York Area including:

Bronx

Queens

Manhattan 

Staten Island

Westchester

If you live in these areas and are interested in joining our program please send us your inquiries below.  

Electric

After a long social media absence, Renaissance Power and Gas is pleased to be back to blogging.

Last you had heard, we were only servicing the Con Edison area, which was the Bronx, Manhattan and some of Westchester.

Well, we've expanded into National Grid for gas as well, allowing us to provide natural gas to the entirety of the Greater NYC area.

We've also very recently begun to provide electricity to the NYC area.

More to come soon!

We're back!

N.Y. court: Towns can ban fracking - Washington Times

“We hold that [existing state oil and gas law] does not preempt, either expressly or impliedly, a municipality’s power to enact a local zoning ordinance banning all activities related to the exploration for, and the production or storage of, natural gas and petroleum within its borders,” said the courts in their decision to allow towns to ban fracking.

With what the Washington Times describes as a "key victory for environmentalists," there is finally some ability to mitigate the reach of hydraulic fracturing.

This complicates Gov. Cuomo's pending decision on the effects of fracking, and certainly delivers some much deserved power into the hands of the land owners.

See the full source article at N.Y. court: Towns can ban fracking - Washington Times

Getting Your Friends on Board with Sustainability

I just read the following post on Twitter from Practically Green:

How to get your employees engaged in sustainability? ow.ly/ka0mV Practically Green provides a fun, user-friendly platform!
— Practically Green (@practicallygrn) April 17, 2013

I clicked on the link, taking me to their homepage.

My first thought of "Building better people"
 may be a little too vague and dystopian.

It was interesting stuff. The idea reportedly started as "LEED® for people". A very cool idea in my opinion, and I also suspect that there is a super-catchy slogan hiding in there somewhere.

However, there is another topic the tweet alluded to which I think we can all take a moment to consider:

How do we, as people, make environmental goals known, thought well of, and taken up?

There aren't exactly a lot of people who would disagree with the idea that making sure that we have enough resources to survive for as long and as well as possible is a bad idea.

That being said, there is some challenge in getting the population as a whole to shift over to 100% sustainable practices overnight. While having no impact on the environment is certainly possible, efforts like these may be seen by somebody "not-yet-interested" as too big of a transition to simply drop everything and do it.

Impossibly awesome?

To a non-environmentalist, it may look like far too much to do, and like it's far too difficult to start now. But you and I know very well that it's too big of an issue to do nothing about. So we have a bit of a problem.

The solution for that would be to do the little things first.

Say that you have a friend who doesn't have any focus on any environmental issues. Not that this person hasn't heard of them, or that they oppose them. He/she just doesn't pay much attention. What would be a good way to show that friend something that he could understand?

This is the most fun we've had scrolling
in years. Seriously.

You start by finding something that he/she can understand without too much effort. Like that burning hatred of junkmail. Or reducing his water footprint by eating chicken instead of beef, or other easy little water saving tips like not leaving the water running while shaving or brushing one's teeth. Something like using a reusable bag for grocery shopping.

Really ANY of the myriad ways that most of you environmental advocates already know about will do for the purposes of enlightening friends on environmental issues. It's not much work, and it'll give that friend a little bit of the idea that something can be done.

Now, it may have come to your attention that the things just referred to all have to do with conservation and efficiency, and not necessarily sustainability.

Well, here's the beauty of it! Outside of what you actually did to buy time for the environment as a whole, these little things have a profound effect. You've convinced somebody that they can, as an individual, actually DO something to help the environment.

From here, we can  start upping the gradient and moving towards all of the cool, exciting sustainability projects like fuel and farming, as well as helping make sustainable culture more accessible.

So you can quickly use efficiency as an introduction to sustainability at a very grassroots and personal level.

Pretty cool, right?